Four Years Too Late?

 

Inaugural Speech of President Buhari...Photo.www.punchng.com

In 2011, General Muhammad Buhari had contested for the presidency for the third time against his third opponent. If our "political calculations" added up in rejecting him for the first two, the third time rejection didn’t, it perhaps amounted to a "political miscalculation".

Rewind back to 1999, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo seem the perfect bride for all stakeholders. The reluctant and over ambitious military; the power-seeking political class; the aggrieved South-Westerners; the ever suspicious North; and most importantly, the long-suffering discontent masses.

For the Military, OBJ, as he is fondly called, was one of them. The Owu born prince was in the forefront of the Civil war battle to keep this British self-serving idea together and was perceived to still hold the core values of our founding fathers' vision for a united Nigeria-if it ever was truly conceived. Were "we" vindicated? Largely, sentimentally.

The civilian imperialist in the guise of democrats wanted another shot at the seat of power. The military have had their fair share and they had overstayed their welcome. Their first stint in the military-conjured "democratic" mishap, perhaps "civilian rule" was short-lived and most unrewarding materially. It was an easy choice to join the charade for the military to relinquish power and allow "democrazy" again.

Chief M.K.O Abiola was the second president Nigeria never had. Your first guess had to be Chief Obafemi Awolowo-I am not good at surprises. We know the origin of this sentiment coupled with the South-Western press domination, it will easily pass as every Nigerian idea. Unfortunately, our Northern brothers only know of BBC News, Hausa, Ndigbo's time is money, he will not waste it on Yoruba-induced conspiracy. However this time, the Yoruba nation had a "tribal claim" to the seat of power hinged on compensation for the loss of Chief Abiola in the political struggle to democratise, how unfortunate.

If you earn a Northerner's trust, you can never go wrong. This played out in their support for Chief Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo in the run-off to the 1999 presidential election. If he was able to hand over power as a military ruler to a Northern man in 1983, there should not be an iota of doubt he will be able to do it again if the occasion arises. It did in 2007 and they were more than justified.

The Nigeria masses were sick and tired of the endless impunity perpetrated by successive military juntas. Our commonwealth was recklessly siphoned, human rights abuses were prevalent, unsolved political-motivated murders rose to an unprecedented high and we dared not voice our discontent or we ended up a martyr. 

photo.ugosupdate.com

The General Sanni Abacha-led military government took this to an unbearable height and we got international reprieve through the intervention of world power brokers, United States and its allies. What became of our infamous gallant General in 1998 was well known but the circumstances of his death and the culpability of our Western allies remains cloudy. After these experiences, it was only reasonable to want a government of the people, by the people and for the people. The argument is that it takes time to entrench democratic values, but we know better. Nigerians got their wish and we now have our "democrazy" or is it "civilian rule"?

From the foregoing, you may wish to agree with me that Chief Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo ticked all the right boxes and was "politically correct" for the Nigerian situation. He did his best, though, in my opinion, it was not enough. Chief Obasanjo has a hand in what Nigeria has become today, either way you look at it.

2007 beckoned and the era of imposition crystallized into a fearful force in our so called democracy. All the core values of democracy were sacrificed at the altar of god-fatherism. OBJ anointed Sheu Musa (May his soul continue to rest in peace) of the Yar'Adua political dynasty. For all the justification baba asserted for his choice, its tenability or otherwise, this was not a democratic practice. I have huge respect for our late ex-president, but the electoral platform leading to his emergence as Nigeria head of state was flawed. One legacy I recognized in his government was his adherence to the rule of law. He was a massive upgrade on baba notwithstanding his undemocratic ascension to power.

Here again, the powers that be and/or the forces that decided who "ruled" our country were to some extent right in rejecting Buhari. Despite his infamous health issues and the conspiracy theory that went with it -OBJ hatching a clever plan for his stooge, GEJ - Yar'Adua proved we were not in a desperate need for a Buhari. He reverted the pump price of PMS, released the illegally held Lagos State allocation, non-interference with post-electoral matters where several of his party men were kicked out of government by the Ayo Salami led Court of Appeal, amnesty to the Niger-Delta militants whose actions were treasonable etc. This was short-lived and a certain, fortunate, little known goodluck-saturated Jonathan emerged. It was indeed a breath of "fresh air". We had forgotten, everything in Nigeria has a price, even the "fresh air" we breathed.

Our amiable GEJ however stretched his "good-luck" too far and had a reality check in 2015. For all the nuisance his government constituted, I hold the opinion that he prevented a second Nigerian civil war by his sheer selflessness - sacrificing his ambition for peace. The question I ask is, will a quintessential OBJ accept such defeat? I may never have the answer.

The punchline: rewind back to 2011 and you may suddenly understand this piece. If you still don't, can you ask yourself these questions: if Buhari had been in power then, would corruption have this firm grip on us? Would the Boko Haram insurgency have escalated to the point of being insurmountable? Would the Chibok girls still be missing? Would electricity and power supply have stabilized? Would a Diepreye Alamieyesigha, a public officer convicted for corruption have gotten a presidential pardon which makes him eligible to vie for public office again - that which he abused? Would the unaccounted billions of dollars missing have developed wings? Please add yours too.

My apprehension is that we may just have been four years late. Yes, just four years.