The Nation Newspaper

Category: Mobolaji Sanusi

  • Is election shift not road to Golgotha?

    President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, in his bid to hang tenaciously onto power, is tormenting the peace of the nation’s ancestors. Whether through his aides’ unguarded statements or by his body language, conduct and lingo in the past weeks, he seems determined to truncate this democracy if the coming 2015 Presidential election will not go his way. When everything pointed in the direction that he would lose the election, he confirmed the fears in public space that he would tinker with the independence of INEC: He covertly compelled the electoral body through Sambo Dasuki, his National Security Adviser (NSA), and military service chiefs to shift the election dates – just precisely a week to the conduct of the presidential election initially slated for February 14.

    Quite interestingly, like a patient dog that eats the fattest bone, Nigerians that are determined for CHANGE are eagerly waiting for next six weeks to come for them to use their votes to show Jonathan the way out of Aso-Rock Villa. This president seems to have forgotten the tribulations that Nigerians endured before the birth of the ongoing democratic project. But for the toil of courageous Nigerians that stood up against military dictatorship, probably, the president, who never hitherto stepped out of the country, and perhaps the Niger-Delta, would be rotting away somewhere in Otuoke, Bayelsa state. Now, he wants to overstretch the elasticity of his destiny by daring to submerge the echoes of CHANGE in order to realise his own infamous over-ambition for another term in office.

    The president pretends before the entire world that he knows nothing about INEC’s shift of election dates when he is the main architect of the political rigmarole. This government is showing grave disregard for the country’s past because of his having been blinded by the awesome power at his beck. From the first republic when the mobile unit of the police force was created to suppress the opposition of that era to the second republic when the same mobile police were deployed to intimidate, harass and tyrannise the opposition, the end was always dismal for perpetrators. From Ibrahim Babangida’s charade called transition to democratic rule when he used the military with impunity to repress and suppress people’s resistance against the satanic annulment of the June 12 1993 election and; Abacha’s use of same method to facilitate his failed transmutation agenda down to Olusegun Obasanjo’s use of military to win election at all cost, there had been a dire consequence for such political iniquity.

    History is currently repeating itself under Jonathan who has been using the military to commit all sorts of atrocities including the deployment of soldiers and masked intelligence and police service operatives to harass the opposition at electioneering period. Does the law allow for the use of soldiers during elections? The answer is capital NO! The 1999 Constitution in section 215(3) vests the Nigeria Police Force with the power to exclusively maintain and secure public safety and order. But there is, however, a circumstantial moderation over this police role in the second leg of provisions of Section 217(2) of same Constitution that empowers the president to deploy the armed forces only for the suppression of insurrection and while acting in aid of civil authorities including the police to restore law order. What is apparent today is that there is no insurrection or civil disturbance except in 14 local governments cutting across the troubled three north-east states out of 774 councils in the federation where the Boko Haram insurgents hold way.

    So far, there are no civil disturbances in the remaining 760 local governments across the federation or any sign of it that the police cannot contain to warrant military intervention. Even when the president needs to take extraordinary security measures as enshrined in Section 305, he still must go through the national assembly to seek and obtain its approval for a specified timeline. Reading this two Sections (215 and 217), this column believes that it is only clear that the president can only deploy the military while trying to aid the police to restore peace and order when it has broken down. Otherwise, the president can deploy the armed forces for internal security in cases of suppression of insurrection which includes the devastating Boko Haram insurgency. From the intent/spirit of the grundnorm, it is clear that the military has no place in election matters and the elections’ dates should not have been shifted because the military threatened not to provide security. What is the position of the Inspector General on this issue?

    There have also been judicial pronouncements on the matter and in this regard the Court of Appeal judgment in Yusuf v Obasanjo (2005) 18 N.W.L.R.(Pt 956) 96 remain instructive: Salami JCA ( as he the was) held: “It is up to the police to protect our nascent democracy and not the military, otherwise the democracy might be wittingly or unwittingly militarised. This is not what the citizenry bargained for in wrestling power from the military in 1999. Conscious step or steps should be taken to civilianize the polity to ensure the survival and sustenance of democracy.” The current move to stall democracy via postponement of the election by the NSA, the military and the PDP is an efforts aimed at militarising the electoral process which is illegal and criminal.

    Also in the case of Buhari v Obasanjo (2005) 1 WRN 1 at 200, Abdullah JCA observed: “In spite of the non-tolerant nature and behaviour of our political class in this country, we should by all means try to keep armed personnel of whatever status or nature from being part and parcel of our election process. The civilian authorities should be left to conduct and carry out fully the electoral processes at all levels”. The Supreme Court in its appeal judgement in the same Buhari v Obasanjo (2005) 50 WRN 1 at 313 states that the State must make sure that “citizens who are sovereign can exercise their franchise freely, unmolested and undisturbed.” This molestation obviously obtain in a military-infested polity being bred by Jonathan. It is regrettable that the election was postponed but Nigerians would not condone such evil deed in the nearest future. The election could have gone ahead despite the military’s illegal threat if INEC had been calm enough to read and digest properly section 25 of the Electoral Act which allows the electoral body to deploy his power for election postponement only where there is verifiable threat of breakdown of law and order ‘in the area or areas’ under scrutiny.

    To Mr President and his goons, Nigerians are saying enough of politics of cluelessness. They want a break from the cycle of PDP’s political servitude for enthronement of a political movement as represented by APC with an echo that would be heard and appreciated by generations to come.

    Soldiers’ siege on Tinubu’s residence

    Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State is undisputably an enviable pillar of opposition politics in this country and more importantly, an inspiration and model in the current democratic movement against government ineptitude as exemplified by the President Goodluck Jonathan presidency.

    The move by the presidency to intimidate him by stationing armed soldiers around his house is nothing but a sheer waste of time, personnel and resources. Asiwaju is too experienced and familiar with this kind of desperate repressive official method to be subdued. He, in his fight for democratic enthronement that Jonathan is now enjoying, survived more crude and severe official antics that led to nowhere.

    Asiwaju, be assured that nothing will happen to you or any of us that truly believes that the time for CHANGE in this rotten system headed by Jonathan is now. You remain a worthy pillar of this inevitable crusade. I reserve further comments on Tinubu and his political exploits till a later period in the nearest future. Ride on

  • …For the sake of Oyo’s future

    …For the sake of Oyo’s future

    This electoral season has thrown up so many issues. One of them is the debate over whether the jinx of second term can be broken by some governors. Oyo is one of the states where it is believed, whether rightly or wrongly, that a sitting governor cannot be re-elected twice. This position did not just come out of the blues. It has empirical foundation in successive administrations in the states whose henchmen – governors – were not given the mandate to run for a second term in office.

