In a compelling account from his just-released autobiography Being True To Myself, former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido has revealed the behind-the-scenes drama that led him to plead emotionally with the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua not to engage in a political face-off with his predecessor, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The book, unveiled to the public on May 13, 2025, offers fresh insight into key events during Yar’Adua’s presidency, particularly tensions that suggested a rift with Obasanjo — the man widely credited with handpicking and backing Yar’Adua for the presidency in 2007.
According to Lamido, two incidents raised concern that the Yar’Adua presidency was drifting toward open confrontation with Obasanjo. The first was a National Assembly debate over the controversial $16 billion National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), which was spearheaded not by the opposition, but by a close Yar’Adua ally from Katsina — a move that painted Obasanjo as corrupt and implied the projects were abandoned.
“I went to President Yar’Adua and drew his attention to the debate… His tart response was: ‘It is an issue being discussed by an independent arm of government,’” Lamido recalled.
The second incident hit closer to home. Lamido revealed that he received a troubling phone call from President Yar’Adua’s Chief Security Officer (CSO), Tilde, while in Dutse. Tilde had sarcastically asked why he wasn’t in Ota “with your President” — a comment Lamido said shocked him deeply.
He was further rattled when the CSO mentioned a petition against him, which he claimed he could “suppress.” Enraged, Lamido threatened to report the CSO to the president and accused him of blackmail.
Not letting the matter rest, Lamido boarded a plane to Abuja and marched straight into the Villa, confronting the CSO in his office and delivering a scathing rebuke in the presence of staff. He then went upstairs to meet President Yar’Adua directly.
“Almost going down on my knees, consumed by emotions, I said, ‘Sir, in the name of God, please I beg you, do not fight Obasanjo,’” Lamido narrated. “It is neither in our religion nor culture to show ingratitude to one who has stood by you.”
Moved by Lamido’s appeal, Yar’Adua reportedly summoned his ADC, Lt. Col Mustapha, and asked him to confirm his standing instructions on Obasanjo.
“Sir, you asked me to accede to any issue either within or outside Nigeria, including his travels, without recourse to you,” the ADC confirmed.
Yar’Adua then turned to Lamido and asked, “Are you comforted now?” to which the former governor responded, “Yes Sir.”
Lamido’s account paints a poignant picture of the delicate political balances that defined Yar’Adua’s presidency — and the loyalty Obasanjo continued to command from key political figures.
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