special

President : has said nothing about a third term but everything points to his wanting one

Nigeria Project Obasanjo in full swing

Lindsay Barrett on the political situation in Nigeria today. “The sense of ‘imperial right’ being exhibited by President Obasanjo,” Barrett writes, “is what has annoyed and alienated a substantial proportion of the founding elite of the ruling PDP, but at the same time it appears to have captured the imagination of a new breed of political operatives who work closely with the president and are ready to defend his decisions.” 2007 promises to be a very interesting year.

igeria’s ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abacha’s attempts to install what would have been a “democratic was founded only after the sudden death in 1998 of the dictatorship”. It is not, therefore, surprising that many of the military ruler, General , but it emerged from founding fathers of the ruling party are now openly expressing Na process of resistance against Abacha’s attempt to install anxiety over fears that President Olusegun Obasanjo, himself a a so-called democracy through a carefully-plotted self-succession bid. former military ruler, appears to be reviving a similar agenda. This was the main purpose for which the group of elder When Abacha’s sudden demise threw his entire plan into the statesmen and activists who formed the core of the party’s base wastebasket, the founding fathers decided to form a fully-fledged came together and risked their lives and freedom to challenge party to contest the 1999 elections. It may well be that the haste

56 n New African March 2006 with which these elections were organised caused the new parties to power in the 2003 elections. Since then, Obasanjo has engineered the suffer from fundamental flaws. party’s rejection of several members of its executive, and removed his The PDP turned out to be a conglomerate of unlikely bed- own handpicked chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh, a seasoned politician fellows right from the start. The founders included conservatives from Benue State who was once considered ripe for presidential like the former vice-president, Alex Ekwueme, middle of the road aspiration. When Ogbeh was replaced with a caretaker chairman, liberals like Prof , and men of impeccable progressive Colonel Ahmadu, a former military colleague of Obasanjo’s, the credentials like the former Plateau State governor Chief Solomon perception of increasing presidential control began to gain substance. Lar, all of whom were members of a pressure group called G-34, In the last few months, it has become obvious that Obasanjo is and the entire body of the reformist political movement created by interested in gaining further control of the party’s operations, and the late Gen Shehu Yar’Adua, known as the Peoples Democratic most importantly its strategy for producing the next president. Movement (PDM). Several Nigerian commentators have speculated that Obasanjo is As the eventual name of the party suggests, this latter group was dominant “Obasanjo is in its formation. PDM members such as portraying the late Chuba Okadigbo, Chief Anthony himself as Anenih, and the man who became its leader the ‘father of after the death of Yar’Adua, the former the party and customs officer , soon the nation’ emerged as the driving force of the party. and virtually Abubakar’s eventual position as vice- disowning any president under Obasanjo, and Okadigbo’s debt to the PDM. as president of the Senate for a while, He has openly illustrated the ascendancy of the PDM excoriated the in the party when it first took power. Its leader of the members and close associates were deeply PDM, Vice- involved in mobilising the grassroot forces President Atiku that helped the party to win its first election. Abubakar (right), They also played a crucial part in persuading for acts of party members to accept the recently- disloyalty.” released political prisoner, General Olusegun Obasanjo, as their presidential candidate. However, six years later, Obasanjo is Nigeria portraying himself as the “father of the party and the nation” and setting up a situation where he may even be made eligible for a third virtually disowning any debt to the PDM. He has openly excoriated term through constitutional reform. It is widely believed that the the leader of the PDM, Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, for acts of president has encouraged the promoters of this reform agenda who Project Obasanjo in full swing disloyalty. Some known supporters of Obasanjo have publicly called have been touting it in the National Assembly. for the vice-president to be investigated for corruption, and he was So far, the most vehement resistance has come from members recently forced to deny that he was involved in a plot to destabilise of the PDM led by the former academician, Prof Ango Abdullahi. the government. His public rejection of the strategies now being put in place by These signs of internal disenchantment have raised the nation’s a new party executive, which was gerrymandered into position political temperature as it has become increasingly obvious that by presidential intervention, has raised fundamental issues. Prof Obasanjo is building the party’s future on his personal political Abdullahi has expressed serious doubts over whether the PDP’s preferences. The PDP claimed such an overwhelming victory at the original intention to install a genuinely representative democratic 2003 polls in spite of widespread electoral irregularities that many of order can be achieved through Obasanjo’s strategic reforms. its detractors suggested that it was trying to install a one-party state. Abdullahi’s protests and analyses are founded on a genuine insider’s Although Obasanjo and other senior party officials denied this, it knowledge and has thus elicited some vehement responses from is noticeable that the opposition parties have been rendered almost apologists for the party and advocates of the presidential agenda. impotent by raids on their leadership, and the infiltration of their Many of these people, such as the highly articulate new secretary ranks by agent-provocateurs. Many of these individuals have been of the party, Chief Ojo Madueke, who served as minister of tourism rewarded with juicy political appointments and contracts by the and later as minister of transport, have insisted that the spectre of PDP government, thus lending credibility to the speculation that a breakdown of order and discipline in the party was real and that they were deliberately planted. Obasanjo’s actions were meant to prevent this. These tactics are part of a clear strategy for internal control Madueke describes Obasanjo’s close watch over the party’s affairs of the party by a tightknit clique known more for its loyalty to as necessary to instil discipline and efficient administrative practices Obasanjo than for its adherence to party rules and regulations. in the affairs of the nation as well as the party. But opponents of the This syndrome became obvious after the PDP was returned to process claim that rather than achieve this, the president has installed

