Columns
Between Abacha’s five parties and Tinubu’s governors
By Sunny Igboanugo
The more things change, the more they remain the same, is the English translation of plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, the 1849, epic lines of French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr.
It is exactly 176 years today. Yet, those lines have remained eternal – a demonstrable example of the fixated nature of human mind and the culture of returning to the convenience of old practices rather than learning new things – the bane of most societies.
In 1998, Sani Abacha, the late military General who till date still hugs the history of being Nigeria’s most despotic leader, was on his way to transmuting into a civilian President. Remember the deafening din then from the political class and how everything was wrapped up towards achieving that end.
Faced with international pressure and domestic discontent, Abacha who obviously wanted to be Nigeria’s example of what Yoweri Museveni represents today in Uganda, appeared determined to show the world the democratic side of his iron-cast mien.
So, he went to work. The “democrat” he was, he went about returning Nigeria to his version of democratic rule his own way. Having effectively destroyed the platform on which Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO), Abiola was demanding his mandate, it was naturally apposite for him to move to the next stage of conquering Nigeria permanently.
His consigliere must have advised him on how to go about the project. So, in, came the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP), Congress for National Consensus (CNC), Grassroot Democracy Movement (GDM), Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN), and National Center Party of Nigeria (NCPN), the five political parties that Abraham Adesanya, then leader of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), aptly described as the five fingers of a leprous hand.
Remember many people believed that each of them came from the cooking pot in the inner kitchen of Aso Rock where Abacha and his inner cabal were churning out all manner of wacky dishes and forcing them down the throats of Nigerians.
I’m sure you still recall how each of the party leaders paid homage to the same Abacha and on bended knees begged him to remove his Khaki and transmute to civilian President. They not only did that, but one after the other each of them held their conventions, with one outcome – his adoption as presidential candidate.
So, if death had not struck at the time it did and Abacha did not give way on that fateful day of Monday, June 8, 1998, what it means is that there would have been no contest. He would simply have strolled out from the Villa gate as military Head of State and strolled back in as civilian President. It would be that simple.
Now, don’t get it twisted. This was a time Nigerians considered in history as their darkest period. Never had they known such psychological, if not physical torture – a time people – the ordinary folks, only managed to speak in whispers not knowing who would be listening – when the fear of the ubiquitous Abacha Boys – euphemism for the killing machines looming at every corner – became the beginning of wisdom.
In other words, behind the leadership of those political parties and the general political class trooping to the Villa to make their pitch before the notorious military despot, were millions of Nigerians practically reeling under the gruesome environment of fear that signposted the iron-fist era.
Yet, at the feet of the military General and before television cameras thereafter, these political leaders told the world that their message came direct from their people, who were so happy that God had given the country such a leader with the key to the storehouse of all the goodies beyond the imagination of the human mind.
Today, Nigeria is back to the same darkroom. It is like a reel delivering the images on the huge screen, with spectators who witnessed the past, screaming in unison – Abacha! The only difference is that there are no dark goggles and the man behind them has no tribal marks or does not cut some dummy mien to cover up his steely heart.
Today, the man we have on the bloc is Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Asiwaju of Lagos, the Jagaban Borgu. His imprimatur is not the Abacha goggles. It is a special cap with a peculiar print, some say mimics a broken chain, that is supposed to announce freedom.
What a contradiction in terms regarding the freedom in Nigeria presently. But beyond the marked difference in their physical appearance and their historical background, beyond their individual approach and mannerism, expectedly so, is a notorious binding factor – love for power.
Of course, Nigeria is replete with reluctant leaders, who had power entrusted on them rather than seek it. Yakubu Gowon, Shehu Shagari, Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, who at one time or the other had the opportunity of being at the helm of affairs, either as military or civilians, are some of the most common examples.
But not Abacha and not Tinubu. Both not only loved power, they also demonstrated that they knew their way to it. They seemed to have equally been gifted a natural, unique and potent knack for manipulation. For instance, those who knew Abacha, say, right from the time he was a junior officer, he had his eyes on the seat of the Commander-in-Chief.
To achieve his goal, he was said to have his hand in all the successful coups that brought in each military leader so that by the time he finally went for the big prize himself, it was like cruising on a smooth, wide boulevard.
