THE OBASANJO LETTERS

 

We are at the height of the information age, which has virtually transforms every aspect of our everyday life, from economy to entertainment and from education to security. The cyberspace, particularly here in Nigeria is increasingly characterized by the influx of fake news, propaganda and hate speech.  The most unfortunate thing about the sea of information that seems to submerge us is the lethargic attitude we have in easily swallowing what we see on the social and traditional media as truth without the rigor of investigating the veracity or otherwise of the information in an objective manner.

1400 years ago, in some of the most fundamental command, one cannot see being taught in our Mass Communication departments and media circles are God’s commandment with regard to information management. In the Quran God says Q17:36 “You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight and the brain and you are responsible for using them” This we may call the first commandment of information management. Before you accept any information as valid you need to verify the source first and confirms it is a reliable, if you do that you won’t be peddling or spreading fake news. Another commandment says 49:6 “O you who believe, if a wicked person brings any news to you, you shall first investigate, lest you commit injustice towards some people, out of ignorance, then become sorry and remorseful for what you have done” This commandment anticipated fake news and remedied it. The so called Herdsmedia should be scrutinized under this and it will save us from spreading hate and committing injustice in our sharing of information. That said I will now turn to the Obasanjo Letters.

 

The Obasanjo letters, no matter what you read into them, were instrumental in shaping the political history of our country in the last 40 years, for better or for worse. It started shortly after the inauguration of Shehu Shagari’s second term in 1983. He accused the government of corruption and poor management of the Nigerian economy. Shortly thereafter the military struck and sacked the Shagari administration sending the country’s democracy in limbo. Ten years later after the annulment of the 1993 presidential election, widely believed to have been won by Moshood Abiola by the Babangida administration, Obasanjo intensified his attack on IBB and it eventually led to the stepping aside by the Minna born General and ushered the Interim Government.

 

Obasanjo’s vitriolic attack has never been vocal like during Abacha’s regime. He swipes at Abacha when delivering a keynote address at the Arewa House calling the regime visionless. He went on further on a BBC interview by charging the Abaca regime as corrupt and squandering the nation’s resources. Unfortunately for Obasanjo, Abacha couldn’t take the insult of his former commander in chief, thus have him implicated in a coup plot and sent to jail. He was freed after the death of Abacha and went on to clinch the presidency and served two terms. The only time Obasanjo didn’t send a letter to the president, instead canvass for a third term that was defeated at the national assembly.

 

His anointed candidate and winner of the presidential election in 2007, late Umar Musa Yar’Adua wasn’t spared, as very early in his administration Obasanjo started to berates him. Yar’Adua’s regime was short-lived and Jonathan succeeded him. The Otta born General, like the leopard that couldn’t change its skin, attacked Jonathan in an open letter. Despite being instrumental in the rise of Jonathan to the presidency, in his ten point letter he asked Jonathan not to contest the upcoming 2015 elections.

 

After tearing his PDP membership card and openly declaring for Buhari, it has become imminent that the 16 year rule of PDP is surely coming to an end and it came to pass. In Buhari’s first term in office, Obasanjo’s letter was in the headlines again accusing Buhari of many shortcomings. Unfortunately for Obasanjo, this time around and for the first time, his letter failed in bringing a regime change as Buhari was re-elected in 2019.

 

The latest open letter of Obasanjo as I see it, is entirely different with his past letters for several reasons. First is the fact that it is not on the eve of an election, as he normally does in order to affect outcomes. Secondly the tone in this letter has never been less arrogant or egotistical as they used to be. Thirdly he raised valid reasons that need the attention of all Nigerian stakeholders. You may read between the lines all you want, but unless it is viewed with an open mind without bias, you can only see what you want to see. In this letter Obasanjo warns of “…misinformation and disinformation through the use of fake news” which is the greatest tool nowadays used to exacerbate the ethno-religious tension that had been our worst enemy so far. Disinformation is the tool the Hutu’s used to wipe out between 800,000 to 1 Million Tutsi’s in the space of 3 months in 1994. Similar campaign of calumny is being waged against the Fulani’s today in Nigeria. We need to ask ourselves why are the Fulani’s in this situation today? Obasanjo attempted an answer “Herdsmen/farmers crises and menace started with government treating the issue with cuddling glove instead of hammer. It has festered and spread. Today it has developed into banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and killings all over the country” Part of the problem that resulted into present banditry and kidnap is the way and manner Fulani herdsmen and their cows were mercilessly massacred across the north and the government failed to provide appropriate measures to protect them and their properties. Some of them having no longer a livelihood to depend on, resorted to vengeance and as a means of new livelihood.

 

Should we rise in unison and defend our Fulani brethren to continue committing atrocities while they perpetrate it mostly on us? Who are the greatest victims of this onslaught? Is it the Yoruba people where Obasanjo belong? last week in Katsina, bandits attacked Kirtawa Village in Safana local government in broad day light and killed scores, simply because the men in that village leave every evening to neighboring villages to spend the night and comes back in the morning. Only women and children were left behind and as such the bandits decided to attack in the day. Our highways are attacked in broad day light and these events are happening with a Northerner at the helm of affairs. Shouldn’t we salute Obasanjo for speaking out when none of our elites is bold enough to speak as such? Should we close our eyes while our corporate existence is being threatened simply because the president is one of us and we share ethnic identity with the perpetrators?

The Qur’an admonishes us Q4:135 “O ye who believe! Stand out for justice as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves, or your parents or your kin and whether be it against the rich or poor” This verse is the golden rule for justice you cannot find anywhere. As long as society will uphold and practice this golden rule it will certainly prosper. In Nigeria we don’t reward excellence and punish crimes as we are usually blinded by filial loyalties to our biases. Obasanjo may be a devil but even if Satan tells the truth, you have no option but to support it. His letters, whether we believe its contents or not, understood them or not, in the past had helped in shaping the political outcomes of our life as a nation, for good or bad. We, just like Obasanjo, all have our shortcomings and biases, but we must put those aside and stick to the truth at all times if we want to build a better society that will prosper in peace. The North is crumbling under our very eyes despite the fact that we have the numbers, the resources and the land. What excuse do we have for being at the lowest rung of the poverty and illiteracy index? As our population increases by the hour so does our poverty and illiteracy, yet we cannot tell ourselves the truth nor stomach it when someone else told us? I think if we are wise, we should take the salient truth in Obasanjo’s letter and work on it instead of allowing our biases shove it under the carpet as we harp on the victimization of the Fulani.