M. D YUSUF AND ABACHA :Between Complicity And Confrontation
By
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi
At
some point in the life of a great individual, he takes a small step, or so it
seems, which ends up as a turning point not only in his life, but in the
historical development of an entire
people. Without exaggerating and mystifying the significance and implications of
the candidacy of M. D. Yusuf, Katsina Prince and former Inspector General of
Police, it is still indisputable that the implications of the candidacy for the
country’s political development
are far deeper and more profound than he may have imagined. The decision to
plunge into the jungle of Nigerian politics, borne out of a personal conviction,
has become a burden on the quiet mystic, by constituting a ray of hope piercing
through the darkness of our collective despair. Like all hopes , this one would
be either fulfilled or dashed, and the one result, or the other , will decide
the fate of M. D. Yusuf in the book of this nation’s history - that of
a hero or a villain, a true leader or
a pretender. It is in this , in being the bearer of the hopes of
millions, that the burden lies on this old man.
The
fulfilment of this dream does not lie in M. D. Yusuf winning the presidential
election. Indeed few people give him or
, for that matter , anyone a chance
of doing that against an incumbent determined to exploit all the resources under
his control ( and which rightfully belong to all Nigerians) to ensure the
attainment of his own goals.
Its
fulfilment lies , rather, in this being an honest, focused and committed
campaign, that expresses on the platform of political discourse and public
opinion the desires and yearnings of
the voiceless majority of
Nigerians. Its fulfilment lies in the emergence of one man, just one man, from
amongst many whose voices would be heard, who chooses to speak not with the
voice of sycophancy and hypocrisy but with
that of patriotism and sincerity . Its
fulfilment lies in its being made
known to one and all that the voice of reason and politics of principle have not
been stamped out in an era
of political dictatorship.
In
this, the fulfilment of this dream is akin to its fulfilment in the
campaign of late Shehu Yar Adua, M. D. Yusuf’s colleague and relation
from Katsina. It did not matter that
he never became president. He
succeeded in building that bridge across the
Niger and in leading a political movement with a definite and responsible
ideological coloration, concrete
enough to be considered a threat to the powers- that- be. Even his death at the
hands of his persecutors represented, ironically, the ultimate fulfilment of
that dream, by graphically bringing to the forefront the cruelty and inhumanity
of the system he was committed to supplanting.
It
is in the significance of the need to carry on with this struggle that the real danger lies in M.D. Yusuf’s
campaign. In the final analysis, his political program can only have real value
if it represents a real alternative to the current system. He will have to carry
that torch which the forces of darkness thought extinguished with the death of
Yar Adua. He will have to light for them their own faces, and hold a mirror
before their eyes, that they may see the extent of their own depravity. They
will not like what they see, but, incapable of changing, they will try to blow
out the torch or break the mirror. But let them tarry a while in their false comfort, soon another knight emerges, raising
the torch aloft and holding a fresh mirror for them to see themselves in an even
more degenerate and distasteful state.
M.D.
Yusuf started his campaign with a limited objective, that of inviting other
politicians to join the parties and contest the elections. It seems his genuine
intention was to withdraw from the scene on achieving this limited objective. At
this point, to most observers, the ultimate aim of his campaign seemed to be in
the service of the junta by giving its transition programme some element of
credibility, and ultimately creating the impression that the incumbent won a
keenly contested, free and fair election. The participation of politicians would
give the lie to the theory of a
muzzled opposition. This perception of the campaign was reinforced by a general
feeling that he has remained too close to the administration for him to
represent a credible opposition.
What
ever may be said about this initial
limited objective, it seems that M.D. Yusuf has so far failed
in achieving it. Front-line politicians have refused to join the race.
Paradoxically, they seem to be lining-up behind M. D. as the alternative to
Abacha. The dark horse has become a front-runner in the opposition. The campaign
has taken a life of its own and its dynamics seem beyond the initial plan of its prime
mover. Perhaps no words express the change in scenario as MD’s own words in a
newspaper interview: “ if Abacha
asked me to run then he has made the greatest mistake of his life. Because if he
contests I will defeat him”. The exposure M.D. Yusuf has had in the print and
electronic media has stirred the
interest of Nigerians who now dare to hope that all is not lost. Unlike
Braithwaite who is viewed as something of a comedian and opportunist, M. D.
Yusuf is seen as too serious and responsible to take such a matter lightly.
