The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has expressed dissatisfaction over an alleged verbal assault former President Olusegun Obasanjo meted out on a cross section of traditional rulers from the state at an official function hosted by Governor Seyi Makinde in Iseyin last Friday.

The Yoruba Council Worldwide has also described the former president’s action as sacrilegious, depressing, disparaging and disrespectful to the Yoruba people, hence he must apologise or face untold traditional and legal consequences.

The APC said that Obasanjo acted in bad faith and in clear demonstration of his vindictive tendencies as displayed in a short video clip, which went viral last Friday evening.

In the video, the former president was captured castigating some monarchs and title chiefs for allegedly failing to be on their feet to honour him and Governor Makinde, when the duo arrived at the venue of the road project commissioning.

The former president lampooned the traditional rulers and then ordered them to stand up and then sit down. While reacting to the development, Publicity Secretary of Oyo APC, Olawale Sadare, said Obasanjo’s verbal assault against the traditional rulers was not accidental or coincidental but premeditated, scripted and purposely delivered as a prize to people who had defied his mission to enthrone Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) against the popular choice of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the last presidential election.

The party said: “It is evident that Chief Obasanjo used the avenue of his questionable invitation to the road project commissioning to get back at certain individuals who openly rejected his presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the build up to the last general election. We recall that one of the monarchs on seat appeared on some private radio stations during the electioneering and mobilised support for Tinubu, who won the election eventually. This did not go down well with the former president, who is popular for his vindictiveness, and he used the opportunity handed down to him by one of his loyalists (Gov. Makinde) to hit back at his target.

“We condemn in strong terms the conduct of Chief Obasanjo who threw decorum into the wind on account of being a former president and chose to desecrate the rich culture and traditions of the Yoruba people. By assaulting the monarchs, who were at the occasion on invitation, the Owu-born former military dictator had shown to the world that he was not worth his status as a statesman, title chief and leader on the African continent.

“It is on record that despite ruling Nigeria for a combined period of 12 years, Obasanjo did not make a significant impact on the lives of the people of Oyo State as the best he did (and still does) was removing an elected governor of the state and refusing to add value in the areas of infrastructure, wealth creation and empowerment of our people. So, the good people of the Pacesetter State do not hold him in high esteem and they expect little or nothing from him even if has another opportunity to become president again in future

“However, there is a pertinent question begging for an answer regarding the choice of Obasanjo as the chairman of the occasion at the instance of Gov. Makinde. The simple truth is that the whole scenario has further exposed the hypocrisy in Gov. Makinde who has done everything possible to claim the glory of President Tinubu’s victory in Oyo State in the February 25 presidential election. How can you be loyal to two opposing characters in a political contest at the same time? It is obvious, Obasanjo is anti-Tinubu and Makinde is also pro-Obasanjo while we watch keenly as the governor continues his tricky game in the political space.”

The YCW President, Oba Oladotun Hassan, at a press conference yesterday at the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Jabi, Abuja, said Obasanjo must apologise within the next three days or face the consequences.

Hassan said: “Chief Obasanjo has since left the corridors of honour. As the leading voice for all Yoruba indigenous people globally, we have the eternal duty to preserve the aesthetic distinct Omoluabi ethos, royal stools and ancestral customs and traditions of the Yoruba Obaship. This precipitates our demand for immediate apologies by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo within the next three days or face untold traditional and legal reprisal consequences not limited to filing action at a court of competent jurisdiction for defamation and scandalous libel. We shall call for stripping him of all chieftaincy titles conferred on him by Yoruba monarchs.

“Furthermore, we shall mobilise all market women, youths and leaders of thoughts against Baba Obasanjo for desecrating the Yoruba ancestral cultural heritage, norms, tradition and values. On this note, we wish to set the records straight that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is NO longer the President of Nigeria, and he should stop parading himself deceitfully and impersonating or creating a scenario to command such ill motivated authority.”