Crisis of Succession in Nigeria
by
Nigeria has a leadership succession problem which dates back to when the first coup was staged by the five majors on January 15, 1966. In that coup, the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was killed, and General Aguyi Ironsi being the most senior military officer then, took over the mantle of leadership.
Right from day one, General Ironsi's government was not accepted by a section of the country because the January 15, 1966 coup was perceived to be an Igbo agenda to seize political power at the centre. Despite Ironsi's spirited efforts to stop a counter coup, he did not impress those who hated to see his face and by July 29, 1966, the Head of State was slain in Ibadan. General Ironsi was accused by his detractors, of signing into law the unification decree. He was accused of being a dullard and a drunkard - a case of giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it. But Chuks Iloogbunam in his book IRONSIDE has told us that General Ironsi was the first Nigerian to command the Nigerian Army, the first Nigerian Military Head of State, the first Nigerian to command a United Nation's Force, and the first Nigerian military officer to pass Staff College.
Now, when General Ironsi was slain, the expectation of Nigerians was that the military had an established hierarchy and would stick strictly to the known tradition of seniority in the force and consequently allow the most senior officer, Brigadier Ogundipe, to take over. But those who killed Ironsi had other plans. They went twelve steps backwards to select General Gowon as the Head of State. Chief Pini Jason in the review of IRONSIDE hit the nail on the head when he said: "For some people, to demonise General Ironsi was the only way to rationalise their acts of perfidy, treachery, pogrom and genocide. The truth was that when the rump of the Federal Executive Council handed over the government to General Ironsi, power shifted, for the first time, from the North to the South and the North was hell-bent to get it back by-all means, including pogrom. In short, Ironsi was a mere sacrificial lamb for a sectional greed for power. Chief MKO Abiola was to be the second of such victim of greed for power, only this time, they used assassination. If Ironsi was killed for being a bungling fool, why was he not succeeded by Brigadier Ogundipe as insisted by Colonel Ojukwu?"
General Gowon led Nigeria through a civil war from 1966 to 1970, and promised to hand over power to civilians in 1975. By 1974, Gowon started to sing a different tune by saying that 1975 is no longer realistic, after ruling for words years. On July 29, 1975, General Murtala Mohammed overthrew General Gowon. Colonel Bukar Sukar Dimka stopped Murtala on February 13, 1976. Dimka's coup did not succeed and General Obasanjo, Murtala's second-in-command took over and eventually handed over power to civilians on October 1, 1979 as promised by General Murtala. But the truth must be told that President Shehu Shagari who took over from General Obasanjo was made to ' win" so that feathers will not be ruffled. Many believed that General Obasanjo was not really in control from the way Shagari was made president in spite of protests that greeted the elections. It would have been considered suicidal for Obasanjo to hand over power to Chief Obafemi Awolowo, another Yoruba man despite the fact that he did not lose the election to Shagari. Do not forget the mathematical absurdity called 122/3 used to justify Shagari's 'victory'.
President Shagari ruled from October 1,1979 to December 31,1983 when some hawks in the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), felt that if President Shagari was not removed by arrangement, the power sharing agreement of the party that is likely to produce a southern president in 1987 would come to fruition. The so-called landslide 'victory' of the 1983 presidential elections did not help matters. The ruling party seized Bendel State by force, and handed it over to Samuel Ogbemudia. The former Anambra State was forcefully taken from Chief Jim Nwobodo and handed over to Chief C.C. Onoh. In Oyo State, every attempt to take the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) controlled state was stoutly and vehemently rebuffed by Chief Bola Ige who went to the television house in Ibadan to ask his people to resist any attempt to take the state by NPN. But the state was nonetheless taken and handed to Dr. Omololu Olunloyo. In Ondo State, NPN and UPN engaged each other in a fierce battle that left many people dead including a renowned publisher, Chief Fagbamigbe of Fagbamigbe Publishers Ltd. Chief Akin Omoboriowo whom NPN used to fraudulently take over power from the late Chief Ajasin had to run away to Lagos to save his dear life. Governor Mbakwe was compelled to go to the television house to announce himself the winner before the official result came out in order to prevent the NPN wuruwuru and magomago. Such was the level of crisis of succession as recorded in 1983. By December 31, 1983 the Second Republic was sacked, as Shagari was carefully and promptly removed to pave way for another northern leader in the person of General Buhari. By August 27, 1985, General Babangida staged a palace coup to remove Buhari from the seat of government.
Babangida's promise to hand over power in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993 failed woefully and he crowned it all by annulling a-N40 billion transition programme that had produced council chairmen, governors, national and state assembly members and the president-elect. By August 26, 1993, his cup was full and he was disgraced out of office to the extent that he forgot to read a farewell address to the military establishment. Forget about Chief Shonekan's interim arrangement because he did not come to power through election or coup plot (the two ways to get to power) as Babangida only used him to negotiate his way out of power, having boxed himself into a corner.
General Sani Abacha came on November 17, 1993 having sacked effortlessly, Chief Shonekan's interim contraption. Abacha promised that his government will be very brief. He never fulfilled that promise to hand over power to civilians until he died in office on June 8, 1998.
General Abdulsalami Abubakar found himself in the saddle as the Head of State. By the time General Abacha died, all the known bags of tricks of a section of the country to continue to enslave other sections had been exposed and therefore, their political engine was damaged beyond repairs. They had no alternative than to leave the presidential seat for others. Two presidential candidates emerged from the Yoruba nation by arrangement and one candidate, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo won the election, and was sworn-in on May 29, 1999.
President Obasanjo and the governors have not stayed up to two years in office and yet the clamour for re-election in 2003 has enveloped the entire political landscape. Some governors say they have been nominated as candidates for 2003 elections. In Anambra State, Governor Mbadinuju said he has been endorsed by Okada riders and market women for 2003. Governor Orji Uzor Kalu said there would be bloodshed in Abia State if he loses the election in 2003. The same Governor Kalu had told us that foreign investors are waiting until the country has had a crisis-free transition from civilian to civilian. Today, almost all the governors are seriously campaigning for re-election even when they still have two years to go in the first term Granted that the constitution guarantees a second term to the elected office holders in local, state and the federal governments, it should not be a matter of life and death for any public office holder. The blackmail and intimidation going on at the federal, local and state government levels must be stopped forthwith. Chief Gani Fawehinmi has been so disturbed about the 2003 that he wants the army to handle the elections.
The only condition necessary to give anybody a second term is good performance. No governor or any elected representative can get a second term by mere empty threats and mouthing of platitudes. The president is also inclusive. Nigeria has paid tremendous price in tenns of both human and material resources in the crisis associated with leadership succession. Time has come for us to address the problem frontally. Any governor who is doing very well the way Senator Bola Tinubu is doing in Lagos State deserves his second term but no governor who performs below expectation should be allowed to remain in office. Already, I have heard some people suggesting a five-year one term for the governors and the temptation, judging from the attitudes of some of the governors is to support the idea but it may deny some good governors their well- deserved second term. Again, many have argued that a one-term five-year tenure for the governors will encourage the looting of the state treasuries, and their fears are equally justified.
Finally, let it be told that time has come for Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of service and not see public office as a do or die affair. Nigerian leaders should be educated enough to know the meaning of smooth transfer of power. The latest presidential elections in the United States with its attendant controversy and the maturity exhibited by the two presidential candidates, Bush and Al Gore should be emulated by Nigerian leaders. Until we practise politics without bitterness, as suggested by late Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim, the crisis of leadership succession will continue to take its toll on Nigeria.