According to former president Olusegun Obasanjo, most of the letters he sent in the past weren’t written for personal gain.
He continued by saying he had no idea how he always had the confidence to send letters to influential people to convey his opinions on various issues.
At the Abuja book launch for Muskiliu Mojeed’s “The Letterman: Inside the ‘Secret’ Letters of Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo,” Obasanjo revealed this.
He disclosed that the editor of Premium Times did not ask his consent to write the book, but acknowledged that he did a great job.
He said: “He did not ask for permission to create this book, and up until last Monday, when he gave me two copies, I truly had no idea he was writing a book. After reading the book, I was astounded by the amount of labour that went into its creation.
“As a result, I struggled with what to do and what to avoid doing.
One, he neglected to inform me before writing the book, but he did a great job. I thought this book was fantastic.
The former president said that to make it to the book’s public presentation while on vacation in Ethiopia, he had to change his plans.
“There are many things Muskiliu stated that I have forgotten, and he dug them up, he presented them,” Obasanjo said. I was amazed as I read some of the letters.
“The reason I don’t frequently do interviews is that, in my opinion, journalists are like a nagging wife who is raising your children.
You must put up with them because if it hasn’t been reported, it hasn’t been done regardless of what you do. However, you need to be careful how you connect with them since they will say and do things that will irritate you. Muskiliu does have one benefit though—because we have been interacting for a while, he has come to accept him and I have come to accept him, so we put up with each other.
“Letter writing is something I strongly believe in, and I don’t think it’s outdated because you need to communicate, and how else can you communicate?” That you will sit down, in a calm environment, write out what you want to say in a clear, concise manner, and then hand it to the person you want to speak with. And I don’t see anything to replace that.
Writing letters is a form of art. The language you use must, immediately, and following what you wish to put into it, convey what you want to communicate. However, your letter must be relevant, practical, meaningful, and to the point to address the issue you wish to address clearly and concisely. Additionally, it must endure the test of time.
