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The Return of Baba Gana Kingibe By Ubanese Nwanganga President Musa Yar’Adua recently appointed Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe the secretary to the government of Nigeria. Kingibe is a retired diplomat, politician, late M.K.O. Abiola’s running mate in the 1993 annulled presidential elections, former minister of foreign affairs and internal affairs under Abacha. Kingibe’s appointment was one of the first three appointments made by the new government shortly after it was sworn in. The others are the retention of Generals Abdullahi Mohammed and Sarki Muktar as Chief of staff and national security adviser respectively. The office of the secretary to the Federation is important and influential. Since the end of the civil war, with the possible exception Olu Falae, Allison Ayida and the immediate past occupant of the office, Ufot Ekaette, the north has held on to it, for obvious reasons, that it has become the preserve of the north. With the recent zoning arrangement adopted by the ruling PDP party, which left Ndiigbo in the cold, one had hoped that the new president would be considerate enough to appoint an Igboman to the office. This expectation was logical going by the fact that the office had eluded Ndiigbo for long and more importantly that Ndiigbo had moved from being number three in the national order of precedence/importance to number nothing. However, the president, in his wisdom, thought otherwise and appointed his fellow northerner of Kanuri extraction to the office. Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe does not need any introduction. He is a well-known personality, for good or for bad. He had joined the Nigerian Foreign Service after his education in England. Like most of his contemporaries from the north, he enjoyed free education from primary to university level. Again, like most northerners of his time who chose to slug it out at the centre, instead of staying in Kaduna planning how to dip the Koran in the Atlantic, his rise was meteoric. At a very young age he was at various times Nigerian ambassador to Greece and Pakistan. After his tour of duty he was appointed permanent secretary, special services, which oversee security matters in the presidency. Therefore at a relatively youthful age, Kingibe served Nigeria in privileged positions. As a result, he had knowledge of top national secrets, which were the preserve of his kinsmen. He voluntarily retired from the federal service. Kingibe’s exposure to leadership at such a youth age fired the ambition in him. He began to dream dreams. To rule Nigeria was not a bad idea. Since he was not in the army, the only sure route to fulfill his ambition was through the ballot box. His brothers in uniform, who had become the only ones capable of sacking any government in Nigeria by force, did so for personal gains. Coup making was a risky business; in fact a matter of life and death. So, no soldier took the risk just to hand over power to another person, no matter the person’s leadership credentials. Therefore, since Kingibe was not going to be anointed by any coup plotter and there was no way he could mount any coup on his own, Kingibe chose to bide his time. It did not take long before the opportunity he was waiting for materialized. The gap-toothed, ever smiling fox from Minna had seized power from the never smiling Daura prince, whose iron grip over the country spanning a period of twenty months had banished laughter, celebrations and merrymaking. The fox gave himself two terms of office of four years each, after the overthrow, while claiming to midwife a transition programme, which would usher in an elected civilian government. Kingibe threw himself into it. He was not alone anyway. Many influence peddlers, political jobbers and crooks, who had made money fraudulently, poured out in their numbers to seek greater relevance, which would place at their disposal our collective purse. While they were busy perfecting ways and means to capture power for selfish reasons, the man at the helm of affairs knew he was not done yet with power. Characteristically, he deployed all the arsenals at his disposal for which he was known to be a master dribbler to confuse those who were intent on unseating him. He infiltrated the various associations being assembled by the would-be leaders and succeeded in causing confusion everywhere. He banned and unbanned them; they were unable to critically read the handwriting on the wall. The fox imagined that he could disorganize them by decreeing two parties into existence. The idea was that those who could not find accommodation in the two-party structure would throw in the towel and abandon their ambition. In doing so, he forgot that Nigerian politicians, known for lack of convictions, whether in uniform or agbada play politics of the stomach and of survival. In other words, in Nigerian politics, the hood does not make the monk. Wearing any tag was not a problem. An arch conservative could wear the tag of a liberal. Even