Never again: coup-plotting generals and Nigerian democracy, By Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf

…to invite veteran coup generals to rescue the country’s democracy, as Mr Lukman did, is like inviting cats to be guardians of fried fish. This level of desperation by politicians like Lukman, who might have lost out in the political power game, is dangerous to our body polity and an assault on the memory of Nigerians massacred under the rule of these veteran coup plotters.

On 15 September, Generals Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalam Abubakar, and Aliyu Gusau gathered in Minna, Nigeria, reportedly to celebrate the 83rd birthday of Babangida. The gathering might have gone unnoticed, but for Abubakar’s meeting with the leadership of Campaign for Democracy (CD) on the current hardship in Nigeria.

The gathering generated public interest. A former All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Salihu Mohammed Lukman also drew attention to it. He equally drew attention to Nigeria’s worsening crises, the authoritarian measures being used to tackle these, and the lackadaisical attitudes of politicians to the crises.

But highly disturbing was Lukman’s mischievous call on these super-rich, highly politicised, ethnically biased, and fascist-like generals, to take “Nigerian democracy” out of “Intensive Care Unit (ICU)”, on the basis that they: “have paid their dues”, and “may have contributed in one way or the other to getting Nigeria to its current messy situation.”

Lukman’s piece reminded me of the sad story of Major Daniel Bamidele, which typified the generals’ twisted sense of leadership, logic, and nation building. In October 1983, this fine, intelligent, industrious, law-abiding, and gentleman soldier, reported rumours of a planned coup against President Shehu Shagari to his superior officer, Major General Muhammadu Buhari. The latter detained him for plotting a coup and later released him. On 31 December, 1983, the coup took place and Buhari emerged as the head of state.

Three years later, Bamidele heard of another coup plot, this time against Babangida, but did not report it, due to his 1983 experience. He was arrested, tried and executed by firing squad on 5 March, 1986, for not reporting the coup. Bamidele rationalised his refusal to report what he heard, saying: “I heard of the 1983 coup planning, told my GOC, General Buhari, who detained me for two weeks in Lagos. Instead of a pat on my back, I received a stab. How then do you expect me to report this one?”

A second reminder was the killing of students and other citizens during the ‘Ali-Must-Go’ protests in 1978, when Obasanjo was the head of state. A third reminder was when under Obasanjo as president, the people of Odi in Bayelsa State were massacred in November 1999, over environmental and gang issues. Yet, there is the fourth reminder of the massacre of the people of Zaki Biam under Obasanjo, with the razing down of the town, allegedly for the killing of nineteen soldiers.

In Babangida’s case, apart from the mass seasonal execution of soldiers for alleged coup plotting, his regime killed students and other citizens in 1986, for demanding that a vicious university Vice Chancellor, Professor Ango Abdullahi must be sacked from office, during the “Ango-Must-Go” protests. Two years later, his regime massacred Nigerians for protesting against petrol price increases. In 1989, it carried out another massacre of Nigerians for demonstrating against the hardship it imposed through the ruinous Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). In 1993 Babangida, with General Sani Abacha as his Chief of Army Staff, carried out a series of massacres of people, for rising up against the annulment of Nigeria’s freest and fairest presidential elections, held on 12 June, 1993. In just one day, on 6 July, 1993, the Babangida regime killed 118 protesters in Lagos alone!

Babangida and Gusau are founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Abubakar, as head of state, was sympathetic to the PDP. The threesome played prominent roles in the emergence of Obasanjo as president of Nigeria in 1999. Babangida attempted to contest the 2006 PDP presidential primary election to take over from Obasanjo, but gave up. Gusau actually contested but came third in the primaries.

These veteran coup plotters oversaw the restructuring of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in ways that bureaucratised union operations, undermined the role of the rank-and-file in union affairs, and subordinated the unions to the state and capital. They proscribed apex students’ organisations, abused academic freedom, suppressed the autonomy of academic institutions, humiliated entire campus communities…

Obasanjo undemocratically imposed the 1979 constitution, while Abubakar single-handedly imposed the 1999 constitution. The constitutions they imposed subordinated the poor to the rich; ethnic minorities to ethnic majorities; local governments to state governments; state governments to the central government; the judiciary to the executive and, society to the state.