With Tinubu, the story is no different. Every political coup that was ever hatched in Nigeria, since he happened on the scene, especially since becoming the Governor of Lagos State in 1999, issued from his manipulative machine, such that in 2023, as others were struggling, crisscrossing Nigeria with steamy, energy-sapping campaigns, he was actually picking his teeth quietly and contentedly, in a manner that defied logic.
The only time he ventured on the scene were his cameo appearances at political grounds, where he merely entertained his audience with some uncanny acts – acts that more or less confused, rather than convinced them.
From his Emilokan delivery in Abeokuta to the Balablu Bulaba in Owerri – from his raising his walking stick like a comedia in Port Harcourt during the singing of the National Anthem to his dancing Lololo-Buga of Kiss Daniel, at the lunch in London after the Chatham House appearance, it was clear that though Nigerians, intrigued at the entire show, made jokes about it, the man knew where he was headed and how to get there.
So, today, when you see Umo Eno, Governor of Akwa Ibom State, swearing on behalf of his people that it is Tinubu till 2031, just cast your mind back to that notorious era of pilgrimage to Abacha. But don’t forget to pity and say a prayer for him. He needs it.
When Chukwuma Soludo, who is supposed to be the most intelligent and gifted governor in Nigeria today, by his attainment, is caught tongue-tied – when you see him demure or make a case for Tinubu’s outlandish policies, in spite of himself, don’t be surprised. The lion is on a leash.
When last did you hear from Bala Muhammed, who had tried to break off from the park to assume the role of an opposition governor? He has since retreated. So quickly so soon after! Was he not the one who read the resolution announcing that governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), would not sign in to any form of coalition or merger – a move clearly interpreted as a fait accompli, and a metaphor for blanket endorsement of Tinubu and APC for 2027.
Of course, Eno was not lying when he told his audience the forum where he endorsed Tinubu that some of his colleagues were visiting the Presidential Villa at night to pledge their loyalty. But that also is only a matter of time. What is hidden would soon be laid bare. Already the names of Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta and Peter Mba of Enugu are appearing on the horizon.
Yes! Unlike Abacha, Tinubu has no guns or better-put, not adept at their use even as a C-in-C. But no gun is needed either. The subsequent elections since he assumed power in May 2023, is enough to make them wiser. If they are not convinced about the governorship polls in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa, the latest in Edo, is enough to make them wiser and more prudent, should they hitherto harbour any independent ideas.
Yes! Like in the time of Abacha, who superintended a Nigeria that was under a siege, with citizens praying to higher beings for redemption, Nigerians have again descended on their knees begging God to save them from Tinubu.
Like that evil era, those leaders, political, religious and temporal, who pay daily pilgrimages to Aso Rock today, bear their own stories. The accolades they donate to Tinubu, like the ones showered on Abacha are not from the people.
Yesterday, they called Abacha a fearless leader for confronting world leaders who dared him to mend his evil ways, today, they praise Tinubu as bold and courageous, for his evil policies that have seen Nigerians practically scaling over the Third Mainland Bridge and donating their bodies as meals for the fishes and other ocean serpents inhabiting the underbellies of the Lagos Lagoons, almost daily.
I could imagine how Tinubu would be nodding each time the governors individually or in groups are flat on their bellies in the dead of the night while paying obeisance. The feeling must be of inebriation – of spiritual and physical satiation. Not that he would believe them – Abacha obviously wouldn’t have believed his courtiers – but he would know where they are coming – Fear!
Those who read Want to Stay Alive by James Hadley Chase, would recall Pok Toholo schooling his recruit that fear is the key that opens the wallet of the wealthy. On the flipside, it is the same fear that today opens the hearts, minds and hands of Nigerian politicians.
So on that D-day, when Nigerians will return to the polls, one thing is sure. The governors will mark their duty posts. Their remit would be to ensure that you, me and millions of Nigerians, our times under the sun or rain to cast our votes would be wasted.
They will work with men and women of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) – the most corrupt institution of the world – to count – not the votes of the people, but in complete opposite manipulate them. The various government houses would be busy changing the figures to deliver at the collation centres.
At the collation centres the manipulated results would be delivered to university professors – the same people complaining of poor academic environments and multiple other inadequacies – they will take it from there, smoothen the rough edges before the final nail is used to seal the job by the oga patapata of INEC.
For those unfortunate enough to approach the courts, they know what to expect. I won’t be the one to say so. That judges at those courts would ask them to produce the scrotums of ants to prove their cases would not be mine to forewarn them.
