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The Generals, Atiku, Governors And
Others At War (Presidency 2007)
Prince Charles
Dickson
Only last week I wrote
an essay on General Buhari, one of the Generals that believe they
still have something to offer, this essay is not only a sequel but
also to right the records and help us look at the issue of Presidency
come 2007 with less blind passion and more common sense. The
particular piece drew as much criticism as much as it drew plenty
accolades.
The General was tried
and convicted in the court of public opinion for one and a thousand
reasons, ranging from his notorious Decree 2, his poor human right
records...the missing suitcases, the missing billions while he was in
charge at the Petroleum Ministry. The list of his wrongdoings were too
numerous, away from all these, I want to look dispassionately at those
that want to rule you and I in few paragraphs, also I intend for us to
see this as contributory and the courting of controversy shall only be
a matter of opinion.
Personally me thinks
and believe that no General deserves to be President of Nigeria, From
Buhari-IBB, Gowon-Obj, Marwa-Kontongora, Gusau-Ukiwe, not even General
Prince Charles If I were one. It is a slap on the face of Nigerians
that the same people we blame for bringing the nation to its knees are
the same people that are coming back on a so-called redemption
mission, the people whose claims as messiah in their first coming were
failures. However, sadly this is Nigeria where anything can happen and
indeed does happen, it is Nigeria where an armed robber who plays well
can be guaranteed a national honour because his State submitted his
name or the President likes his face.
We have seen the much
talked about success of General Obasanjo, like his blind shares and
blind trust magic. Let us be sane for a minute because in our case
insanity is the rule not an exception. What are the criteria for
selecting, electing or rigging in a President in Nigeria? How did
Obj's armoured division do its magic in places like Rivers and Ogun
States with those mudslide figures? How has IBB atoned for Dele Giwa,
in the simplest of questions who killed Dele, who annulled June 12,
how and where went the Oil windfall that breezed itself to Minna and
environs? Have we so suddenly forgotten that between 1988-1993 we ran
the most expensive transition programme, this is exempting the
billions that General Abdulsalam spent graciously because he was
handing us over to another General.
Was it not General
Obasanjo that asked Gowon what he forget that he was looking for as
Head of State again, but soon Obasanjo was looking for the goose that
could lay for him any sort of egg, and truly we have seen his eggs in
his slanted anti-corruption fight that has accidentally been a battle
against his enemies, real and perceived (although I must quickly state
that it is unfortunate too that his enemies sometimes cannot explain
their sticky fingers).
There was a certain
Marwa that at a point was sure to give any person a run for his money
for the position, lets not forget that only these Generals have the
"pay" to do battle either way, but then like late Fela would say
suddenly, suddenly...everything scattered for the man after he was
guest to Mallam Ribadu. Infact barely months ago when I was privileged
to speak with Ribadu, he on record said "the lid was yet to be covered
on General Marwa and that at the right time when they have concluded
investigations..." Yet the General after the initial shock wants to
"continue the reforms of another General" after helping a dark goggled
eye General.
Funny is it, that
General Marwa at a point was assisting General Obasanjo to tackle
'Political General' Atiku, and was having it so good that he started
unintelligently taking on his mentor General IBB...In the heat of the
third term I remember General Gowon warned General Obj and Fat mouth
Kayode of ‘defending my master fame' then asked if he had the moral
right.
True talk; do these
Generals whether Buhari, IBB, Marwa or Obasanjo, Gusau et al not think
that they have done enough harm? The answer is no because they would
still have pockets of support either from little me that would be
impressed or those they would razzmatazz with our own money. In the
army its all about war, tactics, winning and loosing and their targets
in the Nigerian case is the populace and then the field depends on the
intrigues at play, that is why when the music is sweet, they never
want to leave the dance floor. Gowon did not want to leave Murtala
showed him the exit doors, Obj left for Shehu Shagari but believed
things would have been so bastardized that he would be the only one to
repair it, after serving time for trying to betray a fellow General
Abacha.
General Buhari parked
his car at owners risk and General IBB with his gap tooth smiled his
way to Dodan Barracks...years later General Abacha struck, tired of
only announcing coups, he believed only him deserved to wear the cap.
Almighty Allah was not asleep; as is the case when all hope is lost.
Plus and minus the rumour mill had it, that General IBB and other
Generals felt that Olu Falea and Alex Ekeume were chicken hearted
civilians, so, with an understanding a returnee General was imposed on
us. Another General provided rivalry in Buhari, though he lost...
