The Nation Newspaper

Category: Politics

  • Kabila in Uganda for stalled peace talks

    THE Democratic Republic of Congo’s president, Joseph Kabila, flew into Uganda on yesterday for talks aimed at reviving a peace deal between his government and rebel fighters.

    Kinshasa and the M23 rebels failed to seal a deal last month after wrangling over what it should be called – the rebels were ready to sign a peace agreement, but Congo’s negotiators wanted to call it a declaration reflecting the rebels’ defeat.

    “I think (Kabila) wants to breathe new life into the process … Uganda would implore DRC to sign this agreement with the rebels,” Uganda government spokesman, Ofwono Opondo revealed.

    M23 are the latest incarnation of Tutsi-led insurgents who have fought Congo’s government in eastern regions near the border with Uganda and Rwanda for years, amid unrest fuelled by ethnicity, local politics and competition over land and mineral wealth.

    Kabila’s visit to Uganda, where he will meet with his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, comes after a 10-day tour of the main towns in eastern Congo.

    During a Nov. 26 stop in Bunia, a town in Congo’s far northeast, U.N.-backed Radio Okapi reported Kabila said he believed a solution to the dialogue with M23 could be completed by Dec. 15.

    Kabila reiterated Kinshasa’s position that Congo was seeking a statement from the rebels declaring the end of the movement. M23, however, has sought an “agreement” with the government.

  • Can APC sustain tempo?

    Can APC sustain tempo?

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) is enlarging its coast. But, there are more hurdles to cross. EMMANUEL OLADESU and LEKE SALAUDEEN examine the challenges that will confront the opposition party, ahead of 2015 general elections.

    The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) thought that it was a joke. When the merger was being mooted, its chieftains predicted doom for the merging parties. Even, when the All Progressives Congress (APC) was registered by the electoral commission, PDP chieftains dismissed it as an empty threat. But, following the defection of five aggrieved PDP governors to the APC, the ruling party became jittery. Now, the stage for a titanic battle for power at the federal and state levels in the next general elections.

    The decision of the defunct parties-the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC)-and a section of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to evolve a strong platform was a major breakthrough for the opposition. There is political streamlining, as reflected in the restoration of the two-party system, and the prospects of a one-party state is dimmed.

    “The chance of rigging will be slim in 2015,” said Mr. Olawumi Gasper, former Rector of Lagos State Polytechnic. “It will be a battle of ideas. Nigerians will have clear choice. There will be a ruling party and a strong opposition and the country will make progress,” he added. The National Secretary of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Mr. Ayo Opadokun, supported this argument. He said that a credible alternative platform represents a government-in-waiting. “Democracy will flourish because of the role of the opposition in democracy”, he stressed.

    However, many challenges will confront the main opposition party as it prepares for future polls. The prelude to the 2015 battle will be the governorship elections in Osun and Ekiti states next year.

    The APC Interim National Women Leader, Mrs. Sharom Ikeazor, spoke on the hurdles, shortly before declaring open the Southwest APC Women Wing in Lagos, last week. She admonished the party leadership to intensify the campaign for electoral reforms. “Anambra election was enough lesson for us in the APC. Our candidate was the best, but the electoral commission was compromised. We need to intensify the campaign for the sanctity of the ballot box so that we can have one man one vote”, Okeazor said.

    Adekunle-Ibrahim said the “electoral carnage” may continue to work against the APC, if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is not purged of its unpatriotic elements. But, he also emphasised the need for the party to put its house in order. “APC has two elections in Ekiti and Osun. As the party is enlarging its coast, it should also protect its gains. Ekiti and Osun are parts of its strongholds. To the best of my knowledge, the party is united in Osun. In Ekiti, the APC has to unite the party and settle the rift between the camp of the governor and supporters of Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele. It is better for the APC to mend the crack,” he said.

    The APC leaders made enormous sacrifices. Former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu, who explained the vision and mission of the party, to reporters in Lagos, said that it was formed in the national interest. He recalled that the leaders of the merging parties decided to forfeit their platforms, sink their slight differences and make sacrifice for the country. But analysts contend that the leaders must be ready to make more sacrifices, ahead of 2015, to get to the promised land.

    As the APC harmonises the ACN, CPC, ANPP and APGA structures at state, local and ward levels, there is the additional challenge of accommodating the ‘new PDP structures’ in states controlled by the governors that recently defected to the party. The promise made to the governors must also be honoured by the leadership to engender trust and confidence.

    The interim APC leadership reflects the spread of the party across the six geo-political zones. Although the setting up of the structure generated some skirmishes, it was not essentially destabilising. According to observers, what was at work was the internal crisis resolution mechanism and the mutual trust among the founding fathers. It is great lesson in party management. Conflict is part of politics, but it should not be allowed to fester to the level of becoming a threat to the existence of the organisation.

    How to formalise ward, local government, state and national structures is the next assignment during its proposed inaugural national convention. It is to the credit of the party leadership that the APC has, so far, being run as a mass movement. “What we have observed is that ACN, ANPP, and CPC members do not retain their old identities in the new party. Therefore, the APC can’t be polarised by caucuses,” said Adekunle-Ibrahim. “In setting up party leadership structures, not only are the founding fathers expected to make more sacrifices, they should also begin to build a culture of equity, fairness and justice in matters relating to the choice of party officers,” he added.

    When a party is growing in leaps and bounds, party management becomes more challenging. Many believe that it will be counter-productive for the new APC members to relate to the organisation as chieftains of the old ACN, ANPP, CPC and APGA. The interim chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, had allayed this fear. He said that the APC will not recognise any senior and junior partners, adding that members will enjoy equal treatment.

    The events taking place in the APC may ultimately influence the PDP’s response to many critical issues. Eyes are also on the APC as it brainstorms on the choice of its presidential candidate and his running mate. The flag bearer will mirror the platform, its manifestoes, ethos, values and promise. Whoever will emerge is important, but how he emerges is more important. The various positions and approaches germane to choice, selection and shadow election should be harmonised without internal bickering and bitterness. If the party puts its house in order at that level and there is no post-primary crisis, it will be fortified to forge ahead for the most critical battle.

    The task of mobilising for power shift in 2015 is critical. The ruling party may turn the heat on the APC through intimidation, harassment and blackmail. Pockets of dissention among the co-travellers may not be ruled out.

    There are issues of leadership ego that must be handled with care, if the party is to avoid internal crisis in some states. For instance, in Kano State, Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso and his predecessor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, are political foes, who are now in the same camp. Shekarau defeated Kwakwanso in 2003. But Kwakwanso bounced back in 2011. Also, the APC should reconcile former Sokoto State Governor Attahiru Bafarawa and Governor Aliyu Wamakko. The two are political rivals.

    A party source disclosed at the weekend that reconciliation committees for Kano and Sokoto states have swung into action. The source said that former Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari would reconcile Shekarau and Kwankwaso. “The elders are aware of the differences among some frontline members and they are taking necessary steps to bring them together. We are preparing safe landing measures for Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola in Osun State and Chief Segun Oni in Ekiti State, if they eventually join the APC. We want every member to feel free and exercise their rights in a peaceful atmosphere. In our party, there is no joiner, no founder. That’s what Chief Akande said.”

    A university don, Dr David Aworawo, observed that the APC had started well. He said one of the challenges confronting the party is the reconciliation of divergent views and interests. as the immediate challenge of the APC. Aworawo, who teaches at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), noted that political parties are formed by people who share the same ideology and philosophy. With the merger of the new PDP, he said that more work should be done. “The new PDP chieftains now in the PDP have their interest to pursue and achieve. So, the immediate task now is how to reconcile the divergent interest of the conservative PDP and the progressive APC”, he said.

    In Aworawo’s view, the challenge can be surmounted. “What both sides need to do is to shift from left and right to the centre. The reconciliation of extreme positions is possible, especially in the overall interest of the country. General Muhammadu Buhari in the midst of progressives today. Some people considered him as a reactionary and conservative element. But today, Buhari is a leader of the progressives,” he added.

    A lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Dr Tunji Ogunyemi, advised the party to accommodate the five PDP governors without discrimination. The major task before the APC, he said, is grassroots mobilisation. “The party should reach out to the rural areas by sensitising the grassroots people on the new development in the polit,” he said. However, Ogunyemi cautioned the leadership of the party against the fifth columnist. He warned that the PDP may penetrate its ranks by planting spies in the party.

