The political itinerary of the so called
Fourth Republic in Nigeria, whose
dubious provenance is traceable to the
subterfuge and sustained grand
conspiracy against the rest of us by the
very people who hold aloft some dubious
patriotic credentials, prominent among
whom are Obasanjo, Danjuma and
Ibrahim Babangida, David Mark and a
later conscript, Abdulsalami Abubabakar,
who currently pontificates on the path to
peace and progress, adorning a fake
cherubic mien, is replete with histrionics
of, oftentimes, tragic dimensions.
Since the inception of civil rule in 1999,
up till this moment, there has been an
undisguised determination by these
nation wreckers and their civilian sidekicks
to hold the nation by the jugular in their
bid for continued relevance. The duo of
Danjuma and Babangida ensured that
Olusegun Obasanjo succeeded the
disgraced military adventurers who
hurriedly departed from the political
scene. He was packaged from prison to
become the President thereby
neutralizing, effectively, the struggle of
the ordinary Nigerians. Chief Olu Falae,
the IMF apologist and converted Afenifere
activist who contested against him stood
no chance in hell once those military
marauders had decided that he was the
best person to protect their political and
economic interest at that time.
There was this asinine propaganda on the
need to placate the South West region of
the country for the criminal annulment of
June 12, 1993 election won by M.K.O
Abiola, by Babangida, ably supported by
these felons and their civilian
collaborators. To support this grandiose
charade, another round of elaborate
deception, the culmination of which was
the emergence of the omniscient
hypocrite, Olusegun Obasanjo, was
devised. I shall not dwell much on the
consequence of this contrivance. We are
all living witnesses to the deleterious
impact which the ruinous reign of
Obasanjo is having on the polity.
Those who are satisfied with mere
appearances refer to this period with
glee, referring to the corrupt-ridden
arrangement dubbed debt buy-back as a
deft economic stroke, which was designed
to free us from the debt nexus. After N60
billion "commission" paid to some
nebulous agents of the same thieving
government, our debt "sins" were
forgiven and no one can assert, with
certitude, how much was owed and what
remains to be paid. That is a story for
another time.
Obasanjo handpicked his successor, Umar
Yar Adua, a terminally ill and pliable
preference to his Vice, Atiku Abubakar,
who was considered too independent and
dangerous to be entrusted with power.
He also brought, from relative obscurity,
Goodluck Jonathan, an erstwhile mediocre
politician and colorless academic, to serve
as deputy to him. These mediocre
elements were brought to succeed him
when it was clear to him that his bid to
remain in office in perpetuity had been
extinguished completely. It was for this
reasons that he declared that politics was
a do-or-die affair. He played god in the
affairs of Nigerians.
General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) had
contested against Yar Adua and many had
thought that the time for change had
come. Obasanjo and the ruling party,
PDP, had other ideas far withdrawn from
the romantic expectations of the
incurable optimists who had believed in
the possibility of effecting change in
leadership through the ballot box. The
conduct of agents of government and the
so called Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, left no one in doubt
as to the resolve of the party to cling to
power at all cost. The elections were
massively rigged to favor PDP candidates
in most states and at the federal level.
The last contest between Buhari and the
incumbent president of the country had
ended with a tragic anecdote. Many of his
supporters in the north, who had felt
cheated, reacted violently with the
attendant loss of lives and properties. It
was obvious that the electoral umpire,
headed by Maurice Iwu, and the ruling
party, manipulated the election. There
were glaring cases of malpractices of the
most brazen type. There was the case of
some southeastern states, which
recorded more votes than the registered
voters. There was a particular state where
no registered voter died between the last
general elections and that particular one.
Virtually all eligible voters cast their ballot
in favour of the then relatively unknown
and perennially reticent incumbent. The
Supreme Court returned the verdict of
substantial compliance with the
provisions of the Electoral Act. The
incumbent was declared as validly
elected. He, however, acknowledged that
the elections were fatally flawed and he
begged his "brother", Buhari, to forget
the past and join him in "moving the
country forward".
Yar Adua soon died in office and the Vice,
who had been reduced into a glorified
senior clerk in Aso Rock, assumed office
as President after sustained agitations
from the same people his hirelings now
castigate. I remember the heroic role of
the Nigeria Bar Association led by Rotimi
Akeredolu, SAN, at that time before some
commercial agitators seized the moment
for maximum advantage. Very few will
disagree that the country has not had it
this bad. There is pervasive insecurity in
the land. We now have a rag tag militia
hoisting the flag of banditry on Nigerian
soil in spite of the declaration of a State
of Emergency in three states. Over two
hundred girls were kidnapped from a
school in Chibok and nobody knows their
whereabouts. $20billion is still
unaccounted for and the activities of the
whole administration are a compendium
of sleaze. Jonathan says stealing is not
corruption. Members of his
administration are indeed stealing. EFCC
under him is comatose. It is not even
capable of witch-hunting anybody as it
was the case under the just denuded
Ribadu. Anybody accused of stealing
under Jonathan is assured security of
tenure.
