So Obasanjo Did Not Do A Single Good Thing? (2)

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[Auspicious]

---

Arrrgh!

Ok, okaay, OKAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

OBJ was GOOD. Finito!

(Jesus Christ!)

AuspY.

[overdryv]

Originally Posted by Kay Soyemi (Esq.)

overdry,

But if not OBJ's first move in power, there would have been a coup in Nigeria today. The Buhari personae some Nigerians today would eulogise did not wait for things to get this bad before he struck. Coupists, from history, have never needed a sanguine motive for seizing power, but for the lust and love of power and perfidy.

Give the devil his due. OBJ is not as bad as Nigerians would like to think he was. I personally think he could have done far better than he did, but the fact is he DID do something.

What OBJ did, I do not feel is up to me to adumbrate, it is up to you guys to look yourselves in the mirror and say the second coming of OBJ was a pure waste, sincerely. In that case you would be looking squarely into the eyes of the biggest fraud and liar.

Idangi is entitled to his opinion as a Nigerian and author and I respect this and also agree with many of what he wrote (I see the OBJ-bashers cringe, but do I care?)

All you OBJ-bashers are nothing short of hypocrites for denying the goodness in the man. You are the same set of people who would be shouting the same about UMYA later.

Hypocrites and sycophants, all.

I dont know where you get your facts but it'd be the height of extreme naivety to believe that Obj scuttled a coup attempt in his first term. Was Obj not the compromise candidate of the ruling cabal to calm the southwest after Abiola was eliminated? If Mustapha actually planned a coup why has no court found him guilty till now? Even a toddler knows that any attempt to topple Obj was a declaration of war on the SW. The north would not risk such a move since SW make it possible for them to have such a stranglehold on leadership. If the SW today says no more Nigeria, the malams will just go along with it.

You can spare yourself the thought of people going after Yar'adua when he lives office. One reason why Obj planted him in office was because he knew the man would under perform him. When Nigerian history is written in 8 years, Obj would get a lot of accolades for being a wonderful president. But why even compare Obj and Yar'adua? The two are made of the same stuff. Who are the hypocrites who would place one above the other? Yaradua would only play his role of being more under performing and corrupt than his predecessor. This has been the reality of Nigerian politics.

[overdryv]

Originally Posted by maxsiollun

Overdryv, you are being too biased against and harsh on OBJ. When bad things happened during his tenure, you rightly blame him for them. Yet when good things happened during his tenure (GSM, debt relief) you dismiss them as incidental. You fail to take into account that it was his policies that achieved these things. They did not happen by themselves. Yet strangely there was no universal GSM (despite the millions pumped into the communications ministry under the watch of David Mark, Murtala Muhammed, and with MKO ABiola etc) or debt relief.

The bulk of that debt was also incurred between 1979 and 1999 (i.e. the exact period of time between when OBJ left power and when he returned).

Nigerians have failed to credit OBJ for one thing that I hope will be one of his enduring legacies: ridding the army of its politicised coup plotting cadre and (hopefully) ridding Nigeria of military coups.

Decades of military coups and misrule turned the Nigerian army into the most thoroughly politicised army in the world (as at 1998). Some elements of the army were viewed as little more than armed political parties that could threaten the existence of any civilian government. When Nigeria returned to civilian democratic rule in 1999, there was genuine few of another coup.

One of the aides of Obasanjo’s predecessor as Head of State General Abdulsalam Abubakar was quoted by the Guardian of London in 1998 as follows:

“Cadet officers now talk openly not of having the ambition to become a battalion commander but of what they would like to do when they become governors of a state. The politicisation of the military has gone too far.”

