By Joe Iniodu
Oftentimes events force me to wonder whether Nigeria would not have been a better country without Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the chicken farmer who had the rare grace of presiding over Nigeria for eleven generous years. Each time this thought roams across the span of my consciousness, I find myself inclined to the belief that yes, indeed, it would have been a better place without him and his likes on the saddle of leadership. Nigeria has been very kind to Obasanjo but Obasanjo has visited more woes on the nation than any other leader living or dead.
In January 1970, Obasanjo had the rare privilege of receiving the flag of surrender from General Philip Effiong signaling the end of the Nigerian Civil war that had raged for 30 agonizing months. It was not that Obasanjo distinguished himself in that war but fate had thrust upon him that enviable duty that bathed him with klieg lights and engraved him historically. The same Obasanjo would have been considered a villain if he had joined his close friend and roommate, Major Kaduna Nzeogwu four years earlier in the January 1966 coup. Kaduna Nzeogwu and his gang of progressive military officers had planned to oust the political leadership which they accused of massive corruption. Obasanjo who was a close ally of Nzeogwu had just returned from a course in India and the latter thought it was two late to tell him about the planned coup. Many believe that given their closeness, Obasanjo would have partaken in the coup if he was informed by his friend.
But fate spared him perhaps in the belief that he would be of greater value to the nation. Fate did not only do that, it also provided him with opportunities to serve the nation and write his name in gold. This perhaps explains the uncanny hand of fate that made him the recipient of the flag of surrender against the likes of Benjamin Adekunle, Muntala Mohammed who fought vigorously in the Biafran enclave to procure that surrender. As it is often said, the race is not for the swift or the battle for the strong. While others did the fight, the colourless Obasanjo took the shine.
The same fate was to spot him again in 1976. The Dimka led coup had killed the then Head of State, General Mutala Mohammed. Obasanjo was his second in command. Upon learning of the coup and the death of his compatriot, the lily livered General had run to one of his kinsmen’s houses in Ikoyi to hide. He did nothing to abort the coup or attenuate it. It was the likes of Generals Theophilus Danjuma, Joe Garba and Bajowa who made contacts and mobilized men of the force to counter the coup. Ibrahim Babangida, then a Lt. Colonel courageously moved into the premises of Radio Nigeria, Ikoyi, Lagos where the coup broadcast was being transmitted from and routed the coupist to bring to futility Dimka’s adventurism. And so the coup failed.
But after all that, Obasanjo was ferreted out of hiding and made the head of State. He served as head of State from 1976 to 1979. His government was noted for high handedness, corruption and anti-democratic tendencies. It was during his period that we had the scandal of the missing of $2.8 billion. It was his era that witnessed the promulgation of the Land Use Decree which is said to have been the vehicle that helped him to forfeit people’s land that translated it to the famous Ota farm. The era also recorded infamies like the killing of students while protesting over increase in school fees; the razing down of Fela’s family compound and hurling down of the 70-year old mother from a storey building, a sordid incident that acquired the ignoble sobriquet of Unknown Soldier; the construction of the crocodile infested Ita Oko detention camp and many others. Indeed it is said that it was an era that tipped the scale in human rights violation as people were carted into detention on very flimsy reasons.
Well in the midst of his many infamies, he was able to sprinkle a dot of good and that was the handing over to a democratically elected government in 1979. Even though many have alluded that it was fear that caused him to hand over and not commitment to democratic ethos, he should still be commended for rising to the occasion to do the right thing at least for once in his life. That singular exercise covered his many misdeeds and infamous acts. Even his Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) which curiously had the same acronym with Obasanjo Farms Limited (OFN) that many alleged was a ploy to divert Federal Government’s Farm implements and machineries to Obasanjo farms received less attacks despite the obvious truism. It was a way of thanking him for handing over. Obasanjo was allowed to go and enjoy his loots in peace and tranquility. He maintained a quiet profile and became prominent in global affairs. His contributions gave him strong relevance that translated into his being made Chairman of Eminent Persons Group.
The attainments seemed to have overwhelmed him. He began to be reckless in comments and disposition. He abducted a police inspector at Ojota for daring to stop his vehicle, took him to Ota Farm, beat him to pulp, stripped him naked and told him to approach any court in the land. Of course the hapless inspector went to court but could not have his way. Obasanjo’s bellicosity continued unabated as he threw his weight aggressively everywhere, spoiling for fights and throwing verbal brickbats at anyone that caught his wrong side. He overawed men, played God and stomped everywhere like an emperor. When therefore he indicated interest to run for the Secretary-General of United Nations, his human rights records of serial violations were exhumed and flaunted even by his schoolmate and brother, Professor Wole Soyinka. The records were so sordid that the world body found him unfit for the job.
Many who saw that development as instructive at least to him were wrong. Obasanjo continued in his old ways like a loose canon and only made his waterloo in the hands of the maximum ruler, General Sanni Abacha. Deluding himself as not being a mere mortal, he defied the then U.S Ambassador, Walter Carrington who called and warned him in far away Denmark that he should not return to Nigeria as the government of Sanni Abacha was plotting to arrest him on some spurious allegations of coup plotting. Obasanjo in his characteristic stubborn manner ignored that counsel and headed for Nigeria. Of course he paid dearly for that defiance and is only alive today through the mercy of God.
But Obasanjo does not seem to have learnt much. His conduct has continued to portray him as a man with exaggerated ego who believes that he is above all other mortals. His second coming as President appears to have upped this delusion and worsened his people’s skill. While a President, he is reported to have acted brashly at public functions. Some of the instances isolated include that of Ilorin when he seized a whip from a policeman who was trying to rein in a surging crowd and rained the whip on the officer. There was the scandalous encounter with a CAN Secretary in Jos that that produced the un-presidential remark of “CAN my foot”. Many other of such abnormal and anti-social behaviour trailed his presidency.
The return of Obasanjo as President in 1999 came with great hope and optimism. Many thought that given his age, his experience in the hands of Abacha and the unfathomable grace that attended his survival, he was coming to offer such altruistic service that would glorify God and ameliorate the pains of men. But his era turned out to celebrate impunity of the worst coloration. Corruption was glamourished, deodorized and taken to the scale of insanity. Even when he established EFCC at the behest of United States of America and the international community, he turned it into a witch hunting tool. He amassed personal fortunes in a manner that can best be described as obscene. He breathed down the neck of businessmen to open a multi-million presidential library for himself. His quest for material wealth stirred the bile of the then governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu who accused him of massive corruption and threatened to make the details public. Obasanjo saw the danger in the threat and discretely sued for truce.
But today Obasanjo is acting saintly. It is reported that he met with President Buhari and encouraged him to jail his protégée, former President Jonathan for corruption. It is also said that he has promised to provide evidence of such corruption to the President to accelerate the process of sending the President he willfully saddled on Nigeria to jail. Well, yours truly is not against the law taking its course against anybody that has corruptly enriched himself at the detriment of the nation and the poor masses. But I am against the messenger of this particular quest for he does not have the moral authority to question another on matters of corruption. He must first remove the speck from his eyes before looking at the log in another man’s eyes.
This nation has been fatally leeched by the likes of Obasanjo. The people are still nursing the pains of his misrule. His comments on national matters often increase public irritation towards him. The Jonathan that he sees as a scoundrel today was imposed on the nation by him. He should allow us to leak our wounds in pains and not to further cause us disquiet with his ranting that we can only see as self serving.
*Joe Iniodu is a public affairs analyst