Former President Olusegun Obasanjo celebrated his 75th birthday last week and as has become customary in this country, the occasion was marked very well in the media with numerous congratulatory advertisements and press statements from the movers and shakers across business and political spectrum extolling his “virtues” and underlining his credentials as a true elder statesman.
The Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] under which the man ruled for eight years, said in a statement that: “For a man whom destiny has twice enthroned to lead the nation at challenging times and twice, left no guesses as to his commitment and competence, leaving legacies that will outlive him’. It went on to state further that: “The nation owes a lot to his conscience, foresight and undiluted belief in the unity and oneness of our dear nation. From every stretch of the imagination, Chief Obasanjo is a great Nigerian, African statesman and a world citizen whose immense global contributions will be indelibly etched in history”.
The Northern Governors Forum on its part said Obasanjo’s imprint in the areas of nation building, reconciliation, national security and his contributions to deepening our fledgling democracy were legacies that are sure to outlive him. The celebrant himself, in his characteristic jocular manner declared that he had his adversaries to thank for his successes. At a party to mark the occasion at the Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, he said:”I want to thank my adversaries for contributing to my growth and I want to tell you that if one doesn’t have adversaries, one cannot succeed”.
It is not in doubt that Obasanjo’s shadow will for a long time be cast over Nigeria for the roles he has played in its evolution. But hearing all the apotheosis of the two-time leaders last week, anyone just landing in Nigeria from outer space would be excused if he thinks the man is the best thing that has happened to this country. Personally, I was left wondering if all these friends and well wishers were talking about the same man that other Nigerians know. I kept asking myself if it was possible they were referring to a different Olusegun Obasanjo.
I could not help but wonder how someone can look Nigerians with a straight face and say Obasanjo contributed to deepening our fledgling democracy. Such statement sure cannot be referring to a man under whose eight- year rule the principle of rule of law was only observed in the breach. Nigerians cannot forget in a hurry that government agencies especially the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission willfully chose which court ruling to obey – that which suited its agenda – and ignored those it felt were not in its favour. The nation has not also forgotten that in his determination to stop his then vice president from contesting the presidential election in 2007, he did all in his power including violating the constitution to stop Atiku Abubakar. Neither would we forget also how this same man tried to subvert the constitution including allegedly offering bribes to lawmakers to pave way for his attempt at a third term in office. It beats the imagination how this same individual suddenly qualifies as the savior of our democracy.
Not long ago, Nigerians were treated to a horrific drama of how the privatization exercise that Obasanjo introduced turned out to be a complete fiasco thus becoming a drain pipe for the nation’s resources. At the Senate public hearing on the privaatisation exercise, Nigerians were told of how the Bureau of Public Enterprises messed up the exercise by selling off the nation’s assets at give away prices and often times without proper adherence to due process. All the past Directors General of the bureau including its poster boy, Nasir el Rufai, were indicted of wrong doings particularly in the sale of NITEL. At the hearings, Obasanjo was indicted for bending the rules to favour his cronies in spite of his double faced fight against corruption. For reasons that are not hard to fathom, the senate, to the disgust of Nigerians, refused to invite him to explain sham that was the privatization exercise. In case his friends have forgotten, perhaps they need to be told that the monumental waste of billions of dollars that were sunk in the power project is still fresh in the memories of Nigerians. Despite these wasted funds the Obasanjo administration was unable to generate the promised 4,000 megawatts of electricity. The huge sums also guzzled by Tony Anenih while he was Works minister under Obasanjo have still not be accounted for .How then can this same man be credited for contributions to national economy?
How can Obasanjo be described as a nation builder when his abiding governance tactic was divide and rule? Nigerians cannot forget how he personally hounded the leadership of the PDP to the extent that non of its chairmen under Obasanjo’s regime was able to complete his term in office. It is an open secret also that he was the architect of the fall of former senate presidents who were not ready to do his bidding.
I could not help but chuckle when I read Obasanjo saying he owes his success to his adversaries. If indeed he has adversaries, perhaps he need to be reminded that he created them himself with his vengeful, know-it-all kind of politics. He single handedly hounded many founding members of the PDP out of their party. The late Sunday Awoniyi, Chief Audu Ogbe, late Abubakar Rimi and others who formed the party and handed the presidency to Obasanjo on a platter became victims of his machinations which led them to exit the party. Surely this does not cast Obasanjo in the mould of elder statesmen as his admirers want us to believe. As has come to light, his so called anti corruption crusade was nothing but an act of vendetta against perceived enemies. Senior members including ministers of his cabinet and personal aides were indicted in the Siemens and Haliburton corruption cases.
If Nigeria is serious about fighting corruption, then Obasanjo owes it a duty to Nigerians to explain what he knows about these cases and especially what transpired with the privatisation exercise. Ours must be such that presidents can be called to account for their stewardship even after leaving office. Numerous precedents have been set elsewhere and it will do us good to ape. The former president of Iceland has just been docked for his role in the economic crisis that rocked not only his nation but the globe, just as Hosni Mubarak and Ben Ali of Egypt and Tunisia respectively are struggling to clear their names of wrong doings in court. I hope Obasanjo’s day will come to do the same
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