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  • NPN, AfPC hold Nigerian diaspora conference in London

    NPN, AfPC hold Nigerian diaspora conference in London

    Nigerian Professionals Network (NPN) and Africa Policy Conversations (AfPC) recently convened a landmark event at Kings House in London to galvanise the Nigerian diaspora for national development.

    The event which was titled “Nurturing Nigeria’s Future: Mobilising Resources for Impact Investments” gathered Nigerian professionals and policymakers to explore avenues for impactful investments in Nigeria.

    The event saw robust participation and engaging discussions.

    Olumide Lawal, President of NPN, set the stage by emphasising the diaspora’s pivotal role in fostering resilient communities and driving economic progress in Nigeria.

    A highlight of the event was the dialogue with Senator Uba Sani, Governor of Kaduna State, moderated by Chinenye Uwanaka.

    They addressed challenges such as corruption, ethnic and religious biases in investments, policy uncertainties, and efforts by Kaduna State to create a conducive environment for investments.

    Governor Sani underscored Kaduna’s reforms in business climate, removal of bureaucratic hurdles, and attracting significant investments in agriculture and solid minerals.

    He stated that Kaduna state has been able to attract about $600 million worth of investment in the state.

    The session on investment opportunities showcased Plateau and Kaduna states’ potential in agriculture, mining, and renewable energy. Whilst the Governor of Plateau state could not be present due to the devastating event in Plateau occasioned by the collapse of a school building, his representative, Mr Manji Wilson, who is the Technical Adviser to the governor, outlined key areas of investment in the state.

    He highlighted initiatives to mechanise agriculture and develop agro-industrial hubs and Plateau state’s ongoing plans to key into the second phase of the Africa Development Bank Special Agro-Processing Development Project worth 50 -100 million dollars.

    Ibrahim Mohammed, Economic Adviser to the Governor of Kaduna State, detailed Kaduna’s vast agricultural resources and mining opportunities, highlighting the state’s proactive measures in establishing special economic zones and fostering partnerships to boost economic activities.

    The event also featured insights from diaspora experts like Dr Iwa Salami, the Director of the Centre of Fintech at the University of East London, who emphasised financial inclusion through digital innovation and crowdfunding for MSMEs. Pastor Tobi Adegboyega, Founder of The Fxmily, London stressed community empowerment as a catalyst for national progress, urging support for small businesses and professional networks.

    Miss Iwuji, the former UK High Commissioner to Mozambique, echoed sentiments on the diaspora’s desire for basic infrastructure and secure environments to encourage their return to Nigeria and contribute their quota to nation-building. She also admonished the diaspora to select a sector of the economy they are passionate about or can add value to, and invest in that area.

    In closing, Mr. Adejare from the Nigeria High Commission, UK, reiterated the importance of sustained diaspora engagement and investments in shaping Nigeria’s future.

    The event concluded with a renewed commitment among attendees to leverage their expertise and networks for Nigeria’s sustainable development.

    The London gathering marked a significant step towards mobilising the Nigerian diaspora’s collective efforts to drive positive change and economic growth in their homeland. As Nigerians worldwide unite in purpose, they stand poised to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s journey towards prosperity and resilience.

    This event not only fostered dialogue but also set a precedent for continued collaboration and actionable initiatives aimed at transforming Nigeria’s economic landscape through diaspora-driven investments and innovations.

  • Ekwueme, a strong pillar in National Development – Yakasai

    Ekwueme, a strong pillar in National Development – Yakasai

    An elder statesman in Kano, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has described the late former Vice-President, Dr Alex Ekwueme, as a very meticulous and hard working person who contributed a lot toward the development of the country.

    Yakasai made the remark in an interview in Kano on Tuesday.

    Ekwueme died on November 19, 2017, at a London Hospital after a brief illess and he will be buried on Friday.

    Yakasai, who was a Special Adviser to President Shehu Shagari on National Assembly Matters, said the late Ekwueme was also a committed politician who believed in the unity of Nigeria.

