THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 3, 2013
16 SUNDAYMAGAZINE
NEWSPEOPLE
Shagari with Jimmy Carter, US President
Chief Richard Akinjide, a stalwart of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and close ally of former President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, reminisces on the qualities he has seen in the former president who now clocks 88. Akinjide, who was Shagari’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, shares his deep thoughts of the man with KAMAL TAYO OROPO. As one of Shagari’s close associates, what can you say of the former President? LHAJI Shehu Shagari is one of the finest rulers this country has ever produced. His term, as a minister, and his term, as president of Nigeria, will stand as golden ages in the annals of history of Nigeria. He loved the country, he loved Nigerians, and for him, as far as Nigeria is concerned, the sky is not the limit. I had the privilege of being in the federal parliament with him before independence, when he was representing Sokoto West and I, representing Ibadan Southeast. We were also together at the time of independence, when Alhaji Tafawa Balewa was the Prime Minister; and since then I know we have a lot in common. When he was in parliament, I was in parliament and then he became a minister and later also became federal minister of education. So, he served before independence as I did, he served by the time of independence as I did. He was extremely lucky, and I believe I was also lucky, as both of us had the privilege of learning from matured people. People I adored, people who loved the country, people who didn’t regard money as anything and those who regarded Nigeria as the best in the continent. And under Balewa, we had the parliamentary system of government, and I became federal minister of education, which I enjoyed very much, until the military interred. Though, I was not harmed at that time, but I was detained like all other politicians in the country and later on, we were released from detention. The military came and ruled for 14/15years and they left. But the golden age remained when Alhaji Shagari was in the parliament and the cabinet and the time of the coup and another golden age came when we realised presidential system of government and he became president and I became attorney general of the Federation and minister of justice. The type of rapport we had while working together was so uncommon. So, I had the privilege of going to Sokoto, knowing his home, and also I had the privilege of crossing by land out of Nigeria from Sokoto. So, I will regard Alhaji Shehu Shagari as my brother and a member of my family. To him, the question of one being from North or South does not arise. The question of language does not also arise at that time. The number one pri-
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AKINJIDE: Shagari Is Noble, Patriotic
And Should Be Celebrated ority to us was the interest of the country. This attitude was exemplified by his support for the Lagos railway network. I had the privilege of looking at the contract because federal government approved and guaranteed the contract. It was a French company and it would have been one of the finest in the country. Is that the Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande Metroline project… ? Yes. Alhaji Shagari actively supported it and embraced it, even though it was project from rival political party. At the same time, the same French company was doing the same Metroline project for Egypt and again one of the finest you can think of. So, both Lagos and Cairo were to have the same thing. That of Cairo was also approved and guaranteed by the Egyptian government, just as that of Lagos was also approved by the federal government and guaranteed; it was a project of Lagos State government but with guarantee of Federal Government. At that time, the plan was that after we had taken off with the Lagos edition, we would do the same thing in Ibadan, in Kano, in Port Harcourt and gradually extend it to every other part of the country. Also, Lagos State at that time was going to do a massive water project for the state. But after the coup, the military cancelled the two projects; or they did not allow it to take off. It is one of the greatest disasters that befell the country. Of course, when the military took over, the gentleman from Katsina (General Muhammadu Buhari)) became the Head of State and his number two was General Tunde Idiagbon, also from the North (Ilorin); and his number three, also from the North (Minna) General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, became Chief of Army Staff. From that time, the political mathematics of Nigeria shifted. That balance between the North and the South was destabilised and the consequence is what we have till today. Talking of the Metroline project, there was belief in certain quarters that President Shagari was hostile to the project. Is this correct? That’s a lie, that’s not true. I personally vetted the contract. I had the instructions of Alhaji Shehu Shagari and it was him who guaranteed the money for the French company and the Lagos State government paid the deposit of either 60 or 70 million dollars, guaranteed and signed by Alhaji Shehu Shagari. When the project was to be opened, Shagari was primed to be the chief launcher. He was a lover of the project,
he supported it. It was the military government under General Buhari that ruined everything. Was Shagari a weak leader, even though he was not corrupt? That is rubbish, absolute nonsense, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, as president, was very strong and you need to see him when he addressed the United Nations then in New York. It was glorious. The thing is that when the military overthrows a government, they try to give a lot of justifications for doing so, including telling lies against the government they overthrew. The whole world can see today who and who abused office and acted with impunity. Alhaji Shagari, working in the international circles, contributed immensely to the eventual liberation of South Africa. At every point, whether domestic or abroad, he displayed strong character and uncommon statesmanship. I have told you about the modern railway network on the same level and quality as those in Europe and America; and there were already consultants working on it, but when the military came they cancelled everything. Shagari was a strong president, very noble, great and I respected him and I will always respect him. If he was such a good president, why did the military topple his government? One, greed for power; not love for the country. Two, dominance. At that time the military had a crop of officers hungry for power and money; and these were the two primary reasons why they came to power. When the military came, they destroyed the Nigerian Airways. They destroyed the Nigerian Navy. In fact, they virtually destroyed even the Nigeria Army. You will remember also that the dichotomy within the army led to the civil war. The civil war was not caused by the civilians; it was because of dichotomy and misunderstanding within the military –– and I challenge anybody to deny that. However, in the military, I must concede we have some officers who are excellent, who are very good, noble and patriotic, but those were not in ascendancy at that time, but when the military left we had a core of military officers who are very good and they are still there till today. Nigeria has one of the finest military settings in the world and indeed in Africa. But the period of military rule for 15/16 years was a very bad time for the country. And that is why Nigeria, instead of moving forward, has been moving backward. We had a number of civilian leaders who were excellent; I mean, Balewa was excellent as a
Prime Minister. I challenge anybody to point out any wealth or money Balewa had. And the same thing with Shehu Shagari. How much does Shagari have today? Practically nothing. We know the wealthiest and the richest people in the country today. We know their source, their origin and their pedigree. Incidentally, many of them are retired army officers. But among them too, I must concede, there are excellent officers, who are not greedy, who did not steal any money, who are noble and who are patriotic. But then, we have a dichotomy between the good and the bad. The bad are domineering and the good ones are in the minority. Happily now, I will like to indulge in the belief that the emerging dominant ones among the military are the noble ones. Who are these people you are referring to? I will like to refrain from mentioning any name. I know a couple among them who are excellent officers and they are doing extremely well. How well has Shagari discharged himself since leaving office? When he left office, the military punished him by detaining him unnecessarily. He was investigated and they discovered that he had nothing. The only property he had was his old Sokoto house, which he built even before he became the president. They, the military, had no choice but to let him be. If people like that and people like Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Azikiwe, Okpara, Osadebey, Akintola are the ones at the helm of affairs today, the sky will be the limit for Nigeria. What is responsible for the leadership deficit we seem to have today? It is part of the dichotomy malady that has bedeviled us as a people and as a nation. But don’t think everybody is corrupt or everybody was corrupt. We have before and now, very good Nigerians, who are very noble and who regard the interest of the country as number one. We produce a lot of oil and gas. We also produce of cocoa, groundnut, a lot of rubber, palm kernel and a host of others. The wealth of Nigeria is limitless. I will like to indulge in the belief that of all the countries in Africa, Nigeria is the greatest. What we need is the right leadership. Once we have the right leadership, we have no problem at all. I believe by now, we are solving our problems and should be getting the right leadership.