Since we are still in the month of January, it is appropriate
to wish all Nigerians Happy 2018. I am constrained to issue this special
statement at this time considering the situation of the country. Some of you
may be asking, “What has brought about this special occasion of Obasanjo
issuing a Special Statement?” You will be right to ask such a question. But
there is a Yoruba saying that ‘when lice abound in your clothes, your
fingernails will never be dried of blood’. When I was in the village, to make
sure that lice die, you put them between two fingernails and press hard to
ensure they die and they always leave blood stains on the fingernails. To
ensure you do not have blood on your fingernails, you have to ensure that lice
are not harboured anywhere within your vicinity.
The lice of poor performance in government – poverty,
insecurity, poor economic management, nepotism, gross dereliction of duty,
condonation of misdeed – if not outright encouragement of it, lack of progress
and hope for the future, lack of national cohesion and poor management of
internal political dynamics and widening inequality – are very much with us
today. With such lice of general and specific poor performance and crying
poverty with us, our fingers will not be dry of ‘blood’.
Four years ago when my PDP card was torn, I made it
abundantly clear that I quit partisan politics for aye but my concern and
interest in Nigeria, Africa and indeed in humanity would not wane. Ever since,
I have adhered strictly to that position. Since that time, I have devoted
quality time to the issue of zero hunger as contained in Goal No. 2 of the
Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. We have set the target that Nigeria
with the participating States in the Zero Hunger Forum should reach Zero Hunger
goal by 2025 – five years earlier than the UN target date. I am involved in the
issue of education in some States and generally in the issue of youth
empowerment and employment. I am involved in all these domestically and
altruistically to give hope and future to the seemingly hopeless and those in
despair. I believe strongly that God has endowed Nigeria so adequately that no
Nigerian should be either in want or in despair.
I believe in team work and collaborative efforts. At the
international level, we have worked with other world leaders to domicile the
apparatus for monitoring and encouraging socio-economic progress in Africa in
our Presidential Library. The purpose of Africa Progress Group, which is the
new name assumed by Africa Progress Panel (APP),is to point out where, when and
what works need to be done for the progress of Africa separately and
collectively by African leaders and their development partners. I have also
gladly accepted the invitation of the UN Secretary-General to be a member of
his eighteen-member High-Level Board of Advisers on Mediation. There are other
assignments I take up in other fora for Africa and for the international
community. For Africa to move forward, Nigeria must be one of the anchor
countries, if not the leading anchor country. It means that Nigeria must be
good at home to be good outside. No doubt, our situation in the last decade or
so had shown that we are not good enough at home; hence we are invariably
absent at the table that we should be abroad.
All these led me to take the unusual step of going against my
own political Party, PDP, in the last general election to support the opposite
side. I saw that action as the best option for Nigeria. As it has been revealed
in the last three years or so, that decision and the subsequent collective
decision of Nigerians to vote for a change was the right decision for the
nation. For me, there was nothing personal, it was all in the best interest of
Nigeria and, indeed, in the best interest of Africa and humanity at large. Even
the horse rider then, with whom I maintain very cordial, happy and social
relationship today has come to realise his mistakes and regretted it publicly
and I admire his courage and forthrightness in this regard. He has a role to
play on the sideline for the good of Nigeria, Africa and humanity and I will
see him as a partner in playing such a role nationally and internationally, but
not as a horse rider in Nigeria again.
The situation that made Nigerians to vote massively to get my
brother Jonathan off the horse is playing itself out again. First, I thought I
knew the point where President Buhari is weak and I spoke and wrote about it
even before Nigerians voted for him and I also did vote for him because at that
time it was a matter of “any option but Jonathan” (AOBJ). But my letter to
President Jonathan titled: “Before It Is Too Late” was meant for him to act
before it was too late. He ignored it and it was too late for him and those who
goaded him into ignoring the voice of caution. I know that praise-singers and
hired attackers may be raised up against me for verbal or even physical attack
but if I can withstand undeserved imprisonment and was ready to shed my blood
by standing for Nigeria, I will consider no sacrifice too great to make for the
good of Nigeria at any time. No human leader is expected to be personally
strong or self-sufficient in all aspects of governance.
