Faced with a Catch 22 situation, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo acquitted himself creditably – he ate his words and went for the lesser of two evils. In military parlance, he went for the soft target. By this act, he has convinced me that he is a good soldier – though a bad politician by a mile and a half. A bad politician because he did not tell us what Atiku Abubakar gave him during the consultation – what kind of wine so this is not a case of corruption. A bad politician because he did not ask Atiku to bring a guarantor’s form signed and filled by his village head that he would be of good conduct and also stating that if he (Atiku) misappropriates public funds he (village head) should be held liable. A bad politician because he could have asked him to see other people and also seek their forgiveness before venturing out to contest. Now we do not know if Atiku knows that Germany is now united. Neither do we know if he knows that the president of Germany is not President Michele.
As a soldier he obviously was confronted with situations like this on many occasions, and he managed to stay alive by not letting his sense of survival interfere with his decision making. As a military commander he may have learnt fundamental lessons each time he got into a dangerous territory, and managed to extricate himself. The last (and perhaps the most dangerous) territory he ever got into was “Buhariland.” A land that has so many twists and turns, blood and tears that it makes Wonderland sound like a choir rehearsal. But Frankensten created the monster and should not run from it.
In an interview some years ago, the late Col. Edet Utuk, who was a brigade commander under Obasanjo and was rated as commanding the best fighting unit on the Nigerian side during the war said that the day Obasanjo came to his sector of the war he (Utuk) was not informed. Trust Obasanjo, a rambunctious character, not to bother with such niceties – even in battle. He once left the podium to go and flock a policeman involved in crowd control. Utuk claimed that he was in his headquarters when he saw the convoy drove pass his staff office and headed into the thick of battle. Utuk was surprised but then opted to wait and see what would happen next.
Utuk thought he was not needed and stayed on to keep monitoring how his men were doing in the war theatre. A short while after, some soldiers showed up and summarily summoned him to report to Obasanjo at where he (Obasanjo) was. Utuk followed them and when he got there, he brusquely informed Obasanjo that he had exceeded his limit as a commander and had caused Utuk to exceed his limit as a brigade commander. “I told him that we were standing right in the baffle field and we could get killed the next minute,” Utuk reported saying to Obasanjo. You see? Though the proverb says that “fools tread where angels fear to tread” I can bet the little toe on my left leg that Obasanjo is not a fool – he is an angel.
He said he had not finished addressing Obasanjo when a sniper’s rifle boomed and they scampered for cover. A bullet lurched in Utuk’s leg, just above the knee, while from his position in the grass, Obasanjo, was concerned about Utuk and asked, “The young boy Utuk is he safe? The young boy Utuk is he safe?” Utuk maintained in the interview that he did not know whether the sniper was a good shot but their soldiers returned fire as the Obasanjo and his men came out of their positions, relived the experience and parted ways.
It would not be the last time, OBJ, would ride into trouble without counsel – he is the all-knowing Lord of Otta Farm and the uncrowned king of Nigeria. Like a Texas cowboy, letting out a wild cry with his hat off and guns blazing, in a spaghetti western, Obasanjo courts trouble and trouble courts him. There are two sides to every issue as far as Obasanjo is concerned. These are his views and the wrong ones. He tried it with Abacha and found out that Abacha’s version of a power game was rough and tumble. Abacha slammed him in jail for a phantom coup.
Brought out of prison and dusted clean, he became the president of Nigeria and his messianic complex was restored. Obasanjo believes that he is the principality that rules Nigeria and no one has a right to rule Nigeria without his consent. In 2015, he joined forces with Buhari and tore his People Democratic Party identity card publicly. To him Buhari was the best thing to happen to Africa since the discovery of quinine.
However, like quinine, Buhari, is all bitter and expired. Obasanjo had pulled no punches in campaigning for Buhari in 2015 but now he faced a dilemma with a government that reminds one of cartoon characters.
ON the other hand, Obasanjo had told who ever cared to listen that Atiku Abubakar was so bad he could give Satan a run for his money. Well things came to a denouement and he found himself between the rock and the hard place. He had to chose between Buhari and Atiku. A Catch 22 situation. This was like being asked to choose between a “vampire” and a “thief.” Of course there were pastors at hand to remind him of the Good Old Book’s injunction that where there is life there is hope. At least if all the tens of thousands killed by Fulani herdsmen were alive, they would have had hope that Nigeria would change some day. So… Obasanjo decided to vote for live by choosing Atiku.
He would justify his choice by saying that in the military you do not reinforce failure, “Buhari had failed and there was no need for a second term.” For once the man who wrote “Not My Will” appears to have acted in his will. Or so it appears.
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