So, when Tunde Bakare, cried out on Sunday at what he called the capture of the legislature by Tinubu, through his Motor Park Politics, I could only permit myself some laughter. He did not only fall short by a wide margin, he came to the party too late. Why only the legislature? Why not Nigeria? Who owns the opposition? Where is the judiciary captured?
The cleric was correct in his assertion that were the Third Term idea which failed in 2006 been floated under Tinubu’s National Assembly, it would have been a fair accompli. But who says Nigeria has escaped from it? Under Abacha, the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria designed Prayer to Nigeria In Distress.
May be today they should be designing another one aimed at skewing the mind of Tinubu away from conceiving the idea. For if he does, Nigeria would be on its way to Cameroun’s Paul Biya or Museveni’s Uganda. Who stopped Abacha? Who would stop Tinubu outside God
My name is Sunny Igboanugo and I’m The Tiny Voice!
In 1992, I was on the entourage of visiting Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), to Anambra and Enugu States during his tour of Igboland. I was the reporter of The Guardian in Enugu at that time. Working for then most influential and authoritative newspaper in Nigeria, provided me the opportunity of being in the locus in quo, as the lawyers would say – scene of actions, not only in the state but the heart of Igboland.
Both governors at the time, Okwesilieze Nwodo, in Enugu and the late Chukwuemeka Ezeife, in Anambra, made sure I was incorporated into the planning and execution of the visit by providing the media backbone for its success. I was therefore in a vantage position throughout the event to interpret virtually all the nuances that went with it.
From that position, as I tagged along, I perceived the smell of the breath of all the dramatis personae, as the then Military President, who visited virtually every local government in the two states, made his stops in communities, including mine in Anambra, and witnessed first-hand the outpouring of joy and love for the gap-toothed military General.
I could swear then and today that the ululations that accompanied IBB were not only natural fascinations for his urbane, dainty and suave appearance in his smart military gear, but prompt responses to his personal charm and many more positive attributes including management of the Nigerian diversity.
They were prompt, impulsive, genuine, conspicuous and generative, rather than artificial, contrived or induced – emotions generated out of sincere spur of the moment and excitements borne out of other fanciful stories told by the numerous friends he kept in the area.
I guess you already know where I’m headed. Yes! Pan to that visit of President Bola Tinubu on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Weighed against the balance of reason or passed through the sieve of social scrutiny and political integrity, how would it fair? How do the events fit in? I’ll explain further.
At the Awka edition of the visit, IBB was conferred with the title of Izuatu – meaning one that couldn’t be conquered by evil plots. Why this? Two years earlier in 1990, Babangida survived death by the whiskers of a cat, when Gideon Orkar, a Major in the Nigerian Army, led soldiers to attack him in what could be considered as one of the bloodiest coups in the country.
The events of that episode were still fresh in the mind. To add the pep, even the echoes of the firing squad that eventually saw to the end of Orkar and his fellow adventurers in that failed plot, were yet to die down. So, when the people joined Ezeife in echoing Izuatuuu, as the red cap lowered on the head of the military President, no one was at sea as to the reason.
Now, at the Enugu edition, marking the grand finale, with more traditional rulers from beyond the state, in its recognition as the capital of Igboland, the cap again lowered on IBB’s head, this time with the reverberating echo – Oguguo Ndigbo. Now how does that title – the consoler of the Igbo fit?
After the putsch of 1985 with which Babangida, Abacha and other strong men in the military ended the iron-fist government of Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon, the new regime announced Ebitu Ukiwe as the Chief of General Staff (CoGS). It was a pronouncement that shocked the entire Nigeria if not the world. How could an Igbo man occupy what was seen as the position of the number two citizen in Nigeria in a military government?
It was a tall position which symbolised the mindset of Babangida, as diametrically opposed to the two years of Buhari, where Ndigbo were kept as far away as possible. Notwithstanding the drama that led to Ukiwe’s resignation nobody was in doubt about IBB’s sentiments towards Ndidgo, because their faces were never missing at any time.
In fact, like the Obasanjo, Goodluck Ndigbo were practically in charge of the economy under IBB with the likes of Kalu Idika Kalu and Chu SP Okogwu, quite prominent with Humphrey Nwosu the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), and others playing prominent roles in decision making.
