Obasanjo's Legacy (2)
By Reuben Abati

The early days of the Obasanjo government: Even when there were warning signals (1999 -2001), that there could well be a substantial difference between the fact of elections and actual governance, between campaign rostrum promises and the conduct of politicians in power, Nigerians were willing to give both democracy and the Obasanjo government a chance. By May 1999, the entire society had been overtaken by a "feel-good" factor, a democracy effect, prolonged post-election blues, and a sense of liberation from the shackles of military rule. For this, the people were willing to overlook whatever seemed like warning signals.

The democracy effect was far more overwhelming. For want of a better expression, it was if at that moment the Nigerian people had just been let out of a cage into an open field. Many of those who had been incarcerated by the Abacha military government and who had not yet been released by the General Abdulsalami Abubakar government were released from the prisons and detention centres. Managers of Abacha's reign of terror, the once dreaded goons who organized all the assassinations and abuse of power were arrested and later charged to court.

Nigerians were excited seeing once powerful military figures like General Ishaya Bamaiyi, and the dreaded Colonel Hamza Al-Mustapha in the dock. Abacha's son, Muhammad was also invited for questioning, taken into custody and later arraigned before a court of law to answer charges for his role in the theft of public funds and the reign of terror that was perpetrated by his father. The Abubakar government had started the process of looking for Nigeria's stolen funds: General Obasanjo took on the task with renewed vigour. He spoke about exposing all corrupt elements in the country. Nigerians loved this suggestion of vengeance and punishment. The humiliation of those who had contributed to tyranny confronted the country with a moral affirmation about the ephemerality of power. It was something to which the ordinary Nigerian could relate.

For the first time in a long while also, Nigerians could actually enjoy the freedom of expression and association. Under General Abacha, and the military, conversations were held in muted tones. You were not sure who was an informant for government. The General Abdulsalami Abubakar government had brought some sanity, but Nigerians in relating with that government had chosen to be cautious. With the sure return to civilian rule, it became possible for the majority to begin to feel like human beings in their own country.

In its early days, the Obasanjo government helped to promote this feeling by embarking on the repeal of certain laws in the books which restricted press freedom under the military. And indeed for the first eighteen months, the Obasanjo government enjoyed what could be considered a good relationship with the media and civil society. Civil society lowered its guard during that early season. The foot-soldiers who had stayed long at the barricades, the men and women who fought for the return to democratic rule were optimistic that democracy will bring a different set of dividends to the people. There was a collective sense of ownership of the transformation that had descended on Nigerians.

Nigerians in diaspora began to return home, on holidays, or for much longer, to see things for themselves. Many of them had chosen to stay away from the country, out of fear and self-preservation. The more remarkable ones were the political exiles, those valiant men who had taken the famous NADECO route to avoid the risk of being beheaded by the military. General Obasanjo had capitalized on this rich human resource in diaspora. He travelled abroad to preach to whoever wanted to listen that Nigerians abroad should return home to be part of a renaissance. Some indeed heeded the call. They left whatever it was they were doing abroad, including resigning from their jobs to come and give back to their country, and be part of its re-making.

President Obasanjo and some of the Governors in the states, employed many of these returnees. Those who did not go into government dissolved into other sectors of the economy and society. These Nigerians were motivated not merely by the promises, but by the concrete assurances in those early days that there was indeed a genuine attempt to move Nigeria forward. Within the country, the return to democracy also served as a stabilizing factor. The various self-determination groups that had emerged under the military to defend their people's interest and to provide a balance of terror against other ethnic groups also relaxed their aggression.

But by far the more persuasive initial evidence of the good faith of the new administration, and later a confirmation of its ambivalence was the setting up of the Human Rights Violation Investigation Panel or Oputa panel as it was known. The panel had the mandate to investigate cases of human rights abuses (1966 -1999) and make appropriate recommendations. The panel's work eventually became a national soap opera. Aggrieved persons and their families went before the panel to plead their cases. Ethnic groups (Arewa Consultative Forum, Ohanaeze Ndigbo .,) professional associations, and just about anybody who had anything to complain about. The country was stupefied as revelations came forth about the extent of the damage that the Abacha government in particular did. A key figure of this season was Sgt Msheila Rogers, the self-confessed assassin in uniform whose job it was to eliminate whoever was considered an enemy of the Abacha government.

When names of certain persons who had been on the hit list were mentioned by Abacha's agents and who miraculously escaped being killed, their families held thanksgiving services in churches and mosques! Those who were detained by the military gave sordid accounts of how they were brutalised and the extent to which the Nigerian state had been transformed into a machine of terror. Former adversaries met at the Oputa panel, and there were statements of apology and forgiveness, tears were shed, widows lamented how they and their children had been robbed of the opportunity to be happy. Ethnic groups alleged marginalization, the horrors of the civil war were recounted, the Ogoni stated their case about the murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa, the death of MKO Abiola, Dele Giwa etc was also reviewed. There were humorous moments too:

General Oladipo Diya, Abacha's former No 2 and later adversary, appeared before the panel with his two wives who dressed gorgeously for the occasion, wearing the same aso ebi. It was a moment of catharsis for the nation, but the expected remedies and atonement were not realized. The Oputa panel soon ran into troubled waters. Former military President General Ibrahim Babangida spurned the invitation by the panel that he should appear before it; he went to court. Then, the Obasanjo government refused to release the report of the Oputa panel, after its work had been done. Eight years later, it is still silent on it. This was one of those early reality checks.

