The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Beyond GEJ’s phone call

    It is all too Nigerian. I refer to the way Nigerians have been falling over themselves to heap encomiums on President Goodluck Jonathan for conceding defeat in the March 28 presidential election. In particular many have been impressed by his calling General Muhammadu Buhari on phone and congratulating him on his victory. Of course, the gesture is laudable. But there is absolutely nothing extraordinary about it. It is what is expected in any decent and honourable society.  That the whole world has joined us in celebrating Dr Jonathan for doing what is right, normal and sane only shows how far we have degenerated morally and deviated from the path of sanity as a people. And this applies not only to Nigeria but the entire black race even though a number of African countries are becoming models of democratic and decent conduct.

    President Jonathan must be quite dizzy from the flurry of laudatory adjectives hurled at him. He has been described as a national hero, a nationalist, a patriot, the saviour of our democracy among others for accepting defeat. Someone even suggested that he should be a candidate for the Nobel peace prize! It is very ridiculous. A cartoon in The Punch of Wednesday put the point cogently. The cartoon depicted four world heroes – George Washington, Mao Zedong, Nelson Mandela and Goodluck Jonathan. According to the cartoonist, Washington led the American people in the fight for independence from Britain. Mao launched an agrarian revolution to make China feed its over a billion people. Mandela suffered years of imprisonment for the sake of his people. And Jonathan? The cheeky cartoonist said “He conceded defeat in an election he lost”! That is what it takes to be a hero in Nigeria. It is very funny.

    Did we expect our humble President to claim victory in an election he so glaringly lost? If he did, would the Nigerian people have accepted any such insolence helplessly? Have we come to think and expect so little of ourselves? Why is everybody sounding as if Dr Jonathan has done us a favour by doing what he is expected to do? Have we forgotten that this is the first doctorate degree holder to be President of Nigeria? Should we expect any less in ethical and moral standards from a man of intellect and culture?

    Not even the victorious All Progressives Congress (APC) could restrain itself from joining the Jonathan as hero orchestra. The party said by that concessionary phone call, Jonathan had ‘snatched victory from the jaws of defeat’ and ‘catapulted himself to a statesman’. Given his uninhibited desperation to win re-election for a second term including deliberately and cynically dividing Nigerians along ethno-regional and religious lines and unconstitutionally manipulating the institutions of state to gain undue advantage, Jonathan’s post-election gesture is not enough to redeem his record. He has left the nation in a moral cess pit from which it will be exceedingly difficult to extricate her. The impunity of his administration has been unprecedented in this and previous civilian dispensations.

    Even the respected General Theophilus Danjuma claims that Jonathan averted civil war in Nigeria by conceding defeat. Not a few Nigerians also believe so. They thus feel a sense of gratitude to Jonathan for respecting the will of the people. This is absolute hogwash. The truth is that there is a divine finger in the affairs of Nigeria. Not many countries could have survived the civil war as one like Nigeria did. Not many countries could have survived the June 12 annulment trauma without descent to war. That Jonathan could have plunged Nigeria into war for the selfish reason of wanting to remain in power against the will of the people in a free, fair and credible? Perish the thought. The glory for the achievement of June 12 belongs to God and the entire Nigerian people, Jonathan not excluded.

    In any case, Dr Jonathan bears the greatest responsibility for the tension and fear of violence that gripped the country before, during and after the elections. He did absolutely nothing to call people like AsariDokubo, Tompolo and other Niger Delta militants as well as elders like Chief Edwin Clark to order when they threatened civil war if Jonathan did not win the election.He empowered and indulged an organisation like the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), which just before the election staged a rowdy demonstration in Lagos openly brandishing sophisticated weapons and threatening violence if Jonathan lost the election. Even a supposedly cultured person like Jimi Agbaje, the Lagos State PDP gubernatorial candidate in today’s election hinted darkly in London that the Niger Delta would shut down the country’s economy if Jonathan lost at the polls!

    Jonathan further heightened the level of tension in the country by the unwarranted degree of militarisation of the polls and the bad precedent set inthis regard by his administration in previous elections in Ekiti and Osun states. We have to be grateful to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, and most of his Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) for their tenacity and resolution to utilise the Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) and electronic card readers for the polls despite the fierce opposition of the PDP. Even then, the sheer electoral brigandage displayed in most parts of the South-South and South-East on March 28 is incredible.

    The military and compromised electoral officials were recklessly used to manipulate the election in favour of the PDP. Results announced in most parts of the two regions were entirely fictitious. Yes, Jonathan would still have won in the two regions in free and fair elections but certainly not by the figures and margins announced. Rivers and Akwa Ibom states provide the most glaring examples. Jega’s silence on such brazen cases of electoral armed robbery is baffling. If Jonathan had been proclaimed winner of the election on the basis of such manufactured figures, in defiance of the popular will, we would be telling a different story today.

    In the same way, Jonathan himself is to blame for the widespread belief that he would not accept the result of the election if he lost and that he would enjoy the support of the compromised top military hierarchy in continuing in office against the will of majority of Nigerians. For instance, he had colluded with his service chiefs to achieve an unwarranted six-week postponement of the polls for his personal advantage with adverse financial and psychological costs to the nation.

    Again, simply because he does not like Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s face, he refused to accept the result of the Nigeria Governor’s Forum election (NGF). He recognised a minority of 16 governors as numerically superior to 19 and left the NGF comatose till date. Most people naturally believed he would exhibit the same attitude to the outcome of the March 28 election.Dr Jonathan cannot eat his cake and have it. He cannot deliberately create a problem and at the same time receive credit for acting to avert its consequences.

    Some others say that both Jonathan and the President-elect, Buhari, are heroes of the March 28 election and our democracy. I do not agree. Winning or losing an election is not what makes a hero. Yes, General Buhari deserves plaudits for his tenacity, determination and faith in contesting the presidency for a fourth time despite three previous failed attempts. Yes, he had deservedly achieved heroic status for his sterling integrity and incorruptibility, which make him a star amidst a thoroughly perverse and odious political class. But winning an election only means that the majority of the electorate have accepted your electoral agenda and given you a mandate to fulfil your promises. You can only become a hero when, at the end of the day, you have succeeded to a reasonable extent in fulfilling your part of the social contract. The President-elect, his deputy, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and their party have a herculean challenge ahead. It is not yet celebration time.

    The impression must not be created that the achievement of March 28 was a gift to Nigerians by President Jonathan’s undoubtedly gracious concession of defeat. It was a function of the determination, persistence and fierce resolve of Nigerians to vote and make their vote count. The sick in hospitals, the aged, youth and women across the country trooped out in their numbers to exercise their rights as citizens. This is perhaps the meaning of what Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called the ‘common sense revolution’.

