The "Not In Our Character" 'Ab(r)ac(h)adabra'

Nigerian leaders (or rulers if you like) are globally notorious for their mediocrity and hypocrisy. What is new and news now is how they have broken records as experts in kleptocracy. Political scientists must, as a matter of importance, begin to give another definition to the unconscionable kleptocracy because the Nigerian nay African leaders have re-defined it to include deliberately and wilfully stealing what they never needed and appropriating with manifest impunity the commonwealth more than decency or sanity could ever imagine, tolerate or accommodate. We have got to a stage where their mental state ought to be subjected to several psychopatic analysis.

Or how else does one comprehend how and why one vindictive old retired General Olusegun Obasanjo could have aspired to steal more than Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha put together? It is difficult indeed to imagine that a man who claims to be in his early 70's (even when his childhood mates are older than him) could have sought to amass so much wealth that the next four succeeding generations of Obasanjos would never bother themselves over issues like work and wages! It simply boggles the mind!!

When Ibrahim Babangida committed treason by shooting his way to power early 80's overthrowing the disciplined dictatorship of Generals Buhari/Idiagbon one of his hypocritical self-preserving military campaign happened to be "no-more-coup" campaign. Daily on the state-controlled radio and TV stations one's sensibilities were roundly rocked and assaulted by a flawed martial message that sought to criminalise coup plotting and abolish its recurrence in our body polity.

Babangida's "no-more-coup" campaign did not however prevent late Major Gideon Orkar and his men from striking forcing the wily General to re-locate suddenly from Dodan Barracks in Lagos to impregnable breathtaking Aso Rock Abuja. Before fleeing Lagos Babangida narrowly escaped death as Orkar and co missed spilling his blood by the whiskers.

As the gap-toothed armoured General annuled the June 12 presidential poll whose outcome had been widely known by even those in the hinterlands, irrespective of whatever the cowardly Professor Humphrey Mr no mago-mago Nwosu intends to say on June 12's fifteenth anniversary as he reportdely breaks his silence and launchers his book on the famous day) he hurriedly installed an illegal interim government (leaving Gen. Abacha, then Defense Minister, behind as de-facto Head of State) with Ernest Shonekan as ceremonious head of the ING the dour Shonekan chose to engage Nigerians intellectually by writing a weekly "Letter to my Countrymen" which was published in leading national newspapers.

Discerning Nigerians saw the smokescreen and booby traps Babangida left behind and a high court in the land did declare the ING "illegal". Bidding his time and waiting for the right time to pull the rug beneath Shonekan late General Abacha could only tolerate the ING contraption for three months before he eased out Shonekan proclaiming himself Head of State. After three months of confusion at the center another martial leader had taken over.

Abacha was a "disorganized bandit" according to Gen Olusegun Obasanjo who survived his demented dictatorship by a hair's breath. Abacha took Nigerians to Golgotha for five long dreadful years looting and killing until he was himself killed without a single bullet! His demise saved a nation from embracing political amnesia.

Quite frankly the Abacha era was a bizzare bloody epoch in our nation's history. Abacha himself was more than a "disorganized bandit"; he was a psychopath! But in all fairness to the Kano-born despot he never pretended anything -- he looted billions of naira and millions of dollars and killed some pro-democracy activists and forced others to scamper for safety outside our shores.

Unlike Obasanjo however Abacha never told anyone that he was a democrat or a 'born-again' when we all knew that he believed in marabouts he surrounded himself with. Unlike OBJ the Locust stole without pretending to be a good man. Under Abacha no sitting Attorney General and Minister of Justice was ever murdered without trace. (May the Cicero Bola Ige's soul continue resting in peace). Under him people were assassinated but the number of unresolved murders under Baba and his democratic abracadabra still beg for explanations and answers.

General Abacha, out of patriotism or hypocrisy or paradoxically both, launched an elaborate national image-laundering programme tagged "Not in our Character". Billions of naira were spent in the process with little or no result felt or seen. Much like Prof. Jerry Gana's MAMSER during Babangida's era the Abacha campaign failed spectacularly because it was conceived in insincerity and grand deception.

