Muammar al-Gaddafi, extremely visible on the Middle Eastern, African and world stages these past 42 years,� famous for his flowing Bedouin dress and beautiful girl escorts and austere living in desert tents and his austere meals of goat meat and camel milk, poking his fiercely proud Arab nose into every matter that concerns Arabs, Africans, Muslims and the world?s poor half as well as matters that do not concern them, lavishing petro-dollars on his people and splashing it all around, brimming with out-of-this-world ideas about Arab, African and Muslim unity, lay there by a culvert on a busy highway in Sirte, his battle fatigues soaked in blood, and he soon died from his wounds.
�
The biggest lesson of this sordid episode probably is: Gaddafi overstayed his welcome. Let us put it in a language that Nigerians will understand. When General Olusegun Obasanjo became Nigeria?s military Head of State in February 1976, Gaddafi had already been in power in Libya for 6 years. They ruled together for the next three and a half years until Obasanjo left in October 1979. When Obasanjo returned to power in Nigeria 20 years later, this time as civilian president, Gaddafi was still ruling Libya. In between, he had seen the coming and going of Nigerian rulers Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, General Ibrahim Babangida, Chief Ernest Shonekan, General Sani Abacha and General Abdulsalami Abubakar.
Not only that. Obasanjo ruled Nigeria for another eight years and Gaddafi was still ruling Libya. Five years after he left Abuja?s State House, Gaddafi was still reigning from the Bab al-Aziziyah Barracks in Tripoli. He had seen the coming and going of Alhaji Umaru Yar?adua and had co-existed with Dr. Goodluck Jonathan for nearly two years. Gaddafi had already earned the dubious epithet of being the ?world?s longest ruler.?
The other big lesson from this episode was, despite all the internal rebellion, [hypocritical] international criticism and NATO military intervention on the side of his enemies, Gaddafi was too proud to run. He personified everything we ever heard about stubborn Arabian pride. Look, faced with a less dire situation, some rulers hurriedly left the scene [Siaka Stevens, Hosni Mubarak]. Many others fled their countries, including Phillipines? Ferdinand Marcos, Haiti?s Baby Doc Duvalier, Guatemala?s General Anastasio Somoza, Uganda?s Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada, CAR?s Jean Bedel Bokassa, Ethiopia?s Mengistu Haile Mariam, Chad?s Goukouni Waddeye and Hissene Habre and recently, Tunisia?s Abidine ibn Ali. Even the Shah of Iran Mohamed Reza Pahlevi, self-styled ?King of Kings, Light of the Aryans and Regent of God,? one of the most proud men who ever walked this earth, fled Tehran in 1979 before matters got out of hand.
Of the other sit-tight men who preferred to stay put Gaddafi style, South Korea?s General Pak Chung-hee was shot in Seoul in 1979; Egypt?s Anwar Sadat was shot at a parade in Cairo in 1981; Romania?s Nicolae Ceausescu was captured and executed in 1989, while Liberia?s Samuel Kanyon Doe was captured and executed in 1990.
Not that Gaddafi belonged in the ranks of unadulterated despots, if you ask me, because his record in power was an adroit mixture of the stellar and the sorry. Compared with Nigerians, for instance, Libya?s people benefitted immensely from the country?s oil riches, despite all the recent attempt by Western governments and media men to rewrite the history and cast Gaddafi?s regime as nothing but a nest of corruption.
Compared to many spineless African and Arab rulers, including Nigeria?s, Gaddafi resolutely stood all these years for what he believed in, including Arab, African and Muslim solidarity, Palestinian liberation, and enhancement of his own country?s reach and power. On the flip side, he arrested Libya?s political development with his absolute, sit-tight, one-man show cult of personality. He was far too adventuristic for a man who ruled only a few million people, supporting many worthy� causes but also many misguided ones as well, such as in Northern Ireland, Phillipines, Chad, CAR, Burkina Faso, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
In this last stand as well as on many other occasions during his long reign, Gaddafi was as good as his words. He said as the rebels made gains against his regime earlier this year that he will never leave his country and that he would fight until the end. That was exactly what he did.
Health & wellbeing Aston villa Animals Football politics Liverpool Shaun Bartlett
No comments:
Post a Comment