Colonel Abubakar Umar (Retd.) is regarded by his admirers as a man without cant. He conducted himself well during the June 12 crisis, to the point that he had to resign in principle. Umar, by so doing, did display the sort of courage that is lacking amongst Nigerians. He forgot privileges, he forgot the prospects of a promotion, he forgot ambition and insisted that the right thing should be done. He did not stop at that, he became a torn in General Sanni Abacha's flesh, by his unceasing call on him to follow the path of honour by returning the country to democracy and the rule of law. In those days, we still remember what it was like to raise an eyebrow against Abacha. For Umar to hold on amidst the lurking danger showed that the man was not lacking in guts.

Today, Umar can claim to be one of the fathers of the present day democracy in Nigeria. He did not relent in his criticisms of military rule till democracy was borne. Today, if he raises alarm over any real or imaginary threat to democracy, Umar should be taken seriously. Even if we are not clear about his present motive, the fear of his antecedents makes it compelling for the nation to halt for a while and listen to Umar.

Last week, our Umar went to town in a piece he entitled "The Devil is it, Mr. President". He has successfully swelled the rank of Obasanjo's critics. Umar, if we may recall, was one of Obasanjo's most ardent supporters. Since Obasanjo came into office, in 1999, Umar has not raised a voice against him. For him to suddenly burst in a manner he did has raised apprehension that something is wrong. What are Umar's grievances, expectations and reason d'etre for boiling Obasanjo in a pot of vituperative ink?

In reply to some of the above questions, Obasanjo's Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode ventured some explanation. In Femi's reply, Umar was a bad case of a "frustrated and unfulfilled man." Again, Femi continues "when we won the last elections, he lobbied fiercely for a key government appointment, which he did not get, and ever since then he has been anti-government and anti-Mr. President." Implicit in Femi's explanation is that Umar made failed attempts at attracting patronage from this present government. He wants us to believe that whatever he does or says is the residual contempt of his failure. But is it as simple as that?

We are not to bother ourselves with the veracity of Femi's explanation. What is clear is that like some Nigerians, Umar feels that not enough dividends of democracy have been enjoyed by Nigerians from Obasanjo's presidency. When you witness the hardship in the land, when you witness the state of our infrastructure, when you witness the level of corruption in the country and when, amidst all these, Nigerians are still called forth to make further sacrifices, you will understand Colonel Umar's position.

In truth, Femi reminds us of the days of Professor Jerry Gana as the Minister of Information. Gana was known by his prompt response to "attacks" on the government. He carried it so far that once an attack came, Nigerians would take it as not concluded until they heard Gana's voice. Gradually but steadily, he came to ruin information management, because right thinking Nigerians learnt not to take him seriously. Our past experiences should teach us, especially those that manage Mr. President's information and public relations that the reflexes of Professor Jerry Gana was not and cannot be durable.

Rather than vilify Umar, the way he did, Femi ought to have taken time to explain to him the right trajectory of things. Femi would have lost nothing if he had explained to Umar that the reason why the infrastructure were still not up to his taste was that they were virtually non-existent when Obasanjo took over. Take the case of electricity, how many megawatts of energy were being generated then, but Obasanjo has tripled it in a few years. What of the case of road, Femi ought to have explained to Umar the efforts the present administration is making. Not relenting, the issue of fuel tax is path of the government exploits to deal finally with road issue in the country. But looking at it on the face value, Nigerians see it as another ploy to "extort" them of their money. This attitude, Femi should have explained, is path of Obasanjo's problem. Because taxes were imposed in the past, collected and were not utilised for public good, the public are now sceptical of whatever government does. Even if Obasanjo decides to introduce something spectacular in Nigeria today, by some magical powers, people will still view him with suspicion. Should he then decide to dance to the whims of the public, who measure success by immediate, even if transitory impact of policies? This will certainly be suicidal to the nation.

Femi has the right to defend his Master, but it would be more fruitful when he explains to Umar and his likes the problems Obasanjo met and his relentless efforts, so far, to surmount them. Femi has enough facts to silence Umar rather than degenerate into name-calling by presenting the achievements of Obasanjo in the areas of international relations/diplomacy, energy, telecom, agriculture, urban renewal, conflict management, etc, even sceptics will be forced to think twice before unleashing tirades against the man.

W hat dangerously resembles an epidemic of criticisms is really on the loose on the country today. Some have gone beyond criticism to openly advocate for coup and revolution. What can be made out of this is the fact that the discontent in the land is presently verging on the inexplicable. The tension in the land calls for understanding and maturity on the path of the citizens and some government functionaries/officials. Our democracy has gone far that the prescription of a strange/outrageous alternative should be clearly unthinkable. There are many forces in the land who, out of diverse reasons that remotely borders on national interest, do not wish Obasanjo well. The country is bigger than Obasanjo. After many years of military dictatorship, the country has been rescued from arbitrary rule. To wish a return to those dark years is to demand the return to barbarism.

Obasanjo remains the president of Nigeria, whether you support him or not. It is the beauty of democracy that everybody is today at liberty to criticise him without being in danger of losing his freedom. While the criticisms continue, let us remind ourselves that there is a minimum standard of decency required of us in the language we use to address certain categories of persons, especially a distinguished Nigerian, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who bears the storm and stress of Nigerian leadership on his shoulders.

Katungo lives in Katsina.