As I have done in several essays before this and will continue to do in the future, I will, in this article, also assess extreme views on the achievements of the present administration as condemnable, subject to dismissal and outright rejection. I will continue to speak from the position of neutrality and highlight the achievements and failures of the Obasanjo administration. Against the backdrop of an increasingly hostile environment that seeks to define hatred and the verbal destruction of the Obasanjo administration as the single benchmark for credibility, coming from a different perspective with a different approach may be a daunting task. It is indeed, most unfortunate too that voices of reason and balancing almost seem to have abandoned the scene for extremist views to dance around and do their monkey business.

Thank goodness though that democracy has, amongst others, the function of protecting minority positions against the consuming strength of the majority.

The common logic that there is no smoke without fire is informative of the notion that the extreme and widespread condemnation of the present administration is not just empty talk without substance. Several writers and political observers have argued exhaustively and passionately, that almost nothing substantial has been achieved by the present administration of General Olusegun Obasanjo to improve the lot of the common man. I belong to the school to the school of thought that has and will continue to share this point of view. The unfortunate and decisive point where I deviate radically from the other schools of thought is the point that the administration does not deserve the verbal desecration it is receiving in the present dying minutes of its tenure. The government has also had achievements largely in the field of macroeconomics and contrary to what critics and haters contend, this administration is not the worst that Nigeria has ever had. Indeed, having gone through the nightmare of Abacha and those before him, we should today, have been heaving a sigh of relief.

We are unfortunately, not heaving a sigh of relief because the brunt of the evil of societies borne by the common man seems to have doubled in the face of regime helplessness. Acknowledging all these facts does not in the least, make the government or Obasanjo for that matter, the devil incarnate or the dragon of the red sea. Examples like Lucky Igbinedion, Alamiyesigha & co. show how worse the situation could have been.

Most disturbing above all else, is the current turn of events, which have been exacerbated by the aggressive dominance of instruments of opinion making, by verbally militant critics and preachers of hate. The battlefield was recently taken to the CNN to ridicule the home government before an outside force.

It was impressive to watch the diplomatic and skilful performance of a fellow Nigerian journalist Uche Nworah in facing up to Jeff Konainge in a brief live analysis in CNN on the Niger Delta controversy. While pointing out to Jeff that he as a professional affiliate stands on the side of CNN on this contentions issue, Uche Nworah carefully stressed that Jeff Konainge’s footage should have put up some efforts to be more balanced. He advised that the presentation of a few government projects in the area to underscore government’s efforts at addressing the grudges of the people of the Niger Delta would have been a step in the direction of objectivity. Unfortunately however, armed with the open betrayal cladded in the countless number of emails sent to CNN by Nigerians condemning their own government and everything it stands for, Jeff Konainge courageously stood his grounds and termed his footage a portrayal of the truth. This, in my views, is the ultimate and actual offensive aspect of Jeff Konainge’s arrogance.

Given that no one is perfect (not even Jeff Konainge), this would have been a golden opportunity for this comrade-in-arm, to acknowledge what he would have done differently to produce a more balanced report if he had all the resources at his disposal. The naked display of guts in arrogating to himself, the absolute knowledge of truth in what obtains in Nigeria amid the polluted swamp of heightened political tension, is a daring and arrogant venture indeed. Given the widespread criticism that there is hardly any Federal government project in this region (which lays the golden egg for Nigeria), a portrayal of whatever obtains in the region in the form of government intervention would have been a good approach for a start. Viewers would then have had the choice, of deciding for themselves, if the Federal government is indeed doing too little or enough for the region.

In the end, critics of the Nigerian government are today, no longer reflective of factual and objective presentation of failures of the government alone, they are now openly reflective of an instrumental coalition involving Niger Delta secessionists, opposition party activists, disgruntled PDP outcasts and not the least, Atiku’s apologists.

The contentious issue of Atiku’s dispute with Obasanjo is however, one point, on which I do not seek to occupy a neutral or middle ground because I passionately believe that Atiku is simply getting it all wrong. No matter what Judges of the court say, it is a matter of common sense that a deputy owes his boss unflinching allegiance and loyalty. This of course, should not be at the cost of upholding the constitution. When Atiku rose up and took arms against the President for seeking a third term in office, he was rebelling by implication, in favor of the constitution and every well-meaning, democratic Nigerian. Every Nigerian will remain endlessly thankful for that. At the same time though, it is an open secret that he was driven by his own ambition and impatience to become President, without losing another four years. He believes he had graciously ceded the Presidency to Obasanjo in the second term.

