The Conflict of Greed and Vendetta

By

Anthony A. Akinola

 

 

The history of our nation suggests we cannot be unbothered onlookers when leaders at the apex of political governance choose to quarrel among themselves. This was one important point restated by Dr Reuben Abati in a recent article ("A Bolekaja Presidency ", The Guardian, 15 September 2006). There is a saying that "when two elephants fight it is the ground that suffers" and that is quite apt in the Nigerian society where personal disagreements between unprincipled political leaders could mean that death sentences have unwittingly been pronounced on innocent citizens north and south of the nation’s political divide.

 

The feud between Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, respectively leader and deputy leader of the defunct Action Group (AG), contributed significantly to the collapse of the First Republic (1960-1965). Similarly the fall of the Second Republic (1979-1983) cannot be competently explained without copious reference to the show of strength between Governor Michael Ajasin of Ondo State and his erstwhile deputy, Chief Akin Omoboriowo. The violence that greeted the outcome of the 1983 gubernatorial election results in the state – an election which had pitched Chief Ajasin and Chief Omoboriowo against one another in different political parties – could not but have encouraged the military in their conspiracy to overthrow the existing democratic order at the time they did.

 

The aforementioned historical debacles occurred in Yorubaland where no serious cleavages, be it that of ethnicity or religion, could be said to have been provoked, The same cannot be said of the ongoing disagreements between President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The rift between Obasanjo and Atiku can easily degenerate into ethnic or religious conflict not least because the two feuding superstars contradict one another along those lines. Of course one hopes it does not come to that but ours is nevertheless one nation where nothing can be taken for granted. Alhaji Balarabe Musa was quoted in a newspaper interview as urging Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to "return fire for fire" with President Obasanjo and such a militant encouragement or intervention cannot but be music to the ears of those wishing for the worst.

 

The sceptical observer of Nigerian politics would not be too impressed with President Obasanjo’s determination to get his deputy done for corruption, even though an accusation of corruption is one serious offence which must not be swept under the carpet. The sceptic will point to the fact that the relationship between Atiku and his boss has been anything but cordial. Atiku’s apparent opposition to President Obasanjo’s seeming ambition to elongate his tenure was quite evident to all. No matter the merit in President Obasanjo’s attempt to get Vice President Atiku impeached for corruption, the historical "third term" issue already has a polarising influence on the national psyche vis-à-vis the duo. Obasanjo’s dented credibility has been such that a seemingly popular opinion is that both he and Atiku no longer deserve their positions in the interest of peace and fair conduct of the impending 2007 national elections. They say both of them should be impeached.

 

The Obasanjo administration was spot on in identifying corruption as the most crippling problem of the Nigerian nation and therefore made a fight against it a major plank. The administration rightly instituted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) headed by the irrepressible and much admired Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu which, to a reasonable extent, has made a positive impact on the polity. It is not often that one finds President Obasanjo and Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) on the same side of the political fence but the latter has been unsurprisingly very supportive of the EFCC. Obasanjo can at least be assured that he has one institution in place which enjoys popular support.

 

However, the Obasanjo administration has let its members and the nation down in matters relating to their personal interests. The manner in which the Obasanjo/Atiku partnership was grabbing funds to prosecute the 2003 election was deplorable to say the least. Millions of naira were collected from sources that were classified as "anonymous". Both Obasanjo and Atiku have approved ownership of universities for themselves without the public being told how they intend to finance their gargantuan projects. The proposed Olusegun Obasanjo presidential library has amassed billions of naira from public and private donations, in a manner that raised questions about the President’s sense of discretion and propriety. President Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku have been busy washing their dirty linen in public and many say the nation will be cleaner for it.

 

Politics in Nigeria is big business in which the "have-nots" are meant to be mere onlookers. Elected office-holders have confessed publicly that they sold properties and borrowed heavily to acquire their exalted positions. The process of acquiring public position starts with securing party nominations and the fees placed on different categories of elected office vary. The system is so corrupt and corrupted that competence and good intentions offer little recommendation for an important office such as that of President or Governor. To be in contention in the real sense of it, one has to be very rich, or has a "god father" who bankrolls election expenses for their own selfish expectations. Those in office steal public money to consolidate their positions or acquire more prestigious offices.

 

Principally because of poverty, illiteracy and ignorance, a substantial number of Nigerians are easily attracted to the opportunistic generosity of corrupt politicians. They themselves become inadvertent participants in the national scam! Ordinarily, any Nigerian should feel insulted by any assumption or suggestion that his or her vote can be bought but the scale and nature of poverty in our society diminishes the self-pride of the individual. The assumption that the rich in a given community have been made to be what he or she is by God in order to cater for the poor, is something of a philosophical belief in some sections of our society. The democracy of equal human beings conflicts with a feudal culture where that equality is either denied or barely acknowledged. Nigeria’s "wretched of the earth" would rather take up arms in sympathy with corrupt politicians than fight to assert their own dignity.

 

The ERCC has proved to be a desired institution which can only be improved upon in the years ahead. Those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of our collective purse do so at the risk of losing their personal liberty. Politics should not be a commercial venture where the rich prosper but an arena where ideas compete for the uplifting of the Nigerian nation. Small men in oversized shoes do not have a conception of leadership and its place in history and that has been the tragedy of the Nigerian state.