Nigerians are further impressed by his impeccable record of public service, a
refreshing prospect in an environment filled with corruption. Finally, it seems
that his aristocratic background serves as
a magnet for revolutionary support. The history of revolutionary leadership the
world over is replete with carpet-crossers , born into privilege but with the
honour to fight the cause of the
oppressed. Vladimir Lenin and Fidel Castro are but two examples. In the
contemporary political history of Nigeria, the Fulani aristocratic classes have
produced some of the most prominent
revolutionary theorist and politicians . Kano and Katsina have been most
prominent in this. Murtala Mohammed and Aminu Kano from the Kano aristocracy;
Shehu Yar Adua and now M. D.
Yusuf from the
Katsina aristocracy; And of
course the indefatigable ideologue of northern radicalism, Dr. Yusuf Bala Usman,
whose paternal grand father was the
Emir of Katsina and maternal grand
father was the Emir of Kano.
At
a time when the political landscape is filled with pro-Abacha campaigners and
fence-sitters, it is therefore not
surprising, given these antecedents, that Nigerians see in M D Yusuf’s
campaign a voice for the masses ,
and a struggle against oppression, corruption and injustice. They have seen
other leaders of theirs
emasculated, framed - up, jailed , murdered, assassinated
or compromised. Every time one
is cut down , God raises up for them another . Now
they dare to hope in M. D.
Yusuf. The question is : IS THAT
HOPE MISPLACED ?
The
consensus of public opinion seems to rest on one reality: That for the purpose
of the upcoming presidential elections , Nigerians for now acknowledge the
existence of only two contestants: Sani Abacha and M. D. Yusuf. Yet a peculiar
feature of M. D. Yusuf.’s
campaign to date is his refusal to assume the mantle of an opposition candidate
to Abacha, refusing to acknowledge Abacha as an opponent because Abacha himself
has not announced it. This may very well be an astute political strategy to
avoid emasculation of a budding campaign machinery. If however, it is
a statement of fact, then one must be excused for finding it naïve and
simplistic. To almost all observers, Abacha is already in the campaign.
Abacha’s administrators receive pro- Abacha groups all over the country.
Infants( who call themselves youth) are sponsored to call for Abacha and arrange
rallies and are given audience in the highest quarters and unlimited access to
government media coverage. Abacha’s right-hand man trusted friend and
accomplice, Jerry Useni, is chairman of the forum of miserable, incurable
sycophants called Traditional Rulers who have recently made
a public call to Abacha to contest. By refusing
to recognise these developments for what they are and acknowledge that he
is in fact running against Abacha , M. D. Yusuf
treads a dangerous path that
may cost him his personal credibility.
By
jumping into the political fray, M. D. Yusuf has lost every right to sit on the
fence. No serious participant in Nigerian Politics can run away from being
either pro- or anti Abacha. This is because the contest is for votes, and few
voters are ambivalent about Abacha.
The
reason for this is that irrespective of one’s view of Abacha, it is
indisputable that he is a decisive, determined and committed leader, who has
shown a ruthless willingness for the pursuit of his own agenda. A leader like
this ( like J. F. Kennedy ), you either love or hate. The Nigerian voters are
divided into two and it is a great
divide: Those who are fanatically pro - Abacha to the point of adulation for him
and those ( among whom the present writer proudly counts himself) who have
nothing but contempt for the man and his primitive tactics and little respect
for his intelligence , character
and disposition.
Of
the first group we have seen and heard a
lot. The group includes top government functionaries, and sycophants like the
traditional rulers who visited Aso Rock recently. A large portion of this group
actually pretends to love Abacha because it pays to do so. As
one listens to the Sultan of Sokoto extolling the leadership of Abacha and
arguing that he is the best material for leadership of this country, one could
nor help thinking of the qualities of a
leader enumerated by Uthman Dan Fodio in his magnum opus: BAYAN WUJUB AL-HIJRA.
Sheikh Uthman must be turning
in his grave to see his descendant and flag bearer of the Caliphate reduced to
such a level of sycophancy as to pervert all the principles for which the Jihad
was carried out. The sultan knew, in his heart that those words were not
sincere. As did every one else apart
from , perhaps Abacha. One recalls the foolish King Lear: ( in Shakespeare’s
tragedy) who rejected his daughter Cordelia
and divided his kingdom between his two
elder daughters Goneril and Regan based on their ability to tell him in
sweet language how much they loved him. That reliance on the sweet words of
greedy sycophants led to avoidable betrayal, tragedy and death for all.
Abacha would do well to bear
in mind the lesson of that foolish king as he accepts the “challenge” of his
own appropriately costumed court-jesters.
As
for the second group, their opposition to the regime is borne of deep-rooted
political and moral principle. We
do not mean here those whose opposition is founded on ethnocentric and religious
bigotry. We mean the large number of Nigerians who see in this regime the
glorification of corruption in our society. Those who see a lack of respect for
human life and liberty, and how individuals and their wives and children have
turned government into some kind of family business.