These veteran coup plotters oversaw the restructuring of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in ways that bureaucratised union operations, undermined the role of the rank-and-file in union affairs, and subordinated the unions to the state and capital. They proscribed apex students’ organisations, abused academic freedom, suppressed the autonomy of academic institutions, humiliated entire campus communities, illegally arrested, detained and deported non-Nigerian academics, dismissed academics for “not teaching what they are paid to teach”, and severely underfunded, underdeveloped, and undermined education in Nigeria.

These actions significantly weakened the society’s capacity to check state authoritarianism, and drastically undermined the ability of workers, students and other citizens to confront the authoritarian practices of rulers. These equally strengthened the state, weakened society, and deepened state-society antagonism. Not surprising, Nigeria’s professionals and masses have been reduced to mere onlookers, wailers, and hailers of the politicians who are destroying our country.

The gang of four are, therefore, principal culprits in bringing Nigeria to its present, miserable and shameful state. The current economic crisis did not start today. General Obasanjo oversaw the squandering of billions of dollars on: the 1977 World Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC); the ECOWAS Games; World Scout Jamboree; various international trade fairs; massive importation of luxurious commodities into the country and huge inflation of contracts, which saw widespread corruption in high places.

Obasanjo came from prison in 1998 as poor as a church rat, and was made President. He introduced an unprecedented culture of bribing legislators, and attempted tirelessly to get an unconstitutional third term in office.

Babangida conducted the longest, most deceptive, costliest but spectacularly unsuccessful political transition programme in Nigerian history. He forcefully dragged Nigeria to the IMF and World Bank. He officialised the culture of settlement (corruption), and promoted the plundering of our commonwealth through ‘privatisation.’ Today, he is one of the richest retired generals on earth.

All four cannot be separated from the progressive deterioration of our economy. Even the stabilisation at of the naira at N22/$1 under Abacha, which I wrote about elsewhere, was only at the official market. But at the parallel market, it was N71/$1 in 1995, and N84/$1 between 1996 to 1998. The average growth rate from 1993 to 1998 was slightly over 1 per cent between 1993 to 1998. The growth rate was negative by -2 in 1993; -1 in 1994; and -0.7 in 1995. The economy only began to pick up in 1996, when it registered a 4 per cent growth rate, and grew by 2.9 per cent in 1997 and 2.5 per cent in 1998.

The quartet are part of the catalyst responsible for the progressive deterioration of the Nigerian state, economy, and society… Military misrule is a major reason for Nigeria’s underdevelopment and these veteran coup plotters are major beneficiaries of those tragic seasons of fascism and dictatorship.

Abubakar met Nigeria’s foreign reserve at $30 billion and depleted it to around $9 billion within nine months. Aliyu Mohammed, a military intelligence chief, was an organic part of the history of post-1966 all-round underdevelopment of our country.

The quartet are part of the catalyst responsible for the progressive deterioration of the Nigerian state, economy, and society.

Military misrule is a major reason for Nigeria’s underdevelopment and these veteran coup plotters are major beneficiaries of those tragic seasons of fascism and dictatorship.

Those were the seasons when we witnessed cases like those of Major Bamidele; the secret disappearances of military and non-military citizens; the destruction of the Nigerian economy; and the militarisation of the society, which subsists till today.

Unarguably, military officers, whether serving or retired, as citizens, have a role to play in the politics of the country, but it has to be strictly in accordance with the constitution, even if it is a defective document.

But to invite veteran coup generals to rescue the country’s democracy, as Mr Lukman did, is like inviting cats to be guardians of fried fish. This level of desperation by politicians like Lukman, who might have lost out in the political power game, is dangerous to our body polity and an assault on the memory of Nigerians massacred under the rule of these veteran coup plotters.

The gang lacks the moral basis, political credibility and credentials to rescue Nigeria’s democracy out of ICU.

Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf worked as deputy director, Cabinet Affairs Office, The Presidency, and retired as General Manager (Administration), Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NiMet). Email: aaramatuyusuf@yahoo.com