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Opinion: In Defence of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo

Published

6 years ago

May 9, 2018

Eric

By Wale Adedayo

Despite serial efforts to destroy the nation-building legacies of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, his adversaries have only succeeded in exposing themselves as shallow in thinking and interested in selfish pursuits packaged as national interest. For the avoidance of doubt, son of man is not a fan of Obasanjo. He has his many failings, as a human being. But in the Nigerian project, this country is yet to produce a leader – military or civilian – that could be compared with Obasanjo in terms of his commitment to The Nigerian Dream.

A visit to Osogbo by son of man without exchanging ideas with former President, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta Students’ Union Government, Comrade Wole Aluta, is like tea without sugar. Wole is not just an activist. He is as cerebral as they come. Like son of man, Wole is not an Obasanjo acolyte. But he detests with every fibre of his being attempts to denigrate the Ota Chicken Farmer by persons, who for parochial political reasons continue to bury their heads in the sand in a vain attempt at justifying the ineptitude of the current managers of our national affairs.

While discussing the sorry state of Nigeria’s security yesterday, Wole became angry that there was a juvenile post on the social media recently alleging that one of the reasons Obasanjo is angry with the current administration was Buhari’s order to stop payment of salaries to the staff of the old man’s farm, who were on The Presidency’s payroll. Of course, it turned out to be a lie.

In his words, “They claimed he had less than N20,000 when he was released from prison shortly after Gen. Sani Abacha’s death in 1998. Virtually all those recycling this rubbish are graduates with a number of them having high profile names. Obasanjo left office as military Head of State with entitlements to pension and the like. He has properties and businesses. As a prisoner, he does not need money. So, how come these societal misfits believe the propaganda that the man was poor when he left prison?” And I agree 120% with Wole.

What is currently going on under President Muhammadu Buhari is similar to what obtained under Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. Propaganda is being taken to a new level. Obscene spin is being circulated as facts by agents of a Government that came on board to correct past anomalies, but has failed. Buhari was not prepared for office. He only wanted to be president, again. For a politician in an executive capacity to continue blaming his predecessor for his serial failure in office is not only ungodly, but a grievous betrayal of trust. He has lost his integrity.

It is not enough to have a plan. An aspiring political office holder seeking votes as President, Governor or Local Government Chairman must have sure details of mistakes made by the incumbent. Once in office, he/she hits the ground running, which was what Obasanjo did in 1999 after the monumental looting of our commonwealth by Abacha. And, it was not just Abacha alone. IBB and Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar had similarly rendered the Nigerian economy prostrate. Abacha only took us to the brink of a civil war in addition to his unbridled pilfering of Nigeria’s resources.

Yet, an Obasanjo arrived the scene, and instead of whining as Buhari and his handlers are carrying on about former President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he got down to work. Obasanjo met a worse economy. And he turned things around, very positively. Of course, education and continual self-development matters a lot. Shortly after leaving office in 1979 as military Head of State, Obasanjo returned to school. Buhari since 1985 is yet to write a book. Son of man is yet to read about Buhari going for education or self-improvement anywhere.

Obasanjo introduced mechanized farming in his private agricultural practice as far back as 1979. This should definitely be as result of his learning new ways of doing things. Yet, in the Year of Our Lord, 2018, Buhari, who is also a farmer, continue to engage in open grazing by cattles. He regularly shows off his 16th century mode of farming, thus the continued argument that herdsmen should be allowed to be moving from one part of the country to another, not minding the fact that modern system of animal husbandry does not allow such. He did not develop himself. And he wants Nigeria to continue with Stone Age ideas. No kain!

But the Ebora Owu never passed off opportunities to attend seminars and conferences on development, especially on Africa and global issues. He wrote books. The man repeated the same process after leaving office, thus his recent acquisition of a PhD in Theology from the National Open University, which he founded while in office. He is always thirsty for knowledge and modern ways of doing things.

As military Head of State, way back in 1976, Obasanjo made Education free and compulsory from Primary 1 to Primary 6 throughout Nigeria under the Universal Primary Education Scheme he pioneered. Students of Teachers’ Training Colleges were paid stipends to attend such schools, thus encouraging a healthy population of primary school teachers all over the country. Upon assumption of office in 1999, one of Obasanjo’s first policies was the introduction of Universal Basic Education (UBE), which made education free and compulsory from Primary 1 to JSS3 through the introduction of UBEC (known in states as SUBEB).

Obasanjo made his mark in Healthcare delivery. The old man built Healthcentres in all of Nigeria’s 774 local governments. Each healthcentre has a generating set, well-fenced with a comprehensive laboratory. Drugs were provided. The current insecurity across the country was well contained during Obasanjo’s administration. He tamed the monster.