    Voters stood in line for hours, many from morning till late at night to make their votes count. They bore the pains of INEC’s logistical problems with patience and patriotism. They were determined to make a statement. Nigeria cannot be the same again after March 28. Never again, will any incumbent government take the electorate for granted. That day marked the emancipation of the Nigerian electorate. An era has ended in Nigeria’s march to democracy and a new one begins.

     

     

  • Today’s election and the bandwagon, change and continuity syndromes

    To  say  or hazard  a guess  that today’s guber  and state legislative elections in Nigeria  will be very  much affected by the results  of the last presidential  elections is not  in anyway  an exaggeration but the truth. The presidential  election was won by APC candidate  retired General Muhammadu  Buhari who  is now our official  president elect while   the  loser  and  incumbent president must carry on like  the ultimate lame duck  president he has become till  the president elect  is sworn in on our democracy day May  29. That  really is the beauty  of democracy which  the great  Nnamdi  Azikiwe  used  to admonish  the former Administrator  of the East  Central state by  telling the man Ukpabi  Asika that  no condition  is permanent  and that was why the son  of a postmaster  could become a state governor.

    Similarly  the last presidential  elections  threw  the president who  never wore  shoes  before  coming  to power out  of office and replaced  him with  a man who  had lost thrice  in seeking  that same office. That  is what the French  mean when they say C’est  la vie   which  means such is life.

    Given  the  great   opportunities, influence and power  that electoral victories  confer  on successful  contestants it  is not difficult  to see  why electoral victories  are  celebrated in a triumphal,  winners take  all  mood   as  if they  are the last elections  before the end of the world. The essence of such celebrations is to leave the losers and their  sympathisers in no doubt  of their failure  and   loss  or  that  failure  indeed is an orphan and  that success  is sweet  even  though  it has many  fathers including defectors 24  hours  to the election date.

    One   needs  this sort of  down to earth appraisal  and elucidation  to appreciate the theme  and topic of today  in  order to have a realistic grasp of the mood  of Nigerians as they vote in another election  today  at the mercy of the great INEC, Nigeria’s  mighty electoral body  and master artist at the trick of mass disenfranchisement  of  Nigerian  voters.  Please  do not lose any sleep over my description  of INEC  because  that important institution at  election time does not respond to complaints before elections not to talk  of during it and  it knows that given the way Nigerians are desperate for power it can get away with murder as the politicians  look  the other way. INEC’S  power in Nigerian  politics and with  regard  to Nigerian  political parties  and leaders  can  be compared to that of a football referee on the field of  play. Once  the referee issues a red card the victim keeps  on marching in one direction and that is out of the field  of play with some match bans  in toe.  Which  in this case is till next election  four  years on or the mitigation  of reinstatement after expensive  litigation accompanied by painful  lamentation on the success or failure  of such legal  gymnastics at which Nigeria’s famous SANs  make their  huge  fortunes   in  our  temples   of justice  smiling in silk all  the way to the bank.

    Let  me dilate first  on the concepts  I have  highlighted as likely  to  dominate  today’s  elections in various  contexts. The  first  is the bandwagon effect which  viewed  from the failure is an orphan  context favors  the APC  which  won  the presidential  election. The second is the change  concept  which the APC adopted because the ruling  PDP had been in power for the last 16 years and at a time a former Chairman of the party boasted  that the party, the PDP will be in power for the next 50  years which  is now  mere wishful  thinking. The  third is the concept  of  Continuity which  is the  adopted  profile  for parties  that had been  in  power  for a long time in any state and  such states can be either PDP or APC states.

    Given  the lure  of power and success  at  the  last  presidential  elections  the APC  should  benefit immensely nationwide from  the bandwagon effect  since it is now the party whose  candidate is the next landlord  or tenant at Aso  Rock Nigeria’s source  of power, wealth,  influence  and patronage. Today  when APC candidates tell  voters not to waste their vote by voting for the opposition which the PDP  has  suddenly  become they  sound quite believable  and credible;  because suddenly too, as a result  of the last presidential election the APC is now Nigeria’s ruling party. Today’s  election  should,     all   things   being equal , consolidate  that.

    Rather  than going round the  nation to  illustrate  the effect of the change and continuity syndrome on today’s  election I will  dwell  on the situation  in  Lagos  State  where  the APC  is  using the concept  of  Continuity  to  retain  power even though  it won the presidential elections on the slogan  of change.

    In  Lagos in particular an  institution that is supposed  to be apolitical  and neutral  in democratic affairs  and competition , the  traditional  institution has thrown spanner in the works  for the APC  which won the last presidential  elections on a slogan  of Change.  The  purported statement by the Oba of  Lagos Rilwan Akiolu that the Igbos  in Lagos should  vote for his anointed candidate and APC candidate  Akinwunmi  Ambode or  risk drowning in the Lagoon  if they  don’t  has heightened  tension  in the state where  the Igbos  are many and some of them won  legislative   seats  in the last  March  28  elections. The  APC  has  had to disown the Oba’s extravagant  and  totally  unexpected foray  into politics albeit  on the APC  side. The  party  has gone to great lengths  to distance itself from the Oba’s  choice pointing out that the king is not a card carrying member  of the APC  even though he is entitled to make  a political  choice  he is not expected to impose  his will on anyone else   including the energetic  and  economically  boisterous  Igbos.

    Really  I doubt if  the Oba’s  royal  gaffe  can upset  the applecart in a state that the APC  has  governed  with two governors and four terms in recent times. But  it is  natural  to expect the PDP,  a party  in  perpetual  opposition  in the state while in power in Abuja,  not try  to make a mountain out of the mole hill created unbelievably  by the Oba  of  Lagos.  Moreso  as the PDP normal  consolation in the state, the prized  possession  of Federal power and might had  been   evaporated  by the last  presidential election which was like  an upper  cut to  the jaw for a party  that has ruled Nigeria  in the best tradition  of the  infamous  ‘born to rule’  syndrome  of yesteryears.

    Overall  I  expect  the PDP  governors  and  candidates to fight fiercely for their  political  life to  show that the party is not about to collapse  like a pack  of cards  as in the domino theory on international  relations during the Cold War. But  then the  APC  can  bank  on the theory  that you  don’t change  a winning team   especially  one  that has just emerged  from the sweet  victory  of the last  presidential  elections. Definitely  in today’s  election the PDP  candidates  will  definitely  know  how the shoe  pinches.  Especially    now  when their  Champion  who  never  wore a shoe before becoming president is now  busy packing his belongings out of the seat  of power  in  Aso  Rock,  Abuja. Again, Happy  Voting.

  • Thank you Mikel

    Penultimate Saturday in this column, I wrote about the seemingly contrasting fortunes of Nigerian internationals John Mikel Obi and Victor Moses in England. Both are Chelsea players except that Moses is on loan to another Barclays English Premier League side Stoke. Indeed, Stoke’s management is toying with the possibility of securing Moses on a permanent deal worth five million pounds.

