Nigeria’s History and Obasanjo’s Vision for Tomorrow

By Abdullahi Shehu

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ) is about the foremost intellectual leader Nigeria ever had in terms of academic output: he has written over thirty books and still counting. In his books that I have read, including his three-volume autobiography, ‘My Watch,’ he demonstrates exceptional erudition, intellectual sagacity and humble leadership and statesmanship. ‘Nigeria: Past and Future’ is fortuitously written with the benefit of hindsight, because according to him, “hindsight is a great opportunity to reflect on the past so that the future can be better”. Therefore, he seamlessly recounts his experiences, especially as former Military Head of State and as a democratically elected President. Putting his tenures together, he is about the longest serving leader of Nigeria.

The 228-page book is written flawlessly in simple but pragmatic language, illustrating why and how OBJ is both angry and sad because he has seen the good, the bad and perhaps the ugly parts of Nigeria, which makes him to be in a hurry to see Nigeria achieve her potential for greatness. However, he makes it very clear in the Preface that the book, though recounting major policy issues, successes and failures, hopes and potentials, is not meant to review everything that has happened in this great nation; at best, according to him, the book is “a rear-view mirror” (whatever that means).

However, unlike many books, this is not written in the conventional chapterization; rather, the author simply identifies key issues and topics and numbers the headings for the reader to understand. Overall, there are 20 numbered issues, which can be considered as chapters with an introduction and a postscript.

In the introduction, OBJ did not mince words in bringing out cogent reasons Nigeria remains a “Lilliputian” when it could have been a “giant”. He progressively interrogates “what went wrong – when, where and how – what we have to do to stop repeating the same mistakes of under-performance, mismanagement, wastefulness, corruption, profligacy, misconduct and lack of uprightness and integrity, mindless audacity and impunity with godlessness” (p.8). He avers that development, which is what Nigeria is seeking, must be “anchored on seven planks: EDUCATION (which includes KNOWLEDGE), SKILLS, HEALTH, AGRIBUSINESS, INFRASTRUCTURE, INDUSTRIALIZATION AND TECHNOLOGY” (p.10), which he uses to analyse the mistakes and opportunities for Nigeria through leadership.

The former President reviews Nigeria’s leadership spectacle, alluding that since independence, “our political leaders were not completely oblivious of the reality of the world”. He recouns the leadership experiences of the country through successive administrations (military and civilian) and concludes that “Buhari’s civil administration regime is the worst so far in Nigerian history” (p.19). ‘And from miliary to civilian, from civilian to civilian, from military to military… some form of desire for good governance were pronounced with many words but little actions’.

OBJ characterizes our democracy as an inherited system – that is the Western Liberal Democracy, which according to him, has not delivered because we misused it; and since it is now being interrogated even in the West where it came from, we must equally do so to see how it can meet our expectations for development.

The author considers political party leadership as very crucial in a democracy. However, this is where one of the problems lies, especially with regard to political party financing where “political parties devised different ingenious but illegitimate and, in some cases, corrupt means to finance their parties”. This was the case with the regional main political parties in the First Republic, which transcended into the political parties of today where exorbitant fees are paid by candidates for nomination for elective office; and in some cases, “the party leaders corruptly and blatantly mismanage such funds” (p. 34).

The electoral authorities, electoral bodies also share in the blame by allowing or facilitating irregularities and malpractices, such as “deliberately making equipment malfunction, not using the equipment that should be used, switching off power deliberately and blaming the power supply authority, short-distributing materials to areas that would be neutralized and simple inflations, (all of which) have been prevalent in the INEC conduct of elections in 2019 and 2023 to the extent that substantial number of Nigerians have lost confidence in the electoral process in Nigeria” (p.39).

OBJ concedes that there cannot be perfect elections handled by human beings – there will always be some irregularities like “ballot boxes not arriving in time, ballot papers not being enough, electoral officials being late, voters being misdirected to a wrong polling station, etc, most of which may occur inadvertently and normally, unless massively masterminded, they do not adversely affect the will of the people”, even though they should not be encouraged and condoned. He insists, however, that “what must be prevented is organized rigging by leadership of political parties, government or election management body” and he swears to God that while he was Head of State and President, ‘never did he directly or indirectly influence the election management body to sway election in any direction to suit his purpose’ (p. 42). He therefore advocates for a neutral electoral commission as an imperative, fundamental pre-requisite for truly free, fair, transparent and credible elections.

