Even a president can be a moron. Such is Nigeria's leader, President Olusegun Obasanjo, a decorated general, former military president, wanna-be UN Secretary-General, who is too dumb to see the folly of circumventing the constitution for his personal political gain.Obasanjo had always shown himself to be smart, even faking some measure of intellectualism from time to time. His ability to hand over power as a military leader to the politicians in 1979, qualified him until 1999 as the only soldier in Nigeria's history to have had any kind of democratic credibility. This credential guaranteed him the attention of other former world leaders, including former presidents of the United States, Sweden, Australia, among others, who worked with him on many issues of leadership confronting the developing nations, and were regular guests at his Temperance Farms in Ota, Ogun State.
At the height of his credibility, Obasanjo formed the Association for Better Governance, which confronted General Ibrahim Babangida as he attempted to perpetuate himself in power beyond 1993. Nigerians placed much confidence in the Association, until disbanded after the annulment of the 1993 June 12 election, when Obasanjo rested the organization without warning to work with Babangida to select Ernest Shonekan as the custodian of power when the June 12 crisis failed to subside.
The June 12 capitulation nonetheless, many Nigerians still regarded Obasanjo as somewhat of an enigma because he had a lower than normal apetite for power as a military ruler. Obasanjo was brutal in power. His regime oversaw some of the most brutal repressions of human rights, including the raid on Kalakuta Republic of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and the aggression against students of universities in the late 1970s. These glowing failures most people were ready to gloss over simply because handing over power peaceful from the military to the civilians had never been possible before Obasanjo.
It was this credibility advantage that made Obasanjo the darling of military generals as they shopped for a leader to take political power from General Abubakar Abdulsalam, who had reached a point of no procession after the death of the man who had the mandate to rule Nigeria, MKO Abiola, in the hands of the military in 1998. The military was at a crossroads. It needed to save itself. And Obasanjo was a logical choice. He was Yoruba, the same stock as Abiola. He was known as a lover of democracy. He was tough. And he was loved by the northern elite.
It is therefore, not a surprise that even now, a great multitude of Nigerians still do not believe Obasanjo's third term campaign is real. This ambition runs contrary to every rule of reason. When Obasanjo had three years of opportunity, he failed to extend his rule. Now that he would have ruled for another eight years, what would be his attraction to power?
It makes no sense that Obasanjo would want to retain power beyond 2007. He has too much to lose. In fact, everything he has achieved in life is at stake. The very quality that got him back to power is what he is trying to summarily erode. It's like spending years to accumulate wealth, then spending it all in one spree.
In a recent editorial, The Punch newspaper wrote that a man who has had the opportunity to rule Nigeria longer than any other should be willing to go at the end of his term without tampering with the constitution. Former South African president, Nelson Mandela, and the Ghanaian President, John Kufor, have warned Obasanjo to shy away from political cyanide that is before him. So far, these appeals have fallen on deaf hears.
Is Obasanjo simply crazy, or dumb? Why does he want to cause this much damage to himself and Nigeria? There are many schools of thought on the question. The most plausible is the explanation that he does not want to leave power to those whose aim is just to squander what he has saved up in national wealth. Others say the President needed more time to complete the projects he started.
In an interview with the Washinton Post, President Obasanjo himself gave an insight into why he would not leave power in 2007. "The reforms that we are putting in place have to be anchored, anchored in legislation, anchored in institutions," he said at his Ota farm.
The irony here is that some of those who are opposing Obasanjo's ambition are themselves those who have no credibility in this regard. One of them is Uche Chukwumerije, the man who served Babangida faithfully in the attempt to extend the regime of Babangida in 1993. Said Chukwumerije, now a senator, of Obasanjo: "Democracy is in peril...When people feel that they do not have legal ways to address their concerns, they will find other ways."
If Chukwumerije can get it, why doesn't Obasanjo get it.
Part of the reason why Obasanjo doesn't get it is that he is surrounded by groups of parasites, who continue to urge him on in the knowledge that if Obasanjo stays in power, so would they continue to enjoy the spoils of office, which is much in a corrupt country as Nigeria. When he was a military leader, Obasanjo had only a few people around him. As a civilian, the crowd is large. He is drowned in the stream of power.
He is also eager to prove himself exceedingly abundantly over his God-given potentials. With the little he has, he has done much. But Obasanjo is at a point now where he sees himself endowned better than he really is, and is out to prove to those who never believed he had much ability how far he could go. His ego is doing marathon.
It is possible Obasanjo is reaching for a difficult-to-surpass legacy, the very attraction for most other dictators. And if that is the case, Obasanjo has only been held hostage by his ambition.
If Obasanjo fails to raise his head up and see where he is headed, he is bound to drown, and possibly drown Nigeria along with himself.
For a man who has achieved so much with so meagre personal gifts, the third term strategy qualifies Obasanjo as a moron. Instead of being thankful for ever getting the opportunity to serve twice at the most exalted office in his country, he is now drunk with ambition, and might climb the tree beyond the leaves.
He will surely fall.
