The Nation Newspaper

Tag: 2015

  • 2015: Will the north speak with one voice?

    During the week, Professor Ango Abdullai of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) repeated the position that all northern groups, including the ACF, NEF, NU, MBF, etc, have resolved that power must return to the north in 2015.

    Unlike in the recent past when the ACF, through its spokesperson, Anthony Sani, denied knowledge of such a resolution, no person or group from the north has faulted the former Vice Chancellor’s claim so far.

    This development is easing the worry among political observers over the ability and readiness of the north to be united and speak with one voice in its quest to produce the next president of the country in 2015.

  • Time to govern; not electioneering

    We have about two years to go before the next elections in Nigeria, except in a few states where elections are due next year. The federal elections are not due until May 2015. Although I know that people generally say the campaign for the next election begins during swearing-in, but in our case in Nigeria, I think we are carrying things to an extreme. There is too much politics in this country and little time for governance and development. Our leaders seem to spend too much time on planning to stay in office than on helping the country to develop. Hardly does anybody pick the newspapers or listen to the news without politics dominating everything. I think we are getting to a point of saturation where people would just switch off from politics.

    Unfortunately, there is no other way of ruling a people than through politics and it is in nobody’s interest to go back to the old days of military dictatorship. But our politicians have to be very careful that they don’t by their behaviour invite the unthinkable. We have only reached the midway in this present dispensation and there is nothing to show for it. The country is earning billions upon billions of dollars in the sale of hydro-carbons without the people benefitting from it. There is still no power in most places in this country. In fact more power is generated by individual Nigerians than by the state. Statistics show that only about 20 percent of Nigerians benefit from electricity supply. I have a feeling that this is probably true as far as supply of portable water is concerned.

    It may seem a middle class obsession, but there is need to say once again that our roads have collapsed and they constitute a danger to every road user and these are in the majority because we have no trains on which to ride and flying is out of the reach of the average individual not to talk about the risk of flying in Nigeria where aviation infrastructure is pedestrian. There is so much to do in terms of governance and everyday should count. As they say, a day is a long period in politics; it should also be that a day is a long period in governance. Imagine what can be done if all the efforts being concentrated on politics were to be devoted to finding solutions to our problems in Nigeria. The reason for this overconcentration on politics is because strictly speaking, there are no political parties in Nigeria, what exists are ad hoc coalitions to win elections. The party organs are not developed and there are no party structures and most of the parties have no ideologies. Those of us who grew up in the days of the Action Group in the Western region know that apart from government, there was a parallel party organisation with distinguished party functionaries who kept politics going on while those in government faced squarely the problems confronting society. This is not so nowadays except perhaps in Lagos, where there seems to be a well-organized and parallel political party structure completely distinct from government. Some people have argued that that is why Babatunde Fashola is able to devote most of his time to governance rather than to politics. This dichotomy does not seem to happen anywhere else most especially at the federal level.

    What is going on right now is not healthy for democracy. Because at the end of the day, democracy is about people and if people feel that their lives are not being changed by the democratic process, they are likely to develop a nonchalant and negative attitude to the political process. Even in countries where the impact of government is being felt, people are increasingly disillusioned about political leaders. The ongoing protests in Turkey and Brazil should be an eye-opener for our leaders. I know that Nigerians generally would say “this cannot happen here”; this assumes that we are a different kind of humanity, but I think we are wrong. In a globalized world, anything that happens in one part of the world has reverberation all-over the world. The internet, is not limited by national frontiers and communication these days, have universal audience. This is why we have to be careful that we don’t get carried away by our leaders’ penchant for looting the treasury through their love for primitive accumulation of resources that should belong to the commonwealth of our people.

    I shudder to imagine what can happen to this country if our leaders do not learn lessons from other lands. I remember vividly what happened during the demonstration against removal of so-called fuel subsidy, a year or so ago. To many, it was an occasion to ventilate their feelings against government and there is nothing wrong in doing that, but to others, it was an occasion for unbridled criminality. There were stories of looting, rapes in such places as Ibadan and the outline areas of Lagos by criminals on the lunatic fringe who took the opportunity of the demonstration to rave and rant against society and to commit crimes. I barely escaped being killed near Ibadan when I was travelling from Ife to Ibadan very early on the day of the demonstrations. I say this because in the nature of revolutions, blind fury can take over well planned and well articulated plans of protests and manifestation against government action or inaction and when revolutions begin, nobody can predict its end, because revolution tend to consume its own children. Therefore, those who wish for revolutions and those who by their lack of vision and non-performance invite the wrath of society on their heads and the heads of all of us, need to be warned of the possibility of eventual chaos or doom that await us as a collectivity of people if we don’t do the right thing.

    It was J. F. Kennedy who said “those who make reforms impossible make revolution inevitable.” My old Professor of Political Science at the University of Ibadan, Reverend Father James O’Connell, wrote a paper in the sixties titled “The inevitability of instability in Nigeria”, which at the time was dismissed as the wild imagination of somebody from the ivory tower. We now know how prophetic, O’Connell has been proved. Instead of facing serious problems of governance, both the legislative and the executive branches of government in Nigeria are usually seized with the non-existent problems of creating new states and re-writing the constitution, and wasting resources in this regard. They create unnecessary debate over a six-year term for the president and governors and creation of innumerable number of states to satisfy the ambitious politicians who want to be governors of their little ethnic kingdoms, without thinking of the viability or not of their little areas or the relevance of whatever years a president or a governor spends to the development of the country.

