Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town South Africa, the man who took Nigeria for a long scary ride through a path of ignominy and who wanted to truncate the constitution just for his own personal selfishness said, “Unless it is absolutely necessary, I believe that any African leader, whatever mistakes he made while in office, unless it is a heinous crime, when he gets out of office should be left alone to vegetate and retire to his village, or where ever he wants to retire to. One of the things that can discourage others from following the footsteps of those who have vacated power is the fear of what will happen to them after they leave office."Icheoku says but regrettably ever since Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo was forced out of office by Nigerians who thunderously said NO to his third term agenda, he is still walking the grounds of Nigeria a free man despite committing 'heinous crimes' of genocide against ethnic minorities of Odi Bayelsa State and Zaki Ibiam Benue State?
According to Obasanjo's doctrine of preventing 'sit-tightness amongst African leaders' and Icheoku quotes, "leaders should be left alone to rot in retirement "unless it is for heinous crime"; in which case, such a monstrous former president should not be left alone but disturbed by the law and the people. Icheoku asks, what then is the Nigerian authorities waiting before they arrested and prosecute Olusegun Obasanjo, using his standards as a guiding philosophy, or are they saying that his nearly extermination of a people is not such "heinous crime" as would subject Obasanjo under his own doctrine for culpability of a former leader? Icheoku says the crimes of Olusegun Obasanjo while in office make it absolutely necessary and imperative for him not to be left alone, but made to answer for them after he left office or rather was forced out of office. Icheoku worries that excessive executive impunity persisting in Africa especially Nigeria today, where men and women of means and power feel that they are above the law, stems from the fact of the failure to prosecute people like Olusegun Obasanjo for their blatant crimes, committed while in office or in a position of authority.
Such impetus is now being similarly shared by the failed presidential candidate of Congress for Progressive Change and three times rejected presidential candidate, Imam Muhammadu Buhari over his engineering of the post election mayhem that engulfed some parts of Northern Nigeria. Icheoku even heard that the Osama Bin Laden of Nigeria, severally and boisterously, challenged the authorities in Nigeria to arrest him if they can; that Icheoku wishes that atypical Sani Abacha is in office to take Buhari up on his dare.
Why would a country worth its name not subject every of her citizen under the law; and it is not as if these two were the only times people have felt above the law in Nigeria. Remember that the evil genius Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida once refused to honor an invitation to appear before a duly constituted Justice Chukwudiufu Oputa panel of Inquiry and he freely walked away from such arrogant disrespect and disregard for the law? The solution to this flagrant abuse of the law in Nigeria is simple as making an example with one of these people is all that is required to straighten things and empower the populace. Icheoku says, JUST PUT EVERY GADDAM NIGERIAN UNDER THE LAW and now that Olusegun Obasanjo has technically confessed that his crimes while in office were the reason for his wanting a third time, may be it is about time the Nigerian authorities make an example out of him and bring him to justice.
Luckily, there is no statute of limitation in matters of mass murder. Odi and Zaki Ibiam victims of Obasanjo's brutal regime are still reeling in pain, crying and demanding for justice, so Olusegun Obasanjo should be put through the judicial process and made to pay for his crimes against the humanity that called Odi and Zaki Ibiam home. The rest of his other Nigerian victims, since possibly his crimes against them did not arise to the "heinous crimes" standard; will be satisfied with the Odis and Zaki Ibiams getting their day in court against their traducer in chief, Aremu Michael Okikilemo Olusegun Obasanjo. But no, it ain't gonna ever happen as Icheoku almost forgot that President Jonathan is Obasanjo's boy and he dare not go up against the man who made him president. The Godfather strikes with venom and vengeance and President Goodlucky Ebelesimi Jonathan do not want none of that; moreso he is not of the brave-heart genre and would rather his boat is not rocked.
It is also quite ironical that Olusegun Obasanjo, who had eight years to but failed to fix Nigeria, is now imploring the present administration to address six key areas of 'economy, security, unemployment, corruption, infrastructure development and stability in energy generation and supply.' What a man who is both shameless and unaware Obasanjo is; otherwise with which face is he now urging that these areas be addressed urgently when he woefully failed to do so himself during his eight long years in office and with enough resources to make them happen. It is paradoxically akin to the Rush Limbaughs of America giving credit to former President GW Bush for the final "mission accomplished" in the matter of Osama Bin Laden? Like Obsanjo, Bush had eight years but could not or failed to land the trophy Osama Bin Laden; and although President Jonathan is not there yet but is directed and marching on; and soon it would be real democracy-dividend delivered to the people of Nigeria in those enumerated six areas. Icheoku's quarrel is not with the merits or demerits of the six issues raised, but that Olusegun Obasanjo is the wrong person to raise them; as he lost his moral standing to so do when he blew his opportunity to make a difference in those areas while in office. But at last Nigerians, we have a confession from the Aremu himself on why he desperately sought a third term in office that was resoundingly rejected by Nigerians. What a confession that is and when will Obasanjo be indicted for his crimes while in office since his immunity has since now lapsed?
Obasanjo Preaches Impunity
ReplyDeleteon MAY 9, 2011 · in EDITORIAL
FOUR years after he failed to perpetuate himself in office, Olusegun Obasanjo is explaining why African leaders are reluctant to leave office. He should know, considering that he did everything not to leave, until Nigerians shut the door on him.
