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That Charlatans May Rule Us By Terkura Aku, Esq
They came with their garbs, each a specialist on his hype, singing discordant tunes, a cacophony of voices that sought to mobilize our support for a cause they believe in. the battle is the 2007 general elections, the enemy, the 3rd Term agenda, in particular, one man, who has chosen to play mute, his melodies being sounded out by loud mouth prodigies, who, a few years ago were bitter opponents of a dictatorship that sought to perpetuate itself in power. The battle field was Nigeria’s political arena, the prize – Aso Rock Villa. They came at different times, singing their different tunes, but all with one ambition –
To be lords over a hundred million citizens who do not demand for accountability from their rulers on how they spend the fortune the country made from selling 1.5 billion barrels of oil daily is a tempting offer few men could resist. Who would not like to take charge of a debt-free nation with vast opportunities for growth? Who would not like to preside over a country predicted to be among the top twenty world economies in about fifteen to twenty years? With three terms of office being contemplated, a winner of such presidency stands the chance of making it to this glorious period. Who would say no to ruling a country where all one would need to do was to distribute ‘ghana-must go’ to his National Assembly each time they are broke and threaten an impeachment?
Will it be IBB, or Marwa or Buhari, all retired military officers? Perhaps the ‘bloody civilians’- Audu Ogbeh, the immediate past chairman of the PDP or Abubakar Rimi, Sani Yerima, or even Atiku Abubakar, the Vice President.
Before Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s bombshell last week, where he took a swipe at “they” over the issue of the 3rd Term, the race for the 2007 presidential was unclear. Speculations as to who would run for the hot seat were rife but there was no clear picture of any candidates in sight. Images of ‘men walking like trees’ dotted the political landscaper in shadowy tones.
Buba Marwa, a retired Brigadier General and former military governor presented the clearest picture of a presidential hopeful, until this was ruthlessly smeared by the EFCC (we all remember what happened). Following closely in clarity was his superior and compatriot from the old brigade – Muhammadu Buhari and his unending presidential ambition.
Buhari never believed he had completed his tenure as Head of State before he was evacuated from Dodan barracks. He was in charge there only twenty months, a time he considered not long enough in the hall of fame of Nigeria’s past heads of government. Twenty months placed him two spots off the bottom of the table, and in premier league parlance, that makes one a relegation favourite. Buhari certainly does not like that. But he punctuated his political balloon when he urged Muslims not to vote for a Christian president in 2003. Perhaps he thought he would never seek for Christian votes again in the country?
The biggest and the most feared in the race is IBB, who was at one time rumoured to be among the top 20 richest men in the world and unarguably among the top 5 in Africa. He retired from the army a full General and stepped aside from being Head of State, though he preferred to be referred to as ‘president’- an illegitimate title that dishonoured the uniform of a noble profession. As full General, assuming he was entitled to a salary of two million in a year, and allowances that bring up his total emoluments to five million naira, and if he worked for 35 years without spending a kobo, he would be 175million naira rich at the end of his service, plus being Head of State, he might come up to a healthy 500 million naira. If translate to dollars, this would barely be 5million dollars. Certainly, the world was not that poor – that a five million dollar man should make its top 20 richest men’s chart!
Now, IBB never explained how he got to be on that chart. Some had speculated that he did some ‘maradona’ with our Gulf War oil windfall in 1991. I’m not sure about that, bit I’m sure he was never a business man and I’m certain he institutionalized corruption in Nigeria. IBB was also credited with the most painful political experience this country ever went through. He annulled the June 12th election of 1992, unarguably Nigeria’s fairest and truest election. Was the whole exercise a charade that Abiola saw through, which destabilized IBB’s plans? Why did IBB’s military junta, notorious for disregarding court orders, take seriously ABN’s court injunction seeking to stop the elections? Was there a deal between IBB and Arthur Nzeribe, present day Mr. controversial senator? Only posterity will reveal these answers. But the point of concern is that IBB’s action plunged this country into ‘near anarchy’ and stepped aside, rather reluctantly. 2007 presents him with another opportunity; supposedly, to conclude what he considered was aborted.