Atiku the Custom
miracle man has been stubborn, Chris Okotie has not lost faith that
his God has said that he will be President, and then recently fine
face acada Pat Utomi is lecturing us that he can do it. I have not
forgotten the association of Governors needing relevance. The likes of
Kalu, Odili, Sani, Markarafi, Udenwa, Bukar Ibrahim, Abdullahi Adamu
and co, incidentally the chairman for that group's screening Governor
Fayose has been getting tried left, right, and center by brother EFCC.
Much ado about a nation.
Now to those I term
the others, first is, Atiku tops on that list. I will say the truth as
I see it, call it naive but I reserve the right, despite the beer
parlour permutations for those who indulge and the local parliament
discus at the vendors, the fact is that Atiku should have resigned to
face Baba squarely, although it is true that Generals can be deceptive
but then the recent mouth of exposing Obasanjo to moi is all mouth and
nothing but mouth, did Atiku just wake up. Because to the informed
there is nothing to expose again about Mr. President, it is there for
all to see. Though it is debatable but often I have questioned why is
it that, all the Vice President's men are not too clean, also the fact
that Atiku has remained till now shows clearly that his one hell of a
schemer, put in PR terms like I have been accused recently of, he is a
tactician, but I have said his failure of tactics to support Ekueme in
2003 would always haunt him. That is why today he is torn between ACD
and PDP, once bitten twice really shy.
From Atiku I take a
swing to debutant Pat Utomi, I like Pat, I know he is not crook or
like a friend said he has had no opportunity to be one, but he will
really need a strong alliance of him and the others, the problem is
who are the others...Its a good thing that the likes of Utomi are at
this stage of our national life standing up to be counted but then can
he play by 'their' rules, will he be able to convince away from
intellectualism, one in which he cannot even beat Pastor Politician
President Chris Okotie in terms of grammar. A quite sizeable number of
Nigerians question his ability to go the whole nine yards. If Gani
Fawehinmi cannot win his local government, it is one thing to be liked
by the masses, and then another to get their votes to count. Bien
venue, this is Nigeria!
Quickly, the others in
my analysis are the present group of governors that suddenly have
caught the bug of come and see what I have done in my State, the same
States where barely a tenth of them can say they have effectively
cleared refuse and that is why I love Governor Dariye who is not
ambitious, he loves little beginnings so...he has decided to go
continue his re-engineering in the Senate. Let me in all sincerity
ask, why did all this Governors have to wait till their tenure was due
and then, Baba too baring any devilish unforeseen most go in some 200
hundred or so days before they started hearing that voice only pastors
and politicians hear in Nigeria. Is it that after four years they had
not done enough damage to contest against Baba or that really the fear
of Baba's toy the EFCC was regarded as wisdom?
Nigerians are gullible
and that is why we have the present war of the Generals, Governors and
others to rule me and you, they claim we want them like the desert
Camel craves for water, yet they get there do their own thing,
re-establish their ailing businesses, come up with new UAC's to
continue the colonization of Nigerians by Nigerians, a capitalist
state of accumulation, accumulation and accumulation. They promise us
heaven now and when the time comes we do not need a survey to tell us
this is hell.
Like the present
General and talk of all his reforms, we see the Junior Minister of
Health involved in an auto accident, one, bad driving by the convoy
and excessive speed, two, bad roads, then arrangements are made for
her to leave abroad for treatment yet her aides say the accident was
not serious. And they tell us the health sector has witnessed
tremendous reforms. The general and his Custom General Veepee have
their own private Universities prized high above you and I bloody
civilians, and the Generals are reforming education. The rate of
insecurity, robberies, assassinations only confirm that a nation that
has the wrong value system will pay the prize, after all these
Generals became Generals by passing exams, knowing the right
godfather, mother and in cases godson to get their way, while others
have simply helped themselves to state coffers...a case of the more we
see the less we understand.
We need to define what
we want, vote massively in an unriggable manner, ...a dream? Certainly
not, lets not be deceived, Nigeria deserves a great man, a truly great
man, if we have none, lets make one, NAFDAC made Dora one, debt relief
made Ngozi wahala one. We need to decide if we are practicing
democracy, dictatorship or cilimicy or we are practicing, shacakism, a
confabulation for sharing of the cake government. Almighty Allah fight
this battle for us, the masses even if we have the number we need the
awakening that our destiny lies in our hands and that we can do it. If
the Generals, Governors and Others are at war, let the white horse
emerge.
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