Much ado about a letter

I had thought that the definition of a letter was “a written, typed, printed or electronically dispatched communication sent by post, messenger or electronic mail”. However, Olusegun Obasanjo is giving a new meaning to that word with his dispatches to Nigeria’s rulers right from the Shagari era to the current Buhari administration. A letter could […]

I had thought that the definition of a letter was “a written, typed, printed or electronically dispatched communication sent by post, messenger or electronic mail”. However, Olusegun Obasanjo is giving a new meaning to that word with his dispatches to Nigeria’s rulers right from the Shagari era to the current Buhari administration. A letter could be a stimulant or an irritant, an inspirer or depressant, cool ocean breeze or tsunami.

Obasanjo catalogued the things he thought Buhari was doing wrong and counselled him on what he should do going forward. The big one, for friends and foes of both leaders, was Obasanjo’s advise that, considering his performance and his health, Buhari should not seek a second term in office but join the pantheon of Nigerian ex-Kabiyesis.

Perhaps one of the more brilliant reactions to the letter, all things considered, was the government’s response which was decidedly tame rather than the usual tonnage of foul language by government operatives. The Buhari-led government scores itself high in revamping the economy, with foreign reserves at $40 billion, inflation down to 15.37%; implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) to stem financial haemorrhage; giant strides in agricultural production (especially rice); school feeding programme; infrastructure rehabilitation; increase in power generation; among others.

Nigerians have weighed in on both sides of the divide, some describing the letter writer in the vilest of terms, others hailing him for verbalising what they had all along carried in their hearts. I am not a big fan of Obasanjo myself, but I am not so blinkered as not to be able to separate the message from the messenger.

Yes, Soyinka had had cause to describe OBJ as “an overgrown child of circumstance with capacity for infantile mischief, and for needless, mind-boggling provocations” and also as “a seasoned predator on others’ achievements — preys on gossip and preys on facts, preys on contributions to collective undertakings…even preys on their identities….” 

But that doesn’t remove one scintilla from Obasanjo’s observations about the Buhari government.

President Buhari himself is reported to have said in March 2015, when Obasanjo wrote a similar letter to Ex-president Jonathan, that, “Obasanjo is a courageous and patriotic statesman who tells truth to power when he is convinced that leaders are going wrong”. So, the issue shouldn’t really be Obasanjo but the contents of his letter. If I had a say in the matter, I would tell President Buhari to take advantage of the free consultancy Obasanjo has offered and replan, retool and re-energise to excel. Do you understand my Kiswahili?

Shehu Usman Dan Fodio reportedly wrote in his book, Bayan Wujub Al-Hijra, thus: “O leader, you have kept yourself secluded from your subjects, by means of chamberlains and doors and you have set up high mountains before them while God’s door is open to petitioners; there is neither chamberlain nor door-keeper there. A kingdom can endure with unbelief but it cannot endure with injustice”.

There is so much foul language and other evidences of bad breeding out there that the polity may have missed one of the more positive developments to have come out of the political system in recent times. Last week, the APC unveiled the result of its committee charged with producing its blueprint for the much-clamoured restructuring of the federation. 

Surprise, surprise! The governing party actually believes in restructuring of sorts: States are to be allowed to decide what form, number and administrative structure of local government is suitable for them; the Petroleum Act is to be amended so that states can now issue oil mining licences, except for offshore oil; the Land Use Act, Nigeria Minerals and Mining Act, the Petroleum Profit Tax Act 2007 are to be amended in line with the new role of states; states are to be allowed to have their own police force; subsection two of the constitution  is to be amended to give more revenue to the states and reduce the federal government share; unlike what obtains at the moment, a constitutional amendment is also proposed to allow for a referendum to be conducted on burning national or state issues before decisions are taken.

The APC had sent conflicting signals to Nigerians after it assumed power. Whereas sections of the country voted for the party with the belief that it would champion restructuring, the pronouncements of the principal actors, including the president, gave the impression that they were desirous of maintaining the status quo. Already some of the opposition parties have crafted their manifesto around the issue of restructuring. 

If APC is now up to the game, it has to convince Nigerians that this is not just another kite being flown for electoral advantage. Chairman Odigie Oyegun has already promised an expeditious consideration of the recommendations. If APC can deliver on the restructuring issue, it may yet be able to lay claims to keeping faith with the hopes and aspirations of the teeming masses of the people.

Away from Obasanjo, Buhari, herdsmen, premeditated homicide, skewed political appointments, ethnic chauvinism and what not, the point bears repeating: there are only two tribes in Nigeria – the Haves and the Have-Nots. The latter have no business defending the directionlessness of the former.

GOODNIGHT MASEKELA

Goodnight, Hugh Masekela. And thanks for all those jazzy vibes over several decades. Condolences to Gboyega Adelaja, Orlando Julius and other surviving champions. Let the music play!