Read Mr. Ebute’s full letter
below.
SENATOR AMEH EBUTE, CON
(FORMER SENATE PRESIDENT)
31/32 MANGAL PLAZA, AREA
11, GARKI, ABUJA
08090880656
18thDecember,
2013
RE: BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE
Preamble
As discerning Nigerians who
found the so-called “before it is too late” letter from Chief Olusegun
Obasanjoto President Goodluck E. Jonathan, GCFR, ill-conceived, we decided to
deconstruct the content to see if it meets the minimum demands of altruistic advice,
given the writer’s pedigree as a former President of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, an elder statesman. In doing this we were not unaware of the several
public commentaries and reactions from a cross section of Nigerians, some of
which posit that Nigerians should ignore the messenger and take the lessons
from the message giving the critical weight of the issues raised. Much as this
position may appear germane, it needs to be understood that whereas it is
possible to separate the messenger from the message, it is nevertheless
impossible to comprehend the meaning of a message without reference to the
motive or intention of the messenger. The veracity and/or reliability of the
message in the context of the motive could only be drawn if the messenger is altruistic
in his motive.
Since Chief Olusegun
Obasanjo, Nigeria’s one time military Head of State and former President,
claims to be speaking from the rostrum of high moral rectitude because of his
“overt” love for Nigeria, it is only apposite that in deconstructing the
contents of the letter, without prejudice to the pleas of several public
commentators, we glean the moral integrity and character qualifications of the
messenger as a test of the reliability and value of the message. This is
because whether we like it or not Chief Obasanjo’s vituperations have not only
over-heated the polity but brought the nation to anaemic convulsion.
Chief OlusegunObasanjo’s
ill-conceived letter no doubt is an open assault on the seat of power in
Nigeria. For a former President who has unimpeded access to the President to
nakedly dance this danse macabre in public on grounds that former
letters written by him had not been replied only affirms what Theodore
Roosevelt describes as the dangers of lack of morals when he said “to educate a
man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society”. Whether
former President Obasanjo, has now become a menace to the Nigerian political
landscape or otherwise would be better judged by discerning minds. But to us,
he has merely epitomized the prescriptions of Noel Coward: “the higher the
building the lower the morals”.
Further as Thomas S. Monson
would remind us, “the surest test of an individual’s integrity is his refusal
to do or say anything that would damage his self-respect”. Hence, in developed
democracies, former Presidents hardly ever comment publicly on the policies and
actions of their successors, evidently in deference to self-respect. They seek
and utilize latent channels to communicate and offer their advice. And if we
take to heart what Mark Twain said about character, “a man’s character may be
learned from the adjectives he habitually uses in conversation,” then given
Chief Obasanjo’s deleterious history of publicly criticizing heads of
government in office that ended in ominous consequences, Nigerians should be
circumspect and be resolved in one accord to defend our hard-won democracy.
As an obsessed letter
writer, Chief Obasanjo may unwittingly view his tirades against sitting
governments as building a legacy to be celebrated when he departs; he does not
see the effects of debasement, deformation, destruction, disunity, hatred and
defamation in his actions. Selfless leaders with character build peace, build
harmony, build unity and build love. However, it appears our erstwhile
President has lost it all. Like what Billy Graham said, “When character is
lost, all is lost”.
Leadership in its broad
spectrum is fraught with complex challenges, and nations that are progressively
built always find patriotic leaders come around to contribute positively to
governance and not indulge in self-adulation. Let us now evaluate the three (3)
year old administration of President Goodluck Jonathan vis-a-vis Chief
Obasanjo’s cumulative eleven years in office in the context of the five (5)
prerequisite capacities of a President of the Federal Republic which Chief
Obasanjo identifies, to wit: Leadership of the ruling party; Headship of the
Federal Government; Commander-in-Chief of the Military; Chief Security Officer
of the Nation; and Political Leader of the country.
a. Leadership of the Ruling Party:
It is ridiculous that Chief
Obasanjo, a self-acclaimed democrat, should accuse President Goodluck Jonathan
as the one responsible for the lingering crisis in PDP, which pre-dated his
emergence as the leader of the party. President Jonathan’s alleged crime is his
refusal to publicly denounce those craving his return in 2015. Chief Obasanjo
further accused President Jonathan of clandestinely dictating the actions of
the party Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. These unsubstantiated claims posit a
curious but intriguing parallel and calls for self-examination on the part of
the Owu Chief.
