By MUSA SIMON REEF
No trumpet was blown when a child was born to illiterate and poor parents from the backwoods of Ibogun-Olaogun in Ogun State on March 05, 1937. There was nothing to reveal that this young child, whose later dream was to be a mechanic, would cast defining moments in the life of a nation. Presently, wherever two or three people are gathered, when the name of that child that was christened, ‘Olusegun Obasanjo’ is mentioned, disagreement is bound to occur.
To his admirers, Obasanjo is that iconic figure that has left positive profound impact on the nation. Baba, as they fondly call him, believes in the Nigerian project and is willing to lay down his life for it. To his opponents- and he is blessed with so many, the Ota farmer is a wicked personality who is unforgiving of an offence. Obasanjo, his foes alleged, is not a promise keeper and famous at destroying others to advance his interest. Once he starts a war with anyone, he does not let go until he crushes them.
Since coming to political limelight after the assassination of General Murtala Muhammed on February 13, 1976, Obasanjo’s paradoxical traits of good and evil have portrayed him as a national prodigy. Of all the Nigerian leaders, both living and dead, the poor boy from Ibogun-Olaogun, who ran against the traffic of greatness as a youth, is the most favoured by the gods. His only dream was to become a mechanic/lorry boy, but Obasanjo ended up ruling Nigeria for over eleven and a half years: three and half years as military Head of State and eight years as a civilian president.
Less than 18 years after he enlisted in the army, he rose to become Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces. With destiny shooting him to the corridors of power at 39, Obasanjo pushed for the successful transfer of power to civilians in 1979. In retirement at the young age of 44, Obasanjo returned to the farmland from where he was raised to set up Ota Farms. However, he soon discovered that growing crops and raising animals were too dull a routine for a former military leader. He launched into writing and churned out several books that sparked national controversies. While critics accused him of self-adoration in some of his books, nevertheless, they became national bestsellers. Some of the contentious books included, ‘My Command’, ‘Nzeogwu’ and ‘My Watch.’
Obasanjo, who holds the traditional title of ‘Balogun of Owu’ and ‘Ekirin Balogun of Egba Clan in Yorubaland,’ is never diffident of engaging in controversies. He even seeks to create one when none exists. He soon became a literary terror and national conscience for good governance. Governments after his became apprehensive of his criticisms and wondered, “What Obasanjo was always looking for”. He wrote letters to Nigerian leaders, including President Shehu Shagari, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, General Sani Abacha and Dr Goodluck Jonathan whom he supported for presidency in 2011.
Unlike others, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was bedridden and sick in Saudi Arabia to read a mail. But when in January 2010 the Egba Chief called on the ailing president to resign if he was incapable of discharging his oath of office; it became a defining moment that ultimately led to the passage of the Doctrine of Necessity by the National Assembly that ushered in the Jonathan presidency.
I first saw Obasanjo as a child in 1979 when he paid a farewell visit to Sokoto State, few months to his formal handover of power to President Shehu Shagari. As a pupil of the Army Children School, Sokoto, I was among those who were heartily ferried to welcome him at the airport. Together with other pupils, I dutifully waved the Nigerian flag on that dusty but sunny day that is etched in my memory. I remembered screaming my lungs out at the sight of his big tummy, the red insignia around his neck, the rank on his shoulders and the medals on his chest. His sight gave me hope that someday I may just be like him if I read hard. When he came closer to us, he advised us to read our books so that we can become tomorrow’s leaders. Without education, he said, the future was dim. In later years, I would discover that Obasanjo never told us the complete truth about the capacity of education to uplift us from our pitiable and economically powerless conditions. I would again encounter the old soldier as an advocate of good governance in February 1994 as a reporter working for ISSUES, a Kaduna-based weekly magazine. He had then acquired notoriety for scolding Nigerian leaders for coming short of global governing standards. Following the decision by General Abacha to convene a Constitutional Conference in 1995, clouds of frightening vagueness had enveloped the political atmosphere.
With the Northern military cabal, led by Abacha, forcing Chief Ernest Shonekan out of power as Head of the Interim National Government (ING), the nation returned to the abyss. In a bid to find a way forward, the Arewa House, in its maiden Sardauna Memorial Lectures series, organised a national workshop on February 2-3, 1994 on the theme: ‘Nigeria: The State of The Nation And The Way Forward.’ The event, which took place at the General Usman Katsina House, Kaduna, had Obasanjo as Guest Speaker and General Muhammadu Buhari as Chairman of the occasion.
As the guest speaker, the international statesman, who had failed in his bid to become the United Nations Secretary General, did not fail to thrill his audience with the usual narrative of castigating the IBB regime that had found continuation in Abacha. He called on Nigerians to rise up and confront the common evil of military dictatorship, just as he accused IBB’s disciple (Abacha) of playing pranks with Nigeria’s fortunes. He condemned those who had embraced the option of silence for fear or financial gains. When the dark-goggled military leader reacted, Obasanjo was roped into a coup plot many alleged never existed. The world rose in his defence, but Abacha stood his ground. When it seemed that twilight was about to set on the Accuser Of Every Government In Power (AEGIP), God’s finger touched Abacha and he exited mortality.
After Abacha’s death in June 1998, General Abdulsalam took over and quickly set in motion a hurried agenda for the return of democratic rule. Granted presidential pardon, and pressured upon to contest the 1999 presidential election, the former accuser of military regimes initially dawdled, but was later convinced to throw his hat in the ring. He would, thereafter, spend eight years as president. When some supporters, under his promptings, commenced campaigns to amend the constitution to pave way for third term agenda, an angry nation rose up in unison, and the plot expectedly died on the floor of the Senate.
Reef writes from Abuja.
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