    For instance, in the aborted second republic, the late Chief Bola Ige, the first civilian governor of old Oyo State under the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) was voted out in the 1983 general elections. That election, believed to have been rigged for Dr Omololu Olunloyo of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), had serious reverberations round the state and the attendant consequences in Oyo and other southwest states reasonably culminated in the return of the military during that epoch.

    When a military-guided democracy returned in 1991 under military despot Ibrahim Babangida, Chief Kolapo Ishola contested for the seat on the Social Democratic Party (SDP) platform and could not even complete his term before despotic military leader, Sani Abacha carried out a palace coup against the Interim National Government (ING), dissolving all democratic structures in the process. That marked the Nunc dimittis of the Ishola government in Oyo State.

    The Fourth Republic that was guided by General Abdulsalami Abubakar came after the demise of Abacha and the late Lam Adesina of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) emerged as governor in 1999. In the state’s typical fashion, he was voted out in 2003 by the people of that state. Subsequently, Adewolu Ladoja of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) became the governor. His tenure was beleaguered and unfocused and he was eventually succeeded by his deputy, Adebayo Alao-Akala who was also voted out of office after just one term of miliki and igbadun governance. The demise of Alao-Akala government marked the end of PDP reign in that state. Then entered the new and current governor of the state, Abiola Ajimobi in 2011 on the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) platform. He is now seeking another term in the  February 28 governorship election under the more formidable All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Yet, most people within and outside the state believe this to be an impossible mission simply because it has never been done. Will the second term jinx be broken this time around? This is the question that this month’s election will provide answer to, particularly in Oyo State where the issue of second term

    jinx is on the front burner. What is going to happen at the end of the day in Oyo State? Will Ajimobi be returned for second term in office as governor? The truth of the matter is that there are some insinuations of misdemeanour on the part of the governor. Some perceive the governor as snooty and elitist; others condemn him for having allegedly given his wife too much latitude in the running of his administration.

    The two allegations are self-adjustable though the governor, in a recent interview in the Sunday title of this paper, denied ever relinquishing the running of his government to his wife whom he said was merely in charge of women affairs, nothing more. He, however, professed his unwavering love for his wife, a passion he had no apology for. His reason: He has just one wife unlike most ofhis other opponents that have wives and uncountable concubines. On the allegation of Ajimobi being conceited, this could as well be realisation of self-worth but by now, the governor ought to realise that in politics, a power holder must come down to the level of the people.

    Whatever some people might perceive as Ajimobi’s misgivings should have been nullified by the fact that nobody has publicly accused him of non-performance or fraud.

    Moreover, the man in nearly four years has performed more than all the governors produced by the state. Anyone who is conversant with Ibadan, capital of Oyo State for instance, will realise that the ante of development has been upped by Ajimobi. The air of freshness and neatness that has engulfed the landscape of Ibadan is something that was alien to that ancient town. Now, Ibadan is reasonably cleaner and neater when compared to the town’s air-fouling status of the past that previous administrations in the state failed to convincingly address. The overhead bridge at the Mokola Junction is a marvel to the air which only a progressive government of the APC can provide. Afterall, the PDP has been in charge of the state for years without known noticeable improvements in the general wellbeing of the state.

    One interesting area where Ajimobi has made remarkable progress is that of peace which is the bedrock of any meaningful development. Prior to his coming into

    office, members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Ibadan especially, had turned the state into one battle-field where blood must flow every week. The era of lethal Tokyo and Eleweomo under Ladoja and Alao-Akala when residents of the ancient town lived in perpetual fear of violence that was then a recurring decimal is gone as Ajimobi, with deft determination, weeded all the miscreants away.

    The irony of it all is that these former governors of the state that were unable to bring tangible peace, security and development to Oyo State while in the saddle are now the leading contestants for the governorship slot with the incumbent. The people of that state must read between the lines and not play unreasonable politics of undue sentiment with the sustenance of their development which Ajimobi represents.

    This column believes that if the people of the state truly want development and sustained peace and harmony, they should ignore whatever shortcomings political opponents are trying to robe Ajimobi with and show purposeful mission by re-electing him in the coming election. This, in view of prevailing empirical facts, is the only guarantee of clear aversion for the nauseating looting and misgovernance of the past. ‘Forward ever, backward never,’ should be their new-found anthem now!

  • PDP circus show begins

    PDP circus show begins

    The Nigerian political sphere is replete with mind-boggling wonders. But quite sadly, the surprises of the polity are not usually for the larger interest of the people but to serve the greed of the few power mongers around. When all seemed to be going reasonably smooth for the coming February elections, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki, in a manner akin to what happened in previous notorious administrations, called for a shift in the scheduled February elections.

    It was during his recent appearance at the London think-tank, Chatham House, where he reportedly delivered a lecture titled: “Nigeria’s Insecurity: Insurgency, Corruption, Elections and the Management of Multiple Threats.” Dasuki, at the question and answer session, scandalously sought the postponement of the February elections by three months. His reasons: “INEC had distributed 30 million cards in the past year but had another 30 million to hand out.” He further pointed out that despite the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman had assured him that the commission would meet up with the February date, he (NSA) still ‘thought it will make more sense to take more time and there was a 90-day window during which the election could legally take place. It costs you (INEC) nothing; it’s still within the law.’

    Since the NSA spoke, it was as if other puppeteers of President Goodluck Jonathan were waiting for a man of his standing to set the template before they start parroting same. Except for the leading opposition party, All Progressives Congress(APC), and perhaps another party, the others without insignificant political presence have queued into the shameless call for a shift which obviously was meant to scuttle the impending electoral loss awaiting the president and his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the coming general elections. The United States, through her Secretary of State, John Kerry, had told the Nigerian government that the general elections must hold as scheduled. Rather than re-echo this, it is frightening to note that our president merely stated the cliche that the ‘May 29 handover date is sacrosanct.’ What a nebulous response to a serious challenge! So, it means that even if the elections are shifted, the May handover date will stand. One can’t but laugh!

    This column wants to know what kind of handover the president wants to do because his statement is pregnant with frightening imports. But the truth is that Nigerians will take nothing other than handover to a democratically elected president and governors come May 29th. Any contrary thing could be an invitation to avoidable anarchy. And this reminds of Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), an English philosopher best known for his political thought. He was concerned with the problems of social and political order. He talked about how human beings could live together in peace in order to avoid civil conflict. Hobbes advocated obedience to an unaccountable sovereign (under the presumption that the sovereign would be reasonable and responsible). And that this could be a person or group empowered to decide every social and political issue. Failure to do this according to him could lead to what he called a “state of nature” that is anarchical where the life of the people is ‘brutish, nasty and poor.’

