Research Fellow

African Studies Center

Boston University.

NIGERIAN PEOPLE ARE NO FOOLS

Nigerians are again been reminded of how General Obasanjo ruled in the past. Nigerians are to be fooled once again by those who fooled them in 1976 in the name of ’Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), which was Operation FOOL Nigerians or Operation Finish the Naira. This is the way Nigerians should view the Zonal Constitutional Conference. Do these protagonist of Zonal Constitutional Conference know that what they are trying to embark upon called the Constitutional Review is a diversion, an abuse of process of reviewing a constitution and unrelated to the lingering political issues afflicting this country since 1993? The Nigerian people are no fools; their rulers may be and they know so.

Nigerians in the north, south, east and west are in unison telling President Obasanjo that Nigerians of 2001 are no fools as he made them to be in 1976. They should reject the fraud in the name of Zonal Constitutional Conference. Why would President Obasanjo not stop confusing and deceiving Nigerians? Why does he not want to quietly complete his four-year term in 2003? Does he not know that Nigerians are saying that if Nigeria continues as it is today, President Obasanjo would leave the stage worse than he met it in 1999? Mr. President, please in the name of God and Allah rule Nigeria for another two years and at the end allow Nigerians to decide on how to sort out their future. I hope the President knows that Nigerians have reached this conclusion.

The comparison between the immediate past and his period is everywhere. This is a disturbing development, unfortunately giving rise to many political generals, who misruled Nigeria in the past to think that Nigeria is waiting for them through the democratic process or through purchase. The way he is handling the lingering political problems on which the future of the country depends makes me join my fellow Nigerians to come to the conclusion that he should go and stop misleading the Nigerian people.

MONUMENTAL CRISIS OVER SUCCESSION IMMINENT.

For the future, especially with respect to the resolution of the succession crisis, Nigeria is faced with two questions today. One is whether the President appreciates the expectations of Nigerians in the face of the lingering political problems afflicting the country since and as a result of the annulment of the June 12. The second is whether the President appreciates the value of institution building that with or without him there would be institution and processes in place for isolating the dimensions of the lingering political problems and resolving them?

It is regrettable to say that the President has not been able to address these two issues as he ponders over the 2003. Now he is facing the country with another trick called the Zonal Constitutional Conference. What is the end of the Zonal Conference? Nigerians should know that they are two, if they had not already known. What Nigerians needed, as ever after the annulment and the years of military misrule was a National Conference where all the lingering issues would have been raised, discussed and resolved amicably as part of the transition program after the death of Abacha.

General Obasanjo allowed himself to be used to adopt a benign neglect to these issues even though he prophesied to the reality of dealing with the issues in the annulment after he was released from Abacha’s Gulag in June 1998. Why he changed his mind after he met with his sponsors is still an issue that is at the root of the crisis of legitimacy facing him till today.

Those in the political class, especially those who were in the leadership of the pro-democracy forces have themselves to blame. This is no justification for the criticism of Chief Bola Ige that they have no right to demand a Sovereign National Conference today after the agreed to participate in the transition program. But there was no constitution then. I agree they should have pushed for the resolution of the lingering political problems as part of the transition program. This was my counsel then. They believed that a President Obasanjo, a born again Christian and a born again Democrat would meet their ambition on faith. That faith was strengthened by the fact that Chief Obasanjo had earlier prophesied in the Baptist Church, Abeokuta in June 1998 to the need to raise, discuss and resolve the issues in June 12 as the basis of establishing a democratic order. The Pro-democracy forces were convinced with the prophecy of Chief Obasanjo that only ‘a get together of patriotic men and women’ a euphemism for a National Conference would be the modality for resolving the issues in the June 12. What happened with his prophecy after taking office? Why is he substituting his prophecy with a new trick called Zonal Constitutional Conference? The political class should remind him of his Sermon in June 1998 and vigorously oppose him and call him to order. If they do not know what the President is up to, maybe I should educate them on the two aspects of President Obasanjo’s MOTIVE.

MOTIVE IN THE ZONAL CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE

There are two motives in the plan to embark on the zonal constitutional conferences at this time.

Motive number one is that President Obasanjo wants to circumvent the fraudulent 1999 Constitution, which he knew to be so that its origin was unrelated to the will of the Nigerian people.