    Civil rights activist Shehu Sani urged the APC to devise a mechanism for checkmating infiltration by PDP lackeys into the party. He said the growing influx of PDP chieftains and their quick embrace by the party is a matter of concern. Sani said that while the APC opens its doors, it should be conscious of plots, mischief and sabotage by infiltrators.

    APC also faces the test of internal democracy. Sani said: “The APC must imbibe the culture of internal democracy. It must provide a level playing ground for all its members and avoid the imposition of candidates, which have in the past contributed to the failures of opposition parties in winning elections.”

    Ogunyemi supported this view. He advised the party to create a level playing ground for aspirants to test their popularity. Through that, he said, members would be involved in the selection process and whoever that emerges will be acceptable to all and sundry.

    The party’s interim National Legal Adviser, Dr Muiz Banire, has assured that there would be no imposition of candidates. “Nobody can tell you who will be the presidential candidate. We will be more transparent in picking the party’s standard bearer than any other party. The APC is a credible alternative to the PDP. We have to demonstrate to the whole world that we are superior to them. There will be no imposition of candidates. This is a new era. People will decide who should be the party’s standard bearer”, he said.

    Banire cited the registration of members as a challenge. “We expect a huge turnout at all registration centres. We are going to provide necessary logistics that would make it easier for people to register without stress. I am sure that committed members of the party will be willing to assist the party in providing some resources to ensure a hitch-free registration. I am sure we will surmount all the challenges that may arise”, he added.

    Sani advised the APC to device credible means of assuaging the fears of Christians in the North and the Igbos in the South, who are complaining about marginalisation by the party. This, he said, can be achieved through equitable representation in the party’s National Executive Committee. “This will help in neutralising the propaganda and misinformation by the adversaries of the party now using religion to smear it”, he said.

  • Electoral fidelity is job for all, says Igini

    Electoral fidelity is job for all, says Igini

    Comrade Mike Igini is the Cross River State Resident Electoral Commissioner ( REC). In this interview with AUGUSTINE AVWODE in Calabar the state capital, he reflects on the Anambra State governorship election and its lessons.

    The preponderance of opinion is that the INEC bungled the Anambra State governorship election. How do you react to this?

    Elections are very sensitive issues and there are multiple interests. First, the isolated polling units in the Ndemili North LGA that brought about this challenge was acknowledged and the staff, whose action brought what the chairman had described as ‘’sabotage’, is under interogation for further action. We should isolate this LGA from the other 20 LGAs, where the exercise went very well, baring little delays in commencement. But, more seriously, given what we have achieved previously, we should endeavour to distinguish between election irregularities, such as delays in commencement, from election malpractices, and electoral fraud. The delays were due to failure of the recruited NYSC corpers to turn up on the election day in the Anambra election. There were also reported instances of protest by some security personnel on election day, who insisted that they would not escort materials, if not paid. such actions that were adverse to early commencement are understandably, attributed to the INEC who are the election managers, unfortunately.

    The actions and inactions, particularly negative ones, of stakeholders outside our control in some or many instances, should be separated from the malpractices in which election managers or other key stakeholders fall short of professional expectations, and this must also be separated from outright fraud, in which criminal and deliberate breaches of election laws and standards occurred. I must inform that in every election, the Commission strives to surpass previous benchmarks since 2011 and subsequent elections in Edo and Ondo. It has made strenuous efforts through innovations to prevent and minimize irregularities, malpractices and to possibly eliminate fraud.

    Did the INEC prepare well for the poll?

    I know that, in this election, for the very first time in our electoral history, the commission introduced the process of customising result sheets, that is, Form EC8A, from polling unit to polling units, so that you cannot use a result sheet from one polling unit in any other place, just at it has been using customised ballot papers which also makes it difficult to take the ballot papers meant for one area to another. Also in the Anambra election, for the first time, registered voters could confirm their registration status through GSM phone text messaging by texting Anambra State and a code including the last four digits of your voter registration number to a particular number. Additionally, logistics arrangements were made to improve early commencement, following the effective use of the created super-RACs at Registration Areas/Ward levels, which involved the conveyance of materials from proximal registration area centers to polling units to avoid conveyance issue on election day. But like the literary giant said, just as the hunter has learnt to shoot without missing, you still will find some electoral birds who learn to fly without perching, so we have to keep improving.

    Despite these attempts, where obvious failings have occurred, the commission will make efforts to sanction malpractices and prevent them, but where there is electoral fraud, it must be punished by the law. This is why the present INEC leadership is on record to be the first commission leadership in Nigerian history to secure the conviction of election offenders. But we can only do this better, if we institute a specialized Election Offences Commission to deal with this matter as the legal resources of INEC are limited.

    When are we going to achieve the goal of quality elections?

    That is a challenge for all of us. It is a multi-stakeholders responsibility that involves you and l and all stakeholders, if we are committed. The quality of election is an issue that has occupied much practical and theoretical studies, if you search the internet for the term “ election integrity” you will find a plethora of literature on Election Integrity, specifically concerning Africa, you will find literature from authoritative sources like Bratton as well as Lindberg; all elaborate on the fact that improving the quality of elections is an evolving matter that improves from lessons learned from previous failings and successes, but one thing that we cannot run away from is the fact that the most important indicator for assessing the quality of elections is the qualitative response of voters.

    Hence, the central question is; do the voters in most cases accept that the outcome of the election reflects their votes? We must t review other parameters both qualitative and quantitative for judging the standards of election. The parameters for doing so are fairly well known and all such parameters often go towards accessing three broad issues, namely; was there fair participation? Was there fair competition and is the outcome legitimate? So, we must then ask, that regarding the Anambra election, was there fair participation, was there fair competition, and is the outcome legitimate.

    From the reports of the two directors I nominated to participate in the election, based on requests from the National Headquarters, who managed two LGAs, as well as the reports of 348 academic dons from the University of Calabar that collated the results brought to them from the polling units, the main issue of concern was with the participation of voters in some areas, in one LGA out of 21, there were really limited or no significant adverse reports in 20 LGAs where the 23 candidates freely participated and competed. In the latter connection, the commission took the lawful steps of putting in abeyance election in the affected areas in that LGA, to be concluded at a date to be appointed and final return made in respect of the election to make it conclusive.

    All the Local Government Collation Officers were from UNICAL, Cross River State. Do you have any input in their being posted to Anambra State?

    It was the commission’s decision. Our remit was essentially to train and shortlist those who could perform the assignment and, of course, these university dons have done this previously in our elections here in calabar and even, in the same Anambra State last year when a court ordered for a senatorial election that l supervised in that state. From Monday to Thursday, I personally participated in the training process and they all travelled on Friday to Awka. Please note that a collation officer only receives, results from polling units which he certifies having been satisfied that they comply with expected standards. I was also supposed to be in one of the local governments but was indisposed due to a slight ailment.

    Would you say they were given adequate training for the job they went to do?

    Indeed, they were well trained. In fact, there has been a lot of commendation from high ranking members of the commission and even candidates that contested the election for their diligence and competence. As I indicated, I personally partook in their training, moreover many of them have participated in several elections before in the same capacity in Cross River and Anambra State.

    The voters register has come to be the major headache in achieving credible elections in the country.

    How can we get a good voter’s register?

    Around the world and in countries where identity cards with high fidelity are managed by central systems, a national identity card is often sufficient proof because it carries many other demographic indicators and transactional histories of interface between the individual and the state, such as your age and a history of your address or addresses, tax, mortgage and utility registrations, hence it is difficult to assume such identity overnight. Hence, we hope that the new Identity framework of permanent voters card will reduce the current anxieties, by helping to strengthen the fidelity of the voters register which is a statutory requirement for good elections.

    But for now, despite the challenges that you have alluded to, the biometric registration of voters conducted by the INEC has reduced the scale of the problems and our data remain the most comprehensive biometric data base across the 774 LGAs where Nigerians are domiciled. However, the Commission acknowledges and observe the issues raised for improvement because a voter’s register is the foundation of free, fair and credible elections. Additionally, if you peruse the extant Electoral Act, especially Sections 10 (3-6) and Section 11 (2), the fidelity of the voters register is reliant on the electorate and the public when they raise proper and timely objections in the register.