Buhari has just declared his intention to
contest once again for the much-coveted
seat, for the fourth time, and his interest
is generating, expectedly, much
controversy. There are those who believe
that his record as a former military Head
of State is enough to keep him out of
public office, especially the one that
requires an exercise of democratic
preference. He is widely regarded as a
tyrant, despotic megalomaniac who
abused power while in office. Many
indeed are his sins. But the greatest
enemies of this enigmatic character are
the funny elements in the all-embracing
platform for hustlers called APC. Can
anyone imagine that these charlatans are
indeed serious that a presidential
candidate of their brand of progressive
politics must pay N27.5 million to pick an
ordinary nomination form? I am waiting
to read from the commercial public
intellectuals on this undisguised
conspiracy against Buhari. One Femi
Aribisala has made too much weather of
this misstep amidst deliberate falsehood
liberally bandied to justify the logic of his
prosaic treatise on why he will not win.
There has been strident opposition to the
candidacy of this former Army General,
Head of State, GOC, Military Governor,
Federal Commissioner for Petroleum,
Chairman, PTF, and Presidential candidate
of ANPP, CPC and hopefully, APC. Nobody
appears to be analyzing the ruinous rule
of the Ijaw President. There has been this
easy recourse to ethnicity and religion in
justifying why Nigerians should persevere
with the affliction called Jonathan. The
APC has given the opposition an easy
platform to launch its attacks on the
fabled integrity of this man. The social
media is now awash with jokes of a poor
man who is able to pay N27.5 million for
a mere form for declaration of intent. It
matters little to those who cast aspersion
on the decision of Buhari to pick the form
that Atiku had forgotten ever going
through the same process. It means
nothing that the sole candidate of the
most corrupt party in Africa will pay N20
million. Every hack is quick to put pen on
paper to lampoon the man of the
moment. Buhari remains the issue.
It is not difficult to see that Buhari's
enemies labour in no small measure to
convince the converted that this man is
not honest after all. There was indeed no
substantiated allegation of sleaze against
him save the beer parlour gossips on his
phantom wealth arising from his "theft"
of N2.8 billion, 53 suitcases that Atiku
refused to allow in as a Customs Officer
until he was removed from the airport
unceremoniously, the killing of three drug
convicts with retroactive decrees and the
hypocritical attitude of his deputy, late
Tunde Idiagbon, who took his son to
Mecca to perform the Hajj after outlawing
same, the indecorous attack on the
residence of the sage, Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, the conviction, with long and
ludicrous jail terms of corrupt politicians,
the detention of notable members of the
opposition parties to the then ruling
party, NPN, and the detention of
perceived radical elements, especially
from the south, among others.
I should throw in this caveat without
hesitation. I do not see Gen. Buhari as
the only person who possesses the magic
wand to turn around the fortunes of this
serially raped country. I am also educated
enough to know that there is a wide world
of difference between the young Buhari
who was a military Head of State and the
one seeking to lead through deliberative
process. I equally know that a mobilized
parliament can yank him off his illusion
as a man of power. If anyone is in doubt,
the case of Murtala Nyako, a former
Admiral, and impeached governor of
Adamawa State should clear that unbelief.
But in spite of all these, I am still waiting,
anxiously, to read about any direct
allegation of theft against this man who
has held virtually all important positions
needed to be quoted on the Stock
Exchange. Only beer parlor gossips are
issuing forth, the latest being the
hagiographical musings from one Femi
Aribisala.
Having said this, I proceed to assert that
no individual living or dead, in Nigeria,
has created this cult-like following and
sustained hatred from certain sections of
the country since the demise of the
legendary Awo. Never in recent years has
the personality of an individual been
subjected to acerbic criticism, libelous
innuendoes and unjustified vilification as
we have witnessed in the case of Buhari.
Not even the sitting erstwhile "shoeless"
President has caused many people to
secrete bile at the mere mention of his
name. Yet there has been no mention of
his name in connection with any fraud,
either remotely or directly. Aribisala failed
woefully in his bid to indulge in faction in
propagating falsehood. N2.8 billion was
declared missing under General Obasanjo
and not Shehu Shagari. Obasanjo had
explained the reason for the movement of
the money into an escrow account. It was
to avert a retaliatory measure from the
British government for the nationalization
of British Petroleum in the 70s due to her
support of apartheid.