On the role of law enforcement agencies in ensuring law and order, he recognizes that “the responsibilities and duties of law enforcement agents in ensuring free, fair, transparent and credible elections are grave and frightfully important” (p. 45). He recalls his first experience during the local elections upon assumption of office in 1999 when his Party Coordinator reeled out a list of those to be provided with money for transportation and food, including INEC officials, police, observers and the media. He vehemently objected to bribing officials for doing their jobs, and what results did he have at the end? His party, the PDP failed woefully in his constituency and indeed, all over the South West. OBJ narrates very interesting lessons on how party officials apply dirty tricks and corrupt ways to win elections at all costs and concludes that “electoral problems are serious grave problems, which can not be divorced from the living standards and mass poverty prevalent in our society, which with its attendant pressures, easily compromises even the most astute of citizens” (p.56).

On the role of the Chief Executives at Federal and State levels, OBJ observes that “a leader must not only be a reader, he must also be a learner before, during and after office… A leader and even an aspiring leader must regularly have something to interrogate, question and query in the process of reform and transformation” (p. 59). This is why some people consider OBJ as the best leader Nigeria ever had and, as he maintains the propensity of letter writing to his ‘superiors and successors in moments of our nation’s troubles and challenges’ not out of malice but to help leaders to learn some lessons and improve. Under the economic situation Nigeria is, where according to him it is possible to “buy whoever is buyable”, and especially “under Buhari and Tinubu, only few can resist the lure of money: Their perversion, perfidy and anything goes attitude do incalculable damage to our polity, politics, governance and administration.

Character, morality and principles are not considered important in their reckoning. What matters to them is to be in office at all costs by hook or by crook” (p. 60). He cites instances where while in office as Head of State and as President he set personal examples and standards of morality, including when he stopped the practice where officials received estacodes when they did not spend a dime because the host country provided their needs on state visits. He refunded what was credited to his account upon such travels and the order became ‘no allowances of any kind for him and half allowance for his close aids and members of his entourage who enjoyed full hospitality their host-government’. The value in such example is not the little savings to government, but more importantly, the lesson and morality attached to it (p. 64).

The author cites a few examples of how wittingly or unwittingly most of our chief executives, whom he described as “almost collectively a curse for the country”, especially at the federal level have contributed to the prostate position of Nigeria, including:

The way and manner we conceived, built and abandoned midway important national development projects like the Ajaokuta and Aladja steel mills and oil refineries. He chastizes the “hasty and very poor decision of late President Yar’Adua in disrgarding legal advice not to cancel the concession agreement on Ajaokuta Steel Plant with the affiliate facility of the Iron Ore Mining Company” leading to the payment of about $496 million by the federal government to settle a claim of $5.23 billion by an Indian firm (Global Steel Holding Ltd). Had the government exercised patience for just one month, the contract would have become null and void and the government would have been entitled to more than $26 million as damages from the Indian firm because the firm was unable to pay the first tranche for the Ajaokuta shares before the first anniversary of the agreement which was 25 May 2008. OBJ consideres this as deliberate and with the “inappropriate actions of revocation of agreements and contracts by Presidents Buhari and Yar’Adua, there seems to have developed a new industry in Nigeria of local contractors and foreign contractors seeking old contracts and agreements, purchases and transactions that can be unearthed to punch holes in them to make bogus claims with arbitrator, judge or mediator being procured to join the sharing formula” (p. 70). Another example of waste, corruption, and misplaced priority according to OBJ is “the murky Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road… and the new Vice President’s official residence built at a cost of 21 billion naira in the time of economic hardship”.

