By Duro Onabule (duroonabule@gmail.com)
Friday, March 18, 2011
This appreciation of General Muhammadu Buhari was first published in this column over four years ago. To be precise, January 26, 2007. It is reproduced today in view of its relevance.

If I were the average Nigerian, (without being immodest) I would not be writing today in stout defence of General Muhammadu Buhari, former head of state, who is under seemingly well-co-ordinated criticisms for no other reason than exercising his constitutional and political right of seeking elective public office. The major charge against General Buhari is that during his tenure, he violated human rights.

Well, I was a victim of that charge because I was detained more than ten times usually over week-ends from Friday till Monday or Tuesday. My longest detention was for a fortnight for criticisms in my column in the defunct National Concord or for critical editorials of the paper which mostly I did not even write but had to take the responsibility as the editor. My experiences in detention at Awolowo Road NSO camp were traumatic and yet educative enough that General Buhari (or anybody in his position) could never know or approve what was being done in the name of government. So I never held it against General Buhari.

Military rule anywhere in the world is an emergency which is not a tea party. Even in a democratic set up and in a supposed civilised society, human rights are suspended to deal with a prevailing unusual situation. Just two examples. Following the declaration of emergency in the defunct western region, the administrator, Dr. Koye Majekodunmi clamped the star performers led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief S. L. Akintola into detention disguised as restriction. Also, rather than tolerate anarchy, the British government sent the feuding Irish (either as insurgents or belligerents) into long detention without trial and dignified the apparent violation of human rights as internment, a policy which operated for many years.

Then, there was this incident which should now be judged on its merit. As the story went, in the build-up to December 1983 military coup, a certain Major Bamidele picked up the information and as a loyal officer, promptly reported to his General Officer Commanding (GOC) Third Division, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, who, as a precautionary measure, sent the poor officer (Bamidele) into guard room. When the coup eventually took place, General Buhari emerged head of state.

It was a renewed era of retirement/dismissals in the armed forces and public service. Among those listed for retirement if not dismissal was the same Major Bamidele obviously because of the “stain” of detention on his service record without knowing or bothering to know the origin of that stain. But General Buhari owned up as the cause of Major Bamidele’s problem, or at least that was the implication of General Buhari’s gesture in deleting the officer’s name from those to be removed from the army. Such courageous and humane gesture could not have come from a devil General Buhari as he is now being wrongly portrayed to be.

When therefore I met President Ibrahim Babangida at Dodan Barracks on September 9, 1985 at his request with the offer of being his Chief Press Secretary, one of my suggestions to IBB on the spot was that nothing should happen to Generals Buhari and (the late) Tunde Idiagbon, an assurance which I obtained.
Then, eight years ago, the same charges currently being levelled against General Buhari were similarly levelled against General Olusegun Obasanjo in a desperate attempt to frustrate his constitutional right of aspiring to the leadership of this country. But I almost all alone (on the pages of National Concord) defended Obasanjo. I never foresaw that General Buhari would ever face the same fire. By the way, the very same people who fiercely opposed Obasanjo eight years ago are the choir boys around him today.

Hence, close examination of the charges against General Buhari will show that the man simply took a cue from his military commanders-in-chief and civilian prime minister. One of such commanders-in-chief was General Obasanjo and if despite such charges, the same Obasanjo exercised his right under the Constitution to contest presidential elections in 1999, why should General Buhari not exercise the same constitutional right to aspire to the Presidency?
By the way, we should stop deceiving ourselves with this “Chief” title when addressing President Obasanjo. A military general should be proud of his professional career. Hence, there were General Eisenhower (American), General De Gaulle (French), General Juan Peron (Argentinian), General Moshe Dayan (Israel), General Sharon (also Israel) etc.

We are therefore discussing Nigerian military generals who preceded General Buhari as Nigerian leaders.
General Buhari’s strength (some would call it weakness) is his bluntness which of all people, South West politicians should even appreciate compared to the trap, if not betrayal, which earned them (South West politicians) the political massacre of 2003. Buhari said he would tamper with the press.
We (journalists) therefore knew the risk we were taking. Hence I was detained many times, while Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor were jailed with a retroactive law. But did Buhari or the army introduce retroactive legislation into governance in Nigeria or was Buhari the first head of state to tamper with the press?

