Remembering Umaru

Umaru. Perhaps Nigeria’s best and most misunderstood leader so far. Umaru. Certainly Nigeria’s most compassionate leader and the one who we hounded to his grave. Umaru. A gentleman to the core who deferred to his people. His humility would not allow him to puff and ride the people. He thought he could lead the country in simplicity. Umaru. He got sick, his situation depreciated very rapidly in a suspicious manner, and all we had were calls that he should resign and go and die. Umaru. He led Nigeria in a totally different era. We would want to look back and rue those times. For compared to today, they were good old times indeed.

I was one of the last men standing for Umaru. Not because I knew him. He was my president. I never met him nor shook his hands. I didn’t even care much about him until I saw the way people were hounding him. Umaru NEVER spoke a harsh word to Nigerians nor condescended in any manner. I recall one of his few presidential chats when one journalist started raining questions on him and his colleagues tried to stop him. Umaru asked them to allow him ask all the questions. Umaru was already frail by then.

Umaru it was who refused to pander to the shenanigans of Western powers who wanted to sell us arms and ammunition. Then it was the UK and France. See this http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/ hi/africa/7511340.stm. Umaru demurred and chose the path of peace instead, creating an unprecedented amnesty, which at least quelled the problem. Umaru was not only a man of peace, he was a man who loved his people. He loved humanity. And so till date, he is the only president to have reduced the price of petrol from N75 to N65. He reduced VAT from 10% to 5%. Obasanjo had increased these two items on his way out of government. The IMF and World Bank has always wanted Nigeria to have higher VAT, and indeed, ours is one of the lowest in the world. But corruption and impunity here is also one of the highest in the world. As we can see from what has happened in recent times, the higher taxes would have simply been embezzled by you-know-whom.

Perhaps Umaru’s most remarkable example was the open declaration of his assets. He made a point that though it wasn’t required by law, but since he had promised to do so, he went ahead, and caused his aides to make the same available to the traditional press. He even went ahead to force, yes force, his deputy, Mr Goodluck, to declare his own assets. Goodluck would later mention in one of his many offhand statements, how he resisted. Goodluck would swear that over his dead body would he be made to declare his assets to the public. By then, Nigeria’s leadership had collapsed. No one has had the grace, or the integrity, to following up Umaru’s example in transparency; an example that would have been most critical in setting the pace for us as a people and our quest to curb corruption. It was unprecedented. And it has never been followed since then. It was a triumph of morality, a higher consciousness to make a difference, over mere legalism. Since Umaru left, Nigerian leaders have always buried their heads in legal quicksand, their rumps exposed for the world to see. And they think they are perfectly concealed. Muhammadu never supported Umaru in his travails. In March 2010, he actually called for Umaru’s impeachment. Yes, Umaru was gravely ill and those around him profited. But not once did a word of support go to Umaru from Muhammadu’s quarters

About five years after Umaru comes his brother Muhammadu, a man in whom so much trust and emotions had been invested by the common man in Nigeria. If there was a perfect job of deceit, given the status and posture that the new man had attained, this was it. Muhammadu chose the exact opposite ways of Umaru. He sneered and snarled at Nigerians. He intimidated us. He answered questions with questions, and asked that no one task him on his promises. He shifted responsibility wholesale, and caused the suffering of the masses to double. He came in and briskly increased petrol prices from N89 to N145, even though people were writhing in the pains inflicted by Goodluck. We begged and warned, but those deceivers who whisper sweet nothings in his ears, especially the paid hordes on the social media, said he should fire on; that the people hadn’t yet suffered enough! Then he made statements like people should withdraw their children from foreign schools and that he and others could afford it. Then he attended lavish weddings for his children who made it a point to marry into money. Then he travels all too often to the UK for medical treatment after swearing he would not do so while campaigning. Then he kept all his presidential aircraft he had promised to transfer to a new Nigeria Airways. Then he rode around in luxury cars and fleets and convoys, and blocked the road for hours for his own movement. Then he got angry at every interaction with masses who loved him so much.

Perhaps the most significant volte face was his refusal to declare his assets openly like he had promised, and more importantly, like all who voted for him had expected. Because they thought if Umaru could do that, Muhammadu was made of even sterner stuff ! Not this Muhammadu. He delayed, he huffed, he purred. He tried to deflect. And his aides rushed out to deny. They even said they never promised ANYTHING to the people. Anything at all. The people were left wondering on what basis they rushed out to vote, and stood in the sun and late into the night, and sang sons of joy, and tears from their hearts to follow. Muhammadu would later accept, howbeit grudgingly, listing some mud houses in some semi-desert somewhere. He hedged and dodged. And on one occasion he admitted that he was forced to declare at all; that he preferred if Nigerian journalists engaged in ‘investigative journalism’. I was wondering then why the convoluted logic? Why ask journalists to go on wild goose chases when you could just be straight, honest and transparent? And was he prepared for investigative journalism? Because when journalists go looking for wild geese, they may end up bringing all sorts of animals from their hunt. Are you prepared to see skunks, rats and monsters?

And so he plundered his own goodwill. And sent the nation into further penury. He exacerbated the economic situation through his condescending attitude. He looked down on people. Some would say if you weren’t from his backyard he didn’t consider you to be a human being. I don’t know him well enough to make a judgement call on that matter. All I know is that his body language when he faces the common man is one that reeks of disdain. I personally will not want to move near such a person.

Anyway, this is about Umaru. I cried my heart out when he eventually succumbed to death, like we all will. He went down a good man. He never complained and fired back. I even predicted that God would take us through much suffering for what we did to that man. Muhammadu never supported Umaru in his travails. In March 2010, he actually called for Umaru’s impeachment. Yes, Umaru was gravely ill and those around him profited. But not once did a word of support go to Umaru from Muhammadu’s quarters. Was it all about power? I wish Muhammadu a quick recovery wherever he may be today, but the lessons are too stark to be ignored. In terms of leading this country, he has failed woefully. And if someone will repair this economy, it will no longer be Muhammadu.