March 2006 New African n 57 D i a s p o r a

Nigeria special

a personality cult both in the country and the party in which there is no room to tolerate dissent or alternative views of governance. The perception of the president’s desire to increase his personal control over the party has gained credibility, especially after his recent utterances concerning the mode of selection of his successor. In a speech to the party convention held in in early December, Obasanjo asked party members to trust him to interpret the issue of selection of the appropriate presidential candidate, although he did not suggest that the party would follow any laid down formula. This statement gave many observers food for thought. Although the convention was the most orderly of any such gathering in the party’s short history, it insisted on following what is known as the method of affirmation of a pre-selected list of aspirants for party offices. When this method was first mooted, several party members went to court to challenge the proposal to hold state congresses and a national convention where lists of preferred candidates would be presented and affirmed rather than elected. They won the case. At that point, the party executive, claiming that they had Once upon a time… it used to be a good team – Atiku (left) and Obasanjo already modified their plans to ensure that the majority of those to be listed and affirmed emerged from an elective process at the state automatically pencilled in to take over from Obasanjo in 2007. congresses, pledged to honour the court decision. However, the state However, it is now clear that Obasanjo is reconsidering any such congresses that took place in early November proved to be highly understanding. He said recently that the minority tribes of the controlled, and there is no doubt that the delegates list and the South-South geo-political zone who have been campaigning that choice of names listed for selection at the national convention were it is their turn to produce the president, do have good reason manipulated to a large extent by Obasanjo’s supporters. for their agitation. This has created a regional divide in the The most important consequence of the above events has been deliberations within the party and helps to explain why there is so that many former top officers of the party have resigned their posts. much speculation over whether Obasanjo is preparing to create the These include the national chairman, Audu Ogbeh, and several conditions for an extension of his own term in office. other top figures who have announced the formation of two new The most interesting aspect of his agenda, however, has not been pressure groups known as the Movement for the Development any overt attempt to claim a right to continue in office but rather of Democracy (MDD) and the Movement for the Restoration the forthright and unprecedented declaration of war against corrupt of Democracy (MRD). Given the traditional method of party public officials. Making this the centrepiece of his second term, formation in Nigeria, it is very likely these pressure groups will Obasanjo has overseen the most far-reaching indictment of senior metamorphose into political parties within the next few months. public officials ever witnessed in Nigeria. This has led to such high The strategy chosen by the PDM, however, is to remain within profile actions as the arrest, trial, and conviction of the inspector the ruling party for the time being, but not to relent in criticising general of police (the nation’s number one cop), and even more and rejecting the outcome of the recent events. The general belief dramatically (and relevant to the discussion of political objectives) is that the PDM is still largely made up of supporters of the the arrest in London of Chief D. S. P Alamieyeseigha, the governor beleaguered Vice-President Atiku, but there are increasing signs that of Bayelsa state who comes from Obasanjo’s own ruling party. this may not be so. The governor’s subsequent impeachment after he jumped bail Many of the key figures in that movement have openly blamed in the UK, disguised as a woman, and returned to Nigeria to try Atiku for his own problems, and disowned both his leadership and to continue in office under the constitutional clause that granted assumption that they would defend him in the quarrel with his boss. him immunity from prosecution, has been blamed on Obasanjo’s Prof Abdullahi, for example, insists that Atiku is the architect of his personal anger with him, but this has also served to convince own downfall because he acquiesced to a number of actions taken by many doubters that the president is serious about making the anti- the president that were clearly against the constitutional prerogatives corruption drive a major factor in the remaining period of his tenure. of the party when he (Atiku) believed that such actions also favoured The undoubtedly foolhardy actions of Alamieyeseigha, governor of him. The core principle of the zoning of the presidential candidacy one of the oil-rich Niger Delta states, appear to have been encouraged between the North and the South of the country was accepted as an by his belief that his people would rally around him once he declared obligatory understanding at the time Obasanjo, a Yoruba from the himself a victim of Obasanjo’s personal ambition. South-Western geo-political zone, was selected by the party as the Although he has been regarded for a long time as one of the presidential candidate for the 1999 and again the 2003 elections. most outspoken advocates of the battle for “resource control”, a Vice-President Atiku, who hails from the North-Eastern clarion call to the people of the Niger Delta states to demand more geo-political zone, apparently also believed that he had been equitable distribution of revenue gained from oil, Alamieyeseigha