at that no Nigerian politician was interested in what label was attached to him. He was interested only in how to corner power and then proceed to use it to empower himself and his cronies. Thus, if he loses out he quickly changes camp, in the name of promoting national unity. That explains why today a politician will not find it difficult to move from PDP to ANPP, if he loses out in the former. Chief Tom Ikimi, former Abacha’s area boy diplomat, has changed camp three times. He was in ANPP. The party lost power at the centre to the PDP. In fashion, Ikimi found himself in the cold and like all Nigerian politicians who have no convictions; he chose to pitch his tent with the winning party. During the 2003 PDP wuruwuru primaries, at the Eagle Square in Abuja, the lion of Igueben was the returning officer. The very enemy of democracy was so visible and indeed commanded a lot of influence. He was in good company with Baba, Anenih, Bode George, Ojo Mduekwe, etc. Nonetheless, Ikimi did not realize that loyalty in Nigerian politics was graduated, reflecting various levels of intimacy. For instance, common membership of a secret society would count more than mere loyalty, which is based on a desire to ingratiate oneself to who ever has the knife as well as the yam to be shared. So, when Ikimi engaged in a reckless trial of wills with Anenih, the man Baba addressed as the “leader” and differed to, Ikimi’s his days in the inner circle of PDP became numbered. The house became too hot for him and he had no choice but to pack his bag and baggage and his next port of call became the Action Congress Party, AC. Unlike what the fox had in mind, everybody, Tom, Dick and Harry, whatever their political leanings found accommodation in the two parties. They would rather be kings in hell than serve in heaven. However, without it being intended, Nigeria, for once, had political parties not founded on religion, region or ethnicity. Determined to wrestle power from the military the politicians-the good, the bad and the ugly-buried their differences and presented the military a united front, a fait accompli, so much so that the very divisive religious factor was played down considerably. The result was the emergence of two Muslim men who flew the SDP flag. One of the men was Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe. He became Chief MKO Abiola’s running mate. He had made a considerable impact at the SDP primaries that the party could only ignore him to its peril. The party went ahead to defeat the NRC at the polls, which were considered the freest ever held in Nigeria. Suddenly, the soldiers realized that they could not do business with Abiola. He was considered not safe to leave him at the helm of affairs. He knew too much about the military being himself a creation of the military. Besides, his companies were said to be owed lots and lots of money by the federal government. The rest they say is now history. Kingibe played an important role in surrendering the mandate freely given to him and Abiola by the Nigerian electorate. Instead of defending it and challenge the wicked annulment with all the resources at his disposal he threw his hands into the air in total submission to the will of Allah. Together with men like Tony Anenih, Kingibe betrayed the Nigerians who had reposed much confidence in him. In waxing philosophical, that was how it appeared on the surface; everybody saw the insipient influence of both religion and region on Kingibe in the power tussle with the khaki boys. The political class had been effectively infiltrated by the northern leadership of the military. Although Abiola was a fellow Muslim, Kingibe and his cohorts from the north did not so much as take it into consideration. The Muslims of the north have always seen Yoruba Muslims as being half Christians and half Muslims. The nationalistic appeal of the two-party structure therefore suffered irreparable damage. Therefore, when, as expected the man in dark glasses struck on May 17, 1993-he had been waiting for the opportunity to fulfill a life ambition-Kingibe was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as one of the two civilian members of the Provisional Ruling Council. The other member was Chief Alex Ibru, the publisher of the popular broadsheet newspaper, The Guardian, who was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs. Abacha’s first cabinet reshuffle saw Kingibe moved to the internal affairs ministry to take over from Alex Ibru. From being number two elect, Kingibe preferred to be an ordinary minister in Abacha’s government. Well, what do we expect from a politician whose sole aim of being in politics is his stomach? Kingibe wanted to survive to play another ignoble role. He was not committed to the welfare of the people. He helped himself when looting the public treasury was institutionalized. Nuhu Ribadu was then learning the ropes of anti corruption crusade. Abacha died unexpectedly June 8, 1998. Abdulsalami Abubakar hurriedly handed over power to the civilians, when it became clear that Nigerians