By Dele Sobowale

Traditional democracies will end up in the garbage heap” – Alberto Fujimori, Peruvian President in 1998.

When gathering entries for the VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, there were some statements which went against my strong personal beliefs. They were included after serious debates with people who convinced me that it would amount to intellectual dishonesty if only the statements acceptable to me appeared. Thereafter, nothing was disallowed. In fact, the more the comment went contrary to conventional wisdom, the better chance it had. “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel”, uttered by Dr Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, remains, perhaps, the most shocking.

Fujimori unleashed his bomb just before Abacha, the worst and most blood-thirsty Nigerian dictator, died in 1998. I was here on the front-line of Nigerian media’s struggle for return to democracy; which we believed was a better form of government than military dictatorship. As Buhari prepares to step aside, we are faced with very serious questions regarding whether real democracy is what we now have or, all things considered, we are better off today than in 1998. But, first, a few words about the President of Peru for ten bloody years.

His name was Alberto Kenya Fujimori, and he was the son of a Japanese immigrant to Peru. His father, after a slow start, became wealthy, sent his son to university and he later became a professor. By the late 1980s, Peru was a nation, like Nigeria now, under the siege of terrorists and on the verge of economic collapse. The small Japanese community in Peru had become very powerful and controlled a large chunk of Peruvian economy. A strong man was needed to lead Peru and Alberto was the man voted into office.

Short men can be dangerous as leaders – Hitler is an example. Fujimori was 5ft 7in; and into that frame he packed more venom than a hundred giant cobras. Though elected by a majority, he moved quickly to seize power and to disband parliament. By the time he made the statement above, he had ruthlessly dealt with both terrorists and members of the opposition party. To his supporters, he saved Peru from terrorists. To his detractors, he accomplished those two objectives through pervasive corruption and horrible human rights abuses.

Fujimori was toppled from office, arrested, convicted and sentenced to 25 years. In 2022, the Constitutional Court approved his release from prison; the Human Rights Court ordered that he be not released. Still, the man remains adamant that democracies will degenerate to lawlessness and economic ruin. The drug cartels have replaced terrorists and citizens are more afraid than ever before.

But, it was not only Fujimori who has been hounded as a former President. His immediate successor, Alejandro Toledo, 2001-2006, has just been extradited from the US to face charges of corruption, almost 17 years after leaving office. His successor, Allan Garcia, 2006-2011, shot himself when police came to arrest him in 2019 – eight years after he served. Pedro Kucynski, who left office in 2018, is under house arrest for the same charges.

The reader might wonder why I have gone to such lengths about another country. The reason is simple: We have something to learn about democracy from Peru because the politics of that country changed in two ways after Fujimori. First, the judiciary lost its independence and was forced to become a tool in the hands of transient holders of presidential office. Second, politics of hatred crept in. After each election, winners seek to eliminate the opposition by all means. Losers work to undermine government. The contesting parties become enemies for life. Only a casual reading of our newspapers and the social media is required to convince anybody that we are getting closer to the tipping point.

Starting with the candidates, one of whom will eventually become President, a large segment of our society, particularly the most enlightened, influential and erudite, have created three individuals who, rightly or wrongly, should be regarded as untrustworthy criminals and who should be in Kuje Maximum Security Prison – not Aso Rock. We quite easily forget one of the possible consequences of demonizing our contestants. Toledo was arrested in the US recently and he is on the way home as a felon. Might we be providing the US and any other country with the reasons, in the future, to arrest any of our leaders on account of hate politics? Have we given ammunition for the blackmail of our President by other nations given the evidence we have generously provided? Let me elaborate.

The President of Ukraine recently congratulated Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and invited him to visit Ukraine. That is the sort of poison pill we don’t need in this country at this time. Granted Ukraine is important as a grain supplier to Nigeria; but, so is Russia. Any political alignment with Ukraine by the Federal Government of Nigeria, FGN, will bring Russia weighing in on the other side of our expanding politics of hate. The quickest way for any Nigerian new President to get Nigeria embroiled in the Ukraine-Russia world is to accept invitation from one party until the war ends. America will love it; China will be annoyed.

Peru became a series of elected dictatorships when Fujimori destroyed the nation’s judiciary and every President, since then, had been contented to take advantage of the weakened judiciary. Justices have found it safer to rule in favour of government – irrespective of the evidence. So, nobody approaches the court expecting justice to be done. Surprisingly, I have discovered the same attitude in Nigerians with respect to the 2023 elections. Most Nigerians don’t expect justice to be done. The only thing is, virtually, everybody interested has judged the case on their own. Justice, therefore, means one thing: the Supreme Court must agree with me. To be candid, it is almost impossible for the judiciary to win. That will only deepen the pervasive distrust in the courts; and heat up the politics of hate which is already gathering strength everywhere.

The precise consequences are not predictable; but, some of the repercussions are. Thank God, Nigeria has never had a sustained armed political rebellion. Invariably, they start when courts, instead of being seen as the last hope of common men, are regarded as accomplices in entrenching injustice by the establishment. Insurrection starts when a few demagogues decide to bypass the courts and impose their brand of justice. As Madeleine Albright, the late US Secretary of State, has reminded us, “A demagogue is always dangerous when he is telling people what they want to hear. However, …it takes only a small number of determined terrorists to create a big problem.”

Right now, in Nigeria, before the Supreme Court has had a chance to go through the evidence, there are a few demagogues telling millions of people what they want to hear about the matter. They are busy planting their own prejudices in millions of minds. One can only hope and pray that they will not create the demagogues who will demolish what is left of our democracy.

BUHARI, AGF, NASS AND CORRUPTION: 2015-2023

“But, who will guard the guards themselves?” – Juvenal, 60-140 AD.

The eighth and ninth National Assembly, NASS, 2015-2023, must have been populated by some of the worst jokers Nigeria ever sent to parliament; and the hands of many of them are not clean. A news report on April 12, 2023 revealed the following. “The House of Representatives alleged yesterday that the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation was in receipt of funds which accrued from the sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil in a China deal without remitting same to the Federation Account.” The revenue in question was approximately $2.4 billion. The transaction occurred in late 2015, just after the new Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, was sworn-in.

‘Probe missing 149m barrels of crude oil, SERAP tells Buhari’ – Report, April 24, 2023… “According to the 2019 audited report by the Auditor General of the Federation, over 107 million barrels of crude were lifted as domestic crude without any document or tracing. NEITI also reported missing 42.25 million barrels of crude in 2019…” Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, Deputy Director of SERAP, wrote to Buhari demanding justice and accountability.

SERAP is wasting its time. The NASS, since 2015, has been involved in a cover-up of alleged crimes against Nigerians since Mr Malami was first alleged to have pocketed the $2.4 million accruing from crude sales in 2015. Summons to the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of Nigeria to account for the funds were ignored. The NASS kept quiet.

Is it now that they have little time left that these jesters want to probe crimes allegedly committed in 2015 and 2019?

There are allegations that the Buhari administration engaged in sustained corrupt practices from the beginning – while shouting “thief” and pointing at Jonathan. Wait for more…

Yeye dey smell.