Fellow Nigerians, it is always surprising to see how some of our citizens often jump to conclusions without due diligence. As soon as my article came out last week, on the verbal fiasco between two of our most notable former Presidents, Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, I was accused, as usual, of supporting one against the other. That was not unexpected in a nation where it has become a religion to cast aspersions on anything and anyone. Some of us may not recognise the Messiah whenever he turns up by our door. That is the tragedy of these sad times. But we must continue to match forward with those who have not given up hope that our dear country still has a good chance of occupying its rightful position in the comity of nations.
What I had written was only a tip of the iceberg. I stand firm on my belief that since most of our youths lack a comprehensive knowledge of our ancient and contemporary history, someone needed to chronicle, and situate, the ugly under-currents that contributed to this disastrous saga as well as the general malaise that has become endemic in our body polity. In short, I believed that the two leaders did not just wake up on the wrong sides of their beds to start fighting in public. There must have been a long history to that public explosion.
It was obviously a manifestation of the hitherto suppressed but deep-seated hatred between the two even if they pretended in public. It is an untold story of rabid ambition to control the heart and soul of our nation either directly or by proxy. That is the main reason every President and every Governor in Nigeria is always agitated about, and directly involved in, issues of succession. And, if I must add, it is never about how to move our nation forward. It is more of a game of big ego and a consuming passion for controlling the commonwealth of our people. That is why we find most Nigerian rulers coming out of multiple retirements and angling for jobs that would be better handled by their grandchildren. The godfathers of Nigerian politics are worse than Muamar Gaddafi and that is why they would always find it hard to condemn sit-tight despots that litter the streets of Africa.
I make bold to say that my only interest and motive in this matter is to set the records straight lest we get carried away by the hullabaloo as we tend to do most times. We need to re-examine the gargantuan and incalculable damage that military rule has done to what should have been one of the greatest nations on earth. We can no longer continue to gamble away our collective destinies. The world is changing and we must change with it. The Obasanjo/Babangida battle, I believe, was foretold by Karl Marx as contradictions within the ruling class that must precede every revolution. It is therefore in our common interest to help amplify their battles and contradictions in order to destabilise the parasitic class and rescue our nation from neo-colonial servitude. We must be worried that many years after attaining Independence, a few of our leaders continue to recycle themselves in power.
Once upon a time, we were better rated than Malaysia and Brazil. Today we are treated like the dregs of the world no thanks to those who claimed the Wisdom of Solomon but drove us down the road to perdition. Let me admit that the two leaders were never short of ideas or the brilliant team to actualise their dreams. What was lacking was the will and willingness to take the risk of tackling the status quo. Babangida, for example, had too many friends who were entrenched within the putrefied system which made it impossible for him to achieve his lofty ideals. The man or woman who would change Nigeria must be ready to step on toes. He must be bold to live and fight on the side of the people.
Babangida had a lot of pro-people policies but fell short on final delivery. They included the restructuring of the economy known as the Structural Adjustment Programme. But while the poor became leaner the rich became fatter. The deregulation of the Agricultural sector was a great move, as well as the elimination of price controls and marketing boards. The establishment of the People’s Bank, The National Directorate for Employment, National Directorate for Food Roads and Rural Infrastructure, The Primary Healthcare, Better Life for Rural Women, National Commission for Women, West African Peace Monitoring Force, The Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, among others, were awesome contributions. Much more would have been achieved if there was the sheer determination to eliminate corruption. There were bigger problems of unresolved assassinations and the manipulations of the political process which resulted in the cancellation of what would have been our best and fairest presidential election. That singular annulment threw Nigeria into the worst crisis which has now snowballed into more explosive problems.
On the other hand, President Obasanjo was better positioned and equipped to take Nigeria out of the doldrums. He had fewer friends to protect and had the double advantage of having ruled in the good and bad times. He was also expected to have received divine inspiration from his stint in prison which would have helped to guide him and our country in the right direction. His biggest problem arose from the fact that he could hardly tolerate opposing views. His grip on the economy was tight and through better fiscal discipline, he was able to pay off our debts. Obasanjo also completed the digital revolution of our telecom sector as one of his greatest achievements. He tried to tackle the problems bedevilling our education but did not follow through to its logical conclusion. He worked hard at revamping our health sector and was able to clean up the Federal Capital territory. His war against corruption was hot, at least in some areas, while allegations of a massive witch-hunt dented what would have been a worthy legacy. In all Obasanjo would have been the closest to a messiah because of his wealth of experience and raw courage but he allowed himself to be distracted and derailed by a cult of acolytes who changed him from that poor farmer to a latter day Midas who wanted to have a hand in every business and turn it into gold. He became a leader with acquisitive tendencies and this was the tragedy of his second coming. We are not likely to have another leader as experienced and as powerful as Obasanjo.
I’m always saddened by the fact that both leaders wasted all those years and resources and failed to turn Nigeria into an oil-rich nation that would compete against United Arab Emirates, Angola, Libya and others in terms of infrastructure. There was no excuse for the abject backwardness that stares us all in the face. Everything that we needed to make our country great had been ostensibly provided to us and nations with little or no resources have done and achieved better things. That is why it is unthinkable that these leaders are still fighting to grab Nigeria and Nigerians by the jugular.
Both leaders were very successful military officers who rose to the peak of their chosen career while they were still very young. They were incredibly ambitious and were able to shoot their ways into power, influence and affluence. While Obasanjo always appeared disinterested in the top job, Babangida was never able to hide his love for power. He was not called The Prince of the Niger for nothing.
He courted power and invested heavily in the process that would lead him to his destination. He knew the principles and laws of power with the requisite abilities to meander his way in our type of difficult terrain. Without any doubt Babangida stamped his footprints on our political landscape with well-documented activities in power. But a house built with spittle was bound to collapse at the fall of the dew.
Obasanjo on the other hand cut a picture of a reluctant and timid leader when the mantle of leadership fell on him the first time after the death of his boss General Murtala Mohammed who was who was criminally murdered on his way to work. That was in 1976. Against all odds, Obasanjo handed over to a civilian government in 1979 even if under controversial circumstances. That singular act boosted his image and the international community saw him as a rare African who was not tempted to stay on perpetually in power. He was also rated as a Mr Scrooge, a very frugal spender who would never waste Nigeria’s resources on frivolous projects.
He tried to sustain the prosperity of Nigeria for the three years he reigned and handed over a relatively stable nation to the politicians. Unfortunately, all the gains of the Mohammed/Obasanjo regime were soon squandered by the Shagari administration. The atrocities of the National Party of Nigeria and the profligacy of the politicians in general led to the collapse of the Second Republic. The last straw was the way and manner the ruling party rigged the general elections without qualms. The house built by Obasanjo soon collapsed like a pack of cards. This would lead Nigeria from one military coup to another, and at some point bring a Babangida to power. It was obvious at the time Babangida left power in 1993 that he was not ready to go. He had actually hinted Nigerians by telling them he was stepping aside. And he must have continued to dream of that day he would return from the interlude. Part of his strategy was to later support Obasanjo’s come-back bid. This was in the hope that Obasanjo would remember his good deeds and help whenever the time comes for him to step back into the ring.
But not many leaders would have a second chance in a country of about 150 million people. Obasanjo’s case was exceptional. The door was opened for him a second time. And it would seem he changed the locks as soon as he entered while his landlords looked on in total stupefaction. That is the basis of this fight. All we can do is for us to ask both to leave Nigeria alone and allow us some fresh air. They have played their roles and like good Actors must quit the stage more so when the ovation has died down.
I don’t think it is too much to ask.