NEW POLITICS.

in #news6 years ago

Ike-Ekweremadu-and-the-President-General-of-Ohanaeze-Ndigbo-President-Muhammadu-Buhari.png

Is this the New Politics?

The Nigerian political terrain can easily pass as one of the most spectacular and entertaining soap operas in the world. It possesses an overdose of plots, sub plots, mouse traps, suspense and anti climaxes.

For instance, hitheto brave and venomous individuals whose tongues spit fire when attacking governments suddenly become wheel chair bound or stretcher bound, begging judges for permission to treat previously nonexistent illnesses abroad when charged with the simplest felonies.

The most recent addition to the exciting drama is the tendency for people with soft underbellies to raise alarms of persecutions when their turn to answer questions on thier stewardship in office draws near. A new form of immunity unknown to our extant laws is quickly contrived and in this case it is the resort to screaming " vendetta" , " witchunt" " persecution" even when the available facts point clearly to their complicity.

While our civil society activists and lawyers keep vaunting the concept of equality of all citizens before the law, it seems some people have been conferred with a lifelong immunity no matter the extent of thier crimes against the Nigerian State. All it takes to trigger this immunity is to appear to be at odds with the dominant order of he day. It is only in Nigeria that even armed robbers are absolved of their crimes in a warped court of public opinion as long as their words appear to oppose the establishment.

The recent alarm raised by Former President Olusegun Obasanjo comes with all elements of putting the Federal Government of Nigeria on the defensive and is aimed at nipping in the bud all moves ( if any) to get him to answer to the plethora of questions about his tenure as elected president of Nigeria between 1999-2007.

Olusegun Obasanjo is no stranger to controversy. In all of his public life, he has denounced every other person apart from himself. To him, every other Nigerian is rotten apart from him. He has written books that will be read hundreds of years beyond now where he described his former allies in very cruel terms because at one point in time or the other they fell out. To him, Obasanjo is always right, every other person is wrong. Dr Suleiman KUMO once described Obasanjo's disposition succinctly by calling it a " messianic delusion". Obasanjo in and out of Government claims a monopoly of solutions to all issues in the country. The country must perpetually exist in his shadows or else everyone be damned. He has consistently manifested frightening symptoms of malignant megalomania.

Obasanjo believes in riding on tidal waves of opposing opinions against even governments he helped install. In 2007, Obasanjo applied all crude methods to blackmail candidates like Ibrahim Babangida, Aliyu Gusau, JERRY Gana, Peter ODILI etc from vying for the Presidency in order to pave way for his annointed candidate Umaru Musa Yar Adua inspite of the obvious health challenges he had which were known to him. Indeed, the PDP Presidential Convention held at the Eagle Square Abuja became notorious as the only nomination convention where candidates for the office of President were not allowed to address delegates for the fear that they may be swayed by the oratory of the less favored candidates. He had imagined that Yar Adua out of gratitude to him will remain his puppet which turned out to be a farce. The moment a Yar Adua began to exert his independence, Obasanjo became his most vitriolic critic and made very insensitive comments against him when illness began to take toll on the late president.

Stories have it that Obasanjo picked Goodluck Jonathan to be running mate to Yar Adua because he knew Yar Adua will not live out his tenure. He therefore handpicked an overgrateful person whom he thought will do his bidding without question. When the Jonathan Presidency became captive to the then powerful Ijaw forces and Obasanjo's opinions became less sought , he turned his venom against the president especially against the background that the administration suffered a severely battered image locally and internationally. As an old battle fox, he chooses his battles carefully, attacking his targets at their weakest and most vulnerable periods.He strikes when he believes you lack the force to strike him back.

Obasanjo's latest alarm coming in the wake of his self appointed task of rallying the opposition shows his duplicitous character, his vain glory search and his confused nature. Obasanjo judges others by standards that are alien to him. Call it hypocrisy and you will not be to too far from the truth. He has developed a penchant for letter writing but history has it that those who wrote letters to him before had their noses bruised. A ready example is Chief Audu Ogbeh, the current Minister of Agriculture who as Chairman of Obasanjo's Party committed the grievous crime of writing to him,bringing his attention to the kidnap of a sitting governor by forces using the security apparatuses of state. Ogbeh was forced to resign at gun point in the most humiliating of circumstances.

Obasanjo also mentions the plight of the Senate President Bukola Saraki under the Buhari presidency as evidence of he " intimidation and reign of fear". He has forgotten how Senator Chuba Okadigbo and Adolphus Wabara were hounded out of office under him.

Obasanjo also talks about insecurity arising from killings going on in the country. He has conveniently forgotten how he ordered troops to raze down Odi community in Bayelsa State and carried out massacres in Zaki Biam in Benue State. He also wouldn't mention the assasinations of Bola IGE, Harry Marshall and AK Dikibo as sore points in security while he was President.

Whenever Obasanjo refers to others as being corrupt, I express my disappointment with the gods of thunder for abdication of duty. Here is a man who was rescued from prison and by his own admission had a bank balance of N20,000 now living in hilltop palaces all over. From N20,000 in 1998, Obasanjo now has a world class presidential Library which was funded by state governors. Obasanjo now owns a University called Bells University. As president, he got his friends in Coporate Nigeria to incorporate a company called Transcorp and got 500 million shares in that company. The real deal is how state assets were bequeathed to this company through unfair means while he was president.

The most disgusting aspect of Obasanjo Corruption is his dishonest denial of a third term project when everyone watched his acolytes share tens of millions of bribes to legislators to achieve his ignoble goal. Obasanjo has not told us why after spending about N300 billion on roads, all he could say at the end of his tenure was " I am ashamed of federal roads".

What about the reason for his current outbursts?. The $16billion phantom expenditure on the power sector. President Buhari seems to have ruffled his bloated ego by simply asking " where is the power".

As filthy as Obasanjo is, my main concern here is the attempt by our thieving elite to always drown thier misdemeanor in the murky waters of politics. The new politics appears to thrive on burying misdeeds in the political bunker. If not, why would a public officer whose associates have confessed to being sponsored by him in heinous crimes turn round to cry blue murder?. Why would someone who held public trust refuse a summons to explain Grey areas by simply pleading witch hunt?. Should criminals who suddenly oppose governments be ignored in other not to be seen to be victimizing opponents?. Evans the kidnapper must be biting his fingers for the missed chance to be a free man. Had he known, he would have started an Anti-Buhari swan song.

We have chosen to remain backwards because of our tolerance for those who engage in high crimes and misdemeanors . Jacob Zuma is standing trial for embezzling monies that can be Obasanjo's tea money for a week. South Korea Jailed a president. So did Brazil. Ehud Olmert the former Israeli Prime Minister is in Jail at the moment. Why not Obasanjo if concrete facts are gathered about him?. I remember some people saying Buhari's anti corruption war amounts to nothing if the likes of Obasanjo are walking the streets as free men. It looks like the clouds are gathering and there is the sound of the abundance o rain.

Obasanjo must have miscalculated by choosing a wrong enemy. He must have imagined that Muhammadu Buhari being his junior in the Army and having served as his minister will in the light of " espirit de corps" submit to his intimidation. He has clearly met his match and this explains his advance cry. He should wait for the day of reckoning when there will be gnashing of teeth. After all, he sounded very prophetic by saying in his book " I prefer Buhari to come and jail me than for Jonathan to return". Looks like it will be a prophecy fulfilled.

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