OBASANJO, TINUBU AND NIGERIAN POLITICS

It had always been intriguing to me the way democratic governance in this fourth republic emerged. A Yoruba man - Obasanjo had emerged President, largely supported by the votes of the Hausa northerners. His candidature met with stiff opposition from his own kith and kin as they massively voted for his opponent Chief Olu Falae.

President Obasanjo ascended the throne amidst a lot of controversy as not a few of his kinsmen and indeed several Nigerians believed he was a stooge of some eminent Nigerians, notably of northern origin. He rode to power on the back of the most powerful and formidable party in the country, the PDP. Nigerians, highly skeptical, believed Obasanjo, who had just been released from jail, would naturally, as a sign of gratitude to his rescuers, dance to any tune they played in the dispensation of his presidential duties.

How wrong all these projections turned out to be! As soon as Obasanjo was sworn in as President, it became obvious to everybody that this old man just wasn’t going to be anybody’s stooge. He declared he would step on toes and the hell he did! Soon, his rescuers and kingmakers knew they had bitten more than they could chew. One by one, Obasanjo showed his kingmakers the way out of the PDP. He took over every arm of government in a rare show of political muscle flexing. People did not matter to him anymore; laws meant nothing to him. Court rulings became mere talk, and advice became noise in his hears. Opposition? That meant enmity to him; he would stop at nothing to fight down his opposition. The way he played his politics smacked of warfare, maybe it should have been expected anyway, Obasanjo was the conquistador that ended the Biafran war. The constitution became mere paper; he knew everything. He knew what he wanted, and whatever he wanted he got, no matter whose ox was gored.

Obasanjo’s style drew the ire of the elite class; the human rights community denounced his government as being worse than that of late dictator Sani Abacha. Most members of his government disapproved of his method, but they dared not speak out, as that would have amounted to political suicide. Offending Obasanjo could then be compared with offending a deity. However, a few voices of dissent cried foul and declared complete disapproval of Obasanjo’s ways. Two governors, showed rare courage in their opposition, one was Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State; the second was Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Lagos State. More pertinent for this piece, is the role of Governor Bola Tinubu in opposition to Obasanjo's dictatorial democratic government.

Governor Bola Tinubu’s ride to power was not won on a platter of gold. He paid his dues. Coming from the background of a senator in the defunct third republic, he became a household name in Nigeria due to his involvement in the opposition to Sani Abacha’s obnoxious military reign. As an active member of NADECO, he threw his financial weight into the struggle that saw an end to military rule and berthed democracy in Nigeria. As a compensation for his noble role, he contested for and won the governorship seat of Lagos state. His brilliance and performance further endeared him to Lagosians and his achievements were celebrated by all and sundry. He equally displayed great ingenuity and street-wisdom in tackling the difficult task of governing Lagos State.

In 2003, the PDP hurricane swept away five out of the six AD elected governors of the southwestern states. Through great political dexterity, Tinubu emerged the only survivor of the disaster. This singular feat catapulted Tinubu from his status as just a state governor to a major regional power broker. Asides this, he displayed rare courage in being a scathing critic of Obasanjo’s government. This, at an expensive price anyway, as Obasanjo extracted his pound of flesh in his own way. Obasanjo, in spite of successive court orders refused to completely pay local government allocations due to the Lagos state government.

For the larger part of this seven-year democratic adventure, Obasanjo and Tinubu have been strange bedfellows. Tinubu has fearlessly and consistently thrown verbal onslaughts at Obasanjo’s government. As espoused in his comments, Tinubu’s greatest irritation against the Obasanjo government is its dictatorial tendencies and gra-gra attitude. Time and again, Tinubu has stated that this is a democracy and there was a limit to the President’s powers.

All knows Obasanjo’s excesses; hence Tinubu’s fight attracted a lot of admiration. Most especially in the light of the fact that not many governors today dare speak up the way Tinubu has done. Tinubu’s submissions have portrayed him in public light as a true democrat. A lover of the rule of law, a person who would not force his way down people’s throat against popular opinion. Unfortunately, events of the past few weeks have proved this to be untrue.

A few months ago, the country witnessed the birth of yet another political party, the Action Congress (AC). Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu championed the new party. To many who knew the antecedents of Tinubu, the Action Congress looked like the party that would embrace the tenets of transparency, fairness and true democracy. But this was not to be, within a few months of its existence, the Action Congress has witnessed so much bickering. The news is replete with reports of undemocratic activities being perpetrated in the party. Allegations have been raised against Tinubu of trying to foist a candidate on the party against popular will.

Soon enough, eleven gubernatorial aspirants of the AC, led by Tinubu’s long time friend and ally, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, issued a public statement on the undemocratic manner with which Tinubu has gone about seeking to foist a successor on the party. The eleven aspirants, most of whom are former friends and members of Tinubu’s cabinet, decried the lack of transparency and fairness in the AC. As if that was not enough, Tinubu’s deputy, Mr. Femi Pedro, announced his wish to pursue his governorship ambition with a different party- the Labour Party. In his words, Pedro said he decided to leave the Action Congress because his boss did not allow a level playing field.

Now between Obasanjo and Tinubu, who is the better democrat? If as a governor and power broker of a party less than three months, Tinubu has attracted so much controversy, what would Tinubu have done if he had been in Obasanjo’s shoes? My take is that, in between the two men, there is no difference. Both the critic and the criticized are guilty of the same offence. So where exactly are the true democrats in Nigeria?

This undemocratic attitude displayed unconsciously by our leaders bears witness to the long journey we have ahead of us in realizing true democracy. It is now obvious that Obasanjo is not the only one of his kind. Many of his kind abound, both in the PDP, and in the opposition. As a people, we must learn that no individual has the monopoly of knowledge. No single individual has the right to force his wishes on the people of Nigeria. We must imbibe and inculcate the tenets of true democracy- the wishes of the people.

It is noteworthy to say that this same undemocratic attitude accounts for most of the trouble existing in Nigeria today. Nigeria’s politics as it is today is bedeviled with godfatherism. We all remember the long battle between Chris Uba and Chris Ngige, the former governor of Anambra state. Because Chris Uba would have his way, the state was plunged into chaos, violence and instability for the better part of a democratic dispensation. Same goes for the scenario presently playing itself out in Oyo state. Simply because an Adedibu must have his way, Oyo state has become the capital city of lawlessness for almost two years.

A sage once said ‘one of the greatest lessons of history is that men never learn from history’. No statement could be truer, Nigerian politics has proved that. If men learnt from history, Obasanjo would not be foisting Governor Yar’adua on the PDP as he is doing presently. What makes him so sure that if Yar’adua becomes president, he would dance to his (Obasanjo’s) tune? When he (Obasanjo) became president, did he dance to the tune of those who installed him? What if Yar’adua becomes president and grows wings like Obasanjo did? It will be very exciting to watch a President Yar’adua arrest and prosecute a former President Obasanjo with the EFCC. What makes Tinubu so sure that the candidate of his choice would dance to his tune, when the time comes? How well did Ngige dance to Uba’s tune? How well did Ladoja dance to Adedibu’s tune?

We will learn democracy in Nigeria, I am sure. Over time we will learn. But before the learning process is over, a lot of sacrifice will be paid. There will be a lot of betrayals, lots of disappointments. Politicians will get to know that vows made under duress don’t get fulfilled; they only brew trouble.

Until that time, when true democracy becomes the thread with which the fabric of Nigerian politics is sewn, we must expect many more clashes, riots and political wars in Nigeria.