OBJ recalls the “arbitrary” cancellation of the contract for a metroline line in Lagos that was negotiated by the then civilian governor of the state, Lateef Jakande by Buhari upon his assumption of office as military Head of State in 1983. “The contractor, Interinfra, went to arbitration court in Europe for breach of contract and got an award of 650 million French francs (about 100 million US dollars… almost the mount of money the metroline would have cost” (p. 69). He further cites the Tinapa project in Cross River state as one of the wasteful ventures.The flaring of our gas since the beginning of production of petroleum in commercial quantity, estimated at about $59 billion loss as at the end of 2023. The inadvertent loss of $150 million on balloon communication for the Ministry of Communication due to the eagerness to improve telecommunication under the Murtala-Obsanjo regime.

OBJ chastizes former President Buhari and particulalry his Attorney General, Abubakar Malami, whom he decribed as “the devil’s workshop” for the “most atrocious waste, enthronement of corruption and discouragement of officials fighting corruption” refering to the granting of state pardon to former governors Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame who were both convicted for corruption.

Against all these wasteful experiences and corruption, OBJ expresses support for democracy but suggests that “we should seek democracy within African history, culture, attributes and characteristics, one that would take necessary African factors into consideration. Until we get a better word or description for it, let us call it Afro democracy. It is from Afrodemocracy that we will draw up an African people’s constitution for any African that chooses to go the way of Afro democracy, which will avoid most, if not all, the faults we have found in Western Liberal Democracy” (p. 75).

Another important theme in OBJ’s book is the role of lawmakers at federal and state levels. He states that on the two occasions he had to directly deal with Nigerian lawmakers as Military Head of State and as democratically elected President, he “saw no redeeming feature in them to build a Nigeria of our dream, citing a few examples that after he handed over power in 1979, the federal lawmakers left the special accommodation built for them and took over the 1004 housing complex built for the people in Victoria Island because of the number of units involved. Another instance of his disgust with lawmakers was that the first experience he had upon assumption of office in 1999, the message he got was that when sending any bill to the National Assembly, “it should be accompanied with funds to pave way for ease of passage” (p. 79). OBJ describes as “the worst action of the current lawmakers is their insatiable appetite for corruption and breach of the Constitution”, citing the so-called constituency project at both national and state levels as “daylight armed robbery” (p. 81). Despite all this, he concluded that change is possible, and with a fundamental change, transformation and reform can begin again. “The drumbeat has to change and the dance steps would change with the drumbeat” (p. 84).

Based on his experience interacting with civil and public servants, OBJ observes that they maintain continuity and they are more professional than their political masters. However, he cautions that “they can also be devious and devilish or professionally altruistic and progressive, depending on how they are handled and how much their interests are involved or affected” (p.85). “When it suits them, they could be completely efficient, supportive and effective to beat your imagination” (p.87). Where they decided not to support, they will easily frustrate any policy and continue to say yes. He appreciates the civil service, especially during his tenure as military Head of State when civil servants were very supportive to the extent that they contributed five percent of their one-month salary into the Southern Africa Relief Fund which was used for our anti-colonialism and anti-apartheid policy and struggle. The Civil Service, according to the former president, contributes substantially to good governance and the performance of government; and for it to perform efficiently and effectively, civil servants “must be essentially professional, motivated, inspired, adequately remunerated, skilled, respected as partners with political leaders in government, and protected from harmful influence of corruption and malpractices” (92).OBJ traces the history and evolution of the judiciary in Nigeria from pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial eras, and concludes that ‘what is painfully and distastefully observable is that the standard, quality of judges and judgements, the reputation of the Nigerian judiciary had steadily gone down from the four eras up till today. The rapidity of the precipitous fall, particularly in the Fourth Republic, where ‘justice’ is only for the highest bidder, according to him, is lamentable. There is no time in the history of Nigeria, that the reputation of the judiciary has been badly tarnished with corruption in appointment, promotion and in quality of judgements’. For the fact that judges are appointed makes the independence of the judiciary a myth. The judiciary and the legal profession as a whole are predicated on skill, knowledge of the law and society and the willingness to work hard for better results. However, there are instances where the judges are “concerned with law”, rather than “concerned with justice”, aside from the time it takes to get justice, if at all it comes; making the administration of justice seemingly a charade. The question is, if the judiciary can dispense political or electoral cases from the High Court to the Supreme Court within six months, why not in other matters before the judiciary? OBJ did not lose sight of the fact that a constitutional amendment may be required for some changes, but argued that “if on a whim, we could change our national anthem in favour of a colonial one, we should, if we consider ourselves serious enough, effect such far reaching measures that would bring peace and respect at home and abroad, not to speak of the impact on foreign direct investment” (p. 125).

