Prior to the Arab Spring, Greenwood Publishing Company of USA commissioned, as it always does, a book on Customs and Culture of Libya to a US-based Nigerian History Professor (names withheld for security reasons) who decided to incorporate two other people, one his graduate student, an American, and my humble self, a Nigerian University lecturer, to write this book. Perhaps, my inclusion in the project originated from the fact that I have always been involved in field activities, so my experience becomes necessary to writing the book. I was in Libya before the crisis and had plenty of time to comb everywhere for data for the book. This field activities and the quality of data obtained are what formed the bedrock of what the book will present to the world next March when the book will go on sale globally.
The field activities, secondary literature, and practicalities on ground in Libya would not forgive Gadhafi, no matter how catchy or strongly-worded his Will may be. Permit me to say that, there is nothing like a benevolent dictator and no matter what we say or think; dictatorship would always end badly. Granted that Gadhafi, perhaps in modern Africa, would remain a shining light on achievements, but I must inform you that underlining his achievements were Libyan bloods!
For the records, Gadhafi started out as a young, people-driven leader. He sacked the monarchy of Ali, the man who, with others, assiduously fought and got independence for Libya. He was accused of being a stooge of the West. As an historian, I will suggest caution here. Libya was without oil then and it was difficult for it to survive without aid! It was under the care of the UN after the Second World War and everyone was apprehensive how it will survive as an independent nation without aid! Thank God for CRUDE OIL!
However, following Gadhafi's take-over, he instituted policies that drove not just Americans and British away, but also indigenous Berbers, Tuaregs, Jews, etc. British and Americans, as part of post-World War II geopolitics, maintained military bases in Libya to check Soviet’s ambition in North Africa; indigenous Berbers, Tuaregs, Jews, etc. were native Libyans, who stood against Roman, Greek, Ottoman, Spanish and Italian occupations at different times. They fought and defeated ‘almighty’ America too! The Jews, most of whom were Israelis, had settled for hundreds of years in different parts of Libya and most of the architectural masterpieces you find today in Libya were the handiworks of these Jews, the various invaders that made Libya their colonies at one time or the other. Many have erroneously believed that they were built by Gadhafi. If not for Gadhafi, Libya (and Africa) would have remained the home of indigenous and, perhaps, the oldest Jewish community on earth. He not only sent them away, but also nationalized all their assets, some of which were shared by the Revolutionary Council that Gadhafi led.
He banned literature, arts, music, media, English and French (languages), novels, prose, poems, etc. and pronounced Libya an Islamic state. The only Radio and TV stations in Libya under Gadhafi were state-owned! Same applied to publishing house! They were controlled by his children! Professors, poets, dramatists, etc. who must publish, must publish with him and their works had to be vetted for subversive elements! Their writings must eulogize the Gadhafi-led government! If Nigeria were to be under Gadhafi, would there have been people like Wole Soyinka, Achebe Chinua, Hammed Yerima, Kole Omotosho, Ade-Ajayi, Jide Oshuntokun, Chimamanda Adiche, etc.? Would any of them have written anything worth the salt? I bet it with you; many were the talents that Gadhafi sent to their early graves. Yes, there are Libyan writers, but they all cut their teeth in the Diasporas, where they were/are tolerated, but not accepted! Until the Libyan book is out, I would not be able to mention names, but I know many would be shocked to know what sort of bestiality went on in Libya under Gadhafi. Gadhafi was killing people at home, sponsoring terrorism abroad! Thousands of professors, radicals, journalists, teachers, musicians, actors and actresses - people that we love and many emulate here in Nigeria, were either executed, disappeared, or forced into exile in Gadhafi’s Libya. Those who fled were hunted to death.
As bad as Babangida and Abacha were in Nigeria’s military history, Obesere Omo Rapala, the doyen of Asakasa, was never prohibited from singing! As wicked and mindless as Obasanjo is, St. Janet, Gordons, Ali Baba, etc. still lampooned him and sleep at home, not in the coffins! Banning literature, as we all know, is banning creativity.
Gadhafi went further than that: Libya started out in 1951/2, as a secular state, although it still proclaimed itself as an Islamic Republic; Gadhafi made into a Sharia state. He initially laid the foundation of his new Libya based on the Sharia laws, but later detoured and wrote his own master-sheet upon which he ran the affairs of the country. The 3-volume book, The Green Book, became the unofficial constitution of Libya under Gadhafi. The Ulamas were disbanded and, in nationally-televised state broadcast, he denounced the Quran, Imams and Ulamas; saying that you do not need the Imams and Ulamas to understand and interpret the Quran. This step was the harbinger of his Green Book.
The atrocious acts were too many; I can go on and on and on. Perhaps I should not end this section without talking about his reforms in the banking sector. He commanded all Libyans to deposit all their monies in the national bank, claiming that a new currency was to be introduced. After the deadlines, he announced that no one in Libya would have private accounts again and that the state would be responsible for their upkeeps. That was the end of the reform. No money (old or new) was returned to anybody, everything was confiscated by government! Savings, from that moment, were banned! I repeat; all Libyans' monies were taking away from them by official/government subterfuge! What a reform!!!!
Yes, he constructed modern Libya along socialist lines; what he called Arab Socialism, which brought landmark achievements in Arabic/Islamic education, infrastructural development, housing and urban development to Libya. He constructed aqueducts that transport water from under the deserts to the cities. He, until 1994, employed all educated Libyans, but never allowed them to use their ingenuity on anything other than state-controlled things!
Permit me to add that his description of Libyans at the outset of the revolution as rats, dogs, and cockroaches adequately summarized what he reduced them to. He masked all his atrocities in our eyes with public service and infrastructure. These were all what we know/see that gave us the erroneous impression that he was a benevolent dictator who did well for his country. More than a million souls were ordered killed by this man. For me and many Libyans who helped in my study for the book, Gadhafi was worse than Adolf Hitler! Perhaps, the political trajectories are different, therefore, we cannot compare Gadhafi with Abacha, but I still think Abacha was a child’s play. I am sure that more of his acts would come to light now that he is gone.
Damn Gadhafi, damn his Will!
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