OBJ’s Roforofo

Their Excellencies, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and President Muhammadu Buhari have one thing in common: they are both uncommonly favoured by Providence to govern Nigeria twice, in army uniform and out of it.  In Obasanjo’s case, he has been a more recurring decimal than Buhari and has had the privilege of being a major player at […]

Their Excellencies, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and President Muhammadu Buhari have one thing in common: they are both uncommonly favoured by Providence to govern Nigeria twice, in army uniform and out of it.

 In Obasanjo’s case, he has been a more recurring decimal than Buhari and has had the privilege of being a major player at crucial moments in Nigeria’s history. Love him or loathe him, you can’t take that away from him. So used has he become to being in the decision-making mix over the years that he fancies himself the father of modern Nigeria.

 His letter bombs to serving presidents have now become legendary. His magisterial pontifications on how the shop should be run bear the unique stamp of the OBJ brand — abrasive, provocative, sometimes rude. Out of office, the wily old man has become a master at gauging the mood of the people and stealing their voice to lambast sitting governments.

 Interestingly, he brooked no opposition during his presidency. Even presidential media chats were reduced to staid monologues as he didn’t tolerate probing questions from journalists. His short fuse was legendary. Journalists learnt to ‘bend their mouths’ in presenting their questions as harmlessly as they could so as not to be bullied off the set.  

That same attitude has become the distinguishing factor of the OBJ brand. And you don’t need much tinder to ignite Volcano OBJ. Just present a narrative that is less than flattering and the all consuming lava of rage and granite-hard abrasiveness spews forth.

 It did the other day when President Buhari referred to the “$16 billion investment in the power sector” by the Obasanjo administration without much to show for it. Buhari wasn’t saying anything new. Two years ago, a non-governmental organisation, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), pegging its request on “Section 52 of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, and the object and purpose of the 1999 Constitution (as amended)”— called for a probe into the billions of dollars expended on power projects under the Obasanjo administration.

 There were conflicting figures in the public space but the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, weighed in when he declared that, “As for the power probe, $16billion was truly appropriated but $13.5 billion was released….” 

The House went on to institute an ad-Hoc Committee to probe the matter and also investigate the massive cash withdrawal from the Excess Crude Account (ECA). The Committee found that $13.278 billion was spent on power projects between 1999 and 2007. Lamenting that many of the contracts were inflated through opaque processes, the committee sought investigation of 18 people by anti-graft agencies.

“From all available facts, a prima facie evidence of corruption and inappropriate disbursement of funds amounting to corrupt practices and economic sabotage have been established”, it said.

Quite a number of camels passed through the eye of the needle under Obasanjo’s watch. But he insists, as is his wont, that everything his government did was beyond reproach. And rather than directly address Buhari’s aforementioned comments, he referred the incumbent president to read Chapters 41, 42, 43 and 47 of his book, “My Watch” for what transpired when the allegation of $16billion on power projects was previously made. Then he added, “If he cannot read the three-volume book, he should detail his aides to do so and summarise the chapters in a language that he will easily understand”.

That is gross and rude, coming from an 80-something-year-old elder statesman. Apparently, OBJ has not learnt how to disagree without being disagreeable. If gold rusts, what will iron do? What example is the older generation giving to the younger ones?

I am reminded that Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka had torn “My Watch” and its author to pieces when he critically assessed it as follows: “I despise humanity whose stock-in-trade is to concoct lies simply to score a point, win an argument, puff up his or her own ego, denigrate or attempt to destroy a fellow being. However, even within such deplorable species, a special pit of universal opprobrium is reserved for those who even lack the courage of their own lies, but must foist them on others.” 

Roforofo fight, the kind described in Fela Aniklapo-Kuti’s song of the same title, does not befit an elder. Remember Fela’s counsel: 

If you dey among the crowd wey dey look

If you yourself, you yourself dey among the crowd wey dey look

And your friend, your friend dey among the two wey dey yab

Tell am, tell am, tell am, tell am, tell am make him no fight o

Make him no fight, make him no fight because Roforofo dey ….

 Now, who is going to volunteer to tell OBJ that?

 For me, I am convinced that many of the irritations we currently experience will disappear when we restructure the country. The fake federalism we are currently practising is wired for perpetual friction. And even if I was persuaded by some of the arguments of those who want to ‘change Buhari’s change’, OBJ would not be the face of my alternative brand.I can do with less baggage!

 So, let the consultations, conspiracies, verbal gymnastics and grandstanding continue. But let’s not talk in a way that would make even our shadows ashamed of walking on the same side of the street with us.