 |
| Rawlings |
By Louis Odion, FNGE
Like a witch undergoing the last
purgation at death's door, J J Rawlings' tongue dramatically came unhinged last
week in a fit of abominable rant, thereby diminishing whatever remained of his
moral capital as possible hero of post-colonial Africa.
He granted an exclusive interview to The
Guardian published last Sunday. But by dabbling in the Nigerian affair in a
manner that exposes shallow understanding of the nation's history and greed for
dollars, the man once fondly called "Junior Jesus" only succeeded in
giving himself away as perhaps the ultimate political Judas.
In retrospect, regardless of his
canonization in the 80s and 90s in some quarters, there remain some murky
aspects of Rawlings' twenty-year reign in Ghana that the tide of history simply
cannot sweep out of human memory.
True, his political career - first as
military lawgiver and later an elected president - was remarkable in populism.
But beside that also is the tale of mass murder and impunity. Hundreds of
opposition figures including outspoken journalists and independent-minded
Supreme Court judges were assassinated or disappeared. Sadly, their unresolved
cases are now more or less classified as part of Ghana's political folklore.
What all of this then fed in turn over
the years was Rawlings' sense of impunity. The underlying narcissist complex
was very much on display in The Guardian interview under reference where he
tried, though in futility, to rehabilitate the tainted memory of his benefactor
and Nigerian dictator, Sani Abacha, whom he presented in flattering terms as
"one hell of a nationalist and very patriotic" who "saved the
country".
 |
| Late Gen Abacha |
But when Rawlings chooses to speak so
loftily of otherwise discredited Abacha, ascribing to him more or less the toga
of a messiah, even after it had become public knowledge that he once received
$2m ($5m?) bribe from the Nigerian despot, the joke is actually on the former
Ghanaian president.
At the last count, what Abacha stole and
stashed away in foreign vaults was conservatively put at $5b. Now, all that the
three former heads of state of Ghana were accused of embezzling and for
which they were in 1979 summarily "sprayed like mosquitoes", to
borrow Rawlings' own euphemism, is not up to five percent of Abacha's loot. The
eight top military officers Rawlings had executed in the great purge of 1979
without fair trial included Rear Admiral Amedume and General Roger Felli whose
only crime was leveraging their official status to take bank loan!
But the great Rawlings who often boiled
in rage with blood-shot eyes at the mention of corruption while in power
suddenly began to act funny few years ago when one of his political disciples,
Tsikata Tsikata, was jailed by a succeeding administration over impropriety
reportedly costing Ghanaian taxpayers a fortune.
In a fit of anger, he sent invitations
to journalists to a world press conference to lambast the executive and the
judiciary for their temerity. Only for the session to be called off suddenly
before the scheduled take-off. The story is told that Rawlings was tipped off
that some of the journalists came armed with a mischievous question: whether he
ever heard of the old story of eight officers killed in 1979 over alleged
corruption.
Of course, in a way, the leaking in 1998
of Abacha's multi-million dollar bribe to Rawlings had confirmed the misuse and
abuse of the nation's resources in the deluded pursuit of influence or favour.
By Rawlings' confession, the donation unsolicited.
All he saw was a car pulling up and
someone attempting to drag out a suitcase laden with dollars, right there in
the open in Accra. Out of public decency, he reportedly waved the guy to hold
it. He saved his next word till they had walked to a discreet corner.
When he finally confronted Abacha's
emissary who he identified in The Guardian interview as Ismaila Gwarzo (then
National Security Adviser) and described as "noble, quiet-looking,
respectable-looking", Rawlings claimed he was told the largesse was from
Abacha. (With another NSA currently embroiled in the scandal of sharing $15b
arms funds, we now know the seeds of infamy were sown in that office long ago.)
Now, listen to the sleazy words
addressed to Gwarzo by the sitting president of a whole nation after apparently
losing self-inhibition at the sight of mint-fresh dollars, sounding more like
the would-be receiver of a stolen valuable weighing the risk: "I hear you
people don't provide assistance without the world hearing it with a
twist." Then, he added: "Don't think that when you bring this,
whatever it is, that would shut me up from criticizing if I think you are
wrong, or if I disagree".
