Obasanjo And Jonathan: Righting The Wrongs By Maxwell Adegbenro

Africa is mourning and Nigeria is sick, terribly and horrendously sick. That is the loom I get from people’s tweet this week. The symptom of the death and illness is what make the situation farce of status. The sickening feeling are in two ways demonstrated this week.

Not all will agree with this fact because its a lonely fact unseen by forces suffering retardation and loosening character since every rants and angst is unlacing to those at helms.

As Madiba’s name is remembered all over the world; his death sought a great deal, appropriated a lesson anyone would sneered in for Political leaders whose service to the people is unpatriotic to the surgical observation of past leaders. Honorable or not no one can tell, but their views are treated invidiously due to ethnic recession witnessed in the country.

For a sick Nigeria, that was demonstrated in rave making letters of Ex President Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan, where issues of incompetence, corruption and gross mismanagement of the resources of the nation, celebrating criminality, abuse of office, Lack of respect for constitutional provision and giving the party and state bad representation as the head of five designated portfolios. Chief Obasanjo’s profuse letter addressed impunity, terrorism and
ethno-religious strife in the country.

Since the exposure of the secret letter, Nigerian has been in mixed gripe. The argument boils on Locust Standi of the ex President to have highlighted those lingering problems his government was swiftly known for, and the morals of querying Jonathan his mistake and practicable
legacy. These reactions laced and open moral degeneracy on peoples reasoning. The challenges of drafting malice towards the right because there was a wrong. The habit of seeing a wrong beyond right because of the personality involved. Candidly, all the tweets and reactions gave
an impression that Nigeria is indeed sick and some ex leaders are not happy with the style and leadership of President Jonathan while they aren’t better.

If one of the greatest evil we do to ourselves is that we are disunited even in our opinions as a result of being controlled by our sentiment, then Obasanjo’s letter to President Jonathan is also a
sentiment of unidentified fact that poured out so many things left unsaid by Nigerians. Of course with that one may likely say the General is trying to right the wrongs of the past because his legacy is severely hunting him. It is neither news nor story, but a fact before us that Obasanjo masterminded Jonathan’s climb to power in fulfillment of his wish and the stave aspiration to rule for life amended the Party constitution for him to emerge as BOT Chairman. What has gone wrong to that relationship that was rosy and chirpy? To that, ugly night journey to Aso rock in company of few loyal Governors. President Jonathan shouldn’t by now have enough of Baba’s support if nothing hadn’t grouse the Ex President. Of importance as the sickness gruel Obj to disbelief is the contemptible similarities in the attitude of Obasanjo to the 3rd term agenda and the Single term elongation of Jonathan. Nigerians aren’t blind to see the desperation. The
difference consigned people’s views and Mr Presidents intent. How do I mean? President Obasanjo as Mallam Nasir El-Rufai made us to believe in his “Accidental Public Servant also subtle his intention distrust until last minute. The excuse was the constitutional clause of no 3rd
term. The desperation renege peoples trust in Baba Iyabo who was ready to tinker the constitution for a life term in Aso rock unlike Jonathan whose activities and interest is supported by constitutional provision but for open vows and promises, of course a man is always held by his words.  So, it becomes “immorally fatal” for him to rule beyond 2015. That is what OBJ want us to believe, having forgotten that innuendos is grossly typical of Nigerian politicians, the very legacy traceable to him.

Nigerians have not gone over the illegal diversion of $20bn huge public fund by President Obasanjo and the Senate recently indicted Presidents Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan for mismanaging the Federation Account to the tune of N1.5 trillion. Who will forget the
Transcorp Hotel acquisition through “blind trust”.

On disloyalty to the ruling party, President Obasanjo also defied the Supreme Court validating the candidature of Senator Ararume of PDP for Imo State in 2007. The presidency directed PDP members to vote for the candidate of the PPA who “won” the election.

What do we call the vivid account of how the President wanted General Buhari of ANPP to nominate Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as his Vice-Presidential candidate as a precondition for ditching the presidential candidate of the PDP, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan during the 2011 general election all enclosed in “Accidental Public Servant of Mr. Nasir el-Rufai.

President Obasanjo’s penchant for letters is popular on regimes which he and other power mongers had installed. He dismissed the regimes of President Shehu Shagari, Generals Buhari, Abacha and Babangida and President Yar’Adua once they fell out with him.

Obasanjo cannot also claim ignorant of governors who had killer squads? That. Hence; it is pertinent to avail readers on the substance in most of the issues raised by the former President.

Baba’s sarcasm is patriotic to seek public sympathy anytime he writes. He won’t stop writing until the intra-class feud which cannot enhance democracy in the country is revoked.

The letter had received mixed reaction from the public with diverse opinion expediently necessary of a typical aggrieved Nigerians. One, for whose ox President Jonathan and his umpire Abati is gored failing to digest power and translate leadership to governance. Finding panacea to corruption – an ineptitude of a man voted by people; usurping right and justice launching malicious use of federal power on character forces that speak against his scheme including the governed.

And two: from unforgiving Nigerians that can still see the problem of our dear country down to recession of precession. How OBJ maneuvered his interest on Nigerians despite availability of clever options. Well, I have no problem with that.

