These days, I am inclined towards the reasoning that any Nigerian out there who still hasn’t bought into the idea of a revolution and radical start from the scratch, as the ultimate solution to Nigeria’s political malaise would surely need a rethink. The depth and pace of our continued consumption in this oozing quagmire of political attrition is steadily moving out of control and enriching Nigeria with far more problems than solutions.

One constant in the discernible characteristics of the Nigerian intelligentsia these days is Obasanjo-mania. A tendency of subjecting the present administration of President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua to a judgmental credibility crisis defined solely by the degree of Obasanjo’s involvement in the running of affairs as the sole benchmark of ascertaining sophistication. Thus, collective commitment to helping the new administration in seeking solutions to the energy crisis is making way for exorcizing the perceived demon of Obasanjo from the Nigerian political psyche. The urgent need to put heads together to devise a lasting solution to the problem of security in Nigeria is being sacrificed for chasing Obasanjo out of life in any cabin of political servitude. The positive need to put all hands on deck to checkmate the criminal economic sector of hostage-taking in the Niger Delta is accorded less importance than downsizing the importance of Obasanjo. A prominent political party rejected participation in a government of national unity, allegedly for the important reason that Obasanjo is a principal actor in the ruling party. Turn it, tie it and twist it! It’s all about Obasanjo. A nation’s elite is locked in a serious obsession and uncontrolled frenzy as if the nation has no more serious problem requiring more immediate attention.

Failure to mobilize Nigerians to stage an all-out uprising to protest the flawed elections in the run-up to the Presidential inauguration of May 29^th, 2007 has not taught the Nigerian intelligentsia the crucial lesson that the ordinary man in the Nigerian street is not with them in this their violent agitation for the all-round political and personal lynching of the man Olusegun Obasanjo.

At the center of it all is unfortunately, the Nigerian news media. Mass communication as a scientific discipline of mass education and information has today, simply been hijacked by wannabes and self-styled professionals. Once upon a time, political analyses and commentaries were integral components of mass media contents, which bore equal weighting with cultural, athletic, economic and social news items and analyses. Today, the media – particularly the print media – are not only consumed in the over-dimensioned focal point of “Politics” above all else, all other items of newsworthy presentation are simply granted lesser and lesser prominence. It is the electronic media that are these days, granting the ordinary folk the escapist outlet from the pressure of political routine with entertainment alternatives.

Worse still, the print-media is flooded with hobby analysts of various qualifications, colors and creed that the erstwhile professional character informed by distinctive set of rules in the ordering and composition of facts has almost ceased to be of any relevance. Agreed that this fact is not confined to Nigeria alone, Nigeria however, has involuntarily specialized in breeding a whole chain of half-baked media operatives these days that many political analysts without the necessary qualification for this outwardly simple and inwardly complex profession, have simply transformed into ‘political journalists’ rather than ‘political journalists’.

While a political journalist (with emphasis on political) simply ends up being a political propagandist – by design or by implication – merely seeking to tilt the balance of perception in favor of one political school of thought or the other, the political journalist (with emphasis on journalist) deals with politics as one subject of balanced assessment amongst a chain of several subjects addressed by the umbrella establishment as a professional journalist above all else. The latter is well equipped with the necessary professional know-how to deliver his task much like a sports analyst, an economic analyst and a book review specialist and knowingly advances views that seek to be balanced at least in efforts.

In the course of advancing political propaganda, facts are distorted and conclusions aggrandized in pitiably disproportionate dimensions. The clearest example in Nigeria today is highly visible in the portrayal of the illegitimacy of the current status of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. While the entire world was witness to an electoral process that was badly flawed with the ruling party obviously getting the lion share of illegitimate acts and cheats, no observer (local or foreign) ever issued a clean bill of health to any of the competing parties in the face of all evils highlighted. Today though, the spate of political propaganda simply rampages the media pages with the impression of illegitimate acts and electoral fraud being the sole brainchild of the ruling party, while every other party was nothing but the victim of circumstances. There were however, clear and undisputed claims that every party cheated in its own capacity. In other words, no one of the leading trio on the ballot sheet would have been able to lay claim to legitimacy upon victory.

