Obasanjo’s scud missiles
As far as Nigerian books go, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s latest book, My Watch, may turn out the most controversial book of the year, if not the decade. Juxtaposed with Professor Chinua Achebe’s controversial book “There was a Country”, which drew up quite a storm, the late sage’s account of Nigeria and the underpinnings of the Civil War may well begin to read like a homily.
While “There was a Country” ruffled not a few feathers with its assessment of the motivations of personalities such as the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Obasanjo’s new book is a no-holds-barred swiping of virtually anyone and everyone he came in contact with. Indeed, judging from reports on the book in the media, Obasanjo may well be a saint that has been called upon to expose the “shortcomings” of ordinary whimpering mortals in Nigeria’s high places” that he had cause to interact with while looking down from “the heavenly places”, as he shared drinks with The Almighty.
And, the controversies trailing the Obasanjo book are not just limited to its “liquid contents.” Ever before it got to the public, a spirited attempt had been on to keep its “hard copy” out of circulation. Justice Valentine Ashi, sitting at the Abuja High Court in Wuse Zone, had issued an order barring the publishing of the book on December 5 following a request by Buruji Kashamu, who did not want the book published because it contained parts of a December 2013 letter written by Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan alleging that he was a fugitive wanted for certain offences in America. This part of the book, he considered defamatory to his person.
But, the “old fox” of Ota, would have none of that. In his “considered opinion”, the court could not, on December 5, rightly prohibit the publishing of a book that was already published in November. He even went ahead to recommend sanctions for the judge for making his ruling in error.
Such were the theatrics that heralded the coming of this book that it is now highly sought after by many people and is reportedly said to be going at the price of N45, 000 for the hard back and about N22, 000 for the soft back. This may make the book, which comes in three volumes, one of the most expensive autobiographies of all times in the country.
The court has since found Obasanjo guilty of contempt for publishing the book and asked him to show cause why he should not be punished for contempt for going ahead to publish the book in spite of an ex-parte interim order made by the court on December 5, and a pending libel suit involving him.
From the reports of this book in the media, it is clear that it is not only Kashamu that would rather the book did not see the light of day. The publication followed in the former president’s pattern of bashing President Goodluck Jonathan. Apparently, he decided to document for posterity his hitherto thinly-veiled strong aversion for Jonathan’s leadership style.
He reportedly pointedly accused Jonathan of incompetence, saying he had failed the country as the administration he leads is inept, and a colossal failure. He also accused the late president, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who died in office, of deceiving him on his state of health.
He alleged that the late president did not give him the full picture of his state of health when the PDP decided to present him as a presidential candidate in 2007. He also wrote about the “cloak and dagger” manner in which Yar’Adua’s illness was handled and the ‘provinciality of the understanding, attitude and approach’ of those who tried to hide the enormity of Yar’Adua’s illness from Nigerians.
Media reports indicate that he called Atiku Abubakar “a blatant and shameless lier”, and El Rufai, a brilliant man who is economically with the truth. Former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, was said to have had “one of the worst” cases in terms of corruption, while the party’s presidential aspirant, Muhammadu Buhari, was said to be “ a strong, almost inflexible, courageous and firm leader” but “would not be a good economic manager.”
On his bid for a third term in office, he wrote that he never tried to elongate his tenure, but “it was the monumental mischief” of his detractors “that turned an effort at constitutional reform into a myopic argument about tenure elongation.”
For the tenure elongation allegation, he blamed PDP governors and Atiku, “who wanted to ride on its ashes to be a Nigerian president.” Others who were condemned for one thing or the other in the book are the former Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel, who he described as a “shifty” man “who believes himself to be the cleverest human being on earth.”
Obasanjo insists that everything he said in the book is true. Mr. Segun Adeniyi, former spokesman to the late Yar’Adua, was also not spared some jibes, as Obasanjo said he had apologised to him in writing for some of the things he wrote in his own book, Power, Politics and Death: A Front-row Account of Nigeria Under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. Adeniyi has, however, replied, saying that he apologised to Obasanjo as an elder simply to keep the peace. There are also numerous barbs deftly targeted at other people.
Now, what can Nigerians make of this tell-it-all book? One thing is quite clear. That is that the former president has clearly gone overboard and, as is common with some people of his age, he no longer cares about “what man may do to him.”
He may, indeed, be right in his assessments of the people he has written about, and, he may, on the other hand, be wrong.” One thing that must be said, however, is that it is not everything an elder sees that must be said, or, worse still in this case, put in writing.
In addition, certain things are expected of former heads of government. Among these is that they should not openly lambast their successors in that office, or even their predecessors, if they can help it. I think this is important to maintain the dignity of the high office of president.
Again, as the Holy Bible tells us, all things are lawful for us, but not all are expedient. To put it simply, not all things to which a man can rightly lay a claim are gainful or in his best interest. I cannot see how throwing blind punches as Obasanjo has done in this book can help his cause or that of good governance in the country. Unfortunately, Nigerians may not have the benefits of fully feasting on this publication for now until the legal fireworks surrounding it are finally laid to rest. Pity!
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