The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Goodluck Jonathan

  • President of Aso Rock

    Goodluck Jonathan is president of where?  Aso Rock, the president appears to think.  Nigeria, the distraught Chibok parents, whose girls are approaching 100 days in Boko Haram captivity, vigorously insist.

    That appears the drama behind the Chibok parents’ reported shunned invitation to the Aso Rock, Abuja seat of federal power, which has also reportedly been rescheduled.

    Although President Jonathan’s spinners tried to pin the snub on the patriots campaigning to save the Chibok girls, it was all a moment of truth the president and his men (and women) found rather unpalatable.

    Before 17-year-old Pakistani Malala Yousafzai came, the president had bluntly refused to visit Chibok, to share in the pains of the parents, ironically cast into grief by the sheer incompetence of the Jonathan government.  Like a bad artisan that blames his tools for his incompetence, President Jonathan gave many reasons why a visit to Chibok was no priority.

    To start with, he never believed the girls were kidnapped; his presidential court pushing out the old wives’ tales that the kidnap was an opposition creation.

    That wilful — and wicked — living in denial was responsible for the First Lady’s Dia ris God o TV show, ironically (or rather justifiably) after which she turned herself into the butt of global jokes.

    How a responsible government would fail in its duty and yet the president’s spouse would turn around to bully grieving parents, just because they are perceived nobodies by a misguided government, beats all imagination.

    Then after a belated acceptance that there was indeed a kidnap, and with global attention on the outrage, the president jerked himself awake, since Chibok and a compelling visit was fast becoming a recurrent feature in his power nightmare.

    But again, a foreign trip came, with sweet photo-ops; in the Paris, France, summit on Boko Haram; and how to bail out Nigeria and its fumbling president.  Mr. President junked Chibok again, even sounding off in far-away Paris that a visit to Chibok would be useless, since it wouldn’t bring back the girls.  Well, more than 50 days after Paris, the girls are yet to be brought back, except the few that escaped from the terrorists’ den.

    But the most annoying reason was the official line that President Jonathan was shunning Chibok for security reasons.  Put starkly, the president would not visit Chibok unless and until it is absolutely safe to do so.  That is hardly a crime; for self-preservation is natural and instinctive.

    Still, these parents have their homes at Chibok.  For good or for ill, they still brave the danger to come for summons in Abuja and retreat after to their Chibok homes, even if they had become endangered species in their own country.

    So, if after the Malala persuasion, the best the president could offer was to receive the hurting parents in his gilded cave of Aso Rock, enjoying an enclave of safety and security even if these innocent citizens are trapped in open and naked fire line of terror, then it is Jonathan’s moment of truth, which he must live with.

    Again, Mr. Commander-in-Chief:  Are your president of Nigeria or president of Aso Rock?  A visit to Chibok — and now — will truly answer that question.

     

     

  • Is Tinubu the problem with Nigeria?

    Is Tinubu the problem with Nigeria?

    These past weeks have not been any different from the past months; Nigeria has been stumbling from one crisis to another, from one killing to another, from one scandal to another from one distasteful act of impunity to more disquieting acts of impunity and so on. In all of these there is no hope that things will quieten down anytime soon or indeed that we have seen/heard the worst. Things happen with such varying degrees of absurdity and at such frenetic pace, that it is not feasible for any ‘breaking news’ to grab our attention for any length of time. The military clampdown on some media organizations and seizure of their newspapers is distant memory. The infamous tragicomic only you waka come rendition has had its screenplay hijacked and adapted only for pure comedy away from the horror show that it so cruelly depicted. The Chibok saga is still in the news thankfully because of the  #Bring back our girls campaign. Even at that, the fact that Onyeka Onwenu and Kema Chikwe both frontline national women leaders publicly doubted the fact of the Chibok abduction is faint memory.

    The bombings in Abuja have receded from our memory to be replaced for now with the apprehension of where next. The Ekiti election has come and gone and any messages, if at all, drowned out by contrived public commentary which very much mirrors a situation where a commentator watching a football match at Onikan Stadium will be commentating on a basketball match at National Stadium. If the election itself is distant memory, then talk less of the interview, Senator Ayo Arise gave, penultimate day to the election, on national breakfast television where with the typical arrogance of ‘today’s people’ he boasted of certain victory. His deep insights included the fact that the President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan had made money available to the Fayose campaign and so they will outmatch the APC cash-wise! That kind of talk has not been worthy of any further analysis, not even in the short-lived post-Ekiti debate.

    The polarization of the country has obviously fractured every institution and every profession and it takes the deeply discerning to have a fair idea as to what is really going on because in most cases reportage or public discourse is only the end product of serious back room strategy by various interest groups. So when in the past few weeks, personal attacks and ‘damaging’ reviews, overviews and opinion pieces started appearing regarding Senator Bola Tinubu, my senses went into auto alert. When the brilliant Rudolf Okonkwo of Sahara Reporters joined the fray, I knew the onslaught was akin to the Ekiti election, ‘operation blanket cover’ and like the Ekiti version with seamless execution – no blood, only tears which dry very fast!

    Many commentators even blame Tinubu for the APC Ekiti ‘loss’, tracking his overbearing godfatherism as responsible for the revolt of the Ekiti people. The line of argument being that Ekiti people do not want to be ruled from Lagos. Presumably the security cover for the election was provided by proud independent Ekiti people. Also the money referred to by Ayo Arise did not carry any ‘foreign’ stamp. Indeed the argument stretches to cover the proposition that the Ekiti loss is the signpost of APC’s impending death because of an overbearing godfather, which has suddenly become exclusive to Tinubu and a cardinal sin in Nigeria’s politics! What confuses me further, is deciding whether to be persuaded whether Governor Fayemi lost because of Tinubu’s unpopularity or Fayose’s popularity in Ekiti? In my view a marriage of both positions is contradictory and will remain so even in this era of same-sex marriage. Still more confusing is the general, albeit grudging admission that Governor Fayemi governed Ekiti conscientiously and prudently and transformed Ekiti State even if not to the level of ‘uncommonality’ but definitely beyond the scope of the states resources. So if Ekiti was being run from Lagos, are we also insinuating that Tinubu should be seen as the non resident architect of that rare example of good governance? At times I wonder what to make of public discourse in Nigeria; it gets too complicated and confusing.

