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And so,Olusegun Obasanjo, former Head of State and two-term civilian
President wrote aletter to President Muhammadu Buhari praising him on his
anti-corruption andsecurity policies and scoring him low on his economic
and foreign affairspolicies and advising him, based on his health issues,
not to run for a secondterm. The unmistakable paradox marking this letter
is that of a man who dideverything to illegally alter our constitution to
procure a third term advisinganother man not to exercise his legal rights
of a second term but that is notthe topic for this report. The Buhari
government has put up a well-marshalledand unputdownable response to the
letter particularly as it concerns theachievements of the government and
laid an open challenge to whoever feels thatObasanjo or any other former
leader did better to come forward with the same clarityit did its
response. Shorn of the cavalier, self-applauding and egocentricrhymes of
the Obasanjo missive, the reply was couched in the most lucid mannerso as
to keep the argument focused and showed an undue respect to Obasanjowhose
noxious tendency to play dictator and examiner to every other regime
isbecomingly annoyingly petulant.
This reportshall leave the reactions for or against the Obasanjo letter to
the open spacewhere it is raking sufficient attention presently. It shall
also leave outwhether Obasanjo has so appropriated the Nigerian state as
to be the soledeterminant of the fate of Nigeria, as he sought to portray
in his letters.That would be found out after the elections next year where
Obasanjo haspromised to present a third force to wrestle power from Buhari
and install anorder beholden to him. I would rather do a brief revisit of
the Obasanjostewardship in eight of the eleven years he had been in power
to find out wherehe draws the experience, the moral and ethical rights to
dictate the leadershipNigeria must have at any time.
The kind of incessantinterventions Obasanjo makes in Nigeria is the kind a
successful leader who hasshown, by practice, what he sanctimoniously
sermonizes on the national space.Does Obasanjo fit this requirement by the
leadership he provided here inNigeria in eight years? To me, the answer is
a resounding no for if leadershipperformance is a criterion for Obasanjo
to twist and swing narratives to talkdown other leaders while
sing-praising himself, then he should just disappearfrom our space. Most
importantly, Obasanjo, and of course any other pastleader, must, in same
clarity as the Buhari government, provide Nigerians withtheir own
achievements in the areas of Economy, Infrastructures; Power, Rail,Road,
Air, Security, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Education, Health, Youth,etc.
before stepping on the national space to insult us with pejorative talesor
criticisms of others and praises of themselves.
The questionis, did Obasanjo do well as a leader for the eight years he
was in power? Weshall try to revisit the records Obasanjo left here after
eight years to see ifhe deserves the huge cloth he had sown for himself
that allows him to regularlymeddle into other leaders’ affairs and dictate
how Nigeria should be ran.
The economyhad been Obasanjo’s regular forte and in his latest missive, he
boasted that heturned Nigeria into a land flowing with milk and honey. You
may rightly ask thefoundation for this growth because during Obasanjo’s
regime, our nationalinfrastructures decayed to an abysmal level. The roads
so decayed that even theroad leading to his Otta was turned into an
untamable river for the eight yearshe was in power. Go to Lagos-Ibadan
expressway to find the relics of whatObasanjo did here for eight years in
the billboards bearing his picture erectedthrough the length of the road
when no attention was paid to that main economicartery as it decayed for
the period he was in power. Have we forgotten how ourair record was so
notorious as Obasanjo was in power such that planes werefalling off the
sky with the prurience dead twigs fall from trees? What of therailway
sector which so went extinct that not even a coach was added to therotting
trains Obasanjo met despite huge sums budgeted for the sector? What ofthe
power sector that crumbled when he was in power even after claiming to
havespent $16 billion on the sector? So on what grounds were Obasanjo’s
phantomeconomic growth structured if he paid no attention to development
ofinfrastructures for eight whole years?
Perhaps,what Obasanjo touts as his economic magic was selling off Nigerian
prizedassets to a coterie of fawners at give-away prices under a
dubiousprivatization scheme that robbed Nigerians and enriched his
hirelings. Even thenation’s refineries were callously sold off by Obasanjo
in his twilight das butYar’Adua cancelled the dubious sale.
