The Nation Newspaper

Category: Politics

  • APC/nPDP merger: Bumpy road ahead in N/Assembly

    APC/nPDP merger: Bumpy road ahead in N/Assembly

    With the recent defection of five of the seven aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo, reports on the likely implication for the leadership structure in the National Assembly

    The reverberation occasioned by the defection of five of the seven aggrieved governors elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) is still causing sensation across the nation’s polity.

    Within the leadership of the ruling party, palpable shock and disbelief reign supreme, as its leading lights are still trying to come to terms with the reality on ground.

    This is a sharp contrast to the official position of the party which states, “…we wish to sate categorically that the PDP remains unperturbed as we are now rid of detractors and distractions. We urge all our members nationwide to remain focused and close ranks, now that agents of distraction have finally left our ranks.”

    But in spite of the open bravado by the PDP that the defection of the five governors was good riddance to bad rubbish, insiders paint a contrary scenario of a party that is in turmoil over the likelihood of transforming from its self-imposed tag of the largest political party in Nigeria, nay Africa, to a party battling for survival and relevance.

    But for the refusal of the Niger State Governor, Aliyu Muazu Babangida, and his Jigawa State counterpart, Sule Lamido, to move with their G5 colleagues to APC, the PDP would have become the minority party with 16 states in its kitty as against APC’s expected 18.

    Senate leadership remains stable

    The movement of the five governors to APC has expectedly created apprehension of a possible leadership change in the Senate, but The Nation’s findings indicate that nothing is likely to change in the leadership structure of the Upper Chamber, at least for now.

    Up until Friday last week, about nine senators were reported to have defected from the PDP to the APC with their state governors.

    Against this backdrop, the PDP, which hitherto had 72 senators in its fold, now boasts of 63, while the APC has 42 senators. The other parties, the Labour Party (LP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), have three and one senator each, respectively.

    In the scenario that all the Senators in the states controlled by the G7 governors move to the APC, the party may still not boast a two thirds majority, which is the requisite number needed to effect any change of the Senate leadership.

    The Nation gathered that a crack in the rank of senators initially believed to be members of the nPDP may have been responsible for the current number of APC senators, as sources revealed that not all of them have aligned with the position of their leaders to move to APC.

    Senator Simeon Ajibola representing Kwara South told reporters on Wednesday that he remains in PDP contrary to the almost unanimous decision of members of Kwara PDP led by Senator Bukola Saraki and the state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, to join APC.

    Ajibola also disclosed that his colleagues, including Zainab Kure (PDP Niger South), Awaisu Kuta (PDP Niger East), Bello Tukur (PDP Adamawa Central) and some others have never been part of the nPDP nor attended any of its meetings.

    “When they were bandying the news that 22 senators, including myself, were in the new PDP in the Senate, 10 of the 22 were not with them. There is no way we can be said to be with them in the so-called merger,” Ajibola said.

    The present configuration in the Senate remains fluid and unpredictable as to the true political allegiance of some of its members.

    A case in point is that of Ehigie Uzamere, the APC Senator representing Edo South, who has allegedly distanced himself from his party’s merger plan.

    The Nation gathered that notwithstanding an unlikely rebellion against the leadership of the Senate by APC members, its leaders are not taking anything for granted based on security reports that the leadership of the APC have aggressively embarked on a marketing drive to convince reluctant lawmakers in states controlled by the aggrieved former PDP governors to join the party.

    The success or otherwise of this exercise, according to insiders, will largely determine whether the Senate leadership can continue to sleep with its two eyes closed or keep looking over its shoulders for possible onslaught from the APC lawmakers.

    But as things stand today, the Senate President and the other principal officers can continue to sit pretty on their exalted positions.

    A dicey situation in the House of Representatives

    Shortly after the announcement of the defection of the governors, 49 out of the 67 members of the PDP in the House of Representatives whose governors have joined the opposition party also joined the train.

    A statement by a member of the group in the House, Suleiman Abdulrahman and Kawu Sumaila said legislators from Adamawa, Kano, Kwara, Rivers, and Sokoto had gone with their governors to APC.

    Of the 49 defecting lawmakers, Kano has the highest number of 14, followed by Rivers with 13, while Sokoto has 11. Adamawa and Kwara boast six and five lawmakers respectively.