So, why would IBB not be deserving of that title? Only recently, it was the same man that came to do a yeoman’s job fixing the decades-old lies that the January 15, 1966 coup carried out by Kaduna Nzeogwu and his men, was an Igbo coup.
Let’s return to the Anambra parody. Since Thursday, when under the supervision of Charles Chukwuma Soludo, Governor of the state, Igwe Chidubem Iweka, Ogalagidi, Eze Iweka111, the traditional ruler of Obosi lowered the red cap on Tinubu’s head with the pronouncement – Dike si mba Anambra, I have continued to scratch my head as to the meaning of the title or its significance to the people of the state the same way those of IBB related.
Pray! What does Dike si mba Anambra connote? Literally, it means a strong man, a warrior or a great man from distant or foreign land. I’ve also reached out to many of my folks including those who were present at that event, but struck no luck in terms of credible explanation.
By the way, I’m quite glad that it was not the Obi of Onitsha, the most revered traditional institution in my state that was compelled to suffer the indignity of handing over that title. It would have been double-whammy for me and tragedy of the highest order were the Agbogidi subjected to such humiliation.
The title doesn’t fit into today’s Igbo political trajectory. In the first place, the Presidency Tinubu is currently enjoying doesn’t belong to the Yoruba. But conspiring with the likes of Muhammadu Buhari, his predecessor, he practically twisted the hands of Ndigbo to collect that job, consistent with his grab, snatch and runaway idea of power. Is that what makes him a hero as implied by that title? Is that what Soludo and his men are celebrating?
In fact, as Governor of Lagos State, Tinubu would have been quite deserving of the highest title in Igboland given how the sentiment of his government tilted towards Ndigbo positively. But that was before he found an alluring political union with Buhari who never hid his place as the number one living hater of the Igbo man.
It is even better understood that Soludo, who was seen fawning around the President like a star-struck child with a Victor Osime or Davido, all the while would claim that the state never had it so good in history as under Tinubu. Such a hyperbole depicted nothing but taking sycophancy to the highest level. Tinubu himself would be amused at the extreme lies, perhaps saying to himself – this man thinks I’m a fool. But this dike si mba!
As I said, not even Soludo’s men have any inkling. Is it an accolade to Tinubu for insulting the entire state with a paltry junior Minister and to one of the most iconic symbols of the state – the wife of Ikemba Nnewi, Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu to boot – or for snatching the Presidency from them? Pray! What does dike si mba mean? I wait!
My name is Sunny Igboanugo, I’m The Tiny Voice!
By Sunny Igboanugo
There are few names in Nigeria today frequently mentioned as performing governors. Alex Otti, Governor of Abia State is one of them. The echoes from the din in Umuahia are as loud as the Big Ben, the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, in the heart of London, which, by the way, chimed for the first time on July 11, 1859.
I haven’t heard anyone list the names of five performing governors in the country without mentioning his name, no matter from what political nuances and convictions. In fact, in most cases, he comes in as number one or two or at the worst, the third position. I have also seen several images, either in form of videos of jubilating crowds of people cheering him to project sites or at other auspicious occasions.
Let me digress. I must confess that I have lost touch with the God’s Own State in recent years. Indeed, I was a friend of the house in the Abia State Government at a point in time. I became a regular face from the time of Orji Uzor Kalu. I was there when the great transition happened, through the Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA).
In fact, I was so close that I broke the news about the formation of that party, because I was fed the information by the aides of ex-governor, now a Senator. A caveat: I wasn’t particularly close to him. It was more of his aides. I recall it was after a breakfast with him in Lagos arranged by them that they broke news of the new party to me. Don’t forget that, that PPA went ahead to win two states in the South East – Abia and Imo.
Let me confess also my admiration of his politics superseded my interest in his performance in office, because I practically got sucked into his bold, courageous and fire-eating pronouncements and moves on the political scene at that time.
I was not alone. At a point OUK was the new genie of Nigerian politics. I recall that particular scene in 2001 at the Cinema Hall of Hotel Presidential Enugu – how people soaked each other’s sweat just to listen to him. It was his lecture at that year’s edition of World Igbo Day, organised by the World Igbo Congress (WIC), a powerful group propelled by the Igbo intelligentsia based all over the world.
