In choosing this damning title for an exceedingly provocative essay, I was well aware of the risk I will be up against. The risk of sounding complacent. The risk of sounding conceited. I may be convinced and swear a thousand times that I am neither complacent nor conceited. But who am I to mirror myself?

In the past, I was jeered and ridiculed. I was called the last surviving intellectual of modern Nigeria in disapproval of my damning condemnation of an emerging intellectual trend. I was cautioned never to over-estimate the extent of my own intellectual capacity in a spate of inflated self-perception. I was booed and jeered and told to roll back my self-assuming assessment of the intellectual state of the nation. When the insults once settled down past the heat of the moment, I told myself in conviction how deserving I was of such destructive tirades. I was well aware that human nature and human psychology was not designed to swallow such brutal exposure of collective weaknesses without reprisals. Worse still, human psychology will never reward a “basket mouth” that chooses to display the collective sore of a high echelon in the public square of mental bankruptcy.

This time too, I know I will not be spared any verbal poison from those who disapprove of this overt show of critical extravaganza. But should that deter me? If it does, I guess I would be losing a crucial birthright to which my adversaries also lay claim.

I will therefore allow myself this general privilege of sharing my thoughts with those that care. I am in a desperate search for a clue on the direction, in which the boat of Nigeria’s intellectual bandwagon is sailing.

Before reflecting on the build-up to the current situation however, I will urgently proceed to highlight the latest trend that is gathering pace with the speed of light. It is the trend of praise-singing. A trend of black or white and nothing between. Nothing mixed. No black and white. No white and black. It is either black or it is white.

In the aftermath of the foiled third term agenda propagated by the past immediate President of Nigeria General Olusegun Obasanjo, this trend was justifiably triggered in a laudable reactionary sentiment. The former President’s nauseating anti-democratic dream of a 12-year rule underscored the need to take a stand. One was bound to either be for it or stand against it.

I have no doubt however, that the god of logical conclusions and rational considerations has itself, already become nauseated today in the wake of the developments that followed. The speed at which the principle of being for or against Obasanjo’s dreams spiraled out of control should have taken such imaginary gods by sheer surprise and is till today, still beyond the intellectual comprehension of any well-meaning observer. It simply took a turn for an outright intellectual bankruptcy. A trend was consolidated that presented the image of Olusegun Obasanjo as the devil-incarnate.

A few voices of ardent supporters and praise-singers were drowned in a flood of heightened tensions and outright antagonism. There was no middle ground. The sole benchmark of credibility became hatred par excellence.

Any attempt to re-assert a level playing field was greeted by contempt and suspicion. Whoever dared to call for qualified intellectual appraisals that should be confined to facts and not demonization was shouted down and characterized as clandestine sell-outs. Moderates were therefore coerced and artificially planted into the pro-Obasanjo camp. It was either black or it was white. There was no level playing field and no middle ground.

On May 29^th 2007 following the swearing-in of a new President, I thought the era of black or white was done with. If not once and for all, I thought it would die a natural death.

Unfortunately however, this anti-third-term and protest-induced pattern of intellectual uprising has been truly and honestly misconstrued by many self-imposed political analysts to represent a way of life in the assessment of political events.

Today, the trend is building up again, of either being in support of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua or against him.

Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who only in the run-up to the flawed Presidential elections in April 2007 was – to many prominent self-imposed insiders and anti-establishmentarians – a dying man from Katsina, and a Muslim fanatic who personally symbolized an imminent “Sharianization” of entire Nigeria, is fast becoming a playground for strategic political calculations. The focus being on Olusegun Obasanjo as the center of gravity to whose right or left the pendulum should swing.

It is alarming how these days, critical journalists sing praises and refuse to sound words of balanced caution where necessary. It is alarming how Olusegun Obasanjo has been brought back to the critical center stage to highlight the positive image of a new and likeable President, who is admittedly still struggling to stand on his feet. The devil-incarnate is conjured and resurrected and early warning signs of incompetence in the team of the new President are ignored, and even beautified to appear good against the highlighted Napoleonic tendencies of Obasanjo’s so-called “Babacracy”.

