Respected human rights activist, Shehu Sani, has warned on the imminent dangers on the road to the 2007 elections and the need for credible leadership. He categorically states General Ibrahim Babangida is not a democracy-lover, and must be resisited from coming back to power under the pretense of democracy.
Q:How would you assess notable presidential aspirants like IBB, Atiku, Buhari…?
A: Well, we live in a country with a malignant cancer of short memory. We do not take lessons from history. We repeat our mistakes and we have made ourselves perpetual victims of history. We have continuously demonstrated as a people that we are interested in moving forward, but we can not move forward because our past is replete with crises and problems.
And part of these are the heinous crimes committed by former military dictators while in office. After 2007, we are going to press for a law in the National Assembly that will recognise the setting up of a genuine Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Oputa Panel did not reconcile anyone. It was simply a comedy and the injustice perpetrated against people still remains unresolved.
Former military rulers have committed heinous crimes. They are suspects, are awaiting trial and cannot be given a chance in our democracy. You could say it is unconstitutional or illegal to stop them from aspiring to elective positions but our country has come through a very bitter history. From 1983 up till 2006, Nigeria has been moving from being beleaguered to being bewildered. We cannot bury the hatchet just like that. For those of us that were jailed, we have not forgiven them. For those that were killed, their ghosts are still awake waiting for justice. It is only in a country like this that the likes of Babangida would aspire to rule this country again. It is bad because we, as a nation, are slaves to time. We easily forget and still commit the same mistakes. Babangida is now being touted as a democrat. In 1993 before he left office, TheNEWS was proscribed. Is that a person you should call a democrat? When IBB left in 1993 Labour and other pressure groups were all proscribed. Scores of human rights and pro-democracy activists were thrown into detention. He was thrown out of power at a time the country was on the verge of disintegration. Instead of handing over power to the elected President, MKO Abiola, he rolled out tanks against peaceful demonstrators. It is too early to forget all these things because these people have not been tried. You can only forgive military rulers after they have been tried, convicted and possibly given state pardon. So we cannot at this moment say they should go just like that. They did not even appear at the Oputa Panel. They were contemptuous of it and even went to court to challenge it, because they still feel they have not done anything wrong to Nigerians. Why should Nigerians accept this kind of people? The problem that confronts us today is directly attributable to their misdeeds and crimes while in government. For how long should we continue to embrace, endorse and be slaves of these people? By 2007, Nigeria’s democracy should move from civilian administration manned by a military man to a democratic system led by a civilian with a civilised way of thinking. Q: But do we really have civilian politicians ready and determined to take over power from the military politicians?
A: There are millions of civilian politicians that can deliver the dividends of democracy, give the country a sense of direction and make our people proud of this democracy and being Nigerians. This idea that only a military politician can pull Nigeria together is warped. It is usually associated with people with a stereotype way of thinking. Their fear is that a civilian president would demystify them, expose them to the civilian population and would actually cleanse our democracy of all traces of its military past. The interest of the military in power is also self-defence. It is an attempt to protect themselves and ensure that they are not humiliated, disgraced and put on trial. That is why they either want to be in power or the person in power must be their candidate. This was the major reason for the conception of the Obasanjo presidency in 1998. I think the civilian politicians can do exceedingly well.
Q: Do you have anyone in mind?
A: That is personal to me. But among the aspirants yet, one may not be able to assess them correctly until the time of election. This is because, there are some who may really want to lead. Some are pretending to lead and there are those who are in the race to defend themselves and ensure security from their misdeeds and mismanagement. Some are just out to use it as a bargaining power.
Q: You did not say anything about Atiku.
A: As far as I am concerned, most of the aspirants that have indicated interest have never clearly differentiated themselves from one another on matters of principles and ideology. They are simply talking about capturing state power by 2007 and that is a bane of Nigeria’s political class. You need power to be a president, to have the wealth of the country at your disposal, to have the capacity to appoint and retrench, to have the power and paraphernalia of office, to have the privilege of moving around the country and all parts of the world, to have the privilege of having your portrait placed in public and private offices in all parts of the country. But they do not have a clear-cut agenda and this is what has been our problem.
