Dr Oby Ezekwesili
Ezekwesili’s denial followed when the photograph showing her in a very warm embrace with Obasanjo went viral.
Dr Oby Ezekwesili in a warm embrace with Olusegun Obasanjo
In the picture the former President is seen holding Ezekwesili from behind and giving her a peck on the cheek.
According to Punch Newspaper, the controversial picture was taken on Tuesday during the
presentation of Obasanjo’s three-part autobiography entitled, ‘My Watch’.Quite a number of online commentators have expressed displeasure with Ezekwesili and Obasanjo for behaving in such a manner in public.
They accused the former minister of education, who once served in Obasanjo’s cabinet, of not behaving properly as a married woman and passing a wrong message to young girls who look up to her as a role model.
A group called ‘Hope for Nigeria’ also expressed their displeasure of the two public figures.
“This is Dr. Oby Ezekwesili the #BringBackOurGirls crusader with former President Obasanjo at his book launch.
“Was it that Ezekwesili forgot that she was in a public place and a married woman? She threw caution to the wind. Anyway, we saw her sticking out her finger in excitement, while the ‘Chemistry’ lasted.
“What manner of role model will this woman be to young Nigerian girls who look up to her?” the group wrote, after posting the controversial photograph on its Facebook page.
However, Ezekwesili has fired back at her accusers, stating that those who have reacted to the photo by calling her names as “gutter minds.”
The former minister stated that the former president simply gave her a “boisterous greeting”, adding that only “impure hearts” would be doubtful of the motive behind his greeting.
She blamed declining “family values” for her accusers’ line of thought, saying that those “purveyors of the filthy conversation” were merely “living for the gutter.”
“My former boss President Obasanjo gave me a boisterous greeting at his event yesterday (Tuesday) and the impure in heart now turn it to lurid tales.
“Restoring family values will also help take us back to a descent society. It is clear that many among us have lost our pure hearts.
“Let us leave them to their lowliness. It is out of the abundance of the filthiness or purity of heart that the mouth speaks,” Ezekwesili tweeted.