    The other lawmakers who remain in PDP because their governors have not defected are 18 from Jigawa and Niger States.

    Before the defection, the PDP had 204 House members, while the APC had 137, but currently, the ruling party has 155 members with APC boasting of 186, thus putting it as the majority party in the Lower House.

    This development, sources revealed, is creating anxiety among some principal officers of the House who are members of the PDP that their positions have been put under a serious threat.

    Unconfirmed reports have it that barring any last minute change of plan, APC members have allegedly resolved to effect a leadership change with the exception of the Speaker, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, who is believed to be sympathetic to the party’s cause.

    Those likely to be affected in the change of guard include the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha; the House Leader, Mulikat Akande-Adeola and her deputy, Leo Ogor. It is, however, not clear yet those likely to replace the affected officers.

    But leadership change or not, the new reality is simply that the APC now calls the shots in the House of Representatives.

  • Odumakin is twisting facts of history, says Ajanaku

    Odumakin is twisting facts of history, says Ajanaku

    Director of Media and Strategy, Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Idowu Ajanaku, in this interview with Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo, speaks on the stand of the party on the national conference, Nigeria’s leadership problem etc.

    The leadership of Afenifere, particularly the spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, has accused the leadership of the APC of betraying the Yorubas in respect to the proposed National Conference. How do you view this?

    I like to say very quickly that Odumakin is my friend. Odumakin with all sense of responsibility was one of the pillars of the progressives during the military era. He was also there when we were struggling against the PDP in the South-West. But what must have happened between now and then is what I do not understand, but if my judgment is right, I think Odumakin developed this hatred for the leadership of the progressives perhaps after Jimi Agbaje, who was his ally, was not given the governorship ticket for the 2007 election in Lagos.

    He has raised quite a number of issues about the APC as a party and its leadership. First, he said the APC has not delivered dividends of democracy since 1999, and that APC governments in the South-West have been awarding a kilometre of road at a billion naira. He also made a statement that APC members are enemies of the people because of their stand about the National Conference.

    Let me answer your question from the rear. President Jonathan’s government has started from the top what they ought to start from the scratch in respect of the National Conference. Also, President Jonathan has set up about 70 various committees in which reports have been submitted to him in the last three and half years, yet he has not been able to implement a single report out of it. Besides, Jonathan has not been able to fulfill a single campaign promise to the people of Nigeria since he was voted in 2011. He is only using the National Conference to deceive the people.

    The leadership of Afenifere has accused the likes of Chief Bisi Akande and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, among others, of selling the Yorubas to the northerners because of the alliance between the APC and the G7 and General Muhammadu Buhari. What is your reaction to this?

    That is a pure fallacy. The leadership of Afenifere, which include Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Femi Okurounmu, Olu Falae, among others, were the ones who supported Obasanjo’s second term ambition in 2003. If you look at the history of the Yorubas very well, you will discover that Obasanjo was a fierce enemy of Chief Obafemi Awolowo who was the patriarch of Afenifere. It will interest you to know that when Gbenga Daniel was the governor of Ogun State under the conservative Peoples Democratic Party, the leadership of Afenifere supported him. Another question to ask Odumakin, who is alleging that the progressive leaders have sold the Yorubas to the northerners is: was he not the spokesman of General Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 presidential election? Did he consult any of the Yoruba leadership before he took up the appointment? This reminds me of a recent joke in town about Odumakin: the man, as they say, has ported from the mainstream of Afenifere to Afenifere of Pa Ayo Fasanmi, from there to Afenifere Renewal Group, then to Save Nigeria Group. From SNG, he moved to Mimiko’s camp during the Ondo election and now people are alleging that the man has ported to President Jonathan’s camp.

    Why is the leadership of the APC skeptical about the National Conference?

