{"id":19190,"date":"2018-06-11T17:29:10","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T17:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=19190"},"modified":"2018-06-11T17:29:10","modified_gmt":"2018-06-11T17:29:10","slug":"dancing-on-the-grave-of-abiola-by-martins-oloja","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=19190","title":{"rendered":"\u201cDANCING ON THE GRAVE OF ABIOLA\u201d.   By MARTINS OLOJA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><code><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- www.deltanewsroom.com --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/code><\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Our leaders and the power elite know how to develop and execute political strategy for enlightened self-interest. But they do not know how to develop politics for nation building. And that is why we are a prominent but not a significant nation.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">We, the people, too always doze off after telling some social media tales, which are full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">And so, our do-nothing leaders know us quite well. They know we like exciting political stories. They haul a lot of them on the front pages and prime time every day for us to debate.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Instead of chasing significant issues such as killers in the Middle Belt and North East zones, they chase the prominent but insignificant suspects in the senate. They know how to engage our attention all the time.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Give it to them. Our leaders appear to have taken some anointing from Charles Dickens character, Jack Dawkins known as the \u201cArtful Dodger\u201d in the classic, \u201cOliver Twist\u201d.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">They are Artful Dodgers indeed. They dodge questions on policy issues and their manifestoes. They dodge questions on their stewardships. They evade questions on their running costs. They don\u2019t want to answer any questions on their security votes. They parry questions on their responsibilities to the people on welfare and security.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">They don\u2019t want any questions on their assaults on the rule of law and disobedience to court orders.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Our leaders are very clever. They always give us opium, which appeases the \u2018gods of the belly\u2019.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Yes, they have given us another one, a 25-year-old opium called June 12 \u2013 a justice once delayed and denied \u2013 to the acclaimed \u2018most sophisticated\u2019 nation, the Yoruba in Nigeria.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Now we are debating. We are wailing and hailing. We had thought that the lanky General of Fulani extraction was not artful, not sophisticated enough to run our affairs. But he has artfully put in our mouths a messy opium garnished with honey that we cannot swallow immediately, nor can we spew out.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alternativeadvert.com\/show.php?z=30&amp;pl=16409&amp;ad_type=59&amp;rl=180\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Behold, the magic of\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1621673892\"><span class=\"aQJ\">June 12<\/span><\/span>\u00a0nurturing the majesty of the law and democracy simultaneously.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Before our very eyes, the poor and unknown footballer of yesterday has become today\u2019s soccer maestro, a Lionel Messi, a Christiano Ronaldo even in the media, the iconic Odia Ofeimun once called the \u2018Ngbati press\u2019.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">But who can deny the mastery of the art of politics in this game someone has called scoring of an unexpected \u2018hat trick\u2019.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">A friend of mine (in a long letter to me) noted that in the\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1621673893\"><span class=\"aQJ\">June 12<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Ring, \u2018It is a\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1621673894\"><span class=\"aQJ\">June 12<\/span><\/span>\u00a0masterstroke and they are sulking\u2026a single uppercut has left a multitude of knockouts. Ouch!&#8230;\u2019<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">That is the new spirit in town. The lanky, taciturn leader from Daura has indeed stolen some thunder \u2013 from Minna, though Otueke to Abeokuta.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Yes, the\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1621673895\"><span class=\"aQJ\">June 12<\/span><\/span>\u00a0music might have ended at the Eagle Square on May 29, 1999. But at the moment, a diplomat with a baritone voice inside the powerhouse is saying, the melody is not yet over.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">We are gathered again at the Abiola\u2019s graveside where we can once again dance the Yoruba\u2019s organic \u2018owambe\u2019.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">There, they can remember the chorus from Lanny Wolfe\u2019s classic, \u2018Dancing on the Grave of My Enemies\u2019.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\u201cNow I&#8217;m dancing on the graves of my enemies;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Dancing on the trouble that&#8217;s been troubling me;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">I did not know what else to do;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">But J*.C*, He brought me through\u201d<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">I&#8217;ve come through the fire;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">I&#8217;ve come through the flood<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It&#8217;s nothing else but the blood&#8230;;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">And if you&#8217;re wondering what I&#8217;m dancing about<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Hallelujah! He brought me out\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Of all the groundswell of views I have read, I have found the one credited to my brother at the \u201cTVC Journalists\u2019 Hangout,\u201d Kolade Babajide Otitoju\u2019s very significant.