By Ochereome Nnanna
DID former President Olusegun Obasanjo commit blasphemy when he spoke at the Leon H. Sullivan Dialogue on Nigeria in Washington DC last week? Let us quote him and reflect appropriately: “With all due respect, if Jesus Christ could come to the world and be the Chairman of the INEC, any election he conducted would be disputed”.
Taking this statement at its surface and ordinary meanings, OBJ is saying that Jesus Christ does not possess the character, competence and personal track record of achievement to conduct elections that will not be disputed. That would be blasphemy.
If a White man of British/American background, or a Nelson Mandela, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Kenneth Kaunda, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa or Kwame Nkrumah spoke these words that would be outright blasphemy. They understand the use of English and they speak the language in its standard form. Obasanjo does not have that level of learning.
He speaks that prestigious international language like a typical street African, who translates his native tongue into English as he speaks, thus often saying things that could pass in the native context but which will not among those properly schooled in the use of English.
Obasanjo committed blasphemy without really meaning to. His offence owes more to his inadequacies in the language than intention to commit an expensive sacrilege.
All we need to do to establish this much is to put the statement into context with the rest of what he said. Then, the fuller meaning will come out. He said he had “been involved” in elections since 1959, and all of them were disputed.
Therefore, even if Jesus Christ comes to Nigeria to conduct elections employing his heaven-perfect standards, there will be people who will still reject it, perhaps because the outcome did not favour them. For him, a perfect election is neither possible nor necessary, so long as a poll’s outcome reflects the general wishes of the people.
But even if we bleach away the blasphemy factor from Obasanjo’s utterances, his statement is at best a self-serving rationalisation of the evils that he personally infused into our electoral processes during his time, thus adding to an already bad situation.
Yes indeed, disputed elections were responsible for over 90 per cent of the political crises we have suffered in this country. They were responsible for the Western crises, the treasonable felony trials of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his Action Group members, the fall of the First Republic which snowballed into the civil war, the fall of the Second Republic, annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election and the quick return to military rule, as well as the crises of legitimacy that have dogged the nascent democracy willed over to Obasanjo by the military as a propitiation over the annulment of June 12.

Electoral results, just like population censuses, are rejected in Nigeria for three major reasons. Number one, the classic reason, is that the British colonialists sowed inequities into the Nigerian political fabric, such that no matter how “free and fair” an election turns out to be, it will not be acceptable because someone is guaranteed to win and rule, while someone is guaranteed to lose and suffer.
The British ensured in 1958 election that the North would produce the nation’s Prime Minister, irrespective of how hard Southern politicians worked to get the plum job. Anyone who is assured of winning no matter what will soon enough become arrogant.
Therefore, the true electoral reform Nigeria needs is the one that will remove these regional inequities and level up opportunities, so that every Nigerian, irrespective of his or her peculiar natural circumstances, can stand for election as president and win, just as Obama did in the USA.
The second reason that elections are rejected in Nigeria is that they have become like war campaigns mounted by well armed mercenaries to capture the public treasury. Whoever is declared winner goes there and uses public funds to hire an army of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to defend him at the tribunal, while “loser” scrapes from his pocket and scrounges from his supporters. Nobody wants to be found in the latter position.
Finally, the third reason that elections are routinely rejected in Nigeria is that those in authority, the ruling party, hijack the institutions that conduct elections and perpetuate themselves in power irrespective of what the public wants.
The ruling class is a self-perpetuating machine. Votes don’t count. During Obasanjo’s time, the ruling PDP perfected electoral fraud and staged charades that knew the answer from the beginning of the process. Everything was pre-arranged to seem like the wishes of the generality of the people.
Let us end this exercise by reminding Obasanjo that, once upon a time, a presidential election was held on June 12, 1993.
Professor Humphrey Nwosu, the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) was no Jesus Christ, yet he conducted a poll so widely acclaimed and accepted that when the military annulled it the nation was pushed to the edge of the precipice.
That election was not rejected by the Nigerian people. It was rejected by regional warlords in the military and outside, the “fighters for Nigeria’s unity” who feared that a shift of power to the South would mean the end of the booty and freeloading spree.

Funny enough, Obasanjo was one of those who worked to sustain the annulment. And because Nigeria is not a normal country, Obasanjo benefited from that annulment by being named as the president of Nigeria in lieu of Chief Moshood Abiola.
Any electoral reform that does not address these foundational issues will not result in crisis-free political culture in Nigeria.
[url]http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/05/06/obj%E2%80%99s-blasphemous-eruptions/

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We are seeing the effect of the ruling party imposing the candidate of their choice on us and not allowing the will of the people to prevail. OBJ single handedly imposed yar dua on us because of his third term agenda. He has set the nation back.

Am in total disagreement with the view that Obasanjo's staement is blasphemous. I think it is fast becoming a general trait for most nigerians to be tending towards religious fanatism as a result of their ill-informed religious conformity.

