In the first part, we saw how General Olusegun Obasanjo became the best friend of the US, someone Washington could count on in ensuring that US strategic oil interest in Nigeria is both protected and promoted. Singling Obasanjo out was the same way the US singled out the Shah of Iran Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who the US put in power in an Iranian military coup of 1953, which Washington and London jointly sponsored to overthrow the democratically elected nationalist prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh who nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil (BP) assets in 1951.
We also saw how Washington did everything to ensure that Obasanjo became the first president during the return of democracy in Nigeria. And to ensure that that was what happened, every odd was cleared; including the denial of Abiola’s mandate as the president of Nigeria in June 1993 by frustrating the result of that election.
We saw also the thinking in Washington denying Abiola his mandate would go a long way in making the north support Obasanjo in his bid for the president at least as a compensation to the Southwesterners for having one of their sons denied the presidency he was alleged to have won and also as a payback to Obasanjo for being ‘’wrongly’’ incarcerated by Abacha for the coup he was wrongfully accused of organizing.
We also saw how the failure of Obasanjo to win his ambition of ‘third term’ led to putting Yar’Adua in power with the goal of ensuring that because Yar’Adua was terminally ill, Obasanjo would have been the one calling the oil shots that had to always protect Washington’s interests. Even notwithstanding his poor state of health, Yar’Adua refused Obasanjo from calling the oil shots.
And with presidency in Jonathan’s hands, who saw how as a result of his arch-nationalism and the fact that it’s his region that suffered humiliations in the hands of Washington-led western oil imperialists, and the devastation that accompanied the plundering of Niger Delta communities oil wealth and the environment, Jonathan fiercely refused Obasanjo any slightest chance of calling the shots.
We saw how, frustrated Obasanjo and Washington are today working together to frustrate Jonathan administration, including doing everything possible to ensure he never has the opportunity of winning second term in office, since they have already identified with APC, with the hope the APC government would allow Obasanjo to call the oil shots.
And in expression of that Washington’s support to APC, former fellow of the Jimmy Carter Center, Prof Richard Joseph, couldn’t hide that when he recently wrote a paper in Brookings Institution’s publication, where he stated, ‘’The ruling People’s Democratic Party has controlled the patronage laden presidency for 15 years….Will Nigeria follow the path of another complex federation, India, which evinces many of the same problems and has now rallied behind a party that promised growth and development reforms?’’
One of the strategies being adopted to humiliate Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election seems not different from the Ronald Reagan-George Bush strategy in 1979 that frustrated Carter’s chances of a reelection in 1979.
On November 4, 1979 — exactly a year to the November 4, 1980, President Jimmy Carter of Democratic Party was seeking a reelection while Ronald Reagan wanted at all costs to unseat him — 52 American diplomats and citizens were purported to have been taken hostage in American Embassy in Tehran, Iran by Iranian students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line.
During the 444 days, from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981 Jimmy Carter was so humiliated and frustrated that his campaign spent more time on how to free these Americans than how to win against his opponent. Paradoxically and coincidentally the hostage saga ended the same on January 20, the same day Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th President of the US.
It was later revealed through confessions by some Iranians involved in the hostage scheme, that it was orchestrated by George Bush, the former CIA Director, who was running with Reagan.
While we hope that our Chibok Girls have not become victims of part of the CIA plot to humiliate Jonathan out of office in 2015, the good news is that should this Washington support APC against Jonathan become known to Nigerians, no doubt the 2015 presidential election will be Jonathan’s because Nigerians, angry with the US interference in Nigeria, will reject any presidential candidate that Washington openly supports.
That happened in South Africa when ANC, protesting US open support of Thambo Mbeki gave Jacob Zuma a landslide victory as the party’s leader, especially because South Africans are never in a hurry to forgive Washington for its support of Apartheid regime in South Africa.
Similarly, despite the use of International Criminal Court as an instrument of political blackmail, Uhuru Kenyatta, went ahead to humiliate America’s preferred presidential opponent, Raila Odinga in Kenyan 2013 presidential election.
In Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro defeated his American supported counterpart, Henrique in Venezuelan presidential election in April 2013.
Despite America’s fierce opposition of his candidacy as prime minister in last month’s election, Narendra Modi, India’s staunch nationalist still led his Bharattiya Janata Party to a historic landslide victory.
And so the list goes on.
Given this scenario, Jonathan’s landslide victory in the 2015 presidential election is assured, especially should there be more evidence that Washington is out to humiliate him out of power.
Odilim Basil Ewegbara is the Politics and Economy columnist of the Daily Independent (basil_enwegbara@yahoo.com)
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