I
knew President Buhari before he became President and said that he is weak in
the knowledge and understanding of the economy but I thought that he could make
use of good Nigerians in that area that could help. Although,
I know that you cannot give what you don’t have and that economy does not obey
military order. You have to give it what it takes in the short-, medium- and
long-term. Then, it would move. I know his weakness in understanding and
playing in the foreign affairs sector and again, there are many Nigerians that
could be used in that area as well.They have knowledge and experience that
could be deployed for the good of Nigeria. There were serious allegations of
round-tripping against some inner caucus of the Presidency which would seem to
have been condoned. I wonder if such actions do not amount to corruption and
financial crime, then what is it? Culture of condonation and turning blind eye
will cover up rather than clean up. And going to justice must be with clean
hands.
I thought President Buhari would fight corruption and
insurgency and he must be given some credit for his achievement so far in these
two areas although it is not yet uhuru!
The herdsmen/crop farmers issue is being wittingly or
unwittingly allowed to turn sour and messy. It is no credit to the Federal
Government that the herdsmen rampage continues with careless abandon and
without finding an effective solution to it. And it is a sad symptom of
insensitivity and callousness that some Governors, a day after 73 victims were
being buried in a mass grave in Benue State without condolence, were jubilantly
endorsing President Buhari for a second term! The timing was most unfortunate.
The issue of herdsmen/crop farmers dichotomy should not be left on the
political platform of blame game; the Federal Government must take the lead in
bringing about solution that protects life and properties of herdsmen and crop
farmers alike and for them to live amicably in the same community.
But there are three other areas where President Buhari has
come out more glaringly than most of us thought we knew about him. One is
nepotic deployment bordering on clannishness and inability to bring discipline
to bear on errant members of his nepotic court. This has grave consequences on
performance of his government to the detriment of the nation. It would appear
that national interest was being sacrificed on the altar of nepotic interest.
What does one make of a case like that of Maina: collusion, condonation,
ineptitude, incompetence, dereliction of responsibility or kinship and
friendship on the part of those who should have taken visible and deterrent
disciplinary action? How many similar cases are buried, ignored or covered up
and not yet in the glare of the media and the public? The second is his poor
understanding of the dynamics of internal politics. This has led to wittingly
or unwittingly making the nation more divided and inequality has widened and
become more pronounced. It also has effect on general national security. The
third is passing the buck. For instance, blaming the Governor of the Central
Bank for devaluation of the naira by 70% or so and blaming past governments for
it, is to say the least, not accepting one’s own responsibility. Let nobody
deceive us, economy feeds on politics and because our politics is depressing,
our economy is even more depressing today. If things were good, President
Buhari would not need to come in. He was voted to fix things that were bad and
not engage in the blame game. Our Constitution is very clear, one of the
cardinal responsibilities of the President is the management of the economy of
which the value of the naira forms an integral part. Kinship and friendship
that place responsibility for governance in the hands of the unelected can only
be deleterious to good government and to the nation.
President Buhari’s illness called for the sympathy,
understanding, prayer and patience from every sane Nigerian. It is part of our
culture. Most Nigerians prayed for him while he was away sick in London for
over hundred days and he gave his Deputy sufficient leeway to carry on in his
absence. We all thanked God for President Buhari for coming back reasonably
hale and hearty and progressing well in his recovery.But whatever may be the
state of President Buhari’s health today, he should neither over-push his luck
nor over-tax the patience and tolerance of Nigerians for him, no matter what
his self-serving, so-called advisers, who would claim that they love him more
than God loves him and that without him, there would be no Nigeria
say.President Buhari needs a dignified and honourable dismount from the horse.
He needs to have time to reflect, refurbish physically and recoup and after
appropriate rest, once again, join the stock of Nigerian leaders whose
experience, influence, wisdom and outreach can be deployed on the sideline for
the good of the country. His place in history is already assured. Without
impaired health and strain of age, running the affairs of Nigeria is a 25/7
affair, not 24/7.