    A cynic has described the Nigerian democracy as “government of the politicians, for the politicians and by the politicians.” The people hardly count in the reckoning by our leaders. This cannot go on forever without repercussion especially in the face of massive unemployment of young people, particularly, young graduates; substandard education at all levels because of lack of facilities; and financial inputs by the relevant bodies and also massive insecurity and general underdevelopment. It is always a shame when one goes to countries that are oil-producing like our own and compares our physical development with theirs; and these where countries that became independent around the same time as our country. The difference between them and us is leadership. We have been cursed by the problem of the right kind of leadership in our country. In a developing or underdeveloped country, leadership by example is everything. If we had a leader today who is not corrupt, who is forward thinking, who is development oriented and selfless, he can take this country within a generation to the highest point possible. Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew are examples, so also are Mahathir Mohammad and Malaysia.

  • 2015: Benue-South demands governorship slot

    2015: Benue-South demands governorship slot

    As 2015 general election draws closer, the question on the minds of the people of Benue-South senatorial district, otherwise known as Zone C, comprising mainly Idoma ethnic group, is when will power ever shift to the zone, reports Uja Emmanuel in Makurdi.

    Today, the people of Benue-south senatorial district, are haunted by one political reality, which is that it may take a biblical carmel to pass through the eye of needle before their Apa state, as promised by Senate President, David Mark, would be created.

    If the recent media statements credited to the deputy senate president, who is also the co-chairman of the constitutional amendment, are anything to go by, there seem to be no hope that Apa state would be a reality before 2015 general election.

    The people of Zone C, who are mainly of Idoma ethnic group, reportedly demanded the creation of Apa state, to be carved out of Benue, as a compensation for an alleged marginalisation by their Tiv brothers since the creation of Benue from plateau states more than 40 years ago.

    But now that it seems the hope for Apa state is dashed, all political actors in Benue-south have gone back to the drawing board to strategise on how the zone would produce the next governor of Benue State, for the first time.

    Benue-south senatorial district, where the Idoma people are in the clear majority, has a total of nine (9) local government areas. Out this number, Igede people, another minority tribe, dominate two (2) local government areas (Oju and Obi LGS), leaving Idoma proper with seven (7).

    But as the underground alignments and strategies are being perfected, the million questions in the lips of observers is, can Benue-south get it right this time in their quest to rule the state?

    It is difficult to predict whether the people of Benue south would occupy the Government House Makurdi, come 2015, because their Tiv brothers who had produced all the governorship positions are in the majority with two senatorial zones (A and B) spread in fourteen (14) local government areas .

    There is also a cat and mouse relationship between the Tivs and Idomas. While the former are in the clear majority, the later effectively seems to be in total control of power at the federal levels, as such, the Tivs are alleged to be convinced it would be dangerous to relinquish power at the state level to Zone C brothers.

    Notwithstanding, the people of Zone C have already started campaigns for the 2015 governorship election.

    Notable among the aspirants are Chief Steven Lawani. He is the deputy governor of Benue State since 2007, and has reportedly been very patient and loyal to Governor Suswam. This is the first time that a deputy governor of Benue State has openly declared his intention to succeed his boss.

    Chief Lawan hails from Ogbadigbo Local Government. He contested the 2007 governorship primaries on the ticket of PDP alongside Governor Suswam. He came third but the party chose him as running mate to Suswam.

    Since then, he has waxed stronger politically in Benue-south and the entire Benue State.There is the belief that if elected, he would continue with the programme of Suswam. For this reaon, there is the belief that his candidacy may receive the blessing of the governor.

    Paul Hariis Ogbole: A member of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and former chairman, Otukpo Local Government Area, he is said to be a close confidant of Governor Suswam.

    Ogbole has carved a niche for himself and established a relationship with the three senatorial zones in Benue State. Many believe that with his humble character, he stand a chance of bridging the gab between Tiv and Idoma.

    Sam Ode: A former minister of state for Niger Delta and a onetime special adviser to Governor Suswam on local government on chieftaincy affiars, he is a core politician and his strength is said to be the youths as he has empowered many youths during his period as minister and adviser. He also commands large followers among Tiv and Idoma people.

    Despite the array of aspirants from Benue-south, it remains to be seen whether their Tiv brothers, who are in the majority in the state, would relinquish power to the

  • 2015 behind Rivers crisis, says commissioner

    2015 behind Rivers crisis, says commissioner

    Rivers State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry Chuma Chinye spoke with CLARICE AZUATALAM in Port Harcourt on why President Goodluck Jonathan and Chief Nyesom Wike, the Minister of State for Education, are fighting Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

     

    Many people have expressed disappointment over the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) election of May 24. What is your reaction?

