Oops, Obasanjo Does It Again!

The history of the evolution of the Nigerian State veers towards haphazardness at a certain point when it fails, either by omission or commision, to illuminate the roles played by certain actors in either propelling the State towards ever greater heights or in tarnishing its image beyond redemption, by words or deeds. Inasmuch as these personalities were all products of definite social circumstances which enabled them to become gladiators in the political arena, so do they all remain today, products of history, and whenever mention is made of the labours of our heroes past, we should never become oblivious to the disservice of our past and present villains in power (V.I.P)s. Our heroes wrested political independence from the colonial masters, while the villains did absolutely nothing, except to facilitate our economic dependence on the former lords. Today, we are saddled with a structure which, if it were really a giant, would stand on 2 sturdy and robust legs. Seeing that it lacks the attributes of a giant, this structure has metamorphosed into a behemoth set on a tripod. To use the metaphor of foundations: the structure is down to bedrock, but the building materials are lacking. Due to the aberrant nature of this sub-Saharan beast, a distinct Nigerian aroma exudes from its fissures rents and pores which is very poisonous and which proliferates into a tropical vegetation of concepts like federal character, quota system, bicameralism, rotational presidency and such other petty bourgeois concepts that throw more light on the centrifugal nature of the State than the centripetal. Of all the political actors that militocracy and democracy have given birth to in Nigeria, none has had a more checkered career than ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo whose antics and public pronouncements both in and out of office have become wilder and weirdier. This places him at par with other national leaders like Boris Yeltsin, Idi Amin, Muammar Ghaddafi, Hugo Chavez and Silvio Berlusconi, who, while lost in the ocean of narcissism and megalomania speak/spoke or behave(d) in public in ways that would hurt the sensibilities of some of us mortals. Obasanjo's role in the history of the evolution of the Nigerian State is that of a cross-dresser. As a military Head of State, a position which he reluctantly assumed, he was known to have willingly handed power over to a civilian president. As a civilian president, he became involved in grandiose and ultimately suicidal adventures in secular messianism and was quite reluctant to let go of the aphrodisiac of power, even after a second term. During the transitional phase of his cross-dressing, his farm at Otta became a sort of Mecca for political tourists from all over the world, especially, from Africa. We do know that during this period, the ex-General had not yet seen the light because what he was reported as saying actually originated from the bowels of a decaying and despairing decadent, groping in darkness, helpless and broken, before the Christian cross. The whole world was shocked to hear Obasanjo's suggestion that juju should be employed to dismantle the South African apartheid regime. A lot of us were amused and those who saw nothing funny in that statement made sure he was frustrated in his bid to become the Secretary General of the United Nations. What we do not know is what would have happened if he had been able to secure that appointment. That statement alone was not the only albatross in the way of his secretarial ambition. The whole world also became aware of the gladiatorial abilities of the ex-General when he was seen wrestling with a camera man on national television. If Obasanjo did not make Secretary General, it was because he lacked the qualities of one. What we know that we know is that Obasanjo was not a man of real secretarial calibre. And that was his undoing. No sane man ever leaves BBC's Hardtalk without being discombobulated. When Tim Sebastian was the anchor man of that programme, he acted like an inquisitor. His successor, Steven sackur, is just worse. Both have an inclination, born of strength, for questions that no one has the courage for; the courage for the forbidden. Whereas Sebastian chastised his guests with whips, Sackur chastises with scorpion, and Obasanjo was at the receiving end of both whip and scorpions. Asked by Sebastian what he thought was his legacy to Nigerians, our conceited ex-President replied that he had given HOPE to Nigerians. I was left stupefied because of all the tangibles that a performer of a particular task could enumerate, Obasanjo was only able to focus on a mere intangible which could not even be measured if it existed. What manner of hope was he exactly talking about? Definitely, not hope in the kingdom, power and glory in another life. And certainly, not hope in the realization of a nation where no man is oppressed. In late April 2009, Obasanjo made the following remark in Dutse, Jigawa State: "In 1999, Nigeria was not looking for a president that will build roads, fix power or provide water; Nigeria was looking for a president that will hold Nigerians together." If Obasanjo sees the duties of a leader or servant-leader as not trascending the confines of evo-stick glue, then the less government we have the better. Even though in the long run every government is the exact symbol of its people, that is to say, like people like government, we still see it as the business of government to promote the aggreggate happiness of the society by providing in adequate quality and quantity the basic necessities of life; providing a salubrious and conducive environment for the propagation of the human race resulting in higher life expectancies and lower infant mortality rates. Haba, Baba Iyabo, U yab o! Penultimate Monday, Obasanjo returned to Nigeria from Senegal where he attended on the invitation of that country's leader activities marking their 50th independence anniversary. While fielding questions from reporters at the airport, the ex-General remarked there was no basis to compare Senegal and Nigeria because "one is a francophone country and the other anglophone." Arrant nonsense. Typical Obasanjo. It is like saying there is no basis of comparison between Anambra and Osun States because one is an Igbo speaking state and the other is Yoruba speaking. The last time I checked, Senegal was practising a semi-presidential system of government, with little dissimilarities from our own. Both countries are republics and have bicameral legislatures. Senegal has never experienced a coup, and has never had a cross-dressing president. It is one of the most successful post-colonial democratic transitions in Africa. In 2008, Senegal finished in the 10th position on the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which is a comprehensive measure of sub-Saharan governance, based on a number of different variables which reflect the success with which government deliver political goods to its citizens. To drive home the comparison, take alook at these figures from the 2009 Ibrahim Index. Nigeria had an overall score of 46.46, while Senegal had 55.98. Under safety and rule of law, Nigeria scored 50.57, while Senegal scored 61.85. Participation and human right gives Nigeria a low of 41.84, while Senegal gets a high of 61.12. Under sustainable economic opportunities, our own dear native land could only secure 42.65 while Senegal dominates with 50.06. Human development is the only category where both nations were almost at par with Nigeria having 50.77 and Senegal, 50.90. What we do not know that we do not know is whether Obasanjo was simply displaying his ignorance or he was well aware of these facts but was ashamed to own up to them. Whichever way we see it, Obasanjo as a phenomenon is not just an eccentric or enfant terrible. He is a chartered libertine whose excesses have to be explained away as due to the freakishness of nature, or we should be forced to accept the other excuses with which his goons have sought to palliate his antics.