    But looking at the past and current situations in the country, it is doubtful if Hobbes contemplated human beings, especially politicians, as purely self-interested or egoistic. This poser has been the speck on the theory of this founding father of modern philosophy because it gives no reverence to the need for good ethics, morality and conscience as parameters for leadership obedience by the governed.

    This postulation becomes more germane through the way and manner that otherwise men of honour are clamouring for a shift in the February elections which to this column, is quite damning. Yours sincerely wonders if public morality and the larger public interest have impact on a politician’s or public office holder’s decision on public affairs. The impunity against morality and character going, especially on this clamour for election postponement by the ruling PDP has underscored the fact that conscience as the inner voice that warns us in our overt conducts that somebody may be looking is lacking in the party and the government it runs. The directing minds of the parties behind this condemnable scheming have no feelings for the groaning Nigerians that are tired of the misrule of the PDP and President Jonathan.

    What the presidential surrogates behind the plot are doing is to lay the perfidious ending for the president except reason prevails. Let the president be reminded that they did same thing to military despot Ibrahim Babangida as Head of State before he was ignominiously forced to step aside; late tyrant Sani Abacha suffered similar fate from his bootlickers, while the same set of politicians/aides deceived and encouraged former President Olusegun Obasanjo to pursue a well-designed orchestrated disgraceful end. One will perhaps be correct to state that Obasanjo ended abysmally with the ultimate collapse of his Third Term agenda through which billions of state funds were reportedly disbursed as alleged gratification to politicians perceived to be strategically positioned to bring that inordinate ambition to fruition.

    Again, President Jonathan must realise that Nigerians no longer want him but CHANGE. Except he wakes up from his deep political slumber, he may not be realising earnestly that these same set of choristers/political bigots that destroyed former leaders are presently goading him to an avoidable political precipice. It is high time he realised that his game is up because he has demonstrated in six years of being at the saddle that he does not have the capacity to rule this country. What the country needs most at this crucial period is a party that could inspire the country to do what she is capable of being.

    The elections must hold as scheduled because there is no sincerity of purpose, truthful justice and realistic reliability in this odious call for election postponement by the PDP and the president’s henchmen. This column is almost certain that the words of gratitude of presently suffering Nigerians and the future generations will not be kind on these political jesters in PDP and other atmosphere- fouling political parties of negligible consequence. This circus show by the PDP and President Jonathan on election shift is unacceptable. It is a sad repeat of the better-forgotten history that has, sadly, taken the country to nowhere.

  • Fayose’s tirade against the north

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is gradually evolving as a party with desperate antics. This, without equivocation, is a consequence of the emergence of the first real opposition to a sitting federal government in the nation’s history. The All Progressives Congress (APC) has made this possible through the tenacity of purpose of its leaders. With palpitating defeat staring PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan in the face, the party will stop at nothing, including descending to the abyss of everything immoral, to pass across messages of hatred and destruction up its sleeves. The PDP is doing this through its avalanche of flamborines of which Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti State is topmost of those with high nuisance value.

    Fayose is known for everything but decency and he was at the apogee of his nuisance when early this week, he published an advertisement in the newspapers depicting nothing but pathological hatred for the northern part and, serious contempt for human life. To the political loose canon from Ekiti, he was playing politics of Jonathan’s re-election, but to millions of Nigerians and the world, that advert was just a reflection of the best that the PDP comprising people like Fayose and clueless Jonathan can offer Nigerians, Ekiti and other parts where their ilk exist.

    In the controversial advert titled: ‘Nigerians: Be Warned! Life and Death,’ published on the front pages of some national dailies including surprisingly, the revered Punch, he displayed pictures of late Nigerian leaders of northern extraction who died in office including Generals Murtala Muhammad, Sani Abacha and President Umaru Yar’Adua. He ended his mischievous list of pictures with that of the APC presidential candidate in the upcoming February 14, 2015 presidential election, General Buhari with a question mark and his age; and an additional highlighted message: “enough of state burials.”

    By this last statement, he, a mere mortal, is playing God by undoubtedly portraying the north as being incapable of producing leaders that can outlive their tenure in power. To now put up an innuendo that Buhari may suffer same fate on ground of age if voted into power by Nigerians that are currently yearning for his leadership is not only obnoxious but also satanic – sadistic politics taken too far. Empirical evidence the world over has shown that the age a man gets to power is no sole determinant of how long he will live. An example will suffice here: Nelson Mandela (1908-2013) became South-Africa’s president on May10, 1994 at a ripe age and left power voluntarily on June14, 1999 and lived for years after before dying at age 95 on December 5, 2013. Apart from getting to leadership positions, if the 2014 World Health Statistics report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that put Nigerians’ life expectancy at 54 years is anything to go by, then someone like Fayose and even the president could be questionably said to be nearing their graves and should not be elected into office ab initio.

    Fayose has not shown penitence over this inhuman gaffe as demonstrated through a statement he issued through his Chief Press Secretary that he has no apology for the controversial advertisement published on Monday. He is still warning Nigerians of the consequence of electing Buhari as the nation’s president, not on espoused principles and salient issues of national significance but on petty plank of age and unfounded health challenge.

    This column is not unmindful of the usual antics and propaganda of an electoral season like this but will definitely not subscribe to the reprehensive antics displayed by Fayose in his paid adverts on the APC’s presidential candidate. The cacophony of disapproval from the public which greeted the publication is a reflection of the consideration of the advert as being thoughtless from a man and a party that cannot be considered less. By that act, Fayose has amplified his tactless as a man lacking in consideration for others. People like Fayose are thriving because the PDP in 16 years of misrule of Nigeria have merely succeeded in breeding people of questionable character that have sadly become politically ingrained as gleaming beasts.

    The PDP campaign mouth organ has made a tepid rejection of the advertisement even while at the same time describing, in wild epithets, Fayose’s puffed-up deluding status in the ruling party and Ekiti state where he governs. What an offensive way of approbation and reprobation at the same time in the party’s laborious but futile bid of extricating itself from the condemnable act due to the deafening backlash it has garnered in public space. Even the presidency has not come out publicly to denounce such an odious advertisement placed with Ekiti tax payers’ money by Fayose with the sole aim of better positioning the president in his re-election bid. All reasonable Ekiti indigenes, anywhere in the world, should come out and condemn, like millions of other Nigerians have done, the Fayose advertisement against Buhari that has put the state’s name, once again, on the world map for the wrong reason.

    That thoughtless advertisement with no respect for human life or dignity should be treated as a message from one of the president’s staunchest overzealous henchmen. The people of the north should get the message inherent as meant to denigrate its respected hegemony. The voters from this region should deploy their votes come February 14 to push President Jonathan out of power. The reality of the day is that Nigerians are fed up with PDP, especially Jonathan’s eggregious misrule and are really itching for CHANGE. This publicly nauseating advertisement is just because the ruling party, the president and his rotweillers cannot fathom the cyclonic demand for real change, courtesy of the APC. Now, they have taken, albeit unsuccessfully, refuge under the demand for Buhari’s original certificates. When they realised that bait would not deter the people from sticking with Buhari, they have changed tactics, cooking up phantom health issues on the man in the process.

