Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has often said, “once a general, always a general” in reference to he and his colleagues who collectively have ruled Nigeria for over three quarter of the shelf life of this country. What these men tell us about Nigerian leadership should be golden, after all nobody has the experience or monopoly over leadership like them. But what do you call leadership? In search of the cabals of retrogression, one must always be able to read between the lines. And how does one do so when the lines are far from blurred but hidden?
General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) is not really retired after all. He wants to come and pick up his superhero costume and clean up Boko Haram. Nigerians are game to this suggestion because he could potentially get the job done either because he has the military know how of how to combat the situation, or because Boko Haram would step down as part of a scripted narrative to ensure a Northern Presidency. The proponents of the latter argument say this scenario was activated pre-2011 elections as Northern elders grew ire with President Goodluck Jonathan’s thrust towards the Presidency after the death of their kinsman, former President Umaru Yaradua.
Beyond the Boko Haram issue, many Nigerians do not have a genuine reason to clamour for change so much. And not many have a genuine reason to vote for General Buhari.
In this 1985 Concord Newspaper article, respected journalist and civil rights campaigner exposes General Buhari to those who do not really know him beyond the APC media hype. It is worth a read ahead of any decision making at the polls next month:
Nigeria’s fifth coup on 27th august caught a holidaying nation by surprise. Nigeria was waking up to its second day of Eid-el-Kabir festival and a coup must have been the last thing on people’s minds.
But then the unhurried and steady voice of Brigadier Joshua Dogonyaro came on the air with tidings that swept away an old order and brought about the hopeful beginnings of a new one.
Initial public reaction to the coup was one of perplexed uncertainty which, as the success of the coup became established, slowly transformed it into cautious happiness. Public reaction was of course rooted in recent experiences. The Buhari regime had after all, cruised into office on a speedboat buoyed by popular goodwill.
That the coup was engineered by Major General Ibrahim Babangida did not come as a surprise to informed observers. The coup followed months of deep divisions within the ruling Supreme Military Council (SMC) which were so pronounced that they became the subject of public gossip. The rift divided the hard-line clique of Major-Generals Buhari and Idiagbon from the rest! Despite its numerical inferiority, the Buhari-Idiagbon alliance muscled through measures which alienated the government from the people.
General Babangida who now bears the title of the president, told the nation that General Buahri was too rigid and uncompromising in his attitude to issues of national significance.’ General Idiagbon, he said, ‘arrogated to himself absolute knowledge of problems and solutions and acted in accordance with what was convenient to him, using the machinery of government as his tool.’Babangida’s view coincides with the public perception of the two disgraced strong men. Buhari’s frail figure always struck a stark contrast with his brusque demeanour and hard-line rhetoric. Idiagbon, on the other hand deliberately sponsored and promoted a public myth about his unsmiling, martial mien.
The Buhari regime precipitated its eventual eclipse by naively cultivating the antagonism of key groups of people – students, workers, journalists, doctors, lawyers, traders, and academics. Only eager for the support of traditional rulers, the regime treated other interest groups with scorn.
It refused to recognise the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and instead of discussing this with its leaders, hurled them into detention. Thousands of workers were told that there was no longer any work available to them. Decree 4 became a nightmare to journalists. Doctors who sought to draw attention to the death dens that hospitals had become were brusquely dealt with, and their leaders detained for several months. Traders had their stalls demolished in what appeared to be an orgy of official sadism.
The Buhari regime claimed that its mentor was the late General Murtala Muhammed, easily the most venerated Nigerian leader. What was clear to observers, however, was that the regime misread Murtala’s own principled firmness. While Buhari strained to be perceived as a chip of the Murtala block, he himself belonged more to the world of Shehu Shagari, the man he overthrew.
The rigidity of the ousted administration was best exemplified in the nature of the decrees it produced. Discounting popular advice, the regime went ahead to promulgate decrees which rather than solving problems, created new ones. Many people were detained under Decree 2, which was a blank cheque to arrest and detain individuals considered a risk to national security.
Decree 3, under which former office holders were tried, spelt out sentences which by the sheer severity seem primed to punish, not correct. Perhaps the most absurd of them all was the Miscellaneous Offences (Special Provisions) Decree 20, under which several drug pushers were killed despite national and international opposition.
The new government is sure to introduce a populist tenor in its style. President Babangida is a more profound follower of the Murtala legacy and he has already set the tone for a less closeted, more open administration. He recognised, according to the testimony of those close to him that the essence of the political message of the late General Murtala Mohammed did not lie in thoughtless stubbornness. In his maiden speech, President Babangida provided a clue to the direction of the new government by announcing certain measures. He abrogated Decree 4, the vicious tag on the press and proclaimed the unconditional release of those detained under the decree.
Those who have followed General Babangida’s impressive career speak of him as a healthy cross between the soap-box geniality of the politician and the firm no-nonsense mien of the soldier. His abiding commitment to his principles is matched by his gift to listen to different opinions, thereby enriching his own political vision.
The real test for the new regime will be provided by the actions it takes in the economic areas. In its maiden speech, General Babangida delineated four fundamental issues: decrease in domestic production; dependence on imports for both consumer goods and raw materials; a grossly unequal gap between the rich and the poor, and the large role of the public sector in economic activities.
Whether the Babangida presidency will receive plaudit from history will depend on its approach to the profound economic, social and political problems dogging the country. One objective he has achieved, however, was to restore the faith of Nigerians in Nigeria. For each time a new regime comes to power, Nigeria renews its hopes.
President Babangida has at least launched his version of this ritual and Nigerians are already grateful for that.
Okey Ndibe
Culled from Concord weekly September 12, 1985