OBASANJO OFFERS UP UMARU YAR'ADUA AS A SACRIFICIAL OFFAL?

A survivor master-tactician-in-chief, the man who Icheoku admits, although most grudgingly and reluctantly, knows the weaknesses of the Nigerian state and how to beneficially exploit it. Despicable former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who twice have made two Nigerians presidents (Shagari and Yar'Adua) and himself, twice Nigerian head of state and president is once again causing political waves with his sudden call for his political-godson, the sick President Umaru Yar'Adua of Nigeria to resign his office as president?

Admitted that politicians, often and most times, always use each other as disposable pawn in their political chess-game of survival; but we are particularly mollified with Olusegun Obasanjo's latest outburst in that he single-handedly imposed the sickly Umaru Yar'Adua on Nigeria, fully aware of his very poor state of health, only to now pretend otherwise, denying and feigning its ignorance? Icheoku hopes that Nigerians would see through the veil of the present dumping on President Umaru Yar'Adua by his erstwhile mentor Olusegun Olusegun; and interpret it for what it is - a somewhat belated attempt at self-exoneration and an underbelly Brutus stab? Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo is a man with outlandish audacity, who understands Nigeria too well that he rides it with arrogant authority, fully aware that Nigerians are a gullible lot who can only bark but hardly bite? According to his present clever-by-half logic on its head, a bungled explanation of why he punished Nigeria with sick Yar'Adua, "he did not know that Umaru was that sick otherwise, he would not have 'appointed' him as Nigeria's president?" If we hear Obasanjo correctly, he owned up to 'appointing' Umaru Yar'Adua as Nigeria's president and Nigeria is supposed to be a practising democracy? That admission alone, his subjugation of democracy in Nigeria is more than enough for Nigerians to call for his head, as we have readily advocated and for a long time in this forum www.icheoku.com!

How dare this shameless incestuous pig from Otta deny knowledge of the generally acknowledged Umaru Yar'Adua's very poor health status when he imposed him on Nigeria as president? How could Obasanjo now in all honesty ask Umaru Yar'Adua "to choose the path of honour and morality" when he himself threw such caution to the winds when he was president of Nigeria? In his putrid words of reclamation, Olusegun Obasanjo said, “If you take up an assignment, a job-elected, appointed whatever it is, and then your health starts to fail and you will not be able to deliver to satisfy yourself and to satisfy the people you are supposed to serve, then there is a path of honour and the path of morality. There is path of honour and the path of morality and if you don’t do that, then you don’t know anything.” Icheoku asks, why didn't Obasanjo take similar honorable path and resigned his office on grounds of morality when he was Nigeria's despotic marabout-president? May be a case of biblical Pharisee of "do what I say but not what I do?" Look at who is preaching morality and honor, somebody who was busy having incestuous sexual relationship with his son's wife, Mojisola Olugbenga Obasanjo? And he did not think the most intolerable despotism ever witnessed in any democracy, anywhere in the world, a hallmark of his government was immoral; and yet he did not resign but wanted to perpetuate himself in power? Now he is calling on another person to factor in 'honor and morals' in guiding his actions; the same Obasanjo who had none of the two and could give none of both, either? The trouble with Nigeria is the curse of despicable leadership provided by men like and with Olusegun Obasanjo's mien; people who are in it for what is in it for them and not for the greater good of the Nigerian society. They are anti-thesis of JFK's mantra of 'think not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country!'

However, Icheoku must admit that Obasanjo's canons for a president, the three qualities any person should or must possess who want to hold Nigeria's leadership position is highly commendable. Our only qualifier was whether Umaru Yar'Adua is the only one in Nigeria or Northern Nigeria possessed of those attributes? Intellectual capacity to run the affairs of Nigeria is very essential as Abacha and Obasanjo himself proved that illiteracy is not a good asset to bring to that position. Sufficient personal integrity to run the affairs of Nigeria is also commendable since sleeping with one's daughter inlaw or looting the state's treasury is not a thing for any country to be proud of in her president or leader? Also being sufficiently broad minded enough-politically, religiously, socially is very good for a leader of a state as diverse and different as Nigeria; which makes Islamist Muhammadu Buhari ineligible for such office because of his Islamic extremist viewpoints? Icheoku says these are well thought out good qualities for any good leadership anywhere, which any aspiring Nigerian leader ought to and should possess; except that Olusegun Obasanjo should have democratised the process so that many other Nigerians especially from the North who may have such qualities could have applied and made themselves available for the position of Nigeria's president? But no, he had his mind made up and it was either his way or the high-way for Nigerians to conform to; and a near-dead President Umaru Yar'Adua was the outcome?