58 n New African March 2006 has also been the beneficiary of an unprecedented increase in Federal Chief Ojo Madueke, the party secretary, justifies the Obasanjo funds distributed to his state. Unfortunately, he embarked upon a agenda for control of the party by saying that the record of the widely publicised spending spree overseas, acquiring vast property president is unprecedented in terms of achievements in changing holdings in the UK and the USA to an extent that was difficult people’s perception of the role of a national leader. Prof Abdullahi, to conceal. And when Obasanjo’s newly-installed anti-corruption on the other hand, believes that the president’s thrust for control agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), of the party is generated by a desire to prevent serious scrutiny of headed by Nuhu Ribadu, a no-nonsense police officer from the “deficiencies” in the performance of the PDP government. Abdullahi North, turned its attention to the global economic interests of is also vehement in his assertion that Obasanjo is trying to renege on elected officials, Alamieyeseigha proved to be an easy target. an agreement to rotate the presidency every eight years between the Indeed, Obasanjo was surprisingly quick to acknowledge, in an North and the South by inserting the issue of smaller geo-political interview with CNN a few hours after the arrest was announced, zones at this crucial point in the run-up to the next elections. that the arrest in London was instigated by official complaints from These opposing views graphically illustrate the basic divisions his own government. A few weeks later, when Alamieyeseigha was that have torn the PDP apart in recent times, but it is not yet clear seeking bail and the return of his passport in a London court, the whether the electorate has been galvanised behind these perceptions. Nigerian attorney general was dispatched to the UK to argue against The way in which the ruling party has installed its new leadership his plea. Again this was regarded as being done at the express has virtually ignored the processes of engaging public participation directive of Obasanjo. Actions like this raise questions about the and opinion in the development of the party structure. The main president’s sincerity because many Nigerians believe that there are opposition to Obasanjo’s agenda has been virtually emasculated several other governors and high officials who have behaved no better within the party despite highly vocal protests of the PDM under Prof than Alamieyeseigha but who seem to enjoy presidential protection Abdullahi. The PDM will find it difficult to muster enough power as long as they show open support for his takeover of the party. and resources with its main backer, Atiku Abubakar, totally sidelined, It is now clear that Obasanjo is not prepared to seek consultative and some of its most effective members either rendered impotent or or even legal sanction for the principal strategies of governance that completely coerced into either silence or compliance. he embarks upon. He appears to be confident that he can muster support for his personal “The sense control from not only within the country but of ‘imperial also from his extensive foreign contacts. right’ is what This sense of “imperial right” is what has annoyed has alienated a substantial proportion of and alienated the founding elite of the ruling PDP, but a substantial at the same time appears to have captured proportion of the imagination of a new breed of political the founding operatives who work closely with the elite of the president and are ready to defend his ruling PDP.” decisions. These are largely younger people, Waiting in the wings – some of whom have gained surprisingly Gen (left) dynamic resonance in the government. has eyes for 2007 Among them the minister for the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, who is a seminal figure. It is instructive that during a recent TV Chief , who is now the chairman of the board programme, el-Rufai, who lost his father when he was eight years of trustees of the PDP, is a case in point. This powerful ex-policeman, old, described Obasanjo as “being like a father to me”. a one-time stalwart of the PDM who was minister for works and Obasanjo himself, some weeks later, spoke on national television housing in the first term, has come to be regarded as the main about his relationship with the whiz kids in his government and architect of Project Obasanjo. This could compromise the role of the justified his wish to continue to guide the affairs of the party and the PDM as a whistle-blower within the party unless the new leadership nation without undue interference from those who had alternative of the movement is able to restore its ability to whip up grassroot views, by asking people to regard the actions of these high profile sentiment and support for any cause that it embraces. team members as the real symbols of progress and change. Nevertheless, the assertion of personal control of the party’s In other words, he seemed to be saying that the real dividends of affairs and direction by Obasanjo has become a fertile source democracy were to be gained from heeding his own decisions rather of discussion and dissent in the media as the countdown to the than from depending on the choice of the people since those whom next election begins. Obasanjo and his backers are coming under he regards as his best collaborators are those who he has personally increasing pressure to clarify the real objective of his paternalistic hand-picked to serve without any political linkage between them agenda within the party, and the ways in which it will affect the and the elective process. search for new leadership in 2007. g NA