    Analysts have already written off the commission, saying that it cannot conduct a credible election in 2015…

    Electoral job is fast becoming that of a football coach that previous victories do not really matter except a win in the current match. But should that really be so? We should recall where we are coming from given years of rogue elections before the current efforts of building a new electoral order for a sustainable democracy.

    You see, every election has its successes and pitfalls, and unfortunately, in our political ambiance, it is rare to find people wholly accepting election outcome without some complaints. I support genuine protest and, if necessary, litigation of unfair processes for correction in future elections, because that is the only way the system can improve when its reliability is brought under scrutiny. Again, this is not merely a local problem and that is why Prof. Elkit, a renowned authority on election integrity stated that “election integrity is conceived as a state of affairs in which a specific democratic election is “perfect, at least with nothing whatsoever to complain about” and that such a state is aspirational, based on current realities. Thus, Shein and other authorities on the same issue, maintained that the actions of election managers should be to eliminate fraud and minimize to the barest possible minimum, professional failings and logistical challenges where they emerge.

    This does not however, excuse irregularities that were avoidable and outright cases of fraud. The complaints of stakeholders may or may not be legitimate, but we must all accept that, despite the problems, we have covered some level of electoral mileage, having regard to 2003 and 2007 elections. We must convince the political elite, that it is in their best interest to institute more reforms, because, when you ask them to do so, many often feel they can benefit from the weaknesses and hence, they pay lip service to requests for reforms, but they often end up as victims. So, to ensure a level playing field they should all empower the voters more by improving the legislative framework so as to deepen democracy.

    Which aspect of the Electoral Act should be reviewed and why?

    The INEC as a commission has made several presentations to the National Assembly on weaknesses in the legislative framework, the isue of the breach of the Electoral Act bothering on fair access to media by all political parties and candidates. Also, the commission has called for the reinstatement of Section 87(9) that was removed from the Electoral Act and the urgent need to delete the proviso to Section 31 of the extant Electoral Act, which suggests that; whether parties conducted primaries or not in accordance with the law, whatever list of candidates presented by political parties INEC cannot reject for ‘’any reason whatsoever.’’

    I am even surprised that these political parties have not presented Chinese and people from Malaysia as candidates since they have been given the fiat to present candidates whatsoever way the deem fit for elections, since INEC has been stripped of administrative power of control to the extent that even when INEC is invited to ‘’observe primary exercise it cannot even say anything if an individual who did not participate in the primary election is presented to it as candidate for election.This provision is an attack on the internal democracy of parties, it whittles if not completely disempowers party members and empowers the leaders and ultimately weakens the control of the quality of candidates presented for elections. And the legal and orderly nomination of candidates for election is the most important functional service that parties provide for society after the articulation of developmental policy. As we speak now pre-election issues from the 2011 primary elections are still in our courts on-going in 2013, many of which might not be decided till 2014, the eve of another general elections.What is wrong with us really? Is our problem that of the lbo saying that “the problem of the smelly he-goat is in the he-goat that the heaviest rainfall cannot wash away”?

  • Delta Speaker: governorship should be by merit

    Delta Speaker: governorship should be by merit

    The Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Victor Ochei, has reflected on the struggle for power shift in the state, saying that merit, excellence and competence should not not be comromised in 2015.

    The politician, who is believed to be eyeing the governorship, spoke in Lagos at the annual lecture organised by the “Asdev 81 Club”.

    The theme was: ‘political participation as a vehicle for economic development”. The event, which held at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of Lagos, was witnessed by Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, Professor Victor Izegbu and the representative of the Delta State Governor, Dr Emanuel Uduaghan.

    The Speaker said “ It is not wrong to show interest in the government but it is important that those who have the interest of the people should be given the mandate”.

    Ochei described the political party as a vehicle for participation, adding that constituents should ask questions from their elected representatives about government activities.

    The Speaker highlighted the challenges confronting the state, including unemployment. He said: “Government and the people must ensure that, by political participation, we are able to develop public sector to be an employer for labour”.

    Ochei admonished the people to shun sectionalism, parochial interests and other acts capable of polarising the state, ahead of the general elections.

    He also cautioned against falsehood and propaganda, adding that concrete efforts should be made to investigate why certain projects have not been completed by the government.

    Ochei flayed the practice of federalism in Nigeria, pointing out that the federal arrangement is skewed. He said: “In all the federations that I know, the component units contribute to the centre. But, in Nigeria, it is the centre that contributes to the states. Why do we need a Ministry of Agriculture in Abuja? Where are the Federal Government’s farms?

    Nigerians have paid attention to ethnicity and religion, instead of strengthening the bond of unity”.

    Ochei said, although he hails from Anioma, the development of the entire state is his priority as the Speaker.

    He cautioned against misinterpreting the revenue formula in the state. The Speaker said: “Fifty percent of the allocation to Delta State does not go to oil-producing communities. It is the 50 percent of the derivation fund that goes to the DESPADEC that goes to the oil-producing areas.”

  • ‘Nation conference is the answer’

    ‘Nation conference is the answer’

    The Chairman of Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, in Lagos State, Chief Supo Sonibare, spoke with Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN on the Jonathan Administration,  the proposed national conference, and the Afenifere crisis.

    What is your assessment the political situation in the country today?

    There is confusion in the polity. The great confusion is as a result of the inability of principal political parties to have a defined ideology. The moment is simply being that of power brokers or money mongers. This is why there is fluidity in movement among major parties. There is no loyalty to any political party or group. The politics we are playing nowadays is largely self-centred.

    The Southwest has always being the leading group uniting the progressive forces. It normally does this in concert with reliable progressive elements in Northcentral, Northeast, Southsouth and Souteast. Unfortunately, because of the disunity in the leadership of the progressives in the Southwest, it was unable to lead in the traditional manner that we are used to in assessing progressive forces.

    In 1998, with very little resources, we were able to have close to 70 per cent of people’s support in the Southwest. Though the ACN has done its best, but with huge resources, it has not been able to repeat this feat because of disunity among the progressives in the Southwest. If the is unity in the Southwest, it may be possible to offer a Nigerian state better direction that has an ideological bias.

    President Jonathan is planning to convoke a national conference. Do you think this is the appropriate time, given the 2015 general election that is fast approaching?

    The issue of national conference has exposed the disunity among the progressives in the southwest. All progressives agree that the 1999 constitution is a military constitution, that it is incurably defective. When you are confronted with that kind of situation, the obvious alternative is to have the national conference that will bring about the people’s constitution. All progressives should unite in welcoming such an arrangement. Even, if President Goodluck Jonathan has a hidden agenda, the onus is on those who think there should be a new constitution to proffer ideas and methodology that is apt to bring about a new constitution.

    With respect to those who are opposed to it, why can’t the APC and other progressives use this opportunity to suggest the ways and means to hold the national conference. It is wrong to put the struggles for power ahead of putting in place an enduring foundation for the nation state. Enduring foundation cannot came about by piecemeal, that is amendment of the constitution. I know the Southwest is not satisfied with the presidential system of government, with the revenue allocation and lack of transparency in polity. The only way to effect changes is through a national conference.

    How best do you think a national conference can be organised?

    The view of Afenifere is the less contentious division of Nigerian state into six geo-political zones. The quality of delegates from each zone matters a lot.

    Not more than 10 per cent of the delegates should come from labour, students union and other organised bodies. The conference should have a maximum of 600 delegates. These delegates would write a constitution for us. After writing the constitution, the President should put the resolutions to yes or no vote. If it is no vote, it is a failed enterprise. But if it a yes vote, the president will use his inherent powers as contained in the constitution to advise the National Assembly on what to do with the resolutions. The President will execute an order in council in presenting the deliberation and results of the referendum to the National Assembly and also advise the National Assembly to repeal Decree 24 of 1998 that gives the present constitution its authority and to replace it with the constitution written by the Nigerian people.

    It is better to do this before 2015 than to continue with the constitution we are now using after 2015. Now is the best time to lay solid foundation for the nation before 2015.

    What should be the criteria for selection of delegates to the National Conference?

    Ninety per cent of the delegates should emerge through election. There should be an independent conference secretariat, which will be independently funded from the federation account and which will be responsible for putting in place the administrative process and arrangement for the election of delegates by the INEC. It is however, the constitutional conference secretariat which will be headed by a highly reputable Nigerian acceptable to all various groups in the country, including those in power that the INEC will report to. It is this body that will be responsible for the mode and logistics for the election. The NEC will be directed as and assisting electoral body in actualising the arrangement of the constitution conference secretariat. The INEC will also be responsible to the secretariat for purpose of arranging the deliberations of conference and organising the referendum.

