Is Nigeria Really A “Cursed” Nation Or The Leaders…???
Recently, while delivering a keynote address on issues of poor leadership in Africa at the 4th Annual Ibadan Sustainable Development Summit which held at the Oyo state capital, former president Olusegun Obasanjo took the younger generation of leaders in the country to the cleaners, lambasting them for poor performance in terms of integrity and probity.
He lamented that there was no leader that could be commended after 53 years of independence. He concluded that: 'We are jinxed and cursed; we should all go to hell. Unfortunately though, the ex-president, like the kettle calling the pot black, did not first consider himself a major culprit of this bargain, and leadership already mortgaged by corrupt and selfish interests.
He specifically made mention of his Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of Lagos State; Alhaji Salisu Buhari, former Speaker of the House of Representatives; Deprieye Alamieyeseigha, ex-Governor of Bayelsa State, and a host of others. He explained further that: 'I wanted someone who would succeed me so I took Atiku. Within a year, I started seeing the type of man Atiku is. And you want me to get him there?' That confessional statement alone, by implication, simply settled that leadership was only being single-handedly 'stage managed' by the Obasanjos of our time through available instrumentality of government and various facilities of deceptive and fraudulent electoral processes, and not actually the younger generation that may have been responsible for the failing nation as being erroneously speculated.
Going through history, Obasanjo seemed to have done more harm to this country more than the collective desperate efforts of some misguided youths put together. Do we need to open the cans of worm in the Halliburton scandal of which Obasanjo is principally fingered? Well, let us leave looting and corruption matters for another day and focus more on the dirty deals of politics and desperate leadership.
A quick flash into history would reveal that the monumental and globally condemned electoral fraud of the 2007 elections conducted by the Obasanjo's government gave birth to the administration of late President Musa Yar'Adua of blessed memory. Late Yar Adua himself honestly admitted at a time to flaws in the outcome of the elections that brought him in, and promised to correct same in subsequent elections. But the cold hand of death never allowed us to put him to test.
The Yar Adua's health profile took Nigeria many decades backward. Obasanjo himself did admit shamefully though, that he played a great role in the search for someone that would succeed him in office, but unlike in the time of Atiku, OBJ as he is fondly called found one in the person of late Musa Yar Adua. According to the ex-president, he found the three qualities he was looking for in Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, but regretted that he did not know that the late president medical conditions was very critical.
Whereas he ought to have allowed the mandate of Nigerians to take preeminence over his parochial and over-bloated political mindset by ordinarily allowing the people to choose for themselves, those they believe in, most especially in a democratic setting, instead of always assuming he knows it all, only to regret years later.
But how could we have even had credible leaders when the Obasanjos of our time are busy thinking for us, and selecting for us 'stage managed' leaders they deem fit as suitable for us rather than allowing Nigerians to elect credible leaders of their choice through credible electoral processes? Yet, all blames are being continually heaped on the younger generation by the same crop of leaders who have failed the nation woefully.
If we reflect more backward into history, it would be recalled that the Obasanjo's government also favoured and handed over power to Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1979 amidst cases of massive electoral rigging. As you are well aware, the Shagari government in 1983 introduced the austerity measures into the Nigerian economic system which took Nigeria deeper into the mess of a 'cursed' nation. And Obasanjo has resorted to pointing accusing fingers on anybody and everybody and indeed the younger generation.
Could the younger generation be responsible forthe amalgamation of 1914 which outrightly exposed the political cum economic imbalanced between the north and the south of Nigeria that tends to constitute one of the major bedrock of the nation's unending problems?
Do we also need to be told that it was the said imbalance that was majorly responsible for the first military strike in January 1966 and the counter coup of July that same year by a bunch of military junta when objective leadership and effective governance was thrown into the abyss at the early stage of independence?
Make no mistakes about it - the ascension to power by the military definitely aroused a feeling of sentiment and political efficacy within the military circle. And the continued overzealousness to grapple with power through coup d'etat further created a sharp divide amongst the military hierarchy. Consequently incessant coups and takeover of governments were usually precipitated on a nationwide disillusionment bordering on corruption, tribalism, nepotism, and outright abuse of office by a crop of selfish political class in connivance with their military ally, and impunity took over the centre stage.
