9 January 2012
Lanre Akinola — “The reason I am ‘re-inventing’ myself as an investor… is because I was on the other side when I was in government. During that time I tried to create a conducive environment for investment into Nigeria, knowing fully well that you cannot talk of development and growth without investment”
Few individuals have defined Nigerian politics more than Olusegun Obasanjo, the former general widely seen as the godfather of politics in Africa’s most populous nation.
A household name since the 1970s, he first led the country from February 1976 to September 1979. Then presiding over one of the country’s spells of military rule, he oversaw Nigeria’s first ever transfer of power from a military to civilian government. Shehu Shagari emerged the winner of elections held in 1979, and the handover marked a rare example of political progress in the country’s otherwise troubled post-independence history.
Mr Obasanjo’s status as one of Africa’s most influential political leaders was cemented when he once again led Nigeria’s transition to civilian rule in 1999. Following the excesses of the military regime of Sani Abacha, one of the country’s worst economic and political periods, it was a transition that marked the end of the nation’s longrunning struggle with military rule.
Mr Obasanjo had spoken out against human rights abuses under Abacha, and was imprisoned for his alleged role in an aborted coup to depose him. When Abacha died in June 1998, Mr Obasanjo quickly emerged as the front runner to lead the transition.
In the first democratic polls to be held in 16 years, he secured more than 62 percent of the vote. Backed by strong international goodwill, Mr Obasanjo walked the tightrope of Nigerian politics, presiding over a period of reform the country had not seen in decades – culminating in the securing of debt relief in 2005.
He did court controversy in his aborted attempt to amend the constitution in order to abolish the two-term limit for the presidency. The 2007 polls, which saw his chosen successor take over the job, have been dubbed the worst in the country’s history. Yet Nigerian businessmen and diplomats quietly express nostalgia about the Obasanjo era, frustrated by a marked slowdown in reform under his successors. He may not have been perfect, but the view is that he arguably did more to inject forward momentum into one of the world’s most difficult political environments than anyone else.
Officially retired from politics, he is now looking to stake his claim on Africa’s growing status as an attractive destination for international business. It is early days, and Mr Obasanjo is sketchy about precisely how he intends to re-invent himself as an investor. The broad objective is to be a facilitator for foreign direct investment across Africa, with a particular focus on Nigeria, and his advisors are frantically working to spread the word to the investment community.
“The reason I am ‘re-inventing’ myself as an investor, if that is the way you want to put it, is because I was on the other side when I was in government. During that time I tried to create a conducive environment for investment into Nigeria, knowing fully well that you cannot talk of development and growth without investment,” he says.
AllAfrica – All the Time