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JUNE 12 and Gambari's Appointment: Two Military blocs and a civilian bloc

Nigeria currently under Abacha dispensation


Right from the onset when the ever surviving civilian bloc struggle to enthrone Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, it was clear then that the Buhari regime, despite been called a repentant democrat, would be the continuation of the Abacha bloc. The new Sheriff who before his accession to power even insisted that Abacha never looted and has not recounted his stance.

Although, Abacha looted more that $1bUSD but Nigerians just have to wholeheartedly agree with him because it was the sudden death of the late General that allowed us to have a glimpse of how he blindly looted the country and illegally channelled our commonwealth to foreign lands. Who knows how much the rest of the generals wickedly looted from the country?

The greatest evil and political disaster of all time that fell on Nigeria was the military intervention into the Nigeria’s politics in 1966 where those with barrel of guns violently drowned the most populous black country into a deep water of “forever backwardness” as it seems very clear the more.

The Nigerian Military after their intervention in politics seems to be a family of one block especially after the civil war was fought and brought to an end in 1970 as the then Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon’s full 9 years in power was but with the maximum support from the shadow of the only surviving Civilian block of that time which remained a rally point at the time most especially from the West.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo was the head of that block while the other supposedly surviving head Dr Nnamdi Azikwe was even not around and not on ground having escaped from been killed by the rampaging military boys and subsequent civil war's devastation to the Eastern region. For Zik and other prominent Easterners not to have been killed during the coup gave echoed to the chorus of the coup been tagged “the Igbo's coup” as others prominent Nigerians from other regions like Prime Minister Tafawwa Balewa, Northern and Western Premiers Sadauna of Sokoto Amadu Bello and Are Onakakanfo of Yoruba land Chief S. L. Akintola , along other federal ministers as well as some senior military officers were assassinated in that 1966 coup.

Prior to the time of the first coup, all that was happening was alignment and realignment of the civilian and of the civilian blocs as non was principally formidable enough to lead the country even right from the 1959 elections, But they failed at the same time to constantly monitoring the power mongering boys in the army who are watching the political unrest and pogroms.

In digression, Awolowo has no excuses for not unleashing Nigeria into greatness as the Federal finance minister and de’facto deputy chairman of the federal executive council. One of the achievements of that regime aside the 3Rs as was made known by Gowon was that there was money but they do not know how to and where to spend it. This, pointing to the fact they were all living only in then and or in their present time but not thinking of Nigeria of decades and century (ies) later and not having the Nigerian future population of today in minds which is absolutely contrary to the thinking in the developed and other aggressively developing nations.

Despite Gowon's Overthrown, Assassination of Gen Murtala Muhammad and enthronement of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo which began the resuscitation of another civilian bloc in distaste for the existing Civilian bloc and eventually handed over in 1979 to this neo-military made civilian block who continued in the steady of the defunct NPC at the detriment of the acclaimed formidably and ideologically civilian bloc of Awolowo or progressives

The Emergency of General Ibrahim Babangida as the head of state after Buhari's twenty months in power proceeding the Abrogation of Shagari's democratic and civilian regime was the grand bedrock for the future bi-military blocs that have dominated the Nigerian political space since then.

The June 12 general election, annulment, coalition of the notable and more civilians into formidable democratic bloc for struggles against the emergence of the then late totalitarian and maximum ruler Gen. Sani Abacha who incarcerated the JUNE 12 WINNER completed the distinct formation of the two military blocs and a civilian bloc after inviting a former head of state Muhammadu Buhari and then proceeded with the arrest and detainment of another former Head of State and his Deputy, Obasanjo and Shehu Musa Yar'adua with purported plan to also arrest IBB. 

Only that Abacha demise paved the ways for Maradona to once again roared and dictated the pace that brought back the Obasanjo after Chief M. K. O. Abiola was killed in Prison custody on the ground that (assuming) he can no longer represent the bloc which hitherto he was part and parcel and can not be trusted. His letter from prison to Gani Fawehinmi suggested . The Nigerian government still owned Nigerians and lovers of Democracy all over the world explanations of not only how Abacha died which brought an abrupt end to the genuine struggles for enthronement of real democracy in the country but the death of Chief Abiola in the government’s custody. Although a court in US gave a verdict that General Abudsalam Abubakar regime was responsible and culpable in the death of the June 12 winner.

