Obasanjo as The New Slave Master
By
I am a firm believer in the conventional wisdom that what is presently happening in AD, Afenifere and the West bodes so much ill will to
the present republic. I am guided, in this by history- hard, solid history which had traced this very predictable course in the attempts made to build on,
and solidify democratic governance in Nigeria. I am a firm believer in the selfsame conventional wisdom that the veiled attempt to break AD and pull down
the last bastion of progressive politics and make the polity amenable to the political intrigues of the enduring conservative spectra of Nigerian
politics.
Make no mistake about it; there are a hell lot of things that do not jell about our present political space and parties- AD inclusive. There are so many
flotsam and jetsam in the inherent building blocks of the three political parties that have conspired to make them incapable to substitute for our dream
political parties and the nostalgic dreams we have nursed for the fourth republic.
There then arises the great need to re-order the chips and use the remnants of the existing three political parties to create newer political fronts that
are ideologically coherent and with faultless impressions of the problems embedded in the directive principles of fundamental state policy.
But then, the AD stands out as the austere, Spartan, but very solid camp for the battle-wearied Trojans that formed the very last bulwark against a
rampaging military in the country, as the fight against militarism lasted. It provided a canopy for the very last genre of Nigerian politicians, who
refused to submerge their voices in the din of rot that infected politicians, as the years of regrettable infamy lasted.
By the time the bugle sounded, to place a lid on military rule, this scion was already weary and materially deprived. Guided by the bitter experiences of
the military, especially during the twilight days of Babangida and during the Abacha years, this political class needed a certain minimum entry scale, to
ensure that the sordid past was not repeated. The AD, as a political party, by this exclusive desire, came to acquire a certain degree of insularity,
which admitted only those without the demonstrable penchant to jump ship, at each political twist, to embark on the ride of fortune, which had formed the
pastime of most politicians in Nigeria.
Faced with a paltry war chest, AD was able to corner the six South Western states during the Abubakar transition. This was the least electoral fortune
among the three registered political parties, but arguably, this created the most solid electoral base among the parties. Come to think of it, the APP
maintained a solid , presence in the far North, with a sprinkle of presence in some other parts of the country, which was soon to percolate after the
general election because of the predictable opportunistic schism, which infected the ranks and file of the party as soon as the Abubakar transition
programme wounded up.
The PDP is an accidental throw-up that provided providential nest to a pot-pourri of political opportunists, swindlers, yeomen, odd hands, and sundry
speculators and moneychangers. As a result, the party lacks an ideological thrust, a defined and definable mission, an entry point and a character trait
needed to imbue coherence, unity and purpose to a ruling party. All these translate to vicious contradictions whose ability to tear the party to shreds is
a certainty waiting to happen.
Given the scenario, as above, AD stood out as the oak of strength, which is solidified by the experiences of the founding fathers during the Babangida and
Abacha years; when most of those that strut and fret over us today, chose to be women so as to maximize rotten gains. To further this imperative function,
the AD was firmly rooted in the South West; where the battle for the fourth republic democracy was fought and won and where politics operates at an
above-average scale. This region understandably, reserves the largest poach of solid progressive politicians, who could be counted upon any day to stand
down dictatorships ,of whatever hue. To keep the party's strength, AD spawned a symbiotic relationship with NADECO and Afenifere, which was to ensure that
necessary discipline, codes and ethics were maintained as buzzwords for political coherence and strict adherence to principles and ideals which the party
stands for. This will, in turn, ensure that whenever the military strikes again, a scion will be counted to lead the battle against it.
This provided the solid foundation, which the other parties lacked and which earned the AD the present syndicated conspiracy of those who wish the
emasculation of AD as the needed password to latch open Nigerian politics and space to the unrestricted hands of the conservative political class, which
dominates the present political space, as well as the two other parties.
The magic wand enroute this open space, is the Obasanjo presidency, which was intended as an anticlimactic satiation of the long-drawn gritty struggle for
a southern president. When the country's conservative political class and their military collaborators passed this through, the other conspiracies began
to unfurl. The division and balkanization of AD was executed from within the family but with script written in Aso Rock. The foisting of malleable,
nondescript pawns as AD leaders in Abuja Eagles Square, in November 2000, was the topping of this plot.
But then, it must be healthy to point out that this is a time-wearied script, which Akintola played in the sixties, which Adisa Akinloye, Akin Omoboriowo,
Omololu Olunloyo, Samuel Afolabi, etc. played in the second republic. It was the same script that was exhumed by Bode Olajumoke, Lamidi Adedibu, Arisekola
Alao, Jubril Martins-Kuye, Segun Agagu, Dapo Sarumi, Doyin Okupe, Jakande, Babatope etc. during the Abacha years. It is the same script that Obasanjo,
with the help of Bola Ige, Adewale Thompson. Wahab Dosunmu, and the perennial lapdogs of Western Nigerian politics such as Agagu, Afolabi, Okupe, Ajanaku,
etc. are playing.
The problem was that Afenifere fell for that son-of-the-soil entrapment that encased Obasanjo's quest for acceptability in his homeland. This made it to
provide an ill-appreciated backing for a dithering Obasanjo, who, with his party, had mismanaged the mandate they purportedly got from the Nigerian people
in February 1999. With this picture, the AD got entrapped in a confidence tangle, which afforded the PDP and Obasanjo the free space to poach its inner
coves for native support, after they have uncerebrally tossed the goodwill of virtually all other parts of the country. Afenifere was left to carry the
cans of this act as it soon became the butt of the twisted fun of the self-seeking political speculators, playing true to the game to destroy Afenifere
and the AD and weaken the possible anchors for resistance to negative governance in Nigeria.
The situation has degenerated to the level, where unintellectual, lazy mouthing of platitudes against Afenifere has become a cheap mantra to bail out the
self-serving search for greener pastures and cheap subsidy by Western political deadwood's. When one now hears so frequently of the "over-bearing
influence of Afenifere elders in politics" as the cause of our political woes, one wonders where really we are headed for. And this effortless
blackmail of the most credible bent of our sick political class is fast catching on people who should know, amongst whom are journalists, who should have
employed the benefits of facts and history, to enlighten us on the imperative of not allowing the worst shades in us to have an unchecked sway on the
country's political space, given our experience in their hands just the other day.
One may feel free to ask whether this same conclave of elders were the same that stood resolute while our new breed political players were busy dancing to
the Abacha tom-beat? Are these the same people that used their old and fragile frames to fend off Abacha's bullets, while the new political messiahs that
have now relocated to the West were busy chasing contracts and perquisites with Abacha? Are the much vilified elders the same people whose hearths and
heirlooms were desecrated by Abacha mascots while the present political players that are flooding all around Obasanjo were sealing sweetheart deals with
Abacha? Are these the same people who now provide cheap fun to Western political profiteers, who are in perpetual search for nectars office? These are
answers, which the Yoruba race needs to answer and fast too- lest it risks being subjected to a slave master from within their race. Obasanjo fits the
description of that slave master and his tactics is not new only that he stands to succeed where others have failed; not because he is more cerebral but
because he is from within.