The mere fact that the former President was largely instrumental in installing the current President with a precedent ‘do or die’ vow has ever since, cast a long shadow of expectancy over Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. The pressure has always focused on identifying his degree of independence. The salient question has always been “will he be his own man”? A question that seeks just one and no other answer: “Antagonize Obasanjo, now”! Let us forget for once that human nature endows independent adults with the right of choice. The media is flooded with counsels on how fast and steadfast the President should take to his heels and extend the gap between him and his predecessor. The propagandist would even rather prefer the immediate arrest of his predecessor as proof of independence. Decisions taken to overturn some actions of his predecessor are noted and dropped on the sideline. Points of agreement are highlighted and aggrandized as the act of a lame duck President. The truth however, is that precisely independence and the assertion of being an “own man” empowers the current President to either choose to antagonize or to admire his predecessor.

The most pathetic element of all these developments is the dominance of the mass media by this movement of voluntary or involuntary propagandist journalism. As a large section of the intelligentsia, the operatives of this movement have widely succeeded in mirroring an outward impression of a rebellious Nigerian folk that detests everything that has to do with the immediate past President even though this notion does not necessarily represent the yearnings of grassroots Nigerians, who have more immediate issues to cope with than Obasanjo.

This ludicrous notion, which was just about rendered ridiculous in the wake of mass dissent in the media, on the outcome of the presidential election is simply entangled in its own web of complacency, refusing to acknowledge the dawn of a new era. A distinctive trait of refusing to draw the line and seeking a short-cut forward path to take Nigeria along in progress lane. This extreme and radical approach pinching all hopes on the Judiciary to return a perceived stolen mandate to lower level electoral thieves just does not seem to care what it may mean on Nigeria’s integrity as a country.

A psychological analogy no doubt points to disgruntlement over political irrelevance, vendetta for political offences (justified or not) on the part of some Obasanjo maniacs. It also points to other justified critics (who do not deserve the term maniac), who are justifiably challenging the evils and wrongs (of which there are definitely many) of the past President. Unfortunately however, these two categories of Obasanjo adversaries share just one character in common: they simply deny anything good about Obasanjo in a blanket judgment.

All through time though, signs have emerged of the possible contagious impact of this cantankerous Obasanjo-mania on several segments of society. The only segment that is potently left out has remained the wider grassroots!

The quest to make a point of being an “own man” has so far, informed the outright sabotage of a positive fight against corruption (selective or not) that was started in the previous era. The result is that some Igbinedions are today, Lucky’ly roaming free after all the havoc they had wreaked on the nation and their own folks. Some Ibori’s that I know are no longer held accountable in a bid to calm political temperature. The real lame duck has become a once potent and promising commission on graft and related crimes.

I see the applause of an extreme minority – the hardcore segment of Obasanjo-maniacs. The signs are clear for Yar’Adua to read. There is almost nothing he will do that will go down well. The hardcore folks wish nothing more than the seat of Presidency. The big bang is yet to come. The real seeds of disarray will be sown anytime soon.

Then I wish to hear anyone say that a patriotic revolution will do Nigeria no good! Best regards to Jerry Rawlings!

Robot  Villager

# 1 These days, I am inclined towards the reasoning that any Nigerian out there who still hasn’t...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 12.07.2007 12:56

Mikky jaga  Villager

# 2 Nigeria's elite and the print media are wrong for calling Obasanjo any other name apart from Messiah. Only Frisky Larr and his group of praise singers of Obasanjo are right. That the masses did not respond to call for violent protest of the sham elections must be due to no reason other than that they do not support their leaders any more. The minorities that are criticizing OBJ's influence on Yar'Adua are making it difficult for Yar'Adua to make independent judgemnt in running his government. The solution to the above is Rawlings type of revolution. Gospel according to Frisky Larr!! Very interesting. Posted by Mikky jaga| 12.07.2007 13:56

akuluouno  Villager

# 3 In the gospel accordding FL chapter 7 verse 6, sorry para7 line 6, he made an assumption that is not only unbefitting for the giant of Africa aspiring for a permanent seat in the UN and which I have never heard made about any other ccountry n the 21st century when he affirmed that all the parties rigged save that largest party in Africa, under Our Father's Command, Poverty Distribution Party using their do-or-die strategy outrigged the other parties. :twisted: Obasanjomania was the result of the Abachanjo policies and economic hardships visited on the poor masses and will soon turn into a morbid form of Obasanjophobia which goes beyond the media and politics.:D:D:D Posted by akuluouno| 12.07.2007 15:59

