ON Friday, May 29^th, 2009, Nigeria “celebrated” her 10^th year of uninterrupted democratic rule which has given politicians 10 solid years so far to turn around the country. Next year, Nigeria would celebrate 50 years of independence from British colonial rule. In this article, I attempt to unravel one mystery that most writers, like several Nigerians, seem to be overlooking and that is the Aso Rock itself, something should be wrong with it somewhere and somehow.

I came to this realization when I went through the list of both past and present occupants of Nigeria’s power house in the rock. From its first occupant, General Babangida (rtd.), occupants were ideal leaders who prior to their ascension to the highest post, were of high repute and highly respected in their various fields of human endeavor. Let’s start our journey with General Babangida himself.

While at the Dodan Barracks in Ikoyi, Lagos, General Babangida warmed his way to the hearts of many Nigerians with his laudable programs.  Babangida was adored by many citizens for some reasons. Firstly, he attracted capable Nigerians which gave him an exceptionally admirable cabinet. His regime no doubt formulated grass-root oriented policies and programs which perhaps were the best the country ever had. These included MAMSER, NDE, DFRRI, People’s Bank and Mariam’s Better Life for the Nation. As good as his regime was, the first half to be precise, the whole story changed when he relocated Nigeria’s seat of power to Abuja, the Aso Rock to be specific.

The downfall of Babangida’s regime happened in the Aso Rock. During this period, official corruption expanded dramatically. The metastatic cancer ate deep into almost all government parastatals at all levels. There were unbelievably widespread abuses of offices by government officials during his Aso Rock regime. The last straw that broke his government’s back was the June 12 election. After taking the necessary measures and steps in selecting a credible electoral chairman, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu who put together what remains Nigeria’s fairest election in history. The election was free, fair and clearly won by Chief M.K.O. Abiola but the powers that be in Aso Rock did not allow the results to be announced which led to his inglorious exit from Aso Rock. Apart from the horrors of June 12, Babangida also left Aso Rock leaving behind a collapsed economy, taking us back to square one.

Babangida’s prominent successor, General Sanni Abacha came in as a disciplined well groomed soldier who looked poised to transform the nation from the ills of Gen. Babangida. With his eyes hidden under his dark glasses, he looked focused on instilling discipline and wiping out all the elements of corruption from the Nigerian system but all that changed from the moment he took the sacred oath which shrouded his regime in an unimaginable secrecy.

General Abacha, born September 20, 1943, in Kano, northern Nigeria, was a very brilliant soldier who got the best training any soldier could get both within Nigeria (Nigerian Military College Kaduna, Command Staff College Jaji, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies Kuru) and outside the country (Mons Defense Cadet College, Aldershot, UK, School of Infantry at Warminster, International defense course at Monterrey, California). He was a member of the prestigious military elite who was involved in almost every successful non violent coup. In fact, he was revered as the political mind of the then military. Prior to his ascension in November, General Abacha in February 2003 spoke at the Annual Murtala Muhammad Lecture where he outlined the government’s commitment to end military rule and their embracement of democratic rule. All that changed in the spate of 9 months when, like a pregnant woman, he gave birth to a child that became Nigeria’s worst nightmare.

On assuming presidency in November 1993, he dissolved every element of democracy in place and replaced both civil and elected officials with stern looking military personnels. That was not all. He suppressed every form of opposition to his government especially the pro-democratic movements who had it rough with many going into oblivion while their vanguards went on exile. The National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) had it tough during the Abacha regime. He ensured that the new unimplemented 1989 constitution which gave certain rights and privileges was abandoned and led a government which enforced its rules using cruel means like arrests, imprisonment and execution of dissenters, press censorship and assassination. He sent many to jail, some of which didn’t make it back alive (M.K.O. Abiola and Shehu Musa Yar’Adua for example).

Unlike his attractively charismatic military predecessor, General Abacha rarely appeared in public and when he did, it was in the midst of long throngs of soldiers from the Special Bodyguard Unit who could shoot down any fly that flies beyond its natural jurisdiction. In 1998, Nigerians lost all hopes in human intervention to end his rule as shown in his resolute mind following his reception of the Pope (Pope John Paul II) and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. But hope in Nigeria was restored when he died unexpectedly; officially of a heart attack although unofficial rumors abound ranging from the forbidden apple version to the cardiac arrest resulting from the use of Viagra to keep up with his Indian prostitutes. Whatever the true version is, he is dead, giving room for our next president- General Abdulsalam Abubakar.