Motive number two is that President Obasanjo wants to circumvent the pact the President entered into with those who initiated his release from the Abacha’s Gulag to be made the successor to the junta as a stop-gap after the death of General Abacha.

INSTEAD OF PROBLEM SOLVING PRESIDENT NOW PART OF IT

How much of the country’s lingering political problems has President Obasanjo tackled? He has created more by his anti-democratic behavior. Does he think that after an extra one-year or two years beyond the four years in the Constitution, he would be able to deal with the issues he had neglected so far? Nigerians know as much as I do that he would not be able to address these issues, certainly not from his action in his performance so far.

NO INSTITUTION-BUILDING FOR PROBLEM SOLVING

How much of institution building has Chief Obasanjo embarked upon since becoming the President? There seems to be none so far. Those in the Constitution he neutralized them. He cannot deal with the coequal branch of government, the National Assembly. He is politicizing the judiciary by exposing the highest court in the land to an essentially politically divisive issue in the land, the resource control. He treats the states as an extension of the federal government and treats the Governors as his officers and bullies them to submission. He is ruining the party that officially sponsored him for the Presidential election. He has no regard for the institution of political party. He made the Ministers to sign a letter of resignation as soon as they were appointed thus reducing them to, yes men and women, as long as they remain ministers. The size of the cabinet is unbelievably too large even for a normal class in a High School. A weekly meeting of the cabinet is an exercise in seminar with the President as the lecturer.

Would he be able to change his political behavior if he is allowed an extra year, the answer is no. This is partly because of the constraints on him by the process of his emergence and partly because he does not have the political acumen and capacity to deal with the political problems. It is a pity that out of faith Nigerians thought that democracy could be made out of a non-democrat.

OBASANJO SHOULD KNOW A FOUR-YEAR TERM HAS A COURSE.

Instead of facing the issue of ‘2003’ and allow it to be determined by the normal course in a four-year term, President Obasanjo is embarking on a gimmick, called the Zonal Constitutional Conferences.

Does the President know that a four-year term has a certain pattern that must be followed? Is it suddenly occurring to him, that two years i.e half of the period is gone? Does he not know that 2001 is the benchmark? Does he know that that 2002 is a nomination year? He should know that 2003 is an election year. This is elementary, as this is the nature of a four-year term of office. Where does he want to place his stewardship? Nigerians should be amazed when he told his people in Ogun State recently that ‘prices of food would come down in 2002. Of course one is reminded whether this is another ‘Obasanjo Fool the Nation or Obasanjo Finish the Naira or the Operation Feed the Nation campaign of the 1976 (OFN). The Constitutional Conference is another OFN!

What we are seeing today I am sure Nigerians would agree is more like Obasanjo is Fooling Nigeria.(OFN) Of course, everyone knows that with the fall in the exchange rate of the Naira beyond what one had under military regimes of Generals Babangida and Abacha as Nigerians are saying, one could say that what we have today is Obasanjo Finish the Naira.

May I strongly advise the President that unless the answers to these questions become evident by the end of this year, the rule of four-year term of office would make his quest for another term after 2003 or an extension of one or two years beyond 2003 unrealistic and unrealizable.

POLITICS OF 2003 IS THE GAME IN TOWN

The politics of 2003 is everywhere, in the media and in the agenda of all political groups. This is a serious matter. I recall the kind of question in the textbook on India in the early 60s about Nehru. The question was everywhere, ‘After Nehru who/what’? One is asking that kind of question in Nigeria about President Obasanjo, ‘After President Obasanjo, who/what’? It would not be answered in the context of what Chief Tony Anenih, the Minister of Works and the ‘Mr. Fix It’ for the President had to say that ‘there is no vacancy in the Presidential Villa in the year 2003’. The President is not considering the plan of Senator Arthur Nzeribe that President Obasanjo should be jointly nominated by all the political parties in the tradition of Abacha’s self-succession project of April 1998. The President does not believe in this kind of trash. It would appear that the President is yielding to the Anenih injunction that there is no vacancy in the Aso Rock because of the plan to stay put for an extra one-year or two years as the case maybe. Chief Anenih is right after all. In the President’s gimmicks, there would be no vacancy in the Presidential Villa in 2003 but in 2004/5 as the case may be.

