By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, Mr Atiku Abubakar, has praised his former boss, Mr Olusegun Obasanjo, for his role in the peace deal signed between the warring Ethiopia and Tigray this week in South Africa.
Mr Obasanjo was elected President of Nigeria in 1999 and ended his two terms of eight years in 2007. Mr Atiku was his vice in the period.
The former Nigerian leader was in South Africa as a delegate of the African Union to broker peace between the two parties in Pretoria, and Mr Atiku heaped praises on the Ota-farmer.
In a series of tweets on Saturday, the former Vice President said the former military Head of State deserves to be on one of the redesigned Naira notes to inspire future generations.
“Africa is blessed to have a statesman of such impeccable democratic credentials as Chief Obasanjo. A man whose image ought to be in the redesigned Naira note to inspire future generations of Nigerians to sacrifice for their nation and continent,” Mr Atiku said in one of the tweets posted via his verified Twitter handle.
Last Wednesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced its intention to introduce new N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes into circulation to curb inflation and counterfeiting.
The Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said this was necessary because 80 per cent of the printed notes were not in the vaults of commercial banks, a development he said was not good for the economy.
It meant that most of the Naira notes were with corrupt persons and criminals, including kidnappers, who stashed money outside the banking system.
Since the announcement of the new design of the Naira denominations, there have been speculations that President Muhammadu Buhari’s image may be included in one. But Mr Atiku wants Mr Obasanjo to among Nigerians to be on the notes.
Currently, the image of the late Sir Ahmadu Bello is on the N200 note, the late Nnamdi Azikwe is on the N500 note, while the late Aliyu Mai-Bornu and Clement Isong are on the N1,000 note.
In his tweets today, Mr Atiku also promised to nominate Mr Obasanjo for a Nobel Peace Prize “when entries are open for nominations.”
He said he was not surprised by the action of the Nigerian leader, saying, “he did the same thing in Liberia and São Tomé and Príncipe during our time in office.”
“On behalf of my family, I congratulate you, President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, for successfully ending the Ethiopia-Tigray conflict. And I thank God for the gift of wisdom and foresight He gave you, which you have used creditably to steer Nigeria and Africa on the right path,” he said.