But there was cause for optimism in other areas. The Obasanjo government was determined to open up the Nigerian economy and it promised an aggressive economic reform programme which would bring prosperity to the Nigerian people. The idea of prosperity resonated with the long-suffering public. A National Economic Development and Empowerment Strategy was later defined; the key intervention areas included the privatization of government enterprises, the promise of a lean and efficient government, job creation, development of infrastructure, the building of institutional capacity etc.. The privatization programme raised ideological questions, and there were debates about the limitations of neo-liberalism, but no one could fault the argument that the Nigerian government had proven to be a bad business manager, and that it was time for it to concentrate on the core task of leadership and governance.

The privatization process created a new momentum in the economy, and the entire reform programme, in the fullness of time, especially with the later developments in the extractive industry, and in banking/finance and telecommunications sectors translated into a re-definition of policies and processes. General Obasanjo embarked on foreign trips to mobilize support for this new orientation and to seek foreign direct investment, to be facilitated by the introduction of a more enabling investment framework.

When the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklisted Nigeria as a destination for investment capital on account of the alleged absence of guarantees for the integrity of investments in the country, the Federal Government came up with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with a wide-ranging mandate to inquire into all manner of economic crimes. The EFCC began its career by making a tremendous impact. President Obasanjo followed up the work of the commission by preaching zero-tolerance for corruption and by further strengthening the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Code of Conduct Bureau. An office of Due Process was introduced in the Presidency to vet contract processes in government and to insist on laid down rules and regulations, and prevent abuses. In general, there was an awareness of the need for change and efforts in that direction to strengthen public institutions and to institute necessary checks and balances which had been set aside during military rule.

For the new government's commitment to reform, General Obasanjo lobbied for and insisted on rewards and support from the international community: debt forgiveness, debt rescheduling, repatriation of stolen public funds which were being held in foreign banks, endorsement of the Nigerian process. Much progress was made in these respects, including the government's promise, and determination to pay off all of Nigeria's outstanding debts, and build up the country's foreign reserves: two options that attracted strong criticisms. But these early moves were not met by clear and measurable transformation in the lives of the people in terms of access to social infrastructure, employment opportunities, and reduction in the rate of inflation.

By 2002, Nigerians were becoming impatient. They were beginning to ask for the specific deliverables of democracy. The government had been busy introducing policies, traveling abroad and talking about a big picture that the people could not see. The standard excuse offered by the Federal Government was that it would take a while before the people could measure the effect of the reform process but the people wanted their roads to be repaired, they wanted regular power supply which the government had promised but which it could not deliver, they wanted the hospitals to become proper hospitals not consulting clinics and mortuaries, they wanted the factories that had been shut down to return to work, so that jobs could be created. The government had introduced poverty alleviation programmes, but the effect of whatever alleviation that was going on could not be felt.

Matters were not helped by the non-performance of most of the state governments, the irresponsible conduct of the governments at the local council levels, and the observed crass opportunism and moral depravity of the professional political class. But even in spite of this growing impatience, the people had faith in the Obasanjo government at the centre. They were told that the contracts for the roads had been awarded, and that the power supply problem would soon be resolved. And education? The salaries of university teachers were soon increased and government boasted about how it had transformed the lives of academics. The people, the majority of them, believed the government.

In the midst of all this, the expansion of the country's telecommunications sector through the introduction of GSM telephony made great impression on the people, and offered an idea of future possibilities. Previous governments: Babangida and Abacha administrations had attempted to liberalize the telecommunications sector but these were at best failed attempts. Access to telephony was an elite privilege in Nigeria.. the country's teledensity was one of the lowest in Africa. The government-owned telephone company, NITEL was a centre of corruption, where you had to wait for months and pay through the nose to be able to lay hands on a phone.

The few who could afford mobile phones were considered very big men; a phone was definitely a symbol of status. By opening up the telecomm sector, the Obasanjo government facilitated a new business which has now grown beyond initial projections, becoming one of the most vibrant sectors of the Nigerian economy. Today, Nigeria's teledensity is arguably the highest in Africa. The GSM phenomenon has created a new culture; it has re-defined the language of commerce and social interaction and has thrown up depths of creativity among the people. Jobs have been created, new forms of social nuisance as well, but altogether a much-lauded achievement.

But what happened to the goodwill that the Obasanjo government enjoyed in its early years?

Robot  # 1 | 25.05.2007 08:51

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