    Fayose is a notorious politician who has found himself in power for the second time simply because of the majesty of democracy that saw Ekiti people vote out Kayode Fayemi for whatever disagreement they had with his leadership style. The same Ekiti democratic wave is brewing across the country against President Jonathan and a million Fayoses cannot stop Nigerians from all the geo-political zones that are fed up with Jonathan from voting PDP and his presidential candidate out on February 14. That is the issue that the Fayose advertisement has further pushed to the fore -The need to guarantee APC’s promised change in the coming general elections.

  • For tenants in power, a reflection

    For tenants in power, a reflection

    The much awaited year 2015 is just unfurling. Just nine days ago, year 2014 yielded ground for this new season. Among individuals, especially the occupants of exalted positions in the corridors of power, the way last year ends might vary but we can only hope and pray for the best in 2015. Now that the merriment of Xmas and the New Year celebrations have ended, there is need for deep and sober reflections. As private persons or as public personalities, how far have we gone in meeting set goals; for self and society, in the vanished year? We should not become victims of excuses, even though there is never enough time to do all we set out to achieve; we should strive to be nothing but conqueror of objectives: And by objectives, this column mean those deeds that could stand the test of time and benefit humanity.

    Time is of essence in life. It is what keeps everything from happening at once. Every living being has own time or better put-magic moment. The year is ending and now that individuals have their time in their hands, how best have they deployed it. Is it used for egocentric purposes or for more enduring ventures? Whether you are president, governor, minister, commissioner, local government chairman or directing mind in an organisation among other powerful positions, by the turn of May, 2015, your days in office would come to an end, except for re-elected first term politicians in office. The crowd of people you see around you today would not be there forever. They throng around your position, not your person. When another person occupies the seat tomorrow, you automatically become history and what you live on subsequently is your good deeds-or better put legacy. Have you, despite your present position, ever given this inescapable looming reality any deep thought in the midst of privileged reverence that you are daily accorded by virtue of your position?

    Let us all remember in whatever grandeur it might currently please God to place us as another year runs evolves that there comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is our own hearts- the ultimate judge of human conducts. The earlier we learn the sound of our hearts, the better so that we can correctly decipher what it is saying and follow it. The problem with powerful men is that they have avoidably failed to be loyal to their conscience and have failed to discern inevitable change and challenge when about to occur. The saddest words that could ever come out of the mouth of once-upon-a-powerful-fellow are: ‘It might have been.’ As this year begins, you still have the power to shape you today and the future. Whatever part you deliberately chose, whether of self perdition or sentence to irreverent oblivion should not be subsequently called mistakes?

    Remember as the year commences that there have been tyrants and slayers, and for some time, they can seem insuperable, but in the end, they always fall. Remember that it is your action, not the fruit of your action that would count against or for you on judgement day which is why you must endeavour to always do what is importantly right. Let your action not be informed by personal gains alone because that may not be in your power to decide. God in His infinite mercy might decide to let your action benefit only humanity and nobody can stop that? But you would be remembered, long after you have gone as the harbinger of that good action, and would be duly celebrated one day. But that doesn’t mean you should stop doing the right thing because there may not be immediate personal gains. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result to celebrate in the world.

    As 2015 unravels, remember that yesterday is but today’s memory, and tomorrow is today’s dream. What dreams do you have as a leader- for the country as her directing mind and the world at large so that there can be a peaceful global village for all to co-habit? Do not be deceived by the false friends or deterred by true enemies that success usually attract. Just make sure you put in your best in all you do in whatever position you might presently be privileged to occupy.

    Having gone this far, it is pertinent to remind our privileged men of power on the need to engage in pertinent self re-examination. The president, governors and other political appointees by now would be buying time in power. The president and most of the governors would have become lame duck in their positions since fresh elections have been fixed for February, 2015 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Political parties have nominated candidates that would stand for elections into these exalted positions and the likely candidates that would take-over power would be seeking the hands of the people. That has been the tradition of change of baton in the political firmament. But those that did well by the end of February would be filled with certain sense of fulfilment.

    How would our current crop of elected and appointed public officers want to be remembered? What future have they built for their families through their handiwork while in government? Is it one that will invite opprobrium or acclaim from members of the public? Is it not probably too late for them to remedy their avoidable pitfalls of the past now that the elections are just weeks away? And for Nigerians: Are they ready to tolerate the misfits in government that continue to rigmarole them with bad governance? Are Nigerians going to over look any failure whatsoever from the presidency, from governors and even INEC in the imminent 2015 general elections?

    We should continue to fervently pray for God’s special grace in Nigeria so that the coming 2015 general elections would not be the last to be held under this dispensation because of insinuations of violence that rents the air. This column believes in such prayers and would continue to do everything to seek divine protection and blessings for the country. But above all, the ruling class must stop its destructive do-or-die politics with which our polity has been replete with in the about 16 years of democratic rule. In conclusion, this column is wishing all its readers, once again, a belated merry Xmas and hopefully gratifying New Year, in prayerfully a peaceful country post May, 2015. Let us all do things in this political season with moderation and more importantly, love our neighbour as we love ourselves. We must respect and allow the people’s votes to count in the coming general elections.

  • Mr President, is Nigeria truly broke?

    Mr President, is Nigeria truly broke?

    ‘Our government teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself … it invites anarchy ‘ – Louis D. Brandeis

    No one in his right judgment can deny the fact that politicians need money to prosecute their electoral pursuits. That is why all over the world, politicians require big war-chest through donations from people, friends, the business/elite class to win elections. Some have also argued that open donations during electioneering periods allow for financial transparency and accountability in political parties/candidates election campaign finances. But the question is whether such donations should be done at the detriment of public morality, the laws of the land and the citizens’ sensibility as typified by President Goodluck Jonathan’s recent re-election donations? The event re-opened the floodgate of corrosive money in politics and also epitomises everything that campaign donations should not be.

    The re-election assemblage nauseatingly reminds one of the infamous launch of Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital during the President Obasanjo era when businessmen, multinational organisations, governors, interest groups and individuals jostled to outwit one another in their beastly donation contest. In Jonathan’s latest event tagged: Peoples Democratic Party Fund Raising Dinner, which held at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the gathering purportedly donated the sum of N21.27 billion to support the president’s re-election campaign in this 2015 general elections. The questions: Does it mean the president is such a wonderful performer to warrant such stupendous contributions for his re-election? How far has this administration gone in bridging the gap between the rich and the poor? How could it be possible for such money to be raised for the president when most states are being paid reduced allocations and while workers in most states are being owed arrears of salaries?

