Chavez and a few good men

Nor was his mass appeal limited to his native Venezuela alone. At his funeral yesterday were 31 heads of foreign governments while at least 16 of these countries had officially declared different days of mourning to mark the passing of a man they held in high esteem. This impressive, trans-continental show of grief will naturally […]

Nor was his mass appeal limited to his native Venezuela alone. At his funeral yesterday were 31 heads of foreign governments while at least 16 of these countries had officially declared different days of mourning to mark the passing of a man they held in high esteem. This impressive, trans-continental show of grief will naturally raise the question, what was the secret of Hugo Chavez’s international appeal?
We all grew up hearing the saying ‘Charity begins at home.’ But few of us really strive hard to be the best we can in our immediate environment before we start seeking glory elsewhere. Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias was one of those few. After a failed attempt to seize control of his country’s leadership in 1992, Chavez served a two-year prison sentence that ended in 1994 and bounced back into politics soon after. He formed a party called the ‘Movement of the Fifth Republic’, under which he contested for the presidency in 1998 and took the oath of office January 1999.
As soon as he found himself on the highest seat in the land he nationalised the country’s oil companies and won himself the enduring love of the country’s poor by implementing socialist policies which provided free education and health services for all, amongst others. Though critics insist he could have done more because Venezuela is not the best model of prosperity in Latin America, the outpouring of love and mourning both before and after his death showed the fact that Venezuelans appreciated whatever he was able to do for them.
Braving the scorching sun they queued up for several hours to catch a glimpse of their hero as he lied-in-state the military academy in Caracas. When he spoke to AFP a few days ago, one 34 year-old education worker called Jose Gregorio Conde  had this to say ‘I’m here to say my final goodbye to my president. There will never be another Chavez. He is the greatest man that this fatherland gave us.’
This sentiment is so obviously shared by the thousands of Venezuelans who kept trooping to the capital city to say farewell to their departed leader, that on Thursday, the crowd caused a stampede because they were desperate to see his body before the funeral held yesterday. Then Vice-President Nicholas Moduro was forced to announce that Hugo Chavez’s body will continue to lie in state for another one week to enable everyone to bid him farewell. Such outpouring of devotion and grief can only come at the loss of a leader who meant so much to his people.
If Venezuela does not have the glitter and shine of other oil-rich nations, it is probably because honest leaders with socialist leanings always laid more emphasis on providing everyone with the necessities of life than with the excess luxuries that are obtainable in capitalist societies; which also serve to create the wide gulf between the rich and the poor. This was also evident in Libya under the late Muammar Gaddafi because such austere orientation is a mark of patriotic leaders who are ‘a little to the left’.
As for Chavez’s international appeal, it was manifested in his unrelenting efforts to help poorer neighbours through direct financial assistance and the sale of oil at below market prices to particularly those in the Caribbean. He   reached out to other countries of the world at the receiving end of First World imperialist economic policies, especially in Africa and the Muslim world and extended to them hands of cooperation and solidarity. Hugo Chavez’s outspoken opposition to US policies, particularly the war in Iraq endeared him to the rest of the world as a fearless statesman, who publicly denounced United States highhandedness and military adventurism in the Arab World.
Having flown all the way from Tehran to Caracas for the funeral, Iranian president, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, drew standing ovation to himself when he  walked to Chavez’s casket to pay his last respects. He had earlier on described Chavez, as a ‘martyr.’ Ahmedinejad’s emotional farewell to his anti-imperialist ally, in the form of a light kiss on the coffin and a clenched fist salute, drew him even more applause from those in attendance. Even the United States whose antagonistic relationship with Hugo Chavez was never in doubt was said to have sent an unnamed delegation to the funeral.
Despite their strained relations, the US still buys a million barrels of crude oil annually from Venezuela and keeps diplomatic relations with Caracas. In fact just hours before Hugo Chavez’s death was announced, Vice-President Moduro had sent two American embassy officials packing from the country on allegations that they were planning to destabilise the country. Both of them air attaches based in Caracas, they were accused of holding meetings with members of the Venezuelan military and encouraging them to pursue ‘destabilising projects’ aimed at causing chaos in Venezuela, in the light of the president’s ill-health.
The country’s foreign minister Elias Jaua disclosed this to the media and warned ‘We will not allow any foreign interference in our country. Do not think that the situation of pain over the health of President Chavez will translate into weakness.’ The US state department had since denied the allegations against the embassy officials. Alas, the situation of pain over Chavez had also since transformed into mourning. The best test of popularity for a leader is usually the reaction of the people when he is no more. Chavez has proved to his people and to the world that oil can be more than just the devil’s excrement.
As a people afflicted with the same curse, we Nigerians hope that our leaders will learn from far-sighted and self-less leaders like Chavez, some lessons on how to use oil wealth to serve the people. Leaving behind his mother Elena, three daughters, his son Hugo junior and a granddaughter, Chavez belonged to that class of a few good men, whom when entrusted with a nation’s wealth, use it for the benefit of all. At this point I can’t say it better than in the words of William Shakespeare, ‘Noble brother, fare thee well.’