GENERALS ARE COMING: SHOULD THEY BE WELCOME? WHY NOT? [3]

by

Professor Omo Omoruyi

Research Fellow, African Studies Center, Boston University

This is a continuation of the debate on the ‘Generals are Coming’. My focus in the three-part essay is on what the retired Generals say themselves, to the phenomenon. How do they see the phenomenon? Do they see it as good for democracy or do they see it as an impediment to democracy?

In Part (1) I tried to set the basis for looking at the phenomenon. It is not a moral or an ethical issue outside the Constitution and the governing laws on the qualification for running for any office. In my view it should also be looked at from human rights point of view. I urged Nigerians to apply the freedoms allowed Nigerians in the Constitution to be applicable to all Nigerians from all walks of life. I also urged Nigerians not to work against the human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a party. I also urged Nigerians to develop a yardstick for evaluating candidates based on their beliefs and vision and on what in concrete terms the candidates plan to do for Nigeria.

In Part (2), I presented the height of insensitivity argument of President Obasanjo, which he used for evaluating the retired military officers who want to enter politics. It should be noted that President Obasanjo is a retired General who held many command and political posts between 1966 to 1979 culminating in the position of Head of State between 1976 and 1979.

In this part, i.e Part (3), I shall be presenting the human rights/democracy argument of General Tunde Ogbeha, a retired officer. General Ogbeha held many command and political assignments in his military career.

We should also review what he said on the notion, ‘Generals are Coming’. I shall try to contrast what he said with what President Obasanjo said, which formed the basis of Part (2) of this essay. I hope Nigerians would discuss the matter dispassionately because it is real.

The phenomenon of the soldiers getting involved in politics is not new but what is new is the phenomenon of getting involved in the formation of political associations, which became part of Nigerian political life since 1980s. In the early 1970s (1970-1975) there was no need for retired military officers aspiring to politics because there were no political activities.

Between 1975 and 1979 under Generals Murtala and Obasanjo retired military officers took to business and farming and only one or two ever featured in the political parties.

Some retired military officers, as individuals participated in partisan politics between 1979 and 1983. For examples, the former military Governor of Rivers and Bendel States under General Gowon, Commander Alfred Diette-Spiff and Brigadier-General Samuel Ogbemudia respectively functioned in various parties during the Second Republic. Commander Diette-Spiff was the Rivers State Chairman of the Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP) and General Ogbemudia was the elected Governor under the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in 1983. Also General Benjamin Adekunle and Col. Tony Ochefu were key actors in the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) in 1979.

In the late 1980s under the regime of General Babangida, two developments were noticeable. One, was the growing number of retired military officers showing interest in politics after dominating the business sector. Second, were the subterranean activities of some serving officers under the administration of General Babangida in the formation of the political associations, which were evident in some of the 13 unregistered political associations in 1989. This was partly responsible for the cancellation of the 13 political associations and the decision of the military President to take his colleagues by surprise by naming two political parties. I shall deal with this phenomenon in detail in my forthcoming book on the issues in the design of the program of democratic transition between 1985 and 1993.

A retired military officer, General Shehu Yar’Adua was able to put together civilian political actors all over the country in 1988. This was a factor in the formation of the Peoples Front, which later assumed the dominant force in the Social Democratic Party between 1989 and 1993. The Yar’Adua’s machine still continues as the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) up till today. What was the secret of this retired General? He did not surround himself with other retired officers; he trusted the people and he cultivated groups in society in the south and in the north as the basis of democracy. He relished in mobilizing groups for his movement. Can any of the Generals being mentioned today replicate what General Yar’Adua did?

A new situation developed in 1998. This had to do with how the retired military officers became a factor in the hijacking of the Peoples Democratic Party and the election of President Obasanjo in 1999. They are still a factor in the survival kit of the current administration.

A new phenomenon is developing today. Instead of the retired officers going it alone with Nigerians with no military background, they are now herding together and becoming a factor in determination of other political formations. This phenomenon is going to be with us for a long time. What do Nigerians expect from this phenomenon? This is the subject of this part of the three-part essay.