The major problem with the 'Ab(r)ac(h)adabra' like Obasanjo's anti-corruption crusade was that Abacha himself was morally deficient and unfit to mount the otherwise patriotic project aimed at correcting certain stereotypes and wholesale generalisations and characterisations of Nigerians as crooks or potential ones.

Abacha, to be fair to his memory, may have meant well but his undoing laid squarely in his dictatorial and fiscal banditry. Like Obasanjo whom he dealt with he was busy looting Nigeria blind and chasing thousands of our compatriots who dared raise objections away  through his draconian policies while pretending equity and uprightness.

Late Gen. Abacha and his "not in our character" 'Ab(r)ac(h)adabra' was therefore doomed from the beginning of its conception right up to its execution. Contrary to the late General, the morally deficient crusader, I hold it's not in our character to do everything right. Corruption should rather be called the father of modern Nigeria and not Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo who arrogated the undeserving title to himself when we all know he was the best friend to mischief and corruption.

Is it not in our national character, if one may ask, to get rich quick with no ethnic colouration or discrimination? Is it not in our character as a people to kill one another in the name of politics? Is smuggling of narcotics and other out-lawed drugs not in our character? Is it not in our character to defraud ourselves and other foreigners? Is making and selling of counterfeit drugs and fake commodities not in our character? Is it not in our character to talk big, feel big and brag about our wealth -- even when they were illicitly acquired? Is it not in our character to easily expose ourselves to those who hate us with a passion or dislike our guts and maltreat us abroad consequently?
 
Permit me to end this piece by quoting the late British MP Enoch Powell: "The Supreme function of statesmanship is to provide against preventable evils. In seeking to do so it encounters obstacles which are rooted deeply in human nature"!

SOC Okenwa
soco_abj_2006_rci@hotmail.fr

Robot  Villager

# 1 The "Not In Our Character" 'Ab(r)ac(h)adabra' Nigerian ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 08.06.2008 15:48

NWANZA  Villager

# 2 Abacha Never Stole, Say Buhari, Babangida From Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano, 06.09.2008 The late military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, did not loot the national treasury contrary to the general impression, two military former heads of state have said. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who ruled Nigeria between 1983 and 1985, and his successor, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, gave Abacha the clean bill in Kano yesterday after the rememberance prayers marking 10 years of the death of Abacha, who ruled between 1993 and 1998. Abacha was accused of stealing nearly £5 billion while in office, out of which over $1 billion has reportedly been recovered from various sources around the world. But Babangida, who described Abacha as a “courageous, loyal and honest military head of state who stood for the unity and development of the country during his years in government”, has dismissed the allegations. He said the looting allegations against Abacha were unfounded and baseless, stressing that “it is not true that he looted public treasury. I knew who Abacha was because I was close to him”. Babangida said: “Abacha was a courageous person who stood firmly in handling the affairs of the country during his regime.” He added that the regime of Abacha brought positive changes in the country which should have been emulated. He said 10 years after the death of Abacha, his contributions to the nation’s economy remain indelible. “There is no doubt, during his administration as head of state, Abacha contributed his best to the nation’s economy which we are still enjoying,” he said. Babangida’s new position however contrasts with what he told Newswatch magazine in July 2000. He had said: “The revelations surprised me. I am surprised, because I didn't know.” He had also explained that Abacha's death brought "relative stability", adding that "it gives us, oh well, let's see, there is hope after all". Babangida, in that interview, also blamed the society for allowing Abacha to grow into the dictator he became. "I feel bad that society failed to realise that they have a duty to protect whatever values they hold dear to their hearts as far as this country is concerned. At any rate, there are people I like and do respect those who stood against the regime, who are not military officers but civilians who are able to speak out. They didn't mince words and if their views had been heard, he wouldn't have ," he had said in response to a question. Buhari, in his own comments yesterday, described the allegations of looting against Abacha as “baseless”, because according to him, “ten years after Abacha, those allegations remain unproven because of lack of facts”. While also commenting, former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who took over when Abacha died on June 8, 1998, commended his predecessor for initiating Vision 2010, saying that the economic vision of the present administration termed Vision 2020 is a replica of Abacha’s 2010 initiative. Abubakar also tasked Nigerian politicians to concentrate on how best to contribute to national development instead wasting time and money investigating their predecessors, adding that probing past administrations “does not yield anything positive to the nation and should be discouraged”. Babangida also spoke on the probe of his government by the immediate past administration, saying: “We are still waiting for the outcome of the probe.” The three former leaders sat close to one another during the special prayer session which started exactly 10am and lasted for over one hour at an open compound belonging to the family of the former head of state. The prayer session was attended by former Abacha’s aides, Emirs of Hadejia, Gumel, Jema’a and Chief Fredrick Fasehun of Odua Peoples Congress (OPC). Posted by NWANZA| 09.06.2008 00:20