I only appeal to brother Buhari to consider a deserved rest
at this point in time and at this age. I continue to wish him robust health to
enjoy his retirement from active public service. President Buhari does not
necessarily need to heed my advice. But whether or not he heeds it, Nigeria
needs to move on and move forward.
I have had occasion in the past to say that the two main
political parties – APC and PDP – were wobbling. I must reiterate that nothing
has happened to convince me otherwise. If anything, I am reinforced in my
conviction. The recent show of PDP must give grave and great concern to lovers
of Nigeria. To claim, as has been credited to the chief kingmaker of PDP, that
for procuring the Supreme Court judgement for his faction of the Party, he must
dictate the tune all the way and this is indeed fraught with danger. If neither
APC nor PDP is a worthy horse to ride to lead Nigeria at this crucial and
critical time, what then do we do? Remember Farooq Kperogi, an Associate
Professor at the Kennesaw State University, Georgia, United States, calls it “a
cruel Hobson’s choice; it’s like a choice between six and half a dozen, between
evil and evil. Any selection or deflection would be a distinction without a
difference.” We cannot just sit down lamenting and wringing our hands
desperately and hopelessly.
I believe the situation we are in today is akin to what and
where we were in at the beginning of this democratic dispensation in 1999. The
nation was tottering. People became hopeless and saw no bright future in the
horizon. It was all a dark cloud politically, economically and socially. The
price of oil at that time was nine dollars per barrel and we had a debt
overhang of about $35 billion. Most people were confused with lack of direction
in the country. One of the factors that saved the situation was a near
government of national unity that was put in place to navigate us through the
dark cloud. We had almost all hands on deck. We used people at home and from
the diaspora and we navigated through the dark cloud of those days. At that
time, most people were hopelessly groping in the dark. They saw no
choice,neither in the left nor in the right, and yet we were not bereft of people
at home and from the diaspora that could come together to make Nigeria truly a
land flowing with milk and honey. Where we are is a matter of choice but we can
choose differently to make a necessary and desirable change, once again.
Wherever I go, I hear Nigerians complaining, murmuring in
anguish and anger. But our anger should not be like the anger of the cripple.
We can collectively save ourselves from the position we find ourselves. It will
not come through self-pity, fruitless complaint or protest but through
constructive and positive engagement and collective action for the good of our
nation and ourselves and our children and their children. We need moral
re-armament and engaging togetherness of people of like-mind and goodwill to
come solidly together to lift Nigeria up. This is no time for trading blames or
embarking on futile argument and neither should we accept untenable excuses for
non-performance. Let us accept that the present administration has done what it
can do to the limit of its ability, aptitude and understanding. Let the
administration and its political party platform agree with the rest of us that
what they have done and what they are capable of doing is not good enough for
us. They have given as best as they have and as best as they can give. Nigeria
deserves and urgently needs better than what they have given or what we know
they are capable of giving. To ask them to give more will be unrealistic and
will only sentence Nigeria to a prison term of four years if not destroy it
beyond the possibility of an early recovery and substantial growth. Einstein
made it clear to us that doing the same thing and expecting a different result
is the height of folly.Already, Nigerians are committing suicide for the
unbearable socio-economic situation they find themselves in. And yet Nigerians
love life. We must not continue to reinforce failure and hope that all will be
well. It is self-deceit and self-defeat and another aspect of folly.
What has emerged from the opposition has shown no better
promise from their antecedents. As the leader of that Party for eight years as
President of Nigeria, I can categorically say there is nothing to write home
about in their new team. We have only one choice left to take us out of Egypt
to the promised land. And that is the coalition of the concerned and the
willing – ready for positive and drastic change, progress and involvement.
Change that will give hope and future to all our youth and dignity and full
participation to all our women. Our youth should be empowered to deploy their
ability to learn, innovate and work energetically at ideas and concepts in
which they can make their own original inputs. Youth must be part of the action
today and not relegated to leadership of tomorrow which may never come. Change
that will mean enhancement of living standard and progress for all. A situation
where the elected will accountably govern and every Nigerian will have equal
opportunity not based on kinship and friendship but based on free citizenship.
