Is Obasanjo Going The Abacha Way

Is Obasanjo Going The Abacha Way?

Abdu Isa Kofarmata

“WE WILL SURELY SHOW THEM OUR SIGN IN THE HORIZONS, UNTIL IT IS CLEAR TO THEM THAT IT IS THE TRUTH”…… AL QUR’AN.

After the dissolution of his first federal cabinet in 1995, late General Sani Abacha was held hostage by some unpatriotic, selfish and political opportunists. He was caged in the presidential villa and was told and lectured daily about the favor he was doing to Nigerians and all the good things about his style of leadership. He was daily, begged by those self- seeking elites to continue as civilian president in order to save Nigeria from disintegration and possible collapse.

The activities of these disgruntled elements of the popular AGIP party (Any Government in Power), started immediately after the constitutional conference of 1995. Notable individuals in this tazarce vanguard were professor Jerry Gana (the rat), Toney Aneneih (Mr. fix it), Abdullahi Adamu (sarkin yakin Otta), Ojo Madueke etc. While people like Daniel Kanu were busy organizing the two million man- march to pressurize the late General to continue as civilian president, the above named people took the campaign across the Atlantic, where they organized public lectures in different cities across Europe and America to convince the world about the need and importance of the late Abacha to continue, and that without Abacha, there would be no Nigeria again.

Within the short period of the commencement of this unholy and unpatriotic campaign, the General lost his eldest son through a plane crash. The presidential plane crashed in and Kano killed all the passengers on board. Among the victims was the younger brother of Obasanjo’s close business associate today, Alhaji Bello Dangote.

It was not long after the plane crash that the five registered political parties adopted the late General as their consensus candidate. The UNCP, DPN, CP, CNC and GDM combined together to present the late General as their flag bearer. The founding members of the popular AGIP party, Professor Gana, Madueke and Abdullahi Adamu were busy perfecting plans and strategizing the tazarce project, while the present Kirikiri landlord, Maj. Hamza Al’Mustapha guaranteed the uninterrupted cash supply. It was also at this stage that the late General lost one of his dear military administrators, Colonel Abdullahi Wase together with his childhood friend Alhaji vice Adamu in another plane crash, this time in Jos, Plateau state capital.

All these warnings and clear writings on the wall were unable to guide and restrain the late General and his teeming sycophants from their unholy campaign for tazarce until we woke up one morning and found Abacha dead on his bed without a single shot. “Surely, Allah guides not the people that are cruel.

At the time when majority of Nigerians were battling with abject poverty and hunger and were adjusting their daily feeding formula to conform to reality, the late General sons and daughters were busy junketing the globe with multi-million petrol-dollars and buying expensive estates in choice cities of Europe and America.

At that time, Allah in his infinite wisdom handed over the mantle of leadership to his (Abacha’s) very first and worst enemy. General Abacha died in 1998, and by 2000 his eldest surviving son was already in Kirikiri maximum prison. Since then, the most frequent newspaper headlines had been “Swiss bank to return Abacha’s loot”, “$250 million Abacha’s loot arrive Nigeria tomorrow” etc, etc.

We can therefore conveniently and without fear of contradiction, assume that history is repeating itself perfectly. It seems as well that those self- seeking elites that surrounded the late Abacha and now surrounding Obasanjo, are yet to learn from history and can hardly see the “sign in the horizons.”

Mr. Obasanjo, who was convicted and condemned by military tribunal for his involvement in the coup to topple the late General, was invited from prison by a section of some corrupt northern military leaders, whom by virtue of their past atrocities against this nation, felt it was fair to shift power to the southwest of the Niger. This, according to their belief, would go along way in pacifying the people of the area for what they had done to them.