The only person I know, who came close to pulling that unique spectacle was the late Ikemba Nnewi, Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. But not even the Ikemba’s outings at the historic Mkpoko-Igbo forum, to rouse Ndigbo to the issues of the 1995 constitutional conference, considered, one of his most memorable, post civil war, matched the OUK crowd at that event.
Then OUK went ahead to prove his mettle more when he practically pulled off that historic feat of snatching two states from the jaws of the lion the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the political moving train crushing everything on its way at that time. So daring was he that his men practically chased away some of the goons allegedly sent by then President Olusegun Obasanjo to arrest his mother. Who has forgotten that encounter believed to be men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the gun duel that reportedly ensued in Umuahia?
Is it not terribly saddening today that the selfsame OUK cuts the picture of a beggarly, grovelling, political lackey. When I see him these days, grabbing every opportunity for photo-ups with President Bola Tinubu, who was his classmate at the College of ’99 governors, it convokes a feeling of pity rather than outrage. When I see him, these days swearing on how high he could jump to please, first Muhammadu Buhari, and now Tinubu, I repeat the biblical dirge of Jonathan to Absolom – how are the mighty fallen?
Back to my tale. My last touch with the state and its government, was under Theordore Oji, Kanu’s successor. It was a natural transition from the former boss to the Chief of Staff (CoS). But unlike OUK, whom I connected through his aides, my relationship with Ochendo Global, was more personal than official. But then I lost touch with his government midway, when I left journalism for a while to answer some national callings.
So, to a large extent, I knew what the issues were in Abia quite well from the foregoing. One of them was what to do with Aba. In fact, during a media tour, which was my first visit to the state, reporters had taken OUK on over the sorry state of Aba, the commercial city and the most prominent town to boot. The perennial flooding of the town is such that visitors at Ariaria Market, practically had to swim in and out.
The convenient answers throughout the times the issue was raised, was that the solution was between the axiomatic devil and the deep blue sea. I remember Kalu telling the reporters on that trip that for the problem to go, hundreds of houses had to be pulled down – a politically impossibility – because their owners built on water channels created to evacuate the flood. There was a particular metaphor that captured the gory situation called – Ukwu Mango.
Because of this almost impossible situation, the only solution was to desilt the drainages to create temporary reliefs. Of course, Ochendo Global, did not have a better story either. Now, I don’t know how much the situation has changed and what the new issues are today. I’ve already explained from the outset.
My question therefore. Has that problem been solved or is it that the people have resigned to their fate of finality and no longer regard the nightmare as a problem? If yes, by whom? I want to know because that is where I want to jump in on the current ear-splitting verbal warfare between Otti and Okezie Ikpeazu, his predecessor. In the whole noise of the recent engagement, I’ve heard nothing about that hitherto monumental problem.
Now, it is my contention that whoever of the two that achieved the feat of ending that nightmare, is the true hero of Abia. On the other hand, if that eyesore is still lingering amid the clatter of these bitter tongues none of them deserves any accolade yet as the hero.
Now I come into the main issue that began with that sizzling interview with Rufai Oseni aired on The Morning Show, the breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS, television network. Otti had shocked the world with three major outrageous revelations – that Ikpeazu commissioned an uncompleted government house – left N192billion debt and spent N10billion on a non-existent Abia Airport.
Naturally, only an inanimate object would keep silent, having been so bespattered with the paintbrush of shame, especially with the traction the expose generated across the globe. So, Ikpeazu moved, quite appositely too. Since then, his men have been up and about telling the world how foul a lair Otti is. John Okiyi Kalu, spokesman of Ikpeazu’s government as Commissioner for Information, on the same programme described the governor as high on propaganda and short on performance.
Yet, on Newsnight, another programme in the same station, Eric Ikwuagwu, spokesman of the PDP in the state, was also vibrating, echoing the same sentiment. His own conclusion was that Otti should move on with the business of governance, move Abia forward from where he met it rather than lying to the people.
Now, I ask, why would Ikpeazu commission a non-completed building as completed? Isn’t that fraud on its own without Otti saying so? Kalu’s explanation that his boss deliberately left the uncompleted part, so that the next governor would fix it according to his taste, is puerile. That house does not belong to a particular governor. Yes, if Otti came in and decided to change anything or remodel the house, it would be solely his remit.