    My first take is that there is hope for Nigeria, that we will be able to conduct free and fair elections. But, that hope wavers in the face of the rather disappointing reaction of the other 16 governors, who participated in that election. It is worrisome because it is reflective of the general tendency of the Nigerian politician not to accept the outcome of election results.

    I watched with amazement Governor Godswill Akpabio saying that Governor Amaechi practically forced them to hold the election. If you look at their sizes, Amaechi doesn’t quite look like the biggest or strongest. He is certainly by no means the oldest. He is younger than most of them.

    They went there and in spite of the mischief they had in mind, they blundered by allowing the election to hold in the first place. Once the election held, the minimum they should have shown by way of integrity as leaders in Nigeria was to accept the outcome and congratulate the winner. Therefore, it was shameful that in spite of the fact that they participated in the election, the results were clear, the election was free and fair, they turned round and began to manipulate and turn things around in a way that is not good for the future of Nigerian politics.

    What do you think is the cause of the crisis in the state?

    It is simple. Those who think that they mean well for the President, but are actually selfish and ambitious individuals, are busy stoking the fire of another civil war in Rivers State simply because they think or they accuse Governor Amaechi of having the ambition to be the Vice President to somebody.

    In my study of the history of the world, I have not seen or heard or read where somebody was running for the office of Vice President before the Presidential nominations have taken place. I think that it is idiotic and I say this with all sense of responsibility, it is idiotic for anybody to begin to fight a man because he is perceived to have a vice – presidential ambition, when in fact, all you need to do is to tackle the man that you think has the presidential ambition. Because, if you tackle the man that has the vice-presidential ambition, he can only become a vice-president if only there is a president.

    Has it always been like this?

    No. I have the privilege of working as the Director of Finance and Administration in the PDP campaign office in Rivers State in the 2011 elections and I know the charge that the Governor gave to myself and the then DG, the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, to deliver PDP and ensure that the votes that we garner for President Jonathan will be the one that will surpass everyone in every part of Nigeria and we delivered.

    If the governor did not love his President, he would not go the extent that we went to ensure that the highest votes that the President had came from the Southsouth. It is on account of the number of votes that we delivered to the President that he conceded a second ministerial slot to Rivers State. That second slot is the one occupied by Wike. If this was a governor that hated the President or did not want him, he wouldn’t go to the extent he went.

    Therefore, if I may go back to what I was saying earlier on, if you begin to destroy Rivers State because Amaechi is perceived to have a vice presidential ambition, are we saying that we prefer the offices we want to occupy to the people of Rivers State?

    Are we saying that, because of 2015, we should first destroy all the good works that Governor Amaechi has done in Rivers State? If you want to occupy a house, do you set it on fire first? Those who want to be governors in 2015 should wait. when the time comes they can seek office. But it is the highest form of disservice to Rivers people, to any person whosoever, to begin to damage Rivers State simply because they want to take it over.

    Is there a plot to remove the governor?

    It is quite clear that there is a plot to remove Governor Amaechi from office now. For those who are behind this plot, have they asked themselves some questions, the voice that comes from heaven, have you examined yourself? Are they saying that the works that Amaechi is doing is not good enough for him to complete his second tenure?

    I read Chief E.K. Clark saying that the President is entitled to run for office, but he turned round to say that Amaechi is not entitled to aspire to be the Vice president because the Southsouth only deserves a President. Now, this President is not a President of the Southsouth; he is the President of Nigeria. Amaechi is the Governor of Rivers State. If the President has a right, so does Amaechi.

    Interestingly, neither the President nor Amaechi has said that they want to run for anything. But now, Rivers people are returning to the days of carrying their hands up to walk simply because people around the President think that Amaechi must be stopped at all costs. Stopped from being what?

    Critics have said that, if he is really as good as he is saying, he shouldn’t be in PDP. How do you react to that?

    My answer to them is that the right place for this kind of futuristic leader to be is in PDP. Because, if you look back, look at your Bible, the world got so bad, God Himself got so worried and wondered what He should do about the world. He decided to come and be part of the world. To see what we see, to feel what we feel, faced the temptations and the challenges that we face and in spite of those challenges, to stand firm and make a change. The changes that Amaechi is making in PDP are there for all to see.

    It didn’t start today. To become governor he effected changes which led to constitutional amendments. Before the constitutional amendments, his stand led to the historical Supreme Court judgment. Today, he is still standing by these virtues, by these truths. My fear for him is that he is probably ahead of his time.

    The governor has expressed fear for his safety. Do you share his anxiety, too?

    In 2007, on AIT programme, Focus Nigeria, on the issue of whether they were right to substitute Amaechi or not, I told the coordinator that they had the chance. And that what they needed to have done was to have killed him. But because they could not and change his name, once the 66 days elapsed, there was nothing they could do. Today, I also say that the mistake they have made is that they have failed to take him out. But since they haven’t done so and the man is alive, if they try to kill him now, Nigerians will rise. They are trying to remove him from office. It will not work because Nigerians and Rivers people will rise. But like I said, I have my fears and these fears are that leaders like him usually are ahead of their time and when you are ahead of your time they try to extinguish your candle.