    The position of the APC and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the conference should be critically looked into. When Abacha took over power in Nigeria, the first thing he did was to set up a National Conference with constituent powers. At that time, Afenifere, under the leadership of Chief Abraham Adesanya, did not want to attend it. This same Bola Tinubu at that time told the world that the man (Abacha) was not sincere. At the end of the day it came to pass. In 2003, when the Alliance for Democracy (AD) was about entering into an alliance with Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo for his second term, Bola Tinubu also raised objection that Obasanjo was not a man to be relied upon but the leadership of Afenifere did not listen to him. At the end of the day, all the AD governors, except Tinubu, were rigged out of office. In 2006, when Obasanjo started the process of National Conference, Bola Tinubu again raised the alarm that this man was not sincere. At the end of the day, Obasanjo used the conference as a tool for his third term agenda. Ironically, history does not change; it is men that have failed to learn from history. I could remember in 2003, the leadership of Afenifere went to the Ota home of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. People like Pa Onasanya, Abraham Adesanya, Olanihun Ajayi, Ayo Adebanjo, including Odumakin, when Obasanjo wanted their support for a second term. Obasanjo got the second term but failed to fulfill the promises he made to them. The tragedy of it now is that the same people are now falling for the same bait from a PDP president who is worse than Obasanjo in terms of keeping promises. Is that the same man Afenifere leaders are following? A man Senator Okurounmu said he does not know his left from his right some six months ago. In as much as I’m not against Nigerians sitting down to discuss our problems, because I will be pretending if I say that Nigeria’s present structure is not defective and there is need to sit down and address the imbalance. But President Goodluck Jonathan cannot be trusted with such a very serious national assignment. So, what we are saying now is that the likes of Chief Bisi Akande, Bola Tinubu, Chief Segun Osoba, and others are human beings and definitely will have their own faults, but when the Yorubas were seen to have been alienated politically by the PDP, Bola Tinubu stood up, provided the leadership, provided the muscle and all it takes to recue Edo, to rescue Ekiti, to rescue Osun and got good victories in Ogun and Oyo. I think such people deserve commendation and not antagonism. It is the same anger they showed towards the Ondo election. How can Afenifere take side with Mimiko, a man who is noted to be a serial betrayer? The man betrayed Ajasin against Omoboriowo; he colluded with Agagu to rig out Chief Ayo Adefarati who was an Afenifere leader; the same Mimiko, who was not in the struggle against the military.

    Odumakin said APC states are doing roads for one billion naira per kilometre and that when Adebayo Akala was governor of Oyo, he was doing it at N50million?

    It is a pure fallacy. The question you now ask is that where are those roads now? There are lots of other factors that add up to road constructions. For example, when the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu constructed the Oregun Road in Lagos, a lot of funds went into transferring of vital cables and other materials which were embedded in the contract. The road has been constructed for over 10years and still in very solid shape till now. In modern day Israel, there are roads not more than 10 kilometres that were constructed with millions of dollars because of the nature of the area. It is not the length of a road that ultimately determines its cost, but the quality, the terrain and other factors. Odumakin can make his point without necessarily twisting the facts of history.

    Odumakin said the APC will be living in a fool’s paradise if it thinks it can unseat a sitting president but he failed to realise that it happened in Senegal. Is he encouraging the president to use security agents to rig elections in 2015?

  • RIGHT OF REPLY The making of the next governor of Lagos State

    RIGHT OF REPLY The making of the next governor of Lagos State

    IT is interesting that Dapo Thomas sought to anchor his write-up on the emergence of the next governor of Lagos State, which appeared last Sunday in some newspapers, on the determinant agency of divine intervention. Indeed, it is true as the scriptures teach us that “God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.” Yet, the same “unseen hand” that the writer alludes to, which intervenes in the positive choice of who becomes governor also reserves the exclusive right to determine the negative choice of who will not be. We are not aware that the said unseen hand has transferred that right to a certain Dapo Thomas such that he can now feign to proclaim magisterially on who will not be governor of Lagos State in 2015. Which was what he sought to do in his write-up under reference.

    If this doubting Thomas had left his intervention at the level of the ethereal, matters would have been easy to dispose of. No one, except the Almighty God, can quarrel with someone who claims to be speaking for the Supreme Being. Our country is today awash with so many fake prophets and the political season is a time when they do brisk business by bamboozling the unwary and the inordinately ambitious with false prophesies. So the right of Mr. Thomas to mount the pulpit and try to pass himself off as a seer is not in doubt insofar as his clients are willing to be sucked in and to pay handsomely for his services. In these climes, spiritual charlatanism had for long been a dubious but highly lucrative calling with mass followership, well before Wole Soyinka wrote his Brother Jero plays.

