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Anyone who, at one point in time or the other, has stumbled into the rare opportunity of taking a guided tour of any desert, will definitely not be a stranger to the term “Mirage”. It is the illusionary view of water in the distance that quickly vanishes into thin air the closer you get to the illusionary target. In a guided tour, it is quite some fun to see how real illusions may sometime appear and how they may shatter expectations like a bubble blowing up. In the desperation of a stranded man in the desert though, the mirage offers nothing to laugh about. If eventually, one ends up stumbling into a pitch of water – an oasis in the desert – the view at close proximity is usually not the view that meets the eyes from far away.
This is indeed the best illustration I could lay my hands on, to paint a picture of the impressions that are presently reaching the public in and about the journey thus far, of the present government of Nigeria.
Following the inauguration on May 29th, 2007 of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, I was one of very many Nigerians,
who saw reasons in believing that an era of massive public works projects was about to be ushered in. The signs seemed quite clear. Chances of error looked quite slim. We were faced with a new President that was given the unenviable honor of succeeding an extremely controversial predecessor who was virtually lynched with words and wishes amid an electoral victory that was discredited worldwide. We were faced with a President, who was definitely destined to spend a huge part of his early days in fear and uncertainty. The fear of judicial annulment of the electoral process that saw him through to the highest seat of fame and power. Nothing could have been more inviting to the launching of a large-scale administrative performance than the fear of days being numbered in office. Not the least, the desire to impact public memory with massive performance in a very short period may be justifiably perceived as a potentially lethal weapon against adversaries. I thought the President would unleash a chain of road construction projects all over the country to fast-track commitments on uplifting public infrastructures. I was dead wrong.
We were faced with a President, whose predecessor was given credit by leading economic institutions worldwide for placing the ailing economy of a resource-rich state on the steady path of growth and diversification. Not the least, the payment of foreign debts was a challenge to any successor. The domestic politicization (by way of condemnation) of the debt-repayment scheme notwithstanding, Nigeria became the first African country ever to have undertaken this feat and one was safe to assume that resources were thus set free for domestic projects to serve the people as quickly as time permits (no matter what the courts would say on the electoral process). Again I was dead wrong.
In private conversations with foreign journalists and politicians with sound knowledge of Nigeria, one often comes away with comments on the rugged nature of the past President Olusegun Obasanjo. A no-nonsense Ex-General (as he is often characterized) disguised in the cloak of a civilian President. One important point that is never lost on anyone in such conversations however, is the emphasis that is always placed on his fight against corruption. This is no doubt, an issue for which Olusegun Obasanjo is held in very high esteem by foreign observers of the Nigerian domestic political scene. As opposed to wide-spread criticism by the Nigerian intellectuals, of the perceived double standards in Obasanjo’s fight against corruption, the institution by the Ex-General, of an anti-graft commission (EFCC) is one tangible step undertaken by Olusegun Obasanjo for which he stands out in deeds amongst his predecessors, at least in the eyes of the outside world. One was safe to assume this would constitute a challenge to any successor stepping into the shoes of a predecessor with such conflicting credentials. So far, it is easy to see how wrong I have been.
While the domestic scene of analysts and observers clearly made a fuss of the selective nature of Obasanjo’s prosecution of his fight against corruption, the outside world truly saw high-profile thieves paraded before the public eyes. No one knew who would be next. If statistics were taken of corrupt public officers arraigned and publicly disgraced by the graft commission EFCC, critics claim that enemies of the Ex-President will overwhelm numerically. Therefore, the cry of selectivity in the prosecution was deemed justified. At the same time however, insiders of the scene will be quick to point out that close and trusted personal friends of the Ex-President like the former Inspector General of Police were also among the prominent culprits. Some indeed, refer to the revocation of illegal purchase of government properties made even by his own wife and how the heads of some of the President’s own friends rolled in the aftermath thereof, to counter critics on selectivity. In the end however, criticism of Obasanjo’s fight against corruption – much like everything else associated with the former President – became badly politicized. But the truth remains that no single person charged with corruption and disgraced before the public eyes – enemy of the President or not – has ever been declared innocent by any court of law.
It is therefore one of the biggest surprises to be pulled by the present administration that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission suddenly became the target of a policy of wholesale appeasement. In the dying days of the previous administration, there was no mistaking the signals pervading the air that the days of very many corrupt politicians notably governors and lawmakers (shielded by immunity) were numbered. The expiration of their tenure was anxiously awaited amid the urge for a public trial and explanation of what happened to public funds in eight years of governorship. There could be no mistaking Nuhu Ribadu’s poise for a rough fight with the imaginary bow and arrow fixed to his hands.
Today, the paradox has been perfected. High-profile politicians are safe and the Chairman of the EFCC is the hunted. Feelers in the press uncovered a failed early ploy in the days of the present administration, to ditch Nuhu Ribadu. Public sentiments were too high on his side and would not serve the interest of any President that is still lobbying for public sympathy, to ditch the perceived lonely gladiator of the EFCC in dire times of a desperate search for divine intervention.
