By Okey Ndibe

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his small circle of minions sowed the wind and so must brace to reap the whirlwind. The man who covets the title of father of modern Nigeria is now openly mocked, routinely despised, and widely abhorred.  

How bad a shape is the ex-president’s image in? Let’s settle for one anecdotal measure: When former Biafran leader, Mr. Odumegwu Ojukwu, recently suggested that Obasanjo deserved to be taken to the back of his house and shot, few Nigerians protested. It was as if Ojukwu had articulated a widely shared fantasy that had incubated, unexpressed, in many a Nigerian heart.  

For eight years, Obasanjo and company deepened social misery in Nigeria. They fertilized economic destitution, all the while enriching themselves. Now, with Obasanjo out of power, more Nigerians are awakening to the depth of the wound he and his stooges inflicted on the nation.  

Gradually, the scale is tipping. Nigerians are asking hard questions. They want to know how, in adding two plus two, Obasanjo and co managed to get something other than four.  

Here’s a man who turned the bar room lingo “I dey kampe” into one of the boastful creeds of his presidency. Yet, to judge from the tone of public discourse, it is highly unlikely the man is sitting calm these days. Woes have become a staple of his post-public office life. Nigerians, including the elite, can’t wait to get their hands at him. They want to slap him around.  

The last two weeks have been particularly rough for Obasanjo and his fellow despoilers of Nigeria.    

Last week, a German court named several of the ex-president’s closest confidants as receivers of bribes totaling ten million euros from officials of Siemens, the German engineering company.  

Last week, the Nigerian government docked Lamidi Adedibu, Obasanjo’s hero and Ibadan-based thug. In the eight years of Obasanjo’s reign, Adedibu got away with many high and low crimes. Nigerian police officers were put at his service to use as he saw fit. He marshaled them, together with his thugs, on a mission to sack civil servants at the Government House and to dislodge then Governor Rashidi Ladoja. Innocent people were killed. Ladoja went on the run. Yet, a spiteful, mischievous Obasanjo waxed reverently about Adedibu. So powerful was the gangster of Ibadan, so unaccountable, that hapless residents of Oyo State came to take his invincibility at face value.  

Adedibu’s days of government-supplemented terror may have run their course. Obasanjo recently described the old miscreant of Molete as “father of the ruling party.” Thank God, Obasanjo is beset by too many problems of his own to shore up the scoundrel called Adedibu.  

Last week, the Adamawa electoral tribunal ruled Mr. Murtala Nyako was not properly elected governor in April. That verdict brought to five the number of usurper governors so far rusticated. The first poseur to fall, and the most notorious cast member from the electoral charade of April, was Mr. Nnamdi Emmanuel Uba. Then followed the governors of Kogi, Kebbi, Rivers, and now Adamawa.  

Two weeks ago, the Nigerian Bar Association called on Maurice Iwu, the credit-deprived chairman of the “Independent” National Electoral Commission, to quit. Reading it, my first response was: What took the NBA so long? 

Iwu is far from the only trigger for April’s electoral fiasco that tarnished the nation’s democratic credentials and left Nigerians dispirited. Still, the man, more than anybody else, embodies the deliberate, carefully planned frustration of voters.  

Iwu’s provenance—it is an open secret that the Uba family championed him—spelt failure. Entrusted with restoring Nigerians’ faith in the sanctity of the electoral process, he elected to re-make his task. He functioned, and functions still, as if he were a card-carrying member of the PDP, and a devotee of Obasanjo’s. For many years to come, Nigerian cartoonists, and the larger public as well, will regard him as the representative figure of wangled elections.  

Every independent monitoring group, local as well as foreign, was shocked to behold what Iwu’s INEC fancied as elections. Many courageous electoral tribunals are daily undoing the mess that Iwu wrought. Yet, the man who gave the nation a poor imitation of the would-be martyr, persists in inventing superlatives for himself. On October 16, for example, he boasted: “I did everything for my country. If I am asked to do it again, I will do it the same way because Nigeria deserves the best.”  

