01 Jun 2007 |
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Obasanjo's legacy (5) FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo returned to his home-town of Abeokuta, Ogun State around 4 p. m on May 29. He arrived at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Kuto, at 4.16 p.m. He was driven round the stadium, waving to the crowd, accompanied by the re-elected Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel. An enthusiastic crowd stood in front of the open-roof police van, the people danced and hailed, they wanted to see their kinsman who had just completed a tour of duty as President of Nigeria for eight years. It didn't matter that the same man had just increased fuel prices and made life a bit more difficult for the average Nigerian. This is the fourth time in his lifetime that Obasanjo will return to this same town in such heroic fashion: in 1970 after the civil war, in 1979 after his tenure as military Head of State, in 1998 after he was released from Abacha's prison and now in 2007. Nigerians are quick to forgive. They have put Obasanjo behind them, with the hope that tomorrow is truly another day, and that Obasanjo now belongs effectively to the past. A few more words about that past: Getting the nomination of the Peoples Democratic Party for the Presidential race of 2003 was a test of strength for General Olusegun Obasanjo. The state Governors, many of who came into prominence as members of the PDM wing of the party had all queued up behind the Vice President Atiku Abubakar, whose strategists were already suggesting to the President what was termed "the Mandela option". Nelson Mandela had spent only one term in office. President Obasanjo not only rejected this option, he announced that God had advised him to seek a second term of four years as Nigeria's President. But he had to cross the hurdles within the party, and this included having to beg his own deputy to support him. Obasanjo won the nomination through a combination of arm-twisting, blackmail and outright supplication. But the battle line had been drawn between him and his Vice President. The cracks began to show very early during the campaigns when the Vice President was for the most part sidelined, and what had been an Obasanjo-Atiku campaign suddenly became a strictly Obasanjo affair. This division within the Presidency soon affected special assistants on both sides whose relevance now depended on their demonstration of loyalty. President Obasanjo had only two major tasks ahead of him in the 2003 elections: to show that he had a political constituency of his own and that he did not need either the PDM or its agents. He needed to take over the control of the PDP, and marginalise the PDM stalwarts. In the 2003 elections, the PDP had to take the states in the South-West. This game plan was helped by the Yoruba elite in the Afenifere, the Alliance for Democrac, and the Yoruba Council of Elders who had now been sold the dummy that "Obasanjo after all is our brother", and that the West stood to benefit more if it embraced the politics of the centre. Only Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the Governor of Lagos State stood alone, and this was perhaps why he alone among all the AD Governors in the South-West won re-election in 2003. There were flaws in the 2003 elections but nothing comparable to the debacle of 2007. As soon as the newly re-elected Government settled down to a second term in office, President Obasanjo embarked on the urgent task of "putting Atiku in his place". Between 1999 and 2003, the Vice President had been a powerful member of the Obasanjo government, he was in charge of the privatisation process and he had recommended many persons for appointment into key positions. He had also cultivated the image of a generous giver, and while the President was regarded as grumpy and stringy, he generally enjoyed good media publicity. Obasanjo wasted no time in reminding the public of where the buck stopped in the Presidency. Atiku was rendered redundant. Many of his aides who had tried to promote the "Mandela option" were fired, and banished from the Presidential Villa. Other persons whom he had recommended for appointment were relieved of their positions. Many of these played smart by immediately crossing over to the Obasanjo camp. The EFCC, which had been focusing on the fight against corruption, was unleashed on state Governors who were known as the "Atiku boys", and sadly, this marked the beginning of the use of this otherwise important institution for political purposes. To be seen in the company of the Vice President, or heard expressing any form of loyalty to him, became a mortal sin in the Obasanjo Presidency. Obasanjo not only accused his Vice President of disloyalt, when the man began to campaign for the 2007 Presidential race, he was asked to stop the noise-making and allow the government to focus on the task of governance. Atiku was later told pointedly that he will not be allowed to become President. This developed eventually into a bitter feud between Obasanjo and Atiku, and it did a lot of damage to the polity. The government at the centre became totally distracted. Court rulings which could benefit anyone who was considered an Atiku ally, were openly ignored, and due process became a victim of this power game. Pro-Atiku Governors were impeached or threatened with