Frisky Larr  Villager

# 4 Micky Jagga Sir, Thanks a lot for your views. I do appreceiate your misgivings. However, I am in no way advocating that OBJ should be titled a messiah Sir. My interest is to have facts put in the proper perspective. What is happening by the elites that you referred to as 'minority' (who though, have on many occasions, referred to themselves as entire Nigeria) is simply demonizing OBJ focusing only on his perceived evils and stamping out completely anything in the semblance of achievement for the good of the nation. The criticism of OBJ's impact on UMY surely has its positive impacts. But should OBJ be denied any form of impact on his successor? How realistic is that? As a free citizen he has his views and if UMY deems them sound, he may accept them. We do have better and more pressing issues than this OBJ-mania or OBJ-phobia as the other colleague says! Remain blessed Sir! Posted by Frisky Larr| 12.07.2007 18:27

katampe  Villager

# 5 I think Nigerians are overated, many lack the capacity for independent thought. It is observable in the way the minds of many work. I have come to the conclusion the educational system that encouraged memorizing against enquiry that combines logic with thorough investigation might be responsible for this. Many elites pass opinion and fiction for facts and it is common to see "well educated" Nigerians debate without logic or evidence anymore. It is either many are debating based on personal recognition and interestingly many of the folks wouldn't fail to tell us the PHD's or Masters degrees they parade. The folks with professional degrees are not left out in the exercise. I agree with you that many are obsessed with Obasanjo, and instead of relying on economic indices or political analysis to buttress their arguments, they would rather come up with some insider story that helps no one. I am noticing some new folks on the site , I only hope they would help raise the level of debate so everyone can be enriched in the process and not the crude mentality of people wanting to win a debate without allowing social learning to occcur through the appreciation of superior arguments. Posted by katampe| 13.07.2007 12:18

tanibaba  Villager

# 6 Frisky what can I say? Thanks a million for this piece. I am delighted and I hope that henceforth closer attention will be paid to the output from the camp of the Political journalist so that they wont lead us astray. Once again thanks and this is beautiful and insightful taslim Posted by tanibaba| 13.07.2007 13:41

