Obasanjo on the Cross
By
Abubakar Jika
I have consistently argued for the past three years that we are unfairly saddled with a failed President. Not only is Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime visionless, directioness but arrogant and insensitive. The worse part is I could not see any light at the end of the tunnel. There was no sign that the Chief from Owu was ready to hear any other voice except his and that of his cronies.
His is another unwilling but imposed President. Like Shehu Shagari who preferred to be a Senator but was drafted to the highest seat, Obasanjo preferred to be allowed to tender his chickens after his harrowing experience at Yola prisons. But unseen political forces settled for him and his road was cleared, including pardon, which was hastily gazetted.
But unlike Shehu Shagari, Obasanjo appears to come with a king size grudge. First against the Abachas and all those who served Abacha. He retired all top Army officers who served his predecessors in political assignments. He claimed it was to safeguard democracy as if these gentlemen lobbied for these posts. He was in the Army and was a Minister of Works & Housing, did he lobby for that post? In any case officers who hatched the first military coup in Nigeria never held political posts before. Many of those he sacked were military Administrators who assisted the forces that drafted him. After that he set up probe panels to probe his immediate predecessor – Abdulsalami Abubakar. He proceeded to probe Babangida, Abacha and Buhari. The findings are still with him.
Having dealt with his immediate constituency, he moves against the north. Northerners in the bureaucracy and political positions were dethroned and replaced in most cases by his kinsmen – the Yorubas. He placed his kinsmen – the Yorubas in virtually all strategic positions in government, the forces particularly the Police as Heads. He proceeded to draft policies that further Afenifere – Yoruba agenda. Among these are the usages of National Identity Cards for elections. He is also reputed to be softening his hard stand on a Sovereign National Conference – a fundamental, final stand of Afenifere. Meanwhile, politically he decimated leading power centers of the north. Hitherto respected northern voices such as Adamu Ciroma, his Brother Liman Ciroma, Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, Ambassador Kazaure, and Ambassador Hassan Adamu etc joined Obasanjo’s choruses.
He over runned his party. He enthrones and dethrones party chairmen. He over runs the Senate, picking Senate Presidents at will. His final attempt to subdue the Lower House failed dismally. My friend Ghali Umar Naaba, hitherto taciturn took the gauntlet in defense of democracy. It was a long drawn battle. The tide is now turning. The House of Representatives drew impeachment charges against Obasanjo. The Senate too has joined the battle to save democracy in Nigeria. Obasanjo is put on the defensive. This is a great victory for Nigeria, for democracy and for us.
Despite the disaster his regime has turn out, Olusegun Obasanjo wants to come 2003 and stay another four years junketing around, while his “hang bag” vice president meekly wait for him. It is too early to celebrate the routing of the political tragedy of our times. But we can poise and take a peep at what is in store for us. First the issue of Obasanjo being synonymous with democracy. I had exclusive interviews with my friends Senator Jonathan Zwingina, mover of the historic state of the Nation motion in the Senate, and Hon. Farouk Lawan, spokesman Federal House of Representative. Both Zwingina and Lawan are the respective spokesmen of the two chambers of the National Assembly. Incidentally both Senator Zwingina and Hon. Farouk Lawan served with me on the publicity committee of Vice President Atiku’s Reception 2000.
Senator Zwingina told me that “democracy never contemplated the domination of a political system by one person. Because the name for such a system is dictatorship. And dictatorship does not have to be in uniform. It can be prosecuted in Agbada or in a suit. Therefore to equate a person’s fortunes with that of a nation or democracy is fallacious. I will also say, the true identifying feature of a democracy is the existence of a vibrant legislative arm. Because in truth you will find in all systems of government there is usually executive and judiciary. The identifying feature of democracy is the existence of a legislature”.
Zwingina argued that “we were witnesses to attempts by the executive to remove Senate Presidents. We lost two and this third one has suffered several attempts by the Executive. We were also witnesses to attempt by the Executive to remove Speaker Ghali Na’aba several times. Which therefore confirms that the Executive believes impeachment to be a valid, constitutional means of resolving disputes by organizing impeachment of the other person if you believe that person not to be acting in your interest as long as it is in accordance with the constitution. It is only now that the two arms of the National Assembly reached the same conclusion which the executive reached several times ago”.
My friend Hon. Farouk Lawan also told me on the same question that “Obasanjo is not synonymous with democracy. If it is rather unfortunate; because even if Obasanjo is not impeached and if he going to win the next elections he is going to last for eight years which means after Obasanjo there will be no democracy in Nigeria. I think these are diversionary arguments and beg the issues. The issues are very clear. Certain charges have been raised against Mr. President. The level of insecurity is high, the level of poverty, the level of fast sliding of naira to the dollar, etc these are the issues”.
Hon. Faruk further postulated that “if President Olusegun Obasanjo is allowed to continue with the way he is doing by violating the provisions of the constitution then what we will have will no longer be a democracy but another form of civilian dictatorship. Those of us in the House of Representatives have the responsibility to check this particular drift. It is a drift that is alarming to all of us and we believe if impeaching President Obasanjo is the only way the drift can be halted then the National Assembly has to act and has to act decisively”.
These are the mindsets of the National Assembly: battle against civilian dictatorship. This is not only a failed, arrogant regime, but on the verge of drifting to civilian dictatorship. I expect the Yoruba elite’s to be in the forefront of this. But as Olusegun Adeniyi of This Day told us, the day you kill a mad man, you will know he has relations. The Yorubas are rallying round Obasanjo not to save democracy but one of their own. This should be a great lesson to my Brother Vice – President Atiku Abubakar, who is being hounded by the Yoruba press: Blood is thicker than water. He should, in my view, allow Obasanjo to carry his cross alone with his kinsmen otherwise he may one day understand the import of Adeniyi’s postulation: even a mad man has relations.
JIKA writes from Abuja.