    There is a man in Cross River State who was governor, Donald Duke. He came ahead of his time, stood for what is right. Where is he? They have pushed him aside. Nigeria has a habit of extinguishing its lights. Those persons who are most outstanding are usually pushed aside. Governor Amaechi has something to add to the national leadership of Nigeria, whether he is vice president, whether he is President, whether he is senator, whatever it is, he has served Rivers State and Nigeria for close to 16 years. The experiences and the candour and the integrity he has brought into public office should not be allowed to waste because some persons are ambitious. His fate should not become like that of Nasir El’Rufai. Nasir El’Rufai has something to add to Nigeria, whether you like him or you don’t like him.

    I lived in Abuja when he was the minister and I go to Abuja. I still have a property in Abuja and I see the difference. I am not criticising the present minister. But quite frankly, there is a difference. I have met El’Rufai; he has something to add.

    Nuhu Ribadu has something to add to Nigeria. Where is he? These men are on the sidelines why? Because they are like Governor Amaechi.

    I must say that if Amaechi has any ambition to move from the state level to the federal level into any office, I will stand by him. And I will stand by him not because I am his Commissioner but because having worked with him, I know that he means well. I have never met a public officer who means better for his people like Governor Amaechi and I have related with quite a number of them. In my lifetime I have served as Special Assistant to all kinds of people, including ministers and I have never seen one like Governor Amaechi.

     

  • Before and after 2015

    The much-awaited Nigeria Governors Forum election has come and gone but the intrigues that surrounded the controversial election will not allow us to forget it in a hurry. At last, the embattled Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State was declared winner with 19 votes to defeat his opponent Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State who scored 16 votes. I believe we don’t need a Professor Chike Obi to tell us the highest number between 16 and 19. The best thing for Governor Jang to do if he is not satisfied with the outcome of the election is to approach a court of law for redress instead of parading himself as the chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum. By virtue of his status and experience as the oldest Governor out of thirty Six state governors we have as at now, nobody excepted Governor Jang to descend so low by accepting this dirty and dishonouriable assignment.

    As if all these were not enough, Governor Jang’s faction has opened its faction’s secretariat in Maitama in Abuja while Amaechi-led faction has its own secretariat at the Rivers State lodge in Abuja also. Can we describe all these events as the beginning of illegality ahead of 2015 general election or a planned work to achieve a planned goal?

    The focus of this article is to discuss those things that are likely to happen before and after 2015 general election. It is interesting to note that the ruling party – People Democratic Party has suspended Governor Rotimi Amaechi. Let us tell ourselves the bitter truth before it is too late. Suspension of members will not bring lasting and needed peace to the ruling party but would rather heat the polity and aggravate the situations on ground.

    With all these suspensions, intimidations, illegalities, impositions, court cases and character assassinations that are going on in the ruling party, can quality leadership still be guaranteed now and after 2015 election? Will some governors not be abducted on their way to government house as it happened to Governor Chris Ngige of Anambra State some years back? Will some Governors be allowed to attend executive council meeting in Aso Rock between now and 2015? Will some Governors not be denied their constitutional and moral rights because of their refusal to support a consensus candidate for 2015 general election? With the events and happenings within the ruling party in the recent time, one can conclude that the party is in deep and self imposed crises.

    To resolve most of the ongoing crises within the party, I am expecting the elders and stalwarts within the fold to wake up from their slumber and do the right thing before the whole thing will fall apart. Our expectation has been shattered as far as the role of elders in crisis resolution is concerned. Some of the elders or better still, godfathers in the ruling party we should consult for the way forward are now in different camps strategising and warming up for 2015 with different songs in their mouths. Whereas these so called elders fought tooth and nail to make the present political office holders what they are today, within the same house we now have disowned children and disowned parents. Can a house divided against itself stand?

    The tension created by our political gladiators has already made the political office holders to neglect their constitutional duties. The essence of power is to use it to better the lot of citizens not to use it to silence opponents. We have over 14 million jobless youth in Nigeria coupled with the security challenges our nation is facing as a result of Boko Haram’s activities in the northern part of the country. The revenue from oil subsidy disappeared into thin air without any explanation. As a Nigerian, I am expecting all our leaders to be having sleepless nights on how to resolve all these precarious situations and other challenging national issues facing us as a nation at present. Instead, they are having midnight meetings on how to retain their seats in next elections. They have already turned the game into a do-or-die affair and forget the fact that the power to elect or give a particular candidate second term lies in the electorate.

    May I ask that if this present situation continues, will it be safe for some candidates to contest in coming elections?

    By Olumide Aladejana

    Lagos.

  • ‘APC will make a mark in 2015’

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Joshua Ephraim, has expressed optimism that the new political association will make a mark in Kaduna come 2015 when registered.

    He made the remark in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Thursday.

    “Unless the PDP is able to re-invent itself and truly serve the interest of the larger segment of the society, it is my contention that the party will lose the next gubernatorial election in the state,” he said.

    The APC chieftain expressed the determination of the new association to bring succour through laudable programmes and execution of projects that will have salutary effects on the lives of the people.

    “The chances of APC in Kaduna state is 100 per cent because the people are yearning for a remarkable change.’’

