It is necessary to begin with this statement of fact because I know I stand the risk of being grossly misunderstood. I stand the risk of being stoned to death. Even now, I am not assuming that four short sentences guarantee my security. So I acknowledge that I am taking a risk by putting down my obiter dictum on the subject matter of our beloved late president.
As expected, the media, both local and international, has been awash with the news of the death of president Yar’Adua. Opportunity has been given to people of all classes and ethnicity to air their opinions about the late statesman. A lot of internet blogging, email groups, online chats, etc have devoted so much space, time and resources to the subject of the life, times and death of Yar’Adua. News Papers, Magazines, and other print media as well as the broadcast media have devoted much attention to him. I even had the privilege of participating in an international radio broadcast where people contributed from across the continent by phone, airing sentiments about the man.
One common sentiment seems to run through most, if not all of the opinions expressed in the media: ‘Yar’Adua was a good man and a good president, a rare breed, who gave Nigeria and Nigerians one of the best quality of leadership it had ever experienced. It is unfortunate and shocking that he has suddenly died and therefore cannot complete this good work. May his soul rest in peace’. Long and short: the world, particularly Nigerians are already beatifying and venerating late president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. This is good. In Africa, we have an ancient custom of not speaking evil of the dead. Moreover, a president who dies in office deserves plenty of attention. More than that, if one is to compare him with his predecessor, he does stand out quite saintly, especially being a seemingly unassuming, quiet and calm personality.
But wait. Is Yar’Adua really the saint he is being made out to be in death? Do all those people saying all those nice things about him really mean so? Did they all have those wonderful opinions of him while he was alive? Or are we just being superstitious and so afraid to speak ‘evil’ about the dead? Is it possible that some people are just engaging in posthumous sycophancy?
A few months back, a lot of people (many of them being those venerating the man in death) had absolutely different opinions about the same man. These opinions were not held privately or in secret. Many made bold to publish them wherever they could. The records are there in the public domain. Many groups sprang up just to form an ‘anti-Yar’Adua’ front, especially during the days of his incarceration in a Saudi hospital and after his return home, prior to his death. Some of those sentiments, I shared, and will reflect them here.
Again, I loved and still love late president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. I am also sorry that he was unable to win his protracted health battles. But I had my opinion of his person and his administration. Those sentiments have not really changed with his death. And they are not based on any form of disrespect or malice. They are not partisan either as I hold no allegiance to any political group. As much as my limited perception can permit, they are objectively held
Yar’Adua is not a saint. He was not one in life. He won’t be one in death. His administration was also not the outstanding success it is being made out to be. In so many ways, he failed us. Our expectations of him while he was being sworn in, coupled with the promises he made to us, clearly could not have been fulfilled if he had ran his full four-year term. This much is obvious already.
Yar’Adua was a man like any other. He was a president like any other Nigerian president. He was a politician like any other politician. He was a Muslim like any other Muslim. He was a northerner like any other northerner. He fell sick like any other man would. He died like any other man would. He was also realistic enough to admit most of this.
But just like we all have our peculiar character traits and principles that form our value system and personalities, which tend to influence our choices and therefore our destinies, so did late president Yar’Adua. And though I never knew or even met the man up close in person, I base my judgement on information in the public domain, since he was a public figure. Of course, my opinion is consequently speculative, and not an authority. But most of those saying all those very nice things are being largely speculative, too. I may even be a greater authority than most other persons as I remember once to have had dinner with him as we discussed state matters, though in my dream of course!
Yar’Adua was a quiet and soft-spoken person. He was a fine fellow at heart. He had good intentions. He had great thoughts for Nigeria. He thought up great, intelligent and workable solutions to some of the most pressing problems the country has had. The amnesty program was one of such. The threat to declare an emergency in the power sector, and the subsequent target of 10,000 mw of electricity within a given period was another. Ditto for the setting up of the Justice Uwais electoral reform committee. The Rule of Law and Due process slogans were assuring. How about the zero tolerance for corruption hype? The father of them all being the famous seven-point agenda under which most of these policies and principles found expression. Great policies from a well meaning and well-intentioned heart for a country that stood desperately in need of them. Needless to say, Nigeria would have been a far better country if these policies had succeeded. But like we all know, most of it did not record the success that was intended.
At the time of his hospitalization in Saudi Arabia, the administration came under some of the worst criticisms. The famous seven point agenda was severely criticised as having failed. Even the revered amnesty program was not just being criticised, it was obviously failing. Hostilities were returning to the Niger Delta as surrendered militants became restless and restive because of failed promises. The fight against corruption had become more media talk than actual results. Internationally, the Halliburton scandal was becoming a national embarrassment and stigma, and the justice ministry seemed to have had feet of clay. Court decisions were absolving obviously corrupt persons against common sense and national moral values. The power sector had suffered a total system failure as aside from being unable to meet the 10,000mw target and deadline, our power generation capacity had drastically fallen from what the administration had inherited, despite all the funds expended. Cars were permanently parked at filling stations without the hope of one litre, though Nigeria is one of the largest exporters of crude. Our education sector had grounded to a halt as teachers at all levels were striking. The hospitals were death traps because doctors were striking. Our roads were worse than they have been in our national history, and ground travel was a death warrant. So much can be said for almost every sector. To compound the whole matter, the handling of his health challenges and subsequent hospitalization abroad, coupled with his outright refusal to formally handover to his vice for the machinery of government to continue, despite all the agitations that rocked the country, became the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Indeed Nigeria as a nation was at the point of disintegration and another civil war on account of this same man.
So why did he fail? Why were the results not commensurate to the policies?
Late president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had one great weakness that negatively affected his policies. He had a very weak will. He was not a man who would put his foot down and insist that his convictions were worth fighting for. He was not a man who could look others in the face and say no when it was needful. He was a man who tried his best not to offend, especially those who were his elders, friends, family or benefactors. It was possible to manipulate and deceive him.
Then to make matters worse, he surrounded himself with people who were not as selfless as he was; people who were not as humble, unassuming, well-intentioned, conscionable and conscientious regarding national values. Some of those people metamorphosed into what was generally being referred to as ‘the cabal’ during the last days of his life.
He was also unfortunate enough to be a member of a political party that was more of some kind of political cult that had made itself so powerful that both the nation and its constitution are subordinate to it. The party knew (and still knows) how to take good care of its loyalists and how to handle those who broke allegiance for whatever reason. And, of course, behind the party lies some of the most powerful (and perhaps corrupt) persons Nigeria has ever produced. A few persons thought they could fight the party, but after going around, they will have no choice than to come back grovelling in the dust. Others who had thought to strike out in the opposition, after assessing their options, pack their bags and come knocking with their tails between their legs. The party reserved the right to veto Yar’Adua’s policies. What ever policies conflicted with the party’s interest became null and void to the extent of the inconsistency.
This is how and why late president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, though a fine man with great intentions failed. This is why others behind him failed. This is why president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan will also fail, if he does not make bold enough to be a man of himself and convictions. This is why president Jonathan is being strongly warned not to contest the 2011 elections, though it is his constitutional right to do so. This is why whoever might come into office in 2011 might also fail. This is why Nigeria may never be the great nation God blessed it to be. Until this jinx is broken.
So was Yar’Adua a saint? No. He could not have been. Did he fail his country? Yes. He made promises that for whatever reason, he could not keep and left us almost worse than he met us. Was he a good man at heart? Yes. To a great extent, compared with past leaders, he may have been the best. Will his soul rest in peace? It is not for me to say as I have never been privileged to look into the book of life.
Adieu, my beloved president, Adieu.
Writer: Edward Dooga
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