Fourth Republic: In the Beginning

[The thoughts below, the first in an occasional series, are for those who were born yesterday, and those who pretend that they were.]

Olusegun Obasanjo: “The Country Of Anything Goes,” (The New York Review of Books, September 24, 1998: “…For over four and a half years – from November 17, 1993 to June 8, 1998 – Nigeria, which had been under military rule since the end of 1983, was reduced to a police state: a big prison with gallows, where intimidation, assassination, and deprivation were the instruments of misgovernance of the state by General Sani Abacha, a sadistic, apparently mentally deranged, corrupt, incompetent, arrogant, and ruthless military dictator. The question on almost everybody’s lips was: why? What went wrong in a country of well over one hundred million people which used to take pride in its large educated and cultured population?

…The answer lies in the gradual but steady erosion of moral and ethical standards that took place during the earlier military administration of General Ibrahim Babangida, who carried out a military coup at the end of 1984 and ruled between 1985 and 1993. It was at this time that, facing the gun, civilian political leaders acquiesced and abandoned their responsibility.”

Obasanjo, Inauguration Address, 29 May 1999: “Twelve months ago, no one could have predicted the series of stunning events that made it possible for democratic elections to be held at the Local Government level, the State level, and culminating in the National Assembly Elections. Thereafter, you the good people of Nigeria elected me, a man who had walked through the valley of the shadow of death, as your President, to head a democratic civilian administration.

… I am very aware of the widespread cynicism and total lack of confidence in government arising from the bad faith, deceit and evil actions of recent administrations. Where official pronouncements are repeatedly made and not matched by action, government forfeits the confidence of the people and their trust…”

Simon Robinson, TIME Magazine February 28, 2000: “Nigeria has experienced a rare period of national unity in recent weeks. As co-host with Ghana of the bienniel African Cup of Nations, this soccer-mad West African country has cheered–and sometimes jeered–its beloved Super Eagles with a single voice…

…But off the field, Nigeria is falling apart–again. Since Olusegun Obasanjo took power last May as Nigeria’s first democratically elected President in more than 15 years, old ethnic tensions have resurfaced…”

Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu, Open Letter to President Obasanjo and General Muhammadu Buhari, May 8, 2003:

“…Democracy is not about uniformity of thought or unanimity of opinion. At the core of democracy is the right to disagree, and very strongly too; to engage in heated debate and healthy dispute; to hold opposing views without allowing dissent to degenerate into enmity, hatred and violence.

“…In the Lagos State governorship election, for instance, I am convinced that there is no way the PDP could have had the 700,000 votes it was said to have scored…But I have chosen to let sleeping dogs lie in the larger interest of peace and the stability of our nascent democracy.  This, General Buhari, is the path I urge you to take.

“On your part, Mr. President, yours is the challenge of statesmanship…I am convinced, Mr. President, that once you are seen to be sincere in your commitment to eliminating identified lapses in order to ensure better elections in future, even the most ardent critics of the election will be more re-assured…”

New York Times Editorial, “Hope in the land of dashed hopes,” March 7, 2005: “For more than 40 years, the epitome of wasted potential and squandered opportunity in Africa has been Nigeria…

…What’s missing is for America to take Nigeria more seriously, to do much more than simply treat the country as a gas station…Nigeria is too big to ignore. If it doesn’t succeed, it’s hard to imagine that the rest of Africa has much of a chance.”

Gani Fawehinmi, On Obasanjo’s Desire To Die For Nigeria: “Nigerians woke up this morning, Tuesday, 28 February, 2006, to read in virtually all the newspapers that the president, General Olusegun Obasanjo, threatened that he is prepared to die to ensure the attainment of his reforms programme.

…His reforms have turned Nigerians into mere spectators in the economic activities of their country instead of being participants.

Anybody who dies for these negative reforms dies a “ye-ye” (disgraceful) death.  I therefore advise the General to be a man of his oath and exit honourably on the 29th May, 2007. That is the only path of honour left for him.”

New York Times editorial, “In Nigeria, Things Fall Apart,” March 26, 2006: When President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria visits Washington this week, he will probably be lauded for his crucial role as a regional African leader.

…Unfortunately, while Mr. Obasanjo deserves credit for good deeds outside of Nigeria, his own country is deteriorating fast and he is partly to blame. For one thing, by trying to change Nigeria’s Constitution to allow himself to run for a third four year-term as president, Mr. Obasanjo is further enflaming political tensions among Nigeria’s polarized ethnic groups, particularly the Muslims in the north and Christians in the south.

…But two terms is enough, and it is incumbent on President Bush to tell Mr. Obasanjo that changing his country’s Constitution so that he can remain in office is foolhardy. Another four years is not worth a Nigerian civil war.”

Frank Nweke Jnr., Minister of Information and National Orientation, “Things Are Not Falling Apart,” March 30, 2006: “We have noted the sustained interest of The New York Times in the affairs of Nigeria in recent times. Since January this year, the newspaper has run more than 60 items of news, editorials and comments on Nigeria. Regrettably, most of its comments are largely ill-informed and unjustified. The New York Times editorial of March 26, 2006, entitled In Nigeria, Things Fall Apart is a case in point.

Could it be that as in the case of the ‘man in the hood’ at Abu Ghraib that The New York Times has yet again fallen into the hands of naysayers and misinformers? The truth is simply that Nigerians have taken a leap of faith with the President and are working hard to make Nigeria great again.

Patrick Wilmot, On Nigerian Leadership, May 30, 2006: In no other country in the world, with the possible exception of George Bush’s America, do leaders show more contempt, less compassion, for their poor citizens. If a man who has stolen billions from the nation announces a party to celebrate a successful operation on his ingrown toenail in Europe, every Big Man from the farthest corner of the country rushes forth like rats from their holes in search of cheese.

… The irony is that most Nigerian power holders come from poor backgrounds [and] know the horror that poverty breeds for men, women and their loved ones but don’t care. They pretend to be religious but no religion sanctions contempt for the poor, or preaches love for the obscene wealth the potentates of Abuja worship.”