By Lloyd Ukwu-
Prelude: The problem with dictatorship is that it usually lacks the
capacity and patience to understand the meaning of the rule of law and due
process. Both doctrines are often slow and therefore require patience.
Dictators don’t have patience, they want it here, now and by any means
necessary.
In 1984, Mohammadu Buhari overthrew the democratically elected government
of President Shehu Shagari. It is true that every coup plotter is guilty
of breaching the Nigerian constitution and shooting his way into power.
But arguably, unlike Ibrahim Babangida that overthrew a military junta,
Buhari’s offense was more egregious because he overthrew a democratically
elected government – an expression of the collective will of Nigerians. In
his false feeling of importance, Buhari has always believed in his
messianic mission. He thinks that he knows it all, and that, unlike any
other Nigerian, he knows what is best for Nigeria. His twisted sense of
superiority and inordinate craving for power found expression in his 1984
coup and his subsequent, repeated run for the presidency. Before he
finally won in 2015, he had been defeated in three earlier presidential
elections.
On his third defeat, he broke down and wept in public, an action that
would have ended his political career if he were an American politician.
Politicians hardly weep in America. To me, that unrestrained public
effusion of tears signified his utter desperation for power. His frequent
threats to Nigerians were also indicative of his excessive hunger for
power. After he lost the 2011 presidential election, he made his threats;
vowing to make Nigeria ungovernable. And true to his word, he attempted to
make Nigeria ungovernable. Through his Boko Haram connection, he unleashed
terror on Nigeria. Some say that if Buhari had no relationship with Boko
Haram, why did the terrorist group nominate him as one of its negotiators?
And before the 2015 election, he threatened to spill blood and cause
mayhem if he loses the election. Unfortunately, in 2015, Nigerians buckled
under Buhari’s threats and shenanigans, and elected a dictator-president.
It is obvious that successive military regimes contributed immensely to
our societal woes: the erosion of our moral standards and the perversion
of our values. By overthrowing the Shagari government, Buhari truncated a
nascent democracy, retarded our democratic evolution and contributed to
the problems military rule visited on Nigeria. Ironically, the same
problems the military dictators created for Nigerians are the very ones
Buhari is promising to fix. Leadership is not, and can never be by force.
Buhari, Nigerians say, remains uninformed. Before the elections Nigerians
raised a lot of doubts that he even has a West African School Certificate
(WASC). But even without this basic academic qualification, he didn’t seem
to have the urge to improve himself over the years. So, that when elected
president, he would be better prepared to serve the country. Sadly,
dictatorship means force and that’s all you need to get things done. His
fixation was on grabbing the presidency at all cost. He sounds as though
he does not have the finesse to relate smoothly with the other branches of
government. He has never displayed any intellectual capacity in governance
in the past thoughtless of delivering a lecture, as presidents sometimes
do, to the academia, professional associations, etc. In his ignorance and
obscurantism, he is blind to the heterogeneity of this country. No wonder,
he once advocated making Sharia the supreme law of Nigeria. During his
first coming to power in 1984, he pretty much ruled by proxy via Idiagbon.
This time around there is ample evidence that he is going to govern
through El Rufai and co. Is it then not a bit surprising that Nigerians
voted for a dictator in 2015? In my viewpoint this implicates a major
drawback for Nigeria. Politically and otherwise.
Were Nigerians browbeaten by his threat to unleash violence and wreck
havoc if he is not elected? Having, with our votes, dignified a man that
shoved aside a democratically elected government and seized power, what
message are we sending to young, coup-thirsty military officers? Are we
not telling them that it is alright to plot and execute coups? Evidently,
we are a country of cowards. Have we, out of fear that Nigeria might break
up if Buhari does not win, rewarded him for his coup and extra judicial
killings?
Oh, the Americans supported him? Yes, Obama did. Secretly, he sent his
former Chief of Staff, and renowned political strategist, David Axelrod,
to Nigeria to work for the All Progressive Congress (APC). Obama’s
support for Buhari was motivated simply by American economic interests.
Africa is the new frontier and Nigeria is a major player in this emerging
frontier. The former president, Goodluck Jonathan, was in bed with the
Chinese. The Chinese economy is expanding and will soon overtake the
American economy as the world’s largest economy. The government of
Goodluck Jonathan was awarding billion dollar contracts to Chinese
companies. This piqued the Americans. So, they embarked on what they do
best: regime change.
They approached their cousins, our former colonial masters, the British,
to find out how to deal with Nigeria. Piece of cake! The Brits told them:
the road to Nigeria must pass through the North; we did so when we
colonized them. So, Obama went through the North. Buhari, thrice trounced
in his quest to be president, was available, ready and willing. So,
Obama’s secret agent in Nigeria, David Axelrod, from his vast repertoire
of political intrigues, came up with the CHANGE slogan for APC and
projected Buhari the dictator as a reformer. For their strategic
interests, the Obama administration tried something similar in Israel but
failed. It supported an opposition candidate against the incumbent Prime
Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. But with Israel being a more sophisticated
democracy, and the Israelis, gutsy, they were not swayed by the Obama
administration’s political stratagem.
The Americans are always prone to installing dictators that will later
turn against them, and instead of serving American self-seeking interests,
subvert them. There is evidence of these American installed Frankenstein
monsters in Libya, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, etc. With time, Buhari may prove
another Frankenstein monster.
Lloyd Ukwu, Esquire, writes from Washington, D.C., USA.