If anybody needed proof that this miss-road umpire is beyond redemption, here it is, in his own words. Failure is forgivable, but Iwu’s shamelessness makes him a clear and present danger to the nation’s democratic aspirations. To leave this man to steer the next round of elections is to doom the nation to repeat an electoral catastrophe it can ill afford.  

Iwu should go—now. In fact, he should never have been there in the first place. Nigerians, it is clear, want no part of him. In a Daily Trust poll, 88.8% of respondents wanted him out. That’s nearly nine out of every ten Nigerians.  

Last week also saw what must rank as the weightiest political development in the After Obasanjo—AO—era: strident clamors for the ex-president’s indictment on corruption charges.  

Despite his best effort to appear composed and unflappable, Obasanjo must be sweating bullets at night. And he must be plagued by sleep deprivation. For all his pretension to be an anti-corruption warrior, the former president has come to epitomize graft and greed. His very presence oozes corruption and decadence. He has catapulted himself from a near destitute nine years ago to the dizzying heights of wealthy Nigerians. And since the Nigerian constitution does not permit for a president to keep a second job, we must surmise that he amassed his riches in office. Illegitimately.  

In office, he’d strutted and affected sanctimoniousness. He’d challenged anybody with a scintilla of evidence of his corruption to come forward. Few took him up. But since leaving office, he has drawn consistently unflattering attention. As president, he’d raised billions of naira—and an equal weight in ethical dust—ostensibly for his presidential library. It has since been revealed that he’s poured a good deal of the funds into building a big hotel.  

Last week, the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) called at the Lagos office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Anti-Obasanjo placards hoisted, the group went to deliver a petition for the ex-president’s criminal investigation. They asked the EFCC to arrest and prosecute Obasanjo now. And what a damning dossier they compiled on Obasanjo.  

They alleged that, between 2001 and 2007 when he ought to have devoted himself wholly to the nation’s business, Obasanjo spent N40 billion to set up Bells University of Technology in Ota. The protesters reminded the anti-corruption body that the ex-president reeled in more than N6 billion in donations for his private library. And they carpeted the former president for abusing the powers of his office to expand his farm. In 2004, Obasanjo showed deplorable—and potentially criminal—sense of judgment in permitting Mr. “Andy” Uba, a presidential factotum, to buy him farm equipment worth $45,000.    

“For eight years,” wrote the CACOL officials, “while he was in power, Chief Obasanjo sustained a devilish desire to strengthen his chicken farm while exploiting the power of his office to mortally destroy his competitors.” 

With CACOL’s petition in hand, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu no longer has any excuse for shirking his responsibility to investigate Obasanjo. CACOL spokesman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, has served notice that, should Ribadu lack the spine to arrest Obasanjo, his organization would let the world hear about the agency’s double standards.  

According to a report in PM News, CACOL even drew a short bio sketch of the ex-president to help the EFCC to get the right man. They stated: “Obasanjo currently lives in Ota…He spends most of his time in the day at the Obasanjo Farms in Ota and could be seen at home in the evenings with his friends, most time playing draft.” Then they continued: “He is dark, 5.9 feet tall, stocky, with brown eyes. He is easy to anger, pugnacious, infuriated easily by logical arguments in almost every encounter and easily

Provoked…” 

In a country that’s all-too susceptible to the seduction of ethnic sentiments, it is instructive that the Yoruba have been as vocal as anyone else in pushing to have Obasanjo answer for his misdeeds in office. In The Daily Independent of November 18, Afenifere, a Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, insisted on a comprehensive investigation of Obasanjo’s tenure.  

It is, I hazard, now a matter of time. Obasanjo and all the cohorts he shielded during his reign cannot permanently postpone the inevitable unmasking.  