Then suddenly, a voice from the wilderness: “The rule of law”. This perfectly orchestrated and choreographed chorus, which many now cynically term the “Ruse of law” took over the headlines. The fight was no longer against corruption. It was against the so-called “Rampaging Ribadu”. Taken at face value, the policy of due process and the rule of law that is fraudulently advanced by the Minister of Justice is a very credible cause. Unfortunately though, the instrumental nature of its misuse by the unfortunate Minister is the subject of a symposium discussion. A Minister with a track record of personal friendship with, and legal representation of several indicted politicians as attorney, should not have been a Minister in the first place. A conflict of interest would have been too glaring in functional democracies, in which the fear of God is a guiding spirit.
Now that the failure of this ill-fated propaganda is becoming all too imminent, phase 2 of the “Ribadu must go” project was launched. Some indicted Dariyes suddenly came out in the open deposing to claims that the EFCC has misappropriated recovered funds declared stolen by them. In other words, if the strategy of the ‘rule of law’ fails, open up a new front on credibility. The motto being: “never stop the offensive”, “with the EFCC on the defensive, who will talk of corruption”? What a brilliant proof of innocence. No doubt this appalling level of incrimination still holds a lot of surprises to unleash. It may stop at nothing to discredit the EFCC and run the fight against corruption aground. And the President is watching, probably amused!
In a recent chat with a compatriot, I had reasons to squeeze my ears clear for fear of hearing wrong. I thought I heard someone say “Our President is doing a good job”!
I squeezed out a journal reporting an interview with the President at the lobby of the United Nations General Assembly. The question was whether or not the President grants audience to indicted politicians and thus offers them room to appeal to him for intervention in their favor. The President was quoted as wondering why he should not meet with any one or why he should virtually avoid any person.
This is the very first learned President to rule our dear Nigeria. A former University lecturer who needed no lesson on the dangers of compromising the course of justice with political influence. The President did not see any risk of the public reading the clandestine fingerprints of such indicted politicians, to whom he may have granted audience, in the sudden fight against the commission that is indicting them? The President does not see the psychological risk of denting his ‘Mr. Clean’ image of the quiet and unassuming pal from downtown Katsina? The President does not know why he should avoid dining with the devil (even if only perceived and not necessarily real)? All these sudden cries and perversion of the rule of law have no correlations? Please show me your friend and let me tell you who you are.
The rumor is long abound in every household and on every nook and corner of the Nigerian talking shops that many of these indicted politicians are not only personal friends of the President, but also helped in the financing of his controversial Presidential election with a very huge stake. This can simply not be true!! Or is it true Mr. President?
Not long ago, I read an article in which someone claimed to have seen the President in the company of the former Delta State governor Ibori in an official function. The article claimed that our President may be clean and have an enviable track record. In the company of perceived evil men (even if not proven real), the President may have a daunting task pulling himself free when he ends up being pulled down by the company with which he wines and dine.
Now my imagination is stretched to the limit, because I’m setting out to figure out where the President’s priorities lie. If these claims are true, then Nigeria is in deep trouble. No public works project. No hard fight against corruption. It may be business as usual with cosmetic changes here and there.
Given the reality that the President has so far played quite well to the gallery of Obasanjo-critics, he may well come off with a positive endgame on the electoral litigation.
I will not be surprised to see external debts mount steadily once again if the crust of the game is just wholesale appeasement. More than a hundred days on, I am still missing a clear Presidential manifesto on how to take Nigeria forward. The course is apparently dictated by advisers on day-to-day basis, courting action and media reaction. No economic program, no financial program. Its simply action and reaction, at least as far as meets the eye. The foreign policy course is the only project that is clearly defined: Consolidating Nigeria as a power broker in Africa and fighting for a Permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. How this stands a chance of succeeding without a streamlined policy on Finance and Economy as well as Infrastructures is anybody’s guess. The absence of a clear policy on Finances once led the governor of the Central Bank to devise an ambitious monetary policy of his own. As usual, the government spent precious time debating a flimsy theme: “to ditch or not to ditch Governor Soludo”.
Suddenly, this voice came up again, which claims that the President is doing a good job. This time though, to explain what he means.
“At least, he is offending no one and is maintaining a low profile” the voice said.
“Jesus!” I exclaimed in bewilderment. “Pity indeed, if this is what good governance now amounts to in the Nigerian context. Nigeria, we hail thee!”
Recently someone remarked in a media contribution that Nigerians may well end up regretting that vicious fight against the third term agenda if the momentum on the fight against corruption is not rekindled and the President does not do away with bad companies fast. Will this fellow be proven right?
Could all these be real or am I seeing a mirage and a filthy oasis? If – in the unlikely scenario – the Supreme Court of Nigeria pulls one of its usual surprises and declares the Presidential election of April 2007 null and void, what will Umaru Musa Yar’Adua be remembered for? Will he simply vanish into thin air like a mirage? Read the warning signs please. Now! and fast!!
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Posted by Robot| 08.10.2007 04:07