    Excuse the digression, but in truth that is what this piece is about. It is about our inability as a people to correctly tune in and stay focused on issues for any length of time, the issues that affect our overall well being as a people. It is so easy to divert our attention and I give it to the strategists of the government, they are getting better at the art. How can we in all good conscience analyse the Ekiti election without analysing the fact of misuse of military power and its bearing on our nascent democracy. So in a boxing match if one boxer is tied to one spot and consequently pummelled to submission by his mobile opponent, we should take the view that the restraint was not important because being smaller in stature and lacking crowd support he would have lost anyway! Or perhaps that his coach was too overbearing! Why do we not surmise rather that the people who put the restraints are not fools and that if victory had been assured they will not have resorted to such absurdity? If Fayose and PDP were so popular, and Fayemi, APC and Tinubu so unpopular, why the resort to all manner of crudity? I know Fayose may be rough but is not foolish, PDP may be ‘anything goes’ but is not a stupid party and my dear president Jonathan is clued up on winning elections.

    Tinubu has been accused of many things and not having sufficient information, it will be foolhardy for me to attempt any defence. That is also not the objective of this piece. It is a notorious fact that Tinubu is living large today and being a party leader of a formidable party in the Nigerian setting, with the attendant ‘responsibilities’. I will not argue with anybody who takes the view that his stint as governor and now party godfather has conferred other benefits for which many will not mind the attendant sleepless nights!

    My view though is that the ruling party sees Tinubu as the single most significant factor that can threaten its continued dominance of power in Nigeria. His energy and organisational ‘never say die’ determination has in their view been allowed to go too far. So time to take him out. Take him out and the opposition will fracture and evaporate. So there is a concerted effort not only to criminalise opposition politics but also rubbish Tinubu the arrowhead and even blame him in crocodile tears fashion, for his party’s simulated impending death so as to create doubt and confusion in the ranks of its supporters and other opposition politicians. In Nigeria’s fickle and monetized political culture, it will take genius, guile, money, luck and superhuman perseverance to overcome the desperate antics of a party with no qualms about using every trick in its huge divisive bag of tricks.

    All the talk of godfatherism and definition of who is or not a progressive are just to goad the opposition to restructure APC into another National Conscience Party, a party populated with only progressives but which is yet to win any election. Of what use are all the progressive ideas in the world and saintliness of operators if the result is not access to the power required to effect those progressive ideas?

    What seems to scare the PDP is the realization that APC also understands Realpolitik and that Tinubu a product of the NADECO struggle who survived, Babangida,  Abacha and later Obasanjo has a few tricks up his sleeve too and may just lead APC into Aso Rock by road whilst the PDP machinery is deployed at the airport!

     

    • Ukpong, is a Lagos-based legal practitioner
  • Stable power: Still a long way to go

    Stable power: Still a long way to go

    The citizenry expected improved power supply following the coming of the distribution and generation companies. They have been disappointed. Reason: epileptic power supply is still the order of the day. Assistant Editor EMEKA UGWUANYI reports.

    GOING by the rebasing of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Nigeria emerged Africa’s largest economy, but indices to support the supposed growth are not visible. Electricity, which is the key driver of industrialisation, remains a problem as demand outstrips supply.

    About 10 years ago, the Federal Government embarked on privatisation of the power sector as part of search of lasting solution solution. This culminated in the enactment of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) 2005, which set the rules for transition to private sector control, such as the unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) into 18 successor companies, establishment of appropriate tariff regime and gas pricing, to encourage private investors. tin line with the law, President Goodluck Jonathan launched the Power Sector Reform Roadmap in 2010.

    These activities led to PHCN’s privatisation and handover of the power assets of the successor companies to private investors in November, last year. But, contrary to the expectations,there is no improvements in supply. Rather, it has dropped by as much as 50 per cent, leading to massive load-shedding and blackout in all parts of the country. Even the investors are disappointed. They are complaining that besides inadequate gas, which accounts for the drastic drop in power supply, what was handed over to them is below what they expected.

    Consumers’ view

    Industrial and residential consumers told The Nation that they have not seen any difference between the defunct PHCN and now private sector driven power sector. They said power supply has dropped below what it was when under government management. They noted that despite the poor power supply, they still are still paying the same tariff. They lamented the recent upward review of the tariff, which they are bound to pay even without commensurate supply.

    Investors’ challenges

    After the takeover of the assets of the defunct PHCN, the investors said they discovered that the privatisation was based on wrong assumptions because there was cash crunch in the sector and that the financial institutions were not willing to fund the projects, having committed about N1 trillion, which they (the lenders) were doubtful of recovering.

    The investors also felt bad that their projected revenue fell below expectation. They said cash collected from power customers was lower than expected and as such could  cover their. They explained that solutions to the issues proposed by the regulatory agency in the sector had not achieved results. They said the GENCOs and DISCOs face deviations between their projected business plans and the actual situation. The deviations, they said, are bigger than what can be handled within the limits of the official assumptions in the privatisation.

    The exposure of the financial sector to the power sector, they said, is heavy and the  uncertainties arising from it is increasing their (financial sector) risk perception, which makes additional financing to cover the gaps identified in the sector difficult. They noted that the expected change would hardly come if there is no change in the way the situation is evolving.

    The investors explained that, according to the reform agenda, the DISCOs purchased electricity from the GENCOs through a special business unit (SBU) – the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) – a public liability company owned by the Federal Government.

    The DSICOs sell the electricity to consumers and collect payments for their service and pay the GENCOs, unfortunately not all electricity purchased from GENCOs is sold and not all the money is collected because of losses – that is, the Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses. This development, they said, constitutes serious disruption because their business plans are based on certain  assumptions.

    They lamented they discovered that the available electricity was less than what was announced by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) during bidding, adding that the power sector regulator, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said it would be carrying out tariff adjustment regularly to meet their business plans and compensate for the collection gap from the consumers but that hasn’t happened.

    Since the DISCOs’ revenues are significantly lower than expected, they are unable to pay in full their bills to the Market Operator (MO), which consequently makes the GENCOs receive remarkably less revenues. The MO holds brief for the NBET, whose job is expected to begin in the third quarter of the year when the Transition Electricity Market (TEM) will start.

    The implication of lower revenue generation by the DISCOs is that GENCOs’ owners have to make capital injections higher than expected to cover capacity recovery plans (CRP) and capital expenditure (CAPEX) as well as operational costs, because the DISCOs couldn’t meet their financial obligations to the generators. There is higher financial stress for new owners of the power assets, the investors said.

    The Interim Market Rules (IMR) introduced by NERC to assuage the problems faced by the investors also have not made any positive impact, it was learnt; this is because there is no bankable guarantee that the investors could use to get the additional financing from financial institutions to cover the gap that exist in the sector.

