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Red
Carpet For The Coup Plotters
By
Hakeem
Babalola
Leadership
in
Nigeria
has become something of a joke. Although Joking is
not bad in its beauty form provided it’s not expensive one. For
example, it’s funny and laughable to hear the joke about the giraffe
with a sore throat. But to hear a story credited to one Tanko Ayuba,
former military governor of Kaduna State that “the coming back of Gen.
Babangida should be seen as a blessing to Nigerians because of his past
achievements which are second to none in the history of governance in
Nigeria,” has gone beyond a joke.
First,
we need to remind Sycophant Tanko Ayuba that if
Nigeria
were
Ghana
and Baba Obasanjo were Jerry Rawlings, the likes of
Babangida would be lined up one by one and executed. But Nigerians are
not radical by nature, and the main reason why Tanko Ayuba’s hero
could still be roaming our street with the pride of a locust. The main
reason why the Minna born coup plotter could still be flashing his
deceitful gap tooth, ready to take us for another eight year’s ride to
perdition. Ayuba ranted and raved about June 12, 1992 election, saying
“the main actor of the controversy, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida is set to
release a “bombshell” on brains behind the annulment” (Vanguard,
June 15, 2004). Isn’t this a singularly brilliant and cunning
manoeuvre on Ayuba’s part? All
I can tell Ayuba and other coup plotters jostling to rule us again is
that Nigerians now know they achieved their original dominance by
stealth. We now know they are tigers creeping towards their victims. We
now know they are men of diabolical cunning. Nigerians now know that the
Obasanjo’s, Babangida’s, Buhari’s, Ayuba’s are nothing but
parasite that kills trees. We now know they love
Nigeria
but not Nigerians. They love
Nigeria
simply because it suits their pockets. They love
Nigeria
because they hate Nigerians. Since independence,
these coup plotters have yet to come up with genuine policy other than
lies upon lies. And now, they want to exploit the sweat of the
progressives – democrazy (sorry, I mean democracy). Who is going to
deliver us from these evil minds? Nobody. The only magic that would
release Nigerians from the bondage is the MASSES. I repeat, we, the
masses must know that our destiny is in our own hands. No one will fight
for us. We must stop our hopeless hope, and face the reality of the
moment; that leadership in
Nigeria
has become something of a joke. Tell me, what kind
of man went to a party while his roof engulfed in fire? Nigerian
president, Olusegun Obasanjo had such audacity when he left for
America
the same day the toothless dog called NLC (Nigeria
Labour Congress) was barking. Yet the same Obasanjo repeatedly said he
could die for
Nigeria
. Well, dying for
Nigeria
isn’t the same as dying for Nigerians. It is
imperative for me to state here that, the most tragic moment in the life
of a citizen is when its government uses the instrument of State to
exploit her, and yet remains in silence. Isn’t it apparent these coup
plotters are the guinea worm randomly killing us? Or are we still as
flat as a warming pan, and know no more about their deceit, than any
oyster does about life?
But
who bred these coup plotters? How did the maggot get inside a nut?
Whoever responsible either implicitly or explicitly is as guilty. And we
are all to be held responsible. From the press that did not possess
enough foresight to have detected what the coup plotters were up to at
the early stage; to our intellectuals who served under them; to the
gullible masses who did not and still do not know when to say enough is
enough; to our elder statesmen who visited Dodan Barracks to pay them a
courtesy visit; to the pathos of honouring Murtala Muhammed, another
coup plotter, with his face in our currency as well as naming airport
after him. These were the simple gestures of coup approval, which
probably inspired younger officers like Babangida and co. Sometimes I
wonder why we admire Murtala Muhammed and sternly rebuke other coup
plotters. Perhaps Nigerians don’t really care about the nature of
coming to power rather the government’s achievements during the tenure
of office. Anyway it shows we are all humans who can be carried along by
the tide of the moment. But I believe in forgiveness provided there’s
remorse, and not the way most coup plotters are now parading themselves
as if they were saints when at the elm of affairs. People like Babangida
will do himself and Nigerians in general – a big favour – if he just
maintains a low profile life. The man needs to tender a sincere apology
to the nation and Nigerians in general. And of course he would be
forgiven since, according to one Hannah Arendt, forgiveness is the key
to action and freedom. The man should even consider himself lucky since
no one can bring him to justice even though Obasanjo promised Nigerians
of transparency and accountability. One thing is sure: The disease in
the land cannot be abated until people like Babangida made to face
criminal prosecution. What we have failed to realize is the
psychological thought of the assemblymen or senators or governors or
councilors. Whether we can prove it or not, Nigerians know that
Babangida looted the treasury during his tenure of office. So, many
public officials see the ex-general, as the quintessence of corruption,
therefore if no one can touch him, where is the truth in curbing
corruption in the land? If Babangida is above the law, so could the
senators or governors or assemblymen or councilors or even civil
servants.