Obasanjo’s self-vauntedeconomic record is no more than a primitive
latching open of the public cofferto a coterie of cronies to feed fat and
form a symbiotic ring around him.Bereft of basic economic foundations or
capacities to outgrow the dubious baseit was structured on, Obasanjo never
laid any economic foundation that couldoutlast him. Feeding hirelings and
fronts with illicit enrichment from thenational coffers to grow an economy
was a blind choice of a leader that neitherabhorred corruption nor saw
beyond the self-serving caprices that informed suchdecisions. Let us take
some few instances. Obasanjo gathered a coterie of hismenservants
together, unleashed direct funding on them with state patronages toform
Transcorp with the intent of growing into a huge conglomerate in fewyears.
Yes, his hirelings formed Transcorp, even got hapless citizens to
investtheir hard earned resources in it. Where is Transcorp today? Like a
spittle inthe sun, Transcorp hardly outlived the short-sighted, corrupt
intent thatmidwifed it. That’s the bedrock of Obasanjo’s economic
knowledge and dreams.What of Corporate Nigeria? This was a motley
gathering of leading businessmenObasanjo culled together, leased state
patronage on them with the intent thatthey will drive the growth of the
country. Throughout his tenure, CorporateNigeria rather played an
obnoxious role as slush pot for laundering thecountry’s resources and
mobilizing funds for Obasanjo’s political dreams,including the obnoxious
third term agenda and nothing more. These show that onthe economy where
Obasanjo grandstands on epic scale, Obasanjo was no more thana corrupt,
primitive artist and the fact that none of his many short-sighted
andshallow-rooted economic policies survived his regime showed this.
The social reactionsagainst Obasanjo’s economic policies were so strong
that Nigerians regularlyspewed out to the streets to protest the harsh
effects of his policies. It wasso bad that the same time Obasanjo told us
that we ate and forgot ourselves wasthat period a musician sang the hit
song, “Nigeriajaga jaga” which earned him a savagery insult from Obasanjo
himself. Havewe forgotten how Obasanjo, so buffeted by angry ripostes
against his regime byNigerians, taunted Nigerians to flog his picture
every morning to show theirdistaste for his regime?
What of theblusterous attack Obasanjo laid on the democratic structure?
Obasanjo willinglyand intentionally subjected the democratic process to
serious, ceaselessattacks. Democracy survived Obasanjo just because few
people remained stoicallycommitted to rescue it from Obasanjo’s vice
grips. Elections under Obasanjoremain the most macabre in the history of
the country. Terming elections as door die affairs, Obasanjo spared
nothing to force his ways and nuances onNigerians during the two elections
his regime supervised in an effort tocripple democracy while promoting a
Napoleonic vision of reducing the statewith all its institutions to his
personal estate that is malleable to EmperorObasanjo alone. He had no
vision that sees the country beyond a PDP enclave ashe deigned himself the
father and visionary of a sole PDP that rules from oneend of the earth to
the other. In 2003, Obasanjo went out of his way togarrison the South West
with soldiers, conquer and annex every space and writeresults for the
South West states to impose his PDP lackeys on his region. Itwas only
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu that came out unconquered by Obasanjo’sinvading
army. This was after his Attorney General, Bola Ige was taken out inthe
most callous manner many relate to the 2003 election and after he
hadexpressed the wish to quit Obasanjo government and help reorganize the
thenAlliance for Democracy for the 2003 election.
The 2007election was so rigged by Obasanjo to force the late Shehu Musa
Yar’Adua topower. It was so smelly and odious that the eventual inheritor
of Obasanjo’s electoraldubiety, Yar’Adua had to publicly admit that his
election fell short ofdecency. It was so bad that our usually lethargic
and reactionary judiciary hadto retrieve some of the abhorrently rigged
elections in the court rooms. This hasreset our electoral timetable and
system in a manner that best advertisesObasanjo’s manipulation of the
electoral system to return his wishes. Anydemocratic structure that
resisted Obasanjo’s obtrusiveness was taken down asObasanjo ravaged like
an untamed demon deciding with a flip of the finger whobecomes what in a
supposed democratic structure.