    Yet, there should be a limit to intellectual vagrancy that seeks to masquerade itself as political soothsaying. After attempting a feeble appraisal of the field of supposed aspirants, Thomas plays his hand openly in the write-up when he declares that, “The only odd person on the list (of aspirants) is Femi Hamzat. He is a Prince from Ogun State. His father, Oba Olatunji Hamzat, a former commissioner in Jakande’s government, is the Olu of Afowowa Sogaade in Ewekoro Local Government Area.” He continued, “How he intends to scale through the indigene hurdle – normally determined by patrilineal relationship – despite his obvious relationship with the Olu of Afowowa is a mystery to me.”

    Let us just say that it would continue to be a mystery to his likes even well after the gubernatorial election would have been won and lost. But we should ask, since when did the “indigene hurdle” and “patrilineal relationship” become critical determinants of who becomes governor of Lagos State? Some things, as this once-upon-a-time operative of the Lagos State Government should know, are better left unsaid. Truth is that, where one’s father comes from has never been a fundamental enhancer or fatal hindrance to mounting the gubernatorial saddle in Lagos. What matters is the level of one’s commitment and contribution to the well being and progress of the state. And Dr. Femi Hamzat’s qualifications in this regard have never been in doubt.

    Indeed, it has been the unique good fortune of Lagos State to aggregate the energies of people from far and near in composing an entity that has become the most progressive member of the constituent states that make up the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Local and international ratings continue to attest copiously to this fact.

    Speaking of Oba Olatunji Hamzat, whose parental association is now being touted as a disabler of his son’s purported ambition, let us go back a bit in history. It is a fact that much of the initial foundation for the transport infrastructure of Lagos State was laid by the same Olatunji Hamzat during his tenure as commissioner thirty years ago. And it continues to be a sore point of debate what the fortunes of Lagos would have been today if the Metroline project, which he initiated under the forward-looking leadership of his principal, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, had been allowed to see the light of day. If some people do not have the good grace to show gratitude they should at least desist from peddling bad blood about fellow citizens who have served Lagos State well.

    But Thomas did not stop his pull-him-down hatchet job there. He goes further to add that: “The speculation in town is that Femi Hamzat enjoys the backing of (Governor) Fashola. This may be understandable. While I do not intend to deny him (BRF) the right to give his support to whoever he desires, I will only admonish him to tread softly. There is no need to create fresh tension between him and Tinubu. As the symbolic leader of the progressives and a major financier of the APC, Tinubu should be given the privilege of having a major input in who becomes the APC candidate, and in fact, who becomes the next governor of the state. For now, it will be a great honour to Tinubu if Lagos State becomes his operational base and political stronghold.”

    This is a most devious line that seeks to stoke the fires of a quarrel that does not exist. Has Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a political leader who has proven quite capable of taking care of issues, complained to Thomas that he is being denied “the privilege of having a major input in who becomes the … next governor of the state”? As far as we know, Asiwaju Tinubu and his worthy successor share a common interest in ensuring that whoever takes over from Fashola should be someone who can continue with the good work started by Tinubu and carried forward by Fashola over the past decade-and-a-half or so. If for whatever reason known to both men they have arrived at a convergence of choice and that choice seems to be pointing to Dr. Femi Hamzat, so be it. There can be no profit in seeking to create a casus belli between both men where none exists, except for those elements that the Yoruba people would call arije ni madaru. We sincerely hope that Mr. Thomas does not desire to be numbered amongst such an ignoble cast.

    Obviously, the limited encounters to which Thomas was exposed while he was in the service of the state government may have fuelled a delusion that he could speak with authority on goings-on in the inner circles of Lagos politics. Who told him that Hakeem Gbajabiamila was ever in strong consideration as Tinubu’s successor? The ways of power can indeed be inscrutable, but no one can deny the fact that the choice of Babatunde Raji Fashola as successor has proved to be the crowning glory of Asiwaju Tinubu’s gubernatorial ascendancy in Lagos State. A political culture and corresponding structure is being built to power Lagos State into fulfilling its nomenclature as the country’s Centre of Excellence. Lagosians must be wary that desperadoes like Thomas and his paymasters do not scuttle the carefully charted path to transforming their state into a modern and prosperous industrial democracy anchored on harnessing the abundant energies of an emergent megacity.