Agidimolaja  Villager

# 3 Sleep and Death are two different individuals,They may look alike but they are quite different from each other. To compare Abacha with Obj is insane.All those who are doing so are not sincere or are not fully aware of certain facts or possibly just want to ignore those facts so as to display personal hatred for Obj. The truth is that the seeds of various evils that were sowed and watered by previous governments {i.e. IBB and Abacha} have fully grown and started to bear fruits of various evils when Obj took over power in 1999. Unfortunately as it was,those who worked with IBB and Abacha in ruining the country were the same brand of Nigerians who installed Obj as President. Having sponsored him,these questionable individuals who already graduated from either IBB and Abacha's looting institutions{or both} are the ones to be employed by Obj as workers in the farmland of Nigeria. He had no choice. No wonder today that, Nigeria has no food in her store because her employed/elected workers{and you know them} have stolen the foods and stored them away in foreign barns. People should always remember that Nigeria that Obj inherited was not the same that Sir Abubakar Tafa Balewa inherited.It was far different from what Gen.Gowon inherited.It was far away from where Shehu Shagari started in 1979. Sleep is different from death and it is true. Nigeria that Obj met on the ground was a dilapidating Nigeria almost at the brim of collapse. To destroy is easy but to rebuild is much tougher. What IBB and Abacha have jointly destroyed was what Obj was mandated to rebuild and he was expected to rebuild it at a flash by shallow thinking Nigerians. How? With what? With magic wand? Quite impossible,folks! Not when his workers are among those who did the havoc. Not when those who did the havoc would not love to see Obj succeed because they benefited greatly from the destructions that they participated in and they shall continue to benefit in the perpetual destruction. It is a living fact that certain past leaders who have failed will not {because of shame} like to see another person succeeded,moreso that the individual is not from among of them. Over 16 billion dollars could not have gone down into the drain with no electricity to show for it if certain group of mischief workers were not directly involved. Roads could have been fixed and new ones constructed if evil workers are not there actively working against the wish of Obj and Nigerians. Did Obj steal those money?No! However, some people stole the money.Obj may know them but what could he do.Probe? Probe hell! Farida Waziri is now on seat anyway; a well known leading defender and protector of rogues,looters and shameless thieves. Corruptions and treasury lootings?You ain't seen nothing yet. Sincerely speaking Obj tried his best but well established crooks were too many for him to be put out of place hence his administration may have performed a little below expectations.But his administration was not as bad as it is so badly painted. Far better than that of Abacha or IBB. To write off Obj's administration as a total failure sounds to me as gross wickedness and for anyone to open up his/her mouth and say that the regime of Abacha or IBB is better than that of Obj is bunch of useless nonsense. The fact remains the same that;should any of Obj's bashers be in Obj's position and is facing same odds as Obj did,could he/she perform any better than Obj? I doubt it very much. Remember that,spectators are always the best players. Easier said than done. Yoruba people put it in this way;"eniti ija o ba de ba ni pe ara re l'okunrin" meaning,he that has never been involved in a fight would continue to hail himself as the strongest man. Posted by Agidimolaja| 09.06.2008 01:45

dapxin  Villager

# 4 "The prayer session was attended by former Abacha’s aides, Emirs of Hadejia, Gumel, Jema’a and Chief Fredrick Fasehun of Odua Peoples Congress (OPC)." heal Is it true that Faseun attended this? as reported here ? Posted by dapxin| 09.06.2008 02:47