Have weforgotten how Obasanjo’s hirelings set on Anambra State, seized an
incumbentgovernor and burnt the government house while Obasanjo looked on
with an approvingglint?
Obasanjo dideverything to obstruct the course of legality and law. In
fact, he was law untohimself. When he unilaterally seized the allocations
of Lagos State because thestate created new local governments, the state
took him up legally and evenwhen the Supreme Court ruled against
Obasanjo’s action, he held unto the fundtill he left power. Have we
forgotten Obasanjo’s ceaseless meddlesomeness inthe affairs of states
where he was removing and imposing governors with fewminority legislators?
Have we forgotten how he made the political structure so tenuousby
removing and imposing his party’s chairmen with despotic fiat? Have we
forgotten how Obasanjowas changing the Senate leadership like he was
changing handkerchiefs for hiseight years in power? Simply put, Obasanjo
in his eight years in power, deignedhimself as above the law and forced
the Nigerian state to follow his Trojanfootsteps. He was an outlaw that
relished placing the state and its institutionsunder his elephantine and
rustic feet.
What recorddoes Obasanjo show on security? Wanton targeting and killing of
politicalopponents of his and his PDP that was writ large on the Nigerian
space. HisAttorney General was killed, Marshall Harry was killed, A.K
Dikkibo was killed,Suliat Adedeji was killed, Funsho Williams was killed,
Daramola of Ekiti waskilled, Ogbonnaya Uche was killed and many more such
victims of state sponsoredkillings that wrote the entire Nigerian space
with blood-felt pens. The formerSenate President, Chuba Okadigbo died
after attending an ANPP rally whereObasanjo ordered that attendees be tear
gassed and after inhaling the gas,Okadigbo slumped and never recovered
from that brutal attack. It was duringthis period that the famed Nobel
Laureate, Wole Soyinka tagged Obasanjo’s partyPDP as a nest of killers! In
genocidal terms, have we forgotten the levellingdown of Odi and Zaki
Ibiam? What of the carnage in Plateau that was exacerbatedby Obasanjo’s
open distaste to the local Christian community and an aggressivedisplay of
his muscle? How many people were killed in Plateau and yet Nigeriansdid
not force Obasanjo out as a result? How will we forget that it was
duringObasanjo’s tenure that kidnapping, which has grown to a decibel
today, wasintroduced in Nigeria?
Obasanjodeliberately promoted corruption in the formal sector. He it was
who was alwaystrolleying Ghana-must-go sacks of cash to the national
assembly to remove andinstall one officer or the other or to pass any of
his idiosyncratic bills. Themost notorious was the deployment of sacks of
cash to the National Assembly tocarry out an illicit alteration of the
constitution to grant him a third term,which many credibly believe was a
precursor to the pursuit of a lifepresidency. He it was who approved jumbo
salaries for legislators while givingthem publicly owned houses in the
guise of dubious privatization. Obasanjo’swheeling and dealing is so
fatuous as to fill an encyclopedia. DuringObasanjo’s time and even while
he was pretending to fight corruption, we heardof such earth-shaking
scandals like the Siemens deal, the Halliburton scam,etc. His presidential
library project where governors were allegedly forced tocough out N10
million each shows Obasanjo as a man without scruples, a moralwreck and an
ethically-compromised character. The $16 billion power sectorscandals cap
the dubiety of Obasanjo. And for a man who, when he left prison,had a
paltry N20,000 in his account and now betraying no qualms about being
oneof Africa’s richest men, with investments that span all strata of the
economy,Obasanjo is a study in guile and duplicity.
DuringObasanjo’s tenure, salacious stories of how he carries raunchy
amorous sessionswith female appointees was so pervasive and these stories
got instant fillipfrom the steamy stories that openly gushed out about
Obasanjo’s personal lifewhere allegations of incestuous relationship were
raised by even his son. Whenhe was fighting with his erstwhile deputy, we
heard of how girlfriends were patronizedby state resources and how
contracts were used to procure satiation to hiselephantine libido.