There are those who still believe that he
contributed to the massacre of the Igbos
in South East during the civil war. No one
seems to remember that it was T.Y
Danjuma and Murtala Muhammed who
abducted Aguiyi Ironsi when he was
visiting Ibadan. It is of no moment that
Danjuma once granted an interview
confirming that he was the one who killed
Ironsi. Cowards and irredentists would
rather dine with him and vote against
Buhari. Not a few people agree with the
tag of a religious bigot pinned on him
since his regime's misadventure to
Organisation of Islamic Countries at the
time Nigeria had no diplomatic relations
with Israel. He has since graduated from
a mere fanatic to a terrorist. He has been
accused of planning the attack, which
almost took his life to gain popularity. He
is believed to be a major sponsor of Boko
Haram, the confused group of lunatics
whose real objectives for killing and
maiming innocent Nigerians remain hazy.
The Goodluck Jonathan's government is
now negotiating with Boko Haram and
their main "sponsor", Buhari, is not in the
picture.
The type of interest that this man's
involvement in current politics has excited
is such that should cause political
scientists and other serious researchers
to scrutinize his life and times. Some
members of the opposition are even
expressing their preference for Atiku
Abubakar who is also an aspirant. Nobody
questioned the rationale behind an Atiku
picking a form for that humongous
amount. Buhari's avowed ascetic
disposition should raise a genuine query
on the propriety of having an exemplar
move with the madding crowd on a
hypocritical political platform called APC.
Aribisala, a so called public analyst, does
not seem to know how Buhari got his
bullet proof jeep. He equally cannot
differentiate between the Naira and the
US Dollar. Too simplistic!
Let me make bold to say that in spite of
all the afore-mentioned facts and fiction,
the simple reason that he remains the
issue is enough for all good men and
women to root for him. I am not unaware
of the fears of some who are convinced
that he will further advance the cause of
parochialism which a certain tendency
among the adherents of Islamic religion
represents. I shall also not pretend that
there are no valid objections raised to his
conduct in the past. There are those who
strive to convince some of us who
genuinely desire change that he should
not be forgiven for the perceived sins of
the past. I will also not fail to assert that
many of these allegations are on false and
sinking premises.
How easy could it have been for a junior
officer of Buhari's status to have
successfully stolen a whopping sum of
N2.8 billion under a greedy superior like
Obasanjo? Who actually gave instructions
for the invasion of Awolowo's house at
Park Lane, Apapa, Lagos? Were the
executions of the three men convicted for
drug pushing under decree 20 justified?
Why were Nigerians forced to queue in
public places and what has become of
that legacy? How much was the debt of
the country when the duo ruled and how
much did Babangida set the whole
country back with? Reports on the
activities of his are too many in the public
space for any jaundiced analyst to get
away with falsehood.
Buhari did not permit any political
discussion but his successor spent N40
billion on an endless transition
programme which culminated in the
annulment of the June 12, 1993 election.
Abdulsalami is praised today for handing
over to the civilians in 1999 but nobody
remembers how he depleted our reserves
like no other Head of State has done
since the flag independence of 1960.
Buhari managed the sale of crude oil and
maintained the value of the naira through
the government's economic policies. His
successor devalued the currency and laid
the foundation for this seamless slide
into the abyss. The current rulers
continue to tread this path of perdition.
Buhari promulgated Decree 4, 1984 and
curtailed press freedom. Babangida soon
allowed it and Dele Giwa became history.
Many media organizations were shut
down. And remembering the jailed
journalists, Nduka Irabor and Tunde
Thompson, it will not be out of place to
remind Nigerians that it was Nduka
Irabor, as Chief Press Secretary to Admiral
Aikhomu, the former Chief of General
Staff, who announced the annulment of
June 12, presidential election won by
Abiola. He was the one who distributed
the unsigned press statement and advised
Nigerians not to allow a section of the
country that is Yoruba, plunge it into
confusion.
Buhari supervised the construction of at
least two refineries while serving as a
Federal Commissioner. No refinery is
functioning today. Jonathan and the
World Bank prefect in Nigeria, Aunty
Ngozi, consider the current madness
wherein our crude oil is taken to even
Niger Republic and brought back as an
imported product to justify the
monumental scam currently going on
under the name of fuel subsidy. In 1981,
Buhari displayed his unwavering
commitment to the preservation of the
territorial integrity of the country when he
pushed back the Chadian soldiers who
had invaded some parts of the north,
taking away our women and children.
Buhari moved right into Ndjamena until
the OAU intervened. That was the last
time they ever came. The inept and
corrupt government of Shehu Shagari
reportedly came to an expected end
partly because of that episode.
The current scandalous practice wherein
the security of our pipelines is given to
Asari Dokubo, Tompolo, Ateke Tom and
other glorified miscreants while the
armed forces are starved of the necessary
equipment with which to realize their
mandate to secure and protect the
territorial integrity of the country as well
as maintain internal peace cannot happen
under a Buhari Presidency. The noise of
Asari Dokubo can better be appreciated
along this line of thought. A former
minister, Musiliu Obanikoro, confirmed
that the Nigerian army was last equipped
twenty-five years ago in spite of yearly
humongous budgetary allocations. Boko
Haram has established its own
"Caliphate" on Nigerian soil and this
government is completely clueless.