were fed up and wanted an end to military government, no matter how benevolent. Kingibe, rightly, did not participate in Abubakar’s hurried transition programme. He had read the prevalent mood in the country intelligently. Accordingly, he chose to enjoy the money he had made during the Abacha years. But for a politician, an ambitious one for that matter, being outside the corridors of power, in the cold, was not to his liking. After Baba was sworn in, Kingibe took steps to join the ruling party, PDP. He knew that Nigerians have short memory and that they would soon forget about his betrayal of Chief MKO Abiola in particular and Nigerians in general. Time, he rightly reckoned, would heal any wound even if it was inflicted as a result of a betrayal and was as deep as Hades. His calculations paid off. Sooner than later he was regularly sighted at the Aso Villa. He had warmed his way into Baba’s affections. It is pertinent to note that although Kingibe identified and worked with Abacha, who had incarcerated Baba, Kingibe’s sins were not seen as sins since they were in the main directed at Abiola, whom Baba described in the heat of the June 12 cries as not the messiah that Nigerians had been waiting for. Therefore, the personality clashes between two prominent Egba sons played into the hands of a very ambitious opportunist, who did not waste any time in seizing the opportunity, at high tide, as it were. Therefore, it was not surprising that not long into Baba’s first term, Kingibe had been forgiven of the sins he committed against Nigerians as well as Abiola. To all intents and purposes, Kingibe was back in the political arena, waiting to be assigned any responsibility. It did not take long before he was made an ambassador at large, who went on any errands for and on behalf of the federal government. When Baba was AU’s chairman, Kingibe became appointed AU’s envoy to the troubled western Sudan region of Darfur. Nigerian politicians are well known for their selfishness. Kingibe is no exception. While seriously working on his comeback, Kingibe began simultaneously to position his wife to play a major political role come 2007. Besides greed, Kingibe’s decision to draft his wife, Ireti, into the political arena was to ensure that he does have an eye in government, in case he failed to make a success of his return bid. He is in good company with many politicians, including the Sarakis, who see themselves as being anointed by God to lord it over to the rest of us for eternity. Ireti was to contest the lone senatorial seat for the Federal Capital Territory, under the platform of the ruling party. Unfortunately, for Kingibe, she lost her deposit at the level of the party. Kingibe’s return bid derived strength from several factors. As 2007 approached, the question of Baba’s tenure of office was settled. He was going to leave office by May 29, 2007. The failure of the tenure elongation, otherwise known as Third Term Agenda, which died on the floor of the senate, settled the issue. Two thousand and seven therefore became markedly different from 2003 when the oracle of Uromi declared that there was no vacancy in Aso Rock Villa. In other words, with the failure of the tenure elongation, the vacancy in Aso Rock Villa come May 29, 2007, became a certainty. This certainty however brought to the fore the primordial nature of our national politics. The north did not hide its desire to have power back after eight years in the south. Its argument was that no matter how it was looked at, the north could not wait for another four or eight years in the name of promoting equity, fair play or giving the south east or the south south a sense of national belonging. We bear in mind here that the north had monopolized power in the country since independence. This was achieved primarily using the military wing of the NPC or NPN, if you like; to hold on to power after the civil war or to topple the democratically elected Shagari government when loss of power via the NPN zoning arrangement appeared more real than apparent. Thus, the north rejected the argument by the south south and the south east that it was the turn of either of them to produce the next president. To the north, the past military regimes were impositions on the entire country including north and south. This was an argument that could not hold water when subjected to intense scrutiny. In Nigeria, power is desired to serve the interests of those wielding it. Nobody, not even an elementary student of power politics will deny the fact that the past military governments in Nigeria promoted the interests of the north more than that of the south. In other words, there was no level playing field while the north held power via the barrel of the gun. Having made it known to Baba, who, then, was equivocating, that it was either power was returned to it or nothing else; the north began to shop for materials that could be acceptable to a broad spectrum of Nigerians, especially southerners. A northerner is a northerner any day when sharing power at the federal