By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

The news of the visit of Hayija Turai Yar‘Adua to the Abeokuta Hilltop residence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo was splashed in some sections of the media earlier this week.

*Turai

Unlike many other political visits to the Hilltop mansion, the visit by the widow of President Umaru Yar‘adua was concealed from the press reportedly on Obasanjo’s instructions.

Obasanjo according to sources gave strict instructions to aides not to allow the press to cover or to even know about the visit.

President Obasanjo’s instruction was particularly ironic given the humiliation and disappointment he suffered in the hands of elements of the Yar‘Adua family after he left office.

Obasanjo who is known not to suffer fools gladly had not been so merciful to some other estranged friends. When former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar sometime in 2008 made a private visit to reconcile with his former boss he was shocked to find a horde of pressmen waiting for him at the end of what was supposed to be a private visit.

Ascension to power

But not so for Turai, the widow of the man Obasanjo foisted on Nigeria after viciously vacating many other more interested presidential aspirants. It was believed that the visit was the first time the two were seeing one another since Yar‘Adua’s ascension to power in 2007.

Turai’s visit to Obasanjo was not totally surprising given the bond that at one time existed between Obasanjo and the extended Yar‘adua family.

That relationship was forged when the late Shehu Musa Yar‘Adua was deputy to Obasanjo as head of state in the seventies.

Following the death of Shehu, Obasanjo again operating as a  democrat dictator again pandered towards the Yar‘Adua family when he foisted Shehu’s younger brother, Umaru as his successor in 2007.

However, what followed thereafter was a relationship laced with aloofness and betrayal in the eyes of some political observers.

While Obasanjo was flayed by some for trying to control the Yar‘Adua government from the backseat, the actions of the successor in truncating plans and programmes of the Obasanjo government, especially the privatisation of the refineries was received with disappointment by the Obasanjo camp.

Speaking in a television interview few days ago, the former president lamented the decision by the Yar‘adua government to reverse the sale of the refineries.

“Dangote and some investors paid $750m for two of the refineries. My successor came to office and reversed the sale. He even refunded the money they paid.

“So, I went to him and said ‘why did you do this?’ He said it was because of pressure. So, I said ‘so the pressure of some people was more important than the interest of the whole nation?”

The reversal of official policies was only one matter. The other was the alleged collaboration by elements within the Yar‘adua presidency with members of the House of Representatives to hound Obasanjo through the probe of the investments made into the power sector during the Obasanjo regime.

Beyond the attack on Obasanjo as a person, the operatives of the Yar‘Adua regime went for his daughter, Iyabo, then a serving senator on the allegation of stealing government money. That perhaps could have been a departing point and the failure of President Yar‘adua to look beyond partisan political interests at the substance of the issues involved in the allegations against Iyabo was vexatious to many allies of President Obasanjo.

It was even remarkable that at the height of the whole issue that Obasanjo maintained a stoic silence, refusing to publicly and perhaps privately intervene into the troubles of his daughter.

For whatever reason the late president looked the other way as the eldest child of his political benefactor and long time family friend came under the vicious tackle of his political allies and subordinates.

It was remarkable that Iyabo stood her ground that she was not guilty of any offence in the sense that the funds collected by her committee members were used for the purpose for which they were meant. The determination of the government at that time to jail Iyabo was so pressing that fellow senators who ordinarily could have spoken up for Iyabo kept mute out of fear.

Asked for the silence and the failure of the Senate to speak up on the issue on behalf of Iyabo, a member of that committee who also collected the same estacode as Iyabo did said: “There was extreme pressure at that time and the situation was not conducive,” the senator said.

But remarkably, Iyabo, Prof. Adenike Grange, the former minister of health and a number of other fellows innocently accused were to be discharged and acquitted of any crime to the relief of their friends and families.

It was as such remarkable that when Turai visited Obasanjo earlier last week that the media would feast on it as a visit to seek Obasanjo’s help in the troubles of Turai’s own daughter, Mrs. Zainab Dakingari. Mrs. Dakingari, is the wife of the immediate past governor of Kebbi State, Saidu Dakingari and is under investigations over an alleged N2 billion fraud committed during her husband’s stay in office.

Zainab and another daughter of Turai, Naifisa were prized family members who were married to Nigerian governors during their father’s regime. Naifisa was married off to Governor

Turai’s reconnection with Obasanjo is undoubtedly reflective of the transience of political power and perhaps, ironically, Obasanjo’s own enduring political strength.