    Mr. Thomas’s choice of what prefix to attach to each of the names of the people he claims are currently eyeing the Alausa seat betrays his bias and possibly tells us a lot about who paid how much for what write-up. In a society obsessed with bloated dignitarianism based on honorific titles, it is revealing that House Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji is given his proper title as Hon. and Ganiyu Solomon and Gbenga Ashafa are referred to as Senator while Dr. Leke Pitan, arguably one of the brightest physicians to superintend the Health Ministry in the history of Lagos State, has his title missing while Dr. (Engr.) Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat, a Ph. D holder in Systems Engineering is simply Mr. Femi Hamzat. However, it is instructive to remind Thomas that such sneaky put-downs are ultimately futile. The packed field of aspirants from which the incumbent govenor, simply Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, was chosen as candidate, was heavily populated with Professors, Engineers and the like and yet he emerged!

    In between making specious claims and engaging in childish pranks, Mr. Thomas also takes time off to pronounce some categorical falsehoods and proclaim bizarre logic. Hear him: “The plan of APC to become a major rallying point for all progressives nationwide can only be realised if Lagos regains the high political tempo witnessed under Tinubu. As at now, the (sic.) Lagos under Fashola has lost its political steam. The entire environment is not business-friendly for those who live on politics. Those who feed and live on political entertainment are moving to Osun and Ekiti where there is market for their business.”

    How an environment that is “not business-friendly for those who live on politics” becomes a bad thing is perhaps clear only to Mr. Thomas and his ilk of jegudu jera politicians. He claims that those who feed on “political entertainment” are moving to areas “where there is market for their business”! Haaa!!! The truth of course is that those engaged in real business that promotes the progress of society are doing quite fine under the present dispensation as the stupendous growth in infrastructure and quantum leaps in the internally generated revenue of Lagos State continue to show.

    Let us conclude by noting that the great cities of today are those that continue to de-emphasise primordial considerations and ascriptive tendencies in favour of achievement-oriented principles in their choice of leaders. The Anglo-Dutch origins of the city of New York are not in doubt but it was the Jews that turned it into the commercial capital of the world. The Irish antecedents of the city of Boston was deep but it was the WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) influence that elevated it into the educational hub that it has become today, home to the world-famous Harvard University and many other high brow institutions. The percentage of aboriginal Emirati in the city of Dubai is not nearly enough to explain the extensive prosperity of that city which is today one of the fastest growing metropolis in the world. What all this tells us is that the great cities are those that creatively use the energies and endowments of indigene and settler alike to drive towards prosperity.

    Above all, we all need to be careful about how far we go in tracing origins when it comes to the politics of Lagos State. Centuries-old migratory patterns and even more recent population shifts should caution us that we could be presented with some rather interesting disclosures as to who comes from where even amongst the current cast of gubernatorial aspirants not to talk of past and present leaders of the state! Lastly, let it be known that hagiography procured through stealth and filthy lucre can only invite its own commensurate nemesis. A word, as they say, should be enough for the wise.

    * Mr. Joseph wrote from Mushin, Lagos.

  • Boycotting all boycottables

    The man who made this phrase popular was the late Mazi Mbonu Ojike. In the 1940s, he kept a column in West African Pilot and led a campaign against colonialism in all forms. He called for repudiation of cultural imperialism and enjoined his compatriots to find virtue in all things traditional and indigenous. Ojike was a key member of the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), once served on the Lagos Town Council and would do anything to promote anything Nigerian. It was in this context that he called for a repudiation of the colonial way of life. The bow tie that the senior civil servants, lawyers and the educated elite spotted and relished meant nothing to him. He saw nothing wrong with African wears for formal occasions and wanted others to join the crusade. He did not really succeed.

    The call did not find political expression until much later. After independence, given the way elections were handled and the barbaric way of managing public affairs, one political group or party or the other had cause to announce boycott of election. It was the case after the crisis that wrecked the Action Group and has remained the pattern since. Anyone, group, tendency or party that lost out in the political chess game would come up with a boycott of elections and the political process. The siddon look policy expounded by the late Chief Bola Ige took the cake in this.