    Interestingly, Chelsea’s manager Jose Mourinho is upset with Moses’ disposition towards Chelsea, not forgetting what the petit Nigerian did in January when he refused to return to Stamford Bridge to play second fiddle to anyone. Mourinho told the international media this week that he is prepared to sell Moses to any club that comes with the right figures for his services. I’m excited because Moses has beaten Mourinho to his game. Frank Lampard must be having a quiet laugh somewhere at Manchester City.

    But today’s piece is not on how Moses outwitted Mourinho for a new dawn in his career from next season. Rather, it is about Mikel’s preparedness to stand up to Mourinho’s gimmick of belittling players he doesn’t want in the season preceding when he wants to kick such players out.

    In his usual pre-match meetings before last Sunday’s game, Mourinho told the world that Mikel was fit but that he was out of the game due to the fact that he gets tired easily since he returned from the surgery on his ankle. Mikel’s reaction to training is expected for a player who underwent a surgery. Why Mourinho chose to describe Mikel’s condition in that manner leaves much to be desired, especially as it concerns his health which ought to be kept secret. Perhaps, Mourinho’s weak English is responsible for his description. A more articulate manager would have said that Mikel trained with the Chelsea but wasn’t fit enough to play the game, having not gained full fitness. Even at, that Mourinho should know that he is a respected tactician whose comments on players are taken seriously. Mourinho’s description of Mikel could be misrepresented to mean that the Nigerian is ageing. No European club will touch such a player at a reasonable price, except he is leaving the club for free. Mourinho’s description of the Nigerian tiring out after the surgery could also mean that Mikel has a health condition, which is not true. Mourinho should have been more diplomatic with his utterances. It only shows that he didn’t learn anything from the way PSG David Luiz celebrated after scoring the goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to tie the scores at 1-1.

    Mourinho had told the world that Luiz was surplus to requirement at Chelsea when he returned to the team. He eventually sold the Brazilian international, who chose the UEFA Champions League match-up with Chelsea to seek a revenge which he got by not only scoring a goal but eliminating Chelsea with Mourinho as the coach. But Mikel has dismissed Mourinho’s statement by telling the media that he was fit to play any game. Of course, one would believe Mikel because his doctors and indeed those of Chelsea won’t allow him kick the ball, if he wasn’t medically fit.

    This writer doesn’t see what Mikel did as an act of indiscipline. He had a right to debunk claims on his health, especially as the 2014/2015 season rolls to its closing stages. What is clear is that Mikel should start considering new deals outside Chelsea. Mikel has won everything that there is to be won in England and in European football. Playing for another club outside Chelsea They must stay out of injuries and look before accepting new deals. It would be foolhardy for anyone of them to join teams and be confined to the bench.

    Talking about next season’s transfer bazaar reminds one of the decisions which Emmanuel Emenike is considering at Turkey, which has temporarily suspended its league because of last weekend’s shooting of Fenerbahce FC’s bus after an away game which it won 5-1. No death was recorded in the incident but the driver was seriously injured.

    Emenike told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on Monday that he was still in shock adding that: “It’s unbelievable that some people actually fired shots at our bus and the driver was badly hit, a bus conveying footballers and officials.”

    “It’s strange but it’s also an indication that things happen in life and no-one can be guaranteed complete safety. I just want to wish our brave driver a speedy recovery. I will forever be grateful to him and our security man because that bus could have plunged down the bridge. The outcome could have been terrible and tragic but we are all here today because of them and of course God was on our side.”

    “I’ve been involved in a terrible accident in Nigeria before, where my mother suffered severe bruises, and for a moment I had a terrible flashback when that bus was swerving all over the road,” he said.

    “I was on the phone with my brother when I heard the loud sound and I thought one of our tyres had busted because the bus was swerving on the road. But when I found our security officer in front of the bus I knew something must have gone awfully wrong

    “We quickly realised the security guy was the one who hit the brake, and he said the driver [who was already soaked in blood] had been shot. The word ‘shot’ came as a big shock but when we saw blood and the shattered driver’s side window, it quickly turned into a scary moment for everyone on the bus.”

    The shooting story isn’t a joke. If the Fenerbache FC’s security man had slept off inside the bus, it could have plunged into the river, because the shot driver wasn’t in control of the swerving bus.

    Emenike wants to leave Turkey. It would be a good decision but he must consider the need to be playing regularly wherever he chooses to go. The media were awash with the story of Chlesea showing interest in Emenike. Many sneered at it. But neither Chelsea’s management nor Mourinho has denied the statement.  There have been stories linking Emenike with Tottenham Hotspurs, a Barclays English Premier League side. I would rather Emenike goes to Tottenham than Chelsea. He stands more chance of playing regularly for Tottenham.

    Victor Anichebe is being wooed by Hull City. It appears West Bromwich want to sell him to anyone with the right price. Anichebe isn’t a bad player. His albatross is his freak injuries, which have scuttled his game. His physical style of play is responsible for this in-today-out-tomorrow scenario. He could be luckier at Hull or he changes his style. West Bromwich bought Anichebe from Everton this season, with many pundits wondering what may have gone wrong between the two parties. Again, it could be the usual transfer gossips. But most transfers start with a gossip.

    Wither Egypt, Tanzania, Chad?

    Nigeria has been drawn in Group G at the Africa Cup of Nations draws held in Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday. The presence of Egypt and Tanzania is the impetus that the Super Eagles need to qualify.

    The two-legged ties against Egypt hold a lot for the Eagles, who get better when the odds are against them – like now. Egypt is a struggling team now although the Eagles aren’t better in the way our big stars respond to Nigeria’s matches.

    But if the NFF keep to their plans to rejuvenate the team, Egypt could be a walk in the park for the Eagles. Nigeria has players to make most tournaments a default for us to win. If the chief coach works with his members and allows his list to be discussed with experts in the game, the team would be more formidable.

    Such scrutiny by technocrats in the game will eliminate the presence of injured players in the team. This group will question the inclusion of bench warmers in the squad. They will also help the coaches to do the spy job on our group opponents (Egypt, Chad and Tanzania). The coaches must work with the documents sent to them instead of tearing them or ignoring their observations. Where they are in doubt, it is only fair that the coaches call the experts to educate them on the contentious part of the documents.

    The suggestion by the NFF to reduce the number of foreign-based players picked for our international matches is good. It amounts to sheer waste of public cash if coaches invite 29 foreign-based players for a game when indeed only 13 players can play any game. Our coaches can prune the list to 13 at the most and fill the others with home-grown talents from the domestic leagues. The domestic league is the barometer which can be sued to evaluate the growth of the game here. There cannot be a better place to gauge it than with the number of local leagues boys in the Super Eagles. This is the right way forward. Are the coaches reading this?