OBJ recognizes the invaluable role of the media in nation building, but frowns at what he described as “the most detested conduct of journalists” – the crave for brown envelopes and abuse of social media. He then questions whether the media can, in view of the declining quality of that profession, be considered today, as “the fourth estate of the realm or destroyers of the realm?”

Baba Obasanjo observes that in Nigeria, the Army (which is an embodiment of the military), started being politically smeared from 1963, when the political leadership wanted the indigenization of the Army to be fast-tracked, and when region, ethnicity and religion were given more weight than seniority, merit and competence in the Army. Assessing the role of the military in political leadership and governance, and taking the military regimes one by one or collectively, the verdict will be more negative than positive. He concludes that “the fundamental training of the military to fight conventional war is not in doubt… but the military must stoutly resist the temptation, the lure and the call into coup-making and an unconstitutional government” (p.140).

The author recognizes the important qualities and roles of a diplomat and how diplomacy should contribute to meaningful policy and development. Regrettably, however, he states that he did not see the two-way traffic in communication between the Nigerian diplomatic service abroad and headquarters in terms of value addition to government and consequently by the nation. According to him, ‘I have always found inadequate the feedback from the diplomats outside, representing Nigeria. Putting it bluntly, the impact of the Nigerian members of the Diplomatic Group, a well-experienced, exposed and expert group at that, has not been adequately felt for the good of Nigeria…the Ministry should wake up to its responsibility’ (pp.143 & 145).

The lesson therefore is that “our performance at home in all ramifications has implications for our reputation and impact abroad. And our capability and impact abroad directly and indirectly enhance our performance and situation at home…The money to develop Africa in general and Nigeria in particular is out there, but it will not come into an environment tarnished with corruption, misconduct, lack of integrity, transactional leadership and enthronement of all that is bad in governance, including mediocrity” (p.146).

Baba OBJ recognizes the importance of the intellectuals and academia in the development of any nation. In Nigeria, “before, during and after independence, majority of them failed to live up to expectation as nation builders. If anything, some activist academics could be styled nation destroyers” (p.147). Citing instances of failure, including to right the wrongs, he lamented that “it is clear that from colonial or pre-independence time until now, Nigerian intellectuals or academics (with a few exceptions) have not distinguished themselves as harbingers in the crusade and the task for nation-building. They were marooned in regional and ethnic sentiments” (p.151). Nevertheless, in his elderly words, he states that “we can turn mistakes and shame to grace and greatness. Let there be no buck-passing but genuine acceptance of what the situation is and that we have all contributed to it in one way or the other and we all have to join hands clearing the mess and making necessary amends” (p. 152).

The traditional institution has evolved overtime, yet, its role in nation-building remains insignificant. Consequently, there is a clamour for constitutional roles to be ascribed to traditional rulers. OBJ observes that ‘the class of traditional rulers with their distinction, honour and dignity, as we knew them in the colonial days and early post-independence days, has been diluted and polluted. That dignity, aura and respect should be brought back and traditional rulers should be an asset to Nigeria’s development and greatness and not a liability. According to him, there is a need for moral re-armament among the traditional rulers – the ancient and historic ones’ (p.161). He concludes that one point must not be lost on the enduring responsibility and usefulness of the traditional institution – and that is- “Nigeria still has a large rural population without access to urban legal jurisdiction, largely due to poverty, accessibility, time consuming, etc. Perhaps 90% of all litigation is handled by the traditional institutions, the various district heads and emirs in the north and their counterparts in the south, the clan heads and paramount rulers” (p. 162).