As soon as he was sworn in as president, Mr. Obasanjo declared openly that whoever invested in his presidency should consider that as bad investment. As man proposes, God disposes, Ghali Umar Na’Abba was brought from nowhere and in the first four years of Obasanjo’s presidency, God rendered him useless and impotent through the Speaker. The situation remained so until 2003 when Obasanjo and his sycophants joined forces together to ensure the defeat of the Right Honorable, Na’Abba.

Those disgruntled and undesirable Nigerian elites of the popular AGIP party reorganized and represented themselves to Mr. Obasanjo in just the same way and manner they did to Abacha. Professor Jerry Gana and his associates were at the political reform conference trying to smuggle the president’s third term agenda, while Ojo Madueke and Colonel Ahmadu Ali in collaboration with some corrupt senators, were busy planning how to amend the 1999 constitution to allow Mr. Obasanjo to rule Nigeria for life. One can see the similarities between what Daniel Kanu of YEAA did in 1997 and what Senator Ibrahim Mantuwa is presently busy doing. Senator Mantu has since abandoned and forgotten his constitutional responsibility of law making to indulged in the organization of series of meetings and consultations to perfect the presidential plan of tazarce.

Similarly, it is disheartening to know that, at the time when Nigerian masses were dying of hunger, principally caused by incessant increases in the pump price of petroleum products, serious neglect of education and health care services as well as complete lack of purposeful leadership, the wife of Mr. Obasanjo was announced dead for indulging in that kind of vanity. She was reported to have been indulged in spending huge amount of our money to resurrect and re-shaped her 60year old fallen breast. This is very unfair and unfortunate especially to the suffering masses of this country.

Definitely, her death and that of his (Obasanjo’s) front Alhaji Waziri Kyari should serve as lessons and God’s sign for Mr. Obasanjo to retract his steps. The death of Waziri in that plane crash, if our memory is to remain refreshed, is similar to the disaster that killed Colonel Wase. Many people believe that as that Jos plane crash was to Abacha so was the Belleview plane crash to Obasanjo. Therefore, it is obvious to assume that all the calamities that befell Abacha up to the time of his demise, are clearly manifesting themselves to Obasanjo. Should Obasanjo insist and continue to follow and heed to the advice of those prophets of doom around him, (God forbid), we would one day wake up before 2007 without him, and the mantle of leadership will surely fall in the hands of his staunch enemy, who will one day jail Olugbenga or Olumuyiwa. It will be a new dawn for the press to emerge with new captions; Obasanjo’s loot…...

We need to, also, at this time remind ourselves how Abacha executed the nine Ogonis and compare that with the mass murder of innocent lives at Udi and Zaki biam towns by Obasanjo. Similarly, we should remember how innocent lives were lost through the government sponsored bomb blasts during Abacha, and the thousand lives that died through the activities of OPC in Lagos, Shagamu etc as aided and abetted by the government of Obasanjo. These entire corresponding episodes can not be mere coincidence, and can not simply be waved by a hand. A word is enough for the wise.

FROM ABACHA’S LOOT TO STELLA’S LOOT!

As soon as the late General Sani Abacha died and was buried in Kano, his successor, General Abdulsami Abubakar, initiated investigations into the financial activities of the departed General. When Obasanjo came in, in May, 1999, he happily continued from where General Abubakar stopped. Since then it has been common news and headlines in Nigeria’s dailies to read thus; Swiss bank to return Abacha’s loot, FG receives $600 million Abacha’s loot, etc, etc….

With the demise of Chief (Mrs.) Stella Obasanjo and the information or rather rumor coming out from the presidency and the Spanish hospital where she died, it is obvious that we would likely have new headlines coming our ways like; “Spanish hospital returned $240 million to FG through EFCC,” “$40 million cash was found under Stella’s hospital bed,” “Spanish police intercept $20 million transfer to unnamed account in US,” “Stella’s eldest son to loose his estate to Nigerian government in US.” This may probably be possible when Obasanjo and Nuhu Ribadu are no more occupying their offices. One good thing about Nigeria is that whatever goes round comes around. These are good lessons for the wise to learn.