    This column wants Jonathan to publicly let Nigerians know whether the country is broke and needs austerity measure with these odious donations from individuals, groups and corporate concerns that make such official posturing mischievous and outlandish. The breakdown: Mr. Tunde Ayeni, a legal practitioner, chairman of Skye Bank Plc and a director in the Ibadan Electricity Development Company and chairman of the occasion donated N1billion for self and partner. He further announced another N1billion donation from his unnamed friends. His display reminds of one Emeka Offor, the then famous fabulous donor at every ruling government event in the early part of this democracy. Even players in the Oil and Gas sector that is reeking of corruption donated N5billion; Real Estate and Building sector donated N4bn; Transport and Aviation gave out N1bn; Food and Agriculture, N500m; Power, N500m; Construction, N310m.

    The Road Construction, N250m; National Automotive Association, N450m and Shelter Development Limited, N250m. Prof. Jerry Gana, Chairman of the fundraiser committee and his friends and associates in the power sector donated N5bn. PDP Governors Forum (21 in all) donated N1.05billion.The SIFAX Group- N100m donation; PDP stakeholders in Rivers State- N50m. The 15 states on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) donated N15million, among other donations. Several private individuals also reportedly gave donations. Aliko Dangote, a sensible business mogul cleverly avoided the motley crowd of political philanderers whose donations are nothing but foundations for further milking of the nation’s collective wealth through undue waivers, concessions and inflated phantom contracts.

    For a long time, the public will be disturbed as to why the oil and gas that is in turmoil – oil price dip and of subsidy graft and oil theft – still had the effrontery of publicly donating N5billion. The news has been awash with the need for recapitalisation/bailouts of new power firms and Nigerians would be wondering where those new companies in the power sector could have sourced their donated N5billion. Isn’t it plausible to ask what is happening in the real estate and building sector with several abandoned and collapsing buildings to warrant the donation of N4billion? The comatose transport and aviation sector still mustered N1billion, haba! Where did the N500million from Food and Agriculture come from when balanced diets have become nightmares to Nigerians? What is going to be the implication of N500million donation by the so-called power on electricity supply to homes and institutions in the country? What better things are happening in the construction and road construction to necessitate the donations of N310m and N250m respectively? We now know that it is not common good that is behind the high tariff on imported cars vide the N450m donation of the National Automotive Association to Jonathan’s re-election campaign fund. Even the Shelter Development Limited donated N250m. Despite the level of infrastructural retardation in the Niger-Delta, the NDDC could still donate N15million to Jonathan’s re-election bid – laughable!

    In politics, money has a monumental role to play especially at election times. That is why the law came in to moderate the influence of corruption and not to level the ground between the rich and the less privileged class. This point was amply underscored by Chief Justice Roberts of US Supreme court when he said that the: “Congress may regulate campaign contributions to protect against corruption or its appearance, but it “may not regulate contributions simply to reduce the amount of money in politics or to level the playing field between wealthy forces and those of lesser means.’’

    The donation jamboree embarked upon by Jonathan under the guise of seeking campaign funds flouts not only the ground norm in the land, but also other statutes governing such practice. On the issue of campaign expenses limit, the Electoral Act 2010, as amended, stipulates in Section 91 (2) that; “the maximum election expenses to be incurred by a candidate at a presidential election shall be N1 billion.” Yet, a president in Jonathan who prides himself as respecter of the rule of law gleefully showcased his illegally received donations of N21.27billion as campaign funds.

    Also and more importantly, the 1999 Constitution in Section 221 provides: “No association, other than a political party, shall canvass for votes for any candidate at any election or contribute to the funds of any political party or to the election expenses of any candidate at an election.” What this means is that all those hypocritical sectoral groups/individuals that donated billions to Jonathan/PDP campaign funds did so in contravention of the constitution and yet, INEC is shamefully watching. Also, those organisations that donated billions of naira have questions to answer because the Companies and Allied Matters Act in Section 38(2) explicitly forbids companies from funding or donating gifts, property or money to any political party or association. Yet, Jonathan encouraged these wanton illegality and immoral financial affronts from these companies/organisations.

    The truth that Jonathan and the PDP must know is that any contract built on illegality cannot stand. That is the principle behind the contractual term: ex turpi causa non oritur actio. It is not possible to deploy illegally procured money as foundation to seek the legal and legitimate mandate of the Nigerian people that Okonjo-Iweala recently told should prepare for austerity measure as a result of the conspicuous public spending of the centre government. Again, Mr Jonathan, could you in all conscience, say that Nigeria is broke or should truly be under any austere policy judging from what we saw recently at your campaign fundraiser in Abuja?

    NB: Here’s wishing my dear ardent readers a blissful Christmas and a Happy New Year in advance. Thanks for staying with this column.

  • All hands must be on deck

    All hands must be on deck

    Finally, the die is cast! The emergence of General Mohammadu Buhari as the presidential candidate of the most formidable opposition party in the history of the country – the All Progressives Congress (APC) – has placed our collective dream for a renewed nation on a promising pedestal.

    The long-held jinx regarding the tradition that no sitting presidency was ever beaten by the opposition may be broken at last. Reason: It is obvious that Nigerians are inherently fed up with the President Goodluck Jonathan administration that has woefully failed to bring to bear the positive impact of good governance on the people.

    Nigeria has never had it so egregious. With all sense of modesty, what is happening today in terms of escalating insecurity, economic downturn, devaluation of naira, ravaging poverty, large-scale corruption, largely de-motivated armed forces, endemically partisan and corrupt police institution and inexorable social upheaval are only comparable to what happened during the better-forgotten despotic Sani Abacha regime. Sadly, the memory of that inhuman government has been exhumed by Jonathan with clearly no iota of solution to these festering problems.

    For 16 years of civilian rule, the country never had it so heart-rending. So worrisome is the fact that the dearth of the right opposition candidate to challenge the status quo ante has always been a major problem. The emergence of APC was initially viewed by some as something that would soon collapse. Surprisingly, the party survived the expected hiccups on its path to participating in its first general election in the land.

    Now that General Mohammadu Buhari has emerged through free and fairly transparent primaries, comparable only to the one that produced Akin Ambode, APC governorship candidate in Lagos State, hopes have been very high in the public domain that at no other time in history was the chance of removing an inept incumbent as high as now. In the primaries, Buhari scored 3,430 votes; Rabiu Kwankwaso-974; Atiku Abubakar-954; Rochas Okorocha-624; Sam Nda-lsaiah-10 with voided votes standing at 16. With the erudite Professor Yemi Osinbajo now nominated as his running mate, all discordant tunes should wear off in the interest of majority of Nigerians who are seeking change from the present movement-without-motion government.