    It has always been my contention that quitters do not win. I have always argued that it is an act of cowardice for anyone to boycott elections since, going by the law, it would not necessarily invalidate the result. I have taken the view that it is a way of making things easy for the opponent. It is better, I have always believed, to slug it out, expose the irregularities and thus sensitise the electorate to the flaws in the electoral system. It was the view taken by the late Chief Adekunle Ajasin in the First Republic when the AG ordered a boycott of elections. Despite being a Vice President of the party, Ajasin participated with a view of retaining his hold on his Owo constituency. He was vindicated. The AG lost more than it gained. The full cost of the progressives’ boycott of the electoral system in 1999 is yet to be fully computed.

    However, in the light of the brazen robbery that took place in Anambra on November 16, I am willing to review this long-held position. I think the best any of the other parties that participated could do is shun the supplementary election. In principle and in general, I still believe that wholesale boycott is indefensible. In a general election in which candidates would be returned for executive and legislative positions, no party should see boycott as a useful weapon unless it is willing and able to lead the people all the way to reject the result. Otherwise, boycott is not an acceptable mode of protest.

    In Anambra, however, because it is limited to the governorship election and the parties had participated in the first poll, it is the inevitable choice available. Already, as Chief Victor Umeh, the national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance has been boasting, it is obvious to all that the seat has been hijacked by the electoral commission and handed (or was it sold?) to Willie Obiano. A further participation cannot help correct the damage consciously and mortally inflicted on the system. The systematic rigging has robbed the process of value and taken virtue from the electoral commission.

    In all this, what I find personally painful is the involvement of Professor Attahiru Jega. When he was appointed, I was one of those who took on his traducers. I argued that the man was bringing in his personal integrity. While still observing that more attention should be paid to systems and processes, I thought it wrong to conclude that Jega was not the man for the job. Now, I have been proved wrong. No one can convince me that a man who has failed to give the country a clean election register, who has serially and consistently failed in delivering on every promise has any reason to be retained on the job. I am even willing to entertain the thought that President Goodluck Jonathan knew what was not obvious to us all in making the smart move of making Jega INEC chairman. Many of us had been carried away by the reputation of the Political Science Professor as national chairman of the Academic Staff Union of the Universities.

    A man of honour, I believe, should be honest enough to admit he has failed the nation. He should be man enough to admit that it is actually beyond him. The performance in Delta and Anambra, in particular has shown that there is no future for the commission and elections conducted by it with Jega in the saddle. The least I would have expected from the man is quit the stage to atone for the cardinal sin. We have been taken for a ride. It is time for all to stand up to this latest form of electoral malfeasance. On this occasion, I support a boycott, but active resistance of perfidy on the electoral scene must not be limited to boycott. Otherwise, other elections would be doomed.

  • ‘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.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • 2015: Merger may alter geo-political calculus

    The voting pattern across the six geo-political zones may be altered in the next presidential election by the All Progressives Congress (APC)/New Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) merger. EMMANUEL OLADESU, LEKE SALAUDEEN and MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE report.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC/New Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) merger has continued to generate ripples. The decimation of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a major burden to its national leader, President Goodluck Jonathan, who is believed to be interested in a second term . But for the APC, it is a bold message that power shift is a priority in the next election.

    It is a tragedy for the party that has prided itself as the acclaimed largest party in Africa. Its leaders had dreamt of a one-party state, boating that PDP will rule for the next 60 years. Ironically, the party will now be struggling to retain federal power in the next presidential poll. Obviously, the APC still anticipates more defections from the PDP, especially during the primaries, which may be marred by acrimony, strife and rancour.

    The opposition is prepared to confront the PDP by mounting a campaign of issues during the electioneering. The campaigns will be hot. The debates by the two presidential candidates will also be interesting, reminiscent of the debate between the proscribed Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, the late Chief Moshood Abiola, and the National Republican Convention (NRC) flag bearer, Alhaji Othman Tofa.

    Ahead of 2015, APC and PDP have a lot to do. There are speculations that cross defections are still likely. APC leaders are not likely to relent in wooing more PDP chieftains to the fold. The PDP may also wake up from slumber by giving reconciliation a second thought to prevent more disaster.

