Freekick

The South African President Thabo Mbeki’s and his former Vice and now President of the ruling party, African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, Jacob Zuma’s relationship that had gone sour has now been rested with the resignation of Mbeki as the country’s President. Media reports world wide were recently saturated with resolution of the ANC which commenced investigation and deliberated on the allegations that President Mbeki influenced the resurrection of graft charges by the national department for public prosecution against his former deputy and party leader, Jacob Zuma and consequently ruled that Mbeki must resign from office.

While defending its action, the ANC said that its decision was taken for the stability and peaceful and prosperous South Africa.

For Zuma, it has been a long running battle with his boss, Mbeki since he indicated interest to step into his shoes as President of South Africa at the expiration of his second term in office in 2009. He removed Zuma as Vice President and later in 2006 dragged his name in the mud by accusing him of being corrupt, fraudulent and rapist. Specifically, Zuma was taken to Court on the allegation that his aide was accused of collecting bribe on his behalf. The case against Zuma was thrown out in 2006 but the national prosecuting authority recharged him to court. However, a court ruling earlier this month cleared Zuma of the corruption charges, alleging that the Mbeki’s government had interfered in the decision to prosecute him.

There is no gainsaying the fact that the Mbeki/Zuma war is in so many respects similar to the Obasanjo/Atiku war. The circumstances are the same. So are also the issues at stake and the charges involved. It is a well known fact that President Obasanjo did all he could to strangulate the ambition of his deputy, Atiku to succeed him in office after serving his constitutionally mandate of two terms of 8 years in office.

It all began as a rumour and later Atiku was proved right that his boss, Obasanjo was not planning to leave the Presidential Villa at the end of his term. But rather, Obasanjo was scheming to elongate his tenure through the back door. First, he used his surrogates in the national assembly to embark on a constitution review that will change the existing tenure provision.

Atiku, as a political mathematician and one who knows his onions very well and at the head of the anti tenure elongation scheming christened ‘third term’ along with other well meaning Nigerians began subtle and open moves to sensitise Nigerians on Obasanjo’s plans and moved in with counter measures to kill the tyrannical, immoral and illegal desire. Today, Atiku is the acclaimed true democrat of the country world wide. He used his resources, goodwill and political dexterity to nip in the bud the deadly ambition of a tyrant that would have landed the country in big political and economic crisis of out time.

One will recall that shortly after it became clear that Atiku’s war against Obasanjo’s tenure elongation plan was recording success, Obasanjo began to use all the apparatus- party machinery and the government machinery, to begin a total elimination war against Atiku. First, he used the national executive of the party to charge Atiku with anti party activity for which he stood the punishment of suspension and later dismissal from the party he used his resources and political structure to build.

Then he used the apparatus of the state to declare his office vacant for not performing his responsibilities as Vice President. Let me remind you that the constitution has not assigned any role for him but that his schedule is determined by what the President asks him to do. So Obasanjo refused to assign his any job and went further to withdraw others that he had given him like the supervision of the PTDF, Bureau for Public Enterprises, BPE among others. Then the big bang came from Obasanjo accusing Atiku of fraud and corruption, and consequently drags him to the court with a view to finally sending him to jail.

So you can now see clearly that the smear campaign against Zuma by Mbeki is in so many ways similar to that of Atiku by Obasanjo. The crux of the matter is that Mbeki and Obasanjo did not want their deputies to succeed them in office for selfish reasons. The political story of Zuma is the same with that of Atiku. They were so unfortunate to have worked with devils that were not in any way interested about their political progression. Thank God for the political maturity and dexterity of the South African politicians and masses. But for this and the South African Judiciary, Mbeki would have gotten what he wanted. That exactly was Obasanjo’s life long ambition.

To send Atiku to his political grave early enough. Tribute must in this regard be paid to the Nigerian democrats, masses, peasants and artisans for supporting Atiku all through his travails with Obasanjo. The Nigerian Judiciary must particularly be commended for summoning the courage and dared Obasanjo as sitting President to give Atiku a clean bill of health on the illegal declaration of his office as vacant, his suspension from the PDP and above all the allegation of fraud and corruption with regards his supervision of the PTDF.

There is therefore so much to learn by Nigerian politicians from the Mbeki/Zuma war. That is to say that the advanced democratic tenets exhibited by Zuma and Atiku for using the democratic and legal options available at their disposal need to be imbibed in all our political actors to checkmate anti democratic elements like Mbeki and Obasanjo in our midst. Credit must therefore be given to Atiku’s political maturity and calculations and dealt with Obasanjo the way he did. Nigerian politicians must be told that political intrigues have a limit to which they can work.

The question of putting to use best global political practices by all politicians in the country must be our watch word. Indeed, the Mbeki/Zuma war is a must case study for Nigerians, politicians and non-politicians alike.

It is because of my conviction that Atiku had proved being a politician worthy of emulation that one can therefore say without any iota of doubt that I wholly agree with the conviction of the Action Congress, AC in Lagos state that: “Again South Africa is showing the way leaders and nations should behave and we cannot continue in the primitive indulgence of our corrupt and insensitive leaders who hide under the canopy of democracy to desecrate the ethos of democracy and trample on principles and values just for their selfish benefits.”

The most interesting thing about the whole episode is the show of party supremacy over and above all its members including the President of the country. The ANC issued a ‘fatwa’ to Mbeki to quickly resign from or face the wrath of being recalled since he was there courtesy of the party. This is the contrast of the situation in Nigeria where Obasanjo and now Yar’adua are above the party. One can recall that shortly after his election as National Chairman of PDP, Vincent Ogubalafor pledge his more than 100% loyalty to Yar’adua. The party should in an ideal democracy be above all party members so as to check the excesses of power drunk officials.

•MUSA ILALLAH
A Communications Consultant writes from Abuja
(musahk123@yahoo.com)