President Olusegun Obasanjo trended on Nigerian Social media on Monday after his name was not included in the list of Prominent Nigerians named after railway stations across the nation.
Many Nigerians expressed surprise at the exclusion of OBJ’s name. A statement by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, revealed that Buhari named the train stations after some deserving Nigerians “who have contributed to the progress and development of their respective communities and the nation at large”.
Below are 5 possible reasons President Buhari may have excluded Obasanjo’s name according to DailyTimes;
1. Obasanjo Has Monuments Named After Him Already
Obasanjo has monuments named after him like National Open University of Nigeria research centre, a major road in Kano state, Kalambo Station in DR Congo etc
2. Obasanjo Is A Major Critic Of Buhari
Buhari and Obasanjo have always been at loggerheads since 2018, following a statement made by Buhari insinuating that Obasanjo wasted $16 billion on power projects. This has given rise to altercations between the incumbent President and the former President.
3. There Are Other Projects Ongoing In The Country
We can never can tell, the ongoing Lagos Ibadan expressway construction may be named after the former President. This may just be a case of reserving the best for last.
4. Could Buhari Be Trying To Spite Obasanjo?
It is no news, the feud between Prof. Wole Soyinka and Obasanjo. Recall that the Nobel Laureate in 2019 called Obasanjo the Nation’s biggest hypocrite. Prof. Wole Soyinka’s name made the list of train station’s renamed and Obasanjo’s name didn’t.
5. Obasanjo’s Insensitivity
The current administration has been met with several backlash from the former President. In 2019, Obasanjo opposed the reelection of Buhari accusing the president of poor handling of the economy, among others.
