By Lateef Adewole
This week, I watched an old video clip which must have been recorded in 1984. It took me down memory lane. While I was not too old at that time, I was similarly not too young to know and appreciate my environment at the time as a student about going into secondary school. Moreover, many activities that we were made to get involved could never be forgotten in one's lifetime.
Many would probably suspect what the content of such video could be. It was a news broadcast by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). It must have been the Network News at 9! It started with Brigadier Tunde Idiagbon, having a meeting with some delegates from Algeria. The meeting was about a planned establishment of Association of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Africa. He expressed the readiness of their military regime to work with Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and other African countries. The delegation commended the regime for the revolutionary steps they were taking to reposition Nigeria.
The second part of the news showed the then Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, on official visits to Ibadan and Enugu. On his entourage was the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, who later overthrew the same government and Chief of Naval Staff, Commodore Augustus Aikhomu, who became the Second-in-command to Babangida. Those who welcomed them at the airport in Ibadan were Lt. Col. Oladayo Popoola, the military Administrator of Oyo State and GOC, 2 Mechanised Division in Ibadan, Major General Sani Abacha.
The names that were reeled out are interesting. Aren't they familiar, even till date? Many of them are still alive today, including the sitting President Buhari. Same as IBB, Diya and Madueke, the husband of the embattled former Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and so on. Major General Muhammadu Buhari went on that trip on familiarisation tour and used the opportunity to intimate his military colleagues about their new regime. That video brought so many memories to me.
Whenever I see things happen today in Nigeria or watch or read in the news, the situation that we are in Nigeria today, under the same Buhari, I feel so sad. In fact, I always tell myself that this can't be the same General Buhari we knew in those days. The truth is, at every turn that President Buhari contested for that post since 2003, till 2015 when he eventually won, his selling point was the persona of an incorruptible, disciplinarian, steel-willed military man who he then was. The anti-corruption csar and the man who introduced to Nigerians, the War Against Indiscipline (WAI). The no-nonsense man. Are we wrong about all of these?
Without glorifying that or any military coupists' regime, that government, warts and all, would have gone down in the history as one that set Nigeria on a firm, disciplined footing. While there were truly so many unpleasant and unpalatable things to be said about it, especially concerning human rights abuses, they meant business and pursued it doggedly. The Second-in-Command to Major General Buhari was Brigadier Tunde Idiagbon, the man with stone-face. Seeing him in that video again portrayed someone with no tolerance for frivolities. True to his looks, his characters exemplified that, even after office, till he died.
As usual, the flimsy excuses that military boys always gave for their coup d'ètats remained that there was corruption, economy was drifting, increasing insecurities, and so, they had come to rescue the country. These were reasons that Lt. Col. Chukwuma "Kaduna" Nzeogwu and his colleagues of aborted January 15, 1966 coup, gave. Same as subsequent coups and that of 1983 that brought General Buhari. But, did they ever fare better than their predecessors? Not always.
However, as for Buhari/Idiagbon regime, few things stood them out, as illegitimate as that government was. Monumental corruption was stamped out. Many political office holders in the Alhaji Shehu Shagari's civilian administration were arrested and jailed for "crazy" number of years like 100 to 200 years. Who does that? It was the regime that carried out the unsuccessful infamous gestapo-like operation of "kidnapping" Alhaji Umaru Dikko from London, to be taken back to Nigeria by packing him in crate, just so he would come and answer for his "alleged" corruption crimes while in government. That time was unlike these days when corruption is said to be treated with "deodorant", once you are in the ruling party but "insecticide" if you are in the opposition.
Brutal reforms were introduced. The national currency was immediately changed. This made it difficult for politicians who stole public funds and kept them in cash, from benefitting from their loots eventually, as there were limits to what each person could take to bank for exchange with new currency without arousing suspicion or being nabbed. Many would rather lose such money than risked being caught by Buhari government. This must have taught our crooked Nigerian political leaders lesson as they have been keeping their stolen public funds in foreign currencies since then, which a Buhari could not do anything about, as he came the second time. "Ogbon odunni, were eemi" (once bitten, twice shy).
War Against Indiscipline (WAI) was introduced. We had to do compulsory environmental sanitation and public cleaning on monthly basis. Nigerians began to learn, "by force by fire", to be responsible and discipline. We queued whenever multitude have to be attended to, for everything and everywhere. Jumping or disrupting such queue could land anyone in serious trouble with the soldiers. Public flogging, frog jumping and other similar punishments were metted out to citizens who misbehaved in public. Throwing things on the roads, urinating or defecating in public, wandering aimlessly and sundry offences like these could land someone in military guard room.
The economy was firmly-regulated and controlled by the state. Essential commodities like salts, sugar, milk, etc, which became scarce, were rationed and sold to public, not in open competitive markets as we have now but by government supervised agents. Warehouses where such items were hoarded became targets of the soldiers who broke into them and sold them off at giveaway prices. Greedy businessmen and women who owned such goods were taught the lessons of their lives. Many could not even show up to avoid being arrested and jailed, as that amounted to economic sabotage, which was an offence under the decree. Even now, it is still a crime under the Nigerian constitution. But who enforces law in Nigeria again? The system is compromised seriously.
Press freedom was curtailed. The draconian decree 4 of 1984 became the tool of intimidation, harassment, assault, and incarceration of journalists and human rights activists. Many prominent people today were victims. Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), Prof. Wole Soyinka, and many others were victims for their criticisms against the high-handedness of the regime. Ironically, many of them were part of people who sold a rebranded Buhari to Nigerians in 2015, as a "born-again democrat". Although, their tunes have since changed again.