The immediate impact is Lucky Igbinedion walking free. Ibori bouncing high and Nuhu Ribadu acting lame.

Indeed, many who worked with Olusegun Obasanjo at close range have stories of disappointment to tell. The focus is always on the personal style of infallibility. An all-knowing Napoleon. Pushed against the wall by the rebellious public opinion of intellectuals championed by many that he had hurt and displeased, Obasanjo resorted to a spate of illegalities and disregard for the rule of law, in such a way that his ground-breaking achievements in government are maliciously disregarded. Cleverly, the new President has corrected this stance in a laudable public relations strategy of a honeymoon phase. That was the best he could do in the given circumstances. However, I would – no doubt – also have hated Olusegun Obasanjo to the bone if I were a journalist who approached him to launder his image against cash and ended up being kicked out in the most despicable Napoleonic manner, without regard for the might of my pen. I would subsequently, do everything to paint even the coffin black that would take Obasanjo to his grave.

I would have agitated for the summary execution of Obasanjo if I led a civil war in Nigeria that was foiled by Obasanjo and his cohorts, who still adamantly champion the cause of refusing to pay me gratuity despite a proclaimed policy of reconciliation and fostering of national unity.

When people like me in this hypothetical illustration suddenly appear in the public arena to lead the cause of either standing for or against Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in this budding dispensation, alert intellectuals in a robust and healthy intellectual society would sound the alarm bell as fast as they can.

But not in Nigeria. The instrumental utility of a devil-incarnate is being brutally brandished to launder the image of an agreeably likeable Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, by design or by accident.

A nation locked in the intellectual bankruptcy of hailing a constitutional interpretation by a Supreme Court that facilitated the insubordination of a Vice President and served him the meal of a political conflict of interest, stopped at nothing in the advancement of sentimental perceptions. Failure in the days of Olusegun Obasanjo, to draw the thin line separating the serious business of democratic politics in court judgments and journalistic practices from that of political sentiments has spelt the continuing doom of the intellectual malaise that is plaguing Nigeria even today.

The imminence of a cleansing intellectual renaissance is not hard to foretell. Something deep inside tells me loud and clear that those intellectuals that are attempting to force a trend on the current political psyche may be in for a surprise. I have my doubts if Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is truly fooled. If his current policies are consistently and vigorously pursued despite the early faltering signs of incompetence, the big bang may be well underway. When the deed is done, I sincerely hope that the history books will not treat such disreputable judges and journalists of current popular acclaim kindly for the damage they have done on sentimental basis.

If anything, the current President knows too well where Obasanjo deserves the damning condemnation that he is receiving and where he is being unfairly treated, no matter how less he will comment on this in public domains. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua knows too well that anti-Obasanjo’ism may earn him high short-term media (not necessarily popular) ratings, which he badly needs. But these are no achievements by which he will be judged.

The pseudo-intellectuals will hasten to descend on the President when their anticipated interests are not served on the long-run. The President knows too well that he and no one or anything less will be the most prominent and tangible achievement or failure of Olusegun Obasanjo depending on his overall performance. And one fact is certain though: Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is and will remain one of Olusegun Obasanjo’s historical legacies!