May the late prime minister Tafawa Balewa continue to rest in peace. The Federal Government in 1964 hurriedly amended the newspaper law stipulating six months jail for publishing “rumour” even if true, a desperate measure to curb the guts of the media especially in view of the prolonged tension generated by the 1962 political crisis in the Action Group/West regional government. (“Even a minister grumbles,” i.e. against corruption), editor of the defunct Sunday Express, the late Dapo Fatogun, was jailed for six months. Later, editor of Nigerian Tribune, the late Ayo Ojewunmi, was also jailed for six months.

After the army struck in January 1966, General Aguiyi Ironsi clamped the editor of defunct DRUM magazine, the late Nelson Ottah, into detention quite rightly, for publishing a cartoon which further injured the feelings of a section of the country on the fatal casualties of the January 1966 unsuccessful mutiny. Neither General Ironsi nor his successor General Yakubu Gowon threatened to tamper with the press. But Gowon’s regime stopped publication of the Daily Times group for ten days and clamped Alhaji Babatunde Jose, Chairman/Managing Director, Henry Odukomaya, editor of Daily Times and some others into detention without trial. Their offence? Imminent publication of the autopsy report on the unsolved murder of Chief Medical Adviser, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Ademola, younger brother of Nigeria’s then Chief Justice Adetokunbo Ademola.

Dr Ademola’s mysterious murder at his Ikoyi residence was (as usual in Nigeria) linked to the impending medical report of the cause of the death in a helicopter crash, of the then Chief of Air Staff, Colonel Alao. Within his short tenure of six months, the late General Murtala Mohammed also got university lecturer, the late George Ohombamu arraigned in a Lagos Court for false publication of his (Murtala Mohammed’s) alleged personal assets. Then General Obasanjo, as military ruler, tampered with the publication of NEWBREED magazine.

If all these happened under General Buhari’s former commanders-in-chief and did not count against General Obasanjo’s return to public office, why should Buhari be singled out for unfair demolition exercise? What is more, the situation was not different under Buhari’s military and (supposedly) civilian successors.
President Babangida’s regime proscribed Newswatch magazine, closed down the Concord, Punch newspapers. General Abacha’s administration had the distinction of opening and closing the same Concord newspapers. President Obasanjo’s civilian regime should therefore have had a better record rather than laughably querying General Buhari’s claim to democracy. Otherwise, why was AIT transmission house shut down? Was the station of Freedom Radio in Kano not closed down? Only lately too were journalists at two Abuja-based publications harrassed by security operatives.

It was of course wrong of the Buhari administration to have detained ex-President Shehu Shagari in a house while Vice President Alex Ekwueme was detained at Kirikiri prison both in Lagos. For the critics, the insinuation of ethnic favour is there. We must therefore cite a similar situation. Four Nigerians were standing trial purportedly for treason. Since then, two – Dr Fasehun and Gani Adams – from President Obasanjo’s south west have regained their freedom or at least, been released on bail?

Why have the remaining two – Alhaji Asari Dokubo and MASSOB leader Uwazuruike – from eastern part of the country not regained their freedom or been released on bail? If there is any evidence implicating these two, what is holding up their trial? Nobody should be deceived that in Nigeria, bail for such high profile cases could ever be granted without the knowledge and indeed the approval of the presidency.

It was also wrong of General Buhari to have suspended two traditional rulers, Emir Ado Bayero of Kano and Oba Sijuwade of Ile-Ife. What has that got to do with Buhari’s current aspiration to the presidency? If anything, ordinary suspension of these two traditional rulers should in fact earn General Buhari commendation compared to the humiliation to which civilian leaders and military rulers before and after General Buhari subjected traditional rulers. Better put, which is milder, suspension or outright deposition? Now, holding such a charge against General Buhari wrongly created the impression that he was the first and only leader to have committed what is no more than a cultural deviance.