  • The art of selfless service

    The year was 2005. At that time he had absolutely no inkling he would be seeking elective office in future. Writing in the maiden edition of Fegocowosa, the official magazine of his Alma Mata’s alumni association, he rallied old students of the school to give back to the institution that had given them so much. In his words, “We must see to it that the Fegocowosa journal is adequately supported as an effective communication link that will not only bond us together but will become a useful tool in communicating the need to revisit the ideals of Unity Schools by the relevant authorities as well as serve as an inspiration to members to address the compelling subject of leadership challenges in the country”.

    In year 2006, he had no notion that he would one day be at the very centre of partisan politics. In his column in that year’s edition of the journal, he wrote passionately: “Nigeria is in dire need of people who will appreciate its very abundant human and natural resources; people who will appreciate its strength in diversity, people to whom places of birth (a coincidence of which none of us actually had a choice) should be inconsequential in making national decisions; people, who as brothers and sisters, would naturally elect to aid weaker siblings to greater heights without any feelings or cries of being drawn back…Nigeria at this moment more than any other time needs leaders who love the country and whose utmost desire is to share this love among the children of Nigeria”.

    His column in the 2007 edition of the magazine was even more soul stirring, patriotic and impassioned. His essay in that edition was titled ‘The Future Is Now’.  In his words, “It seems to me that we are on the threshold of another independence; this time not from a colonial master, but from a culture of decadence, corruption, mediocrity, dishonesty and tribalism. We are the new founding fathers of a nation of new hope; a Nigeria of honesty and unity; a Nigeria of brotherhood and progress. A Nigeria that is ready to make sacrifices to ensure that all those who previously bent their heads in shame can hold their heads up high, hand on heart and proclaim, “Yes, I am Nigerian and proud to be! I invite you to be part of the great and positive future, the time is now!”

    In the 2008 edition of the journal, the subject under consideration posed several questions bothering his mind in his column.  In his words “why do we have such hopelessness on our streets? Why do we see such unpatriotic behaviour, such naked sabotage permeating every strata of society? Why have we let go of optimism? Why have we traded faith for greed? Why have we dropped the ball? Why have we jettisoned service for self service?…when we find ourselves in or  with less than perfect circumstances, what we are meant to do is to make the best of a bad job. Easier said than done but thank God for the storms of life, thank God for the floods, for the traffic, for the lack, all these things are designed for us to come into our own; to serve, to help our brothers and sisters get up, to rise, to step up to the plate and be counted”.

    When he expressed these thoughts, Mr AkinwunmiAmbode, the leading candidate for next week’s governorship election in Lagos State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was not seeking for votes. He had no idea he would one day be running for the governorship of the most important state in Nigeria. We can thus see that long before his foray into the turbulent terrain of politics, Mr Ambode had imbibed and was a fervent advocate of such values as patriotism, love, commitment, loyalty, compassion and, above all, selfless service. He did not just wake up to propound these values in an opportunistic manner to achieve his electoral ambition.

    By the way, the acronym Fegocowosa stands for Federal Government College Warri, where Ambode obtained his Ordinary and Advanced level certificates. Under Ambode’s leadership and guidance, the old students Association of FGC, Warri, has expanded to encompass alumni of other Unity Colleges both within and outside the country, including the U.K. and U.S. chapters. His efforts led to the incorporation in 2006 of the Unity Schools old Students Association (USOSA) made up of Alumni of 100 Unity Schools in Nigeria. Their main purpose is to revitalize and nourish back to health the concept of Unity Schools which had been allowed to fall to the lowest nadir along with the decay of the entire society.

    To the best of my knowledge, Ambode is the first, or one of the very few aspirants in this dispensation who have taken time to methodically and meticulously document in book form, the story of his life from childhood to the present. His biography, ‘The Art of Selfless Service’ is the source of this column’s title today. I am unaware that Mr Akin Ambode’s main opponent, Mr Jimi Agbaje of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has a comparable document apart from what can be gleaned from his website. OtherwiseI would have been duty bound to compare and contrast the two documents just like I did with their respective CVs a few weeks ago.

    Next Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly elections in Lagos State will no doubt be the most important in the country after the presidential election. This is because of the position of Lagos as the economic, commercial and industrial hub of the nation. I have heard the argument that just as there has been change at the centre, there should be change in Lagos where the progressives have held sway since 1999. This kind of argument delinks the concepts of change and continuity from concrete existential realities. The necessity for change at the centre was predicated, not on the long duration of the PDP in power but its utter mediocrity, impunity and degeneracy that has set the country backward particularly in the Jonathan years. In contradistinction, Lagos has made visible and undeniable progress in virtually all sectors under the progressives making continuity imperative in the state for continued progress.

    Now, what was responsible for the close margin of votes between the APC and PDP in the Presidential and National Assembly elections in Lagos State and what will be the implications for next week’s election? First, was the humongous amounts of money (dollars) poured into the state by the centre in the weeks preceding the election. The second reason was the active instigation of non-indigenes in Lagos against indigenes by the divisive Jonathan Presidency. Third, was the complacency of the APC, which took it for granted that massive victory was already in its hands given its popularity in the state and the appalling non-performance of the Jonathan administration.

    The result of last week’s election will, no doubt, energise Jimi Agbaje’s fledgling and stuttering campaign that never really got off the ground. His performance this time around is a far cry from the creative, vigorous and vibrant campaign he ran in 2007. The outcome of the presidential election should now demonstrate to the good pharmacist that the PDP, on which he seems to have pinned all his hopes is a giant with feet of clay. On the other hand, the APC will most likely be jolted out of its complacency and fully mobilise its cadres to come out massively in the next election and demonstrate which party actually controls the electoral space in Lagos. It will be an interesting election. I wish the contestants best of luck.

  • At last, Buhari’s hour

    A few weeks ago I wrote an article in this space titled ‘Buhari’s Hour Cometh?’ A top academic from Leeds University sent me a text message expressing the hope that when next I wrote on the subject, there would be no need for the question mark. And that is exactly what has happened. I argued in that piece that given the formidable platform at his disposal, namely, the APC and the strong possibility of asuccessful North/South West handshake for the first time in the country’s history, the ascetic General had a very strong chance of achieving his ambition.

    Buhari and his deputy, Professor YemiOsinbajo, stand out as icons of integrity and incorruptibility. That combination played a key role in the APC victory especially against the widespread perception of the prevalent corruption in the country today.

    It is fitting that Buhari’s victory has come at Easter, the season of Christ’s resurrection. GMB had indeed, in the three previous elections been tied to the stakes. Nails of falsehood- Isamic fundamentalism, northern irredentism, intolerance, etc – had been thrust into his bleeding hands.