Would the UK leave number 10 uncompleted so that the next Prime Minister would fix it or the White House be left fallow for the next President? Such untenable if not uncharitable thinking could only come from places like Nigeria, where people in authority in scant regard to the feelings of the people just utter anything. Imagine!
Conversely, did Otti spend N5billion to fix his own private residence in lieu of moving into the government house? Isn’t that a greater fraud if it ever happened? What would happen in other climes if a governor spent just N1,000 of government money in his private estate? What happened to Boris Johnson? Why did he resign as British PM? Was it not for just sharing drinks at the private garden of his residence during COVID-19 lockdown?
Now, imagine what N5billion could do to that government house. If truly Otti is guilty as accused, he is surely worse than the Ikpeazu. Why should the official residence of a Nigerian governor be more majestic than that of a UK PM? On what basis. Would a Peter Obi spend government money in fixing his private house? Is it that Otti is not a true apostle of the Labour Party (LP), presidential candidate?
Regarding the N10billion audio airport, I find it funny that the only defence from Ikpeazu team is the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), looked into the matter and exonerated the former governor. EFCC? Does that body smell roses itself? If it were such a credible body to be relied on, how many of Nigerian politicians would be walking the streets as free men today? We want to hear a more credible explanation.
This is also true of the debt profile of the state. Did Ikpeazu really leave N192billion debt. Borrowed from where? How? When? These are questions that must also be answered from both sides. Gratifyingly, Otti, the financial engineer he is, claims he is wiping the state clean of the debts. But that doesn’t mean that the public would be denied of the truth.
This is also germane in the celebrated Aba Port Harcourt Road Otti has just completed. Did he actually spend N36billion on the project? If yes, why so. The Ikpeazu team raised a relevant question in this regard to wit: why would a 17 kilometre road in Port Harcourt with a swampy terrain be awarded for N30billion and this one of less than six kilometres, as they claimed, with a more clement topography gulp such a whopping figure?
But come to think of it, why should there be such a sharp difference in the image of the two dramatis personae in this matter? Why would Otti be maintaining his place in the top 11 of Nigerian governors today while Ikpeazu could not even make the reserve bench? Who are these Abia people we see in the streets daily celebrating him like a god? Are the images AI-generated?
I heard Kalu, say that his boss, Ikpeazu deliberately refused to hug the media by choosing the let-my-record-speak-for-me model. Now, has that record spoken? If yes, where? If no, why not? Is the media Otti’s real niche? Is that the advantage he has over his predecessor. Who indeed is high on propaganda and short on performance? Otti or Ikpeazu? Who amongst them fixed the Aba flooding menace? Somewhere lies the lies and the truth as well.
My name is Sunny Igboanugo and I’m The Tiny Voice!
By Sunny Igboanugo
Let me start by putting up a little theory about my impression of moles. They are the most frontally dedicated to the cause. They are the most enthusiastic, the most eager to please and most, apparently, sincerest. If you ever learnt about the Mafioso, you’ll discover this common trait. It is almost sure and constant that whenever there is a betrayer, the culprit is always the one closest to the cause.
They must be so for obvious reasons. Trust is essential. They must act in such a manner as to earn the confidence of their principals, which in turn becomes the key into their inner fortresses.
So, when Dele Momodu, one of Nigeria’s most visible journalists in the last decades came out on Wednesday, to infer that some people actually see him as a mole for President Bola Tinubu in the camp of Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and two-time presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), my immediate reaction was to exclaim in acknowledgement that there must be some thinking, smart people in that camp after all.
It was an offhanded statement as the Publisher of the prestigious Ovation Magazine, appeared on The Morning Show, the breakfast programme of ARISE NEWS, television network. Only few would have picked it or made a meaning out of it. I did. And my take was – so some people actually suspect or accuse Dele Momodu of being a mole?
Let’s look at the tangents. Even a political imbecile knows that Atiku’s presidential ambition in Nigeria is Dead on Arrival (DoA), given its political trajectory. That dream ought to have ended in 2019, when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), rigged him out. That was his best chance. There was no way he could have genuinely won in 2023, when he resurfaced again on the scene. There is no way he will win in 2027, anyway, whichever way.
So, why is Bob-D and others pushing the envelope if not for an answer that is hidden beyond the ordinary eyes? Ordinarily, in the context of the mafia arrangement, I had played with the thought that Atiku might actually be working for Tinubu. Yes, you may laugh it off and say it is not possible. But in this world where intrigues is the name of the game, nothing is impossible.