No doubt, Obasanjo is not a saint. But he made conscious and serious efforts to stamp out corruption from our national life. Obasanjo commissioned an investigation involving ALL the security agencies in Nigeria into all Federal Government contracts between 1976 and 1999. A comprehensive report was submitted to the Federal Executive Council with quality white paper in two volumes coming out of that report. A current Governor in Southern Nigeria was banned by the White Paper from holding public office for the rest of his life, as he was involved in a contract scam. It was Obasanjo that gave Nigeria the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and ICPC.

Obasanjo deregulated the Telecomms sector, giving us MTN, Globacom and others in place of NITEL. Nobody dared talk down on Nigeria when Obasanjo was President. He marketed Nigeria well abroad. He did not demarket Nigeria. It was Obasanjo who got us debt relief. A barrel of crude oil sold less than what it is today when Obasanjo stepped on the scene in 1999. Nigeria’s foreign reserve was almost zero. Yet, the old man left more than 60 billion dollars in the coffers when he left office.

It is not as if we hate Buhari. We believed he’ll get into office and hit the ground running. His entry into Aso Rock Villa was built on three issues: Integrity, Security and Anti-corruption. As at today, he has failed on all three issues. And, we owe it a duty to burst the propaganda balloon of his praise singers that leaders like Obasanjo are bad people. Obasanjo remains an example for Buhari to copy, not disparage as it is being done currently.

The fact remains that, from happenings in Nigeria so far, Buhari never had a plan on how to govern. His was just an ambition to rule, thus the current mess we have found ourselves in.
By WALE ADEDAYO

Featured

Lagos Assembly Rejects Egbetokun’s Stand on State Police

Published

16 hours ago

May 7, 2024

Eric

The Lagos State House of Assembly has rejected the position maintained by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Olukayode Egbetokun that Nigeria is not ripe for the establishment of State Police.

Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, directed the Clerk of the House Olalekan Onafeko, to write the Inspector-General and the National Assembly stating that the State lawmakers reject Egbetokun’s position.

The IGP, represented at a recently held one-day dialogue on state policing, themed, ‘Pathways to Peace: Reimagining Policing in Nigeria,’ opposed the establishment of state police, arguing that it would increase ethnic tension and cause divided loyalty in states of the federation.

The IGP also suggested that the Federal Road Safety Corps and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps be merged with the police force.

However, speaking at plenary on Monday, Obasa, who noted that the FRSC and the NSCDC have not been able to solve the problems of accidents on roads and pipeline vandalism respectively, wondered how effective they would be if they are merged with the police force.

“In Lagos State, we have the Security Trust Fund through which successive administrations starting from that of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu have provided enormous support to the police command in Lagos State. Yet, crime of different dimensions has continued.

“This shows that no matter what Egbetokun has proffered as solution, such won’t solve our problem. The position of the IGP is unacceptable.

“We strongly believe that if we have State Police, we would be able to solve the issues of crime in our nation or reduce it to the minimum.

“As we have seen in other climes, the United Kingdom has different levels of policing just like the United States of America. So why should ours be different?

“The lives of our people are very important and we must do everything possible to make sure we protect lives and property. We want to state categorically that we believe in state police and we want to urge the National Assembly to continue with its intendment to establish state police through the process of constitutional amendment,” Obasa said while praising President Tinubu for his resolve to end insecurity in the country.

Commending the Speaker for his stand on the issue of state police, the lawmaker representing Badagry Constituency 1, argued that with its current structure, it would be difficult for the Nigeria Police Force to effectively secure the country.

Also declaring his support for State Police, another lawmaker, Hon. Sa’ad Olumoh (Ajeromi/Ifelodun 1), said each Nigerian state currently has a local security outfit in the semblance of state police.

“Today, which State does not have State Police one way or the other? This is a cause that should be supported. For the IG to come out and say state police is not in the interest of Nigeria shows he is not considering the reality of insecurity on Nigerians,” he said.

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Police Arrest Kidnap Suspects Who Slept Off After Abducting Pastor’s Wife, Others

Published

2 days ago

May 6, 2024

Eric

The Police in Ondo State have arrested five suspected kidnappers who abducted a pastor’s wife and two other persons.

They were arrested after their victims identified one of them.

The victims reportedly escaped when the kidnappers slept off while taking them to their den.

It was gathered that the effect of hard drugs taken by the kidnappers made them to fall asleep.

Names of the suspected kidnappers were given as Garuba Mumuni, 27; Yusuf Tale, 21; Kabiru Muhammed, 16; Shaibu Umar and Adamu Mohammed, aged 22.

Police said the suspects were arrested by men of the Ofosu Division after the victims identified one of them.

The police said: “A case of kidnapping was reported at Ofosu Division, that a pastor’s wife and a member were kidnapped in the church while the third victim was kidnapped while picking snails at the farm. The victims however, escaped from their assailants at different dates after they had taken hard drugs and slept off.