The point of interest here is that while the 1998 presidential election can be said to be arguably between a military bloc and the Civilian bloc, the two presidential candidates can be out-rightly categorised to be of the same military bloc and source (IBB) (as many argued, the best presidential candidate for the Civilian bloc should have been Bola Ige and not Olu Falae) this was after Abacha bloc was downed like a crashing military jet in a war front.

However, the extent to which the two military blocs have succeeded or failed so far since 1984 if not from 1966 (when Awo was the strength of the Gowon regime) have been largely determined by the civilian bloc.

The current regime of Buhari which has been enthroned since 2015 is the return and continuation of the Abacha regime as made possible by the said Civilian bloc. The appointment of the new Chief of Staff to the Nigerian President further confirmed it all that those who stood their ground with barrel of guns and propaganda between 1994 and 1998 against the will and interest of the Nigerians have been graciously given the mantle, the thrown and the sword to continuing ploughing their abandoned fields by the so called progressives who have been divided even before the 2015 election victory.

Omoyele Sowore, a former Presidential candidate in the 2019 general election and the publisher of Saharareporters who contested on the platform of African Action Congress (AAC) like many others wrote an article in 2005 against Prof. IBRAHIM Gambari titled: Prof. Ibrahim Gambari and June 12: The “un-disgraced” collaborator.

Sowore said in his summation that, "if the Abacha repressive regime were a soccer team, Professor Ibrahim Gambari would be one of the “1st eleven players” or at least a quarter back on the reserve bench in the government squad. Though Abacha didn’t play soccer, he certainly sat on a killer squad that faced down members of the opposition-all lovers of democracy, and ordinary Nigerians in and out of Nigeria-while his bestial reign lasted, in addition to Abacha Professor Gambari has served almost all the dictators that has scorched the piece of earth known as Nigeria."

"Professor Ibrahim Gambari, who some people claim is an intelligent man, used his ‘intelligence’ to defend the draconian policies of the Abacha regime while he was Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations. He was one of Abacha’s equivalents of the “goebel” representing the infamous dictator with vigor and a propensity that could only be found in fascist Italy of old. He was once quoted as saying, “Nigerians don’t need democracy because democracy is not food. It is not their priority now.” As more pressure mounted on the Abacha regime from all corners of the world, Professor Gambari became more notorious and ruthless in defending and deflecting attacks against the Abacha dictatorship. "

Now that Gambari is now back and fully restored to his usual position to continue what he knows how to do best under a dictatorial and lawless government which he has been serving since 1984 while the civilian bloc are already in a default status or divided and co-opted to be playing along as they must not talk while still eating from the pot of soup of the dictatorial Buhari led regime.

Certainly, there has been disillusion of the blocs as things stand and a new bloc, either civilian or military is absolutely inevitable to rescue Nigeria now but while civilian will surely be better unless free and fair elections are not permitted which is certainly obvious under this Abacha dispensation of Buhari regime. If military, as they are not trained to lead but to defend the territorial integrity of the nation, the trend will surely be of old and not to the benefits of Nigerians and Democracy, as alienation of people from the affairs of their governments will still be the order of many days under military and looting will surely continue more than ever without hope of regime change and probe, another disaster in the making.

Waiting for another military intervention from the barrack will be a final disastrous moment just to bury the already stinking dead country which many are still currently hopeful that dead can still rise again as during the time of our Saviour Jesus Christ or even the dried bones can still live again by any divine intervention but certainly not military intervention without a genuine peoples’ bloc to take the state and its government back to the people.

If Sowore or any other persons really mean the business of raising a new civilian bloc, he surely needs to do more than the current trend. The bloc needs to be developed beyond Lagos and Abuja, beyond activists and comrades. Viable means of finance for the bloc must be established, the group must be made endear to the general masses across the states of the federation and beyond a political party.

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