What did he learn? Apparently nothing. The excuses he is making for sit tight leaders say a lot about Obasanjo and his self-serving agenda.
He wants Africans to forgive their leaders, guarantee they will not be prosecuted after leaving office, so that they in turn will become law-abiding.
Why should leaders who have become criminals be awarded an amnesty? Will that be good reason for them to be more reckless while in office? Obasanjo used his immunity to do whatever he wanted while he was in office for eight years. He wanted to use the same immunity to extend his stay in office until Nigerians refused.
His suggestion of an amnesty for African leaders will also make him a beneficiary outside the fact that the abuses of the amnesty will recreate the problems that we want to avoid by asking these leaders to obey the law. Is that too much?
Obasanjo’s proposal made at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, South Africa, is at best insulting to Africans and shows their leaders are not responsible enough to obey the law.
“Unless it is absolutely necessary, I believe that any African leader, whatever mistakes he made while in office, unless it is a heinous crime, when he gets out of office should be left alone to vegetate and retire to his village, or where ever he wants to retire to,” he said. What Obasanjo calls mistakes are pre-meditated ruination of countries and peoples.
“One of the things that can discourage others from following the footsteps of those who have vacated power is the fear of what will happen to them after they leave office.”
Do these leaders think of the fact that they would leave office? Do they even act as if they are human? What would Obasanjo consider a heinous crime? Obviously, corruption will not qualify.
“When one looks at the political horizon, sit-tight leaders are becoming extinct species. Very few of them are left. They should look and see that those who have taken their exit are not worse for it. I am here. I know that ex-President Mbeki is also there.
There is life after the State House. And if they know that and also appreciate that there is something they can do to be useful to their country, Africa and humanity, maybe they would be encouraged to vacate,” Obasanjo advised.
Obasanjo could not afford to be strict on sit tight leaders because he wanted to be one of them. The choice of an important forum to make his point is not an accident. African leaders are human. They punish their people for less infractions than the corruption and the poor leadership they have visited on the continent.
In the past two years, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation has found no former African leader worthy of the award it set up to promote good governance. Does that bother Obasanjo and his league of retired leaders?
Again, Obasanjo has proved that there is no need punishing corruption
Third term: Obasanjo offered Senators, Reps N50m each — Dabiri-Erewa, ACN secretary
ReplyDeleteBy Olusola Fabiyi, Abuja
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
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Echoes of the Third term bid by former President Olusegun Obasanjo reverberated at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre on Tuesday as a current and an ex-federal lawmaker restated that each member of the then National Assembly was enticed with N50m.
The lawmaker, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa and Senator Lawal Shuabu, confessed at an interactive session with Action Congress of Nigeria National Assembly members-elect in Abuja, that the money was tempting.
Going by the fact that there were 109 senators and 360 members in the House of Representatives then, the Obasanjo administration must have paid N23.45bn for the project.
Obasanjo had in 2006 tried to railroad the National Assembly into amending the constitution to enable him to seek a third term in office.
The bills seeking the amendment were eventually thrown out by the Ken Nnamani-led Senate and Aminu Masari-led House of Representatives.
But Dabiri and Shuabu, did not say if any of the then National Assembly members accepted the huge sum. They told the ACN lawmakers-elect that they rejected the money because the bid was not in Nigeria’s interest.
“I was actually tempted when the Third term money came. This is because, for the first time in my life, I saw huge sum of money in brief cases or boxes. But we stood our ground and that was why the agenda was killed,” Dabiri-Erewa said.
She also told the legislators-elect not to expect to be appointed members of what she called “juicy committees” because they are not in the majority in the House.
The ACN lawmaker from Lagos State, also advised them to work hard in whichever committee they found themselves in order to make an impact.
For example, she said when she was made the chairman of the committee on Diaspora, many of her colleagues did not see it as a serious committee
However, she said she had been able to turn the committee around, thereby making her colleagues to see it as one of the “juicy committees” in the House.
Shuabu, who spoke on ‘General Approach as New Comer to NASS,’ said, “Obasanjo brought N50m to each us for the Third term but we refused. It was not in the interest of Nigeria becuase it would have served a bad precedence if we had gone ahead to pass the bills.”
He told the new legislators that as members of NASS, they “are even more powerful than the President” because without their nod, he (President) “cannot even spend money.”
Shuabu, who is the current National Secretary of the ACN, said it was the same Obasanjo that foisted the late Senator Evan Enwerem on the Senate as its president even when the majority of the members wanted the late Senator Chuba Okadigbo.
However, he said when it was apparent that Enwerem was not in control of the Senate, he had to be removed even though Obasanjo tried to avert it.
He regretted that Okadigbo, who later succeeded Enwerem, also failed in his duty as he was consumed by a contract scandal that later rocked the leadership of the Senate.
The former Senate Minority Whip between 2001 and 2003 and later Senate Minority Leader between 2007 and 2007, told the new legislators that through teamwork, they could achieve a lot.
“You can achieve a lot when you work together either as a party caucus or as minority group. If you work separately, you are finished,” he added