    Afenifere is no longer a united body. What was responsible for the split?

    Afenifere leadership is disunited. Apart from our leaders that are no longer with us, such as the late Bola Ige, Alfred Rewane, Otunba Solanke Onasanya and Abraham Adesnya, all the main leaders are still together. The core leaders I am referring to Chiefs Olaniwun Ajayi, Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Olu Falae and Chief Reuben Fasoranti. The problem of Afenifere has to do with the dynamics of having core leaders, who are not in government and having governors who are effectively heads of government. At the time of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, he wielded the power of the head of government and the leader of Afenifere simultaneously. When he was no longer the Premier, there was the aspiration of becoming the Prime Minister as the leader of the opposition then.

    In the new Afenifere, we have leaders who are not in government and governors who are heads of government. The governors are now supposed to subject themselves to the authority of leaders, who are not part of government. The leaders could only use moral persuasion and cannot compel any governor to do their bidding. That dichotomy of power brought about the discord and the split of the group. This division was managed by, the late Chief Adesanya. His successor, Chief Fasoranti, presided over a meeting without both factions of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). For years, Fasoranti group has been amenable towards reconciliation. May be, one day, before it is too late, the core surviving AD governors will be amenable to encouraging efforts of reconciliation.

  • AREGBESOLA THIRD ANNIVERSARY: By innovation, harvests increase

    AREGBESOLA THIRD ANNIVERSARY: By innovation, harvests increase

    The Director, Osun  State Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Mr Semiu Okanlawon, highlights the achievements of the Aregbesola Administration in the last three years.

    By November 2010 when the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola took over the baton, Osun was barely a year less than two decades. What the entire state could boast of in internally generated revenue (IGR) in almost twenty years was no more than N300 million every month at the very highest. Records indicate it fell short of that many times.

    However, by November 2013, a period of three years, by merely blocking all the leakages, Osun now rakes in N1.6bn in IGR monthly without expanding the tax net and the prospects are high and encouraging. What this indicates in clear terms, is that in all of its 19 years of existence as a state before the advent of the Aregbesola administration, Osun could muster a paltry N300million in what its people could contribute for its survival and continued existence. Conversely, in three years, the state grew its IGR by 433 percent.

    Glimpsed from the perspective of this phenomenal growth, Nigerians are wont to go back to such statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics in terms of development indices to reason why Osun shows the highest capacity for outstanding growth in the whole country at the moment despite the unenviable 34th place in the revenue allocation ladder and meagre opportunities to generate funds internally.

    The National Bureau of Statistics announced to the world that Osun ranks highest in public school enrolment in the country in a national environment where public school enrolment figures make very loud statements of the rot in the country’s education sector.

    Within the same period and owing to the same factors, the National Bureau of Statistics placed Osun in the league of states with the lowest unemployment rate with the lowest figure of 3.0 where even Kwara ranks 7.1, Lagos ranks 8.3 and Oyo 8.9.

    Of course, the obviously low crime rate in the state did not elude the observation of Participants of the Course 22 of the National War College Abuja which spent some days in the state on an assessment tour within the last two months.

    All these indications of success cannot be happenstance. If anything, they represent the direct outcomes of ingenious, coordinated and determined interventions in the affairs of a state that was brought to its knees in all spheres of life.

    Declaring that “For me and for all of us, it is work, work and more work!” on the day of his inauguration at the state capital, Osogbo on November 26, 2010, Governor Aregbesola left no one in doubt on the direction his administration was to follow more so with the resolve to run an unusual government.

    He seemed to have read Alfred North Whitehead well. Whitehead’s logic that “simple solutions seldom are,” and that “it takes a very unusual mind to undertake analysis of the obvious” readily provides the only template for any critical mind to analyse the problem-solving fervor of the governor.

    The state with a population of about 3.8 million people had its difficulties spelt out in all the areas. The education sector presented a depressing outlook. Schools did not promise learning. Hospitals did not promise health. Roads did not promise safe journeys. Markets did not promise sales. Farms did not promise food. But even in the face of these, the people had resigned to fate; having been cowed into silence and trepidation by the combined evil forces of foisted poverty and festering violence.

    But realising that “fear is the lack of faith in one’s ability to create powerful solutions,” as reasoned by T.F. Hodge in his From Within I Rise: Spiritual Triumph Over Death and Conscious Encounters with “The Divine Presence”, what have emerged in the last three years in Osun represent “powerful solutions” to break the shackles of poverty and set the people on a path to greatness.

    The distinct admission, that the same old solutions cannot continue to be applied to the same old problems, have culminated in ground-breaking ideas that have only placed the state steps ahead of its peers.

    The youth employment strategies employed by the government have proved to be not only ingenious but efficacious. Forty thousand youths engaged through the Youth Empowerment scheme and its allied forms are the reasons for such commendations by the World Bank, National War College Course 22 Participants, American embassy, the Sultan of Sokoto, Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, and a host of others who have seen that something unique is taking place in Osun beyond the ordinary.

    In a country with mounting restiveness in all her regional parts, the Osun job creation specimen provides development experts fresh vistas of ideas to solve not only Nigeria’s but Africa’s bourgeoning unemployment predicament. That the World Bank adapted this model and presented it to the Federal Government culminating in the Youth Employment Social Support Operations, YESSO speaks volume about the Osun’s now established thinking out of the box.

    Yes! The reforms in the education sector have brought about hoopla. But that is only to the very extent that humans must naturally resist change even when they are to transit from hell to paradise. This is coupled with the fact that the ever-opportunistic opposition camp, boxed to a corner and dazed by the chains of innovative projects, is poised to confuse the citizens with its dubious manipulative characterization.

    Ranking Opon Imo, the Tablet of Knowledge among four best global learning tools by the United Nations-backed World Summit Award Global Congress strengthens the claim that from Osun has emerged “powerful solutions” to the problem facing quality education.

    A combination of uninspiring learning environments, ill-motivated and unqualified teaching personnel, inadequately prepared curriculum and other problems had all conspired against quality learning.

    If governance means responsibility to the people at all, the solutions proffered have addressed the roots of failure and ignited fresh passion for learning. The years to come are to confirm the ingenuity that lies in the solutions as examinations results are already indicating that the rot is disappearing.

    The Senate Committee on Education, led by Senator Uche Chukwumerije, did not just recommend the Osun education model for the entire country for nothing. There is no argument about the fact that Nigeria has lost its grip on the education sector with the concomitant huge costs to progress, order and development.

    A large illiterate population readily promotes poverty, diseases, stagnation and violence. The Senate’s assessment of the Osun model and subsequent recommendations for national acceptance and adoption as a way out of the present conundrum is a powerful endorsement of the creative governance in the state.

    The creativity resonates in tourism to attract people to Osun; it resonates in agriculture to cause massive food production; in youths engagements to re-orientate youth and create the new total man who is useful to his society. In environmental cares, the government has demonstrated a rare foresight in the management of its affairs that a hitherto uninspiring environment now greens with order and coordination.

    It is also on record that this foresight made the state to stay afloat when many states of the federation came under the mercy of massive floods; a national catastrophe that had forced the Federal Government to belatedly spend billions of Naira to limit loses of lives and properties. Just before the current administration took over, it was tragedy galore as flood swept humans and goods away even before the very eyes of those who had no solutions to society’s pressing problems.

    The innovative nature of the solutions always provided is the very reason for the noise. But there has emerged a pattern. Virtually all innovative ideas that had ignited heated debate and hullaballoo have been embraced surprisingly by their initial vociferous critics.

    What other states of the federation and the Federal Government have done with the youth engagement strategies, re-branding of the state, and others have merely shown that it is a matter of time for the education reforms models, projects financing strategies and others to be adopted as indispensable options for rapid growth.

    Of course, some have accused the administration of obduracy; castigating it for sticking to its ideas of development even in the face of mounting criticisms.

    But the driver behind the wheel, just like the American inventor and businessman of the 19th century, Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth, says, “I’m convinced that the best solutions are often the ones that are counterintuitive – that challenge conventional thinking – and end in breakthroughs.