    “The late elder statesman was a principled and very intelligent person, who bagged five degrees in different fields.”

    Read also: Senate, Jonathan, ACF, Ita-Giwa mourn ex-VP Ekwueme

    According to him, Ekwueme spearheaded the campaign for a number of issues, including zoning and rotation during the National Constitutional Conference held between 1994 and 1995.

    “So, zoning and rotation was originally part of the defunct National Party of Nigeria ( NPN ) Programme as it was the party that introduced the idea of zoning and rotation.

    “During the conference, Ekwueme articulated a number of issues which the conference eventually adopted.”

    He said that Ekwueme’s connection with the NPN, gave him the opportunity to be adopted as the Chairman of G34, a group of Nigerians who eventually formed Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ).

    He said he was very close to late Ekwueme even when they were in Kirikiri Prison together after the military coup of 1983.

    “I and the late former governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, kept Ekwueme company in the prison. He even requested me to teach him Hausa language.”

    He said there was good understanding between them when they were in government as they used to visit each other’s families.

    “We used to disagree on certain issues but we lived peacefully when we were in government,” Yakasai said.

    On the state of political parties, he said disloyalty was the bane of Nigeria’s democracy, noting further that governors had hijacked their political parties in their respective states.

    He, therefore, urged politicians to change the trend by being loyal to their parties in order to strengthen democracy in the country.

    “Disloyalty to political parties is the bane of Nigeria’s democracy and this is a major challenge threatening the system, Yakasai said.

    NAN

  • Let the people be

    Let the people be

    History is what hurts. In the end, perhaps nothing can beat the profound wisdom of that pithy observation .The impersonal and unfathomable forces of history are such that they often mock our bravest and boldest attempts to alter the course and trajectory of events. What eventually confronts us may well be the very opposite of our wish and what we have willed into existence. Yet despots and dictators persist, thus accelerating the process that will end in the mutual ruination of the contending classes.

    When we rig elections, we alter the wishes and collective aspirations of the people. It is not only democracy and development that suffer collateral damage. The principal casualty is the insight we deny ourselves into the intriguing and perplexing dynamics of a fraught postcolonial society, the demographic shifts, the political turns and twist, and the emergent sociology of contending nationalities in a multi-national society.

    Of all the hostile take-over bids that we have witnessed in the history of the country, and in the history of overbearing federal administrations, none is as chilling and hair raising as the one currently unfurling in the South West of the nation. Despite the obvious friendliness and affability of the Yoruba people, there must be something about their political society which induces federal panic and irrational fright.

    Once again, it is the South West that is the target of this hostile take over bid. The omens are dire indeed. The paradox is baffling, and it speaks to the core contradiction of a bitterly polarised nation. In order to have elections, the entire region must be placed on a war footing. But we must take due historical cognisance of the grave import and the collective danger this rampart militarisation represents for the nation.

    In 1979 as soon as it became obvious even to the blind that the NPN roller coaster  was unstoppable , Professor Sam Aluko issued a statement which cut quickly to the chase. “In the unlikely event that the UPN does not win at the centre”, Aluko began and we now paraphrase, “the already elected UPN governors must henceforth concentrate their energies and talent on the states they had won in order to turn them into models of good governance which the rest of the country would find irresistible when the next election would be called in four years”.

    It was like dressing the likely in an unlikely garb. Aluko might have been indulging his streak of plucky and eccentric irreverence. The elections so far declared at that point showed the NPN in an unassailable lead. But the statement was also an ironic tribute to Aluko’s faith in the democratic destiny of the nation and in the rationality of the electoral process.

    With Awo firmly in charge, leadership by example became the credo and mantra of the UPN governors. Without an exception, they rolled up their sleeves and went to work. From the dashing and workaholic LKJ in Lagos State to the scholarly and methodical Ambrose Alli in the old Bendel, the UPN states rapidly seized the imagination of the nation as models of purposeful governance. Working with the same master plan and vision, they were a study in coherence and party cohesiveness.