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">For whatever it is worth, the\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1621673896\"><span class=\"aQJ\">June 12<\/span><\/span>\u00a0resurrection story is indeed a masterstroke that cannot be denied at this moment. Babajide says, \u2018PMB knows how to use his office very well\u2026\u201dThat says it all.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">I would like to add that no one can fault his (President Buhari\u2019s) loan from \u201cthe Children of Issachar who the word of God tells me, \u201chad understanding of the times and knew what Israel ought to do\u201d.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The declaration of\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1621673897\"><span class=\"aQJ\">June 12<\/span><\/span>\u00a0as Democracy Day and National Honour for M.K.O Abiola does not automatically lead to swinging of so many votes from the Yoruba to the General as being touted. There are still so many rivers to cross in Western Nigeria before this can be an added advantage.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">First, he has to show federal government projects that can be commissioned anytime soon. The two viable Ports located at Apapa are in Lagos, the commercial capital of Western Nigeria. PMB has to show commitments that General Murtala Mohammed promised the people in a national broadcast to the nation on February 3, 1976 when he proclaimed Abuja as the nation\u2019s new capital.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">In his broadcast to the nation on February 3, 1976, Murtala had promised that Lagos would not only be designated a \u201cSpecial Area\u201d, it would be Nigeria\u2019s commercial capital and the deal would be incorporated into the 1979 Constitution then in the works.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">His words: \u201c\u2026Lagos will, in the foreseeable future, remain the nation\u2019s commercial capital and one of its nerve centres. But in terms of servicing the present infrastructure alone, the committed amount of money and effort required will be such that Lagos State will not be ready to cope. It will even be unfair to expect the state to bear this heavy burden on its own. It is, therefore, necessary for the federal government to continue to sustain the substantial investment in the area. The port facilities and other economic activities in the Lagos area have to be expanded. There is need in the circumstance for the federal government to maintain a special defence and security arrangement in Lagos, which will henceforth be designated a SPECIAL AREA. These arrangements will be carefully worked out and written into the constitution. Kaduna and Port-Harcourt are to be accorded similar status and designated special areas under the constitution&#8230;\u201d<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">This promise has to be fulfilled now. There are other weightier matters of infrastructure too in the area. The people would like to celebrate special attention to the Lagos-Ibadan, Shagamu- Ore-Benin Expressway, which is part of the Apapa- related commercial routes.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1621673898\"><span class=\"aQJ\">June 12<\/span><\/span>\u00a0is politics settled. But the people shall not live by politics alone. Governance after politics will create values for the people. Good road infrastructure will improve security and welfare of the people, the primary purpose of government.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It is indeed some leprosy on the people that nineteen years of democracy or civil rule has not affected Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and other critical roads in Western Nigeria.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">What is more, the President\u2019s commitment to \u201crestructuring of the federation\u201d should also make some way for him in the hearts of the people of Western Nigeria.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Don\u2019t believe a report that they are \u201csophisticated morons\u201d as a political journalist called them on this\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1621673899\"><span class=\"aQJ\">June 12<\/span><\/span>\u00a0revival story at the weekend. They are not.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">President Buhari should have noted how one good action can be a masterstroke, a big issue that you don\u2019t need to push in the mainstream media. Your good deeds can make a way for you. The\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1621673900\"><span class=\"aQJ\">June 12<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u2018wonder goal\u2019 has been one of such actions. But that is not all.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It is risky to dance on the grave of \u00a0M.K.O Abiola without connecting with the right tunes from the sophisticated orchestra from Western Nigeria.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">President Buhari should not lose the momentum. He should solidify this with an uncommon commitment to restructuring.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">There is a little that can be achieved in economic management at this time. The president\u2019s war on corruption has been controversial and meretricious. Even the anti-corruption agencies need restructuring of some sort.