Post Reply: OBASANJO, NIGERIA, AND THE WORLD.

<blockquote><div class="quotetitle">Quote from Guest on March 3, 2023, 3:03 pm</div>OBASANJO, NIGERIA, AND THE WORLD — John Iliffe.

“Obasanjo enjoyed power, but he exercised it with restraint and entirely without the cruelty of a dictator.”

<strong>THE 1979 DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION</strong>

“When the elections for state, legislative, and presidential offices took place in July and August 1979, turnout was low — between 30 and 40% of genuinely registered voters — and the voting, despite rigging on all sides, was unusually peaceful and orderly for a Nigerian election. Except in the presidential contest, not a single candidate stood outside his state of origin. Yoruba voted solidly for UPN; Igbo predominantly supported NPP; PRP and GNPP won their respective strongholds in Kano and Borno; and the NPN won almost everything else, coming first or second in 90 of the 95 senatorial seats but winning only 36 of them. In the presidential contest, Shagari won over 25% of the votes in 12 states and 5, 688, 857 votes overall; Awolowo won 25% of the votes in only 6 states, but because turnout was highest in Yorubaland, he gained a total of 4, 916, 651 votes. An attempt to form a coalition against Shagari failed.”

<strong>POST-ELECTION CRISIS</strong>

“The presidential result created a dilemma, because the winning candidate was required to have the highest number of votes and to have won at least 25% of the votes in at least two-thirds of the 19 states, otherwise the election passed to an electoral college of federal and state legislators. Shagari won 25% of the votes in only 12 states and 20% in a thirteenth. The general presumption had been that two-thirds of 19 meant 13 states. The NPN now argued that it meant twelve and two-thirds, so that one-sixth of the votes in the thirteenth state was enough. When the Electoral Commission put the question to the Supreme Military Council, it refused to interfere and told the Commission to make the decision, which could then if necessary be challenged in court. On 16 August [1979], the Electoral Commission declared Shagari elected. Four days later Obasanjo met the party leaders, told them in ‘a highly diplomatic manner’ that he had no power over the Electoral Commission, and urged them to follow constitutional procedures. Awolowo took the issue to the Supreme Court, which upheld the Electoral Commission’s decision by 6 votes to one, the Chief Justice [Atanda Fatayi-Williams] adding that even if they had interpreted the requirement as 13 states they would still have confirmed Shagari’s election as having substantially met the requirements, as the law stipulated. The Supreme Military Council then amended the future constitution to specify 13 states as the minimum and to replace the electoral college, which was generally expected to be spectacularly corrupt, by a run-off election if the first vote was inconclusive. At Shagari’s request, the Council also delayed the opening of the National Assembly until he had secured a working majority through agreement with the NPP.”

<strong>THE UPN AND AWOLOWO GRIEVANCE</strong>

“This controversy had two important consequences. One was to weaken Shagari’s position when he took office in October 1979. The other was to create lasting antagonism towards Obasanjo on the part of Awolowo and most Yoruba political opinion. Obasanjo was an outsider to Yoruba politics and proclaimed his primary loyalty to Nigeria, but he was nevertheless a distinguished soldier and a Yoruba head of state. Awolowo had frequently expressed his admiration [for Obasanjo] — [previously describing him as] ‘highly talented, shy, fearless, swift in action and deep’ — and his newspaper, ‘The Nigerian Tribune’, had supported Obasanjo’s regime with more warmth than was normal for Nigeria’s independent press. Now attitudes changed overnight. Awolowo believed—however questionably—that by being denied recourse to the electoral college he had been cheated of his lifelong ambition to lead Nigeria. He blamed Obasanjo for it. He and his supporters accused Obasanjo and his colleagues of favouring a northern candidate and voting for Shagari (as Obasanjo did, although he voted for other parties in the legislative elections). Further they were accused of rigging the ballot paper and the voting in the North; prejudicing the electorate against Awolowo by saying the best man would not necessarily win; pressing the Electoral Commission to recognise Shagari; refusing to overrule the Commission’s decision or to amend the constitution before the Supreme Court hearing; appointing a new Chief Justice [i.e Fatayi-Williams] favoured by Shagari; and facilitating an alliance between the NPN and the NPP in order to entrench Shagari in power.”

OBASANJO’S RESPONSE

“The last point was true, but Obasanjo refuted most other accusations, insisting that the military had left the Electoral Commission to run the election and had removed the clause in the draft constitution that might have debarred Awolowo. ‘Throughout our administration as a government’, he wrote, ‘we had no plan to install any party or any individual to succeed us. And if we had had such a plan, you know that we are courageous enough and determined enough to have said so openly and acted so publicly.’
As the dispute grew more heated, Obasanjo took the precaution of strengthening his bodyguard. He was also pursued by wild allegations of corruption, none of them substantiated. On the other side, he was being pressed to remain in office by eminent figures ranging from Presidents [Kenneth] Kaunda of Zambia, Houphouet-Boigny of Côte d’Ivoire, and Eyadema of Togo, to senior officers, chiefs, and civil servants. He would later claim that he had transferred power when he could have easily retained it, but that was not his view closer to the event, for especially during his last 18 months, from the crisis of April 1978, the military regime had become an increasingly unpopular, lame-duck government. In 1986 Obasanjo would declare ‘that he could not have stayed a day longer than planned . . . and there was no way he could have told Nigerians that [the] 1979 [hand-over date] was no longer feasible.’ President Nyerere of Tanzania commented that he had never seen anyone work so hard to give up power.
Obasanjo was already preparing his exit. In April 1979 he promoted himself to full General, denying the same distinction to Danjuma, who never forgave him. The head of state addressed religious leaders, public servants, and media personnel on their duties to the new republic. He completed a farewell tour, following an earlier inspection of each of the nineteen states. In Sokoto, the Sultan presented him with a sword. Taking leave of his military colleagues, he assured them that ‘we have kept our pledge like men of honor. Toasting Shagari, he claimed a clear, straight-forward feeling of joy in accomplishment.’”

*THE DAWN OF THE SECOND REPUBLIC*

“It rained throughout Shagari’s inauguration on 1 October 1979. The four defeated presidential candidates were absent. Obasanjo presented the president with a copy of the constitution, saluted him, toured the stadium with him, and then, refusing official transport, drove himself home. He prayed, changed into civilian clothes, and set off with Yar’Adua by car for Abeokuta with two helicopters overhead, unsure whether his reception into Yorubaland would be hostile or friendly.”

*OBASANJO—LIFE AFTER POWER*

“His fears were groundless. He was met on the outskirts of Abeokuta with gun salutes and dances. The Olowu and the Egba chiefs accompanied him to the cenotaph to honour Egba warriors. Then, on a white horse, a symbol of great distinction, he rode ahead of the crowds to the palace, where the Alake danced to welcome him. At the reception following a thanksgiving service at the cathedral, Obasanjo said, ‘I believe our country and Africa have been enriched by what modest service I have been privileged to render for our fatherland, Africa and the world at large. I went, I served, I accomplished, I returned. Thanks be to God.’
It was the second of the homecomings that punctuated his life.”

<strong>SOURCE</strong>:— John Iliffe, ‘Obasanjo, Nigeria and the World’ (Suffolk, England: James Currey, 2011) pp. 93-95; (footnotes omitted).</blockquote><br>

Cancel

Post Reply: OBASANJO, NIGERIA, AND THE WORLD.

Get The Latest News & Updates In your Box

About

Locate Us On The Map