Mr. President, Consider the Allegations Against You Serious

By

Olisa Adigwe

oadigwe@yahoo.com

During his travail in the Senate Dr. Chuba Okadigbo thought that the Senators can not be serious in their motion to remove him as Senate President.  He had good reasons, afterall he was a charismatic and arguable a popular Senate President.  The national legislators have just removed both the former Senate President and the Speaker of the House and therefore removing another Senate President will not bring honors to members of the upper house.  As serious as the charges of corruption against him were, he felt that those charges could not stand in a court of law.  He was ready to present his defense and wanted to persuade the nation that it was all politics and that the President has not hidden his disdain of him.

Once on order from the highest executive officer of the nation Dr. Chuba Okadigbo's house was raided by armed police force in their effort to recover the Senate maze.  The public condemned the actions of the police and the executive for highhandedness in their effort to intimidate and embarrass the Senate Leader. The national atmosphere was charged and some Senators who witnessed the large contingent of the police force detailed to recover the maze thought that a coup has been staged and they scampered for cover in various places. 

In an interview carried on the Nigerian Television Authority station it became clear that Dr. Okadigbo was not taking the actions of the Senators seriously as he should, he gave answers that were tentative and unpersuasive.   His lack of serious attention to serious charges of impropriety and corruption sealed his doom and subsequently he was removed as the Senate President.

President Obasanjo is now treading on the same dangerous ground amid serious charges of incompetence, abuse of power and failing to prevent corruption. Obasanjo's response was that it was a joke.  "Fellow countrymen and women, although I had described the events of the last two weeks as a joke, maybe I need to add that it was a joke taken a little bit too far", Obasanjo stated in his last national broadcast in response to the charges.

Still the President has failed to get it.  Charges of incompetence is not a joking matter, it is a serious issue especially against the Chief Executive of a nation.  The issue of abuse of power has brought down the chief executives of many nations and therefore is a very serious allegation against you, Mr. President. And failing to prevent corruption is another big and serious charge.

All together the House has articulated very serious allegations which should have profound implications for Chief Obasanjo's Presidency.  During his inauguration in May 1999 he promised Nigerians an end to business as usual, promised better life for all Nigerians, promised an end to power shortages, promised the rebuilding of our infrastructure, promised to curb corruption and pledged that there would be no sacred cow.

That speech was well received within Nigeria and abroad.  President Clinton told Obasanjo when he visited Nigeria that he stayed up late at night just to listen to that speech.  In Nigeria, there was great euphoria.  In a show of national solidarity and hope for a better tomorrow Nigerians coalesced behind Obasanjo's leadership.  Even those who voted against him felt they made a mistake.  There was hope in the air.  There was a feeling that Obasanjo who was once a head of state, a retired military officer, a prisoner during Abacha's administration and a free man, has gone through an unprecedented arc in Nigeria public life that uniquely qualified him to lead Nigeria into the twenty first century.

Even those who may have harbored any contrary opinion of his ability to lead also wanted to give him the benefit of doubt. Obasanjo assembled a team of veteran politicians in his administration including the ubiquitous Mr. Fix it, Chief Tony Anenih. Soon it became obvious that there was a sacred cow with Obasanjo's staunch defense of Babangida against accusations of corruption or insinuations of a probe in regard to Babangida's considerable wealth.

Still Nigerians gave Obasanjo the benefit of doubt and allowed him to perform and bring smiles to their faces.  The first crack was immediately observed when the late former minister of steel and power made an ill advised pronouncement regarding consigning the nation's electricity problems to the past within one year of Obasanjo's administration.  That did not happen.  And Obasanjo continued to demonstrate a lack of sufficient understanding of the NEPA problems by making another round of promises, he also failed to deliver within the stipulated time.

Meanwhile poverty continues to ravage many households.  It is estimated that 70 million Nigerians are very poor.  Nigeria is divided between two distinct classes - the rich and the poor.   The middle class (a group normally associated with economic progress in any nation) continues to dwindle.  The nation's productivity rate is down, inflation is up and climbing. Naira value continues to depreciate, unemployment is high, corruption is still very high (given lie to anti corruption crusade embarked on by this administration), the national infrastructures continue to deteriorate.  In face of all these monumental national issues Obasanjo has continued to advance the wrong priorities.  He felt that one solution for the nation is to build a national stadium at Abuja.  Does it make sense?  If you are hungry perhaps you could slake your empty stomach by watching a good game at the stadium (if the stadium will ever be completed).  I have my doubts.

Rubbing shoulders with other world leaders continues to dominate the psychology of Mr. President.  He has spent one third of his time in office junketing around the world against the loud protestations of the Nigerian Legislators and the Nigerian people.  Our President is not a listening President. You can protest as much as you want but Obasanjo will do what Obasanjo feels like doing not necessarily in fostering national interest.

Even more embarrassing was that the President had signed budgets for 2000, 2001, 2002 but has yet to fully implement them.  He selectively implements the appropriation of the budget and uses it as a political tool.  For those programs that he likes he would fund and starve others of fund even though he consented to the overall budget.

The President has no fiscal discipline.  He spends like a drunken sailor.  For those programs that he loves he will open up flood-gate of funds.  The legislators have been unable to restrain his spending spree.  Mr. President totally ignores the input and consent of the legislators with reference to extra budgetary allocation.   He conveys the feeling that democracy or not, he can still run an autocratic administration.  Obasanjo runs a big government and spends too much.

Important reforms are necessary in order to reduce the size of the federal government and make it more efficient and more responsive to the needs of the people.  It amazes me that Obasanjo's government is not doing that.   Now he has lost time and a great deal of momentum he had at the beginning of his administration and even if somehow he was reelected he can not be able to start over doing today what he could have done yesterday.  It was a great opportunity missed.

Some commentators have issued various threats if ever Obasanjo is ultimately impeached in this saga.  But those threats are unnecessary and premature because this is Nigeria where the best is impossible and the worst rarely happens.  Obasanjo can not be impeached although his presidency has numerous flaws and those flaws are not irredeemable.  Humbled by this impeachment palaver, is it possible that a new and improved President Obasanjo will emerge?

Therefore it is refreshing that Obasanjo is rolling up his sleeves to respond to all the serious allegations against his presidency.  The more seriously he considers those allegations and responds to them accordingly the better chance he will have to salvage this administration.  Otherwise 'no do no do' his presidency would be history.  Still Nigeria 'go' survive.

That's my thrust.

Olisa Adigwe

Lowell, Massachusetts