    But rather than learning from this local model, the ruling NPN had other ideas. The very notion of purposeful governance in any enclave of the country showed them up as irresponsible buccaneers. And since they cannot build, they must disrupt and disorganise those who can. Two years into the return of democratic rule, they organised a banishment through impeachment for Balarabe Musa, the implacably radical governor of the old Kaduna State, who had been a thorn in their flesh.

    This turned out to be a mere dress rehearsal for something more potent and destabilising. By the time the 1983 elections came up, the NPN had perfected its hostile take-over bid of opposition stronghold. When the smoke cleared, they had made away with both Oyo and Ondo States in the very heartland of opposition supremacy. The violent upheaval and its poisonous effluence eventually led to a military take over. The country was back to square one.

    It may be useful to go further back in history. In 1954, the ruling Action Group lost the federal election in the region to the opposition NCNC party. The people of the region, particularly the urban denizens, fell for the hostile propaganda that the Action Group was there to deprive them of the proceeds of their punitive toil even as it imposed on the populace a taxation regimen of abundant misery and harsh exploitation. The anarchist credo was that no tax was the best taxation and the people fell for the seductive lore.

    The defeat turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it accurately mirrored the feeling of the people, whether justified or not. But rather than collapse in crushing defeat and rejection, the Action Group rolled up its sleeves and went back to explain itself and its programme in a more effective manner. Luckily for the party, the gains of its massive modernisation and transformational project had begun to trickle in. The West had never had it so good. The doubts evaporated and the party recorded a resounding victory in the next general election.

    But the ruling coalition could not abide the social engineering feats of its progressive rival. In what was to become a tested template for future counter-progressive operations, it engineered a fracturing of the Action Group early in 1962 and subsequently followed this up with a parliamentary putsch that saw the ruling party become an opposition in its own redoubt.

    The nature of political crime is such that you have to keep committing even more egregious crimes in order to cover up the original crime. Both the 1964 federal election and the 1965 regional election were so violently and intolerably rigged that it became obvious that the federal authorities had abandoned all pretences to electoral sanity. The sovereignty of the electorate became a sick joke; a solidarity of the disenfranchised.

    Unlike the refined vaporisations we are witnessing, the methods employed were so crude and primitive that the ritual of voting became a desecrated farce.  The West descended into an orgy of violence and anarchy. A violent military take over became virtually inevitable  The result is the complete decapitation of all political institutions in the nation whose telling effects can still be felt till date.

    Yet, it can be seen in retrospect that apart from institutionalising political corruption and imposing the selectorate on the electorate, the ultimate outcome of this culture of colossal rigging has been the enthronement of what was feared in a more potent and insidious manner. The annulment of the 1993 presidential election which was the hallmark of supersonic rigging led directly to the emergence of an Obasanjo who has proved more fatal to the old northern establishment in a way an Abiola presidency could never have, and circuitously to a Jonathan who may well provide the coup de grace.

    It has also removed from political contention the north’s ultimate political joker: the military party. Had an Abiola or an Awolowo in particular been allowed to rule, their rational humanism would have allowed a feudal North to deal with the consequences of deliberate underdevelopment in a more humane manner than the radical anarchy we are currently witnessing.

    Electoral irrationality produces political irrationality which in turn leads to a completely irrational society. Now the North is trapped between a Jonathan presidency with its legendary cultural insensitivities and a Buhari presidency which will put the fear of the lord into the North’s surviving feudal dinosaurs. Any wonder then that we still do not know our presidential flag bearers six months before a nation-defining presidential election?

    In 2003, the South West gave Obasanjo the tacit nod and acquiescence to do the needful in the region to retain the presidency but to leave the region alone to pursue its independent political fortunes. It was a sophisticated political message. But Obasanjo blatantly misread the small print to mean an endorsement of the electoral subjugation of the entire region. The irony was that had Obasanjo left the AD severely alone, it would have imploded from its own internal contradictions, being a motley assemblage of outpatient ideological schizophrenics and progressive reactionaries.

