The last time Nigeria had a real president

It should be evident to note by now that any leader anywhere in the world that does not dance to the Euro-American tune is labeled by CNN and BBC as abusing human rights and violating seemingly countless Geneva conventions and breaching sanction agreements .
As long as a leader does not tango with the western power blocs, he is either a tyrant or a dictator. Look around you and see, the Venezuela, Iran, Uganda, Sudan, Liberia, Zaire, Guinea and Cuba to mention but a few.
It should be observed that if a supposed leader is socialist by economic outlook, a psycho-media war is declared upon the administration so much that its subjects begin to believe what they are constantly told by the media. It is funny how global opinions are formed by CNN and BBC this days. The way governments and societies are to be run is being dished out by the western media and we are subconsciously being programmed to do as we see on TV. We are living witnesses to the IDI AMIN saga, two Hollywood blockbusters succeeded each other to finally discredit him as a man eater, a sex maniac and a brutal murderer.
All the African leaders that directly or indirectly said “Africa is the only continent we have and therefore we should be left alone to solve our problems ourselves”, have become the victims of western character assassination and blackmail.
“…For the International Community, we ask that you suspend judgment while we grapple with the onerous task of nation building, reconciliation and repairs …Nigeria is the only country we have. We must, therefore, solve our problems ourselves”...
Late general Sani Abacha November 1993 speech.
To the myopic mind being plagued by the western media stereotyping and some ethnic sections of Nigeria especially the June 12 people, your sense of reason might be clouded at the mention of this African hero. However, it is clearly evident to see that poverty, depilated roads and inadequate infrastructure combined killed more people during the fourth republic than the late general supposed bullet wounds. It is a tradition in any struggling country willing to rise to prominence that some countrymen be sent forth to the great beyond to make room for growth and development, it is no secret, history has it in store from Moses down to George bush. We saw the political demise of a former minister for justice, we saw the mysterious plane crash of some seven 7 generals, we saw another mystery in Macchidos death and his allies, we saw a failed attempt at late Wada Nas of blessed memory to mention but a few.
The over ten billion dollars meant for the power sector was never accounted for. If I ruled and carried out some secret deals and I am still alive, in fact I have a stooge in place, then how on earth do you expect me to be labeled the fourth must corrupt head of state by transparency international? Halliburton is an American investment with a colorless form, I mean nobody questions its audacity.
The vendetta carried out against the late general, his family, and his allies coupled with the fact that he said no to Euro-American economic interest and said yes to Korea-Arab-China economic romance is an indicator of how personal prejudices were employed to suffocate vision 2010.
The petroleum special trust fund P.T.F is an establishment with no rival yet. Funded by revenues from an increase in the price of oil, was established in 1995. Under the leadership of former military leader Muhammad Buhari, the trust fund used its resources of almost 100 billion naira (roughly $1 billion) to repair roads and support education. In our higher institutions of learning we are living witnesses to how only P.T.F buses convey us to excursions and field trips conveniently, how we still have access to remains of P.T.F low price edition text and note books with paper quality that only MacMillan England could rival, in our teaching hospitals we see P.T.F buses still conveying patients, drugs in our hospitals were given for free, maternal health care was also free, bed sheets and mattresses , wheel chairs, tarred roads on our high ways that stood the test of time and are still trod are all courtesy of a supposed tyrannical regime and the list goes on and on… I mean eleven 11 years after its demise!!.
Against all expectations, Nigeria continued to maintain reasonable macroeconomic stability. Inflation remained at modest levels, the exchange rate was stable, and the budget deficit appeared under control.
The petroleum development trust fund P.T.D.F, is some crooked arrangement I cannot seem to feel its impact as a commoner and to understand where on earth it is headed towards. It is evident that it built and refurbished a number of departments nationwide, it dolls out scholarships to the children of the high and mighty e.t.c, if it touched the commoner, it would have become common knowledge and to God I would have said it here and now. What a pathetic substitute for our beloved P.T.F!!.
Within a span of three 3 years the P.T.F had achieved virtually what a whole civilian administration of eight 8 years failed to halve.
It is an irony how a country that wants to industrialize has almost everything from matches to toilet rolls being imported into its enclaves. We import rice, sugar, wheat, cars, soap, torch lights, bikes e.t.c and yet “Nigeria is going to be among the twenty most industrialized nations come the year 2020”!!, the millennium development goal seeks to cripple Nigeria under people that dance to the tunes of the Euro-Americans who control the world bank and the international monetary fund I.M.F. the said stashed monies in a Swiss account could be said to be chicken change compared to the living generals eight 8 years of random sampling.
They say it is good you open up, be tolerant, import from us, give us the foreign exchange, we will give you a temporary U.N seat, we will give you human right e.t.c. and yet there is no country on earth that developed without industry, and that was what the late general simply said, “ give us a chance to solve our problems ourselves” stamped his feet and meant it, that we should be left to learn to manufacture and produce and not be dependent on importation and thus the U.N sanctions that threatened our survival and the turmoil that characterized the generals exit. History has it that any nation about to take off into affluent perpetuity must endure hard times meant to absorb sanction shocks and strengthen the weakling economy.
Nigerians are very impatient people who are always expecting a miracle. Change never did come to any nation in history without some sacrificial lambs and Nigeria is no exception. To change is to persevere and sacrifice and only a few Nigerians are willing to do just that.
The Korean Indian auto works K.I.A, were in the dream pipeline of the late general to come down to Nigeria and manufacture cars with Nigerian raw material and labor, thus generating employment and jerking per capita in terms of foreign exchange [driving tokumbo cars would have since become a thing of the past]. The Peugeot assembly of Nigeria PAN was under a final warning by the late general to start manufacturing cars in Nigeria with Nigerian raw materials and labor or pack up and leave the country [thanks to ten 10 years of democracy now, the only thing Nigerian in their cars now is the water in the radiator].
The Indian company that later partnered with a Korean company to produce KIA cars was built alongside Ajaokuta steel company of Nigeria, and yet I ask you!, where is Ajaokuta steel coy today? [that is ten 10 years of democracy].
I have but touched upon but a few of the late generals foresightedness, patriotism and Africanism and challenge any one to please give Nigeria a detailed explanation behind the scraping of P.T.F, and I gallantly put the trust fund against all this ten years of saying ay!! And neigh!!.
I hope that if sentiments are kept aside and rational reasoning employed, I must have started winning some converts for the late general by now. It’s nothing personal, it’s strictly intellectual.
Thus, the last time Nigeria had a real president was 1993-1998, the late general Sani Abacha of blessed memory, may his soul rest in peace, amen.

Muhammad Tijjani Nakande, a freelance writer, a neo pan African, you can reach him online at muhammadnakandesworld.blogspot.com or email him at memzycool@yahoo.com