Robot  Villager

# 1 No longer at ease By Okey Ndibe Former President Olus...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 19.11.2007 18:27

abidde  Villager

# 2 Who was it who said: “Obasanjo seem to be in a class all by himself: he raped the country, killed our collective spirit, vandalized our institutions, made a fool of all the men and women who fought for our independence, legitimized corruption, and then succeeded in imposing the post-May 2007 government on the people…History will not be kind to him at all. Oh no! History and posterity will remember him as a man who wasted his life and who also misspent opportunities he had to make positive difference in the lives of others. History and posterity will hiss and curse and spit on his name whenever and wherever he is mentioned. But until the verdict of history descend on him, he is likely to live the rest of his days in isolation: abandoned by friends and rejected by critics. The irony in all of these is this: he had the chance to be a national hero; he had the chance to engrave his good name in the hearts and minds of Nigerians. But he wasted it all. And so Obasanjo will never be thought of as being in the same class as Zik and Awo and Balewa and other shining stars of yesteryears…A mediocre! Sad isn't it? But his is a sadness brought on him by himself.” Posted by abidde| 19.11.2007 19:06

olusola  Villager

# 3 Ex-Biafran policemen get retirement benefits • Celebrate Obasanjo By DIPO KEHINDE Monday, November 19, 2007 More Stories on This Section Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo was the toast of ex-Biafran policemen in Imo State, at the weekend, as another round of payment of retirement benefits to the officers, who he gave amnesty in 2000, came to an end. The week-long exercise had seen the pardoned officers in the South-East and South- South areas, trooping out in large numbers to collect cheques from officials of the Police Pension Office, who demanded from them their original Certificates of Amnesty. Speaking for the beneficiaries, the chairman, Imo State branch of War Affected Reitred Police Officers Association, Mr Cyril Ijeaku said: “They paid some gratuities in January this year and some people were not paid. Now those who were left out in January are receiving their gratuities with some pension. We are very grateful to the Federal Government. We wish we can be having this kind of government in Nigeria; a government that loves its people, that has regards for life.” The 74-year-old retired officer added: “We’re very grateful, especially to former President, Olusegun Obasanjo and we wish him God’s blessings. We very much appreciate what he did. He has given us a new lease of life. We wrote him a letter and he was very compassionate. He gave us amnesty on May 29, 2000. “We had suffered a lot. Before the amnesty, we were not allowed to contest elections; even though the so-called dismissal was not supported by any document. We were just pushed out. “You know when a man joins the police at the age of 18, he’s born and bred in police work. He cannot be a good trader, driver or anything unless security. And they have no company to accommodate the numerous number. We have suffered a lot, even in the village, where some of us retired to, we were not easily accommodated. They say is he not ordinary police constable and you’re pushed aside; relegated to the background.” The pardoned policemen, who benefited from the pensions and gratuities payment in Imo got between N150,000 and over N1 million, depending on their ranks. Posted by olusola| 19.11.2007 20:46

Oguguo Yakere  Villager

# 4 Obasanjo was bold to mess with our collective treasury, but he did not spare a poor ophan who was said to have been caught red handed stealing his chicken eggs on his farm. Following the recent verdict of the electoral tribunual in Rivers State in which Amaechi replaced Omehia, Obasanjo began to panic about his investments in that State. Why one may ask? I personally believe the answer is simple. And that is that, of all people in Nigeria, Obasanjo should be the last person to deserve to own any land in Alaigbo, let alone in Igbo Etche, where Shell backed military action killed and devastated the natives. One wonders who was so intimidated to sell any land to Obasanjo in that area. Did he send Andy Uba to do that for him? I hope that members of MASSOB particularly the youth wing (the comrades of whose lives he snuffed away while in power) stay tunned to the development in Obasanjo's property in Igboland. The Adamawa people should revoke whatever land he owns there too. But that is up to them. He must stay away from Igboland, because he has spilled too much of Igbo youths blood. Posted by Oguguo Yakere| 19.11.2007 20:51

