•Post on January 17, 2007, 01:48:20 PM


Soyinka Queries His Adoption By Opposition

President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday dismissed the Presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Muhammadu Buhari, as a man of military mentality who thinks he could restructure the country in a democratic dispensation.



 
Obasanjo scolded him at the opening of the Third Business Roundtable in Abuja, organised by The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, threw his hat into the ring in Lagos, where he too dissociated himself from the clamour by opposition parties for the return of Buhari as a civilian President.

He warned that his candidature would not be useful in forging a credible opposition against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that his history personifies a graver, looming danger to democracy.

He labelled him as a dictator who has shown no regard for democratic norms.

Soyinka insisted that Buhari’s candidature, which he had dismissed as a rash illusion triggered by other political improbabilities, is being given an air of plausibility by individuals and groups to which he had earlier attributed a sense of relevance.

He removed the African Renaissance Party (with which he identifies) from the endorsement of Buhari by those in Tunji Braithwaite’s Coalition For A New Nigeria, and noted that the grounds on which Buhari is being promoted as the alternative are shaky and naÔve.

Said Soyinka: "Buhari – need one remind anyone – was one of the Generals who treated a commission of enquiry, the Oputa Panel, with unconcealed disdain. Like Babangida and Abdulsalami, he refused to put in appearance even though complaints that were tabled against him involved a career of gross abuses of power and blatant assault on the fundamental human rights of the Nigerian citizenry."

He accused Buhari of abuse of power alongside his Chief of Staff, the late Tunde Idiagbon.

This abuse of power, in Soyinka’s chronicle, included Decree No. 4 of 1984 – under which two journalists, Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson, were jailed – and a retroactive Decree 20 of 1984 by which three young men were executed by firing squad for drug trafficking.

Soyinka also said he is not surprised at the census figures and recalled how he had gone round to consult with experts in demography outside Nigeria.

"I was a week in Ghana, in the conference which put me against many, many experts in this field, who also wanted to discuss the phenomenon called the Nigerian census. And the consensus, no pun intended, is that there is something very, very wrong about these figures."

Back at the roundtable in Abuja, Obasanjo, apparently reacting to the jab Buhari threw at his government last week, sneered: "He says he will continue with the reforms (in terms of the) restructuring of Nigeria. Because of the Constitution, no person can create a local government. He is still thinking in the military era (whereas) the Constitution does not empower him to create a local government.

"We have about 12 bills before the National Assembly, which include the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, the Procurement Bill, Tax Reforms Bills, and the Central Bank of Nigeria Act. I have no power over the National Assembly. I can only appeal to them, which we have been doing."

Buhari had said, in an interview last week, that Obasanjo’s economic reform is a disaster.

"Everybody is screaming," he reiterated. "I have said it so often that, since 1914, when the North and the South were amalgamated and became one Nigeria, and we have remained so, Nigeria has not realised the revenue we have had in the last 10 years.

"Go back and check in relative terms: The number of companies closed, loss of jobs, unemployment, insecurity and decay in infrastructure. And you can’t even reconcile the revenue Nigeria has realised with the economic disaster that has shown itself in terms of lack of employment, no power, and insecurity.

"I think the government has not performed, and that calls on Nigerians to think seriously on an alternative to this government."

Reacting to a question raised by a participant at the roundtable on the need to legalise the reforms – and for political parties to agree to continue with them – Obasanjo said it is unconstitutional for anyone to say he would restructure the country.

Obasanjo asserted that there is no basis for the PDP to meet with other parties to ensure the continuation of the economic programmes.

"For parties to come together on the reforms sounds like ganging up. On what basis should the parties meet? They have different ideologies and agenda."

Uncharacteristically, he called for a debate among the Presidential candidates in order to scrutinise their programmes and thinking.

On a statement credited to another Presidential candidate that he (the candidate) would "reform the current reforms," Obasanjo said it is the worst statement he has ever heard. Incidentally one of the candidates who made the statement was Obasanjo’s aide. Another was Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

The President insisted that proponents of the split up of Nigeria have been proved wrong because of the population results.

"The census results have been announced and accepted by the government as required by the Constitution. They have been forwarded to the National Assembly. What remains is the publication of the census in official gazette, which we will carry out next week."

Obasanjo emphasised that the reforms have yielded the desirable results, including the granting of debt relief by the Paris Club and the fight against corruption through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

"We are now in a situation where the reforms are no longer an individual or head of government’s reforms. Our reforms have been embraced by my party, the PDP. It is now my party’s agenda.

"This leads us to the fact that we can now draw up targets and policies, from where the government can draw up programmes. Our overall target is to be among the top 20 largest economies by 2020."

Most of the independent power projects would come on stream before the end of this year, he added, and gave an assurance that the government is on course to generate 10,000 mega watts (mw) of electricity by December and 15,000 mw by 2010.

Supporting that optimistic view, the acting Managing Director of the United Bank for Africa, Chika Mordi, recounted at the roundtable that the last seven and half years have been positive for Nigeria in terms of development.

He expressed confidence that the country would witness a sustained reform and a smooth transition, as "we have seen clear changes in terms of infrastructure, telecommunications, and financial management. How we harness entrepreneurship is the key to success in Nigeria."

The President of Coca Cola (Nigeria and Equatorial Africa), Lawrence Drake, said there is no reason why Nigeria cannot be a robust economy in Africa, if Angola could achieve it.

"Angola has significantly grown its economy and Gross Domestic Product in the last seven years. Nigeria has to do the same and grow her economy. Our hope is that this will happen," he stated.

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I couldn't read it all coz it was too lengthy for me but from the few lines I read I was able to come to a conclusion that a lot of dude seems to forget the fact that GMB did what he has to do then as a MILITARY man in a MILITARY Era. Though I see nothing wrong in what I read about him. One GOº°ºooOº°ºood thing I think I'm able to draw out from GMB is the fact that those who there hands are dirty doesn't want him in Aso Rock. Period!