    “It is always easier to do things the same old way…why change? To fight this, keep your dissatisfaction index high and break with tradition. Don’t be too quick to accept the way things are being done. Question whether there’s a better way. Very often you will find that once you make this break from the usual way – and incidentally, this is probably the hardest thing to do—and start on a new track, your horizon of new thoughts immediately broadens. New ideas flow in like water. Always keep your interests broad – don’t let your mind be stunted by a limited view.”

  • Abia 2015: Orji’s senatorial ambition kindles fresh fire

    Abia 2015: Orji’s senatorial ambition kindles fresh fire

    The game of politics in Abia State, which has been rather drab and somehow straight-jacketed for some time now, seems to have received fresh impetus following recent confirmations that GovernorTheodore Ahamefule Orji is poised to retire to the senate at the expiration of his tenure in 2015.

    Although it took some time before his close associates began to own up to the governor’s ambition to vie for the top legislative position, it became obvious to close observers that he had made up his mind to follow this political route when several groups suddenly emerged from the blues, calling on the governor to run for the Aba Central Senatorial seat in 2015 and volunteering to mobilise for the realisation of their dreams.

    The initial reaction of critical observers was a debate as to whether these groups calling on the governor to vie for the legislative office were genuine or whether they were merely rented? Of course, that debate has not been resolved until date.

    But whichever is the truth, it seems certain today that the governor is poised to heed to the desires of the groups and will most likely move over to the Senate when his second tenure expires in 2015.

    As would be expected, and as has been the case in several other states, where second term governors like him are also scheming to proceed to the senate at the end of their tenures, the plan has not only electrified the political theatre of the state, it has also raised questions on the fate of the senator presently occupying the senatorial seat in question and that of the other aspirants from Ngwaland in the power game for Orji’s succession.

    The great call

    Perhaps the first publicly known group to formally call on Orji to vie for the senatorial seat in 2015 was Isiala Ngwa Traditional Rulers Council. The royal fathers made the call way back in July this year, when they paid a courtesy call to the governor at the Government House, Umuahia.

    Chairman of the council, Eze Solomon Nwosu, who spoke on behalf of the other royal fathers, said they had come to show appreciation for the ongoing transformation of the state by Orji’s administration.They thereafter urged him to go to the Senate in 2015 at the expiration of his tenure as governor.

    In his response, Orji assured the traditional rulers of his commitment to hand over power to Abia South Senatorial zone in 2015.

    According to him, “I am the first governor that openly declared that the governorship seat will be rotational. I am here to install equity and fair play in governance.”

    Making references to a ” Charter of Equity,” which he said was drafted after the creation of Abia State, the governor said it was the turn of Abia South Senatorial Zone to produce the next governor, adding that he would ensure he honours the charter. “I want to leave here (Government House) peacefully”; he said.

    Incidentally, the meeting and the promises made by the two parties have since remained subjects of intense criticisms.

    Amongst the critics is a group called Nzuko Igbo USA. In one of the statements it issued, the group warned against what it described as “alleged plans to exchange the governorship position with the senatorial seat.”

    According to the group, part of the plan is that “Orji will take over the Senatorial seat and cede the governorship position to Ukwa- Ngwa/Abia South senatorial zone.”

    It said, “It should be noted that Abia Chatter of Equity is peculiar to the governorship position and its rotation between people of old Bende and Aba Divisions and does not extend to legislative positions,” the group warned, adding, “The Chatter never mentioned about rotating of the governorship among the three senatorial zones.”

    Such criticisms aside, many supporters of the state governor have adduced his achievements as justifications for such future political permutation.

    This explains why the number of groups wooing the governor for the senatorial position has not waned. Instead, they have continued to swell by the day.

    A source close to Abia State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party confided during the week that “any politician or aide that is worth that name in the state must fully identify with the senatorial ambition of His Excellency. For us that arrangement is sealed. There is no going back. Ochendo will hand over power and proceed uninterrupted to the upper legislative house.”

    Aside party officials and political office holders, whose endorsement of the governor is no longer a secret, several other organised groups, especially from Ngwaland are also emerging almost every other week to add their voices to the declared ambition.

    For example, one of such groups known as Ukwa/Ngwa Interest Group recently boasted that it would mobilize about 5,000 youths to help realise the governor’s ambition.

    Comrade Okey Paul Nwankwo, the National Coordinator of the group, said:

    “There is no doubt that every senatorial zone will send their best to represent them in national assignments. This is why we are calling on Gov. Theodore Orji to run for the Abia Central Senatorial seat in 2015… We are set to mobilize 5,000 youths for him.”

    Internal intrigues

    Among Ngwa people both within Abia Central and Abia South senatorial zones, there are very strong political opponents determined to rubbish the governor’s senatorial ambition, especially because of the alleged fear that it is intricately connected to the power game for Orji’s successor at the Government House, Umuahia, by 2015.

    A source, from Abia Central, who pleaded not to be named but who is a top stakeholder in the 2015 senatorial election in Abia, explained why he considers Orji’s plan to contest for the senatorial seat as worrisome when he said: “The Senatorial position of Abia Central has somehow been rotated between the Umuahians and the Ngwa peope since 1999. You will recall that Senator Bob Nwannunu, an Ngwa man, held the position between 1999 and 2003. Senator Chris Adighije, from Umuahia held the position between 2003 and 2007 and now Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, an Ngwa lady has been holding the office from 2007 to 2011 and from 2011 till date. So, you can understand why the alleged Orji’s senatorial ambition is considered a threat to Ngwa people in Abia Central who have ambitions in 2015. If Orji bulldozes his way and runs for the senate seat, the fate of the Ngwa people in Abia Central, who would want to be governor will be affected negatively. That is our concern,” the source said.

    Ngwa aspirants on the succession bid

    Although the 2015 governorship election campaign has not been declared open, and although aspirants from Abia North Senatorial Zone and from other communities in Abia State have not totally withdrawn interest from the race, prominent aspirants from Ngwaland have already lined up, creating the impression that the contest is theirs exclusively.For now, the major aspirants from Ngwaland alone include:

    Enyinnaya Abaribe

    Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, an economist, teacher and strong grassroots politician, is a one-time deputy governor of Abia State under the then Governor Orji Uzor Kalu. A two term serving senator and current chairman of the Senate Committee on Media, Information and Public Affairs, Abaribe is believed to be a strong contender to be the next governor of the state.

    He is from Abia South Senatorial Zone and of Ngwa stock, which has continued to make the case that it should be their turn to produce the next governor of the state.

    But his major drawbacks may include the Orji Uzor Kalu factor and the interest of his fellow kinsman, Chief Emeka Nwogu.

    Since the icy relationship between Abaribe and Kalu has not been resolved, it is feared that PDP would be concerned that Kalu may pose as a threat against Abaribe’s candidacy.

    Emeka Nwogu

    The ambition of Chief Emeka Nwogu, who is a two-term serving Minister of Labour and Productivity, is no longer a secret.

    The Nation learnt that Nwogu’s strongest point in his bid to secure the governorship ticket of the People’s Democratic Party is his closeness to President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Nwogu’s wife, who is an Ijaw, from Jonathan’s home state, is alleged to be well connected and as such, is one of his strongest pillars.

    Nkechi Nwogu

    Some of the strong points of Senator Nkechi Nwogu, the PDP senator representing Abia Central, include the alleged pact to exchange seats with Governor Theodore Orji and her experience in Abia grassroots politics.

    A former member of the House of Representatives, Nwogu is today a two- term serving senator.

    She is believed to enjoy overwhelming support of youths and women but it remains to be seen where all these would take her to in the succession power game.

    Her strongest opposition, according our sources, would be the argument among Abia South political lords that no Ngwa man or woman from T.A Orji’s area, Abia Central Senatorial zone, should contest on PDP ticket in the interest of equity.

    The others:

    Other known possible contenders from Ngwaland include, Eric Acho Nwakanma, from Abia South Senatorial zone, who has served as a Speaker of the state House of Assembly and twice as a deputy governor in the state.

    Others are Chris Akomas, from Nenu in Obingwa Local Government, who served as Commissioner for Commerce and Industries under Orji Uzor Kalu before he became the deputy governor of the state in a joint ticket with T. A Orji after the 2007 election.

    Another major Ngwa aspirant is Chief Reagan Ufomba who was Special Assistant (SA) to former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu. In 2011 governorship election, Ufomba left the PDP to realise his governorship ambition in APGA. He won APGA’s ticket but lost the election. Today, it is said that he is still preparing for the race in 2015.