Democracy is sustained and measured not by leaders doing
extra-ordinary things, (invariably, leaders fail to do ordinary things very
well), but by citizens rising up to do ordinary things extra-ordinarily well.
Our democracy, development and progress at this juncture require ordinary
citizens of Nigeria to do the extra-ordinary things of changing the course and
direction of our lackluster performance and development. If leadership fails,
citizens must not fail and there lies the beauty and importance of democracy.
We are challenged by the current situation; we must neither adopt spiritof
cowardice nor timidity let alone impotence but must be sustained by courage,
determination and commitment to say and do and to persist until we achieve
upliftment for Nigeria. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and we believe that
our venturing will not be in vain. God of Nigeria has endowed this country
adequately and our non-performance cannot be blamed on God but on leadership.
God, who has given us what we need and which is potentially there, will give us
leadership enablement to actualize our potentiality.
The development and modernization of our country and society
must be anchored and sustained on dynamic Nigerian culture, enduring values and
an enchanting Nigerian dream. We must have abiding faith in our country and its
role and place within the comity of nations. Today, Nigeria needs all hands on
deck. All hands of men and women of goodwill must be on deck. We need all hands
to move our country forward.
We need a Coalition for Nigeria, CN.Such a Movement at this
juncture needs not be a political party but one to which all well-meaning
Nigerians can belong. That Movement must be a coalition for democracy, good
governance, social and economic well-being and progress. Coalition to salvage
and redeem our country. You can count me with such a Movement. Last time, we
asked, prayed and worked for change and God granted our request. This time, we
must ask, pray and work for change with unity, security and progress. And God
will again grant us. Of course, nothing should stop such a Movement from
satisfying conditions for fielding candidates for elections. But if at any
stage the Movement wishes to metamorphose into candidate-sponsoring Movement
for elections, I will bow out of the Movement because I will continue to
maintain my non-partisan position. Coalition for Nigeria must have its
headquarters in Abuja.
This Coalition for Nigeria will be a Movement that will drive
Nigeria up and forward. It must have a pride of place for all Nigerians,
particularly for our youth and our women. It is a coalition of hope for all Nigerians
for speedy, quality and equal development, security, unity, prosperity and
progress. It is a coalition to banish poverty, insecurity and despair.Our
country must not be oblivious to concomitant danger around, outside and ahead.
Coalition for Nigeria must be a Movement to break new ground in building a
united country, a socially-cohesive and moderately prosperous society with
equity, equality of opportunity, justice and a dynamic and progressive economy
that is self-reliant and takes active part in global division of labour and
international decision-making.
The Movement must work out the path of development and the
trajectory of development in speed, quality and equality in the short- medium-
and long-term for Nigeria on the basis of sustainability, stability,
predictability, credibility, security, cooperation and prosperity with
diminishing inequality. What is called for is love, commitment and interest in
our country, not in self, friends and kinship alone but particularly love,
compassion and interest in the poor, underprivileged and downtrodden. It is our
human duty and responsibility so to do. Failure to do this will amount to a sin
against God and a crime against humanity.
Some may ask, what does Obasanjo want again? Obasanjo has
wanted nothing other than the best for Nigeria and Nigerians and he will
continue to want nothing less. And if we have the best, we will be contented
whether where we live is described as palaces or huts by others and we will
always give thanks to God.
I, therefore,will gladly join such a Movement when one is
established as Coalition for Nigeria, CN, taking Nigeria to the height God has
created it to be. From now on, the Nigeria eagle must continue to soar and fly
high. CN, as a Movement, will be new, green, transparent and must remain clean
and always active, selflessly so. Members must be ready to make sacrifice for
the nation and pay the price of being pioneers and good Nigerians for our
country to play the God-assigned role for itself, for its neighbours, for its sub-region
of West Africa, for its continent and for humanity in general. For me, the
strength and sustainable success of CN will derive largely from the strong
commitment of a population that is constantly mobilized to the rallying
platform of the fact that going forward together is our best option for
building a nation that will occupy its deserved place in the global community.
May God continue to lead, guide and protect us. Amen.
* Special Press Statement by President Olusegun Obasanjo
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