level is the point at issue. This is more so when he is a Muslim. In a deft move, which it is known for since the struggle for supremacy among the three main ethnic nationalities began; the north refused to zone the presidency to any of its three geo-political zones. This served the purpose of uniting instead of dividing the north. Whereas the south has three geo-political zones, which are perpetually at war with one another, the north sees its division into three geo-political zones as an arrangement of convenience. Baba tried during his eight years in office to raise the political consciousness in the middle belt to fever pitch with a view to weaning the zone from the stranglehold of the Hausa/Fulani. It worked briefly when the appointments of middle belt officers to head the army and air force rattled the core north. The reaction of middle belters to the outbursts of the core north however died not quite long after. Then, Arewa Consultative Forum was born. Gen. Gowon was appointed the chairman. Prominent middle belters including Chief Sunday Awoniyi, Olusola Saraki, etc, became leading members. Later, Saraki went on to form the Northern Union, which, was to traverse the length and breadth of Nigeria to drum up support for power shift back to the north. Being a prominent northerner and a card-carrying member of the ruling part, which to all intents and purposes, was bound to retain power after May 29, 2007, the moment Kingibe had been waiting for had arrived. He knew he could be anointed to represent the north, his past notwithstanding. And like a politician without conscience he seized it with both hands. I have had somebody say that if the north had fielded a dog in 2007, it would have been preferred to a Socrates from the south. May be! Little wonder that Professor Maurice Iwu, dull, uninspiring and lacking in every leadership quality, was appointed INEC chairman and positioned to deliver victory to PDP at all costs. Although Baba had wanted to transfer power to the south south, his idea of the power transfer was not to hand it over to any Igbo man in the name of and on behalf of the south south. Odili was without doubt the most visible of the pack from the oil rich geo-political zone. Baba grudgingly accepted the reality of power transfer to the north. But who was going to be so anointed to succeed the Owu high chief? His past eight years in office became an issue. There must be safe landing. Baba would not like to have Zambian and Malawian power transfers to repeat themselves in Nigeria. Baba was not going to hand over to anybody who would give him sleepless nights, even if he had come from the north. Therefore, he employed everything possible to infiltrate the north and in the process determine who the next president became after him. Using the EFCC, as the attack dog, Baba began systematic destruction of potential candidates for the presidency. Ribadu declared in faraway South Africa that IBB would never rule Nigeria again. Brigadier General Buba Marwa’s past was dug up and he spent some days with the EFCC. Although Kingibe did not have skeletons in his cupboard as did IBB and a whole lot of the khaki boys who stole the heart out from Nigeria, Baba did not rust him; he was seen as an untrustworthy political ally. If he could, without shame, betray MKO, Baba could do without him in the saddle. So, before the whistle went off, Baba Gana Kingibe was already disqualified from the race. However, sidelined or not, Kingibe was not about to go into retirement. Instead, his political career was about to witness a dramatic move to a higher level. Immediately it became clear that Baba had anointed Yar’Adua, as successor, barring any serious health problems, BGK did not take any chances. He began to work on his rusty relationship with the Yar’Adua family, after all he was a prominent member of the PDM, late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua’s political machinery, which he had abandoned to join forces with Abacha, a fellow Kanuri man, born and brought up in Kano. He washed his hands off the death of the older Yar’Adua. The evil deed was done by Abacha and his hatchet boys led by another Kanuri man, Major Al-Mustapha. BGK enlisted powerful members of the Caliphate to underline the point that Shehu Yar’Adua’s ill-treatment by Abacha was not a war by the Kanuri against the Hausa/Fulani. In the north, personal and family interests are not allowed to muddy the waters. The President-designate got a few calls from here and there in the north and paved the way for a meeting between BGK and the Yar’Adua. The deal was signed and delivered: BGK was guaranteed a prominent place in the incoming administration. He was given the number three slot in the government. Another lesson in management of political crisis! BGK has demonstrated that he has no conscience. He has no conviction. He is like a prostitute, who engages any number of different men a night just for her money. There is no attachment to such relationships. She wants the money and how it is made is immaterial. As with