OBASANJO IS GIVING NIGERIA A VERY BAD NAME
President Olusegun Obasanjo by his conduct and comportment is the person who is giving Nigeria a very bad name locally and internationally. He said recently that the on-going criticism of just concluded massively rigged election is because the people who are criticizing the elections are talking rubbish, he went on to say that, election irregularities and fraud are part and parcel of the culture of the Nigerian people. In other words, corruption, fraud and graft are parts of the Nigerian culture and tradition. But this is not correct. Nigerians are very decent people, who do things with decorum, but the important thing to note here is that we have rascals and vagabonds at the helm of affairs in the country. They are the ones manipulating the already impoverished and etiolated people to satisfy their selfish agenda.
By the reckless and extemporaneous statement made by President Obasanjo, he has gone a long way to confirm that fact that, the 2007 election was completely fraudulent as a result of plethora of electoral manipulations. And anybody elected through the warped process will definitely not enjoy the legitimacy of the Nigerian people. The truth is that anything predicated on falsehood cannot stand the test of time. The President is telling a very obvious lie and sooner than later will crumble like a pack of cards. The bigger question is, why is Obasanjo stubbornly bent on imposing an invalid and infirm Yar’Adua on Nigeria? Does he really love Nigeria the way he slyly claims? Is he not trying to protect his ill-gotten wealth at all cost? Is this not the same reason he has not signed the Freedom of Information Bill into law? Is political corruption as exemplified by wanton electoral manipulations not the highest form of corruption? So, what are the EFCC and ICPC doing to deal with this monumental national fraud? Are the agencies not mere toothless bull dog that keeps baking but never bites? Are they not just a willing tool in the hands of the executive to deal with perceived political enemies? Since the day this government accepted the outcome of this fraudulent electoral has it not invariably said the war against corruption is just a lip-service and therefore a signaled the end of the so-called war against corruption?
Again, has the results of the elections not justified the statement by Obasanjo that the election is a do or die affair? Is the present not supposed to be tried because of the demise of several innocent people occasioned by the electoral fraud? Is it not shameful that Maurice Iwu will give himself and INEC 80 per cent for this massive day-light robbery? Will history and posterity not judge Obasanjo, PDP, INEC and various security agents badly for the ignoble role they played in the 2007 election?
Has Obasanjo not brought the country to international opprobrium with fraudulent election he mastermind, which has been roundly condemned by local and international observers as well as local and foreign media, international non-governmental organization, faith-based bodies etc.? Nigeria cannot be an exception to the rule amongst the comity of nations rather we must do things in a civilized manner like any other country. We must desist from rationalizing illegalities. Our leaders must learn not to ride roughshod on the sensibilities of Nigeria.
This fraudulent election means that in Nigeria, democracy is not a government of the people, for the people by the people, but a government of PDP, by a few rapacious individuals, for selective interests of a few parasitic elements in the corridors of power. It is against this background that it is very obvious Nigeria has not practiced democracy since 1999, but instead a one man rule characterized by garrison politics, iron law of oligarchy and reign of terror.
It would be recalled that sometimes in 1989, when Obasanjo wrote on cooperation and integration in Africa he advocated for a one party system, this invariably is what he is foisting on the country illegitimately.
There is no doubt whatsoever that this is the worst election in the history of Nigeria, both pre and post colonial. It failed to meet the international benchmark on the conduct of election, even one foreign observer said, the election failed to meet the standard set by Nigerians themselves. Hence, he compared the election in Nigeria those of Somalia and Mongolia. Since Nigeria became a country there not be a singular international embarrassment this fraudulent. It is to this end that, several perspective people have said that the elections will never stand. In fact, THE ECONOMIST, in one of its commentaries said very clearly that, “in his own quest to hang on to the rewards of office, in 2005 Mr. Obasanjo started a campaign to alter the constitution to allow him run for a third term. Huge bribes, of up to 50million, were offered to parliamentarians to vote for change, but the Senate bravely voted against it last year. Since then, Mr. Obasanjo has misused every means at his disposal to ensure that his own PDP men win the state houses and the presidency, knocking his opponents out of the race by bringing charges of corruption against them from the EFCC”.
The world acclaimed newsmagazine went on to remark that, “So even the straight-talking Mr. Ribadu’s outfit has now been politicized. It has used high-handed and unconstitutional means to smear Mr. Obasanjo’s opponents and keep their names off the ballot papers. The EFCC has done some good work in the past. But, like the elections themselves, its credibility has been mortgaged to political expediency”. It further noted that, “The organized vote-rigging and fraud that characterized the state and local elections on April 14, as well as the parliamentary and presidential polls on April 21, suggest that Nigeria may be sliding backwards again. Nigeria’s own independent observers’ group has called them a “sham”. The European Union, normally a master of nuance in these matters, badly stated that the whole electoral process cannot be considered to have been credible, and remarked that its report was the most damning it had ever issued anywhere in the world”.
It is therefore appropriate for this whole election to be cancelled and new ones conducted without Obasanjo and Iwu. If Nigerians allow this fraud to stand, the country is doomed forever. What a shame! Obasanjo and Iwu have made Nigeria a laughing stock in the eyes of the world.
By
Jide Ayobolu
No 19 Gongola Street
Garki-Abuja
Nigeria .