    The consequences of the challenges are that the DISCOs will slow down on their electrification expansion, which will result in lower growth rate for access to electricity than expected; they may introduce more expensive tariffs to end-users, especially those that feed from embedded generation (generation outside the national grid); and slow down on the ATC&C loss reduction plans.

    The GENCOs on the other hand, will slow down their CRPs, which will result in significant drop in electricity supply to customers and lack of appetite for increased investment by the private sector as well as foreign direct investment (FDI).

    The investors also identified power equipment and facilities vandalism as a major challenge, energy theft, energy wastage by customers, lack of urban planning where people build along the right of way of the utility companies and under high tension lines and unilateral decision of government and organisations while carrying out projects within the DISCOs.

    What the investors are doing

    In order not to lose their investment and also retain confidence of the customers they serve, the investors are taking investment decisions and strategies on how best to improve delivery, their revenue generations and expand their network.

    For instance, electricity demand in Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC), according the Managing Director, Abiodun Ajifowobaje, is 1250 megawatts (MW) while it gets only 329MW from the national grid. The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) requires 700MW while it gets about 200MW. Other DISCOs have different consumption demands but certainly none gets 40 per cent of its demand from the national grids.

    They also have different infrastructural gaps that needed to be addressed, such as distribution transformers, feeders and meters to position for efficiency. The owners of Geregu and Ughelli Power Generation Companies, Forte Oil  Plc and Transcorp are investing to expand the assets.

    To improve on supply, the new owners of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) said they would invest N42 billion in five years to reinforce the operation of the company, adding that they have secured $150 million for network expansion and improvement. The company also plans N6.79billion investment in pre-paid metering.

    The Managing Director, EKEDC, Dr. Oladele Amoda, said: “The new investors in the company have secured about N25billion ($150million) loan from a bank to be invested in network expansion, metering of power consumers developmental projects and reinforcement of the network.

    “In the short run, we are investing about N1.3billion on metering while a total of N6.79billion will be invested within the next five years to promote effective billing and adequate metering. Our greatest challenges after the take-over include severe capacity limitations in most of the transmission stations to facilitate delivery of improved power supply to power consumers,” he said, urging the government to enact legislation that would prevent vandalism, energy and cable theft.

    Amoda said the company was discussing with some firms to generate 400MW for the customers of the company, but with special consideration for the industrial customers that need uninterrupted power supply which are also prepared to pay more.

    The management of IKEDC is also working  with its technical partners, Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO), to ensure meter accuracy and energy loss reduction. Ajifowobaje said: “IKEDC is working with KEPCO to provide a strategic solution to metering that takes cognizance of the needs of all customers within the network. I am happy to report that with the adoption of new technology we have made substantial progress in this regard and remain committed to ensuring that all our customers are adequately metered.”

    He said the firm was discussing with private sector generators to get supplies through embedded generation to complement what  it get from the grid. “KEPCO is working to double generation from Egbin Power Generation Company in the next few years. Egbin’s installed generation capacity is 1320MW while a fresh plant that will generate 1350MW is being planned. Substantial renovations have taken place in the company while reinforcement of equipment and facilities are ongoing,” he said.

    On gas supply inadequacy, the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Andrew Yakubu said the corporation is building new pipelines to supply gas to thermal power stations, while most of the vandalised trunk pipelines have been repaired and are working. He noted that a chunk of domestic gas production is dedicated to power and assured that with the completion of the pipelines under construction, gas needs will be substantially met.

    Stakeholders’ view

    Members of the organised private sector, including the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), and operators of small and medium scale enterprises, confirmed they haven’t seen improvement in power supply from the utility companies.

    The Chairman, Infrastructure Committee, MAN, Reginald Odia, said their members are optimistic that the new investors would fix the power problem but that would not come quick because the sector has been neglected for decades resulting in lack of infrastructure and dilapidation of existing ones.

    Odia said: “For over 34 years, the power sector has been in deterioration. Past administrations neglected the sector until the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo, who saw reason for substantial investment in power generation segment of the value chain.

    “The existing infrastructure was dilapidated, there were no new investments in the sector within the mentioned decades, therefore, we cannot expect the new investors to perform magic in terms of improved supply. They have just spent over six months on the sector’s management, and this period is too short to assess them because they have to put the infrastructure in place and this cannot be accomplished in months.

    “For energy to improve to the expectation of Nigerians, it will take at least five years, and within these five years, the investors have to massively invest in generation and distribution. Investors in distribution companies need at least N60 billion investments yearly for five years to make reasonable mark in supply while investors in generation need a minimum investment of $1.5 billion to generate reasonable and sustainable power.”

    He said that although transmission segment is managed by a private sector company, Manitoba Hydro International of Canada, government has to make huge investment in the area.

    What the government should do

    Stakeholders said the government should have an understanding with the local and international financial institutions that supported the privatisation and investors because they are suffering. The understanding, they added, would open an additional window of financing from such institutions.

    The government, they added, should establish a ‘tariff increase roadmap’ within feasible limits and far beyond the multi-year-tariff-order 2 (MYTO II) tariff review terms and firm it up through proper legal instruments. MYTO is the current tariff system used in billing electricity consumers in Nigeria, which is holistically reviewed every five years, and the system is in its second phase. Having started in 2008, the first phase ended in 2012.

    The stakeholders suggested that debts arising from interim market rules (IMR), which guide the power sector operations, from gas, tariffs, among others, need to be converted into enforceable legal instruments. Because the privatised companies need access to financing to cover the revenue gap apart from what investors have already committed during the privatisation, it wouldn’t be bad for the government to organise a stabilisation fund from which DISCOs and GENCOs could have this additional financing. The size of the fund shall arise from a thorough independent study with government’s guarantee, they added.

    However, there are some factors that militate against some of the proposals. With the poor power supply level, tariff increase may not go down well with consumers and also the government doesn’t want anything that would have it deeply involved in the management of the power sector.

    The government said in view of the critical role of transmission in the supply chain, it has made provision for rehabilitation; upgrade and expansion of the transmission infrastructure across the country for wheeling of electricity to Nigerians.

    The government said it sought external funding for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) from the African Development Bank and the Eurobond, among others, and has released N300 million from the Eurobond to the company.

    It said in January, it approved N1.9 billion for the supply of 746 kilometres of aluminum conductor composite core reinforced (ACCR) for the re-conduction of the Onitsha-New Haven 330kv transmission line that runs up to Makurdi in Benue State, secured a loan of $170 million from the French Development Agency to boost power transmission in the Federal Capital Territory. These are just few of the interventions in transmission sector, the Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo said.

