The Death Of Dr. Safana, Ettehgate And The Coming Battle For The Soul Of Nigeria

By

Tondu Aonduna

tondua@yahoo.com

 

 

The death of a human, they say, diminishes us all. But death sometimes does hold profound lessons. That Dr. Safana died, not for the cause of Nigeria but rather in the unwholesome company of a  woman of questionable morality has left an indelible mark of reprobation on his reputation. Ms. Etteh's position was already untenable prior to the demise of her acolyte. It is indeed more precarious now. Etteh and the mafia behind her led by none other than the former dictator, Obasanjo, should know that the game is up for her. She has two options: resign in shame or be impeached by the House of Representatives acting under the moral pressure exerted by civil society groups who seem to be deriving their authority from the nation's mood. In her jezebelian disposition, Patricia Etteh is a potent reminder of the grim but urgent task facing Yar’Adua and the country today, namely, the national imperative to rid Nigeria of the sad and terrible legacy of the last eight wasted years of a medieval autocracy.

 

In their desperation to pursue a life of indolence and corrupt enrichment which the trappings of impunity and reckless misrule did ensure them between 1999 and May 29, 2007, the principal sponsor of Speaker Etteh’s imposition on the House of Representatives and his allies seem contented with the madness taking place in the hallowed chambers of that otherwise august assembly. As has been mentioned elsewhere, it is not in the interest of a failed tyrant like Obasanjo that Yar’Adua succeeds. As a matter of fact, gridlock as is currently being orchestrated by Speaker Etteh and her backers is a situation that suits pro-Third Term protagonists and status quo lovers alike. These enemies of the people derive much of their relevance from chaotic environments devoid of countervailing checks and balances that a law-abiding society offers. But neither Etteh nor her master, Obasanjo, should hold the nation to ransom. That is the ultimate challenge for Yar’Adua and his advisers.

 

Yar'Adua should also remember that a critical factor in winning a semblance of legitimacy for his regime lies with how he deals with the sordid Obasanjo legacy. Patricia Etteh, not unlike Yar'Adua himself, is a product of the corrupt politics as practised by the ex-tyrant from Ota. But unlike Etteh and her companion, Yar'Adua has confessed that the process that threw him up as current occupier of Aso Rock was badly flawed. He has invariably admitted to being a beneficiary of a stolen mandate. It is worth mentioning too that some of his actions while in government are no doubt commendable. All this would seem to be making any blackmail by Ali Baba and his horde of fellow misfits a difficult proposition.

 

Informed by this reality, Yar'Adua and his éminence grise should pursue the policy aimed at an effective dismantling of the Evil Empire erected by Igbochukwu Obasanjo and his adjuncts in the likes of Ahmadu Ali and Bode George. When the Yar’adua administration did not intervene to stall if not block the Supreme Court ‘destitution’ of the illegitimate governor of Anambra, “Andy” Uba, Nigerians in their majority cheered. Under the Obasanjo dictatorship, it is likely that Ojo, the then Attorney General who behaved like a PDP apparatchik, would have, aided by the crooked antics of Nuhu Ribadu and his EFCC, deployed every partisan stunt possible in order to stall, if not block Uba’s deserved banishment from Anambra Government House. Now, as impostor in Anambra, “Andy” was the creation of Obasanjo and Iwu. He is also a key link in the Evil Empire of Ali Baba. That this critical axis of Obasanjo’s  hedonistic hegemony has been humbled at the courts without Yar’adua apparently lifting a finger to save him is good. This explains Nigerians’ joy and hope that this attitude on the part of the Yar’Adua government would crystallize into a conscious strategy of containment regarding a tin god and his legacy that most Nigerians want obliterated sooner than later. And the longer Ettehgate lingers with its cortege of grievous consequences, the louder will the laughter of pro-Third Term anarchists become. This is unhealthy for the nation. A salutary and decisive action on the part of Yar’Adua would probably have prevented the death of Safana.

 

The dramatic but pathetic death of Safana must have incensed the people of Yar'Adua's (and Safana's ) home state of katsina, if not those of the entire North and Nigeria in general. These people rightly see it as a death too many. They had in the eight years of a "born-again" kleptocracy witnessed the numerous atrocities and crimes by a clueless but vicious potentate that resulted in the wanton loss of lives in places like Odi, Zaki-Biam and surrounding communities. Today, the people demand justice. They cannot tolerate the sight of a sleazy and insensitive woman, talk less, that of her principal sponsor and mentor, the violent, callous and profligate Obasanjo. It is the voices of these men and women rising in unison to demand amends and insist that retribution be visited on the likes of Etteh whose insouciance and dereliction of duty, not unlike the lawless abdication and truancy of Ali Baba, have contributed in no small measure in the deepening of the malaise in the land.

 

Ettehgate is a golden opportunity for Yar'adua to do the right thing. The insistence on due process and the rule of law is the right way to go. Etteh’s  transgression breaches due process. That much was revealed by the Idoko Commission. She must go and Yar’Adua should nudge her in that direction. As for those tribal irredentists and misguided feminists wanting to transform a clear case of immoral conduct against a selfish woman in the person of Etteh into what it is not, they should take a critical look at themselves and see the sorry figure they cut. But beyond Etteh’s removal as a speaker who was imposed on the nation by her consiglières, the Yar’Adua regime should continue with people-friendly policies. A decent example is the cancellation of the corrupt sale of the nation’s refineries to fronts and friends of the former tyrant. 

 

The next pressing item Nigerians expect Yar’Adua to handle is a thorough house-cleaning within his party. He will help re-organize the PDP by re-injecting morality into its actions. As Nigerians look forward to the PDP national convention scheduled for December, 2007, the ex-governor of Katsina should realize that his image is intrinsically tied to that of the party as it is presently constituted, an outfit so sinister that the mere mention of it conjures up images of malevolence and anti-people conduct. And If Yar’Adua must give in to some of the unreasonable demands of the former dictator and “founder of modern Nigeria”, he should bear in mind that, like the cravings of a spoilt brat, the licentious yearnings of a character whose tyranny has spelt so much ruin and destruction for the people deserve nothing but opprobrium. That is why, for instance, if an individual like Ahmadu Ali must be made ambassador, he should be sent as far away from Nigeria and Nigerians as possible, preferably to either Afghanistan or Turkmenistan!

 

What all this means is that Yar'Adua as the leader of the party should set about cleaning the Augean stables. To do that, he must commit patricide, so to speak, immolate an evil godfather, castrate a toxic rapist (of Nigerian democracy) and forever bury the last vestiges of Ali Baba and his Evil Empire.  This is a battle for the soul of Nigeria that Yar’adua cannot afford to lose.

 

Aonduna Tondu.