Run, Obasanjo Run!

By

Temilade Akerejola

takerejola@yahoo.com

 

As I write this piece, the man named Haile Selaisse of Ethiopia comes to mind. I remember also, Savimbi of Angola. Selassie, a man of charismatic disposition was known as:" His Imperial Majesty, Negus Negusti, King of Kings, the conquering Lion of Judah". Where is he today? Until the last breathe of Savimbi early this year, his cheerleaders always say: "Long live UNITA's great leader, the staunchest patriot, the inspired Commander, the scourge of the Cubans and Russians, our beloved President Comrade Doctor Jones Malheiro Savimbi". But where is he today? It is unfair to ask where this colorful leaders are. After all, I know as you know too, that they are departed to the world beyond. I therefore apologize. Now, I am asking without any remorse: Where are their supporters and sycophants of yesterday today? Olusegun Obasanjo is under siege. He is in the center of a cruel whirlwind that is set to evaporate him from the face of the earth. Expectedly, (and wisely too), he is seeking refuge in the tent of the King of Kings and the Lord of the Lords. Praise God! Halleluyah!! Those professional praise-singers are at it again. They are shouting and drumming loud with a song: "Go for second term" "Nigeria needs you" "No one but you". We may be inclined to open our mouths wide in disgust and disbelief of the cancerous mediocrity, ignorance and lunacy of these people. Hold on. Important matters first. Nigeria needs our prayers to survive. Pray for Obasanjo too.

Let us now offer our supplication to the Almighty Allah to save Nigeria from wolves. "Oya, oya" on your kneels. Pray for our public officials lacking basic decency and competence in the governance of our dear nation. Almighty and everlasting God, please banish tribalism, nepotism, sentimentality and corruption from the political atmosphere of our dear country. Prevent those of us with acute moral weakness from leadership positions. God give us the courage to change from bad to good. In the mighty name we pray. Amen.

Permit me to make an unambiguous fact here. I am not going to discuss the sanctimonious or avaricious presidency of Obasanjo. I hope you are not disappointed. You may be saddened or happy, but I am not surprised of the manifest successes, failures, tactics, wisdom, folly and blunders of the Obasanjo administration. I am less concerned about the general excuses or indexes that are often used by Obasanjo's supporters and opponents to praise or castigate his presidency. His deeds or misdeeds are none of my business. This should be reserved for history.

It is the duty of all Nigerians to defend, or deny or dispute, i.e., hide, expose, bury, omit or underline the successes or failures of his regime. I care less if there is a genuine economic reform or if the status quo remains. This is because once the people decides that they want to be free ,there is nothing that can stop them.

The main crux of this essay is to bring to the attention of all patriots, the characters that are doing our country unspeakable harm. The (in)action(s) of our politicians are giving Nigeria un-treatable convulsion. I promise to avoid attacks on our leaders.

Let me see if I have my head straight. Okay, everyone come inside! I hope that I am not divorced from reality. The reality I see is this: In a few weeks time Obasanjo will announce his decision to go for a second term. Do not blame him. All he seems to hear is that he is the only person that can redeem our country. No one sincerely brings to his attention that leadership is about performance, honesty, integrity, and hard-work. In my own myopic opinion, (I sincerely pray that my ethnic group will not lynch me!) nothing, absolutely nothing justifies Obasanjo's ambition to seek election again. Is our country more prosperous, more stable, slightly decent than it was under military dictatorship? If he is not performing ,he should have no credibility and legitimacy to seek another term. Period! I have a request to all Nigerians. This message is not for sycophants or ethnic bigots who sees nothing good about Obasanjo. Honest men and women should henceforth tell Obasanjo that he needs not the voice of Jacob or the visions of Daniel to decline to contest. Let him know that those who edges him on wants his destruction.

Those Obasanjo's cheer leaders: purveyors of emotional insanity with no scintilla of honor are Nigeria's tragedy. I must confess that I find it hard to tolerate less alone admire the celebration of vice especially from those who hide behind the vestments of patriotism and national unity to commit atrocities against our fatherland. How tragically ironic that our leaders whom the country have done so much for are the ones pulling the country back from greatness. After all, much is expected from those much have been given.

Take the case of Mr. Jerry Gana. This "patriot" was the Director-General of MAMSER under Babangida. He "served" the country very well. In a call to patriotic duty, he offered his services to Ernest Shonekan-the Interim Head of Government. Let us not forget that he was a prominent member of the SDP that won a free and fair election that Babangida annulled. When Abacha took over power following the "resignation" of Ernest Shonekan, he positioned himself obediently and was rewarded with the Agriculture Ministry. When serving Abacha, in accordance with the dictates of that time, he labeled Babangida's regime  the "most corrupt "in Nigeria's history. As a good democrat, he castigated and even threatened the arrest of Shehu Musa Yar'Adua for advocating for a return to democratic rule. As soon as Abacha dropped him from his cabinet, he strategically moved to align himself with G34 that asked Abacha to hand over power. Castigate him not. It was not until he was removed from Abacha's government that he began to see that Abacha was evil and was bent on destroying himself and the country.

