I have just read an article in The Guardian (Aug 20, 2010 back page) by an IBB acolyte saying that IBB is not shying away from discussing the annulment of June 12 elections or of the assassination of Dele Giwa after reportedly banning reporters from asking him questions bordering on those two thorny issues.
This man is something else. The nickname maradona (which conveys the image of a tricky and artful dribbler) fits him like a glove of his size. Here is a man, perfect in the art of ambivalence. A man perfect in the art of double-speak. I can swear that on TV you can often see him speaking from both sides of the mouth. The Dele Giwa issue is one of the very intriguing cases of a government clearly bent on hiding the truth. The IBB government refused to set up a judicial board of enquiry to investigate the circumstances that led to the killing of that fine investigative journalist. The much we know, which remains the truth until proven otherwise is that on October 19 1986, a "government" parcel bomb was delivered to Dele Giwa on his breakfast table. The man was blown to pieces and with him the reputation of the government when they killed the clamour for a probe. We all know that the valiant effort of late Chief Gani Fawehinmi to bring the government officials mentioned in the whole sordid affair was thwarted, frustrated by this same man seeking to rule this country again. It begs the question: does he have other targets to dispense with? Why would he run away from a judicial enquiry? While it is true that Gani Fawehinmi's suit went all the way to the Supreme court and failed, the judgement could not be otherwise at a time when every effort was made to hide the truth. The courts are not there to enquire into anything that was suspicious. Courts deal with the facts before them. Not so a judicial board of enquiry. That was the missing link.
The June 12 imbroglio was planned and executed by IBB and his cabal. He must be ruing that mistake but does not have the courage or the grace to admit it. In the heady days of military rule, a man given to power drunkenness can take decisions without thinking of the future, without thinking of a time he would cease to be president, or of a time when he would return to ask for votes from the very people he ruled with an iron fist. Who does he think he is? In civilised climes a person like him would have been committed to prison many years after his 'tenure' for actively participating in a coup. He executed his friend Mamman Vasta, on charges of coup plotting. What an irony! He too should be tried for plotting and executing a coup against the Nigerian people. He should be the last man on earth to seek the people's vote. But I hear whispers that he may not really have anything new to offer besides keeping his promise to "step back in" after "stepping aside" on August 27, 1993. Lie. He did not step aside. He was forced out, forced aside in a most humbling fashion. The odds were against him and he knew it. Every attempt to cling to power including foisting a lame duck Interim Government crumbled like a pack of ill-cooked cookies to his shame. This same man wants to rule this country - why? Did he just wake from slumber to remember "the many things he would have done properly"? Well, he had his chance, he had eight years and squandered it in his many dribbles and flip flops in the name of government policy. It is very unfortunate that Nigeria has always been ruled by people who soon lose touch with the people when they move into Dodan Barracks or embrace the palatial confines of Aso Rock. The people hardly matter which is a big shame. There is no word to describe the perfidy of rulers who only remember the people at election times. IBB for instance blatantly refused to attend the Human Rights Investigations Panel in Lagos, citing security reasons but has since been seen junketing around the South-West axis without any form of harassment. Who was he deceiving? We know him for who he is - an unrepentant opportunist. But unfortunately for him he does not know when an opportunity no longer exists for him. And he cannot find it no matter how hard he tries. And he will not have it. No, not in Nigeria.
No comments:
Post a Comment