    He noted that the wind of change was in top gear to provide an alternative through a responsive and responsible leadership.

    He said the people needed fairness, justice and equity, adding the new association will present the right governorship candidate in 2015 that would fulfill their yearnings and expectations.

     

     

  • 2015: Southwest PDP may opt for consensus candidacy

    2015: Southwest PDP may opt for consensus candidacy

    The Southwest Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may field consensus candidates in the five states for the governorship elections next year and 2015, it has been learnt.

    The consensus option, according to party sources, was suggested by President Goodluck Jonathan, who is worried by the division in the troubled states – Ekiti, Oyo, Osun , Lagos, Ekiti and Ogun.

    The next governorship elections will hold next year in Osun and Ekiti states, but there have been polaralisation, mistrust and distrust in the crisis-ridden chapters, following the rancorous party congresses.

    Sources said that the President, who has promised to give maximum support to the distressed chapters during the proposed contests, have advised the delegations of the PDP leaders to put their houses in order and forge a common front, stressing that a divided house cannot stand. The President also advised them to sponsor candidates who have track records of integrity, credibility and honour.

    The source added: “When some elders of the party from Ekiti met with the President recently, he offered the same advice that they should go and resolve their problems and foster unity and harmony. The President is aware of the scramble for the governorship slots by the PDP chieftains and he does not want the chance of the PDP to be marred by post-primary crises”.

    Few months ago, Dr. Jonathan, who held meetings with selected party leaders from Lagos State, urged the former PDP deputy chairman, Commodore Bode George (rtd) and former Works Minister Prince Adeseye Ogunlewe to close ranks and work for the unity of the party.

    The President’s advice followed the observation made by the Lagos politician, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, who pointed out that he could not accept the entreaties to him to defect to the party because it is enveloped crisis. The two party leaders promised the President to embrace dialogue and peace. Lagos State PDP leaders have been mounting pressures on Agbaje, a pharmacist-turned politician, to defect to the party, with the promise that he would be made the consensus candidate. However, it is not clear whether the Afenifere chieftain, Agbaje, will defect to the conservative bloc. His defection will not stop others from joining the race. Also warming up for the governorship are Senator Musiliu Obanikoro and Dr. Ade Dosunmu.

    Sources said that the President is not also comfortable with the crisis rocking the Ekiti PDP. In the state, a section of the party has not fully accepted the composition of the State Executive Committee led by Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe, who is a close associate of former Governor Ayo Fayose. Those opposed to Ogundipe’s leadership are mainly the followers of former Governor Segun Oni, who are aggrieved that Fayose played a critical role in the circumstances that led to Oni’s ouster as the Southwest leader and National Vice Chairman. Also, Oni is still aggrieved about the negative role played by Fayose during the governorship rerun, which he lost to Governor Kayode Fayemi. Fayose campaigned for Fayemi during the exercise.

    It is also evident that other chieftains, including Senator Ayo Arise, the Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade, and Prince Dayo Adeyeye, have grudges against Fayose, whose followers compose the State Executive Committee. The rift started when they first declared their intentions to rule the state in 2006 under the Action Congress (AC).

    In Ekiti, the preparations for the governorship primaries are on. No fewer than 15 aspirants are on the prowl. They include Fayose, Arise, Adeyeye, Bisi Omoyeni, Abiodun Aluko, Gbenga Aluko, Biodun Olujimi, Aribisala, and Olubolade. A twist to the preparation for the primaries is the agitation for zoning by the Ekiti South PDP stalwarts, who have pointed out that, since 1999, no indigene of the district has served as the governor.

    In Ondo, the PDP leaders are at war, following the declaration of support for Governor Olusegun Mimiko by a section of the party during the last governorship poll. The decision of party elders; Segun Adegoke and Olu Agbi and others, to shun the PDP candidate, Olusola Oke, has further polarised the chapter. Oke, a lawyer and former PDP National Legal Adviser, was deserted by many party leaders who gravitated towards the direction of Mimiko during the election. The elders involved claimed that it was part of their strategy to woo the governor to the PDP. Although the next governorship election will hold in the Sunshine State in 2016, the crisis may impinge on the 2015 state and federal parliamentary elections.

    In Ogun State, the forces loyal to former President Olusegun Obasanjo do not see eye to eye with the authentic chairman of the party, Mr. Adebayo Dayo, an engineer. The reconciliation brokered by the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, failed to achieved the desired result. It is not clear that the outstanding rift between Obasanjo and former Governor Gbenga Daniel has been fully resolved. The two dominant caucuses in the Ogun State, which revolve around Obasanjo and billionaire businessman Buruji Kashamu have not resolved to work together harmoniously.

    Recently, former High Commissioner to Ghana Senator Musiliu Obanikoro led some party chieftains to reconcile former Governor Daniel and Obasanjo. However, no truce was achieved as the effort did not lead to a real renewal of contact between the two politicians.