Today, Atiku is held high by die-hard sympathizers as a celebrated democrat, wishing to award him the Nobel Peace Prize for fomenting trouble and exemplifying insubordination at the highest level. The simple logic that the head of the administration is the President who should determine the course of the administration for which he/she bears responsibility does not seem to inform their mind that a President should have the right to choose persons that he is comfortable, working with. Under normal circumstances, members of the administration who disagree with the President would quit the administration and fight their battle from without. No Vice President accedes the office on the basis of a parallel agenda. The President’s agenda brings the Vice President to power. Not otherwise.

Much like Atiku’s loyalists unleash their venom on the President by glorifying Atiku as a democrat and praising his blatant insubordination as manly and heroic resilience, they hide behind the shield of the President’s ill-advised third term ploy, which the nation decried in unison, to sell a tasteless salad as one segment of an ideology of vindication. They do not realize however, that a reckless and dangerous precedent is being set for the future. The time a behavior like Atiku’s eventually happens to any future President commanding popular respect and widespread acceptance will be the defining moment in which many voices of today will make a faceless U-turn to reappraise things that were the holy gifts of today as the evil of tomorrow.

While acknowledging all the failures of the President’s administration in the field of achievements and personal activities (involving a chain of unconstitutional activities, etc.), I keep wondering why governors and local government administrators seem to be let off the hook. They don’t matter at all in the equation of those that are bent on destruction and discrediting personalities rather than constructive criticisms.

It is a mystery that all the failures of the Nigerian project from its inception in 1914 to the present day are all heaped on the present administration as if no mistakes were made by successive administrations before it. One gets the impression that overnight solutions were expected to Nigeria’s problems irrespective of the glaring incompetence that can be credited to the same administration.

Incompetence that Nigerians have tolerated over several decades from successive administrations has suddenly become a treasonable felony.

Fighting corruption and wilful maladministration with zero tolerance is one thing. Failing to differentiate between the will or lack of it, to implement positive changes and failure to succeed after trying with the wrong approach, is another. This fine line is so badly blended today that one cannot tell incompetence from malicious mismanagement. All these are heaped on the President and any protest to request objectivity is met with vicious defamation.

The only reason that this stance is halfway comprehensible even though unacceptable, is the plain reality, that Obasanjo has had the most opportunity of ruling Nigeria more than any of his predecessors or successors alike. Still, there are no sound public facilities or social amenities that have been meaningfully upgraded to address the sufferings of the common man. While this view is highly credible, the fairness of a balanced analysis vis-à-vis the cause of this unfortunate turn of events is rather left in oblivion much like a debate on precise ways to advance the nation forward given the two credible presidential candidates left on the field. All that prevails is insults and a new popular hobby of most articulate verbal pugilism.

On a purely academic level though, one truth will remain undisputed. If the reforms of the present administration in several fields are followed up consistently by succeeding administrations, a lot of developments that will spring up in Nigeria in the years ahead will bear the handwriting of Obasanjo and his present administration.

Robot  Villager

# 1 As I have done in several essays before this and will continue to do in the future, I will, in th...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 27.02.2007 12:55

ikechukwu  Villager

# 2 Mr Larrimore sir, It is very interesting reading your article, though it would have been more interesting if you were one of the just dis engaged staff of Michelin(which has just closed shop ) in Nigeria, It would have been more interesting reading your article if you were one of the just diengaged oil services workers( whose companies could not work again in the creeks because of militants activities that you have choosen in your articles to trivialise). It would have been superb reading your mail if you had taken your uncle or your dad to pension office to receive his pension and he had some rough ride from the officials. You said you live in Germany where things work enough for you to have a clear mind, at least you did not sweat writing your article because there is contant power supply there, no militant is firing over your head and you can eat three square meals so I can fully understand your mindset. Since you are a journalist, why not ask how much the present administration has made since 1999 till date and find out how much has been spent. Then you can make your own informed judgement. Im very sure if you ever bother to find out this fact your article will be more interesting. You wouldnt need to bother about die hard critics then, because you will have all your facts. I dont know how many little relations you have in Nigeria here with no jobs and they are on your neck for survival, If you have, it will be interesting how you have been coping . Since you believe showing a nigerian reality on CNN by Jeff is a problem, and exposing the mis governance by CNN, that we see on daily basis here, is harakiri by your own standard. It will be interesting to read the reality you believe should be shown in Nigeria cheers Posted by ikechukwu| 28.02.2007 02:59