The President was ill advised that a four-year term would be forever, hence he failed to deal with the big question, ‘AFTER PRESIDENT OBASANJO, WHO/WHAT?

By after Obasanjo, by ‘who’ means that we could settle succession peacefully; by the rule of 1976 President Obasanjo would ensure that the baton is handed over to someone across the Niger-Benue confluence by hook or crook. By after Obasanjo, by ‘what’ means that we are facing a future unknown. Both are pregnant with meanings for Nigerians to ponder over. One hopes the President is following the debate.

The future of democracy in Nigeria hangs on two incontrovertible and interrelated critical facts. One, that the President has one term according to his agreement with those who invited him to succeed the junta after the death of General Abacha in 1998. General TY Danjuma confirmed it that we decided on General Obasanjo after the sudden death of General Abacha in 1998 as we did after the death of General Murtala in 1976. See the Guardian of December 24, 2000.

Two is that the resolution of who succeeds President Obasanjo should discard the pact and the baton going to the north, which is implicit in the pact after one term. This is what President Obasanjo’s handlers want him to do with the extension of the four-year term to a five/six-year term. Nigerians should reject this arrangement as anti-democratic. We should allow the interplay of political forces to determine who succeeds President Obasanjo. The resolution of the lingering problems would be part of the political forces.

I had earlier called on him to tell the Nigerian people the truth and seek a new coalition to enable him seek a new term. He refused and thought he could settle for an extension and forget about partisan politics and leave the future to unknowns. This is scary.

CONSTITUTION REVIEW IS A TECHNICAL EXERCISE

The Nigerian voters who were told to trust one man that he and he alone and not Dr. Ekwueme or Chief Olu Falae or the Nigerian people would handle all the lingering problems of Nigeria as soon as he was sworn in as the President had been fooled by the President. Instead of allowing Nigerians to raise, discuss and resolve these issues, he empanelled a Presidential Committee to handle a technical exercise of revising the 1999 Constitution. Is it the work of a lay man? This is the work meant for legal draftsmen. Speaking from experience and knowledge, this would have to be after a resolution of the lingering political problems. Nigerians never did this. Why is the President calling them fools? They certainly are not.

For purpose of comparison, we should compare the Committee by Obasanjo headed by Clement Ebri with no legal or political experience with the Committees headed by such legal luminaries as Chief Rotimi Williams (1976), Justice Buba Ardo (1987), and Justice Maman Nasir (1994). Isn’t the difference clear?

What about the Constituent Assemblies headed by legal giants, Justice Udo Udoma (1977), Justice Anthony Aniagolu (1988), Justice Karibi Whyte (1995)! That then tells you what the President wants for Nigeria.

My role in the evolution of the 1979 and 1989 Constitutions is a matter of record. I know what it takes to raise issues, discuss them and resolve them before assigning the resolutions to a legal drafting team to reduce to a legal text. What is President Obasanjo calling Nigerians in six zones to discuss in one day? Who would be there? What are the issues requiring discussion? What happens to the results of such discussion? Send them to the President or the National Assembly when the National Assembly and the President are part of the lingering problems?

CONSTITUTION IS PART OF LINGERING POLITICAL PROBLEMS

I have also done some content analysis of some issues, which the President seems to be confronted with since taking over on May 29, 1999 and which seem to be eluding him as he dances round the periphery. What has he been doing since 1999? What does he want to do now? What do his challengers want to do differently? As he said about past military regimes, does he want to be reminded that he is part of the problems of Nigerians in the north, in the southwest, in the southeast and in the south-south? Does he know that Nigerians are beginning to feel that anything is better that what we have now?

ISSUES FOR A NATIONAL CONFERENCE

The summary of the political problems for resolution in a National Conference should reflect the following issues.

Nigerians want a fundamental restructuring of the military with respect to de-ethnicization and depoliticization of the military? What effort has he been making to have a ‘representative’ and ‘accountable’ armed forces as the basis of a stable democratic order in Nigeria? This is very high on the Agenda of the Ndi Igbo and the South-South.

Nigerians want to deal the ‘issues in the annulment of the June 12’, which the President promised to tackle in his sermon in June 1998 as soon as he was released from the Abacha’s Gulag. Nigerians who voted and lost too much as a result of the annulment cannot forget the game that the President has been playing with the issue since he became the President. Nigerians want to come to terms with the issues which are the qualifications for becoming the President of Nigeria, which Chief MKO Abiola did not have, in 1993, which the General Obasanjo had in 1998 and which Dr. Alex Ekwueme and Chief Olu Falae did not have in 1998. This is one of the major issues that a National Conference should resolve. What are the qualifications for becoming the President of Nigeria?

