Between Obasanjo’s letter and personal agenda -By Abba Dukawa

Over the years, Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has mastered the art of expressing his views on the state of the nation by openly attacking the government of the day via his so called open letters which always try to cause controversy in the country. He always pretends to say that he does so on behalf of the masses while in real sense he does so when the government in power ignored him.

The former president is the type who wanted to remain within the corridor of power. He has been writing such open letters since 1979. So far, he wrote seven open letters to all seating Presidents and Heads of State. But the only regime which Chief Obasanjo did not send such an open letter was that of General Abdulsalam Abubakar. Maybe for the simple reason that General Abubakar had ushered him into power as president in a civilian administration following the death of General Sani Abacha who detained him for an offence. And, maybe because the same regime that has granted state pardoned to Obasanjo in 1998.

Alhaji Shehu Usmanu Aliyu Shagari (1979 -1983): Shortly after President Shagari was re-elected for a second term in office in 1983, Chief Obasanjo publicly criticized the man he handed over power to in 1979. Alhaji Shagari’s administration was accused of nepotism, corruption and gross mismanagement of the economy. It (Shagari’s administration) was overthrown in a coup a few weeks later.

“…you are all living witnesses to the great economic predicament and uncertainty, which an inept and corrupt leadership has imposed on our beloved nation for the past four years. I am referring to the harsh, intolerable conditions under which we are now living,” Obasanjo wrote against Shagari.

Buhari/Idiagbon regime (1983-1985): A similar treatment was also given to the Buhari/Idiagbon regime in August 1985. At a lecture in Ibadan, Obasanjo delivered a paper and criticized the government he supported at inception. It must be noted that he had earlier sent the same letter to General Buhari before delivering it to the public. The regime was overthrown in the same month the said letter was sent to Buhari. Years later, Buhari confirmed Obasanjo did send him an advance copy of the lecture.

“He (Obasanjo) sent an advance copy of the address to me. Indeed, he criticized my administration but I could recall that he visited me several times. In my own case, there was never an attempt to stop him from coming to see me. I expected him really to be coming to discuss with me.

“Before he wrote the address, I sat with him to discuss the issue and I explained to him what he perceived as my administration being rather partisan in a way. I asked him for such incidents and I was given the example of NEPA, where senior officers were retired.

“I tried to explain but the General still went ahead to read the address. Of course, by coincidence, I was removed the same month,” Buhari then explained.

Ibrahim Babangida regime (1985-1993): Ex-President Obasanjo also went after General Ibrahim Babangida on two occasions when he was Head of State and Military President. It was noted that Obasanjo’s public criticism of Babaginda’s Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) was one of the factors that triggered the anti-SAP protest.

Obasanjo said: “… Let the SAP has a human face and the milk of human kindness.”

His criticism of the regime continued until Babaginda stepped down on August 27, 1993.

Obasanjo also criticized the government of late General Sani Abacha which a long way he connived with his co-travelers to overthrow the dark goggle general and the administration of late General Abacha inaugurated Special Military Tribunal headed by former Chief of Army Staff, late General Victor Malu where he was prosecuted and found guilty and the tribunal sentenced him to death. Before the then Provisional Ruling Council which was the highest Ruling Council in the country to affirm the Special Military Tribunal verdict, Late General Sani Abacha died. And the regime of General Abubakar ushered in and granted him state pardon. General Abubakar and other retired Generals brought Obasanjo to power in 1999.

Umaru Musa ‘Yar’adua administration (2007-2010): After completing his two terms as democratic president, Obasanjo handed over power to late ‘Yar’adua and it didn’t take long before he used his pen to criticize the government he personally brought to power. Obasanjo warned Yar’adua to improve his government.

He wrote: “As you know, for the next few months, perhaps years, your government will be regarded as being in the penumbra of the Obasanjo regime given the situation that brought you into office.

“Against this background, you must toil to carve out a unique identity for yourself and administration. To do this, you must choose wisely your vision and the folks in your cabinet to drive the vision.”

Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration (2010-2015): On December 2, 2013, Obasanjo went public with a letter he wrote to Dr. Jonathan on the performance of his government. In the letter titled: ‘Before It Is Too Late,’ Obasanjo berated ex-president Jonathan on a number of issues. And the hallmark of this letter was his declaration that Dr. Jonathan should not consider a re-election in 2015.

“… Up till two months ago, Mr. President, you told me that you have not told anybody that you would contest in 2015,” Obasanjo wrote to Jonathan.

Just recently Chief Obasanjo released a ‘special press statement’ where he cautioned President Buhari against re-contesting for the 2019 general elections, among others. In the statement titled: “The Way Out: A Clarion Call for Coalition for Nigeria Movement,” Obasanjo raised some issues of national importance.

Obasanjo acknowledged he knew that President Buhari “is weak in the knowledge and understanding of the economy.”

He added: “Although, I know that you cannot give what you don’t have and that economy does not obey military order. You have to give it what it takes in the short-medium- and long-term.”

He said President Buhari’s “poor understanding of the dynamics of internal politics” has affected general national security, thus “wittingly or unwittingly making the nation more divided” and widened the inequality gap. He accused the Buhari-led government of buck-passing.

“For instance, blaming the Governor of the Central Bank for devaluation of the Naira by 70% or so and blaming past governments for it is to say the least, not accepting one’s own responsibility. Let nobody deceive us, economy feeds on politics and because our politics is depressing, our economy is even more depressing today. If things were good, President Buhari would not need to come in. He was voted to fix things that were bad and not engage in the blame game,” he said.

“He needs to have time to reflect, refurbish physically and recoup and after appropriate rest, once again, join the stock of Nigerian leaders whose experience, influence, wisdom and outreach can be deployed on the side line for the good of the country,” Obasanjo counseled Buhari.

