By Aonduna Tondu Wednesday March 24, 2004 | Related Article:Allow The Nigerian People to Choose Between Buhari & IBB by Omo Omoruyi |
It is revealing that those who have been loudest in accusing the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) of playing partisan politics in favour of General Buhari ahead of the 2007 presidential election have failed to convince Nigerians as to the veracity of their position. Instead, pro-Babangida loyalists have preferred to use ACF as a convenient scapegoat for the unpardonable transgressions of the former dictator against the masses of the people. Significantly, professor Omo Omoruyi’s repeated claims of bias by ACF have sought to paint the organization with a brush of partisanship in a manner that is so cavalier and disdainful of the truth that one is left with the nagging impression that behind the demonization of ACF is the determination to offer a sugar-coated image of an unsavoury administrative legacy. For whatever it is worth, Nigerians need to be reminded of the fact that the Babangida kleptocratic débâcle was marked by gruesome murders of opponents, a callous disregard for the welfare of the Nigerian people and an undemocratic mindset which was on display in his 1993 annulment scheme. In his article entitled “Babangida a Believer in Democracy and Buhari a Non-Believer in Democracy: A Rejoinder to Aonduna Tondu”, professor Omoruyi restates an earlier position of his which was the object of my indictment. In their unsubstantiated form, Omoruyi’s repeated allegations of partisanship on the part of ACF can be considered as deriving from a propagandist intent. It was Josef Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda chief under the Third Reich who, tasked with the mission of promoting ‘a favorable image of the Nazi regime to the German people’, did observe that “the most brilliant propaganda technique...must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.” “...Propaganda must therefore be simple and repetitious”. It was Goebbels also who said that “if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it people will eventually come to believe it.” Of course, I am not suggesting that Omoruyi is a latter-day Goebbels. What is obvious, though, is that his repetitious claims regarding what he perceives as ACF’s agenda are both simplistic and far removed from reality. As for the brazen romanticisation of the Babangida tyranny, because that is what the professor is doing with his qualification of the erstwhile dictator as a ‘believer in democracy’, let’s just say that its inherent contempt for the people does remind us of Goebbels’s line that “the masses need something that will give them a thrill of horror”!Professor Omoruyi says that my article “is...a catalogue of untruths...”.What “untruths”, if I may ask? In my earlier commentary, I set out to expose the fallacy of Omoruyi’s central argument, namely, that ACF is a partisan anti-south organization out to promote Buhari’s presidential ambition at the expense of Babangida. The professor further alleges that ACF is against Nigeria’s “cultural pluralism” and state-structure as the basis for political representation. I challenged Omoruyi to tell us how ACF’s actions so far can be viewed as confirming his misgivings about the association. Not only has Omoruyi failed to deal with the substantive issues raised in my article, he also evasively sought refuge in red herrings by, amongst other things, accusing me of saying what I never said in the first place. He states, for instance, that another writer and I “...want to deny me such basic right of associating with another Nigerian...”! By “another Nigerian”, he is referring to his political associate, Babangida. I believe Omoruyi is putting a totally wrong spin on my reaction to his essay. Nowhere in my reaction to that essay is the professor’s freedom of expression or association questioned. What I took to task is his peculiar perception of ACF, Babangida and Buhari. If anybody is guilty of wanting to deny fellow Nigerians the basic right of association with other Nigerians, it is the professor who, like his former political master, Babangida, did support a weird scheme which effectively sought to regiment Nigerian party politics through the imposition of profoundly undemocratic restrictions.Now, professor Omoruyi is irked by my use of the expression “mercenary consideration” to describe what I suspect is a defining characteristic of much of his writing on the current political situation in the country. I find it curious that he has chosen to reduce the meaning of my usage of that expression to a situation of monetary inducement. In what is clearly a misreading of my text, he states rather strangely: “This is the nature of Nigerian political life that nothing is done unless it is driven by money...”