BY Ebuka Nwankwo
While Ken Livingstone was mayor of London from 2000 to 2008, Olusegun Obasanjo was president of Nigeria from 1999 -2007. For those who think that I am about to compare apples with oranges, by comparing a mayor to a president, you might be wrong. The economy of London, a city in England, is way bigger than that of Nigeria, a whole country.
Even though Ken Livingstone and Olusegun Obasanjo could be regarded as semi-retired politicians, they could increase the circulation of any newspaper, anytime they make comments. They are an ‘interviewer’s delight’. They have so much in common.
Ken’s recent comments just made headlines in London, probably because he had been seen as a hater of the Jews. His recent comment that Hitler was a Zionist, earned him a suspension. His colleagues in the Labour Party see his comments as a form of racism, but Ken believes his comments were factual and had been in the public domain.
While Ken waited to be slammed a suspension by his party, Obasanjo walked out on his own party, which was the ruling party then, in the build up to the 2015 presidential elections in Nigeria. The former Nigerian leader knew that his party was about to disgrace him, by suspending him. Here, in my view, Obasanjo displayed the native wisdom Africans are known for.
Ken and Obasanjo are loved and hated with passion by their admirers and critics. They are dogged politicians.
Their critics believe they are hypocrites. They cite many examples. For instance, Ken sees himself as a democratic socialist, the same way people see Bernie Sanders, thus, he once criticized a Labour MP, Dan Jarvis, for receiving a donation from a hedge fund. It later turned out that Ken had even received a similar donation of £8000 from a hedge fund. The story is not different in Nigeria. Obasanjo often criticizes the present parliament for being irrational and unresponsive to the plight of the average Nigerian. But, some parliamentarians believe he corrupted the parliament in the first place. They accuse him of bribing the parliament in 2006, when they claim he wanted a tenure elongation. Obasanjo has vehemently denied this.
However, no matter how much you hate them, one cannot take away the fact that they are rugged. They can be regarded as ‘one man rioters’, in local Nigerian parlance. For example, in the run-up to the mayoral election of 2000, Ken failed to secure the nomination of his party. He subsequently stood as an independent candidate and won. While in Nigeria, a lot of political commentators believe Obasanjo was solely responsible for throwing the last administration out of office. They are ‘one man armies’.
They are very stubborn as well. When they believe in something, they go for it. Ken Livingstone has refused to apologize for his recent comments. He believes he has stated the obvious. Obasanjo displayed similar traits. For example, in the build up to the last presidential election in Nigeria, Obasanjo refused to ‘forgive’ former President Jonathan. Jonathan, the then president, sent so many emissaries to plead on his behalf, but they weren’t successful.
Ken and Obasanjo are no strangers to controversy. In fact, this is not the first time Ken would be suspended by the Labour Party. Ken had had many disagreements with the Labour Party establishments. While in Nigeria, Obasanjo doesn’t shy away from taking on establishments. He has taken on two of his colleagues in the recent past – former Presidents Babaginda and Jonathan.
Both men achieved a lot while in office. In Nigeria, the telecommunications and banking revolution can be attributed to Obasanjo. While Ken prides himself with the introduction of congestion charge in London, the successful bid of the London Olympics, introduction of Oyster card for London transport and the revival of the London buses.
While Ken fought his part on PPP plans for the London Underground, Obasanjo actually encouraged the privatization of state-owned assets. Both philosophies had merits. Nigeria needs as much private capital as it can get.
Both men had technical backgrounds. Ken was a technician in a hospital, while Obasanjo was actually trained as a civil engineer in the Nigerian military.
I urge Nigerians and the British people to treat these elder statesmen with ‘care’! The two societies will always benefit from their contributions, no matter how controversial they might seem.