The Insight y Lateef Adewole
There was this story in religious circle during the time of Prophet Solomon (known more as King Solomon). It was about two women who were fighting for the ownership of a child. The case was brought to King Solomon, as the judge. After each woman has narrated their part of the story, how they suffered to carry the baby’s pregnancy for nine months and still breastfed him for many years. They both insisted the baby belonged to them.
Finally, it was time for King Solomon to pass the judgement. He said, since both women insisted they were the mothers of the child, it would only be fair that the baby be shared between them by cutting him into two equal parts and give each woman a part. One woman jumped up and thanked the king profusely for being fair. That she agreed. On the other hand, the other woman fell down to the feet of the king, crying and rolling on the floor, begging him to spare her child’s life.
To everyone’s amazement, King Solomon commanded that the child should be given to the second woman. He said that given her reaction to the judgement, which if carried out, meant that the child will be killed. That whoever gave birth to the child would never have wished he be killed. That was how the real mother of the child was known and given back her child.
I tell this story and want to relate it to what is happening in the last few weeks in Nigeria, concerning our democracy, and the roles being played by some major players, by their actions, that are putting it at risk of being truncated again, since they lost the presidential election on February 25th, 2023. I have watched, in shock and discomfort, many interviews granted by some of the losers, their parties, their supporters and sympathisers. I have read commentaries, seen social media posts, messages, voice notes and videos, where many of them make incendiary statements. The impunity with which they make reckless and inciting comments is what scared me, even on national televisions.
Since few weeks to the elections, during the counting and after the declaration of the winner, who happened to be the candidate of the ruling party APC, President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we have witnessed the main opposition candidates who lost, and their supporters, made so many statements that are capable of derailing this hard-earned democracy. Their actions and inactions have resonated with such statements too.
In the election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of PDP came second. The candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, came third. Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso of NNPP came fourth. These three losers in particular, have rejected the outcome of the election, based on their perception of its conduct. This is within their right. Two of them, Atiku and Obi have instituted their cases at the tribunal challenging the result. This is fine. It is within their right too. Afterall, you cannot beat a child and still ask him not to cry.
The only shock and concern for many peace loving lovers of democracy is the actions that these losers continued to engage in, despite having their cases already in court. While the immediate street protest which was started by Atiku, his party leaders and supporters for a day or two, were taken as understandable. They have since calmed down and focused on pursuing their case diligently in court.
In fact, many of their supporters have simmered, when in retrospect, they realised their defeat was self-inflicted. Most of them have come to term with the fact that they orchestrated their own loss from the start. I watched Segun Sowunmi on Channels Tv analysed the elections. Same thing as Barr. Daniel Bwala. These two are among the ferocious spokemen in the Presidential Campaign Council of Atiku-Okowa. They are brilliant and outspoken. Even if they still believe Atiku could go to court, they have come clean as to why they lost. These are members of parties that came second.
Now to Labour Party that came a distance third, what have we witnessed? All efforts to create national crisis and bring down the country. The candidate and his vice, party leaders and members, Obi’s supporters, who are referred to as Obidients, have all been acting as if this democracy means nothing to them. As if they don’t care if the country goes to flame. It is absurd that in every of their ranting on televisions and other platforms, they kept saying they were doing all that on behalf of Nigerians. One would ask; which Nigerians?
Omoyele Sowore, another presidential candidate who lost, once questioned them how a paltry 6.1 people who voted for Obi translated to the “whole Nigerians” being behind them? This is a country of over 200 million people. And almost 30 million voted in that presidential election. So, 6.1 million is just 20% of voters and 3% of the population. How does that translate to “all Nigerians”? Although, it is not surprising. They are social media population and see everything through the lens of social media. When they go online and see their likes making noise all over the place, they could mistakenly take that to represent the whole of Nigeria, the same mistake they made during the campaigns before the elections.
While, like Atiku and PDP did, protesting for a day or few days, wouldn’t have been of much concern to many, the irritating and irrational ways they have been carrying on, have become grave concern to genuine and patriotic Nigerians. Their actions are beginning to raise red flags, when the statements from their leaders are juxtaposed with the actions of the Obidients. For weeks now, they have been organising protests continously.
Their leaders; the presidential candidate, his vice and their party leaders, have kept making statements capable of igniting crisis in the country. If Obi has taken his case to court, why should he go on national televisions to still be laying claim to the mandate already won by another who was declared by INEC, the only body with constitutional power and responsibility to do so? Why doesn’t he wait for the outcome of his case in court?
