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Nigeria: From Maradona to Pele by
When it was announced a couple of years or so ago that Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo would be one of the candidates in the Nigerian Presidential Elections, I simply dropped my ahead and said loudly to myself and friends around me, “The Hausa-Fulani oligarchy are at it again, and the so-called Yoruba leadership will never learn!” It was pretty clear what was going to happen next. Perhaps, the person I pitied the most was Chief Oluyemi Falae, who was essentially hoodwinked (along with the Nigerian masses) into thinking that there was in actuality the emergence of a democratic order. However, it was quite evident to young “whippersnappers” (at least that is what our know-it-all elders think we are) like myself as well as other objective and rational observers of the Nigerian political scene that what was in essence transpiring was a Presidential Selection and not an election as many were made to believe. If the north was actually interested in appeasing the Yoruba for the June 12th Imbroglio, are we to believe that there were no other sons of Oodua with integrity, character and more importantly, a broad national appeal? Was Aremu Obasanjo, an individual that can’t even win an election in his personal barnyard if the participants were blindfolded, the one to lead Nigeria out of a mess that in fact began during his “first coming?” My answer to these poignant questions is a resounding NO! When Obasanjo was declared the victor in the presidential elections, I wept for Nigeria. Why? Because I knew that Nigeria was once again in the hands of not only a proven failure but also a renowned quisling and chronic coward, who lacked the maxi, courage and conviction to tackle the real issues afflicting Nigeria and Nigerians, head-on! You see, Obasanjo is an individual that usually feels strong when he is taking on those that he perceives to be vulnerable, such as the Igbo or the people in the Niger Delta. However, when it comes to taking on the Hausa-Fulani oligarchy, you can almost feel the air come out of his “courage balloon”. A friend of mine once retorted when constantly harangued about the fact that Obasanjo led the Federal Troops in to the civil war, “look, Obasanjo fought in the civil war only because he couldn’t fight for the other side.” I was absolutely dumbfounded on hearing this, as that was in essence as profound a statement as I had heard in years. Initially, the Yoruba were smart not to have cast their votes for him. However, true to the character of these morally bankrupt so-called elders, they have quickly forgotten the struggle we all went through (at home and abroad) to bring this day into being. These so-called Yoruba elders, shameless to the core, along with their other southern counterparts have forgotten the countless number of lives that were lost. They have forgotten the countless number of families that were displaced and forever scarred by the evil machinations and activities of Nigeria’s own version of the Third Reich, presided over by Babangida and Abacha. Now, they are more concerned with re-electing Obasanjo, as if there were no other Nigerians more qualified (regardless of ethnic origin) to lead Nigeria into the 21st century. Everyone seems to have forgotten that the issues confronting Nigeria are more chronic and debilitating than some 2003 Presidential Selection. Personally, I am of the opinion that the 2003 Selections be pushed back further to allow time for Nigerians to truly make a concerted effort to work out our differences, with a view to having a concrete and realistic idea as to where we are actually headed; and I must say that so far, Aremu Obasanjo does not seems best placed to lead this nation to the promised land. At any rate, giving the present state of affairs in the country, Nigeria will without a shadow of a doubt cease to exist as a nation after 2003 (if it makes it till then). If some people still think that they were born to rule, then they must also surely understand that the other Nigerian nationalities are well within their rights to show them exactly where the borders end! Aremu, on his part has failed to deliver on all the pledges he made at his inaugural address. Whether it is on the issue of graft, economic restructuring, education, provision of basic amenities as well as a smaller and more efficient federal government, he has balked. Recently, in a newspaper interview, he blamed legal technicalities for his administrations inability to prosecute alleged corrupt ministers. What hogwash! What ever happened to his inaugural pledge to flush out corruption in all spheres of government. Aremu, are we to believe that the “sacred cows” are now holding you hostage? As Gabriel Meurier once said, “He who excuses himself accuses himself.” Recently also, he donated N50,000 to the launching of a book on “How to be an inept leader” written by his 1979 Fulani imposition, Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari. I wonder what exactly an empty barrel like Shehu Shagari has to say about leadership… “Just wing it even if you don’t get it?” Now back to farmer Aremu; one wonders exactly whom he thought he was fooling when in defence of the donation to Shagari’s exercise in intellectual buffoonery, he claimed that the donation was actually his own personal money. Well, I thought we just heard recently that he and Abubakar “Omowale” Atiku had not been paid… so, where did Aremu get N50,000 from? Oh, I forgot, just like Babangida, he too did not come into government a broke man… abi? How does Aremu want the common man to feel when his so-called President is donating N50,000 to a book launching, when he can’t even put food on his own table! Look, I have said it time and time again; it is impossible for an individual as shady, unprincipled and lacking in integrity and character as Obasanjo, to flush out the cancer of corruption in Nigeria. If you thought Babangida was Maradona, then I can assure you that farmer Aremu is Pele`. Even the western leaders know how corrupt Obasanjo is; I hear it in conversations with well placed political figures here all the time. Why do you think real investors are still shying away from Nigeria? Would you put your hard-earned money into a “fire brigade” economy of a country living on borrowed time? I think not! The truth is as clear as night and day. Nigeria is finished and Obasanjo without a doubt is the last President of a united Nigeria, if the current situation persists! A word of advice to all who truly care about the welfare of the south, from the southwest to the southeast; be prepared and get ready, for the day of liberation is fast approaching. It is precisely how the most high had ordained it and no one, no matter how powerful they may think they are can stop this fast approaching tidal wave of freedom. “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” …Sherlock Holmes Soboyejo Alaba Akinboyede Awosika-Coker, Seattle, Washington
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