Now, Jerry Gana is back to the Information Ministry as Honorable Minister. His most important portfolio, if  I should say is: "OPP"-that is-"Obasanjo's prayer partner". And it was written that "Jesus wept"! Question: What will Mr. Jerry Gana say when Obasanjo decides to seek re-election? I bet, he will say"....Our political system should be allowed to mature. I strongly support as most Nigerians do, Mr. President's decision to contest. It is a patriotic sacrifice on his part"! What did Gana do or say when Abacha imprisoned Obasanjo? Another interesting personality pressurizing Obasanjo to contest is MR. Tony Annenih. Remember him? He was the Chairman of the SDP that sold June12 elections to the military. He is of course a founding and loyal member of the Yar'adua's political school. He is presently the Honorable Minister of Works and Housing. He is variously known as "Mr. Fix It" or "The bulldozer". This man is a practical politician. He had said that"...Aso rock is not vacant". During the constitutional conference under Abacha, he was the man that thwarted the 1996 military exit date when he moved a motion against setting a definite time for the military to vacate office and allow democracy. Do not forget that he was the same man that earlier proposed the 1996 exit date for Abacha at the conference. He is now Obasanjo's most trusted confidant! Question What will he say when Obasanjo gives the green light?. He will surely say: "I have assured  Mr. President that the South South zone is solidly behind him to continue the good work he is doing for our country. We will support him fully to complete all his laudable programme initiated during our first term." Where was Annenih when Obasanjo and Yar'Adua were jailed? What did he do to free his political godfather -Yar'adua? What will he do when Obasanjo lands himself in trouble when his second term in office is nearing completion? If he does not find himself too old, he will again search for a new benefactor.

Whatever "gra-gra" Orji Kalu may be doing now, please do not bet your kobo on him. The moment Obasanjo declares his interest, he would say:"...People do not understand that my disagreement with President Obasanjo is not personal. I have spoken to him and I am happy that he  understands our cries of marginalization. He has promised to continue to address the infrastructure inadequacy in the East. I will fully support him". In any case, in the unlikely event that Kalu refuses to lead the chorus, then, that bicycle man-I mean: Ojo Madueke, Mbadinuju, Udenwa, Nzeribe, Ezeife, Onu,Emeka Offor, Nnamani, Ugochukwu, Nwobodo, Anyim and a host of other prominent Easterners will be ready to offer their services to Obasanjo. My advise to Obasanjo is to quickly contact Daniel Kanu to provide him with the list of men of "timber" and "caliber" from the East that attended Abacha's two million man match. They would of course shout: "Obasanjo kwenu"!,"Yah""Kwezuenu.."!Nna ,It is a matter of cash! He needs not bother about Emeka Ojukwu who, for whatever reason, has never won an election. After all, all those he supports always lose. Ask Saraki, Tofa, and etc about his electoral value.

Nigerians are very sanguine. So we expect Babangida to oppose Obasanjo? No way! Did he oppose Abacha when he uprooted his (IBB) structural legacies or when he sacked all his boys from the Armed Forces? He could not! In fact, I understand  that he supported vigorously Abacha's self succession bid. Will he dare Obasanjo? Never! He will say:"...I have said time without number that I will not contest against Obasanjo. Those of us who have been privileged to rule the country are aware that the job of the President is a difficult job. I think he is doing a wonderful job. I will support him  because he is the only man that can keep the country united". Coded message to IBB boys, "drop your weapons! The boss has spoken!" And the traditional rulers and Leaders of Thought? All the way for Obasanjo! I pity Gani Fawehinmi. Let him know that the  OPC boss-Frederick Fasheun will slap him so hard that he will faint should he try to oppose the new "Asiwaju" of Yorubaland! I sympathize with Rimi and Wada Nas. Their colleagues in Arewa Forum as usual, will hide under the canopy of national unity in declaring support for Obasanjo. Watch out for prominent Arewa citizens like Lawal Kaita, Ahmed Joda, Adamu Ciroma and a host of others. They will denounce the Arewa group as "a conglomerate of APP members, those that destroyed the North and failed politicians".

Give your sympathy to Abraham Adesanya  when you see him because he will have no choice but to drop any opposition to Obasanjo else he would be toppled by either Tinubu or Lamidi Adesina or the Yoruba Council of Elders. What will Adesanya say? He will say"...The man has said he would contest. The question does not arise whether Afenifere or Yorubas will support Obasanjo. When we get to the bridge we will cross it. We have not decided to support or not to support him. We will make our decision public after our meeting in Ijebu-Igbo this weekend". What do you expect? If I am wrong with the above analysis ,let me persist in my paranoid delusions. I endorse freedom over fear. There is no man made by God that is indispensable. Obasanjo's second term: Outrageous? Horrifying? Pleasant? Please! Have we become so accepting of aberrant behaviors because of our fear of political incorrectness? You bet! I affirm that the currency of politics should be ideas and not money or intimidation or timidity. Our political choices should not be between bad and bad but between good and bad. It cannot be denied that there are no morals in Nigerian politics but as Confucius said"To see what is right and not to do it is a want of courage", I agree no less.

ADDENDUM: Have you asked your neigbhour why Nigerian musicians are brothers to our politicians? When Obasanjo was jailed, I doubt if any musician sang or asked for his release. Now that he is President, what are their records blaring? If you have time, ask for the record Ayinde Marshall released after Obasanjo was sworn in as President. Ask your friends if they have Ayinde Barrister's record that he waxed for Obasanjo. If you do not understand Yoruba, please ask someone to interpret the songs for you. Please have a very good laugh when listening to the music! Why am I opposed to Obasanjo's candidature? Firstly, those who supports him and are urging him on wants his destruction for their very selfish reasons. I wish him  no ill as his sycophants do. I want him to go and enjoy his retirement. Secondly, he will be setting a bad precedent for future incumbent Presidents not to leave with their honor when they have failed to improve the living conditions of Nigerians. Democracy can never grow in such  circumstances.

I am therefore appealing to Olusegun Okikiola Aremu Mathew Obasanjo, the Jagunmolu of Egbaland and the Balogun of Owu, Abeokuta to tell those sycophants that it is not his "will" to go for second term. Let him ask them if they will be there for him during the period of difficulties. Will they not deny him that they do not know him again when the time comes? Run, Obasanjo run! Please keep running!!