But the problem not undermining the potency of the two personality embarrassed my imaginative reasoning that some could still see the idea of writing the 18 pages letter as ‘self serving’ of former President and Elder Statesman because the writer is corrupt or because he produced a corrupt President. So, Judas has no good in his life before betraying Jesus. What happened to the task of righting the wrongs? Are our leaders an unrepentant character that can’t be trusted even with opinions and views that gather peace and unity?

Same perception confuses logic as Nigerian aimed for stick and words to unleash on the duo, leaving the message and attacking the Messenger. I tell those that actually care to listen, the corrupt man Obasanjo make today have no influence on who Jonathan will become. It is an issue of interest and personality. Truth is bitter. The earnest and earlier we realize how bitter the truth could be, the sooner we come to the saving reality of taking blames for actions of today not
yesterday.  Sad, issues in the politics and sentiment lack respect and logic in our nation-state.

That is the path of honor that won’t lead its way to greater height. No matter how bitter, but we must say it.

In a situation like this, agreed Obasanjo is not a saint, is he not a Nigerian? Has his right for criticism and opinion like an average Nigerian gone to steak extinction with him for detribalizing
Presidency?  He makes mistake that some pundit thinks is irreversible.

Where the elders are is what we hear when there is disorderliness? Has our elders gone AWOL. I find it very hard not to agree with OBJ’s style. He is typical of what we daily do – accusing others when we are not in power and doing havoc when we are in power. There is lesson in the note; it depends on the one you see. The presidency is not learning anything from OBJ. Obj style is more provocative and pro-active unlike the non-challant attitude of GEJ. Chances are OBJ’s militarization wouldn’t have condone Boko Haram this long. How do we forget the level up operation of miscreant in Bayelsa; the formative structure of militancy, the attention given to it by the old soldier.

Part of the lesson also is that Obasanjo went into office with 20,000 in bank account and when he left became one of the new billionaires.

President Jonathan chose the one he admired. Supporting corruption is definitely one.

Too bad that at this level of development we are still faced with sentimental reasoning without dwelling on facts presented. Obasanjo could be a devil incarnate, but are the issues raised unfounded? Let’s look at the issues and make comments constructively. It is out rightly wrong to say that it is the will of God for you to lead neither from one man. It was our ignorance and mistake marred by redundancy. The most elusive thing to contemplate is to put our trust in any human.  That is why I hate to agree with Obasanjo that God used him to enthrone Jonathan. The Scriptures, which is God’s inspired word told us not to put our trust in any mortal, whose future life is not certain, not to talk about his promises that is not met or triggered by our immediate actions, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere, human leadership has checkered history of bloodshed and corruption.  Yet, God will not come to rule when we have the power (unused power). Our
voices, our votes and our ideas and reasoning alone can cast doom on any inadequacy. Life that will be devoid of corruption, sycophancies, despotism, operations, crime of all sorts depends on the use of the power avail on us by votes and voice.

Honestly, there’s no need for insults here, OBJ came in as a military leader and there after a civilian president, he did what he could do and the same time destroys what he destroyed.  Seeing the good in the message from former president Obasanjo does not erase the memory of
his administration. It thus tells in the efficacy of absolute power and how it transits. He see now clearly better than anyone because he was there. We all know that this is a case of the kettle calling the pot black, but sometimes.

OBJ and GEJ’s open outburst can also be reviewed as ominous symptoms of the Power withdrawal syndrome. As he is facing increasing irrelevancy in politics he resorts to public display of seemingly righteous anger against a perceived public foe that can be easily vilified.

While he does that, he rights some of his wrong. As the President is renowned for his humility and easy disposition particularly towards those he considers as his elders, he is an easy target. Chief Obasanjo however may have failed to convince one of the genuineness and altruism of his
purported love for Nigeria with this letter especially when Nigerians are not dumb. They are in the know of his position on tenure elongation before the letter. The letter drips out innuendos and
patently distorted claims that rather than highlight his claims of patriotism show him up as a relevance seeking opportunist attempting to redeem his dubious legacy of greed, impunity, and multiple instances of flagrant abuse of power which activities have threatened to warp the Foundation of the country. So is a case of righting the wrongs – which doesn’t look bad.

Finally, instead of celebrating the hypocrisy of frustrated power mongers, the Nigerian people should take advantage of the intra-class war going on in the ruling party to get organised and take their political destiny in their own hands.

The time has come to put an end to the opportunism of discredited rulers who are in the habit of exploiting the frustrations and disenchantment of the people to become emergency heroes.

Enough is enough! For once and to my admiration, ‘someone’ who I don’t particularly like
has made phenomenal sense and inadvertently created an escape route for the President to follow if he wants to enjoy the ‘rewards’ of his corrupt, clueless, wicked and zero-sum rule. It would now be easy to say in future that he had been warned! Every man lives to regret one thing, so righting that wrongs is no harm to anyone, Nigerian shall arise with a thousand voice.

Maxwell Adegbenro writes from Ado Ekiti

@MaxAdegbenro

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