! A close reading should have informed professor Omoruyi that my use of “mercenary considerations” was more a reference to the moral attitude discernible in his writing than to anything else. A semantic equivalent of “mercenary” as employed in my article could be “unscrupulous” or “selfish”. As for the ACF, one of Omoruyi’s more outrageous allegations has to do with his unsubstantiated claim that ACF’s activities are anti-democratic. There is the warped argument that the organization is trying to undermine our system of democratic representation. How Mr. Awoniyi and the ACF are doing this, the professor does not tell us. He seems to be contented with wanting to ridicule ACF’s consultations with northern governors in particular on matters of critical significance to the people of the region. Omoruyi’s main grouse has to do with the false claim that ACF wants to impose Buhari on us instead of allowing the people, as he puts it, to choose between the contending political visions of Buhari and Babangida. There is even a bizarre twist to Omoruyi’s position. I frankly do not know what to make of his insinuation that I am suggesting that ACF is undemocratic. That would put me on the same side of the debate with him. Says he: “...I thought I was addressing the Nigerian people who believe in the use of the ballot box to determine who would govern them. It would appear that that is not the belief of the leaders of the new Arewa as expounded by Mr. Tondu” ! Of course, I have consistently maintained that there is nothing inherently undemocratic with what ACF is doing as regards its stated agenda, and one doesn’t have to be an Awoniyi fan or an ACF supporter to acknowledge this fact.In an eloquent speech which he delivered in Kaduna on December 17, 2003 as chairman of the launch of a book on General Buhari, Awoniyi took the pains to put the records straight regarding fears that he could be partisan in his role as ACF chief. He said that he harboured no bias toward Atiku, Babangida or Buhari. “...I want to say it loud and clear that I, Chief Sunday Awoniyi, am nobody’s man. I am everbody’s man.” On the activities of ACF – in short, its raison d’être - , he stated as follows: “...Reconciliation and the Restoration of brotherly conduct are after all one of the greatest achievements of ACF. Recall the great efforts sustained for weeks and months in the reconciliation of the Tivs, the Jukuns and Fulanis in Benue and Taraba States. At a time when the Federal Government could not bring the opposing groups together, ACF, using our northern traditional methods and systems, our Emirs, our Chiefs and our senior members with good knowledge of the people, successfully brokered peace. Properly supported by us all, ACF is the unique and only umbrella under which all Northerners can examine and sort out their problems.” I suggest that professor Omoruyi and anybody interested in the ACF agenda read Mr. Awoniyi’s address which was published on gamji.com. It is important to note that Awoniyi, while not ignoring the fact that ACF might have suffered in the past because of unwholesome attempts by some individuals to use it for the promotion of selfish interests, has reaffirmed ACF’s mission as a neutral body concerned with the pursuit of objectives which are of common interest to the people of the north in particular. Significantly, ACF’s inclusive mantra also harps on unity and understanding across Nigeria’s cultural divide. ACF’s vision of Nigeria is encapsulated in the refrain of a beautiful song which Mr. Awoniyi has reproduced for all:“We are all but human,We’ve all got to die,And six feet of earth,Makes us all one kind.”What a moving call for national solidarity! I should reiterate here that there is nothing to suggest a partisan motive in favour of any one politician on the part of Awoniyi and ACF. Professor Omoruyi is clearly allowing his pro-Babangida reflexes to becloud his appreciation of the organization. It is unacceptable for Omo Omoruyi to try to use ACF as a scapegoat for Babangida’s failures as one of Nigeria’s most decadent dictators. In a show of contempt for the truth, if not that of absolute disdain for the overwhelming majority of Nigerians who continue to suffer the untold hardships which were occasioned by Babangida’s sadistic policies and crooked ways, Omoruyi has unabashedly posited that Babangida is imbued with “...a passionate belief in democracy”! Apart from the grim details and divisive consequences of the 1993 annulment débâcle, one needs to remind the professor that the contrived regimentation of Nigerian party politics which the Babangida “two-party” imposition entailed is a far cry from our collective democratic aspirations. But Babangida did more than constitute himself into perhaps the single most enduring obstacle to the establishment of true democracy in Nigeria. At the socio-economic level of significance, Babangida’s moral bankruptcy and the profligacy of his regime have largely been responsible for laying the foundation for the peculiar