The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Enigma

  • The enigma called Fayose

    The enigma called Fayose

    SIR: The personality and character of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State means different things to different people at different times. To his people, he is their omniscient leader that glorified himself with stomach infrastructure. To the APC-led government, he represents the grand patron of the wailers. To his party, he is the mouthpiece of the opposition. To the respected man of God, Pastor E A. Adeboye, he is the ‘defender of his people’, while to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he is just a noise maker.

    Undoubtedly, Nigerians need an opposition voice that will serve as a check  on the current APC administration, but unfortunately, Fayose is not in a position to carry out such duty. The governor lacks moral right to condemn the current administration since he was part and parcel of the malfeasances of the last administration; certainly, he who must come to equity must come with a clean hand. In fact, his election into the exalted seat of governor was enmeshed in controversy. We are reminded of the role played by Musliu Obanikoro, the then Minister of Defence just as other actors in the purported election have made some indicting confession to the EFCC. He (Fayose) will most likely not miss an appointment with the anti-graft agencies after the end of his tenure. Fayose is famous for making ridiculous and unsubstantiated allegations or glorifying prejudice that does not even elicit response from the APC-led government.

    Nigerians need a viable opposition party that can influence the decision of the ruling party, a voice that can challenge the audacity of the government, and that which Nigerians can easily identify with but certainly, Fayose and his cohort do not fit into such category.

     

    • Abolaji Adeniran,

     Ilorin, Kwara State.

  • Obasanjo at 80: Unravelling the enigma

    For better or for worse, no one can doubt the significance of Chief Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo to the Nigerian state and its future. Having gathered friends and foes alike, OBJ has become a force to be reckoned with. One can say, without any fear of contradiction, that he remains the singular most important living political factor today with regard to the dynamics of the Nigerian state. And, having entered into the sacred octogenarian circle, I do not expect any slowing down in terms of his acerbic capacity to speak bluntly about his assessment of the governance and leadership situation in his beloved country. Let me use this opportunity to wish Baba a happy birthday. As a son, I take extreme delight in the enigmatic existence of a man who has steadfastly refused to fade away despite the many attempts to silence him. In the face of overwhelming oppositions, criticisms, provocations and disparagements, Obasanjo has remained undaunted and unrelenting. His continuing relevance, I long suspect, owes a lot to the force of his charismatic personality, his historical importance at a significant juncture in Nigeria’s history, his obsession with significant ideas about nation building and diplomacy and finally his adroit understanding of realpolitik.

    His eightieth birthday celebration coincides with the formal opening of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL). And this was flagged off by a colloquium to precede the launch. I was invited and was surprisingly invited to make a statement. I have known Chief Obasanjo for so many years and in so many capacities. Our relationship was not just formal; it was founded on a solid tradition of a father-son dynamics that encompasses so many trajectories, from personal to professional. Thus, as I made my way to the podium for the statement after about three minutes notice by Prof. Ayo Tella, the MC, I was assailed by a fundamental confusion: From what angle and within what perspective was I supposed to make my statement about this larger-than-life man who has practically become a real life Wizard? I thought I could always make a speech, but for once I could not decide which line to pick out of a large pool of nuanced reading of a man that is complexity personified until I found myself on the podium.  How do I compact several years of relationship into a two-minute remark? Fortunately for me, the occasion for the formal launch of the Presidential Library provides another rich avenue to unpack the essence of an enigma. I therefore made some appropriate noises at the colloquium. But here I am again.

    Contrary to those who see and say all things bad and negative about OBJ, my engagement with him has always borders on a significant mix of the personal and the critical within a historical timeline that coincided with my own professional development and coming of age in Nigeria. In my past assessment of his politics, I have used the adjective “Machiavellian” to describe his political personality. But the historical confusion surrounding that word actually serves my purpose and sets me apart from the chorus of the OBJ-bashers. In the history of political thought, Niccolò Machiavelli remains one of the most vilified, especially with regards to his understanding of politics and the significance of political action. Thus, this perception created a negative connotation given to the term “Machiavellian.” Thus, a Machiavellian politician would be someone who places instrumental desires before scruples; someone for whom the end justifies the means! And there is no one who signifies such a Machiavellian figure than Obasanjo. But most of the literature on Machiavelli conveniently ignores the fact that Machiavelli agonized over the fate and political future of medieval Florence and its republican pedigree. It is through that nationalist but pragmatic template that I perceive Obasanjo as Machiavellian.