To many including yours sincerely, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar is the only saint to have occupied Aso Rock. He came on the heels of the death, in office, of his predecessor, Gen. Abacha. He inherited a country with bad internal and international recognition, international sanctions, diplomatic isolation, UN’s condemnation, suspension from the Commonwealth which regrettably for the country at that time was headed by a Nigerian (Chief Emeka Anyaoku). As far as the country was concerned, it couldn’t be worse. He bowed to mounting request for transition to democracy creating a timetable which he promptly pursued. His government lasted roughly one year (June 1998 – May 1999) and like most Nigerians would agree with me, he could also have metamorphosed into a dangerous strain, like Abacha and Babangida did, if he had stayed longer. He seems, to me, to be the smartest of them all.

When Obasanjo came in as democratically elected president in May 1999, he looked poised to transform the country from its precarious situation. Being one of the scapegoats that received the punishments for the sins of us all, Nigerians couldn’t have made a better choice then. He was a man just back from hell and whose once flourishing business had almost died, all for the quest for the restoration of the country to democratic rule. At the outset, he lived up to expectations. He worked on Nigeria’s international relations with many doors, including the Whitehouse and Buckingham Palace, opened to him. He also assembled best brains from all over the world to transform the country which yielded results as shown in the debt cancellation by the Paris club. He also initiated the EFCC under Nuhu Ribadu who became a haunting ghost to many corrupt leaders in their dreams. Tafa Balogun will certainly not forget him. Like past occupants of Aso Rock however, he also underwent transformation, a really bad one.

The first sign of Obasanjo’s transformation was when on June 1, 2000, he hiked the prices of petroleum products by 50 per cent. Like most Nigerians, I felt disappointed, betrayed and made to look like a fool after electing someone  whom we thought would be the crusader of social justice, subjugator of Nigerian sufferings and our pilot, like the Israelites, en route the promised land. The second sign happened to be the declaration by the former communications minister now senate president, Senator David Mark that “telephone is not for the poor” which coupled with the fuel hike showed that instead of poverty eradication, the Obasanjo-led administration seem poised for poverty elevation.

Despite setting up the EFCC, the presidential pardon given to the self acclaimed Toronto-trained speaker of the House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari, was another of the innumerable sins of Obasanjo. The most prominent wrong action of Obasanjo seems to be the national embarrassment which characterized the face off between him and his vice (Atiku Abubakar) which divided the country and the government into various groups while the international community could not  help but laugh at our ill luck at getting a good occupant for the Aso Rock. It would be so futile an action elucidating on the woes of the present boring Yar’Adua- led government.

Before coming to Aso Rock, Yar’Adua was a state governor who was the envy of other governors. He was vibrant, illustrious and active. Within 4 years, he transformed the state which earned him the Obasanjo’s anointing as his beloved successor. The story, just 2 years, has changed with the president being the exact opposite of what he was known for prior to his election and that made me ponder on the unseen force that transforms our presidents on assuming duty at the Aso Rock.

From our past presidents and their stay in Aso Rock, I’ve come to realize that there is definitely something wrong with the Aso Rock. Something in the Aso Rock steadily transforms its occupants into what they were not in the past. Babangida is a true example of this. He was at his best in Lagos but became something else in Abuja. In Aso Rock, there is definitely something that makes occupants easily forget where they are from and why they are there. Aso Rock makes it very easy for leaders to forget the plight of citizens and embrace the posh life that comes with leading Africa’s most populous country and the world’s third largest oil producer.

Aso Rock gives the leader the wrong notion that he is above the led and anything he does is at his own discernment. The villa gives its occupant, as shown in Obasanjo, the ability to rule the country without being well informed on the citizens’ situations. Obasanjo once said that he doesn’t read Nigerian newspapers. The villa makes our leaders arrogant and the led are beggars begging for the crumbs falling from the tables of the arrogant leaders.

Because of its location, Aso Rock makes it extremely difficult for any president to be in touch with Nigerians. In Aso Rock, everything is perfect. The roads are potholes free, electricity is on 24 hrs in a day and the water cannot stop running except heads want to roll. There is no market with foul smelling aromas spreading to nearby neighborhoods. In addition, the security arrangement in Aso Rock is second to none which can make the president and other occupants sleep like babes at night.