The Biafran war of 1967 dealt a terrible blow on the little gains of independence in 1960. The war lasted approximately 30 months. But the civil war gave way for the oil-price boom of 1973. Interestingly, Gen Gowon, the then Head of State, declared that Nigeria witnessed a robust and buoyant economy despite the wanton destruction of lives and property. As a result, the Gowon's government undertook the task of 'rehabilitation, reconstruction, and reconciliation' as he declared a 'no victor and no vanquished' to end the civil war. Sadly, the dreams of the 'robust and buoyant economy' of the Gowon's government could not be realized as he was overthrown in a palace coup in July 1975 and succeeded by Gen. Murtala Muhammad, who in turn was assassinated in an abortive coup on February 13, 1976, and Olusegun Obasanjo, formerly his second in command took over in May 1976. It is imperative to note that Obasanjo has been part and parcel of the various military coups and counter coups since independence.
He also actively participated in the civil war. Obasanjo under his regime tried to pursue to its logical conclusion the policies and ideals of his predecessors. Of paramount importance was the transition programme initiated by the Mohammed regime which culminated in the handing over of power to civilians on October 1, 1979.
Although the timetable for the transition to civil rule was not disrupted by the Obasanjo's governmet, but like a 'cursed' nation, the presidential elections that took place on August 11, 1979 conducted by the notorious Obasanjo's government introduced an unprecedented political dimension of elections seriously marred by various forms of rigging, smuggling and other electoral violence in favour of the then Nigeria Peoples Party (NPN). Alhaji Shehu Shagari was eventually declared the winner.
Like the Chief M.K.O. Abiola saga of a more recent memory, many people believed that the Obasanjo's government (perhaps based on tribal sentiments) rigged out Chief Obafemi Awolowo who is assumed the preferred winner of the 1979 presidential pools. Desperately still, the Obasanjo's government used the Supreme Court to entrench electoral falsehood thereby bringing the judiciary into unpardonable disrepute as the court signed, sealed and delivered the much condemned electoral injustice.
The general elections of 1983 took a clue from the infamous 1979 elections of the Obasanjo's government. The NPN presidential candidate, Alhaji Shehu Shagari declared itself as the winner of the 1983 presidential elections even in the face of large scale rigging.
The massive electoral fraud that characterized the elections sparked off violent rioting, arson, hooliganism, looting, etc, in most parts of the country. Interestingly, however, the NPN much vaunted landslide victory was soon replaced with a 'military-slide' coup d'etat on December 31, 1983. And the journey to a 'cursed' nation was further deepened. While still wallowing in that political cum electoral fraud confusion, the military compounded the situation by yet series of unending military strikes under the leadership of Muhammadu Buhari, which did not last for too long before Ibrahim Babangida and his group struck.
These coups have always brought untold negative consequences. Under the Ibrahim Babangida regime, Nigeria, accordingly to an online report 'became a full laboratory for the economic measures of the IMF and the World Bank which today has much of Europe up in arms against their conservative governments.
With three neo-conservative economists - Kalu Idika Kalu, Chu Okongwu and Olu Falae - Babangida's 'three horsemen of the apocalypse' crafted a most destructive economic system that foreclosed the gains of decolonization, and subjected an entire generation to terrifying poverty even as it made only a handful extremely rich.' 'Ironically, those policies were later pursued to its logical conclusion by Olusegun Obasanjo himself, who in his second coming took Nigeria deeper into the belly of the beast.'
After a long stay of the IBB regime in Nigerian politics, two major political parties the National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) were eventually founded by the military. Commendably, however, the 1993 elections conducted by the IBB regime was a strong departure from the usual massive electoral rigging of which the Obasanjo's government was well known for.
The 1993 elections were mostly accepted as the 'freest and fairest' ever in the history of Nigeria in what is generally presumed as Nigerian's first true and most credible election till date. Although there were no known cases of recorded electoral fraud in the 1993 general elections, but the results were overridingly and unilaterally annulled by Gen Ibrahim Babangida for reasons best known to him.
The annulment spurs violent demonstrations and unrest across the country and the nation suffered many loses. After much pressure and consultations from both local and international forces, Gen. Babaginda (rtd) resigned from office and handed power to an Interim National Government headed by Chief Ernest Shonekon, a move the 'Maradona' as he was fondly called claimed he only 'step aside'.
The lame duck regime of Ernest Shonekon failed to gain widespread acceptance from Nigerians because the result of the 1993 presidential elections is widely believed to have been won by late Chief M.K.O Abiola and it is generally celebrated as such till date. Expectedly, the Shonekon administration was cut short as it lasted approximately 60 day before it was swept out by what history books call 'palace coup' on November 17, 1993 by late Gen. Sani Abacha.