    But by biting more than he was asked to chew, Obasanjo gave fillip to the more organised elements of a dying organisation and a causus belli. With the obvious failure of his mainstream mantra, the region was up in arms against Obasanjo by the time of the 2007 election. This was ostentatiously rigged. It was Obasanjo’s parting shot of defiant contempt for his own people.

    But by the 2011 election, the entire region went after Obasanjo’s political jugular. Thus the fate that the proud and tenacious Owu warlord was trying to avoid, that of a two time leader of Nigeria without any political constituency, overtook him with iron severity even in his own backyard. What Shakespeare calls the whirligig of time has brought its own revenge.

    Let Jonathan ponder on the turbulent history of the country. Nigeria may be an impossible colonial contraption, but there are certain imponderable equations insinuated into its grand architecture which makes it impossible for a despot of any hue to hold sway for long. The ethnic alliances of today are not what they were in 1999, not in 1979 and certainly not in 1959. In January 1966, the entire Western Region lay blitzed and cowering under the onslaught of the federal might. But by October of that very year, it was the same West that was adjudicating between the North and its former collaborators and hatchet men.

    The president should learn from history if he does not want to imperil his own fortunes as well as the political fortunes of his people in a post-Jonathan polity. As we can see from the foregoing, rigging and hostile take over bids which amount to forcibly tampering with the destiny of a people have a way of returning the compliments in an even more devastating manner.

  • 2015: Senators, for governor

    2015: Senators, for governor

    Many senators and House of Representatives members are eager to govern  in their states. They have been  setting up campaign structures and consulting stakeholders. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU writes on the scheming, the permutations and the gale of endorsements, ahead of the 2015 elections.
    It is the season of ambitions and endorsements of aspirants. Post-ers and stickers adorn streets, public buildings, parks and vehicles, drawing attention to the aspirations of the contenders. Senators and House of Representatives members eyeing the State Houses now spend their weekends at their constituencies. At the grassroots, there is a revival of political activities.

    Party supporters, cronies, and loyalists are warming up for a festival of choice and change. Partisan meetings are on across the 36 states. Many aspirants are engaging in clandestine activities to intimidate political opponents and convey real or imagined impressions of political superiority. Crowds sing praises of the contenders. Traditional rulers, community leaders, women and youth groups, and clerics are mobilised to lend support. Across the six geo-political zones, there is a clash of ambitions.

    Governors that are completing their two terms of eight years next year are not contemplating retirement. Many of them want to go to the Senate. Many senators and House of Representatives members are declaring their ambitions for governorship.

    In the United States, senators will prefer to contest for the presidency, instead of returning to their states to vie for the governorship. The reverse is the case in Nigeria. In the Second Republic, two senators – Cornelius Adebayo (Kwara) and Don Etiebet (Cross River) -blazed the trail, when they became governors in 1983. There were also senators who expressed interest in the governorship at that time. But, their ambition did not see the light of the day. In the old Ondo State, Senator Banji Akintoye, a Professor of History, contested against former Governor Adekunle Ajasin at the primaries in 1983. He lost. But, after the poll, the late Ajasin appointed him as the Commissioner for Health. In Lagos State, the late Senator Sikiru Shitta-Bey also indicated in the governorship. When the coast was not clear for him in the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), he defected to the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

    In 1999, Senator Bola Tinubu became Lagos State governor. In 2007, Senators Tokunbo Afikuyomi and Musiliu Obanikoro unfolded their governorship aspirations. Afikuyomi made a feeble attempt in the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), following his defection from the Action Congress (AC). But, he retraced his step on the election day, emerging as the AC agent at the electoral commission’s office. Obanikoro, who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He lost to Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN). In 2003, Senator Rashidi Ladoja became the governor of Oyo State. Now, Senators Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), and Liyel Imoke (Cross River) are governors. Last year, Senator Chris Ngige and Senator Chris Uba contested for the governorship in Anambra State. During the preparations for the primaries, Ngige’s rival was Senator Annie Okonkwo. Ngige is still in court challenging the victory of Governor Willy Obiano in court

