|
Obasanjo’s Legacy By Babatunde Adenodi, East Orange, NJ
This subject is very broad. We will attempt to discuss it under the following headings: The Economy, Political Development, Electricity, Foreign Policy, Security of Life and Property, the Delta Region and Official Corruption. We will also discuss what is expected of Obasanjo’s successor.
General Olusegun Obasanjo has come a long way from the time in 1976 in the immediate aftermath of Murtala’s assassination. Unsure of himself and lacking any finesse, he trudged on gingerly through the minefields of political chicanery of those who installed him. He could not take any decision without involving his Chief of Staff. He would even invite Shehu Musa Yar’Adua to a meeting of his Owu township elders! He lacked so much confidence that he had to wait until the last minute of his tenure in 1979 to promote himself a General! This looks like a million years ago!
Not any more. Obasanjo has found his voice. He now spits fire when he talks. He is bold, brutal and rough on his victims. He can humiliate anyone and rub it in. While he treated Yar’Adua with respect that bordered on fear, he took Atiku to the cleaners and hanged him! He called in Babangida and told him to shut the hell up or face the consequences. He knows what he wants and goes ahead to do it. He knows the dynamics of Nigeria’s political theater. He strides on the landscape like a colossus and dares anyone for combat. He took on all and won. To him, winning is what counts and he does not care how.
Come to think of it, Nigeria needs his type who will force compliance on the citizens. Nigeria needs someone with so much conviction about the rightness of his course that he would force it down their throats. Will Yar’Adua follow through? Only time will tell.
But the subject of this discourse is Obasanjo and his legacy.
After handing over to Shagari in 1979, he retired to his Ota farm and minded his own business. He developed himself to the point of relevance in international diplomacy. He was co-opted into the commonwealth eminent persons group that was precursor to Nelson Mandela release. He rubbed shoulders with Willy Brandt, Jimmy Carter and the likes of former Australian Prime Minister what’s his name? He even learned some French when he thought he could be Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Then, Buhari stepped in followed by Babangida’s reckless annulment and Abacha’s rampage and finally Abdusalami Abubakar. They invited Obasanjo back to power with a mandate to clear the mess and hand over back to them. He has now fulfilled his side of the bargain. He did not handover to the main stream political predatory class. But he has handed over anyway. These are his legacies:
The Economy:
By the time he took over in 1999, the nation had owed USD 33.00 billion to IMF, Paris Club and London Club of money lenders. Internal debt was staggering. He has now cleared it all. Thanks to frugal management of our resources. We expect Yar’Adua to continue to manage the economy and build on these achievements. It is now time for economic growth in the manufacturing sector and the agricultural sector. Growth is now expected in the economy and the populace will soon begin to feel the impact of economic advancement.
Political Development
There cannot be any economic development wherever there is no political stability. In Obasanjo’s Nigeria, there was relative political stability until federal elections were about to take place. Then all hell was let loose! Obasanjo was imposed on the people of the west in 1998 by those who chose him to be president. Falae was the Yoruba candidate. Obasanjo paid these people back in their own coins by imposing Umar Yar’Adua on them. Muhammadu Buhari was their preferred choice. Who says Obasanjo is unfair? If it was fair to impose Obasanjo on Yoruba in 1999, it cannot be unfair to impose Yar’Adua on Hausa/Fulani in 2007. What is good for the goose cannot be too bad for the gander.
Until we all agree to operate with a modicum of fairness in our interactions with each other, we shall always see this type of action. The ball is now in Yar’Adua’s court. We shall keep a watchful eye on his decisions from now on.
Is he going to behave like the arrogant Heads of State in times past who appointed only northern muslims to positions of authority in their cabinets? Is he going to behave like Obasanjo who shared political posts as fairly as possible always bearing the diversity of the population in mind? If we are all Nigerians, as I know we are, no Nigerian should be barred from holding any position because he is not from the right side of the divide.
In spite of prophecy of doom and chaos in the aftermath of Yar”adua’s election, I do not expect any military intervention in Nigeria in the foreseeable future! Obasanjo has done his home-work. Yar’Adua will do himself a big favor if he allows Obasanjo to continue to exert some influence in military appointments. Obasanjo, on the other hand must realize that he is no longer the Commander-in-Chief. He should respect Yar’Adua as the President.
Electricity
This is the shame of Obasanjo and Africa! The only other source of shame and embarrassment to black people all over the world is Darfur in the Sudan! I rank these two problems on the same scale. (Darfur will be discussed in this article). I do not know how many trillions of Naira has been allocated to and spent on NEPA. And you know what? I do not care! All I want is electricity. Uninterrupted electricity, damn it!
For Yar’Adua, I offer this unsolicited advice: sack any district manager who cannot provide uninterrupted power to his neighborhood. Continue to sack them until you find one who can. Along with this, pay NEPA staff from incomes generated from their neighborhood. And I mean legitimate income. As a corollary to this, let consumers pay only for what they consume. In other words, consumers will not pay for what they do not consume.
This is a shameful legacy of Obasanjo. He had 8 years to deal with this issue and he has failed!
Foreign Policy
Murtala and Obasanjo declared that Africa was the center-piece of their foreign policy. But African leaders, Obasanjo inclusive, always close their eyes to evils perpetrated by their colleagues in Africa. El Bashir of Sudan and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe have been a source of embarrassment to all Africans wherever they are. There is slavery in Mali as we speak, and black Malians are the victims. The Arabs in the Sudan have been en-slaving the black Sudanese even before Darfur! While General Colin Powel had declared there was genocide in Sudan, Obasanjo, as Chairman of the AU had declared there was no genocide! Meanwhile, millions of Darfurians are perishing in the hands of Sudanese janjaweeds. On Darfur, Obasanjo has failed the black people of the world. Yar’Adua will have to work hard to help the people of Darfur.
Official Corruption
For the first time in Nigeria’s history there is a sustained fight against official corruption. An Inspector General of Police is now in jail. A governor is in the cooler and several of today’s governors are heading for prison on leaving office on May, 29 2007. They now sleep with one eye open. The nation’s Vice president is indicted. The fear of Nuhu Ribadu is the beginning of wisdom! Yar’Adua must maintain the momentum.
Telephone Service
There was a revolution of some sorts since 2000 when mobile telephone service was introduced in Nigeria. Before then NITEL was the king of telecommunications. You can now get a telephone line by paying just 1000 naira! And you can now get a land line by paying just a little bit more! The consequence is that almost everybody has a telephone. This is the best of Obasanjo’s legacy! Yar’Adua must maintain the momentum.
The Oil Producing States
Before Obasanjo chose to hand over to Yar’Adua, I had advocated that he hand over to a South/Southerner. He chose Yar’Adua. And I now understand why. But, the oil producing states must be taken care of. Projects that will impact the lives of the people directly must be embarked upon. Roads, Bridges and adequate infrastructure must be provided. The bruised feelings of the people must be assuaged. Harassment and intimidation must not be practiced on them as in the past. They must be treated with respect. Against all odds, Obasanjo handed over to Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1979. He is doing the same in 2007. It is Yar’Adua’s turn to hand over in 2014. Will he respect the North/South zoning arrangement of PDP? Or will he revert to the winner takes all attitude of his ethnic predecessors? We shall see! |