When in 2002, before INEC
officially signaled political activitiesfor the 2003 elections, posters and
propaganda materials adorned all nooks and crannies of Nigeria for Chief
Obasanjo’s re-election, how many of such people did he publicly denounce? Even
when it became open knowledge in 2005 that Chief Obasanjo surreptitiously
attempted to use his cronies to insert in the output of the National Political
Reform Conference a clause to elongate his tenure for a third term, since he
thought it was only he who had the single inalienable right to rule Nigeria for
life, did hereunder any public denial?
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has
no moral credentials to accuse President Jonathan of responsibility for the
travails of the PDP. These crises, as earlier noted, predate the incumbent
leader of the party. Perhaps to refresh Chief Obasanjo’s memory, let him
be reminded that Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu’s recourse to forming his own political
party (PPA) to provide a platform for his nominee to contest the 2007 elections
was a direct outcome of Chief Obasanjo’s arm-twisting military style to force
him out of the PDP. The party eventually lost Abia State. Even as a
presidential candidate, Chief Obasanjo reportedly lost his own ward and a
number of South-West states in the 1999 elections. As the “emperor” of the
Nigerian state, his back-handed defiance of democratic electoral process
brought victories to PDP in some South-West states which could not endure. We
eventually saw the so-called PDP victories upturned through the judicial
process because, when he was the leader of the party, Chief Obasanjo could not
secure defensible victories.
No period in the history of
our fledgling democracy has witnessed a higher turnover of PDP National
Chairmen than the eight year tenure of Chief Obasanjo as President of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. First, soon after the late Chief Solomon Lar
steered the PDP to victory in the 1999 Presidential election, Chief Obasanjo
booted him out of office. And of course the well-respected frontline
contributions of the late Chief Sunday Awoniyi to the electoral fortunes of
Chief Obasanjo had deservingly positioned him to succeed Chief Solomon Lar, yet
our maverick democrat not only frustrated the elder statesman out of the
chairmanship of the party but also ensured his untimely retirement from
politics. Even Chief Barnabas Gemade, whom Chief Obasanjo backed to thwart Chief
Awoniyi, was soon to be replaced as Chairman by Chief Audu Ogbeh, a very
outspoken, purposeful and visionary leader, who craves for a peaceful and
progressive Nigeria.
Chief Ogbeh was reportedly
forced to resign as Chairman after having lunch with President Obasanjo. His
offence was that he assumed the gauntlet to advise President Obasanjo to
investigate the security challenges in Anambra state that threatened the life
of Governor Ngige at the time. Interestingly, all these chairmen were elected
for definite tenure as prescribed by the PDP constitution.
As Chief Obasanjo bestrode
the PDP like an intimidating colossus, electoral decency was jettisoned,
internal democracy trampled upon and good conscience buried as he dealt
ruthlessly with all perceived enemies regardless of democratic culture and
ethos. The following casualties of his high-handed leadership are dead and
living testimonies: late Sen. Chuba Okadigbo; Sen. Ayim Pius Ayim; Gov. Peter
Odili whom he used, milked and dumped; Gov. Joshua Dariye; Gov. Orji UzorKalu;
Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi; Gov. Gbenga Daniel; Dep. Gov. Mukhtar
Shagari; Gov. Attahiru Bafarawa; Gov. D. S. P. Alamieyeseigha; etc.
Therefore if upholding the
rule of law and the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party is basis for
accusation of the Presidency masterminding the PDP crisis, we are not convinced
that President Jonathan has conducted himself in an unpresidential manner to
attract these unwarranted innuendoes in any way.
It bespeaks a deep-sounding
hollowness for Chief Obasanjo to make allusion to the fact that the crisis in
the PDP is premised on whether President Jonathan should exercise his
constitutional prerogative to contest elections in 2015. He is clearly on a
protectionist mission, to create sufficient disaffection within the PDP to
facilitate the emergence of his preferred candidates.
