By Ilyasu Gadu, Ilgad2009@gmail.com
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During the military regimes of Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha, the struggle to return Nigeria to civilian democratic rule was led largely by political personalities and intelligentsia from the South Western part of the country.
This became even more strident following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 elections by the Babangida regime. The coming of the Abacha regime with its draconian policies tipped the scales of the struggle from civil disobedience to a full scale revolutionary one which drew global attention and support.
Among the prominent personalities of the struggle was current President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In one of the many iconic images of the era, we saw Senator Bola Tinubu as he was then known, walking right behind the winner of the June 12 election Chief M.K.O Abiola as he walked alongside General Sani Abacha when the latter took over as Head of State following the overthrow of Chief Ernest Shonekan’s Interim Government. It was then thought by many that General Abacha was to handover to Chief Abiola in short order. But developments followed thick and fast afterwards. And with Abiola soon clamped in detention, Tinubu along with others fled the country.
Opinions are split on the extent of the role that Tinubu played in the struggle to restore democratic rule in the country. The popular narrative promoted by Tinubu and his circle of admirers was that he (Tinubu) was so piqued by General Abacha’s betrayal that he decided to move abroad to mobilize funds and groups for a revolutionary struggle against the Abacha dictatorship.
The other view which is not widespread but enjoys some authenticity among people who can vouch it was that following the detention of Chief Abiola, and with some of the ‘’June Twelvers’’ like Lateef Jakande, Ebenezer Babatope etc opting to be part of Abacha’s government, not to be left Tinubu also sought Abacha out for a position. It was after he was denied his request that he left the country in anger to join the struggle.
Today in a twist of irony, the Tinubu who fought for the restoration of democratic rights of people in Nigeria is seen now as President of the country denying the same people their economic and social rights through his policies. His punishing economic policies has taken food from the table of most Nigerians; made it impossible for them to pay children’s school fees; thrown them out of employment; made transportation for purposes of earning a decent living virtually impossible.
Tinubu the celebrated hero of civil and political rights of people has now become a ruthless harbinger of economic pestilence laying Nigeria and Nigerians prostrate. The hurricane of economic hardship Tinubu has introduced spares no one. Former Heads of State, Statesmen, regional and national leaders, Generals, businessmen, students, school children, employers, workers, transporters, indeed the high and low across the six geopolitical zones in the country are groaning loudly and endlessly.
In places of worship, the clergy and clerics, football stadiums and viewing centres, market places, public parks, palaces, inside buses, the main subject of discussion is on Tinubu and the negative impact of his economic policies. Eight out of ten Nigerians have lost all confidence in the administration and do not believe that President Tinubu can deliver his much touted promise of ‘’renewed hope’’. Without a shadow of doubt, Tinubu’s harsh economic policies and the hardship they have caused has become the most existential issue in Nigeria today.
In addition to the economic hardships, what Nigerians have observed with alarm is the growing tendency by the Tinubu government to constrict the democratic space. In addition to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) which he controls as a fiefdom, President Tinubu’s agents have been planted and ordered to destabilize the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). Many Nigerians see this as a move intended to prevent the emergence of potentially formidable opponents in the next round of elections.
Against these unsavoury developments, Nigerians are asking: What then is the difference between Abacha and Tinubu?
We remember that Abacha denied us our political and democratic rights. But we also recall that the economic policies he implemented were benevolent; he kept the Naira exchange rate steady throughout his rule and he made effective use of the proceeds from the marginal increase in the prices of petroleum products by instituting far reaching social programmes which are still with us.
Tinubu on the other hand is presently inching towards being a civilian despot capturing and subsuming the two other independent arms of government, the Judiciary and Legislature, the armed security establishment and the political parties.
In this entire scenario, President Tinubu has demonstrated an astonishing and wilful in-your-face detachment from the Nigerian people, offering no sense of empathy and responsibility for the hardship he has plunged the country into. The President’s response to the political and economic situation he has instituted has been demonstrably arrogant and irascible. He proudly displays a sadistic and insouciant attitude towards Nigerians generally regarding us as irritants and ingrates who should be thankful to him for the ‘’favours’’ he is doing us by taking us through what he considers as the necessary ‘’economic discipline’’ we had always lacked as a people.
Against this background, the overwhelming feeling among Nigerians today is that President Tinubu should not be re-elected in the next round of elections in 2027 if he continues on his present trajectory of governance. Nigerians believe that it is bad enough as it is presently under Tinubu and will certainly be worse once he gets re-elected in 2027. They believe that once he is re-elected by whatever contrivance, without the challenges facing another round of elections, he will not only feel safe and free to continue the punishing economic policies, he will seek to make constitutional amendments that will consolidate his incipient desire to be a civilian despot.
So we are back to the trenches. Democracy is not just about political and civil rights; it is also about inalienable social and economic rights and the pursuit of happiness. Any administration that sets out to wilfully give Nigerians hardship without remit as Tinubu is doing now does not deserve our favours.
President Tinubu is attempting to deny us both the political rights we successfully fought the military for by constricting the political and civil space. He is also denying us the right to enjoy the God-given resources endowed us as a people. It is therefore imperative just as we did against the military regimes of Babangida and Abacha, to also stand up democratically against Tinubu’s despotic tendencies.
This prompts the poignant question; how and who will rescue Nigerians from Tinubu in 2027?
First of all, it must be understood that the task is by no means easy. Former Jigawa Governor Sule Lamido put it succinctly: ‘’There is no Nigerian like Tinubu who has been there on his own…..Now that he is in charge, he is not going to be easy to deal with. With Tinubu, Nigeria is fiefdom. Tinubu is the emperor. And if you watch him closely, he does not care’’.
If we care for our future and our country which Tinubu is trying to turn into his personal estate, we will stop him. Our fight for democracy should not be for the benefit of one man alone. Nigerians did not see off military dictators only to allow a civilian with a dubious messianic image of himself and a tendency towards despotism to take over. We need somebody daring enough with a plan not just to lead the democratic struggle against Tinubu’s political despotic disposition, but also a comprehensive plan to dismantle his harsh, enslaving economic policies.
Iliyasu Gadu, a former Foreign Service Officer who served at the Nigerian Missions in Germany and the United Kingdom (UK), is a columnist with Daily Trust