These are also important elements of leadership in Nigeria, who over time have developed into three religious affiliations: traditional and native, Islamic and Christian. Reviewing the important roles that traditional/religious leaders have played and continue to play, the author observes that “the problem of traditional religious leaders today is improper and inadequate exposure, half-baked practitioners as leaders, self-aggrandizement which leads to faking, lying, corruption in different forms and guises, and commission of abominations. Most religious leaders in the traditional religion have debased the religion to the level of unseriousness, impotency and caricature” (p. 165). He blames the Islamic religious leaders for contributing to the underdevelopment of Nigeria in the area of Western education, leading to a situation where Nigeria has about twenty million children that should be in school, but are out of school, mainly in the Islamic communities in the country. He calls for a convergence of Western education with Islamic education (which is what modern scholars are doing), to eliminate illiteracy in Nigeria. However, the point of contention remains that the fact that one does not have Western education is considered an illiterate even if he is versed in Islamic education, is a misnomer.

On the other hand, the author observes that “most of mushrooming Christian churches, ministries and missions are neither prophetic nor apostolic. They use religion as a normal meal ticket; some even use religion for waywardness and satisfaction of their sexual urges, orgies and lusts” (p. 168).

The private sector is the engine of growth and development. According to the author, this sector covers more than the public servants, including those in uniforms. They are the largest within the population. But for the purposes of his analysis, the author limits this sector to the formal private sector participants or practitioners and zeroes down on the organized private sector, including clusters such as agribusiness and food production, industrialization and manufacturing, trade, building and construction, etc, all of which have a responsibility for the quality of government we get at various levels. He notes some significant contributions of the private sector to nation building but also expresses dismay at their role and their poor performance in the area of energy, for example; intra-Africa trade with less than 18%; and in selecting or electing political leaders to head the government at national and state levels. He recommends that in electing leaders, “a candidate whose character, track record and performance are not found worthy should be tactically and diplomatically shelved by the private sector through less provision of funds” (p.177) in order to produce good and credible leaders to rule Nigeria.

The author traces the origin and evolution of trade union and unionism in Nigeria and their contributions or otherwise in nation-building and observes, however, that “because of their political ambitions, most of the union leaders are not effective as the founding fathers of the third phase had hoped” (p.184). He concludes that ‘while right must be preserved, taking advantage of labour leadership as a stepping stone into politics is both unethical and immoral calling for labour laws should put a gap of five years’ (p. 185).

In this context, the masses refer to the ordinary people and the author suggests that “take ‘m’ from the word, what you have left is asses and that is how the masses behave” (p.187). The author alludes to the fact that education, formal or informal, Western or Islamic, forms an important aspect of preparation for life and it is an imperative beginning for children growing into adulthood. He emphasizes that education is not a delegated responsibility, citing example with himself who chose to pursue a PhD course in Christian Theology and achieved his heart’s desire at the age of 80. But one of his other schools of informal education was his prison experience where he learned certain things that contributed immensely in his performance in government as elected president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. Thus, according to him, “everywhere is a place of learning, a school” (p. 190). He recounted four lessons, among many that he learned in prison that have become part of his life and lived experience:

He interacted and mingled with all inmates through opportunities: the first was that every inmate would pass by his cell to go and collect food. The strategic location of his cell gave him the advanatge to communicate with inmates while going to collect or coming back from collection of their food; the second was that he was allowed to keep a First Aid box in his cell and which gave him the opportunity to assist inmates in need of first aid and also opportunity to talk to them and learn from them, though the idea of his incarceration was to isolate him.

The prison experience gave him another opportunity to learn how 419 fraudsters operate from one inmate by name Angashe, who was “the king of 419 boys in Yola prison” where he was. He also learned from the inmates that the best time of the night to operate by armed robbers is between 12.30am and 2.30am because earlier would mean the victim has not yet slept or later may mean the victim could be waking up to ease his or herself. Another lesson was “the callousness of the prison service and injustice and inhumanity concomittant with the prison for security and reformation” (p.191).