The Abacha's government among other things came with high-handedness, extreme brutality and extravagance in official spending. But with the death of Sani Abacha, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar (rtd) was sworn in. He promised to conduct elections early enough in order to pass on power to the civilian rule and met his promise. Regrettably, Chief M.K.O Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections died in mysterious circumstances in prison and could not live up to another election in Nigeria.
However, in an attempt to appease the expectations of the south west which produced M.K.O. Abiola of blessed memory, Obasanjo who is also from the south west and was then in prison was hurriedly released preparatory for the 1999 elections. It was widely speculated that Obasanjo was chosen because he also represented the interest of the military. Olusegun Obasanjo won the 1999 presidential elections under the PDP platform amidst widespread cheating, rigging and smuggling of ballot boxes of which his various governments were known. Nigeria, was further plunged deeper into the dungeon of a 'cursed' nation.
In a desperate bid to re-elect himself, the Obasanjo's ruling PDP government over ambitiously changed the polity of political campaigns in Nigeria as he desperately introduced his infamous 'do or die' politics. Since then elections conducted in Nigeria speak volumes for itself of a visionless intent to re-elect themselves dubiously.
The 2003 elections conducted by the Obasanjo's government shocked the world as it went into history as one of the worst elections ever conducted in Nigeria since ages where every necessary machinery of government was manipulated to aid the total rigging of the re-election bid of the incumbent as well as other PDP party faithful.
Smuggling and snatching of ballot boxes, multiple tomb printing as well as intimidation and harassment of opposition parties went on full wide scale while the nation's security looked the other side or in some instances partook in the 'cursed' syndrome. Expectedly, the ruling PDP won majority seats in the federal houses, states assemblies, local council areas as well as the presidential elections as a result.
When Nigerians thought the nightmares of the 2003 rigged elections has come and gone, little did they know that the 2007 general elections would be much worst in terms of tools and scientific methodology in areas of violence, rigging, intimidations, snatching and smuggling of ballot papers. As aptly captured by a political analyst - 'Never in the history of Nigeria's general elections genealogy has any elections come close to the level of rigging and ballot paper snatching that characterized the 2007 elections been seen.'
Vice President Goodluck Jonathan took over after the demise of late Yar Adua until he was formerly elected in 2011 as president of the federal republic of Nigeria. Although there were pocket of cases of electoral frauds in the 2011 elections, it can never be measures with the level of electoral frauds of the various Obasanjo's government. President Goodluck Jonathan is also a creation of the notorious Obasanjo's government in the desperate making of the Musa Yar Adua/Goodluck Jonathan presidential ticket.
There is no gain saying the fact therefore that our so-called leaders are the ones that have failed this nation and indeed failed the younger generation woefully, even though the same bunch of leaders are quick to condemning the younger generation. Reassuringly, the future of Nigeria rest squarely on the hands of the youths of today. Therefore, the youths should as a matter of deliberate effort begin to champion the vanguard of the campaign for moral reawakening in order to correct the mistake of the old and upturn the collapse of a visibly eroding value system.
It is regrettable that some of these 'cursed' leaders deliberately created political bottlenecks that compelled the youths into seeking for desperate political attainments in such a manner of a 'do or die'. Therefore, I support the notion that we must first and foremost eschew the differences of tribe, section or religion and imbibe the qualities of discipline, honour, patriotism, solidarity, selfless service and sacrifice, sanctity of human life and the fear of God. This will definitely transform us into a more united and stronger nation where we can harness our collective untapped potentials, talents and intellects in pursuance of the common cause of developing the neighbourhood and unlike some of our 'cursed' leaders efforts should be kick-started in consciously making the country a better place for ourselves and generations to come.
Above all, we should be God fearing, believing that with God we can attain peace with ease. Make no mistakes about it - the continued threat to peace, whether through the activities of the Niger Delta militants, the Arewa Consultative Forum under the cover of Boko Haram, or through the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) or through the Movement for the Actualisation of the Biafra (MASSOB), will definitely hamper on our corporate existence as one formidable entity.
The younger generation should therefore do away with the failed leadership system of some of our 'cursed' leaders and always ensure a peaceful co-existence in the country in order to guarantee a secured future. Concluding therefore, I think it is the Obasanjos that are stage managing leaders for the country that should go to hell, and I hope they settle permanently there so that Nigeria and Nigerians can at last find peace, political stability and economic growth.
Edoreh Festus
Communication is the surest asset of any man
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