It was while Major General Buhari was the head of state that some itinerant dissidents from Chad intruded into Nigerian territory through Borno state. They were viciously dealt with. I read of how about 19 islands along the Lake Chad were liberated from the occupation of those rebels. Some reports had it that the late Idriss Déby was among the Chadian soldiers that invaded Nigerian territory, who were flushed out with dispatch by the Nigerian Army. He later became the head of the country till he died.
To say that the same Nigeria now seek help from the same Chad in our fight against Boko Haram is disheartening. Worse still, under the same person, President Buhari. What's actually missing?
At different times, I have heard people talked about the twin-like relationship that existed between Major General Muhammadu Buhari and his Second-in-Command, Brigadier Tunde Idiagbon, before, during and after their reign. If there was one person Buhari so trusted and could risk his life for, many believed it was Idiagbon. It was such strong bond that informed Buhari giving "Tunde", a Yoruba name of his friend, to his nephew, a Fulani, now famous and influential in the current administration. I am talking of Sabiu Tunde Yusuf.
Brigadier Tunde Idiagbon was a backbone of that regime. While they both shared the anti-corruption and no-nonsense personalities, General Buhari was more subtle in his physical disposition. That's not Idiagbon. It was later realised that many of those hardline reforms were led and driven by him. He rarely laughed and had sense of urgency to get things done. These are completely at variance with what we have experienced with a President Buhari's government since 2015. Urgency is never a watchword in this administration.
In fact, many believed it was the lacklustre manner of handling serious and urgent national issues that made them festered until they grew to become monsters. The issue of banditry and general insecurities is a classic example. It took nearly seven years for the government to agree and declared these marauding criminals, the killer Fulani herdsmen, as terrorists, long after they have acquired enormous capacity and resources to destabilise Nigeria, especially the northern Nigeria which has remained their enclave ever since. They have wrecked unimaginable havocs and shattered the previously existing security, peace and unity across the country. That was how it took about six months for a cabinet to be formed in 2015, while the economy suffered. These are just a few instances. The Buhari-Idiagbon would never do that.
Granted that they are two different types of government. One was a military, with command and control structure, while the other is a civilian admnistration with its encumbrances and bureaucracies. However, I believe a pragmatic leader will always be pragmatic, irrespective of where he finds himself. He will always navigate his ways through the maze, which in itself is an exhibition of leadership capacity and competence. Also, Major General Muhammadu Buhari was far younger then, at 41, as against 72 in 2015. Age has caught up to "baba"! We should cut him some slack sha.
In Buhari-Idiagbon regime, you dared not steal, as an appointee or public or civil servant, whether military or civilian. There was zero-tolerance for corruption. That's not the case today. Many people in the current government have been accused of stealing public funds and other corrupt practices. Many are very close to power. Sadly, apart from the audacity to even attempt it, they are rarely punished or punished appropriately to serve as deterrent to others. Those who were punished got a "slap on the wrist". That's not Idiagbon's Buhari. If you were caught or even suspected or accused then, you would be in hot soup.
It was said "unofficially" that the coup that overthrew them happened because they blocked all the avenues for stealing public funds and other corrupt practices by civilians and their military collaborators. This might not be far from the truth as the country began to be enmeshed in grandscale corruption immediately they were out of power. Corruption was democratised and became free for all. And that was the beginning of the downward spiral of the country. Unfortunately, we never recovered from that.
Not even the state military Administrators, who were like the state governors could afford to mess around, not to talk of ordinary appointees or employees during that regime. I could recall the fear in the hearts of many corrupt Nigerians after General Buhari (Rtd.) won his election in 2015. Many people who were aware of all that I highlighted above, about his antecedents during their regime, anticipated a re-enactment of the many commendable parts.
Those corrupt and indolent civil and public servants had started shaping up and began to turn a new leave. Recalcitrant ones knew that there will be consequences for their actions. By May 30, 2015, the day after swearing in and going forward, they were punctual at their duties in those few weeks and months that followed. Workers were not loitering around or closing and leaving for home, ahead of closing time. Things began to function properly.
No one wanted to be the scapegoat. So, their usual ways of demanding for bribes and kickbacks before they could do their jobs were stopped or should I say "paused", as they did not know who was who. As time went by, and they did not see that "forceful and tigerish" Buhari they expected, especially when few allegations of misdemeanours by people close to him were made to slide, the rest of the people started to realise not much will change and gradually returned to their old ways. Now, here we are. Things have degenerated so bad, if not worse than the previous government that was kicked out for the same reasons. I doubt this could have happened with a Idiagbon behind a Buhari.
When in 2011, another Tunde was taken as General Buhari's running mate, I felt that we might see a replica of Idiagbon's time, Tunde Bakare, is an activist and a pastor too. They lost the election. In 2015, many felt the presence of another Tunde again in Buhari's government would make that huge difference, being one person who was loved, adored and respected while he governed Lagos State. Multiple portfolios were handed to Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) in their first term, such that many started referring to him as the "Prime Minister". How far did we go with that?
In all, the admnistration of President Buhari is gradually winding down. In the next 13 months now, once a new president is elected by February 2023, he and his government will become like lame ducks. What legacy does he want to leave behind? I still heard him recently, "promising" to fix all these mess of terrorism, banditry and other insecurities before his tenure ends and to hand over a better Nigeria, including economically. These are our prayers too. Afterall, "orun n ya bo, ki soro enikan" (if heaven falls, it will fall on all of us). We can only hope for the best. As it were, many Nigerians are tired, frustrated, and disenchanted. They do not know what to think, what to expect or what to believe again. We hope and pray that the president be able to live up to his promises. It shall be well with Nigeria.
May God forgive late Brigadier Tunde Idiagbon and rest his soul in peace.
May God continue to protect us and guide us aright.
God Bless Nigeria.
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