When Nigerians started seeing the young northerners in Ikoyi, they did not know what was happening until the newspaper raised the issue, ‘Mallams are coming’. Other Nigerians did not raise alarm even though they were apprehensive. I see the emergence of this new set of politicians as identical to ‘Mallams are Coming’. Nigerians are today faced with the number of retired military officers in the formation of political parties. Yes, Generals are Coming! Should the ‘Generals’ be welcome, just as we welcomed the ‘Mallams’ in the 1960s? Nigerians should discuss the matter dispassionately because it is part of Nigerian political life today and I am sure for many years to come.

The Contributions of General Tunde Ogbeha.

OGBEHA’S Human Rights/Democracy Argument.

General Tunde Ogbeha held many command and political appointments between 1970 and 1993. He retired as Brigadier General when General Sani Abacha took over in November 1993. He, like President Obasanjo joined the Peoples Democratic Party. He contested and won an election to the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1998.

On whether the Generals should be welcome as an elected President of Nigeria, General Tunde Ogbeha was very forthright in telling Nigerians that

This was the banner headline in the Sunday Vanguard interview he granted Emmanuel Aziken on the notion, the Generals are Coming. See the Sunday Vanguard, May 13, 2001. Senator Ogbeha’s view is applicable equally to General Obasanjo, his former boss and friend, General Babangida, if he chooses to run and any other retired military officers for that matter.

It should be noted that General Ogbeha was making his views known in Nigeria through the Sunday Vanguard about the same time the Guardian reporter was asking President Obasanjo the same question in the US.

To the second aspect of the question dealing with the retired military officers setting up political parties, General Ogbeha was blunt. Unlike General Obasanjo, Senator Ogbeha did not see anything wrong with the ‘Generals are Coming’ generally. He supported the idea of the retired military officers getting involved in the formation of new political association.

Still unlike President Obasanjo, who did not appreciate the rights available to Nigerians under the human rights regime, General Ogbeha saw the matter as a human rights issue. From the way General Ogbeha spoke, he demonstrated a knack for the requirements of the new democracy. Hence he, unlike President Obasanjo tried to convince his readers that he is a strong believer in democracy and would want the ‘Generals are Coming’ be resolved by applying the rights available to all Nigerians in the Constitution and under the human rights regime.

Maybe we should pose these questions for President Obasanjo to ponder over:

Does President Obasanjo feel that the right to get involved in politics and run for office only applies to him alone?

Does President Obasanjo want the practice stopped with his reign?

Why does President Obasanjo feel that, that right should be denied to other retired military officers?

What sets him aside from other retired Generals?

How does the President resort to the ‘height of insensitivity’ argument?

Should the ‘height of insensitivity’ argument not be left to the Nigerian people to determine?

Does President Obasanjo believe in the ‘will of the people’ as the basis of government, a requirement in the various human rights regime, such as the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights?

These are some of the disturbing questions in the utterances of President Obasanjo.

Unlike the President, a retired General and a fellow member of the PDP, General Ogbeha saw the formation of new political associations differently. General Ogbeha saw the formation of new political associations by retired military officers as one of the democracy dividends. According to him,

It is interesting. One good aspect of democracy is that it guarantees freedom of association and I don’t see anything wrong if they decide to form an association that will metamorphose into a party as long as they operate within the ambits of the law’.

He went on:

They are just doing what other citizens or what other Nigerians are doing’

 General Ogbeha would have been disgusted with President Obasanjo for singling out the retired military officers for condemnation.

Of course General Ogbeha would reject President Obasanjo’s caricature of retired military officers who are in search of elective roles after retirement. General Ogbeha would not see any basis for President Obasanjo’s ‘height of insensitivity’ argument.

According to General Ogbeha,

Maybe he would have said that what matters would be (a) the vision of the person aspiring to political role, whether with a military background or with no military background and (b) what the Nigerian people say about such a vision and the person. These are the two critical factors to be used to determine who becomes a President in future even though these were not used to make General Obasanjo the President in 1999.