NWANZA  Villager

# 5 =Agidimolaja;4295052794>Sleep and Death are two different individuals,They may look alike but they are quite different from each other. To compare Abacha with Obj is insane.All those who are doing so are not sincere or are not fully aware of certain facts or possibly just want to ignore those facts so as to display personal hatred for Obj. The truth is that the seeds of various evils that were sowed and watered by previous governments {i.e. IBB and Abacha} have fully grown and started to bear fruits of various evils when Obj took over power in 1999. Yoruba people put it in this way;"eniti ija o ba de ba ni pe ara re l'okunrin" meaning,he that has never been involved in a fight would continue to hail himself as the strongest man. It is realy sad that Nigeria is trying to find out who was the worst leader, instead of who was the best leader. Their greatest achievement was that "they did everything they can to keep Nigeria one", while they loot the treasury. Would leaders who believe in Nigeria neglect the roads in their own nation, and instead loot state funds and cart the money away to foreign nations? Would leaders who believe in Nigeria neglect the hospitals in their nation and rather choose to patronise hospitals in foreign lands? Would leaders who believe in Nigeria neglect the schools in their nation, and send their children to schools in foreign lands? Would leaders who believe in Nigeria buy homes in well organized foreign nations while neglecting their own nation? Meditate on these facts and show your outrage. Do not be outraged over the picture of our policeman holding unbrella over the chinese construction worker! Posted by NWANZA| 09.06.2008 12:10

Agidimolaja  Villager

# 6 Nwanza, I'm already outraged and that is the reason why I have been speaking in the ways I have been speaking. Trust me,Obj voted huge amount of money to rehabilitate all those amenities and infrastructures that we are still lacking as you rightly listed them. Sad as it is,contracts were awarded but works were never done. For example, Chief Anenih a PDP stalwart was directly responsible for the rehabilitations of our roads.It is on record that under him more than six billion dollars was pumped into the project but today see our roads. Yet Chief Anenih is working around puffing up. The list of our rogue leaders are endless and how many of the real sophisticated crooks can Obj and his agents arrest and bring to justice?Only few, for they are too numerous. To the best of my knowledge,Obj is so far the best of all the leaders we ever had.Let us not just look at what he failed at;let us also look at what he succeeded in doing and there are quite a few of them out there except if we are so clouded with hatred for him. Posted by Agidimolaja| 10.06.2008 01:41

NWANZA  Villager

# 7 =Agidimolaja;4295053316>Nwanza, I'm already outraged and that is the reason why I have been speaking in the ways I have been speaking. Trust me,Obj voted huge amount of money to rehabilitate all those amenities and infrastructures that we are still lacking as you rightly listed them. Sad as it is,contracts were awarded but works were never done. For example, Chief Anenih a PDP stalwart was directly responsible for the rehabilitations of our roads.It is on record that under him more than six billion dollars was pumped into the project but today see our roads. Yet Chief Anenih is working around puffing up. The list of our rogue leaders are endless and how many of the real sophisticated crooks can Obj and his agents arrest and bring to justice?Only few, for they are too numerous. To the best of my knowledge,Obj is so far the best of all the leaders we ever had.Let us not just look at what he failed at;let us also look at what he succeeded in doing and there are quite a few of them out there except if we are so clouded with hatred for him. That is why they do not want an Igbo man as President of Nigeria, because he will round-up the real enermies of Nigeria and lock them up. There is no doubt in my mind that an Igbo man will put his country first. An Igbo president will not bring shame to his people as we say "Good name is better and riches". Let the best of the best come forward and stop mediocrity. Posted by NWANZA| 10.06.2008 11:38