    As preparations for the 2015 election hot up, many senators are warming up for the governorship. One of them is Senator Ganiyu Solomon, who represents the Lagos West District on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In Taraba State, Senator Joel Ikenya, who was a member of the National Assembly between 1999 and 2007, has also shown interest in the governorship. In Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa from the North District, has set up his campaign group. He is itching to succeed Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan next year. Other National Assembly members eyeing the governorship include Senator Magnus Abe and Hon. Dakuku Peterside (Rivers), Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (Cross River), Senator Ike Ekweremadu (Enugu), Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), his deputy, Emeka ikhedioa (Imo), Senator Olufemi Lanlehin (Oyo), Senator Teslim Folarin (Oyo), Hon. Akinlade (Ogun), and Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti).

    A political scientist, Boniface Ayodele, explained why senators and other federal legislators are nursing governorship ambitions. He observed that age is still on their side, adding that they cannot contemplate political retirement. But, the Ekiti State University teacher pointed out that not all the National Assembly members are fit for governorship. He explained that some of them, who are professional politicians, have embraced politics as a career, instead of a vocation. Ayodele argued that. while some aspirants perceive their next political office as a call to further service to the state, others perceive the corridor of power as an avenue for private accumulation. The former works hard to erect lasting legacies. The latter merely strives for relevance and pecks of office.

    The political scientist also submitted that the quest for upward mobility may also translate into a situation whereby leaders are recycled. He explained African leaders are usually reluctant to leave power, pointing out that the 1999 Constitution, which specifies a definite tenure, is the saving grace for democracy. Ayodele alluded to what he described as the “cult of leadership”, which enjoys dominance and pre-eminence in the polity. He pointed out that the polity has now paled into a fiefdom dominated by these powerful figures, who are entrenched in the system. “Governors are so powerful and the President even courts them. As chief executives, some governors are lords of manor. Therefore, senators aspire to become governors in their quest for executive powers”, he added.

     

    Ekweremadu

     

    Senator Ike Ekweremadu is the Senate Deputy President. He is a governorship aspirant in Enugu State. He was tipped for the job in 2007, following the expiration of Governor Chimaroke Nnamani’s second term. But, the political family, Ebano Group, opposed his candidature. What makes observers to believe that Ekwere-madu still nurses the ambition is the array of projects he has commissioned in his constituency. Many people have benefitted from his Ikeoha Foundation. He has the financial muscle required for the contest. He is also close to Aso Rock.

    But, the zoning arrangement may knock him out of the race. Ekweremadu is from Enugu West like Governor Chime. The governor is has said that the slot would be zoned to the North. Ekweremadu has the financial muscle. The Deputy Senate President is acutely popular and influential in the Senate and his party, the PDP. Ekweremadu is not a bench warmer in the Upper Chamber. He has endowed his seat with visibility. The senator has also attracted many projects to his district. Recently, he commissioned many of them and increased his empowerment programmes at the grassroots. However, the senator is not enjoying the support of the governor, Sullivan Chime, who is pushing for power shift to the North District. The senator and governor are from the West District. Chime has repeatedly said that it will be unfair for his successor to come from the West because the zone would have enjoyed the slot for eight years when he bows out next year.

     

    Eze

     

    Senator Ayogu Eze is from Enugu North. He is a journalist. People give him the respect due to an intellectual. He is very sound. He is a good debater. But, the elite in Nsukka area perceive him as too ambitious and pompous. This may be due to envy or jealousy. The Senate President, Gen. David Mark, is fond of him. He refers to him as the ‘Enugu Government House’. Eze chairs the Senate Committee on Works. To many people, this is a big position. The unofficial decision of the party to zone the slot to the North is to the advantage of the senator, who also has the ears of the governor, the champion of the power shift agitation. But, the senator must move swiftly to reconcile himself with his educated rivals in the district. It is not certain that the Nwodo brothers are supporting his bid. The elite gang up against him is a big hurdle he must cross.

