Do-or-die elections and the Abeokuta mayhem

By Ogaga Ifowodo

In the presidential wing of Aso Rock, there is jubilation. Precisely a month after out-going president, General Olusegun Obasanjo, declared that the April elections are "a do or die affair" for him and the PDP, a bloody execution of his intent has been carried out. Remarkably, it occured in the capital of his home state. He had made his grim declaration while addressing persons described as "elders and other stakeholders from Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State" on the government's preparations for the polls. As he saw the headlines proclaiming to all the world the true meaning of do-or-die elections, he must have fallen on his knees and praised - definitely not apologised to - "his" God, who answereth by fire and surely also by blood. By the last count, at least three citizens, one of them said to be a pregnant woman, are already dead, while about twenty fellow Nigerians have been grievously wounded.

In typical after-the-fact fashion, Obasanjo has sent soldiers to Abeokuta to maintain the peace. His People Destruction Party is engaged in a "war of words" with the rival All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP), the one holding the other responsible for the bloodletting. As if it matters at this point whether it was the hoodlums of the ANPP, or the hooligans of a party that is the protective umbrella of known political thugs, who drew the first blood. As if it does not matter that Obasanjo's words were followed by a copious amount of gentle correctives, all pointing out to him just how unbecoming, how un-presidential, his mind on this matter was. He was reminded that Nigeria's political landscape, at the best of times volatile and highly inflammable, did not need a president eager to strike the match to set it aflame. His words, to use the popular parlance, were capable of "over-heating" the polity. Yet with the benefit of good counsel and ample time for reflection, he elected to defend the indefensible. Driven more by an unfathomable streak of obduracy than the patriotism he feigns, Obasanjo sought to have the world believe that some lofty goal justified his lamentable utterance. But that goal is discernible only with the help of the special strain of illogic that has overwhelmed his government. It is no other than Obasanjo's avowed determination not to hand over the government to "those" who will not "continue the reforms" he has initiated. Reforms? I will come to that point soon, but what was it his brother General and former dictator, Ibrahim Babangida, said in his own time? That he knew those to whom he would not hand over power, defined by him as "radicals and extremists." Between 1993 and 2006, "radicals and extremists" have metamorphosed into "criminals, "spoilers," and "rogues." Does General Obasanjo detect the dictators' blood ties that link his transition ideas to Babangida's, a man he famously charged with duplicity and whom he single-handedly muscled out of the April election? If so, we must ask if Obasanjo is so totally blinded by the log in his own eye as to fail to see the family resemblance.

As we have it from Obasanjo himself, the great rationale for declaring the April polls a do-or-die affair is that his reforms are of such vital importance to the health and place of our country in the next fifteen to twenty years that his will must trump that of the people. Yet it ought to be clear to a president, no matter how disdainful of the people and how little he cares for democracy, that no single individual, however powerful or visionary, can take the place of the people. In maintaining his position with such obduracy as Obasanjo has demonstrated, he betrays his real conviction stripped of the veneer of sanctimoniousness: the government of Nigeria is his by conquest and he alone can decide whom he will hand it over to. Thus, he confirms by his own words the worst that his critics have said of him. Which is that he is a military autocrat hiding his blood-mottled fatigues under the voluminous folds of his ornate agbadas. Now we have been put on notice to brace ourselves for another great annulment should his handpicked candidate, Alhaji Umar Shehu Yar'dua, fail to win the presidential election. Even worse than Babangida's, his will be a greater annulment as he has also given indication of not permitting the handing over of power in any state where a governor deemed by him to be a criminal, spoiler, or rogue wins a gubernatorial seat. For good effect, Obasanjo chose a campaign stop in his estranged deputy's state of Adamawa to drop the hint. It is obvious that Obasanjo can impose his will only through another great annulment or - what is as familiar to him as his flowing robes of power - RIGGING. If the elections of 1999 and 2003, especially the confessions of his godson, the younger Uba brother, Chris, tell us anything, it is that the Ayatollah (apologies Eddie Madunagu) of the largest rigging party machine in Africa can speak with such unwavering certainty only because the results of the April elections have been predetermined by him, the PDP and a suborned INEC.