Nobody is against the
aspirations of anybody to any elective office. Indeed, that is the beauty of
democracy, where people freely chose to contest and are voted for. But why must
an elder statesman embark upon such an unprovoked voyage of denigrating the
person occupying the most exalted office in the land simply to make a point for
his preferred candidates to take over? It must be unequivocally stated that
neither Chief Olusegun Obasanjo nor his cohorts can determine the will of God; nobody can play God in the affairs
of men, and in the affairs of our country.
Chief Obasanjo after being
a military leader for 3 years, tried shamelessly to mastermind the extension of
his constitutional two terms tenure as President to a third one (that is, after
being head of government for 11 years, he wanted additional 4 years) until
Nigerians cried foul. That he now attempts to stop President Jonathan from
contesting for another constitutional term of four years, shows sheer
wickedness and mischief. If Chief Obasanjo’s grand-design and deception to
hoodwink Nigerians to endorse his phantom third term could not “spill the blood
of Nigerians”, the call for the exercise of President Jonathan’s legitimate
right to contest for a constitutionally guaranteed second term, if he accepts
it, will not spill blood in this country. Or is Chief Obasanjo alluding to a
grand plan by some elements in the country to cause mayhem should President
Jonathan contest the 2015 elections? We find these comments very disturbing
especially in the light of repeated public threats by one Junaid Mohammed.
Chief Obsanjo not only knows the position of the law for making very reckless
comments but also has experienced first-hand the consequences of such
inflammatory comments to incite the populace.
We make bold to say here
that President Jonathan has handled the affairs of the PDP and the nation with
far greater inclusiveness and tolerance of dissent than Chief Obasanjo ever
did. This broad minded and accommodating disposition of President Jonathan is
further extended to even the ever-critical and often virulent opposition.
b. Headship of the Federal Government
It is perfidious for Chief
Obasanjo to set the National Assembly against President Jonathan in discussing
corruption. Let it be stated from the onset that we do not endorse corrupt
practices in any form; in fact it is our position that President Jonathan
should deal decisively with all proven corruption cases regardless of whose ox
is gored. However, it is common knowledge that corruption attained monumental
heights under the regime of Chief Obasanjo as President. Chief Obasanjo
presided over the proceeds of Nigeria’s oil and gas for six years, without
transparent accounting as the de
facto Minister of Petroleum
Resources. To perfect his plan, he appointed his kinsman and protégé
Engr. Kupolokun who had retired, to serve as the Group Managing Director of
NNPC. Nigeria’s oil and gas revenue was helplessly at the discretion of the
duo. Where was accountability and transparency? It will be recalled that the
CNPP petitioned the EFCC to investigate Chief Obasanjo as President for an
estimated unaccounted sum of $133 billion in oil revenue from 2000 to 2006, the
period he was the de facto Minister of Petroleum Resources.
We are inclined to think
that part of the reasons for Chief Obasanjo’s double-standard romance with
President Jonathan is the latter’s audacity to reopen up investigations,
earlier ordered by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua into the Haliburton
bribery scandal. If Chief Obasanjo’s former Personal Assistant, Mr.
Bodunde Adeyanju, could be interrogated over allegations of millions of dollars
bribery scam, it is more like the hand of Jacob and the voice of Esau. So where
does Chief Obasanjo derive the moral qualification to accuse another government
of corruption? When a sitting President influences major business tycoons who
do business with government to launch and build a multi-million naira library
in his village in his name, what does that amount to? When a sitting President,
Chief Obasanjo, suddenly becomes a shareholder in Trans National Corporation of
Nigeria Plc, a diversified conglomerate, owners of Transcorp Hilton and several
oil and gas assets, what does that amount to? It should be in the normal course
of business for a President. What accounted for the sudden transformation of
the Ota farm, which had become the habitat for reptiles and weeds before Chief
Obasanjo became Presidentin 1999? Or are Nigerians quick to forget the missing
N2.8 billion under the watch of Gen. Obasanjo when Gen. Buhari was the Federal
Commissioner of Petroleum Resources?
