Today we have every cause to believe that Nigeria abounds in former<\/p>\n
leaders whose stars have set in our political firmament as a result of
\nprogressive brain degeneration. It is not in dispute that they failed at
\nevery turn during their tenure to perpetuate themselves in power. Our
\ndemocracy though only about 15 years old has groomed reformers and our
\nhonourable men in the legislative assemblies have proved to the rest of
\nthe world that such political gimmick can not work in Africa’s biggest
\ndemocracy thus such men who think they are larger than life General
\nOlusegun Obasanjo’s whims and caprices, for instance, was resisted at the
\ntime and he had no option but to relinquish his hold on power.<\/p>\n
We had similar cases in the not too distant past before the return to
\ncivil democratic rule in 1999. At this period under review, Nigeria under
\nthe self-styled evil genius General Ibrahim Babangida employed every
\nantic to continue in power long after he promised to return power to an
\nelected civilian government but he could not stand the heat after the
\nhistoric annulment of the fairest and freest election ever held in
\nNigeria’s political history. We were all living witnesses to the outrage
\nthat swept across the country particularly in the south. As luck would
\nhave it he had to unavoidably step aside and handed over the reigns of
\npower to an Interim National Government headed by Ernest Shonekan whose
\ntenure was short-lived. The ING was sacked by the then defence minister
\nGeneral Sani Abacha the dark-goggled dictator who ruled Nigeria until he
\ndied with his boots on.<\/p>\n
Although that late military ruler ruled over Nigeria with an iron hand he
\ngoes down in history as one leader under whose regime Nigeria achieved
\npeace and great macroeconomic stability. That is not to say he had not his
\nown failures. He did try to continue in office driven by a consuming
\nambition to transform himself into a civilian president fortunately or
\nunfortunately this did not see the light of the day. Be that as it may,
\nAfrican leaders’ sit-tight syndrome is destroying the continent with
\npolitical gladiators like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Paul Biya Of
\nCameroon, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Francois Bozize of Central African
\nRepublic, Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso and a host of others.
\nTremendously worrisome is former President Olusegun Obasanjo who wants to
\nreturn or be in the corridors of power when it is very obvious that his
\nregime was nothing but one vast empire of corruption.<\/p>\n
There is a proverb among the Esan people of Nigeria that says ”an elder
\nwho is well-respected begins to lose it drastically as he further puts on
\nairs” and this, of course, occurs when senile dementia sets in. This is
\nexactly what is happening to today that has been causing the present
\nadministration under president Jonathan agonising distraction amid the
\njihadist insurgency ravaging the northeastern flank of the country. Former
\nPresident Olusegun Obasanjo – a sentimental irrelevance is increasingly
\nmaking himself an object of ridicule by being uncompromisingly
\nantagonistic to traditional morality being exhibited by President Jonathan
\nand everyone has begun to notice it. It is high time he refrained from
\nthis if he is ever to be taken seriously again as an elder statesman.<\/p>\n
The former President has made a lot of provocative statements lately which
\nhave further heated up the polity to warrant his arrest, detention and
\nprosecution. Obasanjo, during his book launch in London last week,
\nseverely attacked President Jonathan over election postponement and
\nalleged that the latter is ‘engaged in a do-or-die politics’, an
\nallegation he could never substantiate knowing full well the circumstances
\nthat necessitated it. The former Nigerian leader was also quoted as saying
\nthat President Jonathan is ”inviting a military coup” Alas, I wonder why
\nsome peoples’ memory could be so short. Has he forgotten in a flash this
\nwas one of the reasons he was arrested and gaoled by the late dictator
\nGeneral Sani Abacha and released by a twist of fate shortly before he was
\nto be executed? We should not feign ignorance of what was to happen at the
\ntime and had Sani Abacha succeeded in eliminating him, I am doubly sure
\nHeavens would not have fallen and the same ‘crime’ he probably committed
\nthen is still being re-enacted thereby giving birth to reasons to repeat
\nwhat happened to him in the dark days of the above-named.<\/p>\n
