OBASANJO AND THE PHENOMENON OF DEATH

 SEYI ODUYELA

 I don’t know how others feel and look at it. President Obasanjo has got more death in his government than even General Sani Abacha’s government or General Babangida. Let us face it.

 

Architect Layi Balogun, former presidential aspirant lost his life in the hands of assassins later tagged-armed robbers. Air Commodore Anthony Ikhazobo former Minister and NFA chairman was killed in 1999 and his killers are yet to be brought to book.

Uche Orji a senatorial candidate of All Nigeria Peoples Party ANPP for Imo state was killed in wake of the 2003 elections nobody has ever been apprehended. Last year, two murder cases were reported in the Eastern part of the country, the state Nigeria Bar Association Chairman was killed in Anambra state, Arthur Nwakwo's younger brother was killed, the killers are still at large.

Chief Harry Marshal, a former chieftain of People's Democratic Party and later coordinator of All Nigeria's Peoples party presidential campaign in South South was murdered in his Abuja home only for the Police to parade some people as armed robbers confessing to have killed the Chief. According to the robbers they went after the chief because of the campaign money they heard was with him. The question they did not answer or which they have not been asked is who informed them that Harry Marshal was collecting any money?

Before the election, the president's first child Iyabo escaped death but her friend's children in the car with her that fateful day paid with their lives to save her. The two kids under 13 were killed and no word from the police on who did it or any clue to the intention of the killers.

 Chief Bola Ige, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in Obasanjo’s government was killed in 2001 December.

 

There others I cannot mention that have lost their lives in this government since 1999. We have 574 cases of extra-judicial killings of innocent citizens carried out by the men-in-black from May 1999-July 2004. Disappointedly Obasanjo’s government has not found the killers of all these people I mentioned, but surprisingly, the police in no time arrested the gang that attempted to kill the President’s first child, Iyabo, who is not a Commissioner in Ogun State. We should also remember the January 27 2001 Ikeja bomb explosion too, to date Obasanjo has not told Nigerians what happened 4 years after the unfortunate incident and no opposition party has bothered to ask.

 

In 2002 or there about, one of President Obasanjo’s wives, died in a motor accident on her way from Abuja to Jos, she is called Mama Deboye. Deboye is a Captain in the Nigerian Army. Before Mama Deboye, his wife who came out to campaign against him during his bid to contest for the United Nations Secretary-General position died mysteriously. She was assassinated and her killers are still at large almost 10 years after. It does not bother Mr. Obasanjo who or what killed his ex-wife. So Stella is the third wife of Mr. Obasanjo to die on him. Funny, or coincidentally, the Belview aircraft crashed few miles away from Obasanjo’s village, Igbogun in Ifo Local Government, Ogun State.

 

This is the second airline to crash under this government. The first was the EAS airline plane that crashed in Kano in May 2002, the same problem that crashed the EAS airline crashed the Belview plane.

 

This government has failed the nation and itself in all spheres of life. If people are not dying, they are losing their jobs, and the fuel price goes up every minute. It is taking the government seven years after launching its war against corruption to start arresting and prosecuting perceiving President’s enemies or who are in his enemies’ camp.

 

It is unfortunate that we lost 117 lives, but who is to blame? The Pilot? Airline? Government? Of course, we first blame the government and the Airline operators for playing computer games with innocent people’s lives for the sake of money. We have an irresponsible government, that is a fact and this is a murderous government. A government that does not care about the well being of its citizens. A system where a state governor borrows 112 Million Naira to buy private house. When an ordinary small scale business man will not get a 50,000 Naira loan to start a business because he does not have collateral and an individual borrowed equivalent of $12million to buy house. It does not matter to the Central Bank what the governor used as collateral. A government of money- laundering governors, kleptomaniac ministers, sodomists and conscienceless rogues. The Legislative arm is even the worst of all, with Dis-honorable members asking for bribes to pass budget, collecting salaries from Parastatals and all the mess. It is truly a sign that God does not have hands in this government.

Since 2001 no one has been convicted for the murder of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation. It is a shame to President Obasanjo that a senior Minister in his government will just go down like that and four years after, is killers have not been found or rather allowed to sit at the Senate and now planning to be a governor.

 

When the EAS airline crashed in 2002, the blame was almost put on the Airline, but investigation later showed that the cause of the crash was because the plane had to take off from a shorter runway because they were using a temporary airport then. I also discovered that the Civil Aviation Authority has been deficient in its oversight functions on the inspections of the airlines. They have taken a lot for granted and connived with the airlines to play with lives of their customers. About three directors were just fired in 2002 and nobody was seriously tried for the homicide. I know that there are a lot of problems with the local airlines, lackadaisical attitudes on the part of the airline operators, because they have the Supervising authority and the journalists covering aviation in their pockets. Belview may appear as safe but the operation is not. The management of the airline should be thoroughly investigated. I remember that back in 2000, one of its pilots had filed a suit in court against it, but journalists covering aviation were settled to cover the story, one of them who refused to cover the story lost his job. He is a personal friend. He lost his job because he refused to collect 25,000 naira bribe that his other colleague got.

 

How would it have been if our journalists report what they see to save life of innocent citizens and do not think of what to gain from these heartless airline operators? Apart fro aero contractors, I do not think there any airline that is safe. Is it Albarkar, Chanchagi, Chrome or which one is in good condition? What we should understand is that when accident occur to vehicles, there could be some escapes for passengers, because it is on the ground, but planes, there no way to escape because it is in the air. By the time President Obasanjo leaves in 2007 I pray that his successor will still have enough citizens to rule over. The death of Obasanjo’s wife is nobody’s business in Nigeria but that of him and his family. Many Nigerian men have lost their wives; many Nigerian children lost their moms. I lost mine. The death of the 117 passengers is a loss to the nation not the Owambe first Lady death.

 

 And I think the airline and Civil Aviation authority with the figure-head Minister should be brought to book. Let this government take a cue from what happens in some foreign countries and stop the lip service to serving the public when we know that they serve themselves.

 

This government has failed. What a shame!?