    Whoever desires an end to Boko Haram insurgency must vote for Buhari; whoever wants a drastic reduction in unemployment rate in the country must support APC; all that are suffering under the current avoidable devaluation of the naira; the serious oil theft in the face of a sleeping president; the blooming corruption and scandalous power reforms without electricity should come out and vote en masse against the oddity that the President Jonathan administration symbolises.

    Yes, the question could also be asked about what has changed in Buhari or is special about him that gives this column the assurances that Buhari is the man to take over from the incumbent and lead Nigeria to the promise land. The former military ruler, first and foremost, is contesting for the nation’s topmost position on a stronger platform than his previous ANPP and later CPC. Buhari had 12.7 million votes in 2003; scored 6.6 million votes in 2007, and garnered 12.2 million votes in 2011. The votes of four out of six APC states in the Southwest will definitely go to Buhari. The votes from Ondo and Ekiti states will be shared and overall, the pendulum will massively tilt to the side of the retired general.

    And if he could go that far under his former platforms, then, common logic dictates that with support base outside his geo-political zones, the presidency is just within arm’s reach when all hands are on deck. Buhari has personal track records which could not only have been better appreciated than now when leadership has become a bane rather than benefit to the country. Buhari under President Shehu Shagari administration in the eighties successfully battled the Maitasine insurgents to a halt by pursuing the unscrupulous elements to Chad before he was called back. That marked the end of those miscreants.

    Buhari remains one of the few Nigerians despite the plum positions he had occupied, who is truly modest and Spartan in life style. He was federal commissioner for petroleum, head of state and later head, Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). He is in a better position to fight oil theft that the current administration has been complicit. The man of change and leadership integrity seems to be Buhari.

     What prominent Nigerians say about Buhari

    The under-published are statements of fact about the integrity of the man that many Nigerians strongly believe will create the ‘New Nigeria’ that all of us will be proud of. No living Nigerian has been heaped with such sincere panegyrics by fellow leaders nearly three decades after leaving power. Due to the instructive messages inherent in them, yours sincerely has decided to share what he got from the social media with my readers. Enjoy yourself:

    “The army after toppling our democratic regime has no option but to install Buhari as head of state so as to avoid credibility problems, especially in the sight of the international community because of his being an epitome of integrity.” – Ex-President Shehu Shagari.

    General Muhammadu Buhari as a member of the Supreme Military Council and as Head of NNPC was by nature taciturn and introvert. But he took any work that was given to him very seriously. He is reliable as he is hardworking and honest, his path of moral probity and rectitude” Incorruptible

    – President Olusegun Obasanjo, in his book, “Not My Will”.

    “Buhari was a big brother and a father to some extent that mean nothing in life & to the nation always other than good. So, I fear no harm from him.“ – Late President Umaru YAR‘ADUA.

    “Buhari was honest and sincere in all his conduct that perhaps, only very few Nigerians could match in integrity.” –General Abdulsalam Abubakar (Former Head of State.)

    “Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was a true patriot, respected former head of state and elder statesman and a nationalist.“ -President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “I have realised our collective mistake in overthrowing you. I have seen the terrible damage which our inaction caused to the Nigerian psyche. I am most sorry. Please, come and do what is best known about you – patriotic service to the nation.”–Late General Sani Abacha (During his PTF inaugural speech).

    “If Buhari quits PTF job as he promises and as we knew him to mean his words, all along, I support the idea of scrapping PTF as no one else can do the job as him. I respect Buhari. He was my boss. He was an honourable man. And l can say this anywhere.“ –General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

    “As a member PDP BOT, I decided personally to donate the N5, 000,000 to Buhari‘s campaign organization because of my firm believe in his ability to right all the nation wrongs – Alh. Isiyaku Ibrahim

    “The issue of Gen. Buhari‘s presidency was always being derided by the criminals who looted the nation to stupor by embarking upon a campaign of calumny so as to smear his name with a view to denying Nigerians having a leader who can improve their lots.“ –Prof. Tan David-West

    “If the truth must be said; Buhari remains the only real threat to PDP whether he runs for the presidency or not due to his wider followership among the masses that now hit the elite circle.”-Sen. Makarfi.

  • The beauty of genuine primaries

    The beauty of genuine primaries

    This is a season of contests for political power, no doubt. And obviously, the season is witnessing one of the fundamental problems of all political orders – succession. The current political turmoil is spurred by the question of whether some current leaders should retain power and who replaces others whose terms of office will be expiring on May 29 next year. The Nigerian constitution provides for periodic elections every four years for those elected into the executive and the legislative arms of government and an individual can only be elected twice for same office.

    This is why the battle of succession rages across the federation. And expectedly, the problem of succession is imposing great strains on the political order simply because the continuity of some rulers’ reign is about to be broken, while their established patterns of action may be interrupted. Now, the future suddenly becomes uncertain for most incumbents, leading to struggles between established rulers and their rivals. This political crisis, in all climes, tests the character of regimes and that of sitting leaders.

    The time to test the character of leaders in positions of authority is now. Yours sincerely, like millions of other right-thinking Nigerians, wants to know those among these leaders who are good students of history. It is trite that power is the most transient of all human possessions and it is quite worrisome why some leaders would take it as do-or-die in their desperate bid to keep it till eternity. That is what the primaries for election of candidates into the about-to-be-vacant seats had taught us.

    From the war field of political party primaries, the battle on who governs what state across the states in the country is moving to the public sphere where the people, looking at the candidates presented by the various political parties, will have to make a choice. Basically across the country, it is by now cleared issues on who is running for what office and against whom. The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its virulent opposition, the All Progressives Congress (APC) have concluded their primaries and had come up with elected candidates from a crowd of aspirants that would fly their flags in the February, 2015 elections.

    Though the primaries are over, its reverberating aftermath cannot be easily forgotten. While it lasted, it became an amphitheatre wallowing in sometimes perfidious hypocrisy; an arena that turns to a bizarre sinkhole of character assassination and smirking self-righteousness. This is something that cannot easily be eradicated from politics for as long as the differences and diversities of mankind exist which is why Eugene McCarthy espouses that ‘democracy must allow for compromise, for accommodation, and for the recognition of differences.”

    Strategically, the time to apportion blames is not at the end of primaries for the daunting task of the main election needs to be tackled. The time for compromise, accommodation and the recognition of differences is now – apologies to McCarthy. But that is not to say that at the appropriate time, all identified disloyally treacherous elements will not be put where they belong, else, they destroy their political party platforms in future.

