MADIBA's marks on Nigeria
In his life time Nelson Mandela
advertently and inadvertently
made major marks in the
shaping and system of Nigeria’s politics and policies. The Mandela Option was
a deep political game
orchestrated from the
midpoint of President Olusegun
Obasanjo’s first term supposedly by loyalists of his
deputy, Atiku Abubakar aimed
at persuading Obasanjo to
serve one term just as Mandela
did in South Africa.
It was remarkable that as the
death of Mandela was
announced last Thursday, that
Obasanjo in an unusual step
made a broadcast from his
retirement home in Abeokuta on how he took up the then
South African president on his
unusual pattern of serving only
one term against the culture of
Africa’s sit tight leaders. According to the former
Nigeria president, “Nelson
Mandela modestly refused to
seek re-election after his first
term in office as his presidency
elapsed. I still recall his pragmatic words when he said
to me “Olu, show me a place in
the world where a man of 80
years is running the affairs of
his country’. Obasanjo’s comments on
Mandela have, however,
attracted negative response
from some Nigerians many of
who believe that the former
Nigeria president lacked such disposition and was himself
desperate for a third term in
office. Obasanjo’s second term in
office as civilian president it
would be recalled was
characterised by an expensive
political game plan focussed on
amending the constitution to allow the president contest a
third term in office. Did Obasanjo draw any lesson
from Mandela who despite all
his sacrifices for his
countrymen drew back from
foisting his person on his
people? Remarkably, the jury is still out
on that point, but it is a fact
that the consequences of the
Mandela Option remain a
divisive point in the country’s
political landscape with the former president and his
former deputy remaining ever
suspicious of one another.
One
of Mandela interventions had to do
with the plight of Bashorun
Abiola’s family. Bashorun
Abiola was in prison. His business had collapsed. His
accounts had been blocked. The
family approached President
Mandela and he approached
Sani Abacha who arranged to
send money to President Mandela to be given to the
family of Bashorun Abiola. And
my former Vice Chancellor
Professor Jakes Gerwel was the
conduit for this relief fund.” But the relationship between
Mandela and Abacha was to
turn seriously frosty. Mandela as South Africa
president helped in
negotiating for amnesty for the
Ogoni activists imprisoned by
the Abacha regime. But the devil did not allow
Abacha have mercy and hence
Saro-Wiwa and his compatriots
were executed by the Abacha
regime drawing swift response
from the international community including Mandela
who in some circles had been
chided for being too soft on
Abacha. Responding to the execution of
the Ogoni activists, Mandela
said in an interview that
“Abacha is sitting on a volcano
and I am going to explode it
underneath him.” The killing of Ken Saro Wiwa
and his compatriots brought a
serious dent in the relationship
between the two countries and
between Mandela and Abacha
as Mandela condemned it and joined the rest of the world in
imposing sanctions against the
Abacha regime. In proposing for
comprehensive sanctions
against the Nigeria regime
including prohibition of oil
export, Mandela said:“What we
are now proposing are short and sharp measures which will
produce the results Nigerians
and the world desire. We are
dealing with an illegitimate,
barbaric, arrogant, military
dictatorship which has murdered activists, using a
kangaroo court and using false
evidence,” he told the South
Africa Independent. Mandela in the interview
nevertheless defended his
diplomatic engagements with
the Abacha regime saying that
the docility of the opposition
within Nigeria left him with no option. “It is of no use for Nigerian
leaders to shout from abroad
and not to ensure that the fires
of resistance are burning
inside of Nigeria,” Mr Mandela
said. In response, Abacha pulled
Nigeria away from
participating in the Cup of
Nations tournament hosted by
South Africa in January 1996
despite the fact that Nigeria was defending champion. Comparing the weakness of
the Nigerian opposition to the
aggressiveness exhibited by
the African National Congress,
ANC against the apartheid
regime, he said: “We did not give in because
international opinion would
not have been mobilised if
there was no vigorous and
effective resistance movement
inside the country. That is what is lacking in Nigeria, and
Nigerian leaders that are
blaming South Africa and its
president are merely diverting
attention from their weakness;
from their failure to do what all democrats do – to ensure
that there are prominent
leaders inside the country who
are prepared to face the music,
and to challenge Abacha.” Given Mandela’s not too
commendable estimation of
the Nigerian political class
some would be surprised at the
avalanche of commendations
from the same class towards the South African former
president. Afenifere summarized the
matter in a press statement
entitled Emulate Mandela, Stop
The Crocodile Tears” –
Afenifere. “All sides of the political
equation in the country have
practically taken steps to
commend Mandela as a worthy
son of Africa, but how many of
them are ready to lay down self considerations in pursuit of the
collective good for four years,
not even the 74% that Mandela
sat in prison, unmoving on the
issue that pertain to his
people!”
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shove ur 'sourceless' and useless article where the sun don't shine

scipher: shove ur 'sourceless' and useless article where the sun don't shine

That should be ur worst. Self-hater.

OBJ was a former prisoner!

He can never be a shadow of what Mandela stands for!