nature of the corruption and moral decay prevalent in our society today. It is an understatement to say that Babangida’s “uncletomist” economic and fiscal policies did alienate the vast majority of Nigerians. As a leading economist with a Lagos financial insitution rightly pointed out recently, the Babangida despotism was, through its irresponsible Structural Adjustment Policies (SAP), “...an active participant in the destruction of Nigeria.” With such a dismal track record, where does one place the erstwhile dictator in the reckoning of Nigerians?Since professor Omoruyi is the one doing the comparison between Babangida and Buhari, he should be open-minded enough to listen to some of the more credible testimonies on both his former political master and his bête noire – General Buhari. Omoruyi would have us believe that one of the greatest achievements of Babangida was the creation of some more states or “political homes” as he calls them. Without delving into the debate on the politics of state creation in Nigeria, one should nonetheless question the rationale behind creating more states especially when key figures involved in such a process - Babangida and his reactionary gang - betrayed some of the most backward tendencies which directly undermined the viability of such administrative entites, not to talk of threatening the very survival of fellow Nigerians living within those entities and elsewhere in Nigeria. That, said, it may interest professor Omoruyi to know that the father of state creation in our country, Nigeria’s foremost patriot and gentle man, General Yakubu Gowon, is on record for publicly vouching for Buhari’s integrity and patriotism as well as canvassing for political support for the former military leader. Said he: “...His integrity, loyalty and faith in Nigeria cannot be faulted. He is a man of impeccable integrity, a man who is an embodiment of discipline. He is my kind of leader and when I hear wrong things said about Buhari, I feel very sad. When I remember people accuse him of being a religious bigot, supporting Moslems, I also feel sad. Buhari respects everybody and every religion.” And calling on fellow Nigerians to ‘endorse Buhari in any bid for future election’, Gowon observed: “Don’t vote based on the falsehood other people sell, Buhari deserves being voted for any time.”As for Odumegwu Ojukwu, Buhari epitomizes Nigerian unity. On his part, the Lagos State governor, Tinubu, has called Buhari an “...astute politician”, one “who deserves to be respected and supported by all. Buhari is a true Nigerian, a patriot and a statesman of our time. People might be moved to misunderstand his person, but a closer study of Buhari would tell pessimists that this is a man of vision and purpose and who will move Nigeria forward” (The Guardian Online, Thurs., Dec. 18, 2003). A human rights activist and lawyer, Femi Falana, is one of those vehemently opposed to Babangida’s ambition to be president in 2007. Insisting that Babangida left a ‘bad legacy’, ‘Falana said the greatest economic crimes committed against Nigeria were perpetrated under Babangida, adding that the economic disaster left by him is still taking its toll on Nigerians’ (Daily Independent Online). “The greatest economic crime against this nation was the stealing of $12.4 billion made by Nigeria during the Gulf War...He made corruption the centrepiece of his domestic and foreign policy. The annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election result is another case in point.”An aspect of the Babangida legacy that should be of concern to his supporters like professor Omoruyi is the image of the Minna inhabitant in our national consciousness. It is apparent that the former dictator’s poor public image is at the heart of Omo Omoruyi’s futile attempt to malign a potential political rival in the calibre of General Buhari. Here lies the key to the puzzle of the professor’s scapegoating of ACF. It is Femi Falana who best captures the Babangida disaster today. “The facts on ground are not as favourable to Babangida as the media would want us to believe. I know that Babangida cannot even attempt going to certain parts of the North to campaign. The same is true in the Southwest. The last rally Buhari held in Kano, over two million people came out. What will Babangida tell these people if he was standing before them? That he made their lives better, that he created jobs for the youths; that he improved the economy; that he didn’t destroy democracy; that he wasn’t instrumental to the events that later killed Abiola? That is why he is looking for discredited politicians and contractors to use as surrogates.”Aonduna Tondu.New York E-mail: tondua@yahoo.com
|
RSS Feeds | Podcasts
# 
Your Comments
Please make The Square an enjoyable experience for everyone by refraining from gratuitous ad-hominem contributions, defamatory comments and off-topic posting. Such posts will be removed.