    For now, the will of majority of party membership, through the delegates actually prevailed, thereby corroborating the saying that the best weapon of a democracy is openness – contrary to that of a dictatorship, which is secrecy that is usually devoid of any iota of accountability or transparency. Perhaps, the necessity of primaries for all political parties is more apt now than ever before. The gains of party primaries as exemplified by the way and manner the APC conducted its own deserves credible mention this week. This column wants good governance in all parts of the country but is particularly interested in who governs Lagos and who occupies the presidency in Abuja come May, 2015. Before the primaries was agreed upon, some disgruntled elements led by Muiz Banire, APC national legal adviser, commenced an unnecessary affronts against the person of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State and national leader of the party.

    His clamour and that of his co-travellers in political bellyaching was not sincere as previously highlighted in this column but it turned out to be a good thing that the leadership of the party in the state agreed to conduct the primaries. At the end of the day, most aspirants of the party and Banire who was their front – even though he was not an aspirant, that were hitherto beneficiaries of imposition and have even grown to become master of the art of imposition – realised their follies. The APC primaries turned out to be one of the freest and fairest of its type in contemporary Nigeria. Akinwunmi Ambode won with 3735 votes. The next person to him, Obafemi Hamzat scored a distant 1201 votes. The third person, Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon scored a laughable 272 votes. Other aspirants could not score above 121votes and it will amount to cheer waste of space to be discussing these political weaklings with over-bloated self-impressions against the man that made them what they are.

    Comparatively, the APC primaries in the state stands far above that of PDP that was marred with gun shots and in which at the end of the day, the number of votes cast outnumbered accredited delegates. This column still marvels at how accredited delegates of 806 rose to 867 at the PDP governorship primaries. Even at the centre, the ruling PDP merely converged to ‘coronate’ President Goodluck Jonathan as its sole candidate rather than toe, in this regard, the responsive APC line by conducting a real presidential primaries. This is explicitly PDP abracadabra at work! The APC also conducted their presidential primaries in Lagos in a free and transparent manner that saw Mohammadu Buhari emerge as its presidential candidate.

    The APC primaries has done a lot of good to the political image of Tinubu and has confirmed the democratic emptiness of those that are for selfish reasons, blatantly opposed to his leadership. The outcome of the governorship primaries confirmed that the Jagaban of Borgu land remains the ultimate political leader of progressives in the commercial nerve centre of the country. It is now known through the APC primaries that most of the contestants are mere noise makers that should drop the malicious bickering of the past and quickly join the APC governorship candidate’s train before they are permanently left behind. This is the only wise option left for them to embrace as the primaries unfurls on the horizon a new vista of hopeful politics. The battle for political succession should not be a do-or-die affair.

  • Soldiers of democracy

    Soldiers of democracy

    ‘The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion’—— Albert Camus

    Nigeria – and it is worrisome – is returning to the better forgotten military era when the common enemy of the country was the head of the military junta. The repressive General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd) really messed Nigeria up and the crisis of democratic values currently faced by the country is still being traced to his duplicitous approach to governance. The late despotic Sani Abacha merely consolidated Babangida’s better forgotten evil methods. Today, it is sad that under a democratic rule, the common enemy of the country is President Goodluck Jonathan that everyone sees as not doing enough to rescue the nation from the verge of perdition. Things are getting so disconcerting that it has got to a level put succinctly by Catherine the Great as ‘Power without a nation’s confidence is nothing.’ Majority of reasonable Nigerians have lost confidence in this presidency. And since nothing strengthens impunity as much as silence, Nigerians are getting more daring because it seems they have come to realise that true freedom lies in being bold.

    Recently, members of the House of Representatives led by their Speaker, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal returned from recess to discourse the presidency’s request for extension of emergency rule covering the north eastern states. On getting to the gate of the National Assembly, it was locked and the place barricaded by armed riot policemen acting on the instruction of Suleiman Abba, the Inspector General of Police, not to allow officially ‘marked’ honourable members into the premises. Yet, the same policemen allowed Senate President David Mark and Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha of the House into the complex. How can this be qualified other than what it is: selective witch-hunting and arrant impunity targeted at members of the opposition in the national assembly.

    The Speaker and his colleagues were compelled by the necessity of the day’s agenda to scale the fence, at the risk of their lives. What option could have been available to them but this, except they were ready to submit themselves to the reign of executive impunity and lawlessness? Before this incident, the Speaker had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The legality of this move is currently waiting for judicial interpretation. So, Abba’s refusal to acknowledge the occupant of this position during his appearance before a committee of the house yesterday smacks of undue arrogance underscoring his abysmal taking of side in a matter he should be seen as neutral being the supposed number one peace enforcer of the country. Is Abba not aware that he is not court?

    The president’s silence and Abba’s desecration of the national assembly and show of disrespect to the occupant of the Speakership’s position has left the polity in avoidable turmoil. Some people still condemn the honourable members for taking such a risk considered as uncivilised. Yours sincerely does not see their gallant act in that light. Reason: For them to have acquiesced in the face of executive impunity, it would have battered the espoused legislative independence, ensured illegal prolongation of emergency rule, that has for months not achieved any meaningful results, without rigorous legislative discourse and seal and above all, would have set a bad precedent that future executive leadership might adopt in illegally whipping the legislature to line. It will be wrong of the media and all other important stakeholders in the country’s past, present and future to allow that affront on the national assembly to go unchallenged.

    The legislators, considered by yours sincerely as soldiers of democracy reminds of Martin Luther King, Jr. where he rightly observed several decades ago: ‘Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.’ The current centre administration has demanded peace and obedience but is surreptitiously manifesting conducts that are conflict provoking. It is an acknowledged fact that circumstances could be beyond human/institutional control, but this government’s deliberate and oppressive irrational conduct is within its own power. Nigerians will not fold their arm and allow its tyranny to fester beyond what obtains now.

    It is better for the president to know that it is only possible to have power over people so long as he does not take everything away from them. If he tries to rob the people of everything decent as he is currently doing, then it becomes absolutely compelling that things will get out of his power. The people will turn their back to be free again and that is what is happening at the national assembly. Whatever the folly of the assembly members might be, it is important to appreciate that for once, they even if for selfish reasons, have chosen at the detriment of their comfort to stand up and be counted against the president’s repugnant tyrannical tendencies.

    A dangerous trend is creeping into governance at the moment and this emanates from the feeling of disenchantment arising from government’s failure to imbue confidence in Nigerians. The ill-wind has reached an apogee – where the people now believe that happiness does not come from being soft with government but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after a welcome rebellion that demanded our best by whatever means. This should not be interpreted as excesses but measures taken to stay within the norm. The honourable legislators demonstrated this last week when they jumped over the fence to send a signal to a president that has failed to fulfil or wilfully scorned all agreed compromises and concessions.