The worst ever was the recent interview on Channels Tv by Obi’s vice presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed. That was not his first to be insensitive in his comments but he took this last one a notch higher. He was categorical and emphatic that Tinubu will not be sworn-in as the president on May 29th, 2023. He claimed that they won the election and therefore, it is illegal to swear in Tinubu. He called on President Buhari and the CJN, Ariwoola, not to do it. Even when he was reminded of the gravity of his utterances, he was recalcitrant and kept on repeating it recklessly.
Although, petition was sent to NBC, which has now fined Channels Tv a sum of N5 million, for permitting their guest to make such false claims and dangerous propositions without shutting him down. Some of the actions of these guys are in the realm of treason. After such inflammatory interview, we saw their foot soldiers, disguising as protesters, went to the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, a military base, where they seek their help and implore them to “save” Nigeria. What does that really mean or imply?
Many close watchers have interpreted this to mean a call for military intervention. This happened when the rumour of the call for Interim National Government (ING), is rife and has become very thick in the air. It has gotten so serious that the Department of State Security (DSS) has confirmed it and issued an official statement. This must have jolted Labour Party leaders to life from their daydreaming and misdemeanours as they started denying having such plan.
They must have realised they were on their own when their co-travellers in PDP distanced themselves from such illegality, and called for the arrest and prosecution of those behind it. Labour Party Chairman had to quickly issue a statement claiming all they have been doing were not about calling for Interim Government but to rescue Nigeria, by protesting. Who does that? How can you aprobate and reprobate? How can you be in court pursuing your case to reclaim your mandate and still be on the streets at the same time? Are they ready to bear the consequences of it if things get escalated?
Back to my story and to now relate it to the country. From the story, it is clear that someone who has everything to lose would not want things to go wrong. Only those who have nothing to lose would be ready to pull the roof down on everyone. Labour Party and their Obidients have shown such traits and exhibited such characters of people who care not about whatever will happen to our democracy or the country as a whole, by their actions. They already lost the presidency. So, if the democracy collapses, they have nothing at stake to lose.
Unfortunately, the people they are using to create and sustain these unrest are the youths and young people. Many of them are innocent, naive or ignorant of what they are being used for. They might actually thought it is for the good of the country. Sadly, with these approaches, it is not. No patriotic citizens will want their country to burn for their selfish political ambition and entrenched interests. A patriotic citizen knows that if their country burns, they will be the fuel used for it and everyone will be a loser.
Sadly, many of these leaders, who them on, have second or multiple addresses. Many of them and their family members have dual citizenship. They are rich and have required resources to escape if things go burst. They will run away and leave these innocent followers, who they would have used to cause the problem, behind to suffer or even die! So, everyone should wise up. Parents need to call their children to order so that they will not be used as canon folders.
Despite that I know of the reservations expressed by the very senior lawyer, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), about the elections generally, a statement from him which I read two days ago, buttressed the wisdom in that story told earlier. He said that calling for Interim Government is criminal and unconstitutional. And that those involved need to be arrested. Why would he say that? It is because he knows the value of this democracy we are enjoying today, being a frontrunner in the fight against the military junta of Babangida and Abacha, in the struggle for the actualisation of the criminally annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, won by the late MKO Abiola.
People like him, who suffered endless brutality in the hands of soldiers, would never contemplate a return of such era in the country. But can we say the same of those causing and leading these unrests now, especially the candidates? Where were Peter Obi, Datti Baba-Ahmed, Atiku and Okowa, during that struggle? Their case is what the Yorubas refer to as “ajogun ewu etu, ko moyi agabada nla”. Someone who inherits underserved, unmerited privilege, would never appreciate the toil that went into achieving such privilege.
People who were nowhere to be found or at worst, collaborating with the same military to suppress democracy, but suddenly find themselves positioned to benefit from it undeservedly, are bound to be ready to discard it without thinking twice, irrespective of the consequences.
Atiku was an active participant in the third republic and the process that led to June 12. He stepped down for Abiola at the presidential primary election of the then SDP, to pave way for his emergence. However, when the election was annulled, ING set up, and Abacha sacked the ING and the subsequent hell that let lose, with sustained struggle by patriots, fighting for democracy to reclaim the mandate, he was nowhere to be found, at least, publicly. His voice, like many others like him, were never heard. There is more to this but let’s leave it there.