A logical person will read the same statement and draw the conclusion that what the ex-president is saying is simply that no matter how hard anyone tries, Nigerians are a hard-to-please bunch when it comes to organising elections.

My friend it is total blasphemy, Prof ABC Nwosu conducted free and fair election which IBB cancelled . The prof is not Jesus, our Saviour can do better.

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http://stopsmokingblueprints..com/2010/05/benefits-accrue-by-quitting-smoking.html

The issue is not what he said but what inference you draw from it. He is not contesting the perfection our Lord JEsus Christ represents, he is only saying that Nigerians are never satisfied,, no matter what anyone does!!!

OBJ is reckless in his choice of word, i don't think he intentionally blasphemous, even though that it was what he ended up doing, What he is trying to say, IMO, is that Nigerians are difficult to please, which also is not true. We should maybe give him a pass on this one, he is beoming a bit senile.

Even lesser mortal men can conduct a free and fair election, not to talk of our Lord Jesus Christ, the immortal, supreme Lord, who has seen the end from the begining. However, loser in election will always dispute it. It is called SELF DENIAL.

Our Lord Jesus Christ will not conduct election, he is above that, he will annoit a Leader who has the heart of God.(fairness, service to common man and wisdom to submit the rest to the Lord)

PDP just used the 'big umbrella' to suck all bunch of people in and we have been scammed.

Obasanjo, that incestuous slowpoke, is a total fool for bring Our Lord Jesus Christ into the dirty scum called Nigeria Politics. May God punish him!

you guys should watch d interview and see the context.

He was discussing the change in INEC leadership, and pointed out that the politicians needed reform more than INEC needed leadership change. That led to his example, that even if Jesus Christ would conduct an election, the politicians would still dispute it - questioning the character of the people we have! He was not intended on being blasphemous and the discussion was not!

We get overly sensitive with issues, even ones that are so clear, instead of concentrating on improving ourselves - get over it!

I wish he had said muhammad,the islamist would have just done the ever important job of getting rid of him for us.

supereagle:

My friend it is total blasphemy, Prof ABC Nwosu conducted free and fair election which IBB cancelled . The prof is not Jesus, our Saviour can do better.

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http://stopsmokingblueprints..com/2010/05/benefits-accrue-by-quitting-smoking.html

Who decides if an election is free and fair? If everyone on nairaland agrees and I dont simply cos i lost, is that not disputing that fact??

Besides conducting the best election does not mean it was free and fair.

[Quote]
Am in total disagreement with the view that Obasanjo's staement is blasphemous. I think it is fast becoming a general trait for most nigerians to be tending towards religious fanatism as a result of their ill-informed religious conformity.

A logical person will read the same statement and draw the conclusion that what the ex-president is saying is simply that no matter how hard anyone tries, Nigerians are a hard-to-please bunch when it comes to organising elections.[/quote]

Not to tend toward religious fanaticism but GOD BLESS YOU!!!

I'm reading the silly write up and going. . . Okay am I missing something here?

I tell ya, even a two yrs old who can hardly paint within the lines can read between the lines and understand clearly what the buffoon of an ex-president meant.

Guess our esteemed "Prof" just felt like flexing his wrists.

Sisi_Kill:

Not to tend toward religious fanaticism but GOD BLESS YOU!!!

Guess our esteemed "Prof" just felt like flexing his wrists.

Most nigeria academicians are completely deluded too,that is how dangerous the situation is.Educated dummies

I wonder what our people said when someone said and i quote "am sure Micheal Jackson was more popular than Jesus".
When i heard that statement, I did not see it as being disrespectful or blasphemous, i felt it was logical. I mean if Jesus was automatically popular, will there be a need for evangelism?
I am a staunch Christian, a practical one for that matter that tries to live my life in the way that Jesus said i should. Unlike most of these other critics that jumps on any discourse in order to satisfy their myopic understanding of God's ways, I try to live by one basic rule, love my neighbor as myself. Not just the guy living in my estate but everyone around me be it in traffic or in the market or at work.
I get baffled and disappointed when i see someone with a big banner saying, I am headed for His throne, driving on the pedestrian lane or facing one-way. Don't they understand that Godliness has a lot to do with even obeying the rules of the Earth we live in?

I have come to a conclusion that in Nigeria, we are just a religious bunch who do not have a clue about Godliness and what it means!!!

thats the problem with the world today.what part of dont use the lords name in vain cant you understand,ther are other ways of putting your point across,he didnt have to use the lords name.

Define "vain". Maybe i do not understand when words are being used in vain

eledesi:

thats the problem with the world today.what part of dont use the lords name in vain cant you understand,ther are other ways of putting your point across,he didnt have to use the lords name.

Do u sometimes say "OMG" whenever something happens?
If you do, then you are using the Lord's name in vain, bro!!!

Read http://www.claychurchofchrist.com/articles/ao-lordsname.html