But all the finger-pointing notwithstanding, could it be possible that Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo’s sudden about-turn is a manifestation of a contrite conscience, desperately crying out for forgiveness of sin; - his imposition of a sick Umaru Yar'Adua on Nigeria? Is someone with Olusegun Obasanjo antecedents capable of a genuine contrition or is he just trying to put up Umaru Yar'Adua as a sacrificial offal to atone for his sin of poisoning the Nigerian polity to the extent of its toxicity today? Is it possible that Obasanjo correctly read the mood of the country and is now trying to become a populist by jumping the fence, over to where majority of Nigerians are now clustered and clamouring for Jonathan Goodluck's acting presidency to be actualised? Admitted that some commentators have variously dismissed Obasanjo's seeming "mea culpa" as a mere cock and bull story, very deceitful, a belated after-thought of a confused mind; but Icheoku admonishes that truth sometimes can come from imbeciles and urge Nigerians to pay some attention to the present call by the deity of Otta? Let Nigerian trust but verify that the call is bona-fide patriotic; but never allow themselves to be suckered in again by a man who superintended sickly Umaru's emergence as an imposed president of Nigeria. An experience which is still rather "too fresh in Nigerians' minds to be twisted by the architect of the now manifesting programmed constitutional confusion" to serve his cause? While many others pontificated that Olusegun Obasanjo should have apologised to Nigerians for his unpatriotic and selfish decision to impose an ailing president Umaru Yar'Adua on the country, instead of daring God to punish him for what he knew, he deliberately did; Icheoku says, if only the days of biblical brimstones were still here with us today, maybe Nigerians would have since last Thursday, buried a crushed-to-death Olusegun Obasanjo, who deliberately invoked the wrath of God by swearing falsely?

Such an about-turn is more dramatic coming from an Obasanjo who in defense of Umaru's sick status before his imposition as president, once said, “I know all about Umaru’s ailment and it disappeared since 2001. It was a miracle. So those calling him a sick man are the ones who are sick. After all, only God can tell who will be sick or not. I wonder how somebody can open his mouth and say a human being created by God is a sick man. I am sure he has proved to those who say he cannot stand stress that all that is not true.” This lead one bemused commentator to say that "Obasanjo’s present position is not only economical with the truth and fact, but that he has also decapitated the truth," since he was fully aware of Umaru's sickly status before he went ahead and made him president anyway; only to now turn tail and deny any knowledge of his sickness? Another called Obasanjo's denial and present adumbration about the health of Umaru Yar'Adua "a lie from the pit of hell?" One other said that former President Obasanjo was "only trying to advertise his legendary hypocrisy and deception by the great attempt to distance himself from the imposition on Nigeria, of President Umaru Yar’Adua". Another described the latest antics as "Obasanjo's superhuman ability to be mischievous"? Icheoku says, whatever your position, one thing certain is that both Obasanjo and Yar'Adua have a case to answer in the present political logjam in the Nigeria. They are both collaborators who together conspired and stole Nigeria's presidency and are jointly and severally responsible for the stalemate of today's Nigeria without a leader?

But as some people have said, will Nigeria be really caught up in a web of dilemma of "throwing out a bad government for a worse one", with a Jonathan Goodluck's presidency or acting presidency? Would a Jonathan's presidency be worse than Yar'Adua's or would Jonathan take direct orders and dictation from Obasanjo which Yar'Adua refused or did not? What makes anyone think or believe that Jonathan would not walk away from Obasanjo the moment his acting president status is rectified or confirmed, afterall Yar'Adua just did that? Is Yar'Adua ready to return back to Aso Rock, even on a life-support and move against his mentor Obasanjo in reiteration, by prodding the EFCC to bundle him into prison, afterall there are a lot of ground to so do, especially the $16billion dollars phoney power/energy contract? It has also been a long expected action which would have enjoyed a groundswell of approval if done earlier; but if Yar'Adua does that now, how will it be interpreted by the watching Nigerian public but a possible payback for Obasanjo's call that he step aside? These are some of the questions needing answers in today's Nigeria in limbo.

However the present saga concludes, one thing is certain, that the days of President Umaru Yar'Adua at Aso Rock is coming to a certain head, now that his installer and mentor has publicly called for his head on a platter. A call that only added momentum to the previous activities in that direction including the G-56 that were chastised for initially leading the charge against Umaru and asking for his resignation or transfer of power. Then several months later, followed the G-43 led by Pius Ayim, after several civil society groups have protested and called on Umaru Yar'Adua to show understanding of some sort and resign his office. Now that the mother of all such calls, from the medicine-man of Otta, Matthew Okikilakan Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo, has issued that Umaru should show some honor and throw in the presidency towel what else is left of Yar'Adua's presidential foundations? A weighty call indeed, being from the former president and current chairman PDP board of trustees and the man who single-handedly installed Umaru Yar'Adua in Aso Rock! Whether Umaru Yar'Adua will correctly read the hand-writing on the wall, particularly the call by his Godfather and resign, Icheoku says, the final days of January and early February will be very determinative as to what becomes of the political stalemate in Nigeria. It is most likely the period during which the constitutional stagnation of Nigeria will final thaw for a Jonathan's acting presidency to emerge or Umaru's final return back to Aso Rock, even if aided by some life support machine? Nature abhors a vacuum and that created by over 62 days of Umaru Yar'Adua's AWOL will be soon be filled. All things said and done, one derivative lesson out of this very bad situation is that it sounds an alarm bell/wake-up call for all the so-called political Godfathers of Nigeria to give way to make way for a real democracy to take root in Nigeria. They should all back off from their meddlings in who gets into what positions, and allow the political process to evolve smoothly and somehow throw up a real leader, one who is the most qualified, capable and competent person to preside over the affairs in Nigeria. Until then, such tragedies as a sick President Umaru Yar'Adua's imposed on Nigeria, will remain a recurring decimal in Nigeria's political life, Greek-gifts which nobody wants.