    Fortunately for me, my contact and engagement with OBJ commenced within the ambit of my learning and research as a student of political science and political theory at the University of Ibadan in the 80s. I was at the point of giving contextual focus to my theoretical understanding of political theory when I was invited to an interview as a research assistant to Chief Obafemi Awolowo. That interview gave me an opportunity to explore a political counter-narrative of how Awolowo’s politics could have turned out better first for what I have since called the precarious future of the Yoruba and also for the future of Nigeria. This counter-narrative was situated within a philosophical analysis of Awolowo’s understanding of the role of federalism in Nigeria’s future and the debilitating outcomes of the Awolowo-Akintola conflict within the context of Yoruba politics. That interview was one of my bold moments in my career; being so boldly critical of your to-be employer especially one that you revere, and I was convinced I had been clever by half. But Chief Awolowo apparently thought otherwise because I got the job!

    When Awolowo finally transited, I had to decide to take the research further under the supervision of Prof, Peter Ekeh. Ekeh’s seminal thesis of the “two publics” had already become a distinctive analytical framework for assessing the African political sphere. And it seemed just right for me to work within that template to frame my research into the dynamics of Nigerian politics. Obasanjo was already becoming a public figure as military head of state who was instrumental to the commencement of civil rule in 1979. His model of national engagement therefore became a unique one to be counterpoised to Awolowo’s, in spite of Papa Awo’s unrivalled legacies in the South-West. For me, it was a case of the Machiavellian contra the Platonic.

    As a Machiavellian, Chief Obasanjo is aware of the stark necessity of realpolitik in disentangling the governance complexity and political intrigues that define Nigeria. Since its evolution, the Nigerian state has grown to a huge complex proportion that has swallowed many a visionary leaders. It swallowed Murtala Muhammed. And OBJ has been a good student of politics. Like Machiavelli, in terms of politics, modern Nigeria is as nightmarish as medieval Florence. Both generate intrigues, assassinations, embezzlement, alliances and dalliances, patriotism and disaffection, and all other kinds of political and non-political affairs that are favourable and unfavourable to the growth and progress of the state. Such a political context demands not just any leadership but one with a realistic understanding of what needed to be done in terms of instrumental manoeuvrings if vision is to be imposed on political chaos. It is this political realism that distinguishes Machiavelli from a host of other political theorists in history. In fact, it is his insistence that politics must be analysed from the perspective of what it is, and not what it ought to be, that became the first impulse for the birth of modern political science. Without this realism, Machiavelli would not have survived the political landmines that littered Florence. He was nearly consumed, and his vision of a strong republican heritage for Florence was nearly abolished.

    From his military trainings to his first political appearance as second in command to Murtala Muhammed and then later as military head of state, OBJ has evolved until he returned as a democratically elected president in 1999. And from then, his stature and significance has grown into the colossal. I have used Winston Churchill’s description of Russia as the template for unpacking him—OBJ is essentially a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. And this explained why he has generated an OBJ industry in Nigeria and across the globe; an industry of haters, admirers, critics and even sycophants. And added to this is the fact that Providence has set him apart as one so blessed of God. You really just need to wonder how a person could survive the Nigerian military establishment (especially as a coup plotter), survive Abacha’s death trap, survive two significant moments as president, survive the ravages of age and still remain relevant as statesman. And it seems to me that Obasanjo’s statesmanship remains solidly national in a sense that Awolowo and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu are not. Let me explain.

