Atiku/Obasanjo Feud: Oba Should Stop Dancing Naked

By

Saint Azuh

saint_azuh@yahoo.com

 

 

Your Excellency Sir,

 

Several attempts to reach you were not successful as you have been so far removed from the real Nigerian people you were supposed to be ruling. So I decided to use the media.

Sir, after eight years of unkept promises, you are leaving a confused Nigeria longing for someone completely different from you. Over the past eight years, little by little, the Nigerian people have divorced themselves from Nigeria. An economic crisis seemingly without end has broken for many the link of confidence that tied them to society. Frankly, this situation cannot be said to be a matter of fatigue, nor malaise, but a veritable collective depression.

 

Underlying this depression is an intangible sense of insecurity, unemployment, near-zero power supply situation, fuel scarcity, inter-ethnic and tribal tensions, the unresolved crisis in the Niger Delta, Anambra, Plateau, Ekiti, etc. The worst of all is the failure of your government to make any difference in the lives of the real Nigerian people that perceived you in 1999 as ‘hope for the future.’

 

Rather than make genuine efforts to reverse the tide of the ever- widening gulf of poverty and deprivation of your people, the eight years of your political career as a civilian head of state has been marked by lack of ideological coherence on micro-economic issues and zero evolution in thinking about the productive use of power as against a relentless thirst to win and keep it even at the expense of the masses.

 

Sir, is it right to say that you are a master of political opportunism? You remember that for the presidential election in 1999, you ditched the AD, the traditional party of your nativity, to ride on the back of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar using the PDM structure to clinch to power.

In 2003, you swallowed your pride to mend fence with Atiku, if for nothing, at least to enable you remain in office for the next four years.

 

And just two years into your second tenure, you started scheming for a third term by campaigning that Nigeria has no other credible or rather qualified person to continue the reform agenda which succeeded only in making a cup of garri cost more than twenty in addition to selling all the nation’s assets to yourself and your cronies in the PDP government. Eight years of massive looting of state treasuries have pushed Nigerians to undermined trust in the political system.

 

When the evil third term agenda failed, you craftily made up your mind to cause serious confusion in the polity beginning from your own party, the PDP. The plan was to encourage almost everybody including farmers and market women in the party to collect presidential nomination forms promising them you will work to ensure they get the party ticket for the election. In addition you encourage several people in other parties including your very good friends Babangida, Marwa et’ all and Buhari at least to show a genuine level of espirit d’corp.

 

It is a clear testimony of the depths of public disillusion with your presidency and outgoing government and a mark of protest to the mismanagement of the past eight years that all the contending presidential aspirants minus one are standing on an anti-Obasanjo platform. This is true sir except you are not seeing what every other Nigerian sees.

 

When Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka warned in his statement, “The Will of One and the Rule of Law” that the feud between you and Atiku has gone beyond corruption, probity or integrity but that of a desperate individual hell bent on imposing his will on the rest of society, he was convinced that by deliberately heating up the polity and creating tension where there were not supposed to be, the Obasanjo he knows very well was covertly calling for anarchy to enable him actualize his tenure
  

Sir did you asked your Senior Special Adviser on Media, Remi Oyo to issue the statement that could be misinterpreted to mean declaration of war against the very people that put you in office. You sort of confirmed this impression by appearing in full military uniform the next day to perform a funny ceremony of brigade change of flags when your house is burning. Haba Mr President!

 

Hear what you directed your senior aide to say in her press statement: “This Administration will deploy all the powers and forces available to it to guarantee the peaceful and secure conditions necessary for the general elections to go ahead as planned. No individual or group should test the will of Government on this matter.

 

“The security and law enforcement agencies have been placed on full alert to support the determination of Government and all patriotic Nigerians to defend democracy and ensure a successful transition to a new democratic administration on May 29th 2007.” Well Mr President, be ready to kill everybody in this country because your intimidation cannot deter the collective will of the Nigerian people to stop this military mentality in our democratic dispensation which several innocent quality lives were lost to achieve even when you were in prison awaiting execution for your involvement in a funny coup plot.

Sir, why is it that you have this tendency of acting as if you are above the law? You disregard court rulings and orders with wanton recklessness as if you are still a military ruler. You even ordered your miniature son (now prodigal since his ambition to succeed you failed) to roll caterpillars to a High Court premises in Maitama Abuja on Tuesday March 20th to start demolition on the ‘illegal structure’ simply because Atiku’s two remaining suits were going on in two of the court rooms and you were sure your deputy will again win you hands-down.
Haba Oga!


Your Excellency, do you still remember the story of Pharaoh and Moses? “For whom God wants to destroy, He first hardens his heart”. In this matter between you and you deputy, Atiku, can’t you see the hand of God in all of it? Atiku have defeated you in thirteen out of the fifteen cases taken to court on your disagreements based on principles. The two remaining cases, he is going to also win you because the facts are glaring and cannot be tented.

 

In October 10, 2006 Justice Abimbola Augie of the Abuja Federal High Court ruled in favour of Atiku. In October 20, 2006, Justice Olasunbo Goodluck of the Abuja High Court squashed your Bayo Ojo Panel indictment. In October 31, 2006, Justice Olufumilola Oyebola Adekeye of the Abuja High Court, ruled in favour of Atiku. In November 6, 2006, Justice Abimbola Augie rule in favour of Atiku and threw out your objections and in the same day another court headed by Justice Anwuri Chikere also favoured Atiku in its ruling. On the 28th November, Justice Inumidun Akande declared both your EFCC and Administrative Panel reports null and void, again Atiku won you.

 

December 1, 2006, Justice Olufumilola Oyebola Adekeye unanimously dismissed and trashed your PDP suit against Atiku. December 8, 2006, Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi of the Federal High Court, Abuja set aside the suspension of Atiku from the PDP and on December 10, the same court restrained your PDP from sanctioning Atiku. On December 20, Justice Anwuri Chikere told you that the Code of Conduct Tribunal has no power to determine any case involving Atiku. What of the January 11 and February 20 rulings by Justices Adekeye and Abdullahi Umaru of Federal Court of Appeal Abuja. On March 7, Justice Babs Kuewumi declared INEC’s disqualification of Atiku illegal.

 

With all these rulings in favour of your deputy, sir, can’t you see that there is something that is not very right in what you are pursuing? Na waaoo!

 

Anyway, greetings from the reformed multi-billion naira Ota Farms that now imports tractors from USA from total worth of only N20, 000 in 1999 as revealed by your aide. Greetings also from Bells University and all the multi-billion Obasanjo Farms scattered all over the country. Obajana Cement in Kogi state salutes you. Delta Steel Company, Transcorp, Eleme Petrochemicals, Port Harcourt Refining Company, the Ondo LNG Complex and others send their greetings also.

 

I remain yours sincerely,

 

SAINT AZUH (saint_azuh@yahoo.com)