While Nigerians accuse the
regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida of institutionalizing corruption, it is common
knowledge that Chief Obasanjo planted the seed of corruption and elevated it to
unimaginable heights.
On the claims by Chief
Obasanjo that the economic performance indices are dangerously sliding, that is
nothing more than a self-serving statement. Even the International Monetary
Fund adjudged the Nigerian economy to be performing relatively better, with a
GDP at 6.75%, the highest growth rate in Sub-Saharan Africa. And we are
convinced that the Jonathan administration is doing everything to make the
observed economic growth all-inclusive in the light of the policies and
strategies being initiated to tackle the problem of unemployment and poverty
eradication.
Nigerians of good
conscience can all attest to the relative improvement and stability of
electricity supply; the recent unbundling of PHCN and licensing of electricity
distribution companies will no doubt enhance electricity supply to consumer I
in the coming months and this will invariably positively impact both the
manufacturing and small-medium scale businesses. Also, the resuscitation of
collapsed infrastructure in the Aviation sector by the Jonathan administration
has been a source of pride to Nigerians. The hitherto moribund rail transport
system for which Chief Obasanjo pumped so much billions has been successfully
revived. Nigerians now travel from Lagos to Kano by train.
God, in his divine grace,
blessed Chief Obasanjo with incomparable opportunities of leadership to drive
the fortunes of our country to enviable heights but the evident result is that
the progress of the nation is impeded as he left only relics of collapsed
infrastructure, monumental corruption, debased national psyche and a disillusioned
polity. The myriad of problems and challenges bequeathed by the administration
of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo have made the work of nation building inexorably
difficult for his successors.
The Jonathan administration
is not only way ahead of the Obasanjo one in terms of recorded and visible
achievements measured against the funds deployed but also has had positive
impact on the lives of the citizenry.
c. Commander-in-Chief of the Military
To all discerning public
observers, there is no argument that President Goodluck Jonathan has employed
the adroit strategies and demonstrated statesmanship in the handling of
critical national challenges, deserving of a democratically elected President.
Because he knows his primary responsibility to the people is protection of
their lives and property, President Jonathan’s style has not only assisted in
sustaining our fragile unity as a country but has made him no less a
Commander-in-Chief.
Given the destructive
tendencies that characterized Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s rule as President
during which period human rights abuses and defiance of the rule of law were
the norm,we are at a loss to unravel the import of Chief Obasanjo’s assertions
in this respect. As stated earlier, Chief Obasanjo’s impulsive decisions
culminated in the destruction of communities, killing and maiming of innocent
lives by the Nigerian military at the least provocation. That was the case of
the sleepy town of Odi in Bayelsa State, which was completely destroyed because
of the activities of a few miscreants that led to the death of some Police
officers. So too was the case of Odioma town also in Bayelsa state.
Today, the Federal Government is to pay N37.6 billion in compensation to the
people of Odi, as ordered by the Federal High Court, for that tactless act of a
President. Similarly, Chief Obasanjo deployed heavy military arsenals to
trouble spots in Benue state and destroyed, maimed and killed innocent people
in Zaki Biam town, and other towns in Katsina-Ala LGA and Logo LGA.
Whereas the military deployed by Chief Obasanjo never went after any of the
suspected criminals but to kill innocent citizens, President Jonathan’s humane
characteristic ensured that no innocent citizen was deliberately affected by
the activities of the military. The purpose being to curb the Boko Haram insurgents, Nigerians are relieved
that about 500 insurgents are to be arraigned. A remarkable difference in
strategy and tact!
Nigerians are also not in a
hurry to forget how the apparatus of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) was deployed in the name of fighting corruption to hound perceived
political opponents. The selective approach in the fight against corruption
made a mockery of the entire anti-corruption exercise as loyalists were
shielded and enemies persecuted.