    He added that in compliance with global shift to renewable energy, the government is building 700MW hydro plant at Zungeru, and is planning construction of 3,050MW Mambilla hydro project, among other smaller plants, including the Gurara 2.

     

  • Pensioners seek reinstatement of PRTT

    THE President Association Federal Public Service Retirees, (AFPSR), Chief Emmanuel Omoyeni, yesterday requested President Goodluck Jonathan to reinstate the disbanded Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT).

    Omoyeni said the pension funds looting era has come back making pensioners to suffer.

    He said there was no reason for the disbandment of Abdulrasheed Maina- led team that provided a permanent solution to the plights of pensioners.

    These were contained in an open letter to the President in Abuja.

    Omoyeni said: “The task team succeeded in meritoriously executing its assignment. Consequently, the task team traced and recovered stolen pension funds / properties running into billions from corrupt government officials.

    “It cracked down on the notorious pension cartel, caused their arrest and prosecution, which is the first of its kind in the history of governance in Nigeria.

    “The restructuring was successfully ongoing and the Senate Pension Committee abruptly came in and stopped it on the basis of false allegations against the task team that no culpability was ever established against. This is evidenced by the Federal High Court Case (Maina versus Senate) ruled in favour of the Chairman PRTT.”

    Omoyeni charged Jonathan to: “reclaim these most impressive transformation achievements of the pension system as prior to his assumption in office, pension problems reached the extent that nobody was sure of regular and proper payment of pensions. “Thousands of retirees suffered untold hardship and many died. All these predicaments were due to large scale corrupt practices in the system.”

    He said Jonathan’s sincere determination and commitment to the transformation of Nigeria brought about the inauguration of the task team, which comprised officials of ICPC, EFCC, NIA, SSS OAGF, OAuGF, OATGF, PCC, and other paramilitary agencies under the leadership of Dr Abdulrasheed Maina to restructure and sanitise the old pension system.

  • Mulikat Akande-Adeola and the Jonathan endorsement

    Mulikat Akande-Adeola and the Jonathan endorsement

    LAST Monday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the House of Representatives took the fawning step of endorsing President Goodluck Jonathan for 2015. The Majority Leader, Hon Mulikat Akande-Adeola (PDP, Ogbomosho North), gleefully announced the caucus decision to the press after they met. “We are PDP caucus of the House of Representatives,” she said tersely. “A meeting like this is not strange because we met with the President who is our leader. We deliberated on issues affecting our party. The House caucus on our own decided to pass a vote of confidence (in) Mr. President and also endorse him for second term. We did the endorsement and we are urging him to run for second term.”

    It is not clear why lawmakers representing different constituencies, and therefore different interests, could come together so casually to endorse a president just because they belonged to the same parliamentary caucus. Nor is it clear why they did so after knowing that their party and even the Electoral Act stipulated the procedure by which an aspirant could become the choice of his party. But perhaps the electorate will remember that this kind of endorsement harks back to the sycophantic days of the Gen Sani Abacha regime, when jobholders and other yes-men jumped over one another to curry favour from the head of state by endorsing him for transmutation from a military leader to a civilian president in breach of established procedures.

    Already, many groups, some of them ethnic, and others political, have begun to curry the favour of the president by endorsing him for a post we all know he is eager to occupy for another four years. But few Nigerians least expect that that sort of endorsement would begin prominently in the House of Representatives, a lawmaking body expected, together with the Senate, to fiercely defend its independence and protect its integrity. But having made the endorsement and announced it with little shame, the Reps PDP caucus leaves everyone with the impression that they seek servilely and thoughtlessly to please the president and put him in their debt.

    It is, however, not too surprising that the announcement of the endorsement was done by Hon Akande-Adeola. Recall that in 2011, President Jonathan backed her for the position of Speaker, after the party zoned the position to the Southwest. But Hon Aminu Tambuwal trounced her by 252 votes to 90 in a political manoeuvre deftly inspired by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). The ACN, precursor of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had argued at the time that it was not in the interest of the country to elect President Jonathan’s candidate into that office, for it would dangerously compromise the independence of the legislature and undermine the health and integrity of the Fourth Republic.

    Many critics, especially short-sighted politicians and analysts from the Southwest, thought ethnic solidarity was to be preferred over legislative independence and integrity, and had pilloried the ACN for thinking objectively and grandly in terms of the future and democracy. Well, finally, the ACN/APC has been proved right. With the Senate firmly conservative and pro-Jonathan, mostly unthinkingly so, dictatorship would have bloomed much earlier than it has. Had she been elected Speaker, and had she survived the unavoidable banana peels her ingratiating style might have fostered in the lower chamber, it would have been inconceivable that she would stand up to the Jonathan presidency or mould the Reps into the democratic bulwark it has become, let alone inspire the numerous investigations the lower chamber has conducted into the heists alleged against the government.

    Imagine the horrendous disaster the country would be facing today with a Senate and Reps fully devoted to pleasing President Jonathan and massaging his increasingly autocratic ego. With an obstreperous House of Representatives, it has still been impossible to curb the president’s authoritarian fantasies, especially with the leeway granted him by a groveling Senate. The country must thank its stars that whenever the presidency loses its mind, and the Senate nods somnolently and absentmindedly in agreement, we still have an independent Reps to put the leash on the president, no matter how tenuous. It is up to us to defend the Reps against the massive assault on the lower chamber and its leadership by the Jonathan presidency, for it is clear that in their ranks, as we have seen of Hon Akande-Adeola, are many who cannot call their souls their own.

  • CAN applauds President over fund intervention for Boko Haram victims

    CAN applauds President over fund intervention for Boko Haram victims

    THE Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday commended President Goodluck Jonathan for instituting a special fund to cater for the emergencies of Boko Haram victims.

    The development, CAN said, has further demonstrated that Jonathan means well for the victims regardless of their backgrounds.

    The National President of the Christian body, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, also praised the quality of persons nominated to serve on the special fund and wished them well in their task of raising and disbursing funds to victims of the Boko Haram insurgency in parts of the north.

    He appealed to persons who will be directly and indirectly involved in the scheme to have the fear of God in all they will be doing and be fair in exercising their mandate.

    In a statement in Abuja, Oritsejafor said: “The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) receives with gladness and great relief the news of the institution of a special fund to cater for the needs of victims of insurgency in parts of the country.