Nigeria
is the only country in the world where the Finance Minister can publicly
announce that billions of Naira released to the Oil ministry for work on
refineries were squandered and then nothing happens. If the Finance Minister was
lying, he should have gone. If he was speaking the truth the Oil Minister should
have gone. Both of them retained their portfolios in spite of
the inescapable fact that either the Finance Minister is congenital liar
or the Petroleum Minister is a
thief. It is a leader who maintains these two in his cabinet that the
Sultan credit with a commitment to transparent honesty.
Nigeria
is the only country where the president’s
son can take his girl- friend and party-boys on private trips in the
presidential jet until nemesis catches up with them and no eyebrows are raised.
Instead mosques are built in their honour and services held in ever-loving
memory.
Nigeria
is the only country where a
political prisoner , any political prisoner , not
to talk of a former General
and No 2 Citizen , can die in prison custody without the government finding it
necessary or even appropriate to offer an explanation.
Nigeria
is the only country where the Head of State can voluntarily address the Nation
on key issues like release of political prisoners or implementation of the
budget and proceed without honouring his word.
Nigerians
are in a stage of siege . They have been traumatised and physically and
psychologically brutalised. They have lost their sense of self -esteem.
It
is not surprising that they feel insulted and insist that Traditional Rulers who
claim that the incumbent is the best candidate for the presidency speak for
themselves and not the people.
Abacha
and his supporters are quick to point out his achievements, which make him
qualified to continue as a civilian
president. Prime among these , is that he saved the country from disintegration.
Some would even suggest that, were
Abacha to hand over power, the country’s fragile unity which he is holding-up
would break down( one shudders to think what would happen to Nigeria
if he were to die a natural
death or from his cirrhosis of the liver).
This
claim, were it not so often repeated and believed, would be laughable . Abacha
was the No 2 man in the regime which dissolved an election in which Nigerians
freely expressed their choice of a
president, an act which plunged the country into a major crisis. Now in solving a
problem which he created, Abacha expects gratitude from Nigerians. Every
time Abacha points to the state the
Nation was in when took over power , he is in fact pointing to the state he and
Babangida brought the Nation to. It is the proverbial case of
a man pointing to another with one finger, forgetting that his three
other fingers were actually pointed at himself.
It
is also said that by setting up failed banks tribunals Abacha had confronted
corruption. These tribunals, in spite of their positive sides which none would
deny, have also been associated with the incarceration and unjust castigation of
innocent citizens, in detention for
extended periods without trial and in slow
rate of conviction and
recovery of public funds. Besides, Abacha find it convenient to ignore alleged
wide-spread corruption in the Ministry of Petroleum , Ministry of Defence, FSP
and the Presidency, as well as allegations that certain public officers and
their relations who died in sudden and tragic circumstances had amassed
unbelievable wealth from government coffers.
Abacha
also claims to have brought inflation under control. This has been achieved by
strangulating the economy and simply refusing to spend even on those things that
have been budgeted for. If economic management was so simple there would be no
inflation in the world. By refusing to pay its debts and provide services the
government can proudly point to low inflation and high reserve figures. These
figures are but a celebration of inactivity.
If
it pleases Abacha , he may believe that he has major achievements. Even if these
were genuine , they would pale into insignificance when viewed against
the reality that Nigerians
have been stripped of their dignity and their value- system has been gradually
eroded. Traditional rulers, long-viewed as the custodians of that value-system
have sold their conscience for 5% of L. G. A Statutory Allocations ( their
twenty pieces of silver).
When
M. D. Yusuf , honest, experienced , serious public servant stepped
into the fray , Nigerians felt they had found their voice. The choice
before M. D. Yusuf as he jumps into the ring with Abacha
is a clear and simple one : Complicity or Confrontation.
If
, like traditional rulers of today , he sees in Abacha the messiah for this
country, the honourable thing is
for him to withdraw and join the chorus. If , like his forebears , he detests
what he sees the courageous
thing is to confront Abacha
on the level of politics and an ideology founded on good conscience , ready to
fight to the finish.
M.D.
Yusuf can not run away from making this choice . he may delay it a little by
avoiding the reality of an Abacha candidacy but inevitably Nigerians would know
if he is a hero or a villain , a true leader or a pretender.
When
he finally does make that choice we pray for his sake and that of the nation
that he makes the correct one and marks out for himself a place along side our
heroes , dead and alive : Aminu
Kano , Murtala Mohammed , Shehu Yar
Adua , Bala Usman and Gani Fawehinmi, among others.
The following words from the Old School Song of King’s College are quite instructive:
“ Others went before you
and attained the light
Where they wait to cheer you
victors
in the fight.”
You can read more about my article from my web page at http://www.gamji.com/sanusi.htm
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