He canvassed for the creation of a Coalition for Nigeria (CN) Movement which will consist of people who are concerned and willingly-ready for positive and drastic change, progress and involvement “that will give hope and future to all our youth and dignity and full participation to all our women.”

Also in one of the paragraphs in the letter, Obasanjo also was trying to incite the citizens to revolt or to take the law in their hand according to my understanding as he charged Nigerians: “to do the extra-ordinary things of changing the course and direction of our uninspiring performance and development as a nation.

“If leadership fails, citizens must not fail and there lies the beauty and importance of democracy. We are challenged by the current situation; we must neither adopt spirit of cowardice nor timidity let alone impotence but must be sustained by courage, determination and commitment to say and do and to persist until we achieve upliftment for Nigeria,” he retorted in the letter.

The eight years of Obasanjo’s administration could be said to have ushered in a kind of self-centred disposition, looting, deception, creating a few rich people, make-belief, dictatorship, lack of coherent policies, so much wealth coming to the hands of government out of which Nigerians received aggravated poverty and economic pain. When Obasanjo first came to power in 1999, many Nigerians had high hopes but unfortunately, we had a tyrant in democratic toga.

Take security for instance. He opened up the insecurity of this country in November 1999 when he gave orders to shoot on sight in Odi. And more than 2500 Nigerians were slaughtered because, unfortunately, 13 policemen were missing as a result of the protestation of the Odi people in Bayelsa State. Was it not during Obasanjo’s regime Nigerians saw the killings and destructions in Zaki Biam in Benue State? Simply for taking revenge against late General Victor Malu, former Chief of Army Staff and Chairman Special Military Tribunal who presided over the tribunal and found him guilty in treason and sentenced him to death by firing scud.

The major sectors of our economy were placed on the building blocks of greedy entrepreneurs, many of whom are in government, using proxies to purchase government properties, courtesy of the Bureau of Public Enterprises solely and exclusively. Is it not during his tenure, the nation’s major sectors are being sold. Is it not during his days in seat of power that Port Harcourt Refinery was sold at give-away prices until late President Yar’adua revised the decision?

Look at NITEL which was also sold at give-away prices. Was this not at that time a company called Transcorp emerged from the bowel of Aso Rock, founded with the collaboration, connivance and conceptualization of General Obasanjo to the extent that he owns 200 million shares? Was he not the man who abused his office, set up a company to acquire the heritage of Nigerians?

We have witnessed how Transcorp has acquired Nicon Hilton and NITEL. If this is not corruption, then I don’t know what corruption means.

To me, Obasanjo is the most corrupt Nigerian. Was he not the same person who was in prison for three years and his Ota farm which was in bankruptcy and it was almost sold? His family was thinking of selling most of his properties to settle the banks. Today, Obasanjo’s farm is rated as one of the richest not only in whole Africa but even in the world.

Obasanjo’s administration will go down in history as the most corrupt regime in the history of this country in the sense that no regime had ever made so much money as was made under Obasanjo’s. It got to a point that the price of one barrel of crude oil was fetching above $90 and Nigeria at that time was producing 3,150,000 barrels per day.

We are not forgetting in a hurry that in one of his acts of institutionalized corruption in the country, as a seating president, he launched his library at Abeokuta and garnered N8.5 billion. (Femi) Otedola gave N250 million; (Otunba Mike) Adenuga, N350 million; (Aliko) Dangote, N220 million; consortium of banks, N1.9 billion; consortium of oil companies, N2.4 billion and so on.

For eight years Obasanjo was the Minister of Petroleum Resources apart from being the President and was more active as an oil minister than Mr. President. In his true colour, Obasanjo always alleged instances of corruption against the Nigerian leaders and forgotten he is most corrupt Nigerian president. We have not forgotten the issue of missing of N20 billion from the account of PTDF.

It was the Obasanjo era’s PDP, Chief Sunday Awoniyi described the era as ‘a basket of scorpions stinging themselves to death’! Obasanjo presided over an era of rogue politics; where assassinations became a weapon of political domination. Was he not the same person who institutionalized corruption and used money to buy support in the party and parliament and his foot soldiers ferried boxes of mint local and international currencies around the residences of members of the National Assembly, to ensure the Third Term Agenda before he was defeated by the National Assembly to his perpetual shame?

And his undying hypothesis of possession of ghostly powers of administration that the nation must always learn from, makes him play to the fool’s gallery most of the time. And that is why he constantly positions to take advantage of moments of vulnerability of the national process, to strike like the serpent that he actually is.

With due respect to former President Obasanjo, he has nothing in history to teach anyone in power except a fashion of squandered opportunities and you earned no moral right for the assessment any seating president on good governance. In his deceived mind, he thinks he has earned a divine right to accuse government in power of wrong doing. Obasanjo is true to type. He is desperately exploiting a moment of national pains to claim a bona fide of patriotism. And he also wants to damage the credibility of the government of the day, to further his own personal agenda.

He ranged over several issues but in the long run, the agenda was very personal even when clothed in the garment of patriotism. General Obasanjo fancies himself as the best thing that happened to Nigeria. Obasanjo assumes, dangerously, that he earned the right to teach lessons, even when they are unwarranted! And knowing that he might be crossing a leader who genuinely connects with the mass of the Nigerian people, in a way that he never did, in the years that he occupied power, he even forewarned, that “praise-singers and hired attackers may be raised up against (him) for verbal or even physical attack”.

No matter what people like Obasanjo say, the sense we have is that President Buhari will not be distracted! Let us reflect on what we have seen of eight years of Obasanjo in power with Buhari’s achievements within almost three years in office.

Dukawa can be reach at abbahydukawa@gmail.com