To this "conditionality",
Rawlings quoted Gwarzo as retorting: "Sir, we need you more than you need
us."
Well, the visiting NSA could not be more
forthright. Abacha's dollars was to buy the conscience of Rawlings and other
African leaders as tyranny deepened in Nigeria. Against that backdrop, it then
becomes easier now to situate the conspiracy of silence among the nation's
neighbours in the west coast and indeed across the African continent while
sheer terror was being unleashed on the opposition in those dark days. Three
kinds of fate awaited dissents then: grave, gulag or exile. Ostracized by the
civilized countries over the June 12 crisis, the diminutive tyrant holed up in Abuja
now sought to, in Wole Soyinka's words, bring Nigeria down to his level.
Under Abacha, Nigeria resorted to the
company of fellow political reprobates. Abuja simply became the preferred
destination of other dictators on the continent as well as political scoundrels
and scavengers looking for what to eat under the guise "solidarity
visits". As the Rawlings' testimony has revealed, there was an unending
flow of suitcases of dollars as honorarium. Only a few like Nelson Mandela
refused to be bought into turning a blind eye on the unspeakable evil unfolding
in Nigeria then. Initially, Mandela's attitude to Abuja was that of critical
solidarity against western "meddlesomeness", naively assuming a
uniquely African solution could be found.
By the time playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa,
alongside eight others, was hanged after a sham trial on November 10, 1995, the
South African hero finally realized he was dealing with a demon. Henceforth, he
related to Abacha in that light.
But the spell of dollars and the
prospects of more briefcases would seem too overwhelming for the likes of
Rawlings then to stand straight and speak in clear and unmistakable terms
against the atrocities in Nigeria. And the free dollars from Nigeria would
probably have gone unacknowledged publicly had Abacha not ended the way he did.
When Gwarzo was held to account for the billions that had passed his hands
under the guise of securing "national security", he listed, among
others, that Rawlings, yes the same revolutionarily incorruptible JJ, had quietly
benefitted to the tune of $5m.
Of course, the man so implicated was
doubly discomfited. On top of the shame of being exposed would seem deep anger
at being swindled. As Rawlings insisted in the interview, the amount counted in
the briefcase Gwarzo handed him was actually $2m, not the $5m documented in
Abuja.
But Rawlings' thunderous denunciation of
corruption today would have made more sense had he taken a step further to
furnish us with the details of how the $2m received was utilized for Ghana's
direct benefit to demonstrate the transparency he is ever quick to evangelize
about. For instance, after Abacha's courier departed, was the entire cash
declared or partly to Ghana's exchequer? How was it recorded: "unsolicited
foreign aid"? "Stomach infrastructure" from Nigeria or - to
ensure some confidentiality - simply a kind neighbour? These were the simple -
yet critical - details the self-assigned anti-corruption warrior of Ghana
conveniently chose to deny us.
Perhaps, the dollars Rawlings collected
could still have been justified as a fair price for his silence had the verbal
diarrhea that permeated the entire interview not also led him into making a
more colossal gaffe on MKO. Who, other than a psychopath with warped
values, could have spoken so callously of the memory of MKO in the manner
Rawlings did? Hear him again: "Some may not want to hear it. But the
departure of that gentleman called (MKO) Abiola, the one who passed away, saved
Nigeria from a probable explosion."
There are a few inferences to be made
from the foregoing statement. An endorsement of the popularly held - though
clinically unproven - notion that Abiola was willfully "murdered" via
a cup of poisoned tea with a view to forcing a closure to the June 12
conundrum.
Well, shedding the blood of the innocent
may not mean much to a depraved dictator like Rawlings whose hands are still
wet till date with the blood of three of his predecessors summarily executed in
1979. But rejoicing at MKO's "departure" as the former Ghanaian
leader did is to misread the historic portents of June 12, the cause of which
he was unwilling to compromise. It was adjudged the fairest and freest poll in
Nigeria's electoral history at the time.