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The document the Nasir el-Rufai Committee has submitted on this serious thing called restructuring, has been widely hailed. Another \u2018hat trick\u2019 can be scored from this, if the president can renew his mind about federalism this week.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">This is not just for the purpose of re-election. It is about nation building. The 2019 election can be won and the nation can be lost in the process. What then will it profit a president if he wins an election and loses his nation?<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The foundation of Nigeria has to be revisited for nation building to be meaningful at the moment. It is not about the Western Nigeria. It is about the fate of the most populous black nation on earth.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The other thing needful while the symphony is being managed on the grave of Abiola is overhaul of the public service appointments.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The President needs to retouch appointments of his security and intelligence chiefs. They have been largely parochial and lopsided. You can\u2019t re-build a fractured nation with this lopsidedness. The president needs to be audacious as he has been with this\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1621673901\"><span class=\"aQJ\">June 12<\/span><\/span>\u00a0redemption song on the grave of Abiola.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Whenever people are gathered on this\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1621673902\"><span class=\"aQJ\">June 12<\/span><\/span>\u00a0revival story, event managers in Abuja should pay tributes to heroes of democracy, especially civil society activists and journalists who worked hard with others to deliver this democracy in 1999.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">People may have forgotten about numerous guerilla journalists who lost their freedom and even lives. Bagauda Kaltho and others paid the supreme sacrifice. \u201cTell\u201d, \u201cThe News\u201d, \u201cThe African Guardian\u201d \u201cTempo\u201d, \u201cAbuja Newsday\u201d, etc suffered in the hand of state terrorists at the time. Some never survived.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It is true that Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo(1999-2007) Umaru Musa Yar\u2019Adua (2007-2010) and Goodluck Jonathan (2010-2015) \u00a0failed to remember the political backgrounds, yes\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1621673903\"><span class=\"aQJ\">June 12<\/span><\/span>\u00a0that set the tone for this democracy they have enjoyed.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Most of the beneficiaries and political office holders who have failed to remember this aspect of our political history deserve to be enrolled in a Hall of Shame for \u201cPissing on the Grave of Abiola\u201d before President Buhari seized the moment.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Verily, verily we can say this: Former President Obasanjo should not be disturbed by security agencies at this time. He should be allowed to receive his \u2018Medal of Shame\u2019 for \u2018Pissing on the Grave of Abiola\u2019. The Prince of the Niger, General IBB who annulled the\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1621673904\"><span class=\"aQJ\">June 12<\/span><\/span>\u00a01993 election result that would have deepened our nation building and democracy in the country should be given a monument in a good corner of the Eagle Square, Abuja for \u201cDigging the Grave of the President-elect\u201d then.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">And for failing to go beyond rejection of the naming of the University of Lagos after Abiola, former President Jonathan should also receive his \u2018Medal of Shame\u2019 for \u2018Dancing Sluggishly on the Grave of Abiola\u2019.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">That is why PMB should be enrolled in a \u201cHall of Fame\u201d on June 12.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">***There are other nominees for the enrollment into the \u201cHall of Shame\u201d next week.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><a href=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Sheriff.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19048\" src=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Sheriff.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"590\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Sheriff.jpg 1080w, http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Sheriff-300x86.jpg 300w, http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Sheriff-768x219.jpg 768w, http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Sheriff-1024x292.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our leaders and the power elite know how to develop and execute political strategy for enlightened self-interest. But they do not know how to develop politics for nation building. And that is why we are a prominent but not a significant nation. We, the people, too always doze off after telling some social media tales, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":19152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[4753,3470,911,3105,182,1078],"class_list":["post-19190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-kolade-babajide-otitoju","tag-m-k-o-abiola","tag-nasir-el-rufai","tag-odia-ofeimun","tag-olusegun-obasanjo","tag-umaru-musa-yaradua"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/JUNE-12.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-4Zw","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19190"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19191,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19190\/revisions\/19191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}