Ochi Dabari  Villager

# 5 Hard-hitting, as usual. Keep up the flak, Okey. Someone seems to be reminding us that Obansanjo is being hailed by ex-Biafran policemen. What does any sensible person expect? Has the person heard what Bob Marley said in one of his songs: They keep us hungry, so that if you want to get some food, your brother will be your enemy! For Obasanjo, he kept these Biafran heroes hungry for 40 years, so that he himself could be regarded as the hero. Vintage Obasanjo. The man is a lucky b.astard! He reaps where other people have sweated and planted. Was Obasanjo not part of the collective that declared No Victor No Vanguish way back in 1970, at the end of the war? Why has it taken all of 37 years for people to be paid their gratuity and pension? Even after the so-called pardon, it has taken 7 years to be paid. Haba! Why were the ex-Biafran staff not even re-enlisted into the force? There have been countless recruitments since 1970, when most of those officers were still able-bodied. Why were they by-passed for new recruits, when they were not VANGUISHED? It is only because of the nature of the country that we come from that ex-Biafrans would be hailing a man that was part of their destruction. They should have taken Obasanjo to court way back in the 70s, during his first dectructive coming, if they could not do the same to Gowon before he was toppled in 1975. These officers were not indicted for anything; they left Nigeria for their own safety, and should have been re-integrated. But back to the main thrust of Okey's article. There is no doubt that Obasanjo is one of the most duplicitious people alive on earth today. As Okey pointed out, Obasanjo was a destitute only nine years ago. How come he is the richest man in Nigeria today? As a serving head of government, it is actually conflict of interest for him to take loans from the bank. Right now in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa, the opposition has taken on the Premier for getting loans to establish his own businesses, including farms. Yet in Nigeria, there are never any records of Obasanjo taking loans from the bank. Rather, he is in the business of stealing, and using his position to gather people to contribute to his faceless projects. This is a serious case of corruption, and it has nothing to do with him paying anyone's gratuity. Obasanjo lives a large life of corruption, and from time to time does one small good after a mass of evil, to cover for his life of fraud. His day is coming. Even if he dies before then, his property can still be seized. ochi Posted by Ochi Dabari| 19.11.2007 21:33

Zanderlex  Villager

# 6 Obasanjo is good, bad and ugly but he is certainly better than Maurice Iwu. Posted by Zanderlex| 19.11.2007 23:36

Frisky Larr  Villager

# 7 The only reason I do not dismiss this bunch of Okey Ndibe's nonesense out of hand is the truth about Adedibu. It is still a mystery to me that Adedibu was and obviously is still coveted by OBJ. Adedibu, they mystery of Bola Ige and very many other evils including corruption are issues OBJ will answer up for when the toll is taken of the valliant and the brave. As a product of a corruption-ridden era and zeitgeist though, it is blasphemous to refuse acknowledging OBJ's own contribution to the fight against corruption. In fact, he has single-handedly re-ignited and rekindled this fight that had hitherto been quenched by IBB et.al. OBJ is a figure that Nigeria's history will judge with ambuguity. Neither Okey Ndibe nor Odumegwu Ojukwu with their sentiments of destruction will constitute Nigeria's history in years to come. Posted by Frisky Larr| 20.11.2007 02:28

Anon  Villager

# 8 For eight years,” wrote the CACOL officials, “while he was in power, Chief Obasanjo sustained a devilish desire to strengthen his chicken farm while exploiting the power of his office to mortally destroy his competitors.” With CACOL’s petition in hand, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu no longer has any excuse for shirking his responsibility to investigate Obasanjo. CACOL spokesman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, has served notice that, should Ribadu lack the spine to arrest Obasanjo, his organization would let the world hear about the agency’s double standards. According to a report in PM News, CACOL even drew a short bio sketch of the ex-president to help the EFCC to get the right man. They stated: “Obasanjo currently lives in Ota…He spends most of his time in the day at the Obasanjo Farms in Ota and could be seen at home in the evenings with his friends, most time playing draft.” Then they continued: “He is dark, 5.9 feet tall, stocky, with brown eyes. He is easy to anger, pugnacious, infuriated easily by logical arguments in almost every encounter and easily provoked…” :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: I go die oh... Oga Ndibe those CACOL people are right because this description fits baba to the letter. Posted by Anon| 20.11.2007 03:41

ocnus  Villager

# 9 As a former Senator and wife of a famous general was heard to remark "I suspect they are cleaning out his old cell in Yola for his return." Posted by ocnus| 20.11.2007 03:54

igwe  Villager

# 10 Having nothing personal against Obasanjo, it is my candid belief that since the evidence of his mismanagement of Nigeria's resources entrusted to him is so overwhelming, he should be made to face the full wrath of the law. As Dele Giwa said, those who perpetrate evil will certainly be caught and punished, if not now, then certainly later. If not by man, then certainly by God. Posted by igwe| 20.11.2007 06:57

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