No such charge was made against Papa Awo in 1979 and 1983 to query his suitability to contest presidential elections? That was notwithstanding the fact that the old man’s administration in the defunct western region was the first to depose a traditional ruler Oba Adeyemi (father of the present) Alaafin of Oyo in 1954, followed in 1958 with the deposition of Olota of Ota. Northern premier, the late Ahmadu Bello followed suit by deposing Sir Muhammadu Sanusi as Emir of Kano in 1957. Premier Dennis Osadebay of the then newly-created Mid-west region deposed the reigning Oba Erejuwa, Olu of Warri in 1964.
The army was less than a year in ruling Nigeria when the second military governor of the then western region, Colonel (as he then was) Robert Adebayo deposed Olowo of Owo, Oba Olateru Olagbegi. That was under the regime of General Gowon.

Return of civilian rule in 1979 was to resume the humiliation of traditional rulers for political purposes, without realising that the new constitution not only was supreme but also instantly nullified any other law, state or federal, which conflicted with the provisions of the constitution. The most notable was the Chiefs’ Law Cap. 23 which devolved on the component south western states from the old western region. Hence, in 1981, the late Bisi Onabanjo, as Ogun State governor purported to have deposed the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona under the invalid Chiefs’ Law. Oba Adetona won the epic long drawn legal war to remain on the throne.

In 1982, the then civilian governor of Kano State, Abubakar Rimi, issued a query to the same Emir Ado Bayero of Kano which the latter’s loyal subjects considered an affront to warrant state-wide violent revolt with heavy casualties among whom was one of the governor’s key political advisers.
Intermittent return of military and civilian administrations did not change the situation. Under General Buhari’s regime, two traditional rulers mentioned earlier were suspended for six months each. But under the IBB regime, the then military governor of the then Gongola State, the late Colonel Yohanna Madaki deposed the Emir of Muri, gloating in the process that he (the governor) had dealt a heavy blow to feudalism (his exact words).
General Sani Abacha never saw eye to eye with Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki of Sokoto, an opportunity which the then Sokoto State military governor, Brigadier-General Muazu seized to depose the monarch.

The present Obasanjo regime has also recorded its stain in humiliating traditional rulers with the deposition of Emir Mustapha Jokolo of Gwandu by Governor Aliero of Kebbi State. With all these, how justifiable is it to cite General Buhari as being unsuitable for the presidency, merely for suspending rather than deposing traditional rulers?

Backdating any law is most unfair especially when such decision involves taking lives. Therefore, on the surface, the charge against General Buhari on the 1984 Drugs Offences Decree may appear to hold. But it depends on the circumstances. In truth, the man who committed the offence before the decree came into force, that is when the offence did not carry death penalty should have been sentenced to jail term, a position which I took in this column (then) in the National Concord. However, those who committed the drugs offence after the Decree carrying death sentence came into force deserve no sympathy. In Cuba, for example, drugs offence carries death penalty. When therefore the country’s erstwhile defence minister, General Ochoa, a fellow revolutionary was involved in drug trafficking, President Castro carried out the death sentence and replaced him with his (Castro’s) younger brother, who will most likely be the new Cuban president should Castro leave the scene.

What is more, retroactive legislation was not started by General Buhari nor by the army. Backdating of laws is as old as the first republic especially the old western region with the Chiefs’ Law to stabilise the Olubadan succession tussle between the government’s preferred candidate and his rival supported by the late Adegoke Adelabu, then uncrowned King of Ibadan politics. Adegoke Adelabu grabbed the initiative by installing his candidate. Chief Awolowo’s government was seemingly helpless amidst imminent anarchy and the determination to install the government candidate. The answer was a Chiefs’ Law making it a criminal offence punishable by long term imprisonment for anybody to install a traditional ruler except a candidate approved by the government, or for anybody to allow himself to be installed a traditional ruler without government’s approval. The law was backdated to compel both Adelabu and his candidate to give up the battle.

So, it depends on the circumstances. In that case, for peace and good governance in the land, the government of western region had to act.

To be continued next week

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/columnists/onabule/2011/today-18-mar-2011.htm

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