    In Oyo State, the PDP leadership is weak. Thus, members queue behind the strongmen, including former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, Elder Wole Oyelese, Chief Lekan Balogun, Hon. Taofeek Arapaja and Hon. Afeez Gbolarunmi. In fact, Gbolarunmi attributed the disarray to the death of the Ibadan strongman, Chief Lamidi Adedibu, five years ago. To realise his governorship ambition, Alao-Akala is striking an accord with his estranged boss, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, the leader of the Accord party (AP). Oyelese and other leaders have chided him, recalling that Ladoja, the former PDP governor of the state, contributed to the failure of the party at the governorship polls in 2011. Other aspirants for the governorship in the state include the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Jumoke Akinjide, :Prof. Taoreed Adedoja, Arapaje, Gbolarunmi, and Senator Teslim Folarin.

    A party source said that it may be difficult to sell the option of consensus candidacy to the Oyo State PDP governorship aspirants. “They may not be able to overcome the bitterness of the past. Even, before Adedibu died, the party was not one. But with the absence of a leader they can all look up to, it is now worse”, added the source.

    In Osun State, the governorship aspirants have commenced mobilisation. The ruling party has the advantage a dual advantage of incumbency factor and cohesion. There are indications that Governor Rauf Aregbesola will be endorsed by the party, like his Ekiti counterpart, Dr. Kayode Fayemi. Party insiders said that the consensus candidacy has been shut down by the PDP contenders. “Each of them prides himself as the best and under this kind of situation, no one will be ready to step down” , added the party source. The aspirants on the field are Senator Iyiola Omisore, Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi, and Chief Fatai Akinbade.

  • ‘There is need for power shift in 2015’

    ‘There is need for power shift in 2015’

    Second Republic Secretary to Lagos State Government Asiwaju Olorunfunmi Basorun spoke with WALE AJETUNMOBI on the politcal situation in the country.

    Do you think the All Progressives Congress (APC), when finally registered, would be a threat to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?

    It certainly will pose a threat to the PDP because the party being conceived by the leaders, will come to the Southwest as a mass movement and sweep away those who are anti-people.

    In what ways do you think the APC will be different from the PDP?

    APC’s primary objective to bring Nigerians together and run a government that will have the greatest interest of Nigerians at heart. A manifesto has not been launched. So, nobody can say these are the details. But, if there is anything in the mind of those who are promoting the APC, it is to take charge of the country and the government in Nigeria; to run a government that will be in the interest of the majority of Nigerians. There is an urgent need for power to shift in 2015.

    Considering the United States report on corruption in Nigeria, is there any hope for the country?

    Well, I don’t know the details of the US report. Did they mention those who are corrupt? According to you, the report says there is monumental corruption being perpetrated in high places in Nigeria. The high places here means the Federal Government being administered by the PDP. The ACN is not there. By the way, the President’s statement against the civil servants, who he said are corrupt on Workers’ Day, is unfortunate. I expect the civil servants to organise themselves and reply him. I don’t know why he accused the civil servants, except they are all corrupt together. Take the case of the oil subsidy, we know the people who benefited from the fraud. None of them is a civil servant. Unless the President is telling us that it was the civil servants who misadvised them to give money to those who are not going to import oil and they embezzled all the money. It is corruption in itself for the President to promise us that, when he removed the subsidy, Nigerians would see what he would do with the money. But we are now seeing what he is doing with SURE-P programme headed by Dr Christoper Kolade. The programme has now been politicised. SURE is not sure for all Nigerians. The President is using the scheme to look after the members of his party across the states. Is that how to alleviate our suffering? SURE is sure for only those who can sing the praises of the President.

    The House of Representatives recently concluded a process to review the constitution…

    I have wondered, if the review is different from the amendment. Whatever they claimed they did was a sham. Members of the House of Representatives are trying to fool Nigerians by coming out to say Nigerians have spoken; that some constituencies have met and voted and agreed that there should be no state police. I say they are talking rubbish. This is a country where we have more than 160 million people and less than 9,000 policemen. If I take the average, out of about 250 people that attended the one in Ikorodu in November, half of them were market women with aso ebi (uniform). I attended and I took permission to speak first. I told them to set up different committees in all constituencies in Ikorodu axis, so that more people would be heard. They didn’t want to consider it. Later, I asked them: how can we be saying yes or no on these vexed issues? I told them that, if that is what you want, tell the House this is not going to solve our problems. There are questions we have to ask. But you have given us the template for 43 questions to go and fill and returned. I filled my own, but I added a rejoinder. I appealed to them to note that what they are doing is just a preamble to the real work. I advised them to get more Nigerians involved.

    It is necessary to invite organisations such as Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Women Council of Nigeria, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the important civil society bodies. Let them constitute a body to look at the 43 subjects and debate them. We did not vote in my constituency. How could we have voted; what would those uneducated women have voted for? Do they know what is called state police? I did not end there because I know the implication. I know we cannot get a perfect constitution, but let us get something that is closer to it. So, I was surprised when I read in the newspaper that 324 constituencies voted that Houses of Assembly should be granted financial autonomy. That is not important because many of the states already have it. Lagos State has it. Why should they be voting for that one?

    What is your view on the local government autonomy?