The above isnot an exhaustive narrative about Obasanjo’s tainted persona
and that of hisfailed regime but just to show his dubious qualification to
always sermonizeand bask in self-adulatory lights about the deliberate
charade he ran from 1999to 2007. I wonder how Obasanjo pretends to know
every solution to everyNigerian problem but failed so woefully to leverage
on such knowledge in hiscomprehensively failed eight years’ leadership.
Obasanjo, who roundly failed asa leader and was practically chased away
from power, has no right to disturbthe peace of the country with his usual
tirades against successive governments.Period! He should go procure a
mirror and stare into it if he wants to know afailed leader.
This reportis not to defend the Buhari government. It had done a good job
defending itselfby listing verifiable achievements. What I rather want to
show is that Obasanjois not concerned about good leadership because he
drove in the oppositedirection when he had opportunity to provide one. His
readings of the Buharigovernment is rather the mischievous and scheming
Obasanjo. If we realize thatthree months ago, precisely September 2017,
the same Obasanjo told the wholeworld that President Buhari had so
impressed him that he didn’t regretsupporting him, then we see through the
dubious Obasanjo’s schemes at play.
Obasanjowould have followed up his letter with such theatrics like tearing
his APCmembership card, were he a member of APC but Obasanjo has no card
to tear. Thisitself, introduces a huge cog in his mischievous wheel. While
he can act,grandstand, and scheme with PDP, he has no such liberty with
APC and theleaders and members of APC are not beholden to Obasanjo, who,
at a time,personified PDP and did everything to forcefully levy it as
Nigeria’s soleparty. That Buhari is not of his political party is enough
to sound a warningnote on him that he is writing his last letter and will
not pull this schemethrough. Again. Obasanjo seems to over rate the
capacity of his letter inJonathan’s removal. His letter to Jonathan and
the show of support for Buhariwas an escapist move from a sinking ship to
a moving train. The Buhari trainwas already off the station by the time
Obasanjo jumped in to escape a shipheaded for the rocks. By 2019, he would
have to prove if he now has achievedhis desire to approximate the Nigerian
state as a sole determinant of the fateof Nigeria.
It is funnythat Obasanjo, in his letter, stated he may be target of
attacks by advisers whomay prey on him for the positions he expressed in
his letter. Why should heworry? When he was intentionally careering the
country to the hell it is today,very many respected voices who cautioned
or advised him were so abused, deridedand insulted by the horde of attack
dogs he kept to lynch at anybody that hadcontrary views to his. Prof
Soyinka, Cardinal Onaiyekan, Col. Abubakar Umar, late Prof. Chinua Achebe
and many more eminentNigerians were torn to pieces and abused in
indecorous terms by Obasanjo’slapdogs when they offered simple advise to
the drift of the Nigerian Stateunder Obasanjo. It was so bad that Achebe
threw away a national award byObasanjo on the grounds that Obasanjo set
his hirelings to destroy his stateand the personal attacks on him! So why
is Obasanjo afraid of how others willreact to his letter? A case of a
professional head cutter perpetually afraid ofthe knife?
But toObasanjo’s confusion at present, Buhari suffers such intrigues as
Obasanjo’s sosilently that it hurts. He is not likely to migrate to the
mud and wrestle withObasanjo, as he anticipated. He is not known for that.
He is a leader thatstands out for his ability to suffer fools patiently
and gladly. His and hisadvisees are not abusing Obasanjo, as Obasanjo is
fond of doing. Rather,Obasanjo is faced with an angry public who read
through his mischief and feelthat his days of self-serving intrigues in
the guise of writing letters toevery leader but himself, should be brought
to an end because Obasanjo is afailed leader. 2019 is a decisive year for
both Obasanjo and Nigeria. Goodenough, he has said he is forming a
coalition to take over power from Buhari.He better succeeds in that
mission because if he fails, that would be adisastrous end to his
obtrusiveness. If he fails, his letter to Buhari willbecome a sad swan
song for an ardent letter writer but an egregiously failedleader called
Olusegun Obasanjo.
Peter ClaverOparah
Ikeja,Lagos.
E-mail: peterclaver2000@yahoo.com