The Emerging Hosanna Singers
By
After voluntarily relinquishing power, Leopold Senghor, the charismatic ex-leader of Senegal, once argued that hero-worship or the tendency of "people" to hail the king as irreplaceable could not be possible without the approval of the so idolised.
A leader who intends to perpetuate himself in power, according to the late Senegalese president, who also happened to be a poet, would always find solace in the flattery of bootlickers and sycophants. "In a nutshell, you would agree with me that those who insist on remaining in power at all costs are victims of psychological hallucinations".
The words of Senghor, the legendary propagator of Negritude, should find a vivid illustration in the dramatic upsurge in the Obasanjo worship in recent times on the one hand and the efforts by the president's minders to disclaim the worshippers on the other. From the whispers of yesterday, the talk of Obasanjo's second term in office is fast assuming a thunderous decibel. And at a time industries are collapsing and the government seems incapable of providing jobs, more and more people are left with no option than to join this choir that choruses "Hail to the messiah", "No-one-but-you-Obasanjo".
From ministers who say there is no vacancy in Aso Rock in 2003 to governors who "can die for OBJ". Then you have all kinds of organisations mushrooming with funny names like "Obasanjo Solidarity Organisation", "Obasanjo Integrated Sup- porters", "Obasanjo/Atiku Success Movement" (which has now assigned itself the delicate job of monitoring fuel distribution around the country) etc.
Maverick politician and veteran political mercenary, Chief Arthur Nzeribe, appears the latest recruit. Never failing to bring his own grotesque fanaticism to anything, Nzeribe has gone ahead to announce the formation of Movement for National Consciousness and Accommodation (MONAC) which, according to him, will galvanise support from the National Assembly and the three political parties to make Obasanjo the sole candidate in 2003. If second term is what the imperial king desires, he will get it. And if his errand-boys are uncertain about how to go about it, now they have a tested Bulldozer who will not make any pretext but go out and clear the road. And part of the new fear now is this Nzeribe threat in itself. George Santayana always reminds us that fanaticism consists of redoubling one's efforts even when the aim has been forgotten. And Nzeribe, just like the fanatic Santayana idealises, has a congenital predisposition to carry things to the extreme.
Predictably, the presidency has dissociated itself from the Nzeribe's group.
In a sharp reaction on Monday, Mr. Tunji Oseni, Special Assistant to the president on Media and Publicity, said that much as the president agrees that there is freedom of association and freedom of expression such should, however, not be abused. The president, according to him, still stands by his earlier declaration that he has not decided for or against seeking a second term. But, with the benefit of experience, only a few Nigerians will readily buy that disclaimer of Nzeribe yet. Indeed, when a mystery Dr. Atkins began to talk about the desirability of having more years of IBB in the late 80s, many did not see the handwriting on the wall. True, red flags were raised in certain quarters. But Babangida and his town-criers were quick at disowning Dr. Atkins. But we are a lot wiser now. As events would later reveal, the mystery Doctor was only a forerunner to the grand pestilence of Association for Better Nigerians (ABN) which later engulfed the nation and culminated in the ruinous political crisis of 1993. Of course, the same Nzeribe was the chief undertaker. The rest is history, as they say.
Similarly, when in 1994, Alhaji Buka Mandara launched his own group, Abacha Solidarity Organisation, many were inclined to dismiss it initially as a product of the imagination of a merchant endowed with sparse cerebral facility. When in 1997 Daniel Kanu led a group of other misguided youths to form "Youths Earnestly Ask for Abacha" (YEAA), Abacha agents were quick at describing them as independents in response to insinuations that they were acting the official scripts even when Kanu was going about town with state security escorts. The rest is now history.
What is particularly deepening apprehension - if not suspicion- now is the fact that barely a year ago, the same Nzeribe spearheaded a move to sponsor an impeachment proceeding against Obasanjo based on fifteen impeachable "sins" he allegedly committed. Suddenly, the hunter has turned a hailer. We are told that this rapprochement is a product of a truce brokered between the president and his political assailant soon afterwards. The "price" is what we don't know. But granted that Nzeribe has not been commissioned directly by Obasanjo to sing his praise, speculations have been made on what could possibly be the other motives behind this spectacular U-turn by the Oguta-born politician. One is that Nzeribe, ever a shrewd tactician, is taking this step out of enlightened self- interest. This presupposes that there is indeed no other formidable contender to the throne. So, Nzeribe opts to run in the direction of the wind.
Another possibility is that he is working for the so-called invincible-but nonetheless potent-forces bent on spoiling Obasanjo's chances vis-à-vis 2003. The strategy? Having partaken in a number of political atrocities in the past like political abortion (ala June 12), Nzeribe surely now has a notoriety of being an established political mercenary. So the thinking is that once the name of Nzeribe gets attributed to the Obasanjo candidacy project, public sensibilities would be offended, thereby fanning more opposition.
But whichever the case, Obasanjo himself can hardly be absolved from blame over the new embarrassment of this MONAC in the last few days. Indeed, MONAC is only the latest symptom of the dangerous virus which infested the nation not too long ago and now has the potentials of pulling down the roof if not located and routed immediately. Nothing could be more telling than the drama that unfolded at the march past held at the Abuja parade ground on the occasion of the last National Day. Before our very eyes, a body known as Obasanjo Solidarity Organisation (OSO) was accredited to march on that symbolic day and at such a hallowed territory. All credible public organisations including the organised labour took their turn to march that day. Members of the National Youth Service Corps marched. After the corps members, paladins of OSO sallied out in their shiny apparels to take their own salute. That was not all. We also had "women wing" that invaded the ground in colourful fabric emblazoned with the portrait of Mr. President. Of course, the question to ask is when did it become correct for such bodies to be given a national platform? Their appearance may appear negligible. But it will be naive to think that they are not symbolic. With the benefit of history, it will hardly be incorrect to say that most of the stories of leaders who later loomed larger than their true worth usually have such humble beginnings. It is a misconception to think that dictatorships manifest only through physical coercion or economic subjugation. Psychic domination is another formula. You encourage people to wear your badge, wear shirts engraved with your portrait. At a time in our history, all you needed to show "patriotism" was to wear Abacha badge. It actually became a talisman to get contracts from government. All these combined could rightly be described as part of the syndrome identified by Senghor as "psychological hallucinations".
MONAC would only appear to be a reaction to the declaration by some of Obasanjo's men that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock in 2003. Nothing can be more suggestive of "psychological hallucinations". Perhaps, as a way of re-sanitising the air, it is high time the presidency came out to warn those who engage in this pastime to spare us the obscenity by being more circumspect in their words and conduct.
It will not be enough to disown MONAC. Let it also be seen that the government is not giving support whether overt or covert to bodies like OSO, OIS or whatever they call themselves. A nation that has survived the lies of ABN, YEAA surely now finds a similar forum offensive.