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A President And His Ambitious Daughter
By Sam Nda-Isaiah

Earshot


No, Mr. President, You Don't Have Such Powers,

Last week, a list purported to be from the EFCC containing names of those who should not be allowed to contest elections was released to the press. But for those who know better, that list is more the president's list than EFCC's list. If not, how is it possible that Adebayo Alao-Akala's name is missing in the list after Nuhu Ribadu had, barely a week ago, openly called him a thief? How on earth will names like Senator Ibrahim Mantu be missing when the FCT minister, Nasiru el-Rufai, has incontrovertibly proven that he demanded bribes from him in 2003 and the entire world knows he was involved in sharing third term bribes? Why should Gov. Agagu's name be missing? But what is interesting about the list is that it looks more like a roll call of the president's enemy list: Gov. Bola Tinubu, Orji Kalu, Lanre Tejuoso, Ahmed Aruwa, etc all made the list. The only Action Congress governor, and all ANPP serving governors, except of course Gov. Adamu Aliero who recently decamped to the PDP, are listed.

A serving governor like Ali Modu Sheriff was accused of buying thousands of motorcycles for himself when everyone in the state knows that the motorcycles are meant to be distributed to civil servants. The governor had even announced that they would be distributed in the coming days. Tinubu's crime is that he has consistently stopped the president from rigging elections in Lagos. Former Governor Chris Ngige's name was there but not those that kidnapped him. But Obasanjo needs to know that the 1999 constitution, which is still subsisting, is a federal constitution and not a unitary constitution. He or any of his agencies cannot stop anyone from any other party from contesting. His party can decide whom to field as candidates, but they can't do that for other parties. In fact, only a court or a State House of Assembly can stop a serving governor from contesting for any office.
No, Mr. President, you don't have the power to disqualify anyone.

A President And His Ambitious Daughter

For about a year now, the president's kids have graced the front pages of Nigeria's newspapers, and for all the wrong reasons for that matter. Since the First Republic of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, there has been no president that allowed the intrusion into our lives by his children like President Obasanjo. Not even General Abacha's children who till date are still haunted by the president. It is either some of them are accompanying a presidential aspirant to pick up presidential nomination forms, or some of them actually picking Goodluck Jonathan as the PDP vice presidential candidate in return for some favours.

Abacha's children may have been involved in multibillion naira businesses, but none of them dared nominate a presidential or vice presidential candidate in the days of their father. And even in big business, the president's children are not doing badly at all, as they can match the Abacha kids dollar for dollar, pound for pound and yen for yen. It is either they own oil blocks as partners in some businesses, or they are purchasing high-profile properties in the United States or they are "helping" to bring Virgin into Nigeria. Unlike their father, these presidential kids know that time is against them and they, therefore, must make hay while the sun shines.

But today, I am particularly concerned about Dr Iyabo Obasanjo, the president's politician eldest daughter. She became a commissioner in Governor Gbenga Daniel's government in 2003 by the grace of her father. Gov. Daniel saw the appointment of Iyabo as commissioner as a fitting appreciation to the man who rigged him into the Ogun State Governor's Lodge. It was after this that Iyabo started seeing herself as somewhat invincible. Suddenly she started visualising herself as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. If her father, with whom she has a striking resemblance, could make someone else who didn't win his senatorial election the Senate president, how easy it would be to make his own daughter a senator. And If he zones the Senate presidency to the South West, then, she could in fact become Nigeria's next No. 3, the Senate president. It doesn't matter that he had zoned the chairmanship of the board of trustees of his party to himself permanently. As First Daughter, Iyabo has sneaked into a few Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings just to have a feel of power. Nothing qualifies her to sit in a FEC meeting. Abacha's kids didn't go that far.

While nurturing her senatorial ambition, rumours started making the rounds that Fola Adeola, the founder and moving spirit behind the very highly successful Guaranty Trust Bank, was making moves to contest the same senatorial seat with her. Suddenly, Iyabo lost her balance and started talking like someone with a high fever. In an interview she granted the Daily Sun sometime last year, she said (in reference to Fola) that nobody could take the Senate seat from her. She said she was the one that worked so hard for the office and therefore the only one that would get it. She spoke throughout the interview in a threatening language that was meant to send a message to Fola. She spoke like a spoilt brat baby about to be deprived of a valued toy. One thing led to the other and, before anyone knew it, the president had sacked Fola as the group managing director of Transcorp and the chairman of Pensions Commission of Nigeria (PenCom). Unfortunately, that was all that was required to frighten the former Guaranty Trust Bank boss out of the senatorial race.

Of course, Iyabo got the PDP ticket easily, on her way to becoming the Senate president since her father had zoned the office to her and there was no chance that her name would ever appear on any EFCC list, and even if it did, like the case of Gov. Segun Agagu, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, and others in Baba's favour books, the president would have quickly expunged it. All her opponents were politely advised to step down for her. In any case, every aspirant no matter how qualified or ambitious kept off the Ogun Central senatorial seat anyway. It is rude to want an office coveted by the First Daughter.

But one stubborn man refused to step down. He is Lanre Tejuoso, the urbane prince of Egbaland, who considers himself more thoroughbred than Iyabo. Tejuoso is the ANPP senatorial candidate for Ogun Central, the same seat that Iyabo wants, but the prince is more popular than her. About a fortnight ago, some guests paid an unscheduled visit to the hotel he was staying in Abeokuta. They bore automatic rifles and they introduced themselves as assassins. They spoke the Yoruba language throughout. In fright, he offered them the N2 million cash that was with him, mistaking them for armed robbers. They told the candidate that they were not armed robbers and that they belonged to the nobler profession of assassins. Nonetheless, they took N200,000 out of the money, shot him in the head and left him for dead. But as I said, this Tejuoso is very stubborn. Just like he refused to step down when every other person was stepping down with their tails between their legs, he has also stubbornly refused to die. He is currently overseas undergoing treatment, where he remains till date instead of campaigning. Obviously, his adversaries are not happy he has cheated death, so his name found its way into the EFCC list of discredited candidates. And one wonders why, since the prince has never worked in the public sector within Nigeria and is not even a government contractor. He earns his money outside Nigeria and he has never been found wanting by any government.

I am not fingering anyone as responsible for the attempted assassination but it is obvious that it is that "nest of killers within the ruling party", as asserted by Wole Soyinka that is responsible. It is the same nest of killers that killed Marshal Harry, Bola Ige, Aminasoari Dikibo, and possibly Funso Williams that now desires to eliminate Tejuoso. And as we all know, none of these deaths has been resolved; and for Tejuoso, I am not even sure anyone is currently investigating the assassination attempt.

The president might have successfully rigged the 2003 elections, but this year he faces the greatest rigging challenge of his life. He might just be about finding out that famous grit and resilience that the Nigerian is known for!

See in April 2007