Contradictions of a false prophet 

By Levi Obijiofor 

Friday, 11 April 2008 

The mood that pervaded Nigeria on 29 May 1999, following the swearing-in of Olusegun Obasanjo as president, could only be likened to the atmosphere that engulfed the nation when frail-looking Shehu Shagari was sworn in as president in 1979. On both occasions, democracy was the source of so much joy and dancing in the street. In Obasanjo, the nation celebrated the miraculous resurrection of a man whom, the odds suggested, was already destined to be asphyxiated by military dictator Sani Abacha’s secret agents of darkness.  

Nigerians placed their faith in Obasanjo in 1999 because he was perceived, rightly or wrongly, as a symbol of peace and national reconciliation, a man who could unite a politically fragmented nation.  Obasanjo’s transformation from military dictatorship to an elected president, it was also believed, would hopefully signal the end of military intervention in government business in Nigeria. Now, after eight years of Obasanjo’s tyrannical rule, the key lesson for the nation is: never trust a former dictator.  

The story of Obasanjo’s eight years in office as president, his magical rise to the presidential throne, his evangelical messages to his followers, his widely publicized anti-corruption slogan, his misleading early morning prayer sessions, and his misuse of state resources, including his abuse of official powers, have cast Obasanjo as a national disgrace and an embarrassment to continental leaders who had looked up to him as a model political leader in Africa. In Obasanjo, we are now witnessing the contradictions of a man who projected himself as the 21^st century prophet. 

In eight years, the wide gap between Obasanjo’s public face and his human flaws remains one of the greatest contradictions in Nigeria’s political history. Here was a man who preached peace but secretly encouraged conflict in the states governed by politicians whom Obasanjo did not like. Here was a man who condemned corruption publicly but secretly promoted the same immoral habit he pretended to be opposed to. Here was a man who regaled the public with tales of his membership of Transparency International (the global anti-corruption Czar) but whose questionable practices sullied the integrity of that organisation.  

Here was a man who marketed transparency in government as the centerpiece of his presidential creed but used his presidential powers in dubious ways to enrich people of low character. Here was a man who emerged from prison and proclaimed himself a born-again Christian but whose activities contradicted the key characteristic elements of Christian religious precepts.  

Here was a self-styled king who promised his subjects -- the Nigerian people -- uninterrupted supply of electricity but succeeded in showering his subjects with uninterrupted darkness. Here was a man who, for eight years, carried himself about as the emblem of honesty, integrity and accountability but who is now being unmasked as the most vile and treacherous leader to have governed the country. Obasanjo’s perception of himself as the most accomplished and celebrated president has now been shredded by revelations of his double face.  

Obasanjo symbolizes hypocrisy and vengeance. Those who gave Obasanjo his middle names – Aremu Okikiola – should have replaced them with the word hypocrisy. His adversaries go one step further to describe him as a symbol of national betrayal. Obasanjo’s presidential tenure was remarkable for what the man promised to do but failed to do; for what he promised to eliminate but encouraged to blossom; for the image he propagated but failed to uphold; for the fight he elected to execute on behalf of the nation but abandoned in the manner of a coward. 

When Abdulsalami Abubakar, the last of the military dictators, promised to restore democracy in Nigeria, everyone chorused “Hallelujah”. A democracy, any kind of democracy, the nation reasoned, would be better than the best form of military dictatorship. But the model of democracy Obasanjo imposed on the country was derived from one man’s fascination for malevolent dictatorship. Nearly one year since Obasanjo left the presidential villa, the nation is still struggling to come to terms with the dodgy decisions made by the man, including the last-minute contracts that his government awarded hurriedly in dubious circumstances.  

At his swearing-in ceremony in May 1999, Obasanjo pledged under oath to respect and defend the constitution. He didn’t really mean what he uttered on that day because no sooner did Obasanjo settle into his posh presidential palace than he began to abuse and misuse the constitution. No one should be surprised. As a former military dictator, it was always going to be difficult for Obasanjo to shed his baggage of despotism in preference for popular representation. Once a dictator, always a tyrant! 

Soon after he settled down to his new role as a democratic president, Obasanjo took his weird interpretations of democracy to the village blacksmiths where he pleaded that they should knock together his quaint but bizarre concoction of ideas – the odd combination of the principles of military dictatorship and democratic practice. The end-product, you would have guessed, was Obasanjo the military dictator clothed in his baggy but ill-fitting democratic agbada.  

Unbeknown to many people, Obasanjo was determined to subject the nation to eight torrid years of his despotic rule. And this was the same man whom his courtiers advertised as the best political leader and the greatest economist that God ever endowed on Nigeria. Obasanjo ruled on the basis of the gross misunderstanding that he was the only man capable of understanding what the nation wanted. The nation was led to believe the mischievous propaganda rolled out by Obasanjo’s public relations agents. But, thank goodness, Obasanjo the miracle worker is now beginning to unfold.  

Nature has a way of exposing vile men and women. One year after he left the presidency, everything seems to be stacked against Obasanjo. Historians are still grappling with how to record Obasanjo’s tenure. Every new day is a source of worry or embarrassment. Every new day opens a new page in the scandal-laced drama about Obasanjo the immaculate. No one knows when official and private investigators would conclude their scrutiny of Obasanjo’s years in government.  The nation is already captivated. And we are in the early stages yet.  

The tragic story of the rise and fall of Obasanjo is approaching a crescendo.  So far, the nation has been shocked by allegations of corruption, greed, financial illegalities and irresponsibility that have been unearthed by official investigations into electricity contracts awarded by the Obasanjo government. But, if Obasanjo’s government has been tarnished by crooked contract deals, take a look at the scandal emerging from the Health Ministry, involving former health ministers (senior and junior) and the honourable members of the Senate Committee on Health.  

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua certainly has new problems to worry about. How his government handles the national scandals that have so far dogged the electricity contract deals would define for us how far this federal government would be prepared to go to tackle official corruption involving high profile Nigerians. If the nation was astounded by the extent of the corruption that permeated all levels of government in regard to the electricity contract schemes, the nation is now even more infuriated by the corruption that has surfaced at the Health Ministry, including illegal payments received by the honourable members of the Senate Committee on Health, which, coincidentally is chaired by Obasanjo’s daughter -- Iyabo.  

These scandals are not new. But they add to the damage already done to Nigeria’s name in the international community. Which is why, when official corruption is mentioned or analysed in any international forum, many participants tend to point in the direction of Nigerian representatives. Nigeria’s political and socioeconomic development in the future will be determined by how quickly we extinguish the flame of official and unofficial corruption that has burnt deeply into the foundation of our social and moral values. The fight against corruption won’t be easy but it is a worthy campaign.