Based on his lived experience, therefore, the masses behave like asses because “the government at all levels and the elite advertently or inadvertently deprive the masses of adequate opportunity for preparation to escape the poverty trap and become area boys, drug addicts, bandits, Boko Haram and kidnappers” (p. 193). And that the governments and elite do so to further their self-interest to use them, including doing their dirty job during elections.

The youth cut across all the different groups and sectors discussed in the book, hance they should be ‘encouraged to be assertive, visible, organized, interrogating and positively disruptive’. He admonishes the youth not to accept their role as leaders of tomorrow. They should consider now as their time, for if they do not start to claim leadership today, it will be taken away from them forever. On how to go about it, the author advises the youth “not to go on the path of recrimination, buck-passing or blame game. They must be forward looking, positive, progressive, cooperative, complementary, engaging, relevant and bringing all hands-on deck, absolutely, inclusively until critical mass is generated that can push, overturn and bring desirable change for good for a twenty-first century which Africa claims as hers. Youths have the number, and they must couple the number with the right ideas and actions’ (p.200).

These elements of human development are dire to former President Obasanjo and wherever he has to discuss leadership and good governance, he explores these elements with passion and vigour. He believes that the key to a nation’s development lies in the character of its people, particularly its leaders. Therefore, his main message in the book is that “the most important factor in the development of a nation is the nature and make-up of its citizens: their character, values, capacities, performances and competences, commitment and orientation, including motivation. Patriotism and morality must become religious duty” (p. 202). Leadership by example leads to performance and efficiency.

OBJ observes that ‘position and power tend to make the bad worse and the worse worst’. Therefore, “looking for or expecting development from a source without character and morality is like looking for a rain forest in the midst of the Sahara Desert” (p. 207). With this analogy, he further observes that “if the leader at the highest level is also unclean or allows condonation, corruption, misconduct and immorality will spread like wild fire. And that has been the experience of Nigeria from Jonathan to Buhari to Tinubu” (p. 205). He concludes that the “absence of character and morality enshrined through nurture and the Divine will lead to no good leadership. And without character and attitude that make good leadership, development will be a mirage” (p. 212).

And praying God to bless Nigeria and give us leaders imbued with character, knowledge, understanding, courage, humility, discernment and ability, capacity, competence and grace to perform, he recommends that “apart from close assessment of the track record of any person to be allowed for election at any level of government by special assessors whose identities must be confidential, all political competitors for elected offices and appointees must undergo a course on politics, ethics, morality, values and leadership” (p. 215). I think a lot of money has been spent on all these since the inception of the Fourth Republic, yet, it seems we are backsliding from bad to worse.

In the postscript, the former President attempts to resolve some of the issues he discussed in the book based on his personal experience and initiatives when he served as elected president between 1999 to 2007, but only a few will merit mentioning here. He observes that ‘the great enemies of Nigeria are those in power and authority who understand and know what is good for Nigeria and Nigerians, but for a number of reasons fail to do it. We take three steps forward, one step aside and two steps backwards. That has been the misfortune of Nigeria for six and a half decades’. His conclusion therefore is that “the trends on the African continent portray a more assertive, younger population, intolerant of abuses of power and in search of the dividends of good governance, such that whether or not we accept it, an inevitable shake-up is in the offing. In what manner that happens is left for the current operatives of government to decide or fashion out” (p. 218).

As an elder stateman, OBJ poses a final question that “can we have a glorious future to look up to? His answer is “yes, but it requires work. The details of this work are what this book has been about. The youth must take control of their future. Human factors that would become negative obstacles must be eliminated. Fair wages and rewards must be the attainment of all workers, including leaders, with justice, fairness and equity. We must do the work” (p.228).This, in my view is an excellent exposé of the Nigerian past, present and future which serve as a compendium of policy directions. I therefore, have no qualms whatsoever in recommending this book to all political leaders, policy makers and implementers, the academia and the general public as a reservoir of knowledge.

• Shehu is a Professor of Criminology and Security Studies and immediate past Nigerian Ambassador to the Russian Federation with concurrent accreditation to the Republic of Belarus.