March 2006 New African n 59 Nigeria special

Nigerian movies are capturing hearts and minds

Nigeria ‘Nobody knows tomorrow’

Emeka Nwandiko on the rise and rise of the Nigerian film industry (also known as Nollywood).

s the sun sets over Hillbrow in Johannesburg, South street corner in Hillbrow has a shop run by a Nigerian whose Nol- Africa, Phillipine Theledi, her fiancé, and a friend set- lywood DVD sales form part of a barber shop or cellphone shop. tle down to watch TV. The watching hour of the soaps On their days off, the two spend their time glued to the TV. Ahas begun, but the 24-year-old police constable and her This evening they are watching Keep Us Together. It is trademark guests are not interested in the bizarre goings on in the Hollywood- Nollywood fare, and it has their full attention. Motsepe, 22, says style soap operas. Instead they get their entertainment from watch- she can relate to the values depicted on the screen. “From these ing Nigerian (or Nollywood) movies. movies, you can see that Nigerians are very traditional people. They “I can’t remember when I last watched a soap,” says Theledi, are very religious and strongly believe that God can help them no who started watching Nollywood movies five years ago. Her friend matter the odds.” But Theledi’s fiancé, Cornelius Maphoto, who and colleague-constable, Kgaugelo Motsepe, who began watching began watching Nigerian films not long ago, is not too impressed: Nigerian films two years ago, says: “Soaps are always the same – you “They’re okay,” he says, “but about three-quarters of the films have know that Brooke (of The Bold and The Beautiful) will always marry the same message. They’re predictable.” someone else.” Constable Motsepe adds that she stopped watching Many a plot of a Nollywood film revolves around money and Hollywood soaps because “people just die and come back to life. reflects the psyche of Nigerians: “If you no get monie, you no be That’s not reality”. person. Ho ha! (If you don’t have money you’re nobody. Simple The two policewomen live a couple of doors away from each and short!)” Nollywood films reflect the social dynamics that make other at the high-rise South African Police Service barracks in the Nigeria a money-mad country. The basic formula is a son promises densely populated inner city neighbourhood of Hillbrow, which to send money to his impoverished family before he leaves the vil- they patrol. lage to head for the big city or country (say London, South Africa, It was while they were on different patrols in the neighbour- America, etc). Under pressure to deliver, he gets involved in juju, hood that they discovered Nollywood films – almost every second waiyo (419 scams), armed robbery, political assassinations or drug