Besides, in one single day, the nation's
age-old fault-lines of religion and ethnicity were miraculously healed. MKO, a
southerner, defeated his challenger, Othman Tofa, in his native Kano in the
north. The Muslim-Muslim ticket also broke the sectarian barrier by winning
massively in predominantly Christian South-South and of South-East. These
historic gains were sadly allowed to waste by treacherous Ibrahim Babangida and
his perfidious apologists. Indeed, those unconscionable acts of yesterday
partly explain the monumental mess Nigeria finds herself today.
By the way, one hopes President Buhari
would not succumb to the emotional blackmail in Rawlings' effusive praise of
him in that interview. Perhaps, it is time to renew the bid initiated in 1998.
Upon discovery of the nocturnal payment that year, then head of state, General
Abdulsalami Abubakar, had politely asked Rawlings to refund. A request he never
dignified with even a reply. Now, with the receiver openly admitting collecting
$2m from Abacha, it would not be out of place to ask EFCC to explore diplomatic
means to ensure Rawlings made a refund in the spirit of the chastity the man
himself speaks so passionately about today.
Bouquet for two golden ladies
With the rise of Theresa May on Wednesday
as the new British Prime Minister to join Germany's resilient Angela Merkel and
the prospects of Hillary Clinton emerging Barak Obama's successor in the United
States later in November, the world may indeed be seeing the last days of male
chauvinism in global politics. In the times ahead, men will be left with no
choice than accept the loss of power to their gender opposite in the new world
order.
 |
| May |
Back home, a great many of our
resourceful ladies are surely making great advances in commerce and public service
far more than the nation seems willing to acknowledge.
Two good examples are Mrs. Catherine
Orobosa Agba and Mrs. Yemi Keri (YK) who turned 50 Thursday and Wednesday
respectively.
A little start-up Mrs. Agba set up many
years ago in the humblest of circumstances has today morphed into Oak Exclusive
Designs, a big player in the country's bourgeoning corporate branding sector.
Though she originally obtained a degree in Language from then Bendel State
University (now Ambrose Alli University) in 1987, she proceeded to chart a
different course for herself in the business world. Apart from Oak, Mrs. Agba,
married to Prince Clem Agba (current Edo Commissioner of Environment), today
sits on the boards of many blue chip companies.
Mrs. Keri's story is no less inspiring.
She is presently the Consultant, ICT unit of the National Pensions Commission.
But her glory preceded her present station. There is no way the history of the
ICT revolution mounted by the Adams Oshiomhole administration in Edo State would
be written without Keri occupying a giant space.
 |
| Clinton |
With regards to the automation of
governance processes in Edo State between 2008 and 2015, credit for the success
recorded by the ICT agency belongs substantially to a team of technocrats whose
focus and tenacity gave life to the dream of the political authority. YK led
this cell of torchbearers as the Managing Director. A first-class professional,
her resilience at the hands of jaded bureaucrats allergic to reforms, her
can-do spirit over the wiles and treachery of beneficiaries of the old order,
helped steer Oshiomhole's reforms to fruition.
She typifies the Nigerian repatriate who
parlays specialized knowledge acquired overseas to add value to his/her
fatherland. She obtained her first degree in Accounting in Nigeria before
proceeding to the United States to cap it with a Master's in Information
Technology from the prestigious American InterContinental University, Illinois.
She received further training in Management at the London School of Economics and
Political Science. Thereafter, she worked with SAP, world's leading Business
Process Solution Provider, as the Regional Director for West Africa. From
there, she became Managing Director of FCB, a subsidiary of Centrespread FCB,
South Africa's advertising giant. Before returning to Nigeria to work for her
native Edo State.
Here is wishing the two amazons many
more years of fulfillment in service to the country and many happy return of
the day.
1
| ||||
No comments:
Post a Comment