    A crown of thorns was forced on his bleeding head and his opponents thought they had finally, unalterably dug his political grave. But truth, as always, has risen from the grave. Buhari is Nigeria’s President-elect. But then, this is a moment that must not be squandered. For Nigeria, it is morning yet on creation day.

  • Waiting for Eagles coach

    Waiting for Eagles coach

    CHANGE is here. Yes. And no – not in the Super Eagles. We need it badly, otherwise we won’t beat any average soccer team.  We need to introduce much younger players who are hungry for glory into the team, not those who have seen it all and are unwilling to quit the scene honourably.

    Our search for new players should be targeted at the grassroots. Such a search must be done by those who have eyes for new talents who are truly the ages that they claim. But, before this is done, the NFF must develop a template that will seek to correct all the flaws at the grassroots that have crippled the game.

    One of the Africa Cup of Nations heroes, Barrister Adokiye Amiesimake, has provided the best guide towards solving these problems at the grassroots. He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday: “When we have been able to get our grassroots right, every other thing will fall in place; not the usual fire brigade approach we always apply. We should be focusing on developmental programmes, rather than engage merely on competitions; we need to re-orientate football fans about long term results and not immediate gratification. Things should be done as they should; things will be a lot better; there are rules that should be adhered to.”

    Having the majority of Super Eagles players coming from Europe doesn’t help the game to grow at the grassroots because any new talent discovered disappears to Europe, most times with shylock agents, knowing that it is the easiest way to play for Nigeria. Nobody can blame these home grown players because they are owed several months’ salaries without regulations to ensure that their wages are paid promptly. The effect of these structural defects is what we now find in most of our national teams, especially the Super Eagles.

    Most soccer pundits struggled to watch the sloppy first half of last Sunday’s international friendly between Nigeria and South Africa. At some point, my phones were jammed with calls from concerned Nigerians seeking to know if I was watching the game.

    Most of the players struggled to string passes together. The South Africans rang rings around a clueless Nigerian side battling to contain their hosts. As is typical of the Eagles under this coaching crew, our man-of-the-match was goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi, who in the first instance was not in the initial squad that lost 1-0 to the Cranes of Uganda, penultimate Wednesday. Akpeyi’s inclusion in the South Africa-bound Eagles resulted from goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama’s feigned backache. This writer holds Enyeama responsible for the Ugandans’ goal because Whispers from that match suggested that some of the boys didn’t know their mates’ names and so resorted to calling them by their jersey numbers. Such was the folly of our players against Uganda that it didn’t come as a surprise when the Akwa Ibom governor aptly described their outing as “rubbish”.

    I have watched the Uganda match’s tape again and still can’t find where and how Enyeama got the back injury. Enyeama hasn’t changed his attitude towards the national team. Penultimate Wednesday was his day with history, when he became the second Nigerian to play 100 times for the Super Eagles.

    With such historic setting, Enyeama ought to have been the first player to arrive in Uyo, his home town, to welcome the new boys. He didn’t, even when his team played its last game on March 20. He had five days to meet the game on March 25. He didn’t. He arrived in Uyo on March 24 at 11 pm. Had Enyeama trained with the boys on Monday and Tuesday, he would have known how to communicate with them during the game against Uganda. Team understanding comes with training as a unit. It is no rocket science.

    The coaches showed who they were by starting Enyeama, not knowing the consequences of such an action. They merely pandered to the sentiment of celebrating his 100th cap. A stern manager would have kept Enyeama on the bench for late coming and introduced him in the second half to a thunderous ovation, especially if the Eagles were leading then. Our coaches’ fixation about how the team should look at all times beclouds such judgment of dropping Enyeama for late arrival.

    With coaches renowned for lacking the courage to take risks with players’ selection, I wasn’t shocked when the story broke that Eneyama had opted out of the South African game. I told my colleague Jide Alabi during the Silverbird Television/ The Nation newspaper’s collaboration sports show last Friday that the Eagles won’t be beaten by South Africa last Sunday to shame a ducking Enyeama.

    On that television show, we laughed at Daniel Amokachi’s claim that he didn’t pick the players who lost to Uganda, yet he didn’t opt out of the game like Enyeama. Thursday’s pronouncement by Enyeama of his likely retirement should compel the NFF to ensure that he isn’t invited for any international friendly to allow the coaches test the budding goalkeeper that we have. Akpeyi can be given a string of matches to improve on his confidence. The others too should be fielded in one half of each game.

    Our coaches must guide against the scenario in which the difference between Enyeama and the others is so clear. Two or three goalkeepers must be trained by creating competitions among them in the way they are fielded for matches. It amounts to a big failure of our coaches that Enyeama’s exit from the Eagles will create problems for the team than a relief for the coaches in picking his substitute.

    The NFF must start the process of organising a befitting send forth game for Enyeama, where all his friends can play against the Eagles at the Uyo International Stadium. The logistics of organising the farewell game should start now.

    Happily, Enyeama said Thursday: “I tell you the truth, will love to stay as long as possible but at some time you need to let it go. You need to let others take over.”

    “I really wish I can go on forever but I can’t, so Nigeria should start grooming someone to take over from me, and that is what I wish. But for now I don’t know how long I can go so there has to be someone to take over,” he told thenff.com.

    What Amokachi succeeded in telling us was that his chief coach picked the boys by publicly denouncing the list of players who lost 1-0 to Uganda. One doesn’t see any significant difference between those who drew that game against South Africa and those who lost the first game. Perhaps, Akpeyi, who shone like a million stars, especially his penalty kick save. But Akpeyi would have remained in his local club in Warri, had Enyeama not opted out of the trip to South Africa. What a pity? The coach ought to have consulted his assistants for their inputs before releasing the list to the NFF?

    One thing is clear- the Eagles need a more competent technical crew to prepare the boys for major assignments. Amokachi’s refusal to accept responsibility anytime the team plays shows that he cannot lead the pack. The Eagles’ wobbly performance against Uganda and South Africa explains why tactically they play awfully. Whereas other teams improve on their game in the second, the Eagles continue to decline, making it imperative to ask what the coaches tell them at half-time.

    It is interesting to note that coaches, such as Christian Chukwu and Garba Lawal, are advocating for the rebuilding of the Eagles through the home grown players. The problem with that arrangement is that we would have effectively closed the budding careers of players such as Ahmed Musa, Victor Moses, Kenneth Omeruo, Brown Ideye and even experienced ones, such as Enyeama, Efe Ambrose, Godfrey Oboabona and others.

    The home-based edition of the Africa Cup of Nation provides the best platform to showcase our home lads but for international friendlies, an admixture of both clans would be the best alternative. One would also suggest that the crop of players in both the Dream Team IV, Nigeria’s Olympic Games squad and the Flying Eagles must be integrated into any team we hope to use for subsequent international matches.