60 n New African March 2006 dealing. For female lead actresses, the roles are a spinster who will titles, Nollywood films are in huge demand. Constables Theledi only settle for a rich man. She steals him from his wife, using juju, and Motsepe each rent up to three Nigerian films a week. And their or falls for a dashing mugu (419) specialist who turns out to be her interest has caught on with their families as well. worst nightmare. “Emperor” is the owner of a video rental shop at the Mariston Often the architects of the diabolical plots end up with noth- Hotel in Claim Street, Johannesburg. His store, a DVD store-cum- ing. In their own way, the directors and scriptwriters question Nige- barbershop, is the largest of the lot in the downtown area. The wall rians on whether the quest for money at all costs is really worth it. on the left and centre are crammed (from wall to ceiling) with But not all Nollywood films are about the unrelenting quest Nollywood films. He left Nigeria for South Africa seven years ago for money. There are also love stories such as Keep us Together. The and most of his clients are South Africans, Zimbabweans and plots though have a rather familiar theme: son/daughter wants to Zambians. marry a woman/man of higher status but because he comes from a His clients say, compared to American films, Nollywood movies tribe/poor family/socially inferior clan, the woman’s/man’s family enhance African culture and show that Africans have a rich heritage frowns upon the affair. to draw from, and give them a sense of dignity and pride. Nollywood films can be compared toegusi soup (a popular Apart from their cultural appeal, Nigerian films are also draw- meal eaten in Nigeria) that is badly cooked. But within the soup, ing interest because they are cheaper to hire than Hollywood films. there are some nutritious morsels in the form of proverbs spoken Emperor rents out a Nollywood film, burned on a double compact by Igbos from southeastern Nigeria: “The chicken that is searching disc, at R5 for three nights – a Hollywood equivalent hired for one for food in the rain must be very hungry” – Chukuma scheming, with evening costs R18. Despite the low cost of rentals, Emperor, who his younger brother Greg, on how to get the wealth of their elder has a collection of about 4,200 Nollywood films, is able to make a brother in the film,The Price of Love. profit. He says if he spends about R30,000 importing 1,000 Nige- “When a lamb plays in the den of a lion, is there any future to rian movies, he can rent out about 100 videos in an average week expect?” – Chief Phillips to his daughter whom he wants to dissuade and make about R700. But the bulk of his profits come from selling from marrying the son of his arch rival in the movie, Power Play. videos for about R60 each. The popular saying at the back of every Nigerian’s mind that The genre of Nollywood films in greatest demand is comedy, fuels their hopes and ambitions for a better life is uttered by Mama and it is easy to understand why. Films featuring Nkem Owoh (Osuofia in London 1 & )2 and the actors Osita Iheme and Chinedu Ikedieze (Lagos Boys 1 & 2 and De Don and De Capo) are always “The Nollywood booked out. In the case of Nkem Owoh, his delivery of punchlines film industry in pidgin (broken) English is side splitting. The pint-sized Iheme is primarily and Ikedieze (their feet barely touch the floor when they sit on Nigeria ‘Nobody knows tomorrow’ geared towards chairs) can deliver a brand of waiyo-scheming humour to make Leon the DVD home Schuster’s comic feats seem like a geriatric on a zimmer-frame. market. It is The Nollywood film industry is primarily geared towards the estimated that DVD home market. It is estimated that there are about 57 million there are about DVD players in Nigerian households. Home movies took prec- 57 million edence over cinemas when celluloid films became too expensive to DVD players make under the military regimes that ruled Nigeria in the 1980s. in Nigerian Now that Nigeria is under democratic rule, on average about 430 households.” movies are made every year, powering an industry estimated at R300m. A typical Nollywood film will have 50,000 copies dubbed Genevieve Nnaji is one of the popular actresses in Nollywood onto VCDs at less than R5 each. It is not clear to what extent piracy and bootlegs are driving the value of the industry down. But in the next few months, the script that Nollywood currently acts out is Enyi about her son’s forbidden affair in Keep Us Together: “Nobody about to change – dramatically. knows tomorrow”. According to Brian Pottinger, CEO of Johnnic Communica- In fact, Nollywood films have a kitsch feel about them. The tions Africa Division, an agreement has been signed by Nu Metro poor technical quality of shots taken indoors gives them their dis- Home Entertainment West Africa for a new distribution chain, tinct low budget feel. Scenes that involve actors shouting in anger starting in Nigeria, with a VCD and DVD plant to open in October or crying loudly often come out as a screeching sound. which will make licensed and quality-made Nollywood films avail- Inadequate use of lighting indoors leaves macabre shadows able to markets in Africa and beyond. The big idea is to ensure that dancing around actors and the soundtracks of some films often do from the licence agreements, revenues generated will be ploughed not correspond to the scene on view. Added to this gaucheness, back into the industry in the form of royalties which “will create a are the titles: After the Fight, Nothing Spoil, Who’s Fault, I Want My sustainable industry in which actors, producers, directors, distribu- Money, The Broken Plate, Last Billionaire, Dogs Meeting, Hard Lover tors and ultimately the consumer benefits”, says Pottinger. and My Own Share. As the storyline on the Nollywood film industry unfolds, But in spite of their perceived poor technical quality and tacky perhaps an apt title should be: Nobody Knows Tomorrow. g NA

March 2006 New African n 61