    “On behalf of the association and the entire Christian community in Nigeria, I want to specially thank Mr. President for taking such a bold and courageous step to care for the victims of insurgency in the northern part of the country.

    “The action is a further demonstration that President Jonathan is indeed the father of the nation and a father to all Nigerians irrespective of the background of the victims of the crisis and the decision has demonstrated that the present administration is responsive to the plight of the people.

    “For long, it has been the conviction of CAN that victims of the senseless killings and wanton destruction of property should be given some ‘life line’ in whatever name it could be called and we are glad that the President has heard our call and responded appropriately.”

    He added: “I believe that the fund will address a wide range of issues facing persons displaced by the crisis as well as provide the basis for a more comprehensive programme of rehabilitation and reintegration of the victims at the end of the crisis (insurgency).

    “It my hope that funds realised from the various donations and contributions will be judiciously used for the good of those affected in the crisis.

    “I honestly believe that this initiative will give hope to our people and instill in them a sense of belonging while reducing the psychological and physical impact of the burden created as a result of the losses incurred in the crisis.”

  • Jonathan approves funds for military hardware

    Jonathan approves funds for military hardware

    PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has approved the release of additional funds for the procurement of military hardware in the ongoing campaign against terrorism and insurgency.

    The Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, disclosed this at the weekend while on an inspection tour of Navy formations and facilities in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital,

    Obanikoro said the approval sought to rearm and boost the capacity-building drive of the Nigerian Armed Forces to surmount growing security challenges posed by Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

    He noted that President Goodluck Jonathan is committed to enhancing military efficiency and capacity to deliver in the fight against insurgency.

    “In the fight against terrorism, the president has approved huge acquisitions to build up the capacity of our military and this has not been done in the last 25 years.

    “These are efforts that are highly commendable, and we should continue to encourage and support government to do more in the fight against insurgency,” Obanikoro stated.

    He said: “The fight against terrorism is not all about the president – it is not about you and me, it is about all of us and it is a war that we can only win if we stand together.

    “Without sounding immodest, I commend the commitment, dedication and the sacrifices they (military personnel) have been making and made in the past.”

  • Open letter to Mr President: Militarisation of polity

    Open letter to Mr President: Militarisation of polity

    IT is with utmost respect for your office and your person that I send you these few words. And I felt compelled to do so because, this for me, is a call to duty. It is a patriotic call and it is timely.

    I am aware that most leaders hear only what those close to them want them to hear. They read what those close to them draw their attention to. They see only what those who shield them 24 hours of the day want them to see. It is therefore a pity that most leaders have ears but they do not hear. They have eyes but they do not see. They are literate, but are denied access to books and newspapers.

    Please allow me to draw your attention to a most dangerous step your watchers and close advisers are pushing you to take. It is a step that had been taken in the past by some of your predecessors in office with ruinous consequences. It is a step you will not wish for your enemy.

    I speak of the militarisation of the Nigerian polity and its ultimate dire consequences. You may have been too young in 1964/65. At that time, as a little boy growing in Otuoke in the then Eastern Region of Nigeria, you were barely seven  years old. That period 1964/65 was the time some wrong headed leaders of Nigeria decided to experiment with militarisation of the polity. They wanted power at all cost in areas of the country where they were not wanted, and where their brand of politics was alien to the decencies at that time.

    Because these men wanted to ‘win’ at all cost and conquer followers instead of winning their hearts, and because they were in control of the police and the military at the centre, these leaders deployed troops to ‘supervise’ elections in order to destroy opposition and force the populace to surrender to their whims and caprices.

    You probably would have been told that your Premier at that time, a very charismatic and hugely popular leader named Dr Michael Okpara was the national leader of the coalition fashioned to free Nigeria from the yoke of the federal might. Their coalition was called UPGA. You may not believe that your Premier Dr Okpara was prevented from touring the Western Region by orders from the Federal government, just as the government you are now privileged to lead is being accused of humiliating and harassing governors who do not belong to your Party.

    Come election time, the ruling Party at the centre, the NPC, deployed police and the military to harass and intimidate the populace. Opposition was thoroughly manhandled. And now that the field was left only in the hands of the ruling party at the centre, even legitimate governments in the regions were tortured while illegitimate governments could not be voted out because such unpopular governments were protected by the federal might.

    In the end, the federal might had its way by massively rigging elections. People who felt pushed to the wall danced to the popular dictum of ‘those who make peaceful change impossible will experience violent change’. I am sure you must have heard or read about the ‘Wet e!’ operations similar in dimension and ferocity to the Adaka Boro insurrection or the Ijaw militancy.

    Mr, President, it was the Wet e! operations provoked by the big stick of the federal government that led to military coup d’état of January 1966. That coup led to the counter coup which led to pogrom and consequently to the needless gruesome Civil War of 1967-1970. Mr. President, we do not need or deserve that horrible experience again.

    In 1983, the NPN which was a direct descendant of the NPC chose to follow the ignominious path of their father the NPC. It was all about second term for the president and second term for most governors. The government had recorded woeful performance at the federal level and people thought a free and fair election would send the government packing. But we had was that even the government that was very unpopular at the centre was determined to unseat popular governors in some states. The federal government of mallam Shehu Shagari apparently misled by the locusts in his NPN decided to militarise the polity and sent hordes of military and police personnel to lay siege on the states.

    The old Ondo State now broken to Ekiti and Ondo states and Old Oyo now broken to Oyo and Osun states were the states the NPN chose to toy with. At the election time there were more soldiers and police on the streets than civilians! Very heavy handed might was visible every where. Elections were recklessly rigged and of course those two states were set on fire. Several hundreds lost their lives.

    And within three months that is by December 31 the Military decided that it had had enough of the madness of the NPN and sent the governments packing. For 15 years thereafter Nigeria was put under the jackboot while several of the notorious politicians fled the country.

    Must Nigeria go through this silly desperation again? Must Nigeria continue to experiment with ‘Do or die politics’?

    You will agree with me that the polity is getting seriously heated up. And right now kangaroo impeachments like in the inglorious days of Obasanjo have started rearing their ugly heads. Must the PDP, a proud child of the NPN and a grandchild of the imperial NPC follow in the destructive path of its forefathers?

    Mr. President, we have too many problems on hand. We cannot allow the lure of office and the selfishness of politicians drag us 100 years backwards. The Nigerian military have no business with policing elections. Nigeria is not the only country that conducts elections. India is about six times the population of Nigeria; we did not see a single power drunk soldier on the streets during their recent national elections with over 800 million registered voters!