    If the NFF is stuck on extending Stephen Keshi’s contract, they must act fast. Keshi’s records are remarkable, but the world isn’t sleeping. Any team pitched against Nigeria gets to study our past tapes. And if Keshi doesn’t update his knowledge, the Eagles will continue to fumble because the opposing teams will exploit the Eagles’ weaknesses to beat us. The era of playing blindly against any opponent is gone.

    Uganda’s coach told the media at the end of the game in Uyo that his boys watched 27 tapes of Nigeria’s matches, preparatory to the tie which they won 1-0. It simply means that the systems are the same even with different players. How did Amokachi prepare ours?

    If we must expose the home-based players for such onerous task, then the NFF men must grade the domestic league coaches to remove the unqualified ones. This idea of having all manner of people handle teams simply because they played the game sometime ago is ridiculous. Football is now scientific.

  • Nigeria’s vote for experience and pragmatism

    I do not normally refer to my previous write ups in my columns but my column of March 21, a week before our presidential elections of March 28 was quite clairvoyant even though I am saying it myself. The title was; Elections as Nemesis for Corruption and Performance ‘ and the results   of the presidential election simply reflected that . I concluded thus in that essay – ‘’ So in Brazil the reelected president is demonstrating zero tolerance for corruption in spite of the fact that her party was known to be corrupt and got elected anyway. But the saving grace for her was her reputation for integrity and the trust of the Brazilian people. Next week Nigerians will decide the fate of their president on a similar plate and it remains to be seen how he will fair with the wind of change blowing in opposite direction of his performance and record of fighting corruption during his tenure. ‘’

    From that conclusion on March 21 one can say that the Nigerian people have spoken and sealed the fate of their president decisively on March 28 by voting him out of office on that day. Similarly they have chosen a president elect like the Brazilian president who has a reputation for integrity and is someone they trust at this point in time in our history – and that is retired General Muhammadu Buhari – GMB henceforth. The topic of today flows naturally from my column of March 21 with election positioned as nemesis for performance and corruption to that of the presidential election day on March 28 titled ‘Famous Elections and Today’s presidential elections. ‘

    This is because Nigeria’s 2015 presidential election result in choosing GMB as president over the incumbent president was Nigerians payback time for the poor performance in office by a president who also suffered defeat because he had no knack or clue on fighting corruption. The incumbent   president’s dismal record on both   provided     good fodder for the GMB canon to blow his reelection   chances   to smithereens as the results show.

    Consequently today’s topic evolved from this scenario and background of an election in Nigeria in the midst of an insurgency that has single handedly destroyed Nigeria’s hard earned sovereign reputation as a nation of peaceful people. A reputation now supplanted by the odious terrorism of Boko Haram which even those raised in a terror ridden environment like Israel’s newly elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu   have compared infamously to global terrorist Islamist organization Al Qada. So in electing GMB as their next president I say Nigerians voted pragmatically for their   common sanity, collective peace of mind and their political life as a nation and a people with hope in a better tomorrow.

    I usually cite   a British example when I write about political stability of the type that the March 28 presidential elections has brought to our corruption and insurgency plagued political system. That is the saying that : ‘’ with the Queen   in Buckingham Palace every Briton sleeps well in his bed ‘’. Again I say boldly and proudly and with thanks to the Almighty God that – with the election of GMB as president on March 28 and the swift concession of defeat by the incumbent president even before INEC announced the election results formally, every Nigerian,   or majority at least   slept well in his or her bed.

    Let us now do an initial coroner’s inquest into the demise of the Jonathan presidency   to see the path to the emergence of GMB as our president elect. In doing this let me make some observations in tandem with my last three columns on our then impending presidential elections. The first is that the presidential election of March 28 has globally become a famous election in its own right given the global interest, concern for Nigeria’s stability and security , and the media coverage of it.

    The second is that the two presidential candidates, both the victor and the vanquished have earned the appellation usually reserved for politicians and leaders who rise above pettiness and partisanship to act in the larger and salutary public interest. They have become statesmen in their own right in the eyes of the world. The incumbent, the loser, earned this by his unhesitant and sportsmanlike concession of defeat . The victor, GMB by the appeal and inspiration in his acceptance speech titled – ‘’   The Die Is Cast ‘’ in which he asked all Nigerians to have faith and trust in his election as he has no malice against anyone including his political opponents and that indeed all Nigerians should sleep peacefully in their beds as he will deal fairly and firmly as he promised, with one and all.

    Incidentally the theme of my write up last week was The Die Is Cast in which I dilated on the Ides of March in Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar and prayed that the March 28 presidential elections will not end in a tragedy as it did for the slain Roman Emperor. Definitely God has answered that prayer and you can excuse my unbelievable joy at the title of the president elect’s speech – the die is cast. Which with all humility means I can claim some telepathy with our incoming president. Surely one can say that better days are ahead in this new dispensation.

    I have already stated why Nigerians voted out the Jonathan presidency and why they voted in GMB. The president elect is however the Man of the Moment in this piece and it is necessary to dissect his promise and prospects in the leadership of our nation for the next four years at least. He brings immense experience to the office of president being the second Nigerian to have served both as a military head of state and an elected democratic president. Hitherto only OBJ had that singular honor although what he made of that should never be made a compass or guide for our new president elect. Indeed he should distance himself from that administration’s legacy and should only use it to know pitfalls he must avoid if his administration is not   to   lose the love of Nigerians which his election has given him on a platter of gold. A good analogy on this is the famous statement credited to a former president of Ghana when it was reported that oil has been discovered in commercial quantities in that nation. The Ghanaian president said very carefully then that while oil is a blessing Ghana will make sure that its discovery will not be a curse as it is for Nigeria.

    Secondly the election of GMB has catapulted him from a serial presidential loser to a charismatic leader with a salvation army goal of salvaging the soul of the Nigerian nation. He has been elected at an advanced age and will not be overwhelmed with sycophants and praise singers who imprisoned his predecessor in Aso Rock while they pursued their selfish Washington Concensus economic goals and IMF conditionalities that ruined our economy and earned the administration the hatred and hostility of Nigerians translated into the defeat of March 28.

    GMB comes into office with confidence and boldness given his antecedents and military training now conditioned by previous electoral defeats now crowned with the success of March 28. He knows destiny, collective will and political alliances made his election possible and acknowledged as much in his first interview with the famous but often brash CNN reporter Amanpour who saw a different, more dignified Nigerian president elect. Quite different from the one she used to take to the cleaners on credibility and half truths in recent times before a world audience to the pain and agony of watching, patriotic Nigerians.