    I am concerned about that. The preponderant view is that local government should be subjected to the state so that they can use Section 7, sub-section 1, of the current constitution, which has not been amended, to create local governments. So, when it comes to funding, use the indices to allocate money to that state. The present constitution does not even ask the Federal Government to give local government funds directly to the states. Then, in Section 162, the money is there for the state for sharing among the local governments in accordance with a law made by the state House of Assembly. And then, they talk of states’ Independent Electoral Commission being prevented from holding elections. What type of federalism are we running? If we want to conduct a local government election, an almighty Jega will come and conduct it. It means that INEC will not rest all its life, if it has to conduct local government elections in the 36 states, which are not held at the same period. They say INEC should conduct all the elections at the same time and they are saying yes. What does the market woman understand about scrapping states’ electoral commissions and leaving the national electoral commission to hold all elections? Even, some elite said the state governors would misuse power. Is the federal government not misusing power? Anenih, last month, said, we know how to win in 2015. The statement is pregnant with a lot of meaning. So, the House of Reps just left serious matters and went into issues such as immunity clause. It does not make much sense to me because the conference we held in 2005 had decided that the criminal aspect be removed. Nobody should be in this country and commit crime because he or she is in a position of authority and get away with it. No.

    Should a six-year single tenure be allowed?

    I heard the President’s spokesman saying that Jonathan has said he would not contest in the 2015, provided that we have a six-year single term. My view is that many of these people do not understand. It is a pity Obasanjo jettisoned the last constitutional conference. Each time I look through the list of the participants; we had Anyaoku, we had Olusola Saraki, Ango Abdullahi and Muritala Nyako. I was there and Prof Adebayo Adedeji, the Olowo of Owo, who was my teacher in the Law School, was there. I don’t know how we will succeed to arrange such people, unless each constituency brings out its best people to work out a new constitution. So, we need a collection to discuss on these 43 items and they should not make the material their final decision. They should still subject it to argument such as what are the implications of state police? Argument that the state government will abuse it, or use to harass its opponent is trite. What is the President doing with the security lever he controls? Presently, he is using it, as he wants. When he did not want the opponents of Dickson to be governor in Bayelsa State, they used security against them. When Ladoja was to be impeached, the process was done in a hotel guarded by security agencies. The same thing with Dariye. So, who cannot misuse the security apparatus? We only need to strengthen the law to caution whoever is going to be in charge.

    Don’t you think the country is jinxed when it comes to making a new constitution?

    I don’t believe in such a notion. But what I think is that those who are there now feel that making a new constitution or amendment would take the power away from them. That is why I said they should be part of the process. If people want another constitution, I don’t think this present government can do that. It is not only lazy, it is a sleeping government. They are just spending our money on unproductive retreats. They will take allowance and all sorts of money. But having spent such money, nothing else happens. We still have two years to go into another election. Let us do this review properly and get something. In 2015, when we get a better government, we will overhaul everything. This is not the kind of government that can give us a good constitution. Whenever they hear that people are calling for constitutional review, they will think that we want to send them packing. They want to entrench themselves, which is what the decision they have taken in the just-concluded review process.

  • ‘Jonathan not best choice for 2015’

    A former vice president of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Alhaji Mumakai Unagha, has said that President Goodluck Jonathan is not the messiah for the South South.

    Unagha, an activist and resource control advocate, advised people of the region against resting their hopes and aspirations on the president.

    He said Jonathan has “the right to contest come 2015 but he is not

    the messiah to the people of South-South.”

    Speaking at an interactive session with journalists in Warri, he said the president squandered his goodwill in the region by playing ethnic politics rather than developing the region.

    He lamented that all the political appointments for the zone are

    channelled to one ethnic group to the detriment of others.

    According to him: “President Jonathan cannot address the problem of the region; the south-south will be worst at the end of his administration.”

     

  • The road to 2015

    The road to 2015

    Two years to the next general elections, opposition figures are sharpening their arrows. But the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is preparing for the 2015 challenge. Assistant Editor AUGUSTINE AVWODE writes on the issues and personalities that would shape the contest.

     

     

    Apart from ensuring that the normal democratic institutions continue to be relevant, analysts say the roles of some personalities in the polity are crucial to the sustenance of democracy in the country. These individuals include President Goodluck Jonathan; former Head of State and three times presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega.

     

    Goodluck Jonathan

     

    President Goodluck Jonathan has a major challenge. This is ensuring that a level playing field is provided for all and sundry by the democratic institutions in the country. He is the man on whose table the buck ends. Apart from being the President, with a very high probability of seeking a second term, he is in charge of almost everything that has to do with the sustenance and deepening of the nation’s democracy. Balancing his personal ambition with national interest could be very tasking, especially, in the face of his party’s determination to continue to rule.

    In 2011, when he was campaigning for the Presidency on the platform of the PDP, he declared that his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. He also declared that nobody should rig election for him. Whether those declarations will be repeated, if he chooses to run in 2015, is yet to be known. Already, his party national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has said that the 2015 electoral contest is ‘a big war’. Besides, analysts are beginning to express reservation over the readiness of the President to repeat his stance of 2011. Two instances readily come to mind. The emergence of Tukur as the chairman of the PDP and the emergence of the chairman of the Board of Trustee (BoT) of the party, Chief Tony Annenih are often used as the yardstick of measuring how unyielding the President could be whenever he wants anything.