Nigerians want to deal the ‘politics of oil’ or the ‘ownership question’ of oil or the ‘resource control’ advocacy as part of evolving a true federal system in Nigeria. This is a major federal principle that should be resolved through a national dialogue and not through the Court. The people of the oil producing areas are itching for an opportunity to make a case to the Nigerians people why they should be made part of the owners of the oil industry as they successfully did during the period of General Abacha during the Constitutional Conference in 1994/5. The political leaders in this area should not be made to look like that they do not feel for other Nigerians whose areas are not blessed with oil at the moment. They are appalled by the ‘politics of divide and rule’ of President Obasanjo over resource control.

Nigerians want to deal with the political problems in general and in particular the political party system and the structure of government, whether Presidential of Prime Ministerial system at all levels.

Nigerians want a review of the concept of Nigeria with respect to the issue of representation in Nigeria. What should be the unit of representation: the three ethnic nationalities or many ethnic nationalities; the states or zones; and other groups in civil society? How do we deal with this matter? Chief Emeka Ojukwu is on record as not happy with the number of States today in Nigeria and wants a review of the notion of federating units in Nigeria. It is on record that Dr. Alex Ekwueme and the Ndi Igbo leaders of thought who initiated the idea of six zones in Nigeria before and during the Abacha’s Constitutional Conference in 1994/5. This was part of the contribution of the Ndi Igbo political leaders to issues of ‘zoning’, ‘rotation’ and ‘power-sharing system’ in Nigeria, which was killed by Abacha’s Self-Succession Plan in 1998. Would a National Conference not be a venue for the reopening of this elegant political arrangement ably argued in the legal treatise by Professor Ben Nwabueze?

Nigerians want to handle the complex issue of marginalization all over the country based on the complex issues of group/regional claims and counter-claims and demands and counter-demands all over the country. Nigerians want to discuss these issues agitating their minds and the President since taking over the junta has not allowed them to express themselves.

Nigerians want to discuss and resolve once and for all the issues in the ‘politicization of religion’ in Nigeria. The Sharia episode is a contentious issue that should have been resolved through the political process and not through the courts or President’s fiat or through the policy of unilateralism on the part of Muslims in the north.

Nigerians want to discuss and resolve the Nigeria’s involvement in international religious organizations, inherited from past military regimes in the face of a multi-religious society of Nigeria.

Nigerians want to discuss the handling of the complex issue of social and economic reconstruction that had collapsed after many years of military misrule. How should these matters be resolved is an issue that needs to be discussed through a National Conference.

Finally, Nigerians want to overcome the obvious denial of the people of Nigeria their ability to evolve a Constitution for themselves. Nigerians realize that a Constitution is a capsule form, the agreed political thought of the elite or the representatives of the units in the country. Writing of a Constitution would naturally follow after the Nigerians through their representatives have discussed and agreed on (a) how they want to live together, (b) how they want to be governed and (c) how the federating units want to be governed. These are the yearning of many Nigerians since 1998 after the death of General Abacha. Nigerians want a return to these issues.

There are two issues, which seem to be raised and dismissed with out examining the basis.

One, is the issue of sovereignty. My view is that the issue of Sovereignty means that the decision of the National Conference will be final and not subject to the veto of either the President or the national Assembly.

Two, is what would be the position of existing institutions. My view is that there should be an acknowledgment that the issues from the National Conference would not affect the running of the current administration involving the President, the National Assembly, the Governors and the others. The issues named above are beyond the existing institutions except they want to deceive themselves and gamble with the future of Nigeria.

The President’s image could still be salvaged if he would lead in the convocation of a genuine National Conference to address all these foregoing issues. He should go back and read the argument of such distinguished Nigerians as Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Alhaji Babatunde Jose and Professor Adebayo Adedeji on the need for a National Conference to address contentious political problems and not a Conference on the Review of the Constitution in six zones. Would these men assemble deliberate on the lingering issues afflicting this country only for President to veto their decisions? This is President Obasanjo’s legacy!