“Through intelligence on the 1st of May, 2024, five amongst the six kidnappers were arrested by men of Ofosu division and have been identified by the victims as part of the gang that abducted them.

“On the 28th of March, 2024 at about 1800hrs, a case of kidnapping was reported at Ifon police station, in which two people were abducted and a woman killed by suspected kidnappers.

“Police detectives from the division in collaboration with local vigilantes arrested one Muhammad Bello, Muhammad Suraju and Suleiman Saliu.

One of the victims identified two of the suspects as part of the people who kidnapped him and collected the sum of N1,800,000 as ransom before he was released.”

Ondo State Police Commissioner, Peter Abayomi, said the suspects would be charged to court after investigation

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Dele Momodu Speaks on EFCC, Yahaya Bello’s Case, Others

Published

2 days ago

May 5, 2024

Eric

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dele Momodu, has faulted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s conduct in its attempt to prosecute the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.

He said he had expected the anti-graft agency’s boss, Ola Olukoyede, to have learnt from the cases of his predecessors, who he said were “booted out ignominiously”.

Momodu, who spoke on his Instagram Live show, while responding to questions on the burning topic by viewers, also frowned at the issue of selective prosecution, saying “a situation where EFCC would have to be told who can be touched and who cannot be touched is unacceptable.”

He said, “When they brought in the new chairman, I thought oh, you will have the benefit of learning from your predecessors. All of them were booted out ignominiously and if I were in the shoes of the current chairman, what I will simply do is make sure I do my job as meticulously, as professionally, as efficiently as possible. And, you will never go wrong if you obey the rule of law.

“I watched the EFCC chairman, I think either last week or the week before the last, I was almost crying because the way he went on and on..if I don’t do this… spitting fire and all.. you don’t have to do media trial.”

When asked if EFCC was lying about the former Governor, he said, “I have no idea, I don’t work for EFCC but from all the things that I have read, a lot of them, they misfired. That is the honest truth. They misfired. They didn’t do their due diligence. When you said a man took out money and paid for his children’s school fees, just as he was about to leave power, and you go and check the documents and you see that these things started happening from 2021, 2022 (laughs); I am not an illiterate.

“How do you expect me to believe everything they said when they were too much in a hurry to prosecute him that they did not take their time to check the file. Once you allow a lacuna in law, everything will fall flat. “That is it. I am not one of those people who will say because I don’t like APC and because I supported Dino Melaye in the last election in Kogi State. Dino is my guy. But, I will not because of that be blinded by hatred for Yahaya Bello and say yes, he should go and surrender himself to EFCC when there is an existing injunction.

“And he is not the only governor who went to court and if the court has granted him that, so be it. We all know that our judiciary is not so perfect but you know, even at that, law is law, it must be obeyed. If we disobey the rule of law, then, we will have to obey the rule of the jungle. So, I never said that they are lying, it is their own statement that shows that they didn’t do their due diligence.”

Momodu, a PDP presidential aspirant, advised President Bola Tinubu not to allow people mislead him into disregarding the rule of law, saying those people would not be there for him tomorrow.

“My advice to President Tinubu is, don’t listen to all these people who will run away when tomorrow comes. Just follow the rule of law. I am appealing, obey the rule of law…. A situation where the EFCC will have to be told who can be touched, who cannot be touched; It is unacceptable. It is unacceptable! And that is why a lot of people have given up. You can see that a lot of serious people are not even interested in whatever they are doing to Yahaya Bello. A lot of people are not interested because they have felt all the gra gra before, it is nothing new,” he stated.

The veteran journalist added that there were a lot of criminals in the system to prosecute but a situation where the agency was getting personal on just one person was uncalled for.

“Nigerians should stop wasting time. There are a lot of criminals in our system to prosecute but when the chairman who should take the people to court comes and say to one person, ‘if I don’t prosecute you to conclusion, I will resign’, that is getting personal. You don’t need all that,” he pointed out.

He disclosed that one of his favourite books while growing up was The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine and that it had influenced him so much that he would always defend the rights of everybody to fair hearing even if he had something against the person.

“I don’t hate anybody as a Christian. I don’t have anything against Yahaya Bello. If they like, they can choose to jail him for one million years, as long as you try him properly. This is my position, you can quote me on it,” he said.

Still on the issue of school fees, Momodu said, “I mean, I looked at the issue of school fees. Before I read, I was like how can somebody pay that kind of money? Then, when I read, it was something else I was seeing. They said he paid upfront just before he left government, and when I checked, that was not what happened. How can you try people before you will go and examine the fact?”

On if he had resigned from the PDP, he said, “If I resign, that means I am quiting. No, I am still a member of the PDP. I said it clearly after the election in 2022 during the PDP primary, they asked us, if you don’t get our ticket, are you going go jump ship? And, I said, I can’t, I won’t jump ship and I stand by that.”

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