    Now, the PDP’s sphere of influence has reduced. Two weeks ago, PDP could boast of 23 governors. Now, it has 18 governors. The APC, which had 11 governors, now has 16. The Labour Party (LP) has one state (Ondo) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has one (Anambra).

    Analysts are predicting a change in geo-political calculus. The in-road by the APC to the PDP’s stronghold has implications for the two parties. Thus, a titanic presidential battle has been predicted in 2015.

    A searchlight is being beamed at some critical states, especially Rivers, Kano, Lagos, Sokoto, and Oyo. The voting population in these states is sophisticated. It is huge. Therefore, they can sway the votes.

    Remarkably, the voting pattern in the poll-confident Northwest geo-political zone cannot be the same again. It is natural that, at every periodic election, PDP presidential candidates often target the zone because they perceive it as a critical factor. The analysis of the voters’ list from the zone also underscores its vibrancy, electoral asset and indispensability. The zone will always be in national reckoning.

    In the last voter’s registration released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the total number or registered voters was 73,528,040. Lagos had 6.2 million voters. Trailing it were Northwest states; Kano, which had 5.10 million, Kaduna; 3.5 million and Katsina; 2.9. The zone had 19,803,689 voters. The figures spoke volumes about the potency and electoral numerical strength of the leading zone. This may continue to make it an electorally sought-after region in any critical national contest.

    The Southwest, a stronghold of the APC, had 14,296,163 voters. Oyo State had 2.5 million voters on the register.

    In the Southsouth, Rivers State had over two million voters. In fact, more than two million votes were also cast during the last presidential election. In the Northcentral, Kwara State had 1.1 million voters.

    But there may be a clean break from the past, if the current tempo is sustained. Unlike 2011, the aforementioned states are now under the control of the APC.

    In the Northwest, there will be a show of strength between Vice President Namadi Sambo and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

    In the Northeast, the APC can only wax stronger in Adamawa State, Bornu, and Yobe. In Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba states, the PDP may continue to hold sway, unless the APC’s membership drive changes the tide.

    Apart from the executive arms, the decimation in the ranks of the PDP has also hit its parliamentary caucuses. The political stratification is not yet clear in the National Assembly, although all state legislators have gravitated towards the APC in the affected states.

  • By innovation, harvests increase

    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.”

  • Community leader seeks support for Anambra election

    Community leader seeks support for Anambra election

    A leader of the Ogidi Community in Idemili North Local Gov ernment Area, Anambra State, Chief Sam Anyanwutaku, has urged political parties not to boycott the supplementary election in the interest of democracy.

    Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, he said such a step will not advance the development of democracy in the country.

    He said: “Those who called for the boycott of the election have not considered the overall interest of the country. If they carry out their threat, it would amount to a waste of resources.”

    “We heard that is it only in two local governments that there was problem. I don’t think there is any reason to cancel the entire result because there were no visible problems in other local governments.”

    He said being a stakeholder in Ogidi community, it was important his people’s position in the election process is respected because Ogidi community was already bracing up for the election.

    “As a progressive citizen, who has knowledge about how Anamabra State is governed, I took time to study the parties and their candidates vying for the governorship election and came with the conclusion that Ogidi people will return the ruling All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state.”

    He maintained that the people of Ogidi have not had it so good, except under the Obi administration in the state. “Since the creation of Idemili Council, no indigene has been appointed chairman of the council, but this was possible under Governor Peter Obi.”

    He added that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must do all within its power to live above board by conducting transparent elections.

    He commended the governor for its education, health, security and social welfare services.

  • ‘PDP desperate to retain power’

    ‘PDP desperate to retain power’

    Former Information Minister Prince Tony Momoh has said the People Democratic Party (PDP) will be desperate to hold on to power, following the defection of the aggrived governors tothe All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He said the party would use everything within its reach to ensure it holds on to power.

    He said: “The consequence of this is that the PDP is going to be more desperate. PDP is going to fight like a bull in the China shop. It is going to be the spoiler. This is because nobody willingly hands over power. Power is taken.

    “If any person or group thinks that power is going to be willingly relinquished, they are mistaken. The struggle for change is a hard battle; this must be fought constitutionally and legally,” Momoh said.

    The APC chieftain maintained that plans to return power to the people was on course. “When we came up with the merger idea, people said merger was impossible. Today, we have merger and everything is on course.

