Nigeria no longer a police state
By Orji Kalu [Okalu@orjikalu.com]
Saturday, December 13, 2008

Each moment I remember the terror, intimidation, harassment, torture, killings and maiming that characterized the eight years Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was in power cold shivers run down my spine. Those at the corridors of power at the time would appreciate the picture I try to paint, better. Right from his first day in office, the man did not hide his disdain for civilian authority. He believed that as a military man he would not subject himself to civilian control. This was the tragedy of his entire eight years in power.

His penchant for muzzling and intimidating any perceived opponent came to the fore as soon as he assumed office as president. I recall how meek and humble he was when he was first touted as the successor to the then General Abdulsalami Abubakar. In fact, he almost kow-towed when he approached me, in company with some powerful persons of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1998, to curry my support for his presidential bid. His mien that day detracted sharply from the ruthless monstrosity he exhibited between 1999 and 2007.

Everything about the man, throughout his reign, was similar to the despotic leaders that ruled some nations of Africa before him. I knew, right from the outset of my association with him, that Obasanjo was very close to the then Idi Amin of Uganda, Mobutu Seseseko of Zaire, Omar Bongo of Gabon, and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. These men remain the most despicable despots Africa has ever produced. Idi Amin, Mobutu and Mugabe committed genocides in varied dimensions. Take a look at what is happening in Zimbabwe today: it has degenerated to a failed state with life becoming brutish and unbearable.
I was appalled by the recent reports shown on the Cable News Network (CNN) on the devastation caused by the cholera outbreak in that country. I could not believe that such a mind-boggling carnage could happen in the Africa of the 21st century. I watched as people died from diseases, hunger and police brutality. Some able-bodied men and women were shown scooping food from the garbage dumps to stay alive. The situation is that bad.

I wonder what Mugabe is still doing in the Presidential Villa, in the face of mounting lawlessness and unwarranted deaths. The man is so adamant that he has locked his mind to any form of mediation. The effort by the former South African President, Thabo Mbeki, to make him reach a compromise with the leaders of the opposition in the sharing of power came to naught because of Mugabe’s recalcitrance. The consequence is total breakdown of law and order. One is tempted to ask what African leaders are doing to stop the anarchy that has enveloped Zimbabwe. The United States and its allies have spent more time on rhetoric than action. One would have expected a serious intervention by concerned global powers to restore normality to that country.

I have recounted the situation in Zimbabwe to drive home the evil of despotism. What is happening in Zimbabwe would have happened in Nigeria, if not worse, if Obasanjo’s third term agenda had succeeded. I foresaw this and that was why I staked my life and fought with other politicians to abort the vicious tenure elongation project. I know I paid a huge price for it, but I am not discouraged a hoot. Given another opportunity I will do it all over again.
Obasanjo was no respecter of the law or constitutionality. He held the law and its enforcers with odium. This was why his administration witnessed the highest number of breaches in the annals of our dear country. He was a brute and never hid it. He carried himself as if he was God, and one could see it in everything he said or did.

Let us cast our minds back a little and see if we can recount some of the brutalities of the Obasanjo era, which earned Nigeria the derogatory accolade of a police state. I remember vividly the murder of Bagudu Kaltho, a renowned journalist, silenced by a bomb planted by an unidentified person, suspected to be linked to a security agency. Up till date, nobody has owned up to the killing. Chief Bola Ige, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation and later of Mines and Power, was brutally killed by unidentified gunmen at his residence in Ibadan. It is close to seven years since that unfortunate incident happened and the killers are yet to be found.

I have always asked the question, ‘how could the Chief Law Officer of the Federation be assassinated and up till date nobody has been caught in connection with the heinous crime?’ and nobody is ready to give me an answer. If such a high-ranking government official could be killed like a chicken and the killers disappear into thin air, then who is save in Nigeria? The ghost of Ige has continued to hunt this nation. Everybody is keeping studied silence over Ige’s death. Nobody knows what the killers are up to next.

After the death of Ige, there were other high-profile killings that took place and have not been resolved till date. Harry Marshal, Dikibo and Agom were all killed in cold blood during the reign of terror of Obasanjo. Looking at the pattern of these killings, one could see some political undertones in them. Those killed were top members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and opposed Obasanjo, one way or another.
There were also hundreds of innocent citizens, who were mauled down by police bullets in hazy circumstances during the period under review.
The danger in being apathetic over these killings is that it fuels insecurity and emboldens the miscreants in our society to kill with impunity and foolhardiness. The perpetrators of these heinous crimes must be apprehended in order to reinforce the confidence of the citizenry in the security agencies.

It is appropriate at this juncture to draw attention to the reversal of the tragedies that were the order of the day in the Obasanjo era. Today, Nigeria’ security agencies have become more law-abiding, respecting the people’s rights and privileges. President Umaru Yar’Adua’s government has demonstrated a deliberate commitment to promoting law and order and obedience to court judgments and pronouncements. It is this policy that has given the government the respect and clout it enjoys among Nigerians.

Yar’Adua, in all considerations, is better than Obasanjo in many ways. I may not subscribe to the allusion that his government is a spillover of Obasanjo’s. There are many reasons to support my position. If nothing else, his government is a respecter of Nigerians’ fundamental rights and strict obedience to legal judgments and judicial orders. The swiftness with which Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Adams Oshiomhole were sworn in points clearly to this claim. I can state categorically that the situation would have been different if Obasanjo was in charge of the government.

It gives me immense joy, therefore, to see our law enforcement agencies obeying the law. Take the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for instance. Its excesses have been curtailed with the removal of the former helmsman, Nuhu Ribadu. I do not have any misgivings or grudges against Ribadu, as a person. Whatever I have against him was in his official capacity as the former chairman of the EFCC. There is no doubt, whatsoever, that the man saw the commission as his personal estate and did everything possible to protect it. But he forgot that Obasanjo is not a man one can trust. Ribadu was a willing tool in the hands of Obasanjo who used and dumped him.

To be honest with you, Ribadu was keen on fighting economic and financial crimes at the outset, but he derailed midway into his tenure when he converted the commission into Obasanjo’s terror-machine. I remember admonishing him to tread softly because of the atrocities his men were committing. I knew that he would fail in the end if he continued the way he was going.

The joy I have today with our ongoing democratic system is that there is some order in the way our security agencies carry out their functions. At least, they now respect the supremacy of the will of the people. After all, it is the people who foot the bills for their salaries and other benefits. Even in developed economies, security agencies see themselves as subordinates to the will of the people. They do not wield brute force, as our own security men used to do.
The credit for the reformation of these security outfits goes to the president and the Inspector-General of Police, who have demonstrated unwavering commitment to the reformation. The appointment of Mike Okiro has gone a long way in placing the force on a new pedestal for growth and development.
The only thing left for the police to achieve with their new image is to fight violent crimes with all the ferocity they deserve. There is no way we can allow criminals to hold the people police are paid to protect continually hostage.

Once they achieve this feat, then Nigeria will be in the dawn of a new era.

GO AND DIE AND WHILE U R IT RUN THAT AIRLINE PRPOPERLY. YOU USELESS A, HOLE.