Within one month of OBJ coming to power in 1999, the government drew up a list of all armed forces officers that had served in military governments for 6 months or more. OBJ retired all such officers (numbering over 100) compulsorily. The retirements swept out a number of immensely powerful and wealthy officers who could have been sources of future political discontent and coup plots:

• Major-General Patrick Aziza (who chaired the ‘coup’ tribunal that convicted Obasanjo and Shehu Musa Yar’Adua in 1995)
• Air Vice Marshal Idi Musa (former head of the Defence Intelligence Agency who was accused by some of being one of those that framed Diya, Adisa and Olanrewaju in the 1997 coup plot against Abacha)
• Colonel Dauda Musa Komo (the former Military Governor of Rivers State who was instrumental in events leading up to the arrest and detention of Ken Saro-Wiwa)
• Brigadier Mohammed Marwa (the popular and powerful former Military Governor of Lagos)
• former Abacha regime members Major-Generals Bashir Magashi, Abdullahi Mukhtar and Chris Garuba (former Commandant of the National War College)
• Major General John Mark Inienger (former ECOMOG commander)
• Brigadier Yakubu Muazu (the former commander of the Brigade of Guards)

The almost 10 year period from May 1999 till the present is the longest period of time in Nigeria’s history without a military coup. It is no coincidence that a coup failed to occur in the absence of the retired political officers.

Obasanjo also broke the northern stranglehold on leadership of the army. Since the overthrow of General Gowon in 1975, there have been 16 Chiefs of Army Staff. All but 3 of these 16 have been northerners. The three southerners to hold the post (Lt-General Alani Akinrinade, General Alexander Ogomudia and General Andrew Owoye Azazi) were all appointed by Obasanjo.

This thread is taking a familiar route like the pro-Ribadu vs anti-Ribadu topics. The last question and comment I'd make here is: what good could Obj possibly have done if it were discovered that he was behind some political assassinations, massacres and engaged in massive corruption? What good has he done by awarding last minute contracts like the Railway with the Chinese with no trains and power projects with no light? Obj shuffling and dismissing generals was just a game they play in their military constituency. I would say it again that the author of this article is courting support from Obj for his ambition in 2011. Who doesnt know Obj in present Nigeria is one of the king makers?

[Mark Lar]

Originally Posted by maxsiollun

Obasanjo also broke the northern stranglehold on leadership of the army. Since the overthrow of General Gowon in 1975, there have been 16 Chiefs of Army Staff. All but 3 of these 16 have been northerners. The three southerners to hold the post (Lt-General Alani Akinrinade, General Alexander Ogomudia and General Andrew Owoye Azazi) were all appointed by Obasanjo.

With the above said, do the rest of us have now to remain in the same nation with the parasites, akuyas, kleptomaniacs, imbeciles and bloodsuckers? The earlier we negotiate and agree on basis of the federation and the best we can understand the basis of the marriage.

[eleniyan]

People should know that just because they like someone does not mean they have to justify/rationalize everything that person do. You can like OBJ and still think the author of this article has his head inside his arse...

this attempt at twisting OBJ'e legacy falls completely flat!

[maxsiollun]

I don't think you have been following the gale of retirement in the Nigerian military over the past 9 years or so. Throughout his tenure, OBJ continually sacked, redeployed, and retired military officers until he found the current crop who are actually more interest in professional duties than politics. You need to realize how utterly politicised and corrupt the military was in 1999. Even serving officers admitted that their preoccupation with politics had become ruinous to the whole country. In his outgoing speech, the former Chief of Army Staff Lt-General Salihu Ibrahim revealed how deep the rot was. Describing the Nigerian army as “an army of anything goes", Ibrahim added:

"…It is an open secret that some officers openly preferred political appointments to regimental appointments, no matter the relevance of such appointments to their careers…we became an army where subordinate officers would not only be contemptuous of their superiors ,but would exhibit total disregard to legitimate instructions by such superiors…We created such a situation whereby we were operating mini-armies within the larger Nigerian army."

By way of illustration the first Chief of Army Staff under OBJ was Lt-Gen Victor Malu (a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy's regular combatant course 3). The current Chief of Army Staff Lt-Gen Dambazau was a graduate of the the Nigerian Defence Academy's regular combatant course 17 (seventeen)! That means that between Malu and Yusuf, OBJ swept out FOURTEEN generations of army officers. He retired hundreds of senior officers to purge them of their coup addicts. Many of the men I named in my previous posts were quite capable of plotting coups and might have done had they not been retired. In fact Lt-Gen Malu (after being retired) admitted he was tempted to try a coup against OBJ!

