Monday, October 6, 2003
CHEGE MBITIRU / There and about
Taylor a headache Obasanjo needs to get rid of
In a CNN interview, Mr. Obasanjo complained former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, wasn�t behaving like a gentleman. Nigeria, Mr. Obasanjo said, has reliable information Mr. Taylor was busy on telephone chatting with cohorts he left in Liberia.
"Not just communicating, Mr. Obasanjo said. Communicating in terms of political involvement � in fact giving political instructions."
Mr. Obasanjo didn�t disclose his plans about Mr. Taylor�s impudence. That�s understandable. Heads of state, especially those on verge of being internationally embarrassed, aren�t in the habit of broadcasting their game plans.
When in July Mr. Obasanjo offered Mr. Taylor asylum, there was a condition. Mr. Taylor was to keep his nose off Liberia�s politics. The Nigerian leader knew he was inviting plenty of heat. But soldierly bravery and folly took over. Now even Nigerians detest an obvious international thug in their midst.
Beginning 1989, Mr. Taylor left a trail of devastation on his way to Monrovia. He seemed not to care whether any humans were left alive for him to govern once he was ensconced in the Executive Mansion. Liberians voted him president in 1997 to avoid a repeat performance.
Well, there�s nothing more dangerous than thirst for blood and diamonds in a presidential suite. Mr. Taylor exported his murderous appetite to neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone. A United Nations war crimes tribunal now would love to have Mr. Taylor in a cooler for his role in Sierra Leone�s civil war.
Nigeria doesn�t have extradition laws. Hence any country wanting to get a suspect from there faces a legal impossibility. It also means Nigeria cant legally extradite a wanted person. Mr. Obasanjo critics, including Amnesty International, insist Nigeria is party to several international conventions. Some of these require either Nigeria tries Mr. Taylor or hands him over to a country willing to do so � a legal nightmare. Mr. Obasanjo has a neat cover. That�s what makes some comments in the CNN interview sound rather cynical.
Mr. Obasanjo insisted if Liberians show sufficient evidence Mr. Taylor committed crimes, he remains a Liberian. The implication was Nigeria would handover Mr. Taylor to face trial at home. Hopefully, Nigerian legislators would by then have enacted a retroactive extradition law and arm-twisted judges to uphold it.
On the other hand, Mr. Obasanjo defends his offer to Mr. Taylor on a politically correct phenomenon called "humanitarian grounds." For four years, Liberian rebels wanted Mr. Taylor out of the Executive Mansion, dead or alive. Like Mr. Taylor before, they killed and were close to the real target when Mr. Obasanjo went to Mr. Taylor�s rescue.
Mr. Obasanjo argues getting Mr. Taylor out of Liberia saved lives. Lives are still being wasted in Liberia. It will take the United Nations a number of years to stop that. Efforts to save lives though are noble. But they can also be ideal excuses for political and diplomatic indiscretions.
So far Mr. Obasanjo, a former general, has had plenty of legal, political and moral bunkers to duck into whenever verbal missiles are hauled at him over his hospitality to Mr. Taylor. Now Mr. Taylor isn�t only insulting his host, but also giving plenty of ammunition to Mr. Obasanjo�s enemies.
Traditionally, political asylum is granted to very nice people being persecuted by very obnoxious ones. It�s also extended to leaders not wanted in their homelands. In all cases, there is a condition: Keep head low and mouth shut.
Accounts in Nigerian media indicate Mr. Taylor lives well on a hill in the ancient city of Calabar. He enjoys a pleasant view of the Atlantic Ocean. He is choosy about his cuisine. He foots apron bills for his aeroplane parked at the local airport. Donald Duke, the local governor, has invited Mr. Taylor to his office, presumably for a sip of the local brew.
In the CNN interview, Mr. Obasanjo said if stopping the Liberian mess means Mr. Taylor has to be in a cooler for a while, "so be it." It doesn�t sound as if Mr. Taylor is anywhere near anything cooler than a Calabar evening breeze.
Military people hate losing face. When obviously battered troops retreat, that�s tactical withdrawal. Mr. Taylor has violated a condition for his asylum. Mr. Obasanjo has a good reason to send him to a boiler in Freetown, Sierra Leone. There aren�t courts martial against genuine retreat.
Mr Mbitiru, a freelance journalist, is a former Sunday Nation Managing Editor
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