    The real issue for Nigeria’s integration project is that of how to translate ethnic animosity to civic patriotism. This implies that a truly national leader must be one that has the capacity to transcend ethnic politics and contribute to the solid establishment of the civic public in Nigeria. Leadership in Nigeria since independence has always been tinged with an ethnic coloration. From Awolowo to Azikiwe to Ahmadu Bello, the regional and ethnic factor has remained an albatross around many a charismatic leader. The political clout of Asiwaju Tinubu is enormous with his aspiration towards national credibility. But Obasanjo trumps everyone else for the simple reason that he was able to breakthrough to the North twice. Of course, he did so without the support of the Yoruba, and with the suspicion that he was only a crony of the north. But his legacy goes beyond just being a national or even a global figure. In fact, the suspicion that attended his two-time presidency especially by his own people only goes to attest to his detribalized credentials. The whole of Nigeria is the locus of Obasanjo’s operation. Since he handed over power to Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1979, OBJ has been concerned about the Nigerian project, even if in a curious sense.

    A presidential library in Nigeria possesses the real potential of reversing the information and data deficiency that already defines Nigeria’s underdevelopment. The Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) allows us a glimpse into OBJ’s mind as a national figure as well as his actions and commission while in office. And this is significant because the presidential library also coincides with the inauguration of democratic governance in Nigeria. But much more than all this, I see in the idea of the library, the imperative for establishing an inter-generational relationship that draws the younger generations of Nigerians into a constant dialogue with the older generations on where Nigeria is coming from, where we are now and where we are headed, as well as the utility of generational capital in recalibrating Nigeria’s future. Launching the OOPL to coincide with OBJ’s 80th birthday celebration only goes to show a man that will never cease to rethink his legacy in terms of the future of Nigeria. From his Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) to the OOPL, Obasanjo has always been concerned about sowing the seed of greatness that will affect Nigeria’s greatness.

    With the idea of the presidential library, Chief Obasanjo, the beloved octogenarian, once again turns Nigeria’s face to the future. And with Lyndon B. Johnson, the former American president, we can say: “Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.” That is the purpose OBJ meant the OOPL to serve: the recovery of Nigeria’s future.

    Dr. Olaopa is Executive Vice-Chairman, Ibadan School of Government & Public Policy (ISGPP)

  • Obama’s enigma

    Obama was here briefly.  The 44th President of the United States (POTUS), Barack Hussein Obama’s eight years in office seems condensed and related events so complex and compacted, yet seemingly uncomplicated. The sojourn seems to have ended, just as it started. Obama’s reign was far from nondescript. While the Obama years may not have been epochal, much was accomplished.   The various global challenges and the scourge of international terrorism though not solved entirely were tampered extensively.  He tried to end the whimsical wars his predecessor started. There were pitfalls, many from an inherited past.  And there were fault lines and red lines, including Benghazi Libya and Aleppo, Syria both being part of the intractable Middle East mosaic.

    Obama was president, but his thought process was primarily, that of a lawyer, a professor, a diplomat and a grassroots proselytizer combined. He understood the president’s power to be the power of persuasion, at home and abroad.  He understood also that a successful president must convey confidence, strength, compassion and the ability to speak rather bluntly.  Soft power was always key- hence speaking softly but wielding a big stick often paid off on a world stage where finding a balance required carrot and sticks.

    For eight years, there were many who could not grasp Obama’s enigma.  They formed a bandwagon of critics and traducers.  Many, in the end, accepted reluctantly that Obama was an American, a smart politician who happened to be black and who served two full terms as president without and major scandal or crisis of note. Yet, Obama came, served and departed, leaving a deep and pragmatic footprint in different facets of governance, including job creation, growing the manufacturing base and the economic bucket, but no scandals.   Consequently, he gained acceptance based on his audacity of hope philosophy and telling the world and America that ‘yes we can’ and proving that an intractable problem like affordable healthcare for all Americans was possible.

    Obama always looked serious, oftentimes stern, but retained the capacity to be easily affable.  He was flexible. He spoke the mainstream establishment lingo, but could also drift comfortably to the lingo of the neighborhood with a touch of compassion and lithe shock and jive.  The world’s people related well to Obama. They appreciated his calmness and related assurances; but perhaps less so the enormous pressures of the office, which he faced with such equanimity.  The only betraying evidence were the incremental grey hair; not the absent worry burrows engraved on the face or eye bags. He had neither.  All through, he stayed fit and trim and added vim to the presidency with his sartorial elegance.  Obama presented to America and the world, a vintage first family: three gracious ladies who complimented his persona and office.