     

    Abaribe

     

    Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe is from Abia South. He is the Chairman of the Committee on Media, Information and Publicity. He is rich and he can fund a state-wide campaign. He served as the deputy governor under former Governor Orji Kalu. He was shoved aside as the deputy governor in controversial circumstance. But, the tragedy has not diminished his stature and image. He fired on as a warrior, emerging later as a senator. Abaribe is warming up for the governorship at a time people feel that power should shift to the Ngwa stock, South District. However, his kinsman, Emeka Nwogu, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, is also interested in the race. Also, his former boss, kalu, may still plot to abort his dream. Abaribe is always determined and his courage has always been his major source of strength. Therefore, party sources said that the minister may not be a threat to his ambition as he will stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

     

    Anyanwu

     

    Veteran journalist Senator Chris Anyanwu is a household name in the country. She hails from Imo East, which she represents in the Senate. In the days of political tribulation, she had hurriedly left the PDP for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). She had indicated her interest in the Senate. But, the Women Leader, Dr. Kema Chikwe, and former Governor Ikedi Ohakim raised objection. Her main supporter then was the former Interior Minister, Emmanuel Iheanacho. Today, Anyanwu is back in the PDP. She has an ambition. She is competent. She has experience. But, there are certain odds against her aspiration. Chikwe, Ohakim and Iheanancho, and Iheodioha, who is from her district, are now in the race. What chance does she has?

     

    Solomon

     

    Senator Ganiyu Solomon represents Lagos West District in the Senate. He declared his ambition to vie for the 2015 governorship election on the television, almost a year ago. He is the former Chairman of Mushin Council and member of House of Representatives. In 2007, former Lagos State Governor Tinubu opted out of the senatorial race and the ticket landed on Solomon’s palm. His ambition has caused a stir. Other aspirants who has not come out openly may have been relating to him as the number one rival. Solomon is not a baby politician in Lagos State. He has the network. He is also rooted at the grassroots. Many perceive him as a mobiliser and a close associate of Asiwaju Tinubu. This is not the first time Solomon has been eyeing the governorship. In 2007, he was among the 14 Alliance for Democracy (AD) aspirants itching to succeed Tinubu. His supporters have started canvassing for open primaries for the aspirants. In 2015, Solomon will slug it out with the House of Assembly Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, Femi Gbajabiamila, and Senator Gbenga Ashafa – if they join the race.

     

    Akinlade

     

    Abiodun Akinlade, a member of the House of Representatives from Yewa (Ogun West), has declared his ambition for the governorship. The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain became a legislator in 2011 on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He is now a chieftain of the APC. The federal legislator unfolded his plan to rule the Gateway State at a time Governor Amosun is seeking re-election. A chieftain of the APC in Ogun State, Otunba Deinde Banjo, said that Akinlade is joining the race without sparing a thought for the political developments in the state. He said that it will be difficult for him to defeat Amosun at the primaries because the governor has lived to expectation. The legislator has objected to this. He said he will perform better than the governor, if elected. Akinlade maintained that power should shift to Yewaland, claiming that no indigene of the old Egbado Division has occupied the State House. Sources said that he may defect to the LP to realise his ambition.

     

    Lanlehin

     

    The senator representing Oyo South, Olufemi Lanlehin, is a lawyer and seasoned politician. He inherited political skills from his illustrious father, the late Pa. S.O. Lanlehin, one of the pioneer members of the Western Regional House of Assembly from Ibadan and treasurer of the defunct Action Group (AG) led by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. In the Third Republic, he was a member of the House of Representatives. Between 1999 and 2002, he was Special Adviser on Political and Legislative Matters in Lagos State. Until last week, when the party leaders brokered peace between him and Governor Abiola Ajimobi, the senator was a serious contender for the governorship in the Oyo APC. In 2011, he was an aspirant. But he was prevailed upon by party leaders to step down for Ajimobi, who has been endorsed as the consensus candidate by the party. However, Lanlehin has not renounced his governorship ambition.

