Obasanjo, Atiku and 2019 elections

TO put it mildly, history has been fair to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s former two-time Head of State. First, it was his government that handed over to that of Alhaji Shehu Shagari at the inception of the Second Republic in 1979 and, then, precisely two decades later, at the close of military intervention in politics, he led the civilian administration that was saddled with setting the tone for the current democratic dispensation.  Equally remarkable is the fact that no Nigerian has yet surpassed his long, enviable record as the country’s number one citizen, having served for a total of 11 years. On a good day, even this profile alone puts him in good stead to be a revered father of modern Nigeria. However, his conduct and comments over time seriously cast shadows on his capacity to fit into that description. But Chief Obasanjo’s public attacks against President Muhammadu Buhari’s bid for re-election in the forthcoming presidential poll have once again drawn the attention of discerning people to the unfortunate character traits of the Ota farmer who has refused to take a seat of honour among his fellow former heads of government.

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While the retired General is busy launching offensives at President Buhari for exercising his constitutional right of pursuing his second term, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, another ex-Head of State, is coordinating electoral peace initiatives. Abubakar’s effort is a good example of what noble personalities do. The good news here is that people are watching and taking notice of Obasanjo’s inconsistencies. His endorsement of the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, after the party’s convention in October truly demonstrates his tendencies. Mr. Anthony Sani, Secretary General of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), appropriately captured the condition this way: “If you consider what the former President has written about his former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku, to the extent of saying God would not forgive him if he endorsed Atiku for president, then you can hardly avoid the conclusion that common decency is yet to take root in our democracy, especially when regard is paid to the place of the former president in the order of things in Nigeria.

“President Obasanjo is a statesman who is expected to be an embodiment of national ideals and moral values for the nation. But the way he has conducted himself by tearing his PDP card and saying he would no more play partisan politics and forming a movement which he said is Third Force, only for him to convert it to a political party of ADC, culminating in the endorsement of former VP Atiku reeks of inconsistency. That may explain why most Nigerians may be curt and dismissive of the former president out of fear that he is just like a reed who can change his mind before the day of elections in 2019.”

Sani’s expressed apprehension turned out to be prophetic, at least partially. Though not surprising to those who have followed his brand of politics, he announced the other day that he had not anointed anybody for the February 16, 2019 ballot, as if the nation had conferred that kind of power on him. Mallam Garba Shehu, Buhari’s spokesman, spoke the minds of many others when he reacted thus: “We know that the slightest wind can make him change his mind again. After all, this is the same man who publicly tore his party registration card barely four years ago, and he now claims to be backing the same party.”

Dr. Jonathan has also endeared himself to people around the world by promptly accepting defeat in 2015. Even when these yesterday’s men of power criticise Buhari, they do so with some decorum. The time has come for Nigerians to decide who their real elder statesmen are. In a 2012 article, “The Four Qualities of a True Statesman”, written by Brett and Kate Mckay, they recalled the thoughts of Prof. Rufus Fears, a distinguished American freedom historian. For Fears, the leading relevant attributes are being a bed-rock of principles, moral compass, man of vision, and possessing the consensus to accomplish that vision.

According to them, “success ultimately hinges on his (statesman) ability to convince his country’s citizens of the soundness of his philosophy. To win their hearts, the statesman shuns media campaigns and instead harnesses the power of the written, and especially the spoken, word; he is a master orator. His lifelong study of great books and the lessons of history allow him to speak to the people with intelligent, potent, well-reasoned arguments. Instead of tailoring his rhetoric to the public mood, he speaks to the very best that exists within people, understanding that powerful rhetoric can articulate, bring forth and activate sometimes deeply buried ideals. His authority derives from his belief in what he says. He does not make emotions soar and burn with empty promises, but instead keeps his word and does what he says he will do.”

• Ebube, a public affairs analyst, writes in from Abuja