Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria's former president, has pointedly accused National Assembly members of taking bribe to ratify the state of emergency imposed on Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu.
In a video clip on social media, Obasanjo was heard in a conversation with outspoken House of Representatives member, Ikenga Ugochinyere, who denied reports that federal lawmakers were paid $200,000 each to support the emergency rule. “Nobody gave anyone $200,000. That is just what I want to correct.”
However, the former president hammered persistently that he had authoritative knowledge of the payments. “You can say anything. I heard it from the horse’s mouth. You can deny it, that is alright, but I heard it from those who got it and told me that they got it. If you didn’t get it, then maybe your case is different. Don’t tell me what I know. Most of your members who got it told me that they got it.”
This allegation came on the heels of an earlier denial by the Chairman of the House Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mukhtar Betara, who dispelled claims that cash payments were given to lawmakers to secure their support for the emergency declaration.
Earlier investigative journalist Jaafar Jaafar said on X that Betara clarified the $5,000 given to each committee member was a “Sallah gesture” and not a bribe.
“The chairman of the House Committee on FCT, Mukhtar Betara, has clarified to me that he only shared $5,000 to each member of his committee as a ‘Sallah Gesture,’ not an inducement to support emergency rule in Rivers State,” Jaafar wrote.
Meanwhile, Obasanjo has expressed strong fear of the imminent death of democracy in Africa because it has become a system of government by a small number of people over a large population, who are deprived of their needs.
He made this known at a Colloquium to mark the 60th birthday of former Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha in Abuja, yesterday.
The former president stated that democracy, which is expected to deliver services to all the people and not a section, is failing in Africa because it is not African in context and content.
According to him, from the Greek model of democracy, where all the citizens participate directly in their affairs, it is now a representative system which has not taken care of everybody.
“When we talk of democracy, we should remember that in Africa, before the colonial rule, and the colonial power, we had a form of government which attended to the needs of our people. And whatever you call it, to me it is democracy, because what is democracy about? Democracy is meant to be a system of government that delivers. And delivers to all the people, not just a section of the people. Not just a few. But what do we have today?
“Today, we have democracy which is a government of a small number of people by a small number of people over a large number of people, who are deprived of what they need to have in life. Now, that is not democracy that will endure.
“So, if you are talking of democracy failing in Africa, democracy in Africa has failed. Why has it failed? Because in context and in content, it’s not African. It does not have any aspect of our culture, our way of life, what we stand for, what we believe in. Umbutu, I am because we are.”
He added that democracy in the continent today is “I am because I can grab. What sort of democracy brings you and you grab everything and then illegally, corruptly and you say go to Court when you know that even in the Court, you cannot get justice?
“So, if democracy is failing, democracy is dying and if we are going to make democracy not to die, we have to look at democracy in the context and in the content of Africa. I hope that we will get to that stage so that democracy which will deliver will be the democracy that we will have in Africa.”
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