    Obama also portrayed candor, decency, humility, integrity, compassion, warmth, and gravitas and at all times, genuine bonhomie. He could do the bump shake with a janitor, a senator or a grassroots mobilizer.  When he was on the road campaigning or talking to working folks, he rolled up his sleeves, conveying a sense of readiness to do business and dirty his hands in service, if that was what was required to get America moving. He embraced friendly nations; confronted rogue nations and ignored and bypassed unserious and unfocused countries, such as Nigeria. Obama stood up to bullies and to U.S. long-term ally, Israel a nation that refused to give peace and a two-state solution a chance. On the strategic sphere, Obama ensured a global balance, despite China’s economic expansionism that borders on economic irredentism and growing right wing political extremism in Europe. He literally looked Russia and Vladimir Putin in the face – eye-ball-to-eye-ball- without blinking first. Using soft power and the treats of agonizing reprisals, he pushed Iran to toe the line of the Six-plus talks.

    His strategic, military, and economic policies were predicated on American interest, but not necessary the mantra of “America First”.  Obama arrived on stage when globalization and climate change were trending. When the world oil cartel had a stranglehold on the world, he advocated alternative energy as a means of reducing the carbon footprint, and in the end, promoted shale oil and crashed the global oil prices in the common interest. He may not have liked outsourcing American jobs, but realized that the world had become so interconnected.  He eschewed demagoguery and rejected collectivized criminalization of nations, races or religion, even when it would have been convenient and politically corrected to do so.  For that, he was labeled a Muslim sympathizer.   In all, Obama proved that political, economic and strategic adjustments were acts of pragmatism, not weakness.

    Obama is no longer U.S. president.  But he will be known as an American president in perpetuity.  Obama left the political stage, when the ovation and popularity decibel were resoundingly high. And he left office with a very high popularity rating, despite failing to put in place a successor that will build on his legacies.  History will be his ally, but the greatest impetus of his presidency will emerge and resonate from the conduct, and enunciations of his successor.  If Obama is ever deemed to not be at par with great presidents, then Donald Trump would be more so, given his trajectory.  Paradoxically, as Trump’s presidency progresses and Obama’s tenure recedes into twilight, Obama’s legacy will gain vim and any setbacks he might have encountered while in office, will be burnished by broad nostalgia.

    Overall, Obama served exceedingly well. Henceforth, history will underpin the rich heritage of his presidency. We therefore, applaud the 44th POTUS for teaching the youths of the world to say “yes, we can”, regardless of any odds they confront.  I suspect strongly that he will wield moral vast influence as a private citizen and ex-president, since age is on his side. Ultimately, Obama’s legacy and hence his enigma, will intrude into the minds of those who were not Obama aficionados, even if subliminally.

     

    • Obaze is MD/CEO of Selonnes Consult Ltd.

  • The Trump enigma

    SIR: Most people did not give him a fighting chance when he announced his intention to run for President of the United States. It became worse after he emerged as the Republican Party candidate for the post and he turned himself into a loose cannon. What with his brashness, the flaunting of his wealth etc… He even commissioned a new hotel complex as the heated election campaign wore on.

    He did not help matters by championing radical solutions to key issues. He would build a wall, which Mexico will pay for, to keep Mexican immigrants at bay, he insisted. He was mad at Moslems, was not enthused with Blacks and other minorities but was going to make the rich, like himself pay less, not more taxes.

    He was friends with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin who has been calling the U.S. bluff in Syria. He had good business connections with China which is moving to surpass the U.S. as the World’s economic power. He wrote off the military campaigns in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and especially Iraq as ill-conceived and badly executed. It looked like he had an axe to grind with every conceivable position the U.S. establishment stood for. It got so bad his opponents insisted that he should not be entrusted with the U.S. nuclear code given his well-advertised temperament.  An Arab American even wondered whether he had read the U.S. Constitution.

    Trump said he was not a politician, only a billionaire businessman. He blamed the politicians for most of the country’s ills. He was fed up with the way his country had been run even when they maintained the self-imposed role of the world’s policeman by the sheer strength of their military might and had kept their dollar as the world’s currency. A nation of immigrants from all over the world since Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespuchi, the Pilgrims and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Trump seemed to disdain this fact and appeared set for a new policy of Exclusive-Isolationism in America.