tanibaba  Villager

# 7 @katampe thanks for your post. taslim Posted by tanibaba| 13.07.2007 14:11

MrOneNaija  Villager

# 8 TRAMPLING ON THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE? This extreme and radical approach pinching all hopes on the Judiciary to return a perceived stolen mandate to lower level electoral thieves just does not seem to care what it may mean on Nigeria’s integrity as a country. The initiating article of this thread which apparently is a futile attempt at inflicting a whitewash of the Obasanjo disaster on us must also be seen as a reactionary outburst that invariably preaches a smug kind of contentment with the corrupt status quo symbolized by the tin god from Ota. In a nutshell, Obasanjo's sordid legacy is one of extreme depravity and lawlessness coupled with profligacy and cupidity that are unparalled in the annals of modern statesmanship. That Yar'Adua is a creation of this monster by way of criminal imposition and therefore an illegitimate product, is the least anybody with a semblance of good sense can acknowledge. Generally, the Nigerian media and especially its Lagos-Ibadan axis, has played a rather complacent role in its relationship with the kleptocratic tyranny of the ex-dictator. From 1999 up to the electoral charade of 2003 - another "achievement" of Baba-the-Messiah - , what came to be derisively described as Kabiyesi media on account of its genuflecting, kowtowing attitude to Obasanjo and his born-again antics saw it as a point of duty to practise a brand of "his master's voice" journalism by virtually acting as the media wing of Obasanjo's PDP. Remarkably, that pro-Obasanjo stance on the part of Kabiyesi media did assume only but some shades of nuance after the 419 selections. Post May 29, 2007, has that role dramatically changed as far as Obasanjo's meddlesomeness in the current illegitimate regime of Yar'Adua is concerned? One is inclined to saying, probably not. Apart from one or two media outfits in the country, the Nigerian press has been silent as to the imperative to call for the probing of Obasanjo's criminal and violent profligacy. The national media has essentially restricted itself to bemoaning the continued presence or influence of the ghastly ex-potentate within the Yar'Adua regime. There has sadly been no serious mention by notable media voices of the need to have Obasanjo render accounts to the nation for his disastrous dictatorship of the past eight years. The Obasanjo years, that is 1999-2007, should be seen as a period of unmitigated administrative failure. That Nigerians in their majority want the nation to be rid of the Obasanjo pestilence is no longer in doubt. The longer Yar'Adua indulges in tergiversation as to what he must do with the Obasanjo nuisance, his illegitimacy notwithstanding, the more deplorable will his public image be. It goes without saying that for him to assume a more humane and positive posture in government, the ex-governor of Katsina will have to immediately repudiate Igbochukwu and the putrid odor of his misrule. That is if Yar'Adua is actually interested in governing. But that choice may not be his. The will of the Nigerian people should be allowed to prevail as to who rules them. And at this critical point in time, the last hope of citizens are the courts or electoral tribunals as recognized by the Constitution which Obasanjo and his pathetic cast of consiglieres, errand boys and sycophants, both in government and in the media, gleefully trampled and continue to trample on. We must discard the ridiculously reactionary and anti-democracy credo à l'Obasanjo like the type highlighted in the quote from the initiating text of the thread. Posted by MrOneNaija| 13.07.2007 14:12

ikechukwu  Villager

# 9 Katampe&Taniba, You are wrong in all material fact. If we want to talk about facts let us lay bare the facts. The mere fact that Obj deliberately messed up the april elections is enough for proper prosecution if we want to behave as sane people in this country. Now, Nigerians don’t even know their governors, they don’t know their senators they can barely say much about the president that they 'elected'((thank God the article did not doubt the fact of the rigged elections ) . Yet we are being bombarded with some long tissues about accepting a man who engineered this as a good man in some respect. I still don't get this.Haha! In Germany, Helmut Kohl ruled for about ten years, of course his legacy is there for anybody to see. Though he lost election as an incumbent in a free and fair election(something obj will never allow) that did not diminish him in any respect, do you know what diminished his status? corruption about party and campaign funds, please find out the amount involved and you will be surprised the tribulation he faced despite his long service to his people. However, in Nigeria, what are we seeing?, a man who ruled for 8 years with monumental resources, not accruable to any past administration in the history of Nigeria, in his kitty and you will labor to mention his 'achievements' is being regarded as someone unjustifiably suffering from lynch mob. This to me is baffling. Do I need to tell my state governor to do anything tangible when in actual fact I know the way he came to power? does he owe me any obligation if I want to be sincere? the answer is well known to all of us. Suddenly Soyinka who fought Abacha to a stand still has now deranged. In case some people decided to forget Obj was among the first prominent Nigerians who initially welcomed Abacha saying " Abacha's overthrow of the interim goverment was unfortunate but necessary" when 'deranged' Soyinka was condemning Abacha for scuttling the democratic process. Obj was even among the first prominent people(before they fell apart) Abacha sent to the prison to cajole MKO, in fact Obj and MKO had a public spat on that with obj even mocking him for still insisting on his June 12 mandate. Soyinka fought Abacha even with the attendant risks to his life, now he is a bad man and perhaps a hate preacher because he is insisting on the same principle he wanted abacha to uphold, on Obj. If you are talking about facts, what are they? and if it is physical fact of his legacy please enumerate. One of the reasons we had a strike in Nigeria is because there was no due process in the sale of PH and Kaduna refineries. Does this make sense to some people at all? GOSH!!! Posted by ikechukwu| 14.07.2007 09:57

