Who Benefits from the Nigerian Political Stalemate?

By

Dr. Wunmi Akintide

 

President Obasanjo is always quick to claim that he was the very first Head of State in Nigeria to give us a smooth transition from one Government to another. The claim is based on his handing over to Shagari in 1979 when he fully complied with a plan put in place by his boss, the late Murtala Mohammed who had prepared a timetable for the nation, the very moment he seized power. He did so because part of his mission for leading the bloodless coup against Yakubu Gowon was his personal revulsion against the apparent inertia and the drift that our nation was in during the last few years of Gowon. I knew Murtala Mohammed. I served under him. He is so different from "Baba Iyabo" 

  

Those whose memories are not so short would vividly remember that Murtala had fanatically kept his promise, allowing the News Media, at the time, to closely monitor his agenda and to persistently do a checklist of what he had promised and his time frame for implementing all of them. It was a first in our history. Not even the most effective and benevolent democratic Government has succeeded in repeating the same precision and iron-clad commitment to a promise. 

   

If you don't believe me, check it out.. IBB had to be forced to quit or "step aside" after close to 9 years in office with a gun pointed to his head, so to speak. Obasanjo who had promised to serve only one term in 1999, had completely forgotten his promise when in 2003 he had to go on his knees begging his V.P. and his king makers in PDP not to hold him to his words. A year to the end of his second term the same Obasanjo had come out kicking and screaming for a third term on the pretext he wanted to consolidate his reforms in Government which is really one step forward and two steps backward for our country, if you factor in where we are today.

    

What have the reforms done for the common man on the street? Nothing. The poor people and the middle class are worse off today than they were when Obasanjo took office again in 1999. Power outages, petrol shortage, crimes, armed robberies, civil disobedience and assassination of political opponents have risen to a height that our nation can ill-afford. 

  

Two months to a general election, Obasanjo's attack dog of an EFCC led by Nuhu Ribadu, the last Saint in Nigeria, has taken over the role of the Courts thus destroying the separation of powers that has always been the hallmark of a vibrant democratic outfit any where in the world. Obasanjo is now the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary at the same time. He approbates and reprobates at the same time, and he is the only one left in Nigeria who knows what is best for our country.

     

If you are for Mr. President, you can get away with murder. If you are against him, you have no leg to stand on and can be indicted and guillotined or sent to the turkey farm like Audu Ogbe, Enwerem, Ngige, Ladoja, Okadigbo, Orji Uzor Kalu, IBB, Atiku Abubakar and now Olusegun Mimiko and so many others have found out. The sacred cows of Obasanjo know themselves. They include Olabode George, Sam Mba, Adedibu the strong man of Ibadan Politics, Tony Annenih, Olusegun Agagu, Governor Daniel and so many others in our country who are deemed to be above the Law because of their closeness and loyalty to the  Emperor. Six machines for cutting ballots were traced to the private house of Adedibu at Ibadan, but the IG Ehindero says there is nothing he can do about it unless he gets his clearance from Aso Rock. What a country! 

 

Nigeria is in a mess which could easily metamorphose into a quagmire in the remaining few months to the so-called elections in April or May, 2007. Obasanjo's INEC and his EFCC are causing and spreading so much confusion in our body politic as they issue and deny statements about who and who have been disqualified and who have not. 2 months to the election, the voters are still not sure of the validity of the voters registration and who is going to survive the Obasanjo's invisible sword of Damocles.

  

The Nigerian democracy has been reduced to a one man show in much the same way like Idi Amin had done in Uganda. We can excuse Idi Amin because he was a buffoon in uniform, and he never pretended he was a democrat. I am totally short of words to articulate what to say about Baba Iyabo who was not only elected into office, but is today seeking a Nobel Peace prize as the father of modern Nigeria and the very epitome of civility and stability in our country. Can you believe that?

  

I cannot help but end this piece by asking this rhetorical question one more time too many. Who benefits from the present political quagmire in Nigeria when the rubber meets the road? The short answer is Obasanjo and his PDP which is bound to remain in power for as long as the confusion persists. Don't be surprised if the election is canceled at the last minute. The great losers of course, is Nigeria and all of those candidates whose reputation have been damaged irredeemably in the minds of the electorates and their supporters across the board.

  

Obasanjo as head of Government cannot feign total ignorance of this development in our country. In fact, he has to admit vicarious responsibility for this confusion, and the consequence that may follow it when the nation grinds to a halt as people begin to react to the tragic development. The current managers of INEC, EFCC and the Nigerian Police who will supervise the coming elections are all Obasanjo's appointees. How can Obasanjo blame anybody but himself for this outrage? Your guess is as good as mine. God help Nigeria. I doubt if this is the kind of democracy that Nigerians expect from their born-again President.

  

I rest my case.

Dr. Wunmi Akintide