Robot  Villager

# 1 In choosing this damning title for an exceedingly provocative essay, I was well aware of the risk...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 11.09.2007 06:11

SOC Okenwa  Villager

# 2 Frisky, Honestly I'm not impressed nor convinced by your literal grandstanding against those you arrogantly branded "pseudo intellectuals" in your tirade of a piece. One wonders what makes you think you are different from or better than those critical voices you sought to castigate or denigrate? You see, Mr Larr, sychophancy is not a crime in itself, in our clime we have professionals, so if you have settled to be one then so be it. For us Obasanjo remains a villain of great proportions but for you he is a 'hero' and a 'patriot'! Nothing is wrong with that. Your sermonization over his achievements (the much of which we have acknowledged) changes nothing; Obasanjo is being attacked from every corner because he disappointed history when he had the great chance to change the course of history. He bungled it because of his infallibility complex. While President Yar'Adua may be deemed an OBJ creation the Katsina man is going about the business of governance with every patriotic care and administrative sobriety. I think we deserve him at this crucial stage of our stagnant national development. Like the response the impervious aging Zimbabwean president Mugabe gave to the former British PM Blair: "keep your England while I keep my Zimbabwe", we implore you to keep your heroic worshipping of Obasanjo to yourself while we keep condemning him and at the same time appreciating UMYA for his giant steps towards pulling our nation from the precipice. Cheers! Posted by SOC Okenwa| 11.09.2007 10:04

Frisky Larr  Villager

# 3 SOC Sir, Many thanks for the time taken to respond to my essay. I guess you and I will never see eye to eye on any issue concerning Obasanjo. This probably explains your excerbated sense of frustration at my presentation. I am quite sure you know far better than the limited understanding of the words "sycophancy" and "hero" as presented in your response. What is exceedingly disturbing though, is your attempt to present me as anti-Yar'Adua. In other words I should either be white or black and not dissect the facts. Unfortunately, your style will never perturb me sir! It only remains to be seen how true intellects would define sycophancy my dear friend. And believe me, "If anything, the current President knows too well where Obasanjo deserves the damning condemnation that he is receiving and where he is being unfairly treated, no matter how less he will comment on this in public domains." Remain blessed! Posted by Frisky Larr| 12.09.2007 08:44

Toku.A  Villager

# 4 Nawa oh, why are people just slapping Obasanjo into our faces these days? His era is "over", and him and his fans should give us a break. Posted by Toku.A| 12.09.2007 08:53

Abraxas  Villager

# 5 =Toku.A;207771>Nawa oh, why are people just slapping Obasanjo into our faces these days? His era is "over", and him and his fans should give us a break. Hi, Toku.A! It is because they think that history can be revised, edited, and re-written to suit their whims, for a minor fee. The paradox of this article is that General Okikiolakan Aremu Segun Obasanjo himself is a seasoned pseudo-intellectual, with a string of honorary doctorate degrees, and dozens of fellowship awards by professional bodies, prior to his choreographed registration to study for a diploma in Divinity at the National Open University of Nigeria{Osanobuan!} Muchas gracias. Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS (III) Posted by Abraxas| 12.09.2007 16:08

Frisky Larr  Villager

# 6 ...It is because they think that history can be revised, edited, and re-written to suit their whims, for a minor fee. ... Abraxas Sir, This quote of yours is simply what pseudo-intellectualism is all about. Whoever has anything else other than a blanket condemnation of Obasanjo in stock is doing so "for a minor fee". All others are upright and righteous. Guess there will be some divine intervention one day to sort out the pseudo-intellectuals from the real. Cheers compatriot! Posted by Frisky Larr| 15.09.2007 10:27

Toku.A  Villager

# 7 =Abraxas;207986>Hi, Toku.A! It is because they think that history can be revised, edited, and re-written to suit their whims, for a minor fee. The paradox of this article is that General Okikiolakan Aremu Segun Obasanjo himself is a seasoned pseudo-intellectual, with a string of honorary doctorate degrees, and dozens of fellowship awards by professional bodies, prior to his choreographed registration to study for a diploma in Divinity at the National Open University of Nigeria{Osanobuan!} Muchas gracias. Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS (III) My brother You observed rightly, it is unfortunate that Agberos are being treated like intellectuals. It is better to be illeterate than to be an "intellectual" like Obasanjo. Posted by Toku.A| 17.09.2007 07:11