    But Ufomba’s major challenge may include the fact that he is from Nsulu in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government which falls under Abia Central, the same as Theodore Orji and the recent problems in APGA, as he reportedly pitched camp with the then Governor Peter Obi/Maxi Okwu faction of APGA against Chief Victor Umeh. With the current developments, the platform Ufomba would use to realise his ambition will still be unveiled in the future.

    We cannot forget that names like Stanley Ohajuruka, a former Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly and a former member of the House of Representatives is being mentioned. Also, Uzo Azubuike, who has represented Aba North and Aba South in the House of Representatives and Paul Ikonne, a prince from Ngwaland, who is the son of Eze Isaac Ajuonu, are also being touted.

  • Mergers, battlegrounds and the 2015 poll

    Mergers, battlegrounds and the 2015 poll

    Last Tuesday’s declaration of five PDP governors for APC has created new battle grounds ahead 2015, reports Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan

    The raging crises within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reached the climax last Tuesday when five, out of the seven aggrieved governors and some of their followers finally dumped the troubled party and pitched their tent with the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Their movement into the APC continued a string of mergers and alliances that has so strengthened the opposition party in recent times that analysts are saying that by the time the dust raised by the governors’ defection settles, the PDP would have lost its majority in one, if not both the two chambers of the National Assembly.

    Such analyses are based on the permutation that should federal lawmakers follow their governors’ choice of party affiliations, the APC would have automatically taken over as the majority party in the House of Representatives while the senate appears dicey.

    The five aggrieved governors who have defected are: Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano); Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa).

    Governors Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Babangida Aliyu (Niger) chose to stay back under the embattled umbrella of the PDP.

    The governors’move has thrown up a new political equation where the APC now has 16 governors in its fold, the same number as the one the PDP can conveniently boast of. The nPDP is left with two while the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Labour Party (LP) have one each.

    Following the confirmation of a merger at the special conventions of the then three co-operating political parties, namely the Action Congress of Nigeria (AC N), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), earlier in the year, the APC inched its way closer to being an equal rival to the PDP when it raked eleven governors into its fold.

    Back then, the ruling party had its members as governors in 23 states, accounting for nearly two-third of the 36 states of the federation. But with indications daily emerging that some of the PDP governors may dump the party in search of other political platforms ahead of the 2015 general elections, pundits predicted President Goodluck Jonathan’s party can only beat its chest assuredly in just about 12 of the said states.

    This uncertainty had thrown up about 11 PDP controlled states as battleground ahead of the 2015 general election, with both the ruling party and the emerging APC looking good to win the battle for the political souls of those states.

    But with five of those states now in the kitty of the APC as predicted, the PDP, according to analysts, will still have to return to the drawing board if it intends to keep the opposition off some of the states remaining in its pouch as well as the four unaligned states of Jigawa, Niger, Ondo and Anambra, as the date for the 2015 election draws closer.

    Niger State

    There are indications that come 2015, the PDP is most likely to suffer defeat in Niger State. The governor of the state was the leader of the seven aggrieved governors who formed the new PDP faction of the ruling party.

    Although he has chosen to remain in the PDP, analysts say his decision to remain in the PDP ‘for now’ is clearly not on a final note as he still has one axe or the other to grind with either the PDP leadership or the presidency.

    Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State’s reported interest in the presidency come 2015 has pitched him against the PDP establishment. Recently, he accused the presidency of bribing some northern leaders because of the 2015 presidential election.

    But that is not to say with Aliyu’s disenchantment with the ruling party, the PDP is finished in the state. Rather it will be more apt to declare Niger State a political battleground as both the APC and the PDP will seek to lay claims to the political soul of the state, irrespective of the governor’s final decision on whether to dump PDP or remain within.

    The current move by the Presidency to make former governor of the state, Abdulkadir Kure, a minister will position him as a new rallying point for the PDP in the state should Governor Aliyu dump the party.

    Already, Kure has been in the forefront of efforts to counter moves by the governor’s new PDP faction to corner the party’s structure as the crises within the party deepens.

    Aside Kure, the likes of the deputy governor, Musa Ibeto, Senator Zainab Kure, Colonel Isa Kotangora, Dr. Abdulrahaman Enagi, Ambassador Zubairu Dada and former deputy governor, Dr. Shem Zagbayi Nuhu, amongst others, are still very much around in the PDP.

    But should Governor Aliyu move to the APC with his current structure as well as majority of the current political office holders in the state, it would be left to be seen if the remnant of the PDP in the state will be able to curtail what many observers called the imminent takeover of the state by the opposition.

    Jigawa

    It is a similar fate to Aliyu’s that has befallen Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State. He is also a part of the seven aggrieved governors who formed the new PDP after months of public disapproval of the state of affairs in the ruling party.

    With posters proclaiming his desire to gun for the presidency all over the place, he appears to have drawn the ire of the presidency. It is also very obvious that he is still uncomfortable with his membership of the party and may move elsewhere soon. This is because he still makes very uncomplimentary remarks about the PDP and its leadership.

    It was also learnt that the opposition, especially the APC, is still bent on convincing Lamido and Aliyu to move into its camp. Until the two aggrieved PDP governors announce their final take on the ongoing re-alignment of political forces, their various states remain battleground states where any of the contending parties can claim vital victories.

    The contest in Jigawa should Lamido join APC will not be one sided. Though the governor is sure of moving into his new party with nearly the entire PDP structure in the state, the opposition would still have a number of prominent politicians left in the party to contend with in 2015.

    The opposition to Lamido would most likely be led by his predecessor, former Governor Saminu Turaki, who is also reportedly being repackaged by the PDP leadership and the presidency to give the governor a good political fight during the 2015 general election.

    Rivers

    In spite of the defection of Governor Rotimi Amaechi into the APC, Rivers State remains one place where the 2015 political contest will be at its fiercest. This is because of the unending supremacy war between the governor and his erstwhile ally and Chief of Staff, Education Minister, Nyesom Wike.

    With the governor’s defection, it appears the entire PDP in the state have moved to the APC but that is without Wike’s fast growing political group, the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI).

    The presence of political heavyweights like former governor, Peter Odili, Senator George Sekibo, Felix Obuah and others in PDP is also a pointer to the fact that the battle for Rivers State in 2015 will be keenly fought.

    While pundits are predicting that the APC will win the support of the electorates in the state on the strength of the popularity and performance of Amaechi, it is also being considered that the PDP will not be a pushover in the race on the strength of Wike’s political sagacity and the much touted support of certain forces in Abuja.

    However, the no love lost situation among the leaders of the PDP in the state, pundits say, will be an added advantage to Amaechi and his new party. Currently, Peter Odili is not known to relate well with the leadership of the party in the state.

    Also, there is an age-long political rivalry between Wike and Senator Sekibo who is nursing a gubernatorial ambition for 2015. Wike too is said to be interested in being voted in as the next governor of the state.

    Gombe

    In Gombe, leaders of the APC in the state said they are ready to dislodge the ruling party in 2015 as PDP will meet a stiff resistance in 2015 if its plan is to rig itself back into office.

    National Organising Secretary of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Abubakar Inua Kari, who is from the state, assures the people of Gombe of the readiness of the APC to defeat the ruling party in 2015. The APC leader said Governor Ibrahim Dankwanbo and his people should start preparing to leave the government house.

    The merger of three leading opposition parties in the state, namely CPC, AC N and ANPP, according to some observers of the politics of the state, is likely to alter political calculations ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    The presence of Senator Danjuma Goje, immediate past governor of the state in the APC is also strengthening the position of Gombe State as a state where the unexpected can still happen in 2015.

    But observers say if the PDP in the state continues to enjoy its current string of reconciliations and realignments, it will go into the 2015 election with an advantage politically.

    Although it is yet to officially announce the governor as its candidate for the 2015 governorship contest, the body language of the leadership of the PDP in the state indicates that it will surrender its ticket to Dankwambo without hassles to seek another term in office.

    Recently, the Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, expressed support for the re-election of Dankwambo in 2015. This endorsement comes across as a big one for the governor as the minister has earlier been rumoured to be eying the governor’s job.

    Katsina

    Katsina State is one of the states where states where the defucnt ACN, CPC and the ANPP had impressive showings in the last election. With the three parties collapsing into the APC, the PDP will definitely be given a run for its money in these states come 2015.