And so who has indeed
deferred to the sacrosanct role of the military in the best interest of the
nation, a Chief Obasanjo who recklessly deployed military might to kill
innocent Nigerian souls or a President Jonathan who deploys tact in dealing with
restive spots to minimize collateral damage, even in the light of a far more
sophisticated, hitherto unknown security outfit, the Boko Haram group? Interestingly, when Chief
Obasanjo declared a state of emergency in Plateau state, he gave no respect to the
preservation of the democratic institutions. In contrast, when the Boko Haram inspired insurgency in some parts of
the north unabatedly threatened the peace and stability of the country,
President Jonathan went on a wide range of consultations with all stakeholders
before declaring a state of emergency. Hence today, all democratic institutions
in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States, the frontline states where President
Jonathan declared a state of emergency have remained functional. A true
democratic practitioner!
d. Chief Security Officer of the
Nation
It is pathetic that Chief
Obasanjo’s sense of history could be so easily demented. Without extending the
searchlight to other trouble spots, we wish to recall the ineptitude and
abysmal failure of Chief Obasanjo’s strategies in managing the militancy in the
Niger Delta area. Even when the activities of militants brought the economy to
knee-jam and oil production plummeted from 2.5 million barrels a day to 700,000
barrels a day, his barking bull strategies brought no solution to the crisis.
It took the sagacious strides of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua/Jonathan,
working with critical stakeholders, to make peace without spilling blood and
today Nigeria is the better for it, with greater capacity to meet government
obligations because of enhanced revenue profile from increased foreign
receipts. So where is Chief Obasanjo’s pedigree in managing crises?
Another gory absurdity is
Chief Obasanjo’s allegation that President Jonathan is training snipers where
Abacha trained his killer squad and that there are about 1000 high profile
politicians on a watch list. For an allegation as weighty as this we are sure
Chief Obasanjo knows the import of the law for such blatant insinuation that
qualifies for libel. Chief Obasanjo should know, if he does not already,
that the onus of proof lies on him. We demand that the relevant security
agencies like NSA, Directorate of State Security (DSS), Nigerian Intelligence
Agency (NIA), the Nigeria Police, should immediately take decisive appropriate
action to investigate this very sensitive national security issue and make
their findings public. The security services must carry out this investigation
with dispatch because we suspect that there is a grand plan to assassinate some
high profile Nigerians, in the context of this very dangerous allegation, to
intimidate and coerce President Jonathan to abdicate his right to contest in
2015. To us it merely shows that our aging Owu Chief certainly deserves
more rest at Ota to avoid going beserk.
However, Nigerians will
continue to hold Chief Obasanjo accountable for the several high profile
unexplained killings for which no culprits have been unearthed years after.
Notable among the list of those assassinated without conclusive investigations
under Chief Obasanjo’s watch were Chief Bola Ige, Obasanjo’s first Minister of
Power and later Minister of Justice and Attorney General; Chief Marshall Harry;
a former National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party; Chief
Aminasoari K. Dikibo, also a former National Vice Chairman of the PDP; Chief
Funsho Williams, a former PDP governorship aspirant of Lagos state;
ChimereIkoku and a number of other unexplained deaths.
In contrast to Chief
Obasanjo’s alarmist averments the most dreadful security challenge today
remains the Boko Haram sect which, in itself, devolved from
Chief Obasanjo’s dereliction of his constitutional duty to guarantee the
secularity of the Nigerian state. And of course we need to be mindful of Chief
Obasanjo and his ilk whose appetite for uprisings and revolutions akin to the
Arab Spring seems to be growing proportionately daily. Chief Obasanjo should be
reminded that if Nigerians were to agitate for a revolution, and particularly
the Ghanian type, Obasanjo and his likes would not be spared the wrath of
Nigerians.
e. Political Leader of the Country
No President of Nigeria
under our democratic dispensation has been more Nigerian in disposition and
conduct than Dr. Goodluck E. Jonathan. It is unfortunate that Chief Obasanjo
could degenerate to fan the embers of ethnicity in such an insidious and
reckless manner. For a man who claims to be a detribalized Nigerian to infer
that no other minority in this country could be entrusted with the leadership
of the country, because of his myopic assessment and conclusion that President
Jonathan has not performed to satisfy his whims, evinces clearly a chronic
obsession of hate. But we must remind Chief Obasanjo that Nigeria is not an
enterprise of an oligarchy and that the days of hegemonic rule are gone. Chief
Obasanjo should extricate himself from the garb of narrow mindedness and
pettiness and be broad in his perceptive values. Nigeria belongs to all,
majorities and minorities alike.