    Mr. President, the buck ends at your table. In all of these, all the self-seeking politicians urging you to deploy soldiers and the police to harass and intimidate opposition will run away and history will speak of only one person: Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, a great Izon man that God and good fortune placed at helm of affairs of a country of 173.5 million people.

    Mr President, I beg you in the name of your Christian God, and with everything you hold dear to your heart to resist any pressure to continue to heat up the polity. Do not ever send soldiers to any state to intimidate the civilian population. On good days, the Upper and Middleclass people do not vote. Please do not scare the few who want to exercise their civic duty with stern looking heavily armed police and soldiers.

    You have done well in the past by not tampering with judicial processes. Please do not bow to the dictates of desperate politicians in your Party.

    And if, as it is being alleged that you are using the federal government war chest to beat opposing governors to line through kangaroo impeachments, please for God’s sake, try and prove your critics wrong.

    •Let us save our dear country.

     

  • I owe Nigerians victory over terror, says Jonathan

    I owe Nigerians victory over terror, says Jonathan

    •  Danjuma: War against terror taking too long
    • Insurgents appear to have upper hand, says Danjuma

    President Goodluck Jonathan Wednesday maintained that his administration owes Nigerians victory over Boko Haram and its insurgency in the country.

    He spoke during the inauguration of the 26-man Victims Support Fund Committee, headed by Gen. T.Y.Danjuma, before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja.

    Stressing that evil will never prevail over good, he said that no effort will be spared by his government to bring the individuals responsible for the crimes against humanity to justice.

    But he called for the support of all Nigerians for the security agencies in the war against terror.

    He said: “We owe Nigerians nothing but victory over terror. The life of every Nigerian is precious and we will continue to work round the clock to put an end to this insurgency.”

    “I call on all Nigerians to stand together in support of our security agencies against terrorism. They are working night and day under difficult circumstances. It is unfortunate that when our security personnel prevent 1000 attacks, it is the one attack that succeeds that makes headline news and tends to portray our security agencies as not doing enough. It is part of the realities we have to deal with.”

    “The menace of terrorism has emerged as one of the most complex and challenging problems confronting governments in different parts of the world.  Terrorists aim to cause social dislocation, spread fear and panic among the populace and disrupt government activities.  But they never win. They have not won in the Middle East, in the USA, in China, in Columbia, in Italy, in the United Kingdom, in Kenya, etc.  And they will not win in Nigeria.  And, with the support of all Nigerians, we would ensure they do not win in Nigeria. Good must prevail over evil.”

    “That is why we have put together eminent Nigerians led by the respected statesman and hero, General Yakubu Danjuma, who will be assisted by Fola Adeola, a tested technocrat. They will be supported by public-spirited international agencies and other distinguished Nigerians whose names have been earlier announced. We will ensure that those who have suffered unjustly in the hands of terrorists can in our little way be consoled.”

    He went on: “Let me say a few words about these distinguished Nigerians that have accepted to serve our nation in this committee. From their profile, they are men and women of outstanding pedigree. That they agree to serve, is a great sacrifice. These distinguished patriots are volunteering their time and energy to give a helping hand to the needy. Valuable time that they should have spent in growing their businesses, loving their families and taking time in leisure. They have accepted to dedicate time and energy to our great country Nigeria. We are most grateful.”

    “The determination of government to help bind the wounds and apply soothing balm to the pain on innocent victims remains un-wavered. We want to give them the milk of human kindness, to let them know that this world is not just about evil people.”

    “Mr Chairman, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the human heart is eternally caring and generous. The world we live in is hungry to do good.  I want to charge the committee to go out there and knock on the doors of all hearts and institutions in a determined and focussed way. I am confident you will raise the required resources to help rebuild some of our broken existence.”

    “There are good people who do not share the dangerous doctrine they are propagating. Those who have made it their priority to kill and maim think they can break our spirit. We will rise from this triumphantly and we shall shame evil.”

    “We have set up this committee to provide a framework through which all persons and institutions who wish to help mitigate the pains our country men and women are going through for no fault of theirs.” He said

    On victims of the attacks, he said: “Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, for those who have been victims, they need comfort. They need succour. We cannot replace the life of a child that has been snuffed out. We cannot replace the lives of men and women who have been killed. We cannot return broken limbs to their original state. We cannot take away the trauma that people have been put through.”

    “Their memories are scarred, some for the rest of their lives, over what they knew nothing about. The best we can do in this circumstance is to offer them a shoulder to lean on and to stretch out our hands of fellowship to them and tell them we feel their pains and share in their sorrow.”

    “The Victim Support Fund Committee is part of our on-going efforts to provide a comprehensive solution to the menace.  This Government is determined to resolve this crisis. “

    “Our gathering here today is to kick-start the process of providing succour to our people who have been directly affected one way or the other by acts of terrorism in the country. This is not the kind of events we would normally pray for.”

    Recalling happenings in the past, he said: “It is very necessary for us to refresh our memory before we proceed. Nigeria has not always been like this. In the past, it is true, we had communal and sectarian clashes. There is no human society that has been insulated from conflicts. But as a people created by God, we have managed to live within the realities of our challenges and have worked hard to strengthen the bond of our togetherness.”

    “Even when we quarrel, we very quickly made up and largely lived peacefully together. At no time did we employ terrorism to settle our differences.”

    “But our innocence was defiled on December 25, 2009, when a 23-year-old Nigerian attempted to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, on his way from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, United States.”

    “Although his plan failed and the lives of 289 passengers were saved, it was one incident that finally confirmed that a few Nigerians had finally embraced terrorism as a way of life. Now we could no longer deny that terror has arrived our country with its ugly claws deployed!”

    “The year 2009 appears to be a tragic turning point. Boko Haram, an assemblage of heartless individuals, took it upon itself to bring evil upon our country. They have in their mission, turned women to widows and reduced children to orphans.”

    “They have killed and maimed and struck fear into law-abiding citizens. They have destroyed villages, attacked property and terminated people’s livelihoods without a care in the world. They have engaged our security agencies in a meaningless warfare that has wasted unimaginable human and material resources.”

    “The reality today is that, we are confronted with individuals whose minds have been so twisted and tutored to believe they are doing God a service.”

    “For those who take pleasure in seeing innocent human beings in pains, to see limbs being shattered and blood flowing in all direction after terror attacks, we say, you shall have no hiding place. Nigerians will expose you. The people of conscience around the world have rejected you.”

    He expressed appreciation for the support Nigeria is getting from foreign countries and the co-operation from neighbours countries against terror.

