Amana Online - Articles - Barka Da Zuwa

A very long time ago I read an interesting article in which the writer tried to dissect the problems of Nigeria . He opined that bad leadership is the bane of Nigeria ’s woes and that good leadership will continue to elude us so long as we continue to have madmen in positions of authority. He concluded the piece by suggesting that our leaders be subjected to psychiatric test before they are allowed to assume the mantle of leadership.

That writer was of the view that most of our leaders are insane but either because we are preoccupied with worshipping them for material benefits or we can not own up and tell them to their faces, we continue to behave as if everything is ok. Honestly speaking, I cannot but agree with the writer in totality. Most of our leaders are not in their right frame of minds. Insanity or madness as it is popularly known in this part of the continent is not only when a man dangles his JT in stark nakedness, in a marketplace with dreadlock and eating from dustbins. Far from it! Madness can manifest itself in different forms.

When the sex scandal of Obasanjo broke out, two things came to my mind. One, some people are going to say that is a family affair which must be settled at Otta. Two, others are going to label Gbenga as insane who must be taken to Aro Mental Hospital for immediate treatment. True to my prediction, those things came to pass. The PDP Garrison Commander depicted the mess as a family affair. General Adeyinka Adebayo (retd) captured my thoughts in his reaction to the scandal rocking the Obasanjo family. He concluded that it is Obasanjo, and not Gbenga who should be asking for a DNA test to determine Gbenga’s paternity. It must be said here that there are some people who do not require DNA to determine their paternity. Gbenga Obasanjo is one of such rare gems just as can be said of Kola Abiola. And Iyabo too.

It can also be said that Gbenga does not appear as someone who is not mentally stable. Obasanjo would have behaved the same way, or worse, if he had caught his father pants down with his wife. Gbenga is merely behaving as a true son of his father. It would be recalled that when, in the rage of feud between Obasanjo and his erstwhile deputy Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Gbenga took on the latter and instead of rebuking him, Obasanjo proudly announced that Gbenga had proved that he was his true son. No son or wife of Atiku, not even his distant family members got involved in the fight throughout the time it lasted. And no one accused Gbenga of insanity then.

Certain things can not be overlooked. Obasanjo has not denied in strong terms the allegations of incest leveled against him. Gbenga’s father-in-law has also not denied the part of the story that concerned him. Moji did not deny the allegations initially. Those that are making the denials on behalf of the Obasanjo family are those that would have retired to their bedrooms when in those good days Obasanjo, wrapped in his evening gown, torchlight in hand, caressing Moji’s private garden in one of his numerous guest chalets at Aso Rock. If it’s such an easy thing to defend a culprit, then Obasanjo can go to sleep as many of his apologists would rise up to his defence.

For those who know the man Obasanjo very well, they can almost not vouch for him in certain things. If your wife or daughter, no matter the age, is allowed to go near him, you may have more than you bargained for. During the same Obasanjo/Atiku debacle Nigerians were made to understand that some women got car gifts and other material benefits from Obasanjo for undisclosed reasons. A notable female minister was said to have been showed the gate out of Aso Rock for her refusal to bulge to Baba’s animalistic demands. That was the one we heard of. Only God knows what other ‘recalcitrant’ women suffered in his hands.

A man who was alleged to have slept with most of the female ministers and aides, married or widowed, young or old, that served under his government can be said to be insane. A man who gesticulated publicly and told his wife that he had sacked her boy friend from his cabinet can be said to be insane. What can we say of a man who loses count of his children, wives and mistresses? Insanity may not be far from him. The same can be said of a man who would drive his son’s car and intentionally bashed it on the wall of his residence just to make the young chap feel what he (the father) felt car years back when his son dented his car.

And to be fair to Gbenga, the ‘incest’ was not manufactured by him. Even though it is totally abhorred in the African society, it is common knowledge that this ugly trend continues to rear its head in some parts of our land. There is even a Yoruba word i.e. aure used to describe the reason for this ignoble act. It is associated with cultists and Baba has at various times been accused of belonging to one secret society or the other. One sincerely hopes that the little girl was not charmed into doing all these things.

To me, Gbenga is sane but I can not say the same about Obasanjo. Even if certain behaviours of Gbenga portray him as insane, methinks he is merely behaving true to type. He is what can truly be referred to as ‘the son of his father.’ If at the end of the day Gbenga is able to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt, it is the accused, and not the accuser, that should be considered insane.

Alhaji Abdallah Mailafia Sha’ibu

[abdallahlafia@yahoo.com]

No 8A Tudun Wada Street

Lafia

Nasarawa State

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