Isn't it curious that most of the acerbic
criticisms against Buhari have decidedly
ignored the sterling contributions of this
man to national development? In as much
as no right thinking person will support,
uncritically, some of the glaring excesses
of the military regime of that era, are we
saying that we have since forgotten that it
was under him as Federal Commissioner
for Petroleum that two major refineries
were constructed and put into maximum
use? Can anybody point at this man's oil
bloc as we can confidently assert about
Danjuma and other military adventurers
whom some will describe, affectionately,
as "blunt, disciplined, forthright and
principled" in spite of the incontrovertible
fact that Danjuma's colleagues and he are
a pestilential burden on the country?
Have we chosen to ignore the fact that
Buhari participated actively in the
construction of most major roads in
Nigeria at that time? Is anyone ready to
deny that supply of electricity was stable
throughout his regime before Babangida
introduced "settlement" into our lexicon?
Who will deny that it was his regime
which commissioned the Egbin power
plant? Is there anyone who can point at
real instances of indecorous and primitive
stealing during his regime as we now
operate as a national policy?
I am often amused at the level of pain
through which the current traducers of
this uncommon Nigerian traverse to
convince us that we should espouse and
promote the dour, dull, uninspiring,
bovinely stupid and thieving propensities
of some characters on account of age,
ethnicity and religion. Beyond the often
repeated charges bordering on religious
bigotry, rigid adherence to personal
viewpoints, the very fact that no one has
been able to point at the obscene edifices
erected to showcase vacuity, properties in
Dubai, fat accounts in major countries of
the world or at his acts of sheer
benevolence exhibited in the wanton
display of ill-gotten wealth through
monstrous donations to institutions and
duplicitous charitable organizations,
stands in condemnation against all
suborned peddlers of mendacious yarns
designed to confuse the youths of this
country.
For the simple reason that Buhari is not
responsible for the collapse of basic
infrastructure in the country, I will cast
my ballot for him in the next election. I
will ignore the rantings of ill-educated
Internet activists and proclaim to those
who are capable of reasoning that he
remains the only one at the moment who
can look Obasanjo straight in the face
and tell him to prepare for the hottest
part of hell. I will ask the youths of this
country whose future these thieving
politicians have mortgaged to join others
in ensuring that Buhari is elected as the
next president to arrest the current drift. I
will not fail to tell the carpetbaggers and
their acolytes that Buhari is not as averse
to modernity and human progress as they
who ask the youths to ignore science and
embrace miracles.
I will tell anyone who cares to listen that
his name has not featured in the list of
the beneficiaries of import duty waivers,
some of whom are the prosperity pastors
on the expressway. I will proclaim to the
whole world that I rever the name of Fela
more than those of the imported
prophets of the transposed and imposed
religions from the Middle East, that I felt
pained when Buhari jailed him to prove a
point, that I cursed the day he was born
and hated everything that he represented
at that time. I will also not fail to mention
that as Remo indigenes, Awo to many of
us is a god. His person remains, even in
death, inviolate and sacrosanct.
The offspring of Awo's adversaries, the
children of the bankrupt Agbonmagbes of
this world, the notorious descendants of
the exponent of "maul e", which became
corrupted as "Molue", a progenitor of the
power- mongering band, and other
indolent votaries at the altar of power,
will do everything to obliterate the
memories of inglorious past of their
forbears. No mortal will seek to desecrate
that cherished memory, the abiding
legacies of the legendary Awo, and still
enjoy the respect of true sons and
daughters of Remo, nay Ijebu and indeed
Yoruba. Even at that, we concede to this
man of exemplary character who was
accused of masterminding the invasion
and violation of that hallowed space.
I personally still find it strange that
Buhari will be on the same podium as
many of these characters whose sordid
deeds have brought us to this sorry pass.
Short of asking him to inherit the carcass
of the fraudulent template employed by
Mimiko and Dan Iwuanyanwu to fleece
the people of Ondo, or to team up with
Baba Oodua, Frederick Faseun's Unity
Party or, better still, Olu Falae's SDP, the
only credible alternative to PDP is its
other half, APC.
Voting for Buhari and engaging the
political merchants in his party afterwards
is the only viable alternative. The other is
to resign to fate and allow the Jonathans’
transformation train crush the polity.
As
part of efforts by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the North to
approach the 2015 presidential election as a united front, presidential
aspirants on the platform of the party and other party chieftains met in
Kaduna on Saturday to renew their strategy on how to defeat President
Goodluck Jonathan.
•Kills jubilating residents in Abadam, Dzur •Sect to name Nur as Shekau’s successor