Upon
their personal traits that had made them unpopular, the coup plotters
are still much around disguising under democratic dispensation. That is
why they need “errand boy” Ayuba to distort history. Hear the
image-maker selling the ex-general. Said Ayuba, “very soon, and I mean
very soon, IBB will come out to name the Southerners, especially the
Yorubas who insisted the election should be annulled”. Fine, let him
talk but the bottom line is for him never to assume the “ruler-ship”
of our country. Period. Although Ayuba thinks he’s doing image making
but eventually has succeeded in damage making. This time around they
have scored own goal. The inept image-maker claimed Babangida was
pressurized to annul a free and fair election (that is how the experts
described1993 election in
Nigeria
) by group of powerful people. So what does this
indicate? By listening to them, IBB clearly showed his true colour. It
simply means Minna born soldier respected the opinion of the aristocrats
than the voice of the populace. See, by their own mouths shall they
destroy themselves. My fear is how the market woman would be able to see
this incongruity. Ayuba should know that a man never discloses his own
character so clearly as when he describes another’s. But wait a
minute, for my intuition is telling me Babangida might rule Nigerians
again – and the thought sickens me. This is the master plan the coup
plotters have insidiously imposed on us. Just think about it. Remember,
when the heat was too much for him after annulling what observers termed
as free and fair election in the history of
Nigeria
, Babangida “stepped aside” and installed a
figurehead by name of one Earnest Sonekan. The appointment of the latter
calmed us down probably because he is a Southerner and from Abiola’s
tribe. Oh, the man had dribbled us again and scored a fantastic goal.
The opposition should have refused the interim government; after all,
the issue at stake was not about relinquishing power, but the fact that
Nigerians had been deprived of our choice of a leader. In retrospect,
the trouble with National Democractic Coalition (NADECO) was its half
fought battle. As I begin to discern the whole episode, I can now see
that, for the opposition, the chase was more thrilling than holding on
to the struggling catch called the power of success. After chasing the
man away, the opposition was unable to pursue it further, or so they
thought it was an achievement to at least made him relinquish power?
Moreover,
we should not have allowed the late dark goggle to remain behind. We
should have demanded for a major constitutional change, which has been
polluted by the coup plotters. We should have banned all coup plotters
from participating in Nigerian elections. That was when we should have
started afresh, paving way for our own velvet revolution. If we had
stood our ground, the gap-toothed general and his notorious followers
would by now in seclusion. Ah, how can it be that the same coup plotters
and their cohorts are the ones benefiting from everything we fought for?
In fact, Chief C.C. Onoh, Second Republic governor of old Anambra State,
“is dead sure that former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi
Babangida (rtd) will replace president Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd) in 2007
(The Sun June, 21, 2004). What shall we do?
Perhaps
Nigeria
needs to introduce ostracism, the institution that
one Cleisthenes is said to have introduced in
Athens
, whereby the city for a temporary period expelled
those of its citizens whose superiority was such that there was a danger
of it exposing the city to divine vengeance in the form of tyranny. Even
Buhari, another coup plotter is hoping to be given red carpet like his
comrade now in power, Olusegun Obasanjo. Listen to his own blasphemy:
“I’ll soon replace Obasanjo as president”. If you still can’t
see that leadership in
Nigeria
has become something of a joke, then you are one of
the gullible ones. And I don’t pity you anymore. However my question
is this: Where is the real opposition? At the moment,
Nigeria
lacks a formidable opposition. This is another
reason why the coup plotters are still in the picture of “Nigerian
Political Enterprise”. And in the absence of such opposition, I am
afraid we might be plunging into the abyss of one party state. The
horror of such thought overwhelms me. This is why Nigerians United for
Democracy led by Chief Anthony Enahoro; Citizen’s group led by
Prof.Wole Soyinka and other similar groups must come together
irrespective of their differences. I am aware they are already fighting
SNC battle, and I wish them well. But they must not let the government
group dampen their spirits. They must be careful so that the
unprogressive elements would not beat them in their own game. They
should know there is no dignity in half won battle. This time around
it’s total victory. They should look out for the enemy within who
might be a spy for the government. They should not repeat the mistake of
1993 whereby NADECO left the battle unfinished. Above all, the principle
of activity should be non-violence because, according to Mahatman
Gandhi, victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it
is momentary. Our elders must correct the mistake of the past.
What
I would like the opposition to embark on in addition to their current
agitation for Sovereign National Conference (SNC) is programmes design
to mobilize the entire nation, especially the illiterates and uneducated
among us. Nigerians need to be enlightened on how to choose beneficial
candidates. We need to implement some grass root techniques to bring
awareness to the poverty-stricken and downtrodden masses, who I think do
not understand their voting rights. This group of eminent Nigerians
should take it upon themselves by coming out in full force so as to
prevent the handling of power to the least qualified candidate in
replica of 1979, when the same Obasanjo handed power to Alhaji Sheu
Shagari. I suggest this method simply because the ruling class will not
surrender its wealth and power willingly. It is up to us to amass
whatever in our disposal against these coup plotters who are extremely
resistant to positive change. Anything sort of this would be like
rolling a red carpet for the most callous and unrepentant coup plotters.
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