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The Difference Between Fake and Authentic “Baba” By Kabiru Inuwa Tsakuwa
Throughout the last eight years, I failed to fathom the actual reasons why Nigerians generally, referred to Mr. Olusegun Obasanjo,the former undemocratic maximum ruler as “Baba”. Was it due to his advance age, having past the middle age longtime ago probably early 50s?,or was it due to his braggart mien? Unless if the term has an entirely different meaning among the Yoruba people of south western Nigeria; Mr ex-president, I’m sorry to say, does not deserved whatsoever to be address with this too important name, because he does not possess the three essential qualities of Love, Support and Protection inherent in every responsible father!
In fact anytime someone referred to him with this lovable name, I felt deeply pained. Because here is someone who lacks all the essential qualities that are pre-requisites of a good father, yet others due to sycophancy and strong desire to remain relevant chooses to refer to him as such. I can not imagine a situation were a person who was responsible for the pathetic situation I found my self today sharing a positive appellation with my dad, whom I adored,restected and held in a very high esteem owing to his caring nature and a benevolent pedigree.
According to a popular secondary school Hausa dictionary “Qamus”, the term “Baba” referred to a Male-parent who partakes in the actual conception and nurturing of child together with his mother in a decent, socially acceptable marital union. He shows tremendous love and care to his child and can go to any length to ensure his survival. He is someone having fathered his child can stake his life, resources and anything important, to make his child happy. Such is the person who eminently deserved the adorable appellation; not a “Babawo” who succeeded in taking Nigeria several years backwards in the development ladder!
The term, because of its importance is often reserved for true nationalist who spent their lifetime trying to better the life of their fellow citizens. Such people possessed all the qualities of leaders such as Love, tenderness and forthrightness. They are neither ostentatious nor flamboyant and wicked at heart. They love their fellow citizens more than they love themselves. People like, Sardauna, Tafawa Balewa, Akintola, Aminu Kano Nnamdi Azikiwe and Murtala Muhammad, can be referred to as fathers of Modern Nigeria without fear of contradiction. But, Can anybody in all honesty compare any of the aforementioned personalities with olusegun Obasanjo, the man who succeeded in entrenching poverty, and diseases among Nigerians, to warrant calling him a father?
In every part of the country, quality of life has degenerated, people hardly eat twice a day,un-employment has became so pervasive that, able bodied youth are daily recruited into thuggery and brigandage, majority of which do so, out of necessity just to keep body and soul together. Nothing but gloom and dejection is the order of the day courtesy of the in human policies of the Zero-zero. Prices of essential commodities have sky-rocketed, the few lucky Nigerian who escaped mass retrenchments are over-burdened by the endless demands from relatives.
How can I refer to him as “Baba”, when at the inception of his administration, he removed fertilizer subsidy, increment fuel price at a geometric progression, destroyed the foundation of our educational system, fuelled the embers of ethnic hatred among our hitherto peaceful neighbours, retired many young up-coming and promising military officers on a flimsy of excuses, increased Vat 100%, and sold the country to the highest bidder at the twilight of his tenure! Of-course he did not merited such a name, because being advanced in age alone without corresponding responsibility and wisdom can not qualify you to such a lofty height, since even some primates like Chimpanzees are often advanced in age!
Any grown-up Hausa man will tell you that, there are people, though of advance age, but lack the qualities of being responsible people, their reasoning faculties are more or less childish or at best sub-normal. They are never aware of the gray hairs on their faces. Such peoples are what the Hausas ably tagged “Babawos”.This term is more appropriate for Mr.00, considering the way he lost the remaining vestiges of respects among Nigerian and the International communities. What “Babawo” failed to realized was the impermanence of power and its ephemeral nature. He failed to learned from History how almost all brutal dictators end ignominiously. He chooses to be consigned to the class of Mabutu Kaka Banda Sese-seko, Kamuzu Banda and Shah of Iran. But no matter how wicked and sadistic a brutal dictator is, the people always triumph at the end of the day.
Certainly when the history of Nigerian leaders is written, “Babawo’s” will be remember with the greatest disdain, as someone who left the country worst than he mate it. Who subjected himself to unnecessary subservience to the west and implemented all their in-human economic policies, institutionalised corruption to a very high level never imagined in the history of our dear country. He will also be remembered as a dealer who rendered our educational system comatose; and Posterities yet un-born will never forgive him for the lost of our collective patrimonies.
As he sank into his reclusive retirement, may our beloved country never have the misfortune of having to endure another era of mis-governance under the most insensitive, most callous brutal dictator of the Babawo specimen Ameen Summa Ameen!
Kabiru Inuwa Tsakuwa
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