    Checks by The Nation revealed that leaders of the ruling party in the Katsina state are already worried that the party’s candidate in the forthcoming election may suffer defeat in the hands of the emerging All Progressive Congress (APC).

    A source, who pleaded anonymity, said, “This is not an easy one for us in Katsina. The merger of Buhari’s CPC and the ANPP is a serious threat to the PDP in the state.

    On their own, the two parties have followership in Katsina. General Buhari and Aminu Bello Masari are respected sons of the state. When such parties now go into a merger, it is certain to bring headache to the ruling party and we are really worried by the development.

    Moves by the political camp of the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua to join the APC is also creating ripples in the political landscape of the northwestern state. Should that happen, the state will further become open to any of the contending political forces.

    Benue

    In Benue, the APC, which is a coalition of some opposition political parties in the state, is anchored on the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Though the ACN lost the 2011 governorship elections in Benue State, it made a lot of waves during the elections, which left an indelible mark on the political landscape of the state.

    Given the political heavy weights that abound in the APC in the state today, pundits are of the opinion that the party is in a position to challenge the ruling PDP seriously in 2015.

    With the likes of the immediate past governor of the state, Senator George Akume; Senator Daniel Saror, Gen. Indyar Garba, Oker Jev, Buruku Federal Constituency; John Idyeh, Gboko/Tarka and Benjamin Aboho, Kwande/Ushongo and Usman Abubakar, aka Young Alhaji, all working together to oust the PDP in Benue State, the state is definitely a potential battleground.

    But for a party that boast of the incumbent governor, the current Senate President, a former national chairman of the PDP amongst other notable chieftains, the PDP in Benue State will also go into the next general election prepared for a fight to finish.

    However, observers say internal wrangling like the one between Governor Gabriel Suswam and Senator Barnabas Gemade, may turn out to be the grace required by the APC to do the ruling party in come 2015.

    Adamawa

    In spite of last Tuesday’s defection of Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State to the APC, the political road to the Dougeri Government House, Yola, remains as unpredictable as it has been for months now.

    Particularly for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which now wants to return as the ruling party in 2015, its unending internal wrangling has thrown the contest wide open. Nyako’s decision to join the APC merely confirmed the next election as a political decider of some sort in the political sphere of the state.

    Nineteen out of the 25 members of the Adamawa State House of Assembly and other government functionaries had few weeks earlier, decamped to the APC at a meeting that was attended by the leader of the APC in the state, Alhaji Abdulrahaman Adamu, a one-time Minister of State for Defence and former All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) vice chairman in the North East geopolitical zone.

    Others at the meeting, were the factional chairman of the Nyako-backed PDP in the state, Alhaji Umaru Mijjinyawa Kugama; Mr. P. P. Elisha, the factional secretary of the party; Interim National Vice Chairman of the APC in the North East, Alhaji Umaru Duhu; 19 members of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, national treasurer of the APC, the first son of Governor Nyako, Commander Abdul’Aziz (rtd) and a host of other dignitaries from the APC and the Nyako camp.

    Being an indigene of the state, the national chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, would be aiming to win “at home”. How he intends to do that without Nyako and other prominent chieftains who followed the governor into the APC is left to be seen.

    Before now, the state chapter of the PDP has been polarised, culminating in the formation of three groups among which loyalty is shared by former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, Nyako and Tukur.

    The situation in Adamawa now is such that while Nyako and his men now in the APC will be fighting Tukur from outside, Atiku and other equally aggrieved chieftains will be tormenting the PDP boss politically from within.

    But the PDP can still boast of having some heavyweights in its kitty with which it can confront the rampaging APC during the next general election. People like former Deputy Senate leader, Senator Silas Zwingina, Senator Halilu Girei and former Governor Boni Haruna are still members of the PDP.

    Anambra and Ondo

    There are also the two “undecided” states of Anambra and Ondo. The two are currently standing independent of the two leading gladiators. While Governor Peter Obi of Anambra is holding firmly to the remnant of a faction of the troubled All Prgoressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State is of the Labour Party (LP).

    But analysts say the two will not remain aloof for long. With the predictions that they will soon pitch their tents with either of the PDP or APC, these two states remain swing states where anything can happen in 2015 depending on where their governors decide to pitch their tents.

    In addition, President Jonathan’s dwindling popularity in the northern part of the country and allegations that his administration did very little to better the infrastructural states of the eastern and western geo-political zones of the country combine to make Anambra and Ondo more interesting than usual.

  • PDP’s likely next moves

    PDP’s likely next moves

    Will the presidency and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) simply fold its hands and take the defection of five of its governors to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in its stride? Not likely, reports Remi Adelowo

    If the party’s antecedents in settling scores with real and perceived foes are anything to go by, it is safe to conclude that the five governors who recently left the PDP for the APC all have major battles to contend with in the weeks and months ahead.

    With the disclosure by the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, that the party has not foreclosed reconciliation with its former governors, with pressures still being mounted on them to return to the PDP, indications, however, indicate that the presidency may go for broke in its bid to settle scores with the defected governors.

    Indeed, dress rehearsals of likely actions to be taken against the ‘rebel’ governors manifested several weeks ago when the agents of the government allegedly acting on ‘orders from above’ descended on the personal and business interests of the leading figures of the new PDP.

    First was the marking for demolition of an event and recreation centre in Asokoro, a highbrow area in Abuja by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA). The centre is owned by Senator Aisha Alhassan, a member of the nPDP.

    Days later, the FCDA revoked the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) of a property located in Maitama reportedly belonging to the Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, on the excuse that the property failed to conform to the Abuja Master Plan.

    A further proof that the presidency would not brook any dissent was the arrest of the two sons of the Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over money laundering charges.

    The young Lamidos spent a few days in EFCC custody before they were granted bail. Insinuations are rife that Governor Lamido decided against joining the APC with his five other colleagues as a result of alleged threats from powerful quarters to use his sons’ travails to get at him.

    More of such clampdown on the leaders of the group that joined the APC on Tuesday last week is said to be in the offing, The Nation has gathered.

    Investigations revealed that there are fears that the EFCC may intensify its investigation of Senator Bukola Saraki over the collapse of the defunct Societe Generale Bank despite its inability to establish a prima facie case against the former Kwara State governor so far.

    Other drastic measures likely to be taken against the former PDP chieftains include compromising their personal security. Several weeks ago, policemen attached to Saraki were inexplicably withdrawn for reasons not unconnected to his romance with the nPDP.

    The same fate also befell the former Chairman of the nPDP, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, who also had policemen attached to him withdrawn by higher authorities.

    With the alleged resolve of the presidency and the PDP to unleash the instruments of state on the defected governors and their allies if its last ditch reconciliation moves fail, testy times sure lie ahead in the nation’s polity in the next few months.

  • Aregbesola, Awoist and Awoism

    Aregbesola, Awoist and Awoism

    Who is an Awoist? Perhaps we should first attempt a definition of Awoism before we know who an Awoist truly is. Awoism is the totality of the doctrines of Chief Obafemi Awolowo in thought, words and deeds. The philosophical foundation of Awoism is the doctrine of mental magnitude. This doctrine has its root in Plato’s philosophy: epistemology and metaphysics, and especially his philosophy of mind, otherwise known as mind-body dualism. For Plato, the body should be made subservient to the mind because the latter is superior to the former. While the mind is the seat of knowledge and intellect, the body is the seat of appetite or desire. Because Awo sees man as an instrument of change – social, economic, scientific and technological – man must undergo a training of the mind through education. Although the body is subordinate to the mind, it must be taken care of through medicare. Hence, education and healthcare are essential parts of his cardinal principles. Both of them go together, but with the mind as superior to the body.

    For Awo, man should be ruled by reason (mind) instead of appetite or desire (body). A man ruled by his appetite or desire would normally engage in corrupt practices and other vices that are occasioned by human appetite or desire that can only be curtailed by the mind or the intellect. Awo listed many of these “negative emotions” as graft, embezzlement, greed, gangsterism, etc. as “obtaining in Nigeria, my land of birth”. That is why, in his discussion on the Regime of Mental Magnitude, Awo comes out with a statement of a mortification of the highest order. He writes: “In plain language, the regime of mental magnitude is cultivated when we are sexually continent, abstemious in food, abstain from alcoholic beverage and tobacco, and completely vanquish the emotion of greed and fear.” In essence, the cultivation of the regime of mental magnitude is part of Awoism which an Awoist must possess.