prostitutes and money, so also with Nigerian politicians and power and money. The way forward for Nigeria never occupies the minds of men and women whose God is their belly. Nigeria remains a giant in slumber because of those she has been unfortunately cursed with as her leaders. When a politician can change camps as clothing, such politician cannot be expected to deliver. Ikedi Ohakim, Imo State Governor since May 29, 2007, was a prominent member of the state chapter of the PDP until the primaries to choose the party’s governorship candidate. He lost out and the next second, he was flying the flag of the PPA. After the messy Imo PDP primaries, which produced Charles Ugwu who came twelfth in the contest and the subsequent Supreme Court nullification of the result, the party chose not to field any candidate. Instead, it went behind to prop up Agbaso of APGA. Then, the Maurice Iwu factor. The INEC chairman is from the Okigwe senatorial zone of Imo state. He had promised his kinsmen that he would use his exalted office to secure the governorship ticket of the ruling party for them. Agbaso is from Owerri Senatorial district. The colourless professor of pharmacy had extracted a concession from his principals that an indigene of Okigwe (Mbano precisely) must succeed Achike Udenwa as governor of the state. He would be remembered for that by his Mbano kinsmen. Therefore, a last minute decision to drop Agbaso and switch support to Ohakim was made. Now, tell me, how will a politician with Ohakim’s anticedents deliver? Which programmes will he implement-PDP or PPA programmes? He is a good example of politicians whose interests in politics are first and foremost personal. This takes me to the raging arguments for and against the government of national unity or GNU. When are we going to be serious in this country? Why GNU? Nigerians went to the polls in April to choose their leaders. Each party presented its programmes, which it was going to implement if elected by the people. Although elections are routine things in societies where there is respect for the rule of law, the high chief of Owu made our own elections a do or die affair. Aided by Maurice Iwu, Baba hijacked the will of the people and imposed Yar’Adua and countless men and women of doubtful leadership credentials on the country. If the elections were what normally they are in other countries, should we be talking about GNU? I guess Yar’Adua has conscience. It is pricking him. But he is not courageous enough to obey the dictates of that conscience. For goodness sake if he won clean and square, why is he afraid of going ahead to form his cabinet? The truth is obvious: he did not win; he was imposed on us. Let him do the right thing since he is being disturbed by the humiliation of Nigerians by his predecessor. Therefore, let him resign together with all the governors minus Obi of Anambra state as well as dissolve the national assembly and the states assemblies. He should then hand over power to an Interim Government to be headed by the Chief Justice of the federation. The ING will have about six months to one year to conduct credible elections at all levels of government. A tall order, you may say? Yes, but not impossible to achieve, if men and women of amala and ewedu politics, who have hijacked our sovereignty, will release their suffocating on us. For suggesting that men and women of doubtful leadership credentials, spongers should surrender power and allow the will of the people to prevail, I know I will have earned their wrath. Even the opposition has left me wondering why we are what we are. A party went to the tribunal to protest the conduct of the last elections. It is asking the election tribunal to nullify the outcome of the elections because they were rigged and therefore did not reflect the will of the people. The tribunal is yet to dispose of the case and the next thing we hear is that the party has agreed to join its opponent to form GNU in the interest of peace. Who is being fooled? Men and women of no convictions; politicians whose God is their belly; chop I chop politicians; and what have you! They are at work. Yes, men and women who wish to remain relevant when they are like expired drugs from Onitsha Head Bridge drug market. All the talk of moving Nigeria forward via GNU is rubbish. Those who have lost out want to jump on to the gravy train, in their own interest. But do I blame them? If Yar’Adua with leftist inclinations could boast of close to one billion naira, why should men and women who invested in politics like in any other business be asked to watch from the sidelines for the next four years? The answer is obvious. Nigeria will not collapse without a GNU. Rather, many politicians will become irrelevant without it. Besides, if, in spite of his socialist pretensions, our president is as wealthy as he has made public, then your guess is as good as mine as to what Baba did with our collect wealth over a period of eight years. Ubanese Nwanganga Thursday, July 12, 2007
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