The only reason I’m cancelling this out through the principle of elimination, is because of the political trajectory of the Waziri Adamawa. His vaulting ambition to become President, practically swallows that of Tinubu. I also believe if he had not played into the hands of Olusegun Obasanjo, his boss, he would have achieved that feat long time before Tinubu.
Those who were close in the run to the 2003 edition, would tell you how he was within touching distance of the exalted office were it not for fate that played a fast one. I’m sure this would not be the first time the public would be hearing how the Balogun Owu, practically went on his knees to beg the same subordinate he sprung out as governor-elect to pair with him as VP in 1999.
Those who know insist that the events of that night was the decider of Atiku’s fate. I won’t delve more into that story, lest I digressed from the main gist of the day. But the import of it is that today, Atiku remains the only Nigerian with the record of contesting the presidency, six times. The seventh, is 2027 the likes of Dele Momodu are again pushing him into.
So far, he has failed and lest I be prophet of doom he is destined to fail again, because his ambition is unrealisable for obvious reasons. Now, why would Bob-D, be travelling that route regardless? Why is it impossible to tell Atiku the truth. Naturally, knowing the ways of ambitious men, someone with enough try, could actually convince many politicians of Atiku’s ilk he could actually replace Donald Trump as US President.
That is how tall and audacious their ambitions and convictions could get. That Atiku still believes it is possible he would one day, in his lifetime, be hosted as resident of the Villa, is enough evidence to that. It is only the genuine and true lovers of these politicians that must find a way to shoot down such vaulting ambition and bring them back to reality. That, Dele Momodu, has failed to do and I count that against him.
I’ve heard the accomplished journalist of national and international repute and influence – I ate in his restaurant in Ghana – an influential place – one of the cynosures of eyes in Accra – claim his love and passion for Nigeria. But I doubt those factors are at play in his current labour. I see no patriotism in his current engagements.
Agreed that Tinubu has become a disaster far worse than Muhammadu Buhari he replaced. But Atiku cannot be an alternative. This is because the problem of Nigeria is far deeper than just mere competence, leadership and even good intentions. It is more of spiritual. Nigeria is like the man who stole a goat dedicated to a deity. He may enjoy the delicacy of the pepper soup. But what follows thereafter is sure to be fatal.
Generations after generations will bear the consequences. They will suffer one calamity after the other until a restitution is made and the land cleansed. Now, how does this relate? The answer is that the South East has the claim to that office today and anything else will spell doom!
See the way Tinubu, the man reputed to have “built Lagos” is messing up the entire country. See how he is smearing the Giant of Africa with mud in the eyes of the global space. The other day, as he was exiting the Charles de Gaulle Airport in France into the beautiful city of Paris, Emanuel Macron, the President was packing his bag to jet out to Egypt to interface with a fellow African President. What could be more disgraceful? What could be more telling of pure, undiluted national insult?
Why is the Asiwaju of Lagos and Jagaban Borgu, reputed to be the smartest politician in Nigeria messing up at the local and global stage so big time? Is it that the barber no longer has his skills or that his instruments are blunt? Isn’t the answer obvious that the gods are at war with the present tenant at Aso Rock Villa?
I have heard Bob-D, who also agrees that Tinubu is messing up make the argument that Atiku is the only man who can stop him. He is sure that only the Waziri, could defeat Tinubu in an election. Surely, he couldn’t be talking about popular votes. Rather, his assertion could only be euphemism for democracy by other means – winning elections outside popular votes – money for money, rigging for rigging and the likes.
Is that what Nigeria needs today? Certainly no! Nigeria needs a leader the people have agreed will lead them. Dele Momodu knows who that person is today. He knows who has the organic votes of the people, not the contrived – INEC-induced votes Tinubu and Atiku boast of – votes that offend the soul of the spirits and injure the nation. That is also the spiritual part of the problem.
You could take the rightful patrimony of an imbecile because he couldn’t challenge you, or seize the land of a widow because she couldn’t afford to hire a SAN to confront you in court, but that child you use the proceeds to fund his life of ease, could degenerate to a hooligan or drug addict and you’d be wondering where you went wrong. Nothing is wrong. Look back. You’ll find the answer. That’s the missing link in Nigeria today.
