Buhari: The Return Of ‘Babacracy’

Buhari

 

Chief Mathew Okikiola Aremu Obasanjo who was elected first Nigerian civilian president in this democratic dispensation in 1999 was born on March 5, 1937 and was officially 62 years when he was elected president in I999.

Fast forward to 2015 and precisely on March 28, General Muhammadu Buhari who was born on 17 December 1942 was elected Nigeria’s president in this dispensation at the age of 73. We will get to that later.

Chief Obasanjo who was elected president at 62 years of age was popularly known as Baba Iyabo in reference to his being the father of Iyabo Obasanjo and was literally seen as the Baba of the country and his ministers and advisers routinely talk about him as “The Baba”. “That is the way Baba wants it”, his ministers would say while defending government’s policy.

Stories were told how ministers used to prostrate before Baba and many do not have the mind of their own to challenge Obasanjo on many issues. To survive in his cabinet you have to know the mind of Baba and once you are with him regurgitate what Baba wants to hear, and you are not likely to have any problems with him. Ministers like Chief Bola Ige who have minds of their own and was not bought over by Babacracy did not last in the government. Bola Ige was killed and his death has not been unravelled till date. Ige was the first chief law officer to be assassinated in service and the government he was serving could not find the killers. Another minister who could not buy into the Babacracy was Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who was head-hunted from World Bank and who dumped the Obasanjo administration once Baba consigned her to low profile Minister of Foreign Affairs position which she knew was not her turf. She resigned from that government.

During Obasanjo’s Babacracy even the corporate world had to bow to get anything. Stories were also told on how Cement mogul and billionaire Aliko Dangote used to prostrate before Baba and Obasanjo who enjoys such respect from his ‘children’ and ‘subjects’ allowed Dangote to enjoy all manners of waivers for his companies.

Under Obasanjo’s Babacracy, the Baba did not take any prisoners. He dealt with senate presidents and speakers that did not dance to his tune. Former speaker Aminu Masari has recently came out of the desert that Obasanjo consigned him. Ditto speaker Ghali N’ Abbah who is still in political wilderness. Senate president Anyim Pius Anyim was also in the wilderness he was confined until Jonathan set him free with secretary to the federal government appointment, while Senate President Ken Nnamani is yet to recover from his role in killing Baba’s third term bid.

The lawmakers were expected to know what their Baba want and do it and not to question any requests or bills from Baba.  The fear of Baba was the beginning of wisdom. The imprint of Babacracy still reverberate in Anambra, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Plateau states among others where Obasanjo illegally instigated the impeachments of their state governors. The Supreme Court using Ayo Fayose’s impeachment at Ekiti State has declared that the processes of impeachment under Obasanjo was null and void.

Election rigging with impunity, high profile assassinations of political opponents and high level corruption characterised Babacracy including failed effort to earn underserved and unconstitutional tenure elongation.

When eventually Babacracy ended following the failure of Obasanjo’s third term bid, Babacracy also bequeathed on the country Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as president in 2007 at the age of 56. When Yar’Adua died on May 5, 2010, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan became president at the age of 53. The Yar’Adua and Jonathan era marked the end of Babacracy. Yar’Adua distanced himself from the impunity of Obasanjo promising to do away with election riggings that characterised Babacracy. As a matter of fact despite the fact that Obasanjo was instrumental for their emergence, Yar’Adua and Jonathan turned their back on Obasanjo. The result was that Jonathan conduct the two best elections in Nigeria’s history. The 2011 elections was so free and fair that General Muhammadu Buhari saw no point in going to court to challenge the outcome and announced his retirement from presidential contests in future. By 2015 however the atmosphere was made far more favourable for the opposition that once again Buhari contested and this time he won in an election adjudged the best ever in the country. This time also Jonathan lost in an election in which his administration conducted. The first time in Nigeria that an incumbent president was defeated and he accepted the outcome of the election.

With Buhari becoming president at 73, the era of Babacracy may be back. When the PDP wanted to make Buhari’s age a campaign issue, the APC started chanting “ Baba oyoyo! Baba oyoyo!! Baba oyoyo!!!” at every campaign stop over to show that they are ready for Babacracy. “Sai Buhari, sai Baba” became the defining slogan of his campaign beside CHANGE.

With Baba now the president, who can have the gut to challenge him when he takes a decision? We may have gone back to the era of ministers lacking minds of their own but what Buhari wants even if it is not in the overall interest of the country. With the fanatical followers that Buhari has in the north, which northern minister or any other minister for that matter can look him in the face and say “ Baba this policy is wrong?” That is the danger inherent in Babacracy. In this new Babacracy where the South West press has largely been bought over and the media in the north are already in the pockets of Buhari, there will be a lot of self censorship in the media, until Bola Ahmed Tinubu quarrels with Buhari, which is inevitable.