     

    Still on the libel against me

    I wrote last week on the libel against my person by one Taiwo Sanyaolu, a proxy for a hack writer whose real identity has since been unravelled through a piece titled: ‘Tinubu stooges and almajiri journalism’ that was published in ThisDay newspaper of Monday, October 17, 2014.

    I was compelled by my legal training to write a letter of protest to Mr Nduka Obaigbena, publisher of the paper and president of Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN). The protest letter was out of sheer respect for the publisher’s person and his attainment in journalism in general. Yours sincerely demanded a retraction, which I learnt, he ordered should be published immediately. And it was published on Monday, October 24, 2014 on page 16, the opening page of the paper’s politics pages for that day.

    This is what is called leadership and I respect him the more for this. However, due to oversight or misguided typographical error, my surname was mis-spelt as ‘Sanui’ at the introductory paragraph but spelt right in subsequent lines. The line editor responsible should show more responsibility by not treating such an important legal matter with negligence in future. The fact that I am taking it out of sheer respect for Mr Obaigbena does not mean other aggrieved persons will accept such condemnable oversight. A paper owned by the NPAN president should not be found wanting in the realm of avoidable libels as negligently committed by the paper’s political page handler. This calls for future caution and dispassionate commitment to duty.

  • Dilemma of Nigerian voters

    Dilemma of Nigerian voters

    ‘….The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country’—-Franklin D. Roosevelt

    It is no news that the commencement of distribution of the third phase of PVC in Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Imo and nine other states has been quite problematic. Apart from the lamentations of inhabitants of other states, yours sincerely’s experience in Lagos while trying to obtain the card was shattering – and it is worth sharing with my readers. When I got to the polling unit where I got my temporary voter’s card over four years ago, my names and those of others that registered under that unit code could not be found. Then my journey to the unknown began. We were directed to go to other units and as at the last count, I got to no fewer than seven units around the area but still could not found my name let alone asking for my PVC.

    Quite a lot of others in my area saw their names on the list pasted on boards at polling units but their PVCs were missing. On the initial last day of the exercise, I gave up that except miracle happens, I may not be able to vote in the 2015 general elections since I could not find my name. Then the exercise was extended and someone advised me to go and register afresh. To that option, I was not well disposed because of the criminal implication of double registration. Another person suggested that I should go and collect a form to register my complaints. I thought that could be done at the local council in my area but l was directed to a primary school in the area, whose compound was deployed to attending to voters with complaints and those wishing to register afresh.

    I got there. The chaotic environment there which was quite detrimental to any meaningful learning process of the pupils can be better imagined. The noise pollution level is quite beyond acceptable decibel. People from different shades of life, mostly the hoi polloi, were on a long queue. Intermittent noisy arguments, outbursts and sometimes, big fights over some people’s attempts to shunt were the order of the day.

    How can I survive under this sunny and rowdy situation? I asked myself. When I realised it was not possible, I left but before then, I called one of my guys in the area to get there early enough the next day and pick a number for me. He succeeded in doing this but before my turn came that day, the queue was disrupted and that was the end of the day’s exercise. On Tuesday, somebody was there early enough to pick the eighth number for me. He called me at home to come over at around 11am. I got into my car and dashed down to the place. On getting there what I saw was scary, but I was determined to endure. From where I stood on the queue in the sun, the noise outside could barely allow the pupils to hear what the teachers were teaching them. At the same time I was, like hundreds of others there, were freely inhaling dust which yours sincerely is seriously allergic to.

    After about three hours – around 2pm – it got to my turn and I was captured in INEC’s computer. From there, I moved to where I waited for about 35 minutes to collect another fresh temporary voter’s card. I was happy, but at a price: I left the place with catarrh and cough owing to the enormous dust inhaled at the venue of the re-registration. I also discovered that my Muslim name, ‘Akeem’ was wrongly spelt as ‘Akeen.’ But who am I to complain? Reason: I knew what I went through before I could get that card even though the officials told us to come back for the PVC later.

    Unfortunately, most other inhabitants of Lagos and other states underwent the same plight just to collect voters’ cards that have been one of the easiest things to collect in saner countries of the world. If those of us that have been eligible to vote in this country for three decades could not easily get a voters’ cards, what is the fate of those that newly attained the voting age bracket? The exercise should continuous till January next year – for the sake of fairness!

    This country still has a long way to go if an issue as simply as voters’ registration cannot be conducted without any hitch. I have my fears about a lot of things in this country, most especially next year’s elections in view of INEC under Professor Jega’s inability to conduct this otherwise simple exercise without ado. Is it then right to say that a free and fair conduct of the next general election is in the hands of God, not Jega? What a country!

    …Still on Muiz Banire

    Ordinarily, the Part Two of my piece on the above subject matter that started last week on this page should have been published today, but could not for one reason: The proxy media war launched against my person by Banire since last Sunday. I want to see how far he can go with this before unleashing my final word on his inordinate style of politics. But one good thing is that the Part One had maximum impact in exposing Banire’s political hypocrisy. He may never recover politically by the time the second part is published.

    The thrust of my piece which Banire’s proxy, Taiwo Sanyaolu, mischievously termed as ‘Almajiri’ is that one cannot give what one does not have. Yours sincerely agrees that ‘imposition’ may be bad, but the battle against it cannot and should not be led by Banire who is still deeply ingrained in the same practice in his Mushin constituency and in other areas across Lagos State. As a lawyer, Banire knows the equity maxim that says: ‘he who comes to equity must come with clean hands’ He, as a master of imposition, is not doing that in this regard. His hands are soiled with complaints of imposition and to believe his deceitfully selfish campaign against Bola Tinubu is like killing the struggle ab initio.

    More importantly, Banire’s proxy, Sanyaolu, in his bid to project me as evil, maliciously libelled me in his article in ThisDay and The Sun to wit: “One wonders if the threat by Tinubu to sack Sanusi some few weeks back due to financial impropriety of which he was accused is what made him to indulge in gutter journalism and almajiri penmanship.”

    The issues: I am a member of the Editorial Board and staff of The Nation newspaper: My employer is Vintage Press Limited, not Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as maliciously stated in the said publication: Tinubu is not on the mast head of The Nation neither was he, in my informed view, listed as one of the Directors of Vintage Limited. I have never been in the employ of Tinubu and the issue of his threatening to sack me for financial impropriety could not have arisen. I have never been involved in any financial wrongdoing in my entire life.

    The said publication was clearly designed by the writer/promoter (s), including the title editor/line-editor involved to bring down my reputation by projecting me in the public domain as a criminal not worthy of any position of responsibility. This infraction cannot stand. Let Banire go and dust his wig as the only way out is for ThisDay and other newspapers that published such injurious prose against me to publish a retraction. I wait.