    For now Nigerians have heaved a sigh of relief on a successful election of a new president and a new lease of life for our distressed and insurgency beleaguered nation. We pray that the cap fits GMB as he begins his onerous task of cleaning our Augean stables. Nigerians believe he can do it firmly and boldly given his experience and reputation . The ball is in his court and the same ball is at his feet. For now all Nigerians stand up for him as they chanted in that famous DSTV commercial; ‘’Stand up for the Champion, Stand up’’ – God bless Nigeria, Amen.

  • Famous elections and today’s presidential elections

    It  is difficult  not  to tremble at  the prospects  of today’s presidential  election given  the truculence  of the campaign leading to  today  and  the no  love lost political  combat between  the two political  gladiators and their  political  parties. For  the two major  presidential  contestants namely  President  Goodluck  Jonathan seeking  relection  and his challenger retired General  Mohammadu Buhari one  can say  that  indeed  the sky  is  cast.  Like  the famous  Roman  Emperor Julius  Caesar said  to the Soothsayer  who warned  him about the Ides of March that  it  has come, one  can recall  the soothsayer’s  famous retort that the    indeed the ides of  March  has come today March  28, but  it has not gone.  Given that perspective    from that famous  Shakespeare  play  Julius Caesar, today  is    therefore  Nigeria’s  longest  day  and for  now  one  can  only pray  that it ends well  with  a free  and fair  election. And    certainly        not  like  the tragedy  that claimed  the  great Caesar  when  his friends and colleagues murdered him at the steps  of the Capitol  and carved him out with  their daggers  like  a ‘dish  fit  for  the gods‘ on  the  Ides  of March  as predicted by the  Soothsayer. So  firstly  I pray  that today’s  election will  not  be  Nigeria’s  Ides  of  March.

    Secondly  there  is palpable  apprehension  and  anxiety  in the land over  today’s  election and  again  one  must  go back to ancient Rome and  the wicked arena where gladiators  fight lions  and wild animals  to  death to  capture  the  mood  of the nation today.  In those  dark days and in such bloody  spectacle  applauded  loudly  by the Roman  mobs in the arena  the  gladiators saluted  those enjoying  and awaiting their demise by  saying  – We  who  about  to die  salute  you.  Nowadays  no  presidential  candidate is expected  to  say    or  anything  near it    in modern,  civilized politics. But given  the vitriol  of  the  language  and hatred  of the campaign leading  to today’s  presidential  election,  worse have  been said  one way  or the other.

    It  is in this  mood on a  day that will  not wait but  must  yield an election  result  that  hope fully  will  be peaceful  and acceptable that  I  share some insights  and thoughts  on some  past elections that have been  momentous  and historical  given  their context  of  controversy similar  to  what we are witnessing in today’s  presidential elections. The  first  is the  reelection of the 33rd  US President  Harry  Truman when  he defeated his opponent  John  Dewey unexpectedly  and unbelievably  too given  the popularity  of  Dewey in those days. The second    was  the 1979 presidential  elections in  Nigeria  in  which  President  Shehu Shagari  of the NPN  defeated Chief  Obafemi  Awolowo  of  the UPN in an election  midwifed  by the  Military  regime  of former  General Olusegun  Obasanjo  which was  following  the global  trend  then  of military  dictatorships  handing over power  to elected  civilian democracies. The  third was  the election  of the  43rd president of the US  George  Bush Jnr in 2000 when  he defeated Bill  Clinton’s Vice  President  Al  Gore in  a close finish presidential  election decided  by the Florida  recount.

    Starting with the re election  of Harry  Truman  in  1948  what  I found  fascinating  was a picture of  the re elected  president  in an encyclopedia  holding    a newspaper  with  the headline ‘Dewey Wins‘  when  in  fact  Dewey  lost  the  election. The  story  was that the newspaper in  question  was so certain  of  Dewey’s victory  that it  printed  and circulated its  night  edition  whereas overnight  and after  full  counting it was Harry  Truman that  won the election  and  got  elected. Truman had before that election been appointed  Vice  President by President  Franklin  Delano Roosevelt who  died  in  1945.  Truman  completed  the Second  World  War victoriously, dropped  the atomic bomb  on  Hiroshima  and Nagasaki in  Japan  and started  the  reconstruction  of Europe after the  war    with  the  Marshall  Plan.

    The  second  famous  election  was the election  of President  Shehu Shagari  who  defeated Chief  Obafemi  Awolowo  in  an election in which  the UPN  sage  refused  to  accept  the  result because  many Nigerians  thought  he won. The  reasons  were  not far fetched. The military  umpire  and  then  Head of State  had said earlier that the best runner  may  not win the race and it was obvious to  any  or all Nigerians  that the best  runner then  and ever since in  Nigerian politics is the great  Awo  who  remains  immortal  in terms of the standards and insight  he brought to politics and governance  in Nigeria. Indeed at a ceremony  to meet the contestants after the disputed election  conducted by the military junta of Obasanjo Chief Awolowo was  pictured with a bandaged  hand  which  prevented him from shaking  hands  with  the purported  winner  of the 1979 election  Alhaji  Shehu  Shagari.  The  announced  loser  in that election Chief  Awolowo  later  told young  Nigerians then  that ‘some of you  will not see democracy in your life time‘. That  has proven very prophetic  given the type  of democracy  we have grown for  ourselves  leading to today’s  do or die election that  gives one the goose  pimples  just  thinking  of the aftermath of  the election  results.

    The  third  famous election to  muse  over and pass  the day  today was that of the election of George  Bush as the 43rd  US  president.

    That  result  too  was close and  unexpected because  Al  Gore  had done well as Bill Clinton’s  Vice  President  for two  terms  of eight years. Clinton  had been a popular  president in spite of the Monica Lewinsky  scandal  that  marred  his administration. What ultimately  ruined  Al  Gore’s  chances  of succeeding him was the decision by the Al  Gore  Campaign team  to distance itself  from the Clinton era  because  of the Lewinsky  scandal a decision which turned  out  to be a  mis judgement  because  the American  public had  not  only  forgiven  Clinton but it was enraptured  with his charisma. Avoiding  Clinton  and going solo  cost Al  Gore the presidency  in that election which was  highly  controversial and in which at first Al  Gore refused  to concede  defeat. George  Bush was lucky in that the last state results came from Florida where his brother  was governor  and the recount favored  Bush  predictably.

    Even  then  Bush  had to claim  victory      based  on  a  upreme Courta  decision  which  also  favored George  Bush. In  effect  then  we  can see  that there have  been many antecedents  of the  electoral  process we  confront  today  and in spite  of the problems they faced issues  were  resolved  peacefully and  the electoral  verdict  stood  as announced and  accepted at the end  of the day. That  is all we  need at the end  of the day  today as  I wish  Nigerians  happy  voting in this March 28  presidential elections.