    “This has given us more fillip and we are confident that the days of Boko Haram are numbered. It is now just a matter of time. Our war against terrorism is gathering momentum. When you read about bombing incidents in the mass media, they may come across to those not directly affected as mere statistics. As the old proverb says, when you carry another man’s coffin, it looks like an ordinary log of wood.”

    “But to us, fathers and mothers, and the families of the victims, they are not just numbers. They are human beings – sons and daughters, uncles, nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters and indeed, fathers and mothers! They are Nigerians!! They are individuals with dreams and aspirations, noble Nigerians who love their country.”

    According to him, the Victims Support Fund Committee will help to mobilise collective efforts and resources in support for the victims.

    To this end, he appealed to all well-meaning Nigerians and non-Nigerians, individuals and cooperate bodies, to give generously to the Fund.

    “The victims need our sympathy and empathy. We have to show that we care and can never give way or give in to agents of evil. We will continue to do whatever we can to support our people in need.  But the task is enormous.  It is not a responsibility government can shoulder alone.”

    “Nigeria is a community of neighbours, kinsmen and friends.  We have always looked out for each other.  The entire Nigeria nation is one family.  I, therefore, call on all Nigerians – students, youths, boys, girls, men and women – to pause today and spare a thought for the victims; and support them.  This is not a task for the rich alone.  Every widow’s mite will count, and will be appreciated. I urge Nigerians to donate generously even through your GSM phones.”

    He listed the committee’s terms of reference to include: “To identify sources and ways of raising sustainable funding to support victims of terror activities; To develop appropriate strategies for the fund raising; To ascertain the persons, communities, facilities and economic assets affected by terror activities;”

    Others, according to him, include “To assess and determine the appropriate support required in each case; To manage, disburse and/or administer support to the victims as appropriate; To address related challenges as may be appropriate; and To advise Government on other matter(s) necessary or incidental to support victims of terror activities.”

    He said the fund is an opportunity for Nigerians to prove to the world that evil cannot prevail over good and that “we are our brothers and sisters keeper. We are born to love not to hate; we are born to build and not to bomb; we are born to heal and not to kill; we are born to salvage and not to savage.”

    Noting that the insurgents appeared to be having upper hand, the Chairman of the Committee, T.Y. Danjuma said that the war against terror in Nigeria is taking too long to win.

    According to him, it is a war that must be urgently won by the Federal Government.

    He said: “One thing we will not do is to go to Sambisa forest. The commander in chief will lead and we will follow the commander in chief.”

    “But seriously this war must be brought to an end. We must win this war immediately. It is taking too long. I called it civil war when it began people say it is insurgency. The insurgents appear to be having an upper hand at this very moment. They pick and choose where to strike. They are even holding positions and displacing us. We must win this war Mr. President, we must do so immediately.”

    “We will raise the funds, we will disbursed it, I promise you we will do so diligently and transparent but we must win this war Mr. President. May God bless our country.” He added

    Giving the vote of thanks, the Nationasl Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki assured the committee that thge Federal Government will win the war against terror.

    He said: “Sir you gave me a very difficult task  after Gen. Danjuma’s statement. The only thing I will do is thank them for agreeing to serve and assure them that we will win the war.”

    “But there are some very hard choices that would have to be made. We have so been more concern about the lives of a few versus the condition of a few million. The decision has to be made soon. This is not the first time we have been challenged by very senior Nigerians about the need to end this.”

    “We had a situation the other day with former heads of states, they told the President the same thing. But the constrains we are aware of we do realise that the time has come to draw a line. As we have said if they are taking the territories then we have lost the first role as far as I am concern.”

    “At this point I will like to assue you and assure all Nigerians we will win the war and God willing we will do it quickly. Once again I thank you all for serving.” He said

  • Jonathan begins ‘gunboat democracy’

    Jonathan begins ‘gunboat democracy’

    The hasty impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, a ferocious critic of the Goodluck Jonathan presidency, presents Nigerians a terrible dilemma. On the one hand is the fact that some of the governors, including those who are candidates for impeachment, are difficult to defend on account of the misrule alleged against them by the electorate through their lawmakers. On the other hand is the fact that Nigerians also know that the Goodluck Jonathan presidency is believed to be covertly manipulating the impeachment processes for malevolent political ends. If the Fourth Republic is not to be endangered, the electorate and their legislators will have to do a delicate balancing act to separate reality from illusion, and distil truth from falsehood. The outcome is, however, by no means certain.

    Governor Nyako, who defected to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) with four other Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors last year, was impeached yesterday in a process that lasted barely one week. It is feared in opposition ranks that his impeachment presages similar plans deliberately aimed at a number of vulnerable APC states, including Nasarawa – which is ongoing – Rivers, Edo and Kano, among others. The impeachment drive is presented to the unwary public either as punishment for executive malfeasances or strictly local politics in which the presidency has no hand, but only passing and amusing interest.

    To the wary, however, the reality is much more troubling. Not only is the impeachment weapon emblematic of brute presidential power to whip erring governors into line, especially if they are vulnerable, they are also part of an overall strategy to secure re-election for Dr Jonathan. In order to guarantee a second term, the president’s strategists estimate that a few APC states, especially those previously under PDP control, will have to be reclaimed before the next general elections, and if possible, before he throws his hat into the ring a second time. A previously quiescent Nasarawa State, with a legislature controlled by the PDP, has begun the process of impeaching its governor. Like Adamawa’s Governor Nyako, who was removed post-haste in spite of his aides enacting a series of fancy but tortuous footwork, Governor Tanko Al-Makura of the APC is not expected to survive the ordeal.

    Other than through impeachment, there is no other way the president and the ruling party can achieve favourable political dynamics for the 2015 polls, for they are tarred with the same brush as the governors they seek to unhorse. Were Adamawa and Nasarawa to be left in the hands of the APC, especially in the face of the superior electoral votes the APC potentially retained until last week, party strategists calculate that Dr Jonathan would face an uphill task in securing a second term in office. With Adamawa gone, and Nasarawa expected to follow, amidst the domino effect of a few other opposition states falling into the PDP column, the president’s re-election chances are believed to be much brighter than they were until last week.

    More importantly, after having suffered a number of reverses in the past one year, among which were the defections of five governors and scores of national lawmakers, the ruling party may have finally determined that the president must bare his fangs brutally and ruthlessly in order to make electorally safe states even much safer for him, and unsafe states to suffer acute trepidation. If he couldn’t attract defectors, his strategists reason, he must at least not tolerate deserters or let them off lightly. All options were put on the table, not minding whether they were extralegal or unconstitutional measures. In their calculations, they banked on the indifference of voters, their ignorance, and to some extent, their cowardice. So far, the Jonathan presidency and the PDP have not been disappointed.