Let us make a brief comparative analysis of the two administrations. Under
\nPresident Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian service infrastructures like
\nhighways suffered a woeful neglect and the billions of naira earmarked for
\nroads construction, rehabilitation and maintenance could not be accounted
\nfor. The east-west corridor running from Benin to Shagamu was a death
\ntrap, in fact, the road was so bad that motoring on that highway could
\nforce a pregnant woman to involuntary abortion. But Jonathan’s
\nadministration has so changed things for the better that driving on that
\nroad today is such a pleasant experience.<\/p>\n
In the area of power distribution, President Olusegun Obasanjo we were
\ntold spent a whopping $16bn which did not yield any fruitful dividend but
\nJonathan’s administration corrected all that and this has brought about
\nimproved power supply in Nigeria. Nigeria under the former used to be a
\nnet importer of food whose consequent high import bill had the effect of
\ndepleting our foreign reserves but today following the elimination of
\nmiddlemen in the sale and distribution of fertilizers Nigeria has been
\ntransformed into an agro-based economy with many countries across the
\nworld choosing to tap from President Jonathan wizardry and experience in
\nthe transformation he has brought to the agricultural sector that would
\ndoubtless turn Nigeria to a frontline food exporting nation in the coming
\nyears.<\/p>\n
The railway sector which had become moribund under his predecessors was
\nresuscitated and today over five million passengers are being ferried
\nacross the country with new rail tracks being laid to connect all parts of
\nthe country. Was Obasanjo able to do this while in power? Hence on what
\nbasis are his frequent diatribes against a man who is well-intentioned
\nand bent on repositioning Nigeria on the path of socio-economic
\ndevelopment?<\/p>\n
The problem with the ruling People’s Democratic Party today in Nigeria was
\ncaused byJonathan’s predecessors who did nothing to provide service
\ninfrastructures and others to develop the country. That is why a good
\nnumber of people are clamouring for a change, but the change they need
\nfrom the men on the side of the table is being done conscientiously by the
\nindefatigable President Jonathan under whose regime Nigeria rose to become
\nAfrica’s largest economy and the third fastest growing economy in the
\nworld. It is not in dispute that education is the best legacy you can give
\nto your child and in line with this philosophy President Jonathan has
\nbuilt over 12 tertiary institutions particularly in the northern part of
\nthe country and a good number of alma ji rin schools to take care of the
\neducational needs of the socially deprived children in the core Muslim
\nnorth – these were children that were written off as street urchins and
\nsometimes used for money rituals by their taskmasters in the north. Were
\nthese children not there when Obasanjo was the President of Nigeria? I ask
\nyet again on what basis would he not let President Jonathan be? Why is he
\ncausing him so much distraction when he himself ran a failed government, a
\ngovernment that brought no development, a government that earned Nigeria
\nnothing. Lucky Igbinedion’s abysmal failure cost the ruling party Edo
\nState under him and I applaud Jonathan’s firm resolve to part ways with
\nhim and focus on regenerating Nigeria from the prodigal years of the old
\nPDP misrule.<\/p>\n
Today I am sure everyone is aware that the trouble makers in the ruling
\nPDP who have sunk the ship of state and defected to the opposition are
\nworse than villains among whom are Abubakar Atiku and a host of others.
\nHow many universities did Obasanjo and Atiku build for Nigerians while
\nthey were in power? But today they are proud owners of universities
\nlocated in their respective states of origin. However, I stand firm in my
\nconviction that the new PDP is made up of civilized people whose
\nintentions are to regenerate Nigeria and this, in fact, has started
\nyielding tangible results calling to mind Jonathan’s remarkable
\nachievements which are no more news to one and all. Obasanjo and his cabal
\nhave become holy terrors and it is high time they are told to let the
\nsleeping dogs lie.<\/p>\n
Iyoha John Darlington, aka Lington Donovan, a social activist, political
\nanalyst and public commentator on national and global issues writes from
\nTurin, Italy.<\/p>\n
Email: jamestmichael2003@yahoo.com<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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