General Ogbeha made a profound statement, which should be relevant to those who want to compare any two or so number of candidates in any election in future. According to General Ogbeha, Nigerians should not prejudge anybody. General Ogbeha urged Nigerians to apply a common yardstick to measure the Nigerian candidates with military background and Nigerians with no military background.

In furtherance of the above, General Ogbeha would want Nigerians to take into account two conditions.

One is the Nigerian people should consider:

This is what I call vision. I shall come back to this again. I would recall that I challenged those who want me to support Admiral Aikhomu and General Nwachukwu in response to the question ‘After Obasanjo: Who/What?, that they should let Nigerians know their visions for Nigeria.

I kept raising one question with the people of the oil producing areas and other parts of Nigerian including the Arewa leaders who are complaining, what did their candidate promise them, when they were supporting him in 1999? Up till now I am yet to be told of any concrete promise made by candidate Obasanjo in 1999. Of course, it is a matter of history that the international community and the retired military officers from the north stole or military jacked the PDP from its founders and made it to nominate Chief Obasanjo.

These two groups and not the political party urged Nigerians to accept General Obasanjo as the President in 1999 on the assurance that two ends would be met. One, was that a President Obasanjo would be a ‘bridge’ between the past and the future and, two, was that a President Obasanjo would resolve or would set in motion the machinery for resolving the lingering political problems afflicting Nigerian since 1993 or 1960. Did he meet these two ends? I made my views known in the past. Today, I shall leave the verdict to other Nigerians.

My view today, which was made clear in my essay was that President Obasanjo should NOT be a victim of the pact he informally entered into with his sponsors in 1998. But that his second term should depend on how he fares by the end of this year as a ‘bridge’ and as a ‘problem solver’.

Two General Ogbeha advised Nigerians to withhold judgment and allow Nigerians to determine who rules under one and only condition, which is:

This is what is referred to as the voters’ preference.

In part (1), I dwelt on the contest between a retired military officer from Katsina and an experienced politician from Lagos in a contest in Lagos for votes during the party’s primary. I am referring to the contest between General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and Alhaji LK Jakande in the SDP Presidential primary in 1992. The retired General who is from the north and not a Yoruba successfully defeated a former Governor and a Yoruba in a Yoruba State of Lagos. It was the voters who believed in General Yar’Adua and not in Alhaji Jakande. That was the preference of the people of Lagos State and what they took into account in their decision must have been a combination of many factors. Who are we to question the voters’ judgment? This is what we should encourage in the Nigerian people today and in future.

What does matter is not the type of dress whether Khaki or Agbada with apology to Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, the former Military Governor of Midwestern State of Nigeria. Nigerians would recall the kernel of the famous lecture Brigadier-General Ogbemudia delivered at Ibadan in 1974. In that lecture, Dr. Ogbemudia argued that leadership in Nigeria should not be based on the type of dress (soldiers or civilians). In his view those who aspired to rule Nigeria should be rated on the basis of their effectiveness in delivering the goods and services to the Nigerian people.

What Dr. Ogbemudia did not appreciate then was the ‘will of the people’ as the basis of leadership. One should also appreciate why Dr. Ogbemudia did not think that way in 1974 for obvious reasons. The military regime was still in vogue then and the wave of democratization had not become the worldwide phenomenon, which started in the late 1980s.

The ‘will of the people’ as the basis of leadership selection is well known in 2001, hence General Ogbeha harped on it. This is what Nigerians should be preaching. Who would not like the way he anchored his argument for welcoming Generals into partisan politics, that it should be based on the belief of Nigerian voters? Isn’t General Ogbeha a democrat? I think so. Who would quarrel with his faith in the Nigerian people to act right in throwing up leaders periodically in a free, fair election? It is this faith that we should cultivate in Nigerians.

I do not want any Nigerians, no matter how well meaning, to stand between the candidate and the Nigerian people. If Nigerians want to and did vote for a devil, it is their preference. What democracy teaches us is that there would be another opportunity for the voters to re-think their decision and maybe, change. This brings me to the position taken by General Ishola Williams.

2001