    The Nigerian presidency is one of the most powerful in the world, suffused as it is with wide-ranging powers and domineering excesses. This is not simply because of constitutional provisions that nourish the president’s appetite to deploy power tyrannically, but also because of other cultural factors that manifest principally in traditional subservience to authority. Since institutions here are either weak or susceptible to inducement, presidential powers, much more than what the constitution envisages, become even more pronounced and counterproductive.

    It is not clear beyond speculations just how many states the president and his party intend to undermine, though nearly all the states suffer from either incompetent executives or misrule. But if the opposition required to check them is not urgently mustered, there may be no end to the subversion of opposition states until the country falls under the iron grip of the president. The moment Ekiti State was won by the PDP in the June poll, the party’s frenzied plan to rein in other states switched into high gear. Unfortunately, the electorate, elite, media and even civil society organisations largely appear to believe that the problem is essentially that of the opposition, especially the APC, to tackle. This is not only short-sighted; it is criminal negligence.

    It is time the electorate began to ask questions about the pattern of impeachment obviously orchestrated by the Jonathan presidency. In spite of the noticeable shortcomings in the administration of Adamawa State, the impeachment processes activated in that state and Nasarawa are not quite the local affair the PDP has tried to paint them. The motives of impeachment, which are designed to create favourable dynamics for the PDP in those states and many other states in next year’s polls, show a cynical disregard for the constitution and due process. If you must impeach, by all means do it decently and procedurally in order to lay a good precedent for future governments. More portentously, the continuing subversion of a few more opposition states both endangers democracy and lays the groundwork for totalitarianism.

    Since he became president, Dr Jonathan has himself enacted a string of unconstitutional and impeachable offences. He has subverted the judiciary, muzzled the press, albeit briefly, perhaps as dress rehearsal for 2015, inducted security agencies into partisanship, serially violated the constitution, propped up and canonised miscreants as a counterpoise to existing authorities in states, and generally constituted himself and his presidency as the most divisive in the nations’ history. But in spite of these flagrant violations, the people have indulgently overlooked the infractions of his government and glossed over his abuse and misuse of power.

    Considering how indifferent Nigerians are to the Jonathan government’s loathing for constitutionality, they may wake up one morning, like Germans did in the 1930s, to discover that the democracy they fought for under the military has either disappeared or has been seriously abridged and distorted. A culture of brazenness and arbitrariness is already taking root. And that culture is fed by the undignified and petty squabbles among the political elite. Political parties can have ideological and policy differences, and can punish erring executives and other officials of government. But to mask personal hatred for opposition parties and their leaders under partisanship, while also encouraging unlawful use of power, will doom democracy, enthrone dictatorship, and may also bring many of Dr Jonathan’s supporters, if not the president himself, to ruin. The French reign of terror should instruct those willing to learn from history. For there is always no guarantee that the proponent of terror today will not end up as victim tomorrow, or that those who remain silent today will have anyone speaking up for them tomorrow.

    Voters can of course theoretically punish the president and the PDP in 2015 no matter what the latter do to demean the constitution and secure a second term, but there is neither firm indication nor proof that any such punishment would be carried out or be contemplated. More worrisomely, there is no proof that whatever anyone does now would cause the president to moderate his overenthusiastic use of power. The clear fact is that going by the president’s wilful subversion of the constitution, there is nothing to suggest that either he or his party has lofty notions of what democracy is all about, nor a vision of where the country should be or aspire to be now or in the future. Yet, the country cannot afford to succumb to fatalism. Even if the country is unable to grasp the dangers ahead of it, partly because of ignorance and docility, the opposition must take on the onerous responsibility of defending and promoting Nigerian democracy.

    But to do that, the opposition must itself be above suspicion. Indeed, it is precisely in the worst of times that the opposition can best flourish. They can anchor their campaign for political rectitude on two fundamental grounds. First, since Nigerians cherish their democracy, with all its imperfections, the opposition can show the Jonathan government in its worst colours as an oppressive and incompetent government determined to doom the Fourth Republic. The Jonathan government can be shown as cynical haters of the constitution for the countless number of constitutional provisions it has broken. It can be painted as abusers of institutions for its manipulation of the judiciary and loathing for press freedom. And it can be denounced for its brinkmanship in re-introducing the military into politics, an institution just slowly emerging from the rancour and divisiveness that manifested in its ranks under military rule. A sustained campaign using examples from history, including the First Republic, should help to discourage further abuse and vote into office a party that respects, defends and promotes the constitution.

    Second, the Jonathan government is vulnerable in policy formulation and execution. Given the parlous state of the economy, the worsening human development indices and the state of social and cultural decay, it is not surprising that the Jonathan presidency has sought to atone for its shortcomings by a most disingenuous and ruthless use of extra-constitutional measures. It is precisely at this point that the opposition can best mobilise the electorate by deploying persuasive and credible information about the harm the ruling party in all of its about 16 years in office has inflicted on everyone. More importantly, the opposition should draw the attention of the public to the fact that the Jonathan presidency is reluctant to campaign on programmes or achievements, but relies on the brutal manipulation of political forces and dynamics in many states, and the use of divisive ethnic (minority v. majority) and religious politics.

    Crucially, the opposition must paint a vivid picture of what four more years of Dr Jonathan would mean for democracy, societal cohesion and security, economic progress, and religious harmony. There is no question what great harm the Jonathan government is doing to democracy and good governance, especially the impeachment processes it appears to be inspiring for ulterior reasons. However, the greatest challenge the opposition will face in seeking redress is how to clean up its own politics and methods. It welcomed all-comers to its fold during the giddy months of defections, some of them already liabilities to their constituencies; how then does it summon the puritanical zeal to present itself as champions of the new politics the country desires so badly? In other words, the opposition must repackage itself before it can sell itself and programmes to an electorate already alienated from and tormented by the Jonathan government.

    It is, indeed, at this point the electorate must wade in strongly to help set the right priorities for their leaders and the led alike. The agonising option they must contend with is whether to ignore the rampage inspired by Dr Jonathan, his gunboat democracy, because his victims have a sullied past; or to compel him to justly use his powers as well as honour the oath he took to defend and protect the constitution. That oath is obviously not being kept, thereby making him not only a hater of democracy as a whole, but a promoter of instability.