But what are these reforms in defence of which Obasanjo is willing and ready to rob us of our sovereignty and vest it in his lone self? No doubt he will point to the telecommunications sector and the GSM "revolution" (what is truly a national swindle); the reorganisation of the banking sector; and the war against corruption, his crowning success. No honest appraisal of our telephony will counsel a continuation of the policies that led to and sustain the GSM tariff and service scandal. Admittedly, the reforms in the banking sector are of far greater significance and do in fact represent the first step towards the creation of a financial sector worth the name for our beleaguered client economy. But the war against corruption? Enough ink has been spilled to expose it for the sham it is that any presidential candidate who pledges to fight the corruption monster with Obasanjo's weapons must be deemed an enemy of the Nigerian people. If there are any other reforms to speak of, they are unknown to me. From education to energy, the health sector to the civil service, public works to the environment, agriculture to arts and culture, I am yet to learn of a single policy that would not do violence to the word, "reform."

In the eve of Obasanjo's messiah-government, first his very hand-picked presidential candidate, and, next, the vice president, have in the space of a week had to be flown abroad at great expense for treatment of routine medial problems. Not long ago, the Nigerian Army flew a contingent of soldiers to South Africa for medical attention. In 1978, Obasanjo as commander-in-chief, with Colonel Ahmadu "Garrison-Democracy" Ali as his field commander, drove armoured tanks into the universities to arrest the Ali-Must-Go free education jihad. In his second coming, and with the eponymous hero (or villain) of that struggle once again by his side, Obasanjo has failed to clear the rubble of his demolition job to save our educational sector from losing every shred of recognition at home and abroad. And then there is NEPA which, despite the great reforms that transformed it into PHCN, is still the only electricity company in the world that sells mostly darkness and has turned its service region into a booming generator market. But it is not necessary to elaborate the claim that the so-called reforms, in the name of which Obasanjo blithely advocates a death struggle for power, are a mere figment of his imagination. They remind the ordinary Nigerian, who counts down the days to the end of political thuggery and garrison democracy as April beckons, of those words that describe the magician's perfected sleights-of-hand: the more you look, the less you see. If Obasanjo in his less besotted moments does indeed have the genuine interest of Nigeria at heart, then let him retract his unfortunate words. In the remaining days before the April polls, let him bow to the dictates of presidential comportment, if not model citizenship, and allow the Nigerian people to determine their fate.

Robot  Villager

# 1 Precisely a month after out-going president, General Olusegun Obasanjo, declared that the April e...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 25.03.2007 11:08

Knightofdelta  Villager

# 2 Well said. But I believe the author was obviously so angered by the situation on ground he was not objective enough to be neutral. OBJ could have done better but then I wonder what you would have to say if Atiku had ruled for 8 years. I doubt if he would have accomplished a tenth of that OBJoke has done. The Knight of Delta. Posted by Knightofdelta| 25.03.2007 12:05

aringaranso  Villager

# 3 Oh what a good writer. That am I amazed and impressed by your mastery of the brilliant art of writing,but since it matters more to post a reply on the topic discussed,I will start by commending you ,unlike Knight of delta who thought u were unobjective. Please,Nigerians,nay Villagers,how may people have openly accepted that there are actually something good to the Olu Obasanjo reforms,just like Ogaga-the wonderful writer has done. Anyways,I will prefer you listen less and write more ,so people like me will always see an amazing piece to read. Greetings to all the NY Hommies and the Cool men of Cornell. Posted by aringaranso| 27.03.2007 09:19

aringaranso  Villager

# 4 ehen, please where can i get most of ur articles,publications,Madiba ,and,................... Posted by aringaranso| 27.03.2007 09:42

Afeni  Villager

# 5 Obasonjo needs to talk more about these reforms, because from what I see, they are doing anything but delivering better life for the people. I said it before, and I will say it again, these OBJ reforms are nothing more than the IBB SAP agenda. That is why Baba can stash 40 billion+ dollars in Foreign reserves while Nigerians have to tighten their belt straps an extra notch every day. I feel sorry for Umaru when I hear the sick man mention how he intends to maintain Obasonjo's reforms. Any smart campaigners would tell the Gov of Katsina to instead of lauding OBJ reforms, try and distance yourself as much as possible from the old man. Tell Baba to no longer follow you on campain. After 8 non-performing years in office, and a failed bid to extend his tenure, Nigerians are tired of Aremu Obasonjo, and the worst thing anyone running for office under any party is to be see as one of Baba's boys. And btw, Obasonjo was right when he said this election is a Do or Die. You see, if someone like Buhari wins the elections, all the nonsense that has been going on in Obj's regime would be shown to the Nigerian public. The so-called "Father of Modern Nigeria" will be shown to be nothing more than a incompetent, corrupt, and sadistic degenerate. Posted by Afeni| 27.03.2007 10:03