impeachment; or forced to stay away from the Vice President. The details of some of the highlights of this crisis have been covered in previous commentaries but what the Obasanjo-Atiku rivalry demonstrated was simply how politics and personality clashes can stand in the way of governance. In many states of the Federation, Governors and their deputies also found it difficult to work together as the deputies were regarded as rivals and later treated as enemies. In almost every instance, the Governors used the powers of their office to either get the Deputy Governors impeached or disgraced. In Lagos, Plateau, Oyo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, we witnessed different dimensions of this lack of civility at the top. In the more dramatic cases, even the wives of the top men got involved in the squabbles. Political appointees naturally sided with the more powerful man, indicating that in Nigeria's democracy, the man of power is absolutely powerful, and that principles do not count for much, opportunism is the lubricating oil of political relations. In every case, personal interests obstructed the common good. There have been comments about Obasanjo's personal style. In his best moments, he was a colourful leader with a common touch. He could dance with the masses at political rallies, stop by the roadside and buy roasted corn; remove his agbada in public and settle down to a physical combat if anyone challenged him (nobody dared). He had no aristocratic airs, and he spoke straight from the heart. He was a mythical personality in the people's imagination, and they had so many sobriquets for him: OBJ, Baba, Baba Iyabo, Ebora Owu. His relationship with women was even a major topic of interest, and a source of curious admiration. He was generally regarded as an alpha male, in a society where a capacity for fun is admired, Obasanjo was seen as a "correct guy". But he had a character flaw. He took the people's goodwill for granted and squandered the friendship that was at his disposal. He seemed to have developed a personal philosophy that the only way to show that you are a strong leader is to disregard the people, including your own friends. Many of the personal friends who started out with Obasanjo in 1999, quarreled with him along the way. He had remarked on one occasion that he did not need anybody, and that if anybody thought he did anything for him and was expecting rewards, such a person should perish the thought. This was not the real Obasanjo talking, it was power at work, and indeed, his leadership was characterised by too many contradictions. When he was re-elected in 2003, one of the early steps taken by his government was to increase the pump price of petroleum products. That was his way of showing gratitude to the Nigerian people for re-electing him. On the eve of his departure, Obasanjo again increased fuel prices and the Value Added Tax (which adds no value). Now out of power, Obasanjo will need to go in search of lost friends. As President, he allowed himself to be hijacked by sycophants; he was told only what he wanted to hear and he placed too much store by the show of "loyalty". When he assumed office in 1999, he lamented that Nigeria had been brought terribly low since 1979 when he left office as Head of State. In the next few weeks, he will need to reflect on his own stewardship (1999 - 2007), in the solitude of his own privacy, away from the fawning presence of sycophants. Let him take a look at Nigeria today and he doesn't need to announce the result of that necessary journey of introspection. The politics of tenure elongation or third term as it was known also created a moral crisis for his administration. It further damaged Obasanjo's persona. The fact that the gambit was stopped by the Nigerian people who stood firm and insisted that the President must leave on the expiration of his tenure of office, created an additional burden which Obasanjo must bear even outside office. When he handed over to Umar Musa Yar'Adua on May 29, there was a sigh of relief across the land. Nigerians were glad to see him go. Up till the last minute, a cynical public continued to assume that the President could pull a joker out of his bag of tricks and change his mind. He is not in a position to say that he disproved the critics. It is the people who are now in a position to claim that it was their will that prevailed on the question of "third term." The 2007 elections also represented a major minus for the Obasanjo administration. The elections were rigged, but the President boasted that this was in order because we are Nigerians, and we do not have a tradition of doing anything perfectly. Making dishonesty and fraud a part of the Nigerian identity was a last minute act of self-deprecation by a President who came to power seeking to raise the quality of the Nigerian brand. When Umar Yar'Adua was sworn in as President three days ago, both the United Kingdom and the United States sent very junior officers. The Americans in fact sent an officer who was junior in rank to the country's representative at a similar event recently in Mali and Mauritania! Most of the European countries were represented by their in-country ambassadors... That was a strong statement about the legitimacy crisis that now faces the Yar'Adua administration...
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