Originally Posted by overdryv

I dont know where you get your facts but it'd be the height of extreme naivety to believe that Obj scuttled a coup attempt in his first term. Was Obj not the compromise candidate of the ruling cabal to calm the southwest after Abiola was eliminated? If Mustapha actually planned a coup why has no court found him guilty till now? Even a toddler knows that any attempt to topple Obj was a declaration of war on the SW. The north would not risk such a move since SW make it possible for them to have such a stranglehold on leadership. If the SW today says no more Nigeria, the malams will just go along with it.

You can spare yourself the thought of people going after Yar'adua when he lives office. One reason why Obj planted him in office was because he knew the man would under perform him. When Nigerian history is written in 8 years, Obj would get a lot of accolades for being a wonderful president. But why even compare Obj and Yar'adua? The two are made of the same stuff. Who are the hypocrites who would place one above the other? Yaradua would only play his role of being more under performing and corrupt than his predecessor. This has been the reality of Nigerian politics.

[iamgod]

Originally Posted by maxsiollun

But these were problems inherited by OBJ, not caused by him. Nigeria had not had constant electricity for 20 years before 1999! You make it sound as if poverty, corruption and erratic electricity were started by OBJ.

We have short memories in Nigeria. The fact that OBJ is being so demonised every day by every day folk is actually testament to the tolerance in Nigeria post 1999. How many of you would have been brave enough to criticise OBJ and Abacha in such lacerating terms in the 1980s or 1990s? I am sure many people would have been cowed by the prospect of receiving a letter boms (Dele Giwa) or an unscheduled visit from the SSS and indefinite detention under Decree 2.

This is another senseless post.

So if we had no electricity for 20 years, we can excuse every lame politician wanting to rule over us with this statement. Come to think of it, we've had nothing for over 20 years. So why do we expect anything?

The comment about letter bombs clearly shows this writer is not thinking properly.
How can freedom of expression be considered an achievement unless you are being ruled by nazis?

We didnt expect OBJ to solve all our problems, but he could at least have laid a solid foundation for others to build on. The only foundation he laid was "do-or-die" politics.

The point here is OBJ may have done his best, but that best falls grossly short of what is required by Nigerians.

Also, the comment about military officers being kept out of coups as an achievement is stupid.

The military knows too well that Nigerians are tired of coups and have no patience for them. Conduct a nationwide survey revealing that 80% of Nigerians are sick of civillian government and wont mind the military taking over, and see if a coup wont happen the very next day. Afterall, those who started the first coups had never tasted political power before.

Everyman for his own opinion. Afterall, when Abacha was alive, many upheld him as the best thing to happen to Nigeria.

[What?]

Max Sioullun please stop trying to confuse the public with facts.

All the powerplants and railways implemented by previous regimes from 1979-1999 are all functioning perfectly and have been maintained impeccably for the same period. I also remember the refineries were in fine shape prior to 1999, and the shortfall was made up in imported petrol specially perfumed for the Nigerian market.

As for the Army even if I elected President could call the Heads of the three Branches into my office and give them a list of who I want retired. It is that simple because that is what is done in the US. As a historian I am surprised you do not know this, tsk, tsk.................

[i-go-better]

Why these Obj apologists lack shame (maybe a telepathic acquisition from their ota zoo god!) beggars believe. That retiring Army Officers by an EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT translates to a commendable achievement dislodges sane reasoning.

How many have already been retired by this our own dear baba-go-slow, UMYA? We should all then begin to update UMYA's CV of commendable achievements accordingly.

Facts you Obj hirelings will never succeed in disintegrating are;

1. He was the only President with PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE, he was consequently expected and ought to do far more than any other.

2. He had NON OPPOSITION for 8years; politically, legislatively, legally, thuggism, FINANCIALLY, etc, etc.

4. He introduced DO-OR-DIE democracy and conducted the WORST ELECTION in living memory. The fraud was not just against the opposition parties but, also against members of his own party!

5. His regime morbidly housed the highest number of politically motivated murders in Nigerian history.

THE ABOVE ARE INCONTROVERTIBLE FACTS!