On the fight against
corruption, we observe that the agencies tasked to deal with corruption must be
given a free hand to work. If the EFCC is hamstrung to perform its assignments
creditably then we shall be concerned. Today neither the EFCC nor ICPC is
pressured and tele-guided to pursue perceived enemies. The reported
concern, raised by the Central Bank Governor, over unremitted accruals of about
$49.8 billion is being reconciled by a joint team of NNPC, FIRS, DPR and CBN.
Chief Obasanjo should have shown a more statesmanlike conduct and decorum
before dancing to the public gallery. As it has now been revealed, with the
false alarmist, CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanisu publicly apologizing, the
joint reconciliation exercise has confirmed that only $10.8 billion is yet to
be reconciled even as the exercise is still on going. Clearly, the initial
claim was a false alarm orchestrated to incite the general public against
President Jonathan, and Chief Obasanjo also demeaned himself to join the foray
of dubious whistle blowers.
Till date no Nigerian,
excepting Chief Obasanjo, has seen a presidential reception organized in honour
of Major Al Mustapha. Whereas Chief Obasanjo thinks that every sitting
President obstructs the course of justice as was his own mercurial practice,
President Jonathan has continued to show maximum resistance to interfere with
the judicial process. It is only in the imagination of Chief Obasanjo that the
Presidency celebrated Major Al Mustapha’s release. This is understandable since
he must loathe Al-Mustapha for his incarceration by Abacha for life
imprisonment.
What Does Chief Obasanjo
Want?
In all these posturing of
sainthood and angelic patriotism, what does Chief Olusegun Obasanjo aim to
achieve? We state that Chief Obasanjo’s letter is at best self-serving and
holds no grain of patriotism and national interest. Through this blatant
charade of promoting falsehood, innuendoes and untruths, Chief Obasanjo
attempts to raise a mob action against President Jonathan, a crafty follow-up
to the rebellion he used the G 7 governors he planted in the states to stir up
crisis in the PDP in order to stop Jonathan in 2015. Since he considers time to
be running out he needed to commence the campaigns for his anointed protégés.
For Chief Obasanjo’s project to succeed, President Jonathan must be destroyed
first, in the court of public opinion.
Nigeria is not a fiefdom in
the stranglehold of Chief Obasanjo. If he chooses to squander his privileged
opportunities to offer leadership to this country, and to think he can rule Nigeria
like his private estate from everywhere, he has failed. Must Chief Obasanjo
continue to breath hard on President Jonathan because he claimed he made him
President? Even so, that is not a stand- alone act because Chief Obasanjo
himself was a beneficiary of God using Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Gen. Theophilus
Danjuma and Gen. Abdulsalami to make him President in 1999. Even his
emergence as Head of State in 1976 was the sacrifice of Gen. Danjuma and
others. These people never publicly dictated to him how to govern Nigeria. Most
importantly, they never did anything to bring him into public odium despite the
numerous problems his administration created for the polity.
While we know that politics
is a game of numbers, we would also hastily add that no one person can make a
President; it is the people of Nigeria that can decide who should become their
President, as God wills. If Nigerians think President Jonathan has delivered on
his electoral mandate, they can freely entrust him with another mandate and
that cannot be subject to the whims of any Chief Obasanjo. We therefore urge
President Jonathan to remain focused, undeterred and committed to delivering on
his transformation agenda.
Chief Obasanjo having
succeeded in persuading his cronies to stir unending controversy within the
ranks of the PDP, and indeed the nation is certainly on a mission to destroy
the party, truncate our hard won democracy and plunge the nation to cataclysm
for his personal gain. We therefore call on the leadership of party to take decisive
action against him as nobody is greater than the party. Chief Obasanjo to all
intents has demonstrated more anti-party activities than any one else in the
history of PDP.
Culled from Premium Times
No comments:
Post a Comment