The other day, he upped the ante at the same Arise when he claimed that only a Northerner could defeat Tinubu. This, he said, could only be done through the application of Isaac Newton’s theory of motion – action and reaction are equal and opposite. It was yet another flawed attempt to take the issues away from the main argument, which is equity, justice and fair-play.
Indeed, it is not only that Atiku’s presidential quest is almost impossible to achieve, but what is the likely outcome? Is Atiku replacing Tinubu not typical of the local depiction of selling a dog to buy a monkey, which also squats? So, why is Bob-D, an otherwise very cerebral mind bent on the Atiku project if it is truly for Nigeria. Surely he ought to know that that project is a cul-de-sac – a dead-end.
If truly it is for the love of country and passion for its greatness, if indeed he is not a mole for Tinubu, doing everything to ensure Atiku fails to enable Tinubu grab, snatch and run away with the nation’s number one job, he surely knows and so do the goats and fowls know that the only truth available.
He knows the answer to Nigeria’s crisis today is PETER OBI! Yes, the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election has all the arguments in his favour. The only snag is that the conspiracy of Nigeria’s elite and to a large extent, complicity of global vested interests.
Otherwise, Dele Momodu, knows that the day Atiku drops his ambition and announces that he would be supporting Obi, there would be an instant revolution – not in the people spilling into the streets, but of mind and body.
Everything will cascade into place. The impossible will become fait accompli. The coalition balloon Atiku has been labouring at, which has refused to inflate because it is perforated on all sides, will not only seal miraculously, but bloat and soar across the Nigerian political spectrum in such a way that even the naysayers will be shocked.
Let Atiku do what he failed to do in 2023, the reason Nigeria is in this sorry pass today. Yes, today’s mess is traceable to Atiku’s inordinate ambition of that year. The ex-VP tells all ears that he contested the PDP ticket because it was thrown open. Don’t be fooled with that spurious tale. Why was it thrown open? It was the manipulative hand of the selfsame Atiku. He ensured it wasn’t zoned to the South East because he wanted the ticket.
Otherwise, he had the powers to stop other hungry PDP hounds like Nyesom Wike. With him supporting Obi, neither Wike nor anyone would have had any chance. With his support, Obi would not have only beaten every other person to the PDP ticket, he would also have won the main election and become President today.
I watched Bob-D labour on that Arise outing to argue that PDP had no zoning problem. He knows that is a lie. The presidency of Nigeria rotates between North and South and between the zones in either region regardless of the party in power. It is even the official PDP constitution. He knows that much.
Now hear this again! The day Peter Obi becomes the rallying point behind the coalition with Atiku and others backing it, the entire opposition – those not being funded by Tinubu – will come together and chase away Tinubu and his evil government. The day Obi becomes Nigeria’s President, the price of milk, bread, rice, kpomo and every imaginable market commodity will crash by half. It happened when it was obvious that MKO Abiola, was coasting home to victory in 19993?
The simple realisation that Obi would not spend N10billion to install solar panels at Aso Rock, will not travel to Ghana, let alone Paris to review his records and none of his children will come close to the Presidential Jet, would take care of that. There will be instant factory reset of the country. That is what is needed today.
Come to think of it, is it not obvious that even now, Obi is the unofficial President of Nigeria? Isn’t that clear the way the world is celebrating him – today in London, tomorrow in the US, Indonesia, China, Ghana – interfacing with the global communities? Isn’t it obvious that the world knows the truth of 2023? Obi has the numbers in his organic support. He has the age, the knowledge, the zeal and passion to create a Nigeria, not of the old, but a New Nigeria of the future. Besides, equity, justice and fair-play are on his side.
So, if Dele Momodu, doesn’t know all these, then he’s not smart. Now, could any right-thinking Nigerian associate Bob-D with denseness or stupidity? If he knows and still plunges himself in the Atiku-must-be-President project, what does it portend? Patriotism? If he knows that neither the optics nor the arguments favour Atiku, why stick at it?
Today, Daniel Bwala is a Villa insider. I hear Reno Omokri, is on his way to becoming an ambassador. They were virulent Atiku men. What stops a Bob-D from becoming the next Minister of Communication in 2027? By that time, he would have reconciled with Tinubu, just like the others. Now, go figure!
My name is Sunny Igboanugo and I’m The Tiny Voice! – ezekeoku1@gmail.com
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