[Demaikel]

Inasmuch as I'm not an Obasanjo supporter, I wouldn't want to be a "see-no-good" citizen. Obasanjo, as at the time he came, tried his best but made a lot of mistakes along the way. He got power drunk and believed he was the only Mr. Nigeria.

However, I say without any regret or apology that those criticizing Obj today will eat their words soon. Even if he has not done any good thing as many believed, the current regime will definitely make him a hero. As far as I'm concerned Obj government with all its shortcomings is still far better than the no-action regime of UMY.

[maxsiollun]

My responses:

1) Shehu Shagari had been a minister since the 1960s before he became President. He was probably the most experienced in government affairs prior to becoming President. Gowon, Murtala, Buhari, Babangida, Abacha and Abdulsalami all served in prior regimes before becoming head of state. Prior to becomign head of state:

• Gowon served in the SMC of Ironsi
• Murtala was Gowon's Minister of Communications
• Buhari had been a Military Governor, an SMC member and Minister of Petroleum under Murtala-Obasanjo

In fact Aguiyi-Ironsi is the only Nigerian head of state to have come to power without prior governmental experience.

2) You don't think Sharia, religious riots, court cases by Falae, Atiku, IBB, and Buhari, him being nearly impeached less than a year into his presidency constitutes "opposition"?

3) I'll forgive the fact you did not have a point 3.

4) Google the words "Akintola", "wetie" and "election" and let us know what you find.

5) Google the words Sani Abacha, Rewane, MKO Abiola, Kudirat Abiola, Nadeco, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Ogono 9, then come back and reappraise that statement. When he died, Abacha had over 400 political prisoners in detention including women, journalists and trade union activists.

Is OBJ flawed? yes. Did he make mistakes? yes. But please have some sense of perspective. He is not the arch demon you are making him out to be. In our quest we should be objective.

Originally Posted by i-go-better

Why these Obj apologists lack shame (maybe a telepathic acquisition from their ota zoo god!) beggars believe. That retiring Army Officers by an EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT translates to a commendable achievement dislodges sane reasoning.

How many have already been retired by this our own dear baba-go-slow, UMYA? We should all then begin to update UMYA's CV of commendable achievements accordingly.

Facts you Obj hirelings will never succeed in disintegrating are;

1. He was the only President with PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE, he was consequently expected and ought to do far more than any other.

2. He had NON OPPOSITION for 8years; politically, legislatively, legally, thuggism, FINANCIALLY, etc, etc.

4. He introduced DO-OR-DIE democracy and conducted the WORST ELECTION in living memory. The fraud was not just against the opposition parties but, also against members of his own party!

5. His regime morbidly housed the highest number of politically motivated murders in Nigerian history.

THE ABOVE ARE INCONTROVERTIBLE FACTS!

[Triple Palaver]

Max Siollun has devoured all comers so far. It seems all the "Obasanjo is the devil" people are nothing but Intellectual lightweights..

[maxsiollun]

"Max Sioullun please stop trying to confuse the public with facts." has to be THE funniest sentence I have ever read on NVS.

Originally Posted by What?

Max Sioullun please stop trying to confuse the public with facts.
All the powerplants and railways implemented by previous regimes from 1979-1999 are all functioning perfectly and have been maintained impeccably for the same period. I also remember the refineries were in fine shape prior to 1999, and the shortfall was made up in imported petrol specially perfumed for the Nigerian market.

As for the Army even if I elected President could call the Heads of the three Branches into my office and give them a list of who I want retired. It is that simple because that is what is done in the US. As a historian I am surprised you do not know this, tsk, tsk.................

[What?]

Originally Posted by Demaikel

Inasmuch as I'm not an Obasanjo supporter, I wouldn't want to be a "see-no-good" citizen. Obasanjo, as at the time he came, tried his best but made a lot of mistakes along the way. He got power drunk and believed he was the only Mr. Nigeria.

However, I say without any regret or apology that those criticizing Obj today will eat their words soon. Even if he has not done any good thing as many believed, the current regime will definitely make him a hero. As far as I'm concerned Obj government with all its shortcomings is still far better than the no-action regime of UMY.