I don’t want to believe the rumour that Obi was member of the infamous Association for Better Nigeria (ABN), led by late Senator Arthur Nzeribe, that was responsible for annulling June 12 and truncating the third republic, as I have not seen evidence to that effect. But, surely, as a big business man, he must have been busy making money during this period, importing all manners of goods to the country. Democracy or military couldn’t have been his concern, so long it did not interfere with his businesses.
Datti Baba-Ahmed, in 1992, should be about 23 years old. What concerned a 23 year old of rich parents about Nigeria? He is also from Kaduna, a location far from the theatre of war for the democracy, in Southwest. Many in the northern Nigeria did not even feel what was happening at the time, not to talk of a “rich kid”. His vituperations on televisions didn’t portray him as someone with that strict and disciplined upbringing. He talks carelessly many times. And these are people positioned to reap today, where they did sow.
Can we compare the contributions, the sacrifices, the losses, the pains and so on, for this same democracy, of a person like Tinubu, with any of them? I don’t want to start with that now. It is well documented in books. He was a senator at the time, form the nucleus of those who fiercely fought the military to a standstill; from Babangida to Abacha, before we eventually got the fourth republic in 1999, from General Abdulsalam Abubakar. He became the governor of Lagos State that year and has remained in the front row in sustaining and entrenching democracy. “Oun ti a ko j’iya fun, ki t’ojo, oun a ba f’ara s’ise fun, ni pe lowo eni”. His becoming the president-elect today is a journey of 31 years, filled with thorns and broken bottles. So, who will appreciate this our democracy more and be ready to protect it with his life today? The answer is obvious.
The most painful part to me is the youths being used. The majority of these Obidients ppare clearly of the same ethnic extraction as Peter Obi, and are only doing all of these for tribal interest, not because they love Nigeria, other youths who join them are my concerns. The people who populate the Obidient movement are in their 30’s downward. In 1993, most of them were not born. So, they don’t even have a clue as to what is called a military regime or ever experienced an alternative to a democracy.
They were born into freedom in a reasonably free democratic Nigeria. They grow up seeing a world that works for them, even when they think otherwise. They grow up having the world on their palms with the revolution in telecommunications in Nigeria, and preponderance of mobile phones, many so sophisticated. They were born into, and grow up in information age. In era of social media. In era of freedom of speech. In era of freedom to abuse the president, governors, anybody, anyhow and at anytime, publicly on televisions, on the streets, in the comfort of their homes, on social media, using their phones. And they will still go back home, sleep peacefully and wake up in their bed the following day.
They can never imagine these were luxury in those days. It’s unfortunate that our youths and young ones know little or nothing about their country, about their history, about where we were coming from. They are clueless about these. That’s only reason they act and behave as they do. “Eni ija o ba, lo n perare lokunrin”. When I see all these their macho and braggadocio on display and the arrogance of many of them, I just laugh. “Omode o m’ogun, o n pe l’efo”. May military dictatorship never happen to them.
It is becoming more imperative to bring back the teaching of real and contemporary history, especially of our country, in schools, not stone-age history. “B’omo ko ba b’atan, yio b’aroba”. Parents should also begin to educate their children at home by teaching them their history. True history, not ones full of hate for other tribes which many past parents programmed to manipulate their subsequent generations. Nothing good will come out of such, but misery.
The youths also need to calm down and learn. Many of them today, are restless. They are not prepared to learn from the elders. Some are arrogantly ignorant in their self-delusion of thinking they already know everything, just because the world is in their palms- internet enabled mobile phone. It would have been understandable if they actually learn from it. Rather, most use it for frivolities that add no value to them. This is a story for another day.
In all, it is critical that all Nigerians, who love their country and this democracy, must rise up to defend it. They should call those planning to truncate it and create problems for all of us, to order. The security agencies should rise up to their responsibilities by nipping such treasonable actions in the bud. Nigeria cannot afford another crisis in this state. The people are already badly beaten and sufferred enough with the state of the country, no one should add salt to injury.
All politicians, who have been elected on all platforms, irrespective of political party, should see this as threat to all of them, not just the presidential election winner. They should realise that if any untoward event ever happens, God forbid, it will sweep all of them away. They can find out about those already elected and in offices in the third republic. A single misadventure of annulment of the June 12 presidential election led to the collapse of all the whole political structures already in place for many months; up to the national assembly. They should all know that when one finger touches oil, it soils the other. This is not time to be silent. Enough is enough!
May the enemies of Nigeria, planning to truncate our democracy and trying to destroy our country, never succeed. They shall continue to fail.
May God continue to protect us and guide us aright.
God Bless Nigeria.
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April 1st, 2023.