Anon  Villager

# 10 =ikechukwu;191857>Katampe&Taniba, You are wrong in all material fact. If we want to talk about facts let us lay bare the facts. The mere fact that Obj deliberately messed up the april elections is enough for proper prosecution if we want to behave as sane people in this country. Now, Nigerians don’t even know their governors, they don’t know their senators they can barely say much about the president that they 'elected'((thank God the article did not doubt the fact of the rigged elections ) . Yet we are being bombarded with some long tissues about accepting a man who engineered this as a good man in some respect. I still don't get this.Haha! In Germany, Helmut Kohl ruled for about ten years, of course his legacy is there for anybody to see. Though he lost election as an incumbent in a free and fair election(something obj will never allow) that did not diminish him in any respect, do you know what diminished his status? corruption about party and campaign funds, please find out the amount involved and you will be surprised the tribulation he faced despite his long service to his people. However, in Nigeria, what are we seeing?, a man who ruled for 8 years with monumental resources, not accruable to any past administration in the history of Nigeria, in his kitty and you will labor to mention his 'achievements' is being regarded as someone unjustifiably suffering from lynch mob. This to me is baffling. Do I need to tell my state governor to do anything tangible when in actual fact I know the way he came to power? does he owe me any obligation if I want to be sincere? the answer is well known to all of us. Suddenly Soyinka who fought Abacha to a stand still has now deranged. In case some people decided to forget Obj was among the first prominent Nigerians who initially welcomed Abacha saying " Abacha's overthrow of the interim goverment was unfortunate but necessary" when 'deranged' Soyinka was condemning Abacha for scuttling the democratic process. Obj was even among the first prominent people(before they fell apart) Abacha sent to the prison to cajole MKO, in fact Obj and MKO had a public spat on that with obj even mocking him for still insisting on his June 12 mandate. Soyinka fought Abacha even with the attendant risks to his life, now he is a bad man and perhaps a hate preacher because he is insisting on the same principle he wanted abacha to uphold, on Obj. If you are talking about facts, what are they? and if it is physical fact of his legacy please enumerate. One of the reasons we had a strike in Nigeria is because there was no due process in the sale of PH and Kaduna refineries. Does this make sense to some people at all? GOSH!!! My brother how can it make sense to some people. You just wasted your typing energy on my good friends Tanibaba and K-tamps because I already made the point here, that it is easy to justify anything and try to explain it away in fanciful and grandiose economic theories if you certainly try hard enough in a bid to claim that you think outside the box or that you are not part of group think, or main stream thinking. It is surely easier to blame others for the unfortunate maladministrated-educational system of cramming in universities for saying what might be the truth or stating facts. So while you will find some ready to admit that OBJ was blatantly corrupt, it is easier to excuse him because he did some things that were supposedly good in their opinion, while the same generosity of spirit is not extended to Atiku and co. Their own type of corruption is different irrespective of whether they did something good or not. I realize that you waste time debating such people and that there is no point. For such people the economic princples they spew all over the place are no diffrent from those that all the different brilliant technocrats from Chu Okongwu to Okonjo Iweala have spewed all over the place and yet the country 47yrs later is still crawling. That's why I don't think it is too much for us to ask for a completely and scruplously honest, morally upright and vision filled leader to head the helm of our nation's affairs. I don't join those who assume this is wishful thinking or an unattainable feat. To do so would be to admit that our moral decadence and depravity is quite too far gone and that all Nigerians are indeed inherently corrupt and cannot keep their hands off the national till (even if they are supposedly doing some good works somewhere). I personally don't feel it is too much to ask for non corrupt leader who is ready to talk the talk and walk the walk and who knows how to manage our affairs for the good of everyone and not a select few and his cronies :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Meanwhile I prefer to ignorantly and pessmistically remain hopeful that things can get better. They must get better, and maybe the more we cry out in anger and anguish the real men of honor amongst us will stand up, step up to the plate and be counted. Posted by Anon| 14.07.2007 10:37

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