How can you say this? Let me educate you on the high points of the Yar'adua regime.

1. Rule of law.

2. Deregulating importation of cement and thereby crashing the price to N2000 from the old exorbitant price of N2000.

3. Increasing the age of imported "tokunbo" used cars to 10 years.

4. Did I mention rule of law?

5. Stopping the wasteful NIPP and replacing it with a secret plan.

6. Putting uppity people who display arrogance and speak with funny accents in their place.

7. Stopping the railway plan in order to save money, thereby saving the jobs of trailer operators and mechanics.

8. Ruling by the law.

8. Promising to import $1 Billion worth of rice.

9. Creating an atmosphere that has legitimate foreign investors queuing to invest in Nigeria.

10. Developing a brilliant plan for wealth creation.

11. Reviving the refineries to 100% capacity.

12. Enforcing the role of the law.

13. Improving the EFCC and Nigerian Police.

14. Accelerated growth of the LNG project to take advantage of increased interest from Europe in Nigerian gas.

15. Stamping out religious and ethnically motivated unrest in the North

16. Laws that rule.

[maxsiollun]

Like I said in another thread, all this OBJ bashing mania is taking attention away from the corrupt incompetence of the present government which is getting away with blue murder. It cannot point to a single foreign or domestic policy achievement.

[i-go-better]

Originally Posted by maxsiollun

Like I said in another thread, all this OBJ bashing mania is taking attention away from the corrupt incompetence of the present government which is getting away with blue murder. It cannot point to a single foreign or domestic policy achievement.

There you go, why would an Hausa-man not accuse you of tribalism? A President who had hardly left his sick bed you are already accusing of non performance while luxuriating Obj's calamitous regime.

And, by the way, are you trying by any hint of imagination to dissociate Obj from "the corrupt incompetence of the present government"? Would this incompetent man be Nigerian president today without your Obj?

Just look over your shoulder at Ghana. SHAME.

[maxsiollun]

1) Because of this:
http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/...on-fights.html

2) But for the intervention of OBJ: IBB or Atiku would have become president. Would you prefer them?

Originally Posted by i-go-better

There you go, why would an Hausa-man not accuse you of tribalism?

Would this incompetent man be Nigerian president today without your Obj?

[Ofunwa Villager]

If someone's wife fails to conceive, someone else will blame OBJ for that too.

Pleaseee don't let Oga Gbenga hear this

[Abraxas]

Hi, folks!

Originally Posted by Maxsiollun

Is OBJ flawed? yes. Did he make mistakes? yes. But please have some sense of perspective. He is not the arch demon you are making him out to be. In our quest we should be objective.

Ahemmmmmmmm! Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Make I clear my t'roat, first. I no go talk yet...

Muchas gracias, mis amigos.

Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS (III)
Director of Propaganda & Enlightenment (D.O.P.E)
Special Task Force for the Demystification of OBJ, IBB, Danjuma, Buhari, Abdulsalami, David Mark et al.

Director of Operations, Logistics, Tactics & Strategy,
Special Task Force for the Effective Evacuation of OBJ from Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, to Ibogun (in the middle of Nowhere).

[bob]

maxi and co,
get this right : from whom much is given, much is expected.
what was the mood of the nation after the death of the one and only general abacha?
was the nation not expectant, almost spiritual that any two on the way from lagos(jericho) to ibadan(jerusalem) were talking of what God was doing in the life of the nation?
and the price of crude oil was at unprecedented heights in living memory.

and even the police did not take 20 naira bribes on the road in the 1st 6 months of Obj 1999 regime. u can take this fact to the bank as i know how much i spent during the years of military rule.

such was the expectation of every aliu, osas and etim but as the months turned to years and the darkness deepened and the rumours of billions spent on the lagos-benein highway where everybody spent nights in the mud crater holes, the hoodwinked people have turned their backs on the false god obj and nothing, nothing rara, not even if yaradua stops getting up from bed will make them wish, for a day, the scourge of obj.
ma benu.