Against popular opinion, IBB collected the IMF loan to fund his SAP programme, which sapped the remaining naira out of citizen’s pockets and conveniently/effectively positioned Nigeria at the top chart of the world’s poorest countries. When IBB reluctantly stepped aside in 1993, Nigeria’s external debt stood between 28 – 32 billion dollars. Now with Nigeria’s rising fortune in oil, her foreign reserves has soared to an all time high of 34 billion dollars, and with no debts to be servicing or pay at all, the Aso Rock Villa represents the most lucrative prospects of regaining one’s position on the top 20 chart of the world’s richest men. Corruption has been on the downward trend for some time now. This was now based on popular opinion, but based on Transparency International’s rating, thanks to the effort of this Administration, through EFCC. IBB, who institutionalized this evil, want s to come back again, to revive a demon that is dying.
Never before had riots in our universities been rampant like during the IBB years. For a while now, we’ve had some respite from these, not that the system is working. This does not appear to please men like the evil genius.
The circumstances surrounding the C130 Hercules plane crash that killed over a hundred military officers in 1992 has never been completely unravelled. Dele Giwa’s murder still remains a mystery. IBB’s refusal to honour the invitation to appear before the Oputa Panel in 2001 was not only a ‘slap’ on the face of Nigerians but a blatant disregard to the rule of law. Now that the Presidential elections of 2007 are drawing bearer, he is gearing up to contest and he feels it is time to ask for our votes, the same people he despised, on the premise that he is ‘untouchable’, not answerable to anyone in the land. We would be the biggest fools to give him that mandate!
Alhaji Sani Yerima, the Sharia merchant, has shown more than a passing interest in OBJ’s job, but what does he want to offer us? He should know that none of us would give him the mandate to impose sharia, his version of it, on us! We have seen how he has implemented it in his beloved Zamfara State. And this does not arouse our envy one bit. Perhaps his counterpart from the South East – Orji Uzo Kalu, governor of Abia State, and the only governor with the guts to openly challenge baba. But I wonder what he wants to come and do in Aso Rock. A trip to Aba, the main commercial city of God’s own State, would tell the visitor everything about Uzo Kalu’s leadership prowess. With all their trading skills, Kalu has ‘traded’ his kinsmen out of development, leaving them wallowing in darkness for days on end. In Aba, the general parlance is ‘nothing dey work here’. The roads are a sorry sight, light is more or less paragraphs in history, and water – God help them on this one- someone once joked that Kalu apologized to the people that the lack of water in Abia State was because the lagoon has dried up. Well true or not, he didn’t have to go far. We all know life is ‘hell’ for his kinsmen merchants. May be Kalu hopes to expand his kingdom from Aso Rock.
The man, who has generated the current controversy, is Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Vice President and Chairman, National Economic Council. This position gave him control over the nation’s economic machinery, a role he rather performed dismally. During the first tenure of this Administration, President Obasanjo spent most of his time travelling from country to country, negotiating for debt relief or cancellation for Nigeria, while Atiku was fully in charge; we never felt the impact of his leadership. It is believed that Atiku is extremely wealthy, the source of which is unknown. What is known is that he retired from the Nigerian Customs Service in 1989 as a Deputy Director, a rank which could not afford the man a salary of over a million naira per annum. So how did he become so rich? We can understand his recently acquired riches – he was the chairman of the Privatisation programme of government. And we know what that means. I think it is worthwhile that Atiku explains to Nigerians the source of his wealth before the 2007 presidential elections. Moreover, he has never been a businessman.
In 2003, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in concert with Tony Anenih, orchestrated the massive rigging that characterized the general elections, where supposedly, the PDP won the majority. But Atiku has come out now to say, “there was no elections at all levels”. Is this not enough ground for Nigerians to reject such a man? If a man will support such illegality because it favoured his interest at the time and turn around to reject it when it doesn’t, what moral right would he have to challenge others in similar pursuit? What did he tell them when they brought their proposal for ‘selection’? Wasn’t he aware that they would one day demand for their pound of flesh?
I think the whole episode of his address to the 2007 Forum was a charade. I am not a supporter of 3rd term either, but the whole thing doesn’t seem right. The third term, in real terms, is not about Obasanjo as a person. It is about you and I, about our very survival. Given that the plot succeeds, Obasanjo would have just another four years, and after that, a ‘devil’ will take over, and believe me, with the crop of politicians we have now, we will be stuck with that devil for twelve years. The choice is ours therefore, on whether or not we will allow charlatans to rule us again.
Terkura Aku, Esq
Aku & Associates, 32, Busa Buji street, Jos
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