By Olu Fasan

ONE of the strongest indications that Nigeria is a backward nation is the way it treats its former leaders.

Obasanjo and Atiku

In Nigeria, a former president is treated as an “institution”, untouchable and, regardless of his performance in office, accorded absolute deference. Nigeria lacks the mechanisms, formal and informal, that exist in strong democracies and enlightened societies, for holding its former leaders to account. Instead, this country treats its past leaders like idols, allowing them to strut around, peddling political mendacities and whitewashing their past when they actually need big doses of humility and contrition.

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Olusegun Obasanjo is, undoubtedly, the most deified former Nigerian leader. Former President Goodluck Jonathan, who has just written a pathetic, blame-shifting book, once called Obasanjo “the boss of bosses” and told presidential aspirants: “Ignore him at your peril”. Another politician, Perry Opara, said “Obasanjo will be instrumental in who becomes president in 2019”, adding: “Obasanjo is the Nigerian political oracle, which must be consulted in any presidential election”. Of course, Obasanjo himself believes the hype as evident by his manoeuvring to make Atiku Abubakar Nigeria’s next president.

For a start, it is a national embarrassment, an insult to the collective self-esteem of this country, that one man can hold such sway over the choice of Nigeria’s president. So, before considering Obasanjo’s current machination, let’s address a pertinent question: What gives him such pre-eminence that, in a country of nearly 200 million people, nobody can become president without his say-so?

Well, I suggest that nothing in Obasanjo’s past and values qualifies him to be the nation’s conscience and the custodian of its destiny. And here is why. As president, Obasanjo destroyed politics in this country through his megalomaniacal and anti-democratic behaviour. Remember the third-term plot? For several months, the whole country and indeed the whole world were on tenterhooks watching whether Obasanjo would succeed in changing the Constitution to run for a third term in office. What about the rigged elections?

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The two elections that Obasanjo conducted in 2003 and 2007, were, according to international observers, massively rigged, probably the worst in Nigeria’s electoral history. Obasanjo took over a divided country after the despotism of the Sani Abacha years and left behind an even more divided nation by the time he left office in 2007, thanks to the third-term agenda and the rigged elections, among other abuses of power. If in doubt, read newspaper coverage of his presidency!

You might ask, but what about the economy? After all, Obasanjo reformed the economy, negotiated the cancellation of Nigeria’s external debt and created some institutions. Well, economic and institutional reforms must have the right political underpinnings. Obasanjo’s reforms lacked them. Secondly, his economic policy actually entrenched crony capitalism in Nigeria. Obasanjo once boasted that he created 25 billionaires. Hear him: “My aim when I was in government was to create 50 Nigerian billionaires. Unfortunately, I failed. I created only 25”. But how did Obasanjo create these billionaires? Well, by awarding oil blocs to cronies, banning imports to create monopolists and oligopolists and granting waivers of import tariffs to favoured individuals. The Constitution says in S16(2)(c) that wealth should not be “concentrated in the hands of few individuals”. Obasanjo’s crony capitalism did exactly that. Billionaires should emerge through a market economy, not crony capitalism.

But Obasanjo didn’t just create billionaires, he handpicked presidents for Nigeria too. Indeed, he once boasted that he was instrumental in the emergence of Nigerian presidents since 1979. Of course, he was. He influenced the election of Shehu Shagari in 1979. He handpicked Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan. And, of course, by precipitating the collapse of his own party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and backing General Buhari, he played a big role in his election in 2015. Leaving aside the patrimonialism, the trouble is that Obasanjo, the Svengali, always imposed clueless, ineffectual leaders on Nigeria!

Now, Obasanjo has anointed Atiku Abubakar, PDP’s presidential candidate, as Nigeria’s next president. This piece is not about Atiku, but Obasanjo’s endorsement is galling. For over 15 years, he has told Nigerians and the world that Atiku was unfit for public office. In his book My Watch, Obasanjo calls Atiku terrible names. He referred to “his propensity to corruption” and “his readiness to sacrifice morality, integrity, propriety, truth and national interest for self and selfish interest”. In several interviews, he dared Atiku to go to the US, saying: “Let him go to America and return to Nigeria”. In August this year, Dr. Obasanjo (Ph.D Theology) said: “If I support Atiku for president, God will not forgive me”.

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So, what changed? Why is Obasanjo now saying Atiku will make a great president? Well, there was Bishop Kukah’s reconciliatory intervention. But don’t be fooled. That was just a fig leaf. Truth is, Obasanjo desperately wants to dislodge President Buhari from Aso Rock next year and believes only Atiku can do it. Put simply, his enemy’s enemy has become his friend!

But Obasanjo’s cynical volte face raises questions about his moral compass. He must either withdraw his damning accusations against Atiku or apologise to Nigerians.