    On my part, I have always maintained that this requirement of Awolowo is very hard to come by for, as I see it, there are only three people who fulfilled this stoic requirement in a fell-swoop. They are Plato, Mahatma Ghandi and Awolowo himself. I do not know of any person who can be called an Awoist in this stoic sense. If we take this as Awoist in the strong sense, we can at least find an approximation to an Awoist in the weaker sense. This is precisely where Rauf Aregbesola comes in as a man whom the cap fits naturally. Of course, there may be others, but they are likely to be those whose heads had been carved to fit an ideal cap, which is not natural. I believe it is generally known that Aregbe is sexually continent, abstemious in food, abstaining from alcoholic beverage and tobacco, and may be said to vanquish, if not completely, the emotion of greed and fear. I, like many other admirers of Awo, cannot claim to have passed this stoic test to be called an Awoist in the true sense of the word.

    That Aregbesola has passed this Awoist test with high grade is by no means a mean feat that puts him nearer to Plato, Mahatma Ghandi and Awolowo than many of us in this regard. I think I should disarm any criticism by making it clear that my assessment was based on empirical evidence that is open to everybody to verify. Congratulations, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, for it has been confirmed that you actually were sexually continent even before your marriage till today, and you neither smoke nor drink alcohol like the famous Gulder which many of us patronise. These certainly are notable areas where many of us who want to be called Awoists, including the present writer, have not made it, as “Baba Kekere” has done, most creditably.

    Merely wearing a cap which looks like the one Awo used to wear, or his spectacles (both in imitation of his mentor, Mahatma Ghandi), does not make one an Awoist or a Ghandist. We are not even sure whether to also call it Ghandi or Nehru cap or both! By my reckoning, Awolowo had put away the cap called “Awo cap” after his death. Notice that he did not start wearing that cap as a leader of the Action Group or the Premier of Western Region. Along the way, he fell in love with Mahatma Ghandi’s style of dressing and found the cap easy to fix on his head without necessarily looking at the mirror. It was also part of Ghandi’s simplicity, like the spectacles. In my dream which led me to do his wish by serialising my last conversation with him in The Nation newspapers, and later published by Evans Brothers (Nigeria Publishers) Ltd in 2010, I saw Awolowo not wearing the Awo cap but a conventional, multicoloured Yoruba cap over an immaculate white agbada. Neither did he put on the simple Ghandi-like spectacles he used to wear when he was alive. Aregbe neither wears an Awo cap nor Awo spectacles which have nothing to do with the human nature. He simply embraced the spirit and doctrine of Awoism to the letter without the extraneous cap or spectacles.

    On the issue of self discipline, Awolowo had this much to say. “Men of affairs and wisdom everywhere are unanimous in the view that only those who are masters of themselves become masters of others. Indeed Aristotle has said it, with the authority of one of the greatest and wisest men that ever lived. ‘Let him that would move the world first move himself’”. The fact of the case is that, for any person to be able to discipline others, he himself must first be self-disciplined. All the corruption going on in the country, especially at the national level, is a product of a violation of Awolowo’s idea of discipline. A leader is not likely to be at a vantage position to discipline his lieutenants on charges of corruption if he is corrupt himself. In this case, Awolowo has sold the idea of self-discipline to our leaders if they must not be afraid to discipline corrupt officials under them unless, of course, they are themselves corrupt, in which case corruption will continue to spread and flourish in the absence of self disciplined leaders. A report has it that, from his ascetic way of life, Aregbesola is difficult to convince when it comes to free spending or corrupt tendency. What he does not do you just can’t do it, and this has led to accountability and transparency in his government about which his lieutenants are happy because they are not greedy and so are ready to make some sacrifice for an Omoluwabi in an Omoluwabi state. Self-discipline is the magic by which Aregbe functions as executive governor of his state.

    Awolowo has said about God and Religion: “The touchtone of what is good, be it thought, or word or action, is LOVE. We are to love our neighbours as ourselves. Anything therefore-any thought or word or action-which falls short of LOVE is evil, and holds within itself the germ of its own eventual and inevitable destruction.” Awolowo’s idea of “spiritual depth” involves the notion of God from whom love ultimately flows. Since he has argued that man is made in the image of God, so must our love satisfy that of the Biblical injunction, “Love your neighbour as thyself”, or the Golden rule, “Do unto others as you wish them do unto you”. It was therefore not a surprise that Awo was the first politician to establish a Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Board in Nigeria, although he was a Christian. Awo’s action was a good example of religious tolerance. Thus we see Aregbesola’s position on religion in the State of Osun as a follow-up to Awo’s stand on religious tolerance where Christians and Muslims would live together in peace and harmony under the religious injunction “Love thy neighbour as thyself”.

    On education, Awolowo writes: “The cardinal aim of education is not, as is popularly but narrowly conceived, to teach a man to read and write, to acquire a profession, to master a vocation, or to be versed in the liberal arts. All these are only means to the end of education which is to help a man to live a full, happy and triumphant life.” Now, people have talked about Aregbesola’s revolution and re-organisation in Osun’s educational system. One of the most recent is the introduction of Opon imo and what, in the like of the American philosopher of education, John Dewey, we may call education “learning by doing” – all of which is to help people to acquire theoretical and practical knowledge in order to live fulfilled, happy and triumphant lives. I am aware that Aregbesola is contemplating a proclamation about technological revolution in Osun, in the manner of the wisdom and foresight of the Emperor of Japan in 1870 in a proclamation and oath taken by him which said that knowledge must be sought and acquired “from any source with all means at our disposal”, an oath that led to Japan’s technological revolution in the areas of automobile and electronic technologies now far ahead those of USA and Germany. Hence, Aregbe’s philosophy of education as learning by doing, and acquisition of high technologies by any means as well as by scientific intelligence are worthy of praise.

    Awolowo was seen as a workaholic politician and statesman. This was demonstrated in one of his writings: “I have never regarded myself as having a monopoly of wisdom. The trouble is that when most people in public life and in the position of leadership and rulership are spending whole days and nights in clubs or in the company of men of shady character and women of easy virtue I, like a few others, am always at my post working hard at the country’s problems and trying to find solutions to them. ONLY THE DEEP CAN CALL TO THE DEEP”. Those close to Aregbesola know him well as a man not given to night clubs or found in the company of “women of easy virtues”, but always in his office, days and nights, trying to find solutions to the problems of his state. His appointees find it tough to cope with his work habit, stretching from morning to about 3 a.m the following day. One does not know where he got his energy from to serve his state ferociously as he does. The interesting thing is that he seems to be enjoying it all.

    Surely, if there is any politician who may be seen as an Awo incarnate in his Philosophy, Ideology and art of Good Governance, it is Aregbesola whose First Lady is hardly visible. Grown and properly brought up in the politics of the Action Group in those days by a father who was one of the greatest disciples of Awo in Ikare in Akokoland, Aregbesola did not disappoint his father who must be very proud of him wherever he is now. Rather, he surpassed his father in love and passion for the immortal Awo who was a mentor to both father and son. He has even taken a step further by immortalising his mentor and that of his father by founding the Awolowo Centre for Philosophy, Ideology and Good Governance in his (Awo’s) image, and most certainly for posterity.

    I cannot end this piece without mentioning the recent commendation on Aregbesola for “sterling performance” from a powerful source – the Sultan of Sokoto – who said, “Aregbesola has been performing commendably well in the past three years”. The Sultan who said he had visited Osun four times said he was elated by what he saw on ground, expressing his willingness to visit the state again. He told members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum who paid him a courtesy visit in his palace, “My brother, Rauf Aregbesola, is here with all of you. I was in Osogbo, his state capital, sometime this year. I think I have visited his state four times and I am willing to visit again. There is no doubt he is doing wonderfully well” (The Nation, Sunday, Nov 17, 2013, p.9). I hope the spirit of Awolowo and Awoism, otherwise known as Democratic Socialism, may long endure in the State of Osun even after Aregbesola might have left the scene.

    Congratulations, on the third year of your meritorious administration in the Omoluwabi State.

    – Makinde, a Professor of Philosophy, is the DG/CEO, Awolowo Centre for Philosophy, Ideology and Good Governance, Osogbo