     

    Muhammadu Buhari

     

    The former Head of State leads the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). The Daura, Katsina State-born retired Army General has demonstrated his strongly held views about the need to ‘salvage’ the country for good by contesting the position of Nigeria President for three consecutive times. Described by many as an unrepentant apostle of anti-corruption, Buhari enjoys the largest followership in Northern Nigeria. He has carved a niche for himself as a highly disciplined person. His anti-corruption stance is glaring to everybody to see in a society that is reeling under the yoke of corrupt practices. For a man that has held many ‘juicy’ appointments, as they say here, it is gratifying to see him parade a clean and stainless score-card while in office.

    In year 2003, Buhari contested the Presidential election under the platform of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and lost to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) a result he challenged in Court but also lost. Not deterred, he re-contested the 2007 Presidential election also under the platform of same Party but against his kinsman, the late Alhaji Umar Musa Yar’adua. Buhari lost again and challenged the result in the Court, as the case was still been heard, the leadership of his party went into accord with the ruling party, PDP, to form a Government of National Unity, he opted out of this marriage of convenience and pursued his case, but also lost again.In another attempt to rule through the ballots, Buhari went into the race for the third time but under the platform of another newly formed party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), but also lost.

    He is at present one of the arrow heads of a merger of three major opposition parties to form the All Progressives Congress (APC). The planned APC, when it is registered, will also have groups or factions from the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP).

    With Buhari as one of the leaders of the planned APC, analysts believe that the electoral contest in 2015 will be keenly contested and that the pendulum could swing either way between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the burgeoning APC.

     

    Bola Tinubu

     

    Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has established himself as a deft and rare political strategist. In the last two and a half decades, he has built a political bloc that is by far more cohesive, progressive and popular and forward looking than any contemporary Nigerian politician. Tinubu has established himself as a political colossus in the Southwest. He enjoys a large army of followership. Tinubu has re-drawn the political map of the Southwest region in a manner that for the first time, the dominant party in the region now has its tentacles all over the country.

    His journey into politics started when he joined others to found the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). In 1992. He was elected senator of to represent Lagos West Senatorial District. At the National Assembly, he distinguished himself as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Finance, Appropriation and Currency.

    When the June 12, 1993 presidential election was annulled, and a new round of military rule stared the country in the face, Tinubu and others founded the famous pro-democracy group called the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). The group spearheaded the struggle for the restoration of democracy. He fled the country for safety reasons and teamed up with the group abroad. In 1998, Tinubu returned to Nigeria and in 1999 was elected governor of Lagos State. He won re-election in 2003. It is on record that he was the only governor in the region who survived the massive incursion of the ruling PDP to the Southwest in 2003. He is credited with the restoration of his party’s rebound in the region today.

    To his credit, he is the only visible governor in Nigeria since 1999 who was able to produce a successor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), whose performance and style remain a reference point.

    As one of the arrow heads of the merger of the three leading opposition parties there is no doubting the fact that Tinubu will be one of the politicians who will play a significant role in the political developments in the country in the coming years.

     

    Attahiru Jega

     

    All eyes are on the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and that is saying the least. Nigerians are yet to forget the electoral heist of 2007, in which funny and non-existent character in Nigeria, allegedly voted using the names of famous foreigners like the late Michael Jackson and legendary boxer, Mike Tyson. The new battle cry in electoral circle is one man, one vote.

    The former university don promised in March that the INEC would conduct freer, fairer and more credible elections come 2015. To the average Nigerian, whose subconscious is totally taken over by cynicism when it comes to conducting free and fair election, this may just be sweet, political talk or mere grandstanding.

    Jega gave the assurance in Abuja during the first quarterly meeting of the commission with representatives of registered political parties. The INEC chairman also added that the regular meeting would also make both the commission and the representatives of the political parties “to share information, exchange ideas, discuss mutual concerns and evolve partnership, as well as strengthen the good relationship which exists, in addressing challenges in the electoral process.”

    Jega is seen as an ideologically focused intellectual who leans towards the left. To many, he comes across as a radical. When on April 19, 2010, he was guest lecturer for the NLC May Day 2010 celebration, he harpoed extensively on electoral reforms. According to him, “no doubt, the popular aspirations for credible, free, fair and popularly acceptable elections, which are a fundamental requirement for sustainable democratic development, would remain elusive unless and until we pay serious attention to electoral reforms”.

    Yet, the electoral body under him, would not be able to play the unbiased umpire. In fact, not long ago, Buhari called for his sack and other top officials of the commission, saying the electoral body, as presently constituted, cannot be trusted to deliver on credible elections. He spoke in London at the 4th British-African Diaspora conference held at the British House of Parliament on the theme “Stable Democracy and Nigeria’s Economy,”. To Buhari, sacking Jega would be a good starting point for fixing Nigeria’s broken electoral system.

    In his words: “All the present indications are that INEC, as it is presently constituted, will not be able to deliver any meaningful elections in 2015”.