Obasanjo and his burning statesmanship ambition  It was sometime in May 1999 that I dared venture to visit my country, Nigeria, after over nine years in the UK. Olusegun Obasanjo, ex-military Head of State, retired army general and civil war hero, convicted of treason and incarcerated, nearly executed, and brought out of incarceration had just won election as Nigeria’s president. I was full of joy and hope. I was elated and optimistic. On Inauguration Day, as I watched on national TV, tears welled up in my eyes. I was tearful to see Obasanjo sworn in, for the second time in Nigeria, as the leader of this great nation. Another reason why I believed that perhaps, Nigeria’s Messiah has come is the fact that Obasanjo, in the history of the world (correct me if I have erred) has become only the second man to serve two non-consecutive terms as president of any country; Grover Cleveland served as President of the USA twice, 1885 to 1889 and then again from 1893 to 1897, thus becoming the 22nd and 24th president of the US. But there we are! After eight years of Obasanjo (and he even tried to amend the Constitution to get a Third Term, a typically sit-tight African leader syndrome) and fourteen years later, many right-thinking and truly patriotic Nigerians are shaking their heads in absolute disgust, helplessness, frustration and anger at the devastation, degradation, deprivation and dearth of progress that have been visited upon us in that short space of time. I always like to quip and paraphrase the late Malcolm X, “Nigerians did not land on Aso Rock (the seat of power in Nigeria), Aso Rock landed on us”. When the Balogun of Owu, Obasanjo went on the attack and came out to mention names – Atiku, Tinubu, Alamieyeseigha, Buhari (Salihu), Dariye, and others – that he alleged have failed Nigeria, I had to again revisit my perceptions of this enigmatic despot. Are Nigerians wrong about this man, Obasanjo? What will he be remembered by in say, ten years’ time? Will Obasanjo go down in the history of Nigeria as a statesman? Does he meet the criteria for statesmanship, which is the ability, qualifications, or practice of a statesman; wisdom and skill in the management of public affairs? Is he a statesman, defined as 1, a political leader whose wisdom, integrity, etc., win great respect, and 2, a person active and influential in the formulation of high government policy, such as a cabinet member, and 3, a male political leader regarded as a disinterested promoter of the public good, and 4, a politician, diplomat or other notable public figure that has had a long and respected career at the national or international level? In fairness to Obasanjo, while a lot was said against his civilian regimes failures but not much were emphasised on the state of things before he took over. In fact, many institutes and structures were left degraded or abandoned. Things like power, railway, national shipping line, and national airways were starved of investment for twenty years and eventually collapsed. On the plus side, several governors too were removed for corruption, though, some judges reversed some decision. And he was able to attract technocrats and Nigerian expatriates to his administration. They were able to plan various reforms in the country administration. They made effective contribution to the country economic planning and development. His administration had now established future planning and development for the country for the next five years. The international community must have realized his vast skills and talent and decided to exploit them. Thus Obasanjo was and is still being appointed or nominated into one international service after the other since 1979. The list is as long as my arm. These and many others have helped to raise the stature of Obasanjo above that of any other living Nigerian. In 1992 he was even in the race for the position of Secretary General of the United Nations. So, where can we place Obasanjo in the history of Nigeria? The man remains an enigma to many of his own people. One thing is that everything you throw at him bounces off him. He is never concerned about anything Nigerians accuse him off. He takes it in his stride and never replies to most allegations of corruption and mismanagement against him. So we may never know how great or limited he is; and that will be a great disservice to himself. Will history and Nigerians be kind to him? I honestly do not know. Sometimes, I really do pity him. Maybe he ruled the wrong country. Maybe the country was not ready for him; but twice, or even thrice? How did he get derailed with all his convictions mentioned above? Was he corrupt despite his vehement and indignant denial during his interview with BBC’s Hard Talk a few years ago? Is he a Nigerian Statesman despite the poverty, the tortures, the disappointment, the deaths, the sufferings, the corruption, the mismanagement, the degradation, the depravity, the evil, that he and his cohorts, acolytes, followers, favourites both in the military and in his politics have visited upon his own people, Nigerians? Is he worthy to be even thought of as an African or World Statesman? Akintokunboh Adejumoh wrote in from Lagos.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 09:13:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015