    He lost in all three presidential debates with ‘Secretary’ Clinton. He was not bothered about what was said of him including the ladies who suddenly emerged with allegations of ‘inappropriate’ advances. He chided the press for their reportage, abused anybody at will and refused to say whether he will accept the election results whichever way it goes. He even stated that the elections have been rigged before it started.

    Despite all of the above and much more, Donald J. Trump was massively elected the 45th President of the United States pulling off a stunning upset. Despite its anticlimactic and stunning close, Nigerians should learn from the process called Democracy and not make some mockery of it.

     

    • Comrade Charles Onyeagba,

    Awka, Anambra State.

  • Voices to an enigma

    Voices to an enigma

    A lot cannot be exhausted about this man. He has written about himself, others have written about him. Depending on the angle he is viewed from, Olusegun Obasanjo could be perceived in varying lights – great, villain, thug, joker, soldier, chicken farmer or just a jolly old man. His rambunctious character has been the subject of many books. Yet, Akanda Eda: The story of Olusegun Obasanjo, a new book, joins the array, unfolding the continuing enigma.

    Several authors, including Obasanjo himself, exhaust their opinions about the soldier, leader, Owu Chief, African statesman, and global leader via apt essays and pictures. In all, OBJ as Obasanjo is popularly referred to, emerges as a great person, or Akanda Eda, which in Yoruba, the language of OBJ’s birth, translates as ‘the special breed.’

    Unlike many books, it skips the bullshit usually associated with many biographical narratives – drawing on tedious genealogical lineage and heavy leanings on accounts of very early years. Rather, Akanda Eda quickly jumps into the main narrative of Obasanjo in public life with an introductory essay by the editor of the book, Dare Babarinsa, titled: ‘Born To Be Different.’

    Other essays would skim about Obasanjo’s formative years – his birth, school at Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta between 1952 and 1956, how he had to enlist in the army in 1958 after secondary school. Through the army, Obasanjo would acquire engineering training. The essays also dwell on Obasanjo as military head of state, life as a farmer, and as a politician and Nigerian civilian president.

    In the book, OBJ writes about how in 1957 he had passed the examination for admission into University of Ibadan but because of paucity of funds, he could not attend. About how Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone also offered him admission, while the UN offered him a scholarship to study geology either in India or the US. He, however, opted to go for the Officer Cadet training in Teshie, Accra, Ghana. At that period, he was faced with the tough decision of how to tell his mother he had enlisted in the military. He never did. Instead, he merely said he was going for further training as a teacher. When he joins the army, he recalls his girlfriend, Oluremi, who later became his wife, feeling he made a bad decision.

    ‘She asked me if I would turn out like one of the ordinary soldiers living in her father’s house in Abeokuta,’ he writes. ‘I said yes. She was not amused by my answer, and for the six months I stayed in Teshie, she never replied any of my letters.’

    However, it was in the army that greatness was thrust on him multiple times. From missing death by the whiskers on more than one occasion, he became president of Nigeria in 1976 at the age of 39. He would relinquish power to a civilian president, only to become a civilian president himself 20 years later. Eight years after serving two four year terms, the 78-year-old Obasanjo is still vibrant. The essays in Akanda Eda attempt to capture his story. It does not fully succeed, becoming rather a mere teaser.

    Hate him or love him, OBJ’s greatness cannot be dismissed. But there are many reasons for people to love and hate him. In fact, he widely commands both. Perhaps, the editor falls into the category of those who ‘love’ OBJ because Akanda Eda seems to dwell more on Obasanjo’s achievements. This way, Obasanjo’s personae is not fully captured, considering the slants of essays chosen.

    Aside confronting and ensuring reforms in some sectors of the economy like the telecoms and the power, introducing anti-corruption watchdogs, some slights of the former Nigerian leader were glossed over in the selected essays. For instance, no essay mentions some of the controversies which have trailed his time in public service. One of such is whether he actually wanted a third term. But reading OBJ’s letters, including the ominous missive he recently wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan, one gets the feeling that even out of power, OBJ still remains a passionate Nigerian. The prose employed by the indefatigable letter writer drips with brilliance, whether he is castigating or mending. But OBJ is also a man of action too.