In Lagos with millions of people rushing daily to their places of work, the entropy level is high, so high that it cannot be suppressed by any fence, rock, or security network, but can be easily felt in the air and anybody that can breathe can feel it. Little wonder that Fashola, like his predecessor, Tinubu, is making headway in transforming Lagos and this should be a lesson to the president.

Abuja is full of jobbers who would love to impress their employers, telling the employer what he or she would love to hear to understandably secure their own jobs. How possible is it for the president to understand the agonies of the average Nigerian when he has none around him, how should he understand the frustrations associated with power failures when the lights of his immediate environments are on for most of the time, how do you want the president to understand the pains of the children when anytime he makes a visit, happy and beautifully dressed children wave at him while the ones that are not well dressed are temporarily kept out of the streets, how do you want the president to take environment sanitation serious when all he sees around him is serendipity, tranquility and beauty and above all, all do you want the president to understand Nigeria when he is totally detached from the country he is ruling?

Aso Rock was meant to be the coordinating center for the country but has done more harm than good. I could vividly the other day when Obasanjo’s car got trapped in a pothole along Lagos-Ibadan expressway and was booed by passersby asking him why he forgot to repair the road during his 8-year rule. The answer is simple, he wasn’t aware of the existence of such roads. Those charged with the responsibility of reporting to the president the state of the nation are the ones destroying the nation making the president live in his own non-existing imagination that all is well with the country and the few noises are fabricated by the opposition to gain public pity.

Aso Rock also helps corruption. With large sums of money available, there is little realization of the fact that there are many works to do. Our leaders in Abuja believe that if allocated to ministries, it is possible for the money to grow wings and fly into personal accounts so they share it right away. Believe it or not, Abuja has done us more harm than good.

Take developed countries of the world for instance; the seats of their presidents are among the citizens and not in an obscure rock transformed into a mini paradise. In USA, there is a main road right in front of the Whitehouse. The Oval office has a corner that overlooks the main road from where the president can see Washington DC and passersby, and can personally assess his observations. In England, the home of the prime minister, 10 Downing Street, London, is right beside a main road and has no fence around it. People throng along the rode and the prime minister can hear frustrated people blare their horns. These leaders are not isolated like ours from those they are leading.

Apart from the Aso Rock, Abuja generally does not favor Nigerians and their passion. An example is that of the National team, the Super Eagles. Before the construction of the Abuja National Stadium, the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, was the home of the Super Eagles and the fans would never take anything short of victory from the team. In some instances, players and officials of the team had received the beating of their lives for playing draws or not winning convincingly. This passion for soccer has however died in the Abuja National Stadium which was commissioned with Nigeria being defeated by Brazil.

Abuja residents are the elites who wouldn’t want anything to jeopardize their status or reputation. Hypothetically, they are the gentlemen and courteous ladies of Nigeria who occupy the upper class unlike the Lagos residents who believe that they should get the worth of their money especially in an economic meltdown. Abuja is not a place for a company that depends on Nigerians for its existence. No wonder Lagos remains the economic capital of the country.

In my view, the best genius can be transformed in Aso Rock when he is not in touch with challenges to contend with. The relatively peaceful and conducive nature of Abuja to our political leaders is responsible for their inactivity and if we want to progress as a nation, we must change our attitude of putting either a new or old wine in a bottle and change the bottle itself.

Robot  # 1 | 04.06.2009 06:40

ON Friday, May 29th, 2009, Nigeria “celebrated” her 10th year of uninterrupted democratic rule which has given politicians 10 solid years so far to turn around the country.Next year, Nigeria would celebrate 50 years of independence from British colonial rule. In this article, I attempt to unravel one mystery that most writers, like several Nigerians, seem to be overlooking and that is the Aso Rock itself, something should be wrong with it somewhere and somehow. I came to this realization when I went through the list of both past and present occupants of Nigeria’s power house in the rock. From its first occupant, General Babangida (rtd.), occupants were ideal leaders who prior to their ascension to the highest post, were of high repute and highly respected in their various fields of human endeavor. Let’s start our journey with General Babangida himself. While at the Dodan Barracks in Ikoyi, Lagos, General ...Read the full article.