    “We didn’t just think of the splinter group then. the whole idea was muted, but right now, we have spread out to bring together all the progressives.

    “So, the PDP, which is a conservative party, has a lot of splintering groups. We have resolved to pull out the progressives among them into APC.”

    Momoh added that the PDP had its ways in the country by manipulating elections, sustaining corruption and entrenching fraud in the system.

    He noted that although the PDP would become the opposition party in, it never envisaged it would be soon.

    “So, this is just the beginning of getting PDP out. We felt that PDP will be in the opposition by 2015 but we did not know it will be so soon.”

    He said those who feels that the union is that of strange bed fellows should have a rethink because the party manifesto has clearly defined the mode of relationship.

    “I heard some people saying that people who are in APC are not homogeneous, in order word there is no compatibility. They forget that there is a document that everybody in APC must accept and that is manifesto of the party.

    “We are not just interested in taking power but interested in giving to Nigerians what democracy as a system of government ought to have offered them in the area of freedom.

    “What social justice ought to have offered them infrastructure development which PDP flagrantly ignored since it came to power in 1999,” he added.

  • ‘APC will rule in 2015’

    ‘APC will rule in 2015’

    All Progressives Congress (APC) Interim Women Leader Mrs Sharon Ikeazor spoke with CHINENYE MUOJEKWU in Lagos on the prospects of the party in 2015 elections shorly before the APC Women Town Hall meeting.

    APC women were tear gassed by the police during their protest in Anambra State. What is your take on that?

    It just shows the impunity that we are talking about in Nigeria. it shows that we don’t have a right to protest anymore. It is totally wrong for the police to tear gas the women. The police should make sure that we have security, but during the peaceful protest, we were gassed. This has to stop in Nigeria.

    More women registered for the election than men. Don’t you think, if there was a female candidate, she would have emerged the winner of the election?

    Precisely, the problem is that we women are not yet united. The essence of this town hall meeting is for us to unite. You know we are three merging parties rom the state level to the ward level. We decided to hold this town hall meeting for us to unite.

    Our strength is in our numbers. We are going to be a formidable force within the political party. As women, we constitute 51 per cent of the population. The majority of the registered voters are women. So, we want to use that numeric strength to bring about victory for the APC because APC is bringing about that change for us women.

    Beyond bringing victory for the APC, 2015 is around the corner. What will the women be asking for, in terms of positions?

    We are already preparing our female aspirants. We have started organising training and workshop for female aspirants, who are going to run in the 2015 general elections. We have local govern,net elections going on and we have been preparing women who have been running. In 2015, we will see an increase in the number of women running for elective positions on the APC platform.

    What do you have to say on the World Violence Day?

    Women should not tolerate any form of violence whether abusive or physical. Project Alert is doing a fantastic job in Nigeria, they are the first NGO that has a centre for abusive women. So, any woman that is abused or beaten up by her husband has a place to run to and we have fund such NGOs.

    What are the chances of APC in 2015?

    Our chances are bright. The APC is a conglomerate. Think of the strength of the defunct CPC, ACN and ANPP. With these three together, our chances are very bright.

    There are fears that INEC may not live up to expectation in 2015, do you hold such views?

    No, we are going to have our party agents, who will protect our votes. The protection of votes is key and we are already training our polling unit agents, both male and female.

    But, in the case of Anambra, the APC, in a statement, recently said they were not given accreditation for the agents to be use…

    (Cuts in) This is all part of the problem we went through with INEC, which we will not allow in 2015. Anambra election has shown us what INEC might do in 2015 and so we will start working now to prevent it.

    What is the party going to do to ensure it wins election in the Southeast in 2015?

    I am from Anambra state. The APC a new party for them in the Southeast but, by the time they see the members of the interim NEC and members of the APC, who are from the Southeast, begin work, they will buy into it. That is why I am doing town hall meetings to sensitize people. Once they know that their people are part of the APC, they will join.

    APGA started by playing regional politics by saying that APGA was for the Igbos. No party is for one tribe. I was the National Women Leader of the CPC and I am from Anambra. Every party is for all Nigerians.

    We just have different ideologies. You have family member in one party and you be in another. We should not play regional politics. I grew up in Lagos but I am Igbo.