    In chapter 12, Africa’s Elder Statesman, written by John Iliffe, various exploits of Obasanjo are detailed. It is poignant to note how Obasanjo restored the leader of Sao Tome and Principe after he was ousted by the military in that country. Other events as recorded in the article also show the leadership role which Obasanjo has played in global affairs, especially on the African continent.

    The book also reveals Obasanjo as a husband, father and family man. However, he is not just concerned with his children. The article written by John Olowofela explains what transpired when Obasanjo went on an official visit to Akwa Ibom State where he met a widow who pleaded for help.

    “He there and then asked the barefooted son of the widow to be brought to Aso Rock Villa where he put him in a first class primary school in Abuja,’’ writes Olowofela. ‘The boy has now completed his secondary education at The Bells, the school owned by Obasanjo in Ota and has moved on to the university.’

    The all-colour book is rich with photographs – pictures of Obasanjo with different people and many people mentioned in the essays are plentiful. However, unlike the essays which have by-lines, the identities of the photographs are mostly obscure. And while the subject of the book is interesting and the layout is rich with colour, the publishers did not pay adequate attention to some cheap errors.

    Akanda Eda hardly provides any new insight to understanding Obasanjo. Rather, it offers bits of his personae in a book filled with pictures, ensuring less monotony that boring texts on grey pages often bring. It offers a wide populace an easier avenue to leaf through the many sides of Obasanjo. And that is perhaps the best thing the book has to offer.

     

  • Amosun: Enigma in Ogun State

    SIR: Now that the dust has cleared and the contestants for the Ogun State governorship elections are known, it is time for comments and opinions on the contestants. Let me declare, without equivocation that incumbent Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun comes head and shoulders above the opposition. With him at the helm, Ogun State can now boast of having gotten out of its perennial political quagmires.

    Amosun deserves a second chance for a number of reasons. First, in four short years, he has stabilized the rather volatile political environment of the state. Let the people of Ogun State be reminded that, before Amosun, there was an administration that permanently grounded the state’s affairs in crisis. Governor Daniel and his House of Assembly were at loggerheads and the House of Assembly carried out its statutory functions everywhere but the House of Assembly. The mace was transported around the state as members looked for a “hideout” in various public places to meet. Lawmakers were made to swear “oaths of office” in their birthday suits carrying ritual sacrifices in place of the Bible or Quran. It was a maddening political theatre that made anybody from the state vomit. And people laughed at the state throughout the world. All that stopped when Amosun assumed office.

    Once peace and tranquility was brought back into the executive and legislative arms of government, the governor proceeded to make unbelievable advancements in the state. He spearheaded a remarkable and fantastic road infrastructure revolution which has now become the flagship of his administration with implication for job creation in the state, foreign and local investments and rapid industrialization. Where there was a foundation, he built on it and where there was none, he laid one.

    In addition, he has brought his experiences as a chartered accountant along with whatever “financial engineering” wizardry he could muster to the assignment. Because of these, other sectors have benefitted under his administration; affordable qualitative education, improved and efficient healthcare services and delivery, agricultural production, industrial development and affordable housing and urban renewal to name a few.

    One feels very proud reading of Governor Amosun opening new factories on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, in Sagamu and other places in between and beyond.

    He has been able to accomplish all these against all odds, especially, the on-again-off-again posture of the federal government denying and mismanaging much of the federal contributions due to the state. His critics, in good conscience, cannot but give him credit for what has been a five-star performance.

    It is for all these reasons, plus, that the governor deserves consideration for a second term. He must be appreciated and assured. It is my personal conviction that his opponents in this race are political neophytes; very light on the ground and wet behind the ears on the Ogun State political terrain. It is a terrain that angels fear to tread; slippery when dry.

    In Governor Amosun, Ogun State has finally found that elusive enigma in its puzzle. There is, simply, no one better! He is the definite and right choice come February.

    • Angelicus-M. B. Onasanya,

    Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.