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The Curse of Odi. By The recent t outburst of General Malu(rtd), the erstwhile chief of army staff is revealing of the type and quality of leadership we have in all spheres of our national life. It was very easy for the Newswatch journalists to 'wind' him up. Malu is an angry man, indeed. His anger could not have been derived from hunger. This is because we all know as an Abacha yes boy, he should not be want of material wealth, not yet. He comes out like a wounded lion, whose ego had been mortally ended. In his attempt to weep up sentiments and anger against his enemies, Danjuma and Obasanjo, he allowed his wit and decorum to take leave of him. He needed very little prompting to condemn himself and destroy whatever image some people have of him as a good soldier. He was naïve, senseless, unwittingly contradictory and utterly reckless in his reaction to questions in the Newswatch interview.
For the avoidance of being misrepresented, this writer condemns in all totality the use of the army to quell domestic riots whether in Zaki-Biam, Odi or anywhere else in Nigeria. This is the job of the police. The use of the military is an admission that the police suffer fundamental inadequacies. It is also an admission that the government is failing by not providing the resources for appropriate policing needs of the nation. The army is to protect the territorial integrity of the nation means defending us against external aggression.
There is no difference in my own assessment of what happened in Zaki-Biam and Odi. Soldiers, and unreasonable, disproportionate force were used to settle a discord that would otherwise have been contained by a well-trained and equipped police force. Obasanjo's government must carry the blame to eternity. The chiefs of army staff who masterminded the barbaric acts must be ashamed of themselves and if they have any decency apologise to both communities as a first step towards building bridges. The military incursion into politics and especially the rogue governments of Babangida and Abacha have turned soldiers from being gentlemen to hooligans with no respect for human beings constituted authorities.
Malu had always been unable to distinguish between loyalty to the nation and his commander -in -chief. This man is a bundle of contradictions and the nuisance value of his utterances are doing a lot of damage to himself and his community, to whom he has just become a later day champion. He talked about hundred percent loyalty to his commander -in-chief. Maybe he gave the hundred percent to Abacha, he certainly did not give it to Obasanjo, the man who made him the army chief. He was the most vocal criticising his boss's policy of military cooperation with the US and British armies. What went 'wrong'? Malu himself provided the answer to this last question, though unwittingly. Obasanjo' government did not release enough money for him. Mind you in the last twenty years before he became the chief of army staff, the position like others is an instant passport to becoming a multi US dollar millionaire. Obasanjo blocked the Babangida tactics of opening the treasury to his friends and army chiefs. Malu would not have this. How come he was 'unlucky'? President Obasanjo had warned that it would not be business as usual. Malu went on the offensive attacking government policy.
Is this hundred percent loyalty to his C-in-C. I think so not. I would not lose a sleep over his statement that the easiest thing was to overthrow the Obj government. This is because he had no guts to do it whilst he was the chief of the army. He is now encouraging some stupid officers through his utterances that a military coup is 'easy'. You do not need to be a military expert to realise that the recent events of set-up coup in the army would make soldiers to think twice, thrice etc about any attempt to draft them into coup plotting. Apart from this mistrust, which has kept soldiers away from even military messes, the military is as divided as any imaginable divisions in the Nigerian society. There are ethnic, religion and regional loyalties.
The second position against coup plotting is the local and international opinion. The world movement is towards eliminating dictatorships and the ability of a coup plotter to garner international support for terminating our infant democracy is highly diminished. There are vast sections of the country that would move against a military intervention making the country ungovernable, which may lead towards instability and even disintegration.
I do not know what steps were taken by Obasanjo, Danjuma and other military advisers to forestall military adventurism, it should be clear to all and sundry that these men are no pushovers when it comes to the administration or misadministration of the Nigerian military. Their records of military achievements would surpass hundreds of Malus. They were commanding officers of the only real military exercise that the army embarked upon, the civil war.
So Mr Malu, why did you not plot a coup at the time you were the chief. No one buys your "loyalty tell-tale", because if you were you would not criticise your C-in-C the way you did on military alliances with the US. The fact is 'you do not have the bottle'. Another way of saying you are a real coward. When your god, Abacha was forming military alliances with rogue governments of North Korea and Libya did you criticise him?
It is ridiculous talking about the expertise of the Nigerian army to conduct peace missions. We were there for over ten years, hundred of millions of dollars wasted, thousands of soldiers dead due to military inefficiencies and inadequacies, yet there was no semblance of peace until the US and UK governments made more input. Could Mr Malu tell us how many soldiers were lost under his command apart from the 800 whom he claimed he buried? Under what circumstances did the army suffer these fatal casualties. Now you mention 800 men buried as if they were malus(cows) put down for suffering mad cow disease. Are you a Dracula? This man no dey shame sef. He whom the gods want to destroy, they first made mad. The curse or curses of Odi is/are on the roll. Those who have offended the spirits beware.
June 2002
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