  • An administration’s death throes

    It was shortly after his swearing in as governor of Lagos State on May 29, 2007. Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) was received on the ramp of the Round House, the old governor’s office at the Alausa secretariat by cheering civil servants. It was, however, a sober and serious Fashola who rounded up his speech to them by saying “Ladies and gentlemen, I have exactly 1450 days to spend in this office in my first term. This translates into 35040 hours counting from today. There is therefore no time to lose. We must get to work immediately to fulfil our social contract with the people of this state”. Of course, I have only paraphrased the essence of his message that day. But it was no surprise that Fashola hit the ground running. In four years the question of his re-election for a second term was a fait accompli. His accomplishments in all spheres of governance spoke for him.

    On May 29, 2011, the mysterious forces of good luck that had consistently assured President Goodluck Jonathan’s political ascendancy propelled him to the apex of political authority in the country as President of Nigeria. His easy, effortless ride to power seems to have been his undoing. Luck may get you into high office. But luck will not perform the duties of the office for you. Luck cannot substitute for hard work, dedication, diligence, commitment and the concentration of one’s mental and psychic energies to the task at hand. Dr Jonathan is learning the lesson too late. He is fighting the political battle of his life. Unfortunately, his administration’s unprecedented indolence and utter mediocrity in the last four years have made the yearning and momentum for change unstoppable.

    Nigeria today lies at a critical cross roads. The old order is dying. A new order is struggling to be born. There is a grim struggle between the present and the future. The outcome of the titanic battle would have been decided on February 14 and 28. Sensing defeat, the old order represented by President Jonathan and his compromised service chiefs forced a postponement of the elections. Six weeks to them at the time must have looked like six months. But time is remorseless and relentless in its unceasing movement. Next week the electoral battle will be joined. Can new reasons be found for another postponement with a view to plunging Nigeria into constitutional crisis and anarchy? The unanticipated consequences of any such plan will most likely consume its architects. But as Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has warned, we cannot afford the luxury of collective amnesia and complacency at this time.  For, as he reasons, there may be “illegal, sinister power-grabbers” around Jonathan who may be bent on scuttling the entire democratic process even if the President genuinely wants free and fair elections to hold.

    The unjustified postponement of the elections was an act of desperation. It was a sign of the death throes of an expiring administration. In the six weeks extension period, the military in conjunction with its Chadian, Camerounian and Nigerien counterparts has taken remarkable strides in its battle against the Boko Haram terrorists. Several towns and communities captured by the terrorists have been liberated. Boko Haram cadres are in disarray and on the run. But will this be of much electoral value? Hardly, in my view. Rather, it creates the impression that it was a looming election defeat that spurred Jonathan into action as Commander-In-Chief motivating the military to move decisively against the insurgents and even visiting the war zones in full military gear! But why couldn’t this have been done two or three years ago? Can the new election-inspired bravado bring the thousands of the dead back to life, restore maimed limbs, bring back the Chibok girls or heal psychologically damaged minds? I think Jonathan will pay heavily at the polls for this tardiness.

    Governor AyodeleFayose of Ekiti state is another vivid symbol of the Jonathan administration’s dying throes. The very real prospects of a Jonathan defeat at the polls have sent him to dizzying and ever more alarming heights of hysteria, imbecility and bellicosity. Of course, this is understandable. He has criminal cases pending before the courts and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). His thugs unleashed violence on high court judges in his presence while the Jonathan presidency kept mute. The stunning revelations by Captain SagirKoli on how the military colluded with top PDP politicians to rig the Ekiti state governorship elections means that his government rests on rickety foundations. He needs the continuation of Jonathan in office to continue to protect the elaborate illegality, illegitimacy and immorality that his administration constitutes.

    Another veritable symbol of an administration’s death throes is the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan. She has completely lost control of herself on the campaign trail. On one occasion, she described the APC presidential candidate, a distinguished Nigerian General and former military Head of State, General MuhammaduBuhari, as ‘brain dead’. Many have wondered when this retired Permanent Secretary of the Bayelsa state civil service also qualified as a medical specialist.In Calabar, the Cross River State capital, she openly urged her supporters to stone anyone who dared utter the slogan ‘change’ to their hearing. Is it any wonder then that hoodlums detonated bombs and opened gun fire on the APC campaign team in her native Okrika, Rivers State last month? Given her violence and hate-infested utterances, can she credibly dissociate herself from this dastardly act?

    Of course, there are several other signs that the Jonathan administration is fast sinking and desperately clutching at any straw in sight. One of them is the enhanced spiritual fervency of Dr Jonathan. He was at the Redeemed Christian Church of God where, in characteristic fashion, he knelt humbly before Pastor Enoch Adeboye for Christian prayers and blessings. Among several other churches he has visited Jonathan was also at the Winners Chapel in Ota where Bishop David Oyedepo led the congregation in prayers for him. To reinforce these Christian prayers, we have also been served with the picture of President Jonathan sitting within a circle of Yoruba Obas pointing their royal walking sticks at him possibly praying for him in the name of Obatala, OrishaNla, Sango, Ogun and other traditional gods. It is incredible.

    There have been yet to be denied stories of dollar rain on influential individuals and groups to buy support for the Jonathan campaign. Alleged beneficiaries of such presidential largesse reportedly include traditional rulers, religious clerics and ethnic militia groups. All these are signs of desperation by a dying regime striving to survive and remain in power at all costs. The President claims he has no intention of sacking the INEC Chairman, Professor AttahiruJega from office. Yet, individuals and groups known to be loyal to Jonathan have been relentlessly clamouring for the sack of the INEC Chief before the elections are held. This is the same Jega who conducted the 2011 election in which Jonathan defeated Buhari by a wide margin. Today he is being labelled a sympathiser of the North without a scintilla of evidence. Surely, there is no absurdity beyond an administration in the throes of extinction.

  • OGD’s insult on Ogun people

    For eight years between 2003 and 2011, they gave him the opportunity to preside over their affairs as governor on the platform of the PDP. During that period he found no fault with his people. However, by 2011, the people of Ogun State decided within their constitutional rights for change and voted in Senator IbikunleAmosun of then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) as governor. Apparently still unable to come to terms with the wind of political change that blew over Ogun in 2011, OtunbaGbenga Daniel hurled insults on the people of the state on a recent radio interview programme on Rockcity FM 101.9. In his words “I assumed wrongly based on what appears to be a common belief that Ogun state consists of the most educated and enlightened people. The notion is that if you look at what has happened to us in Ogun state, it is clear that our people may be educated in terms of going to school but in terms of enlightenment, they’re not enlightened. In terms of gullibility, they are very gullible…But alas, we found out that those people we thought knew were naïve, were ignorant and were gullible, that is how we got to where we are today”.  It was indeed OGD whose amazing gullibility made him vulnerable to the antics of sycophants who derailed his government. The stark reality is that Governor Amosun has surpassed in one term what OGD achieved in eight years. No more sour grapes please.