     

    Okowa

     

    Senator Ifeanyi Okowa is a medical doctor from Delta North, a district that is mainly populated by Anioma people. The Aniomas have been agitating for power shift because they have not filled the slot before. Therefore, they are insisting that it is the turn of the district to produce the next governor. Power shift, Okowa explained, will give the people of Anioma a sense of pride and belonging. Besides, he said that power shift will foster equity and justice in the state. If this sentiment gains the sympathy of the other ethnic groups , then, Okowa has prospects as an aspirant. The senator is a former Secretary to the State Government. His constituents are impressed by his performance in the Upper Chamber, where he chairs the senate Committee on Health.

    No fewer than 15 aspirants are in the race for the Delta State Government House. Five of them are holding political office. Leading the pack of the aspirants is the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, who hails from Delta South like Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan. It has been speculated that Orubebe was anointed by the Presidency to succeed the governor in 2015. But the Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has kicked against the choice of Orubebe by President Jonathan. The rejection of Orubebe by Clark, who is perceived by many as the political godfather of the President, may make it difficult for Orubebe to achieve his governorship ambition.

    The recent entry of the Special Adviser to the President on Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation, Professor Sylvester Monye, may have also affected Okonwa’s calculations. He is also from the Delta North. Sources said that prominent indigenes of Delta North are backing him. Among them are the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and former Managing Director of United Bank of Africa, Mr Tony Elumelu. Others in the race are a member of House of Representatives, Hon. Festus Okunbor, also from Delta North, Victor Ochei, and former Minister of State for Education, Kenneth Gbagi, a former Minister and the Speaker Delta House of Assembly.

     

    Gaya

     

    In Kano State Senator Kabiru Gaya, who was the governor of the state in the Third Republic, is staging a come back. He is a serving senator and a chieftain of the APC.

     

    Kawu

     

    A member of the House of Representatives, Abdulrahaman Kawu Sumaila, has been nursing governorship ambition since 2011. He is also in the APC. He was endorsed by some groups in the defunct ANPP last year.

     

    Ningi

     

    Senator Abdul Ningi represents Bauchi Central in the Senate. Before his elevation into the Senate, he was a member of the House of Representatives for eight years. His brilliant contributions to House debate won him the respect of his fellow legislators. He was the Majority Leader of the House during his tenure. As the Senate Deputy Majority Leader, Ningi is very close to the Presidency and maintains a good working relationship with the seat of power. The senator is also in the good book of Governor Isa Yuguda. However, zoning may affect his chance of becoming the governor. The people of Bauchi North Senatorial District claim that it is their turn to produce the governor. They argued that, since 1999, the zone has produced the governor. The last time that Bauchi North produced the governor was in 1979 when the late Alhaji Tatari Ali was elected on the platform of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

     

    Abe

     

    Senator Magnus Abe is a successful politician from Rivers State. He has served as a state legislator, Commissioner for Information, Secretary to Government before taking his seat in the Senate where he chairs the Petroleum (Downstream) Committee. He is from Ogoni. But, the Kalabaris also want to enjoy the slot after the tenure of the Ikwere man, Governor Rotimi Amaechi, expires next year. Abe, a lawyer, is a man of honour and integrity. His committee investigated the oil subsidy scandal in 2011. He did not soil his hand. He is now a chieftain of the APC.

    Before the crisis in the Rivers State PDP escalated, many members were actually rooting for Senator Abe as the successor to Amaechi. His zone, Ogoniland, has not produced any governor. In fact, Amaechi is supporting power shift to this zone to correct the imbalance in the power sharing. However, it has been alleged that Mrs. Patience Jonathan, the wife of the President, preferred her fellow Okrika man, Nyesom Wike, Minster of State for Education, for the job.

    Abe’s choice was premised on his loyalty to the governor. He remains an ally of the governor during this turbulent period.

     

    Uzodinma

     

    Senator Hope Uzodinma is from Imo West Senatorial district. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He was the head of the special panel set up to investigate the leadership crisis in the Taraba PDP. He’s also a member of the National Reconciliation Committee of the PDP mandated to unite warring factions in the states. The law maker is also very close to the chairman of the PDP BoT Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih.

     

    Ihedioha

     

    House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha is warming up for the governorship race in Imo State. Ihedioha and Anyanwu are from the same zone and the implication is that they will share the votes from their senatorial district at the primaries.

     

    Nwogu

     

    Senator Nkechi Nwogu is a woman with a heart of steel and stone. She wants to make history as the first woman to be elected governor. Nwogu represents Abia Central in the Senate. She was a member of the House of Representatives. She was the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking in the Sixth Senate. Now, she chairs the Senate Committee on Gas.

     

    Bamidele

     

    He is a member of the House of Representatives from Ekiti Central. Bamidele defected to the Labour Party (LP) last year. He is now a governorship candidate in the Fountain of Knowledge.

     

  • Good luck for him, bad luck for PDP

    Good luck for him, bad luck for PDP

    Scratch Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the embattled national chairman of the crumbling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and you probably would find, in his DNA, traces of a political undertaker.

    Back in the Second Republic, Alhaji Bamanga, fresh from a high-flying stint as top dog at Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria’s national ruling parties’ cash cow, recorded a landslide to sweep into the Government House of the defunct Gongola State (now Adamawa and Taraba states), as National Party of Nigeria (NPN) gubernatorial candidate.

    Alhaji Bamanga’s landslide was part of the general electoral typhoon that shellacked the opposition; and which Alhaji Umaru Dikko, then President Shehu Shagari’s Transport minister and awesome man Friday, in roguish humour, christened a “moon slide”.

    That “moon slide”, by another election in 1987 the wise Dikko proclaimed, would explode into a “space slide”, by which time Dikko’s beloved NPN would have gobbled up the whole country (opposition be damned!), even if its incompetence was as clear as the moon at night.

    Compare NPN then to PDP now, and it is clear the PDP journey to perdition, under President Goodluck Jonathan, is not novel.

    Incidentally, there was no “1987”. The violently raped 1983 election rigged out the Second Republic. Three-month Governor, Tukur’s landslide mandate vanished under that republic’s rubble.

    Incidentally too, Alhaji Umaru is now chairman of PDP’s disciplinary committee, under the troubled national chairmanship of Alhaji Bamanga. Might the duo be comparing notes, with shared hindsight from the Second Republic crash, that might yet save their crumbling PDP?

    They had better! Otherwise, Alhaji Bamanga would yet earn another stripe as party undertaker – but this time, an hyperactive one. PDP’s crumbling fate is as much a result of past unconscionable impunities as it is Alhaji Bamanga’s reckless power grab, even with his suspect “election” (read presidential imposition) as PDP national chairman, after losing among delegates in his Adamawa base.

    Ironically, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, the much beloved Ebino Topsy of Awoist fame, is busy roaring like a lion in a new jungle, among PDP disciplinarians under Dikko – to underscore the neophyte progressive is in town to fix the conservative (if not reactionary) camp?

    Is he then fulfilling the post-1983 election Awo prophesy that after a political thesis and antithesis, a synthesis would align Nigeria’s political forces, such that those with Awo’s progressive inclination would ascend? Is Ebino then the Khalifa the PDP needs to set things right and yet triumph? Perhaps!

    Still, the Tukur mess is only a culmination of far too many bad calls. To start with, Tukur is only the party face of a dissembling president and a desperate Presidency, whose and which attitude to 2015, like that of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2007, is do-or-die.

    So, Tukur was supposed to do the dirty job and take the flak; while the real McCoy, the president breezes in, as prim and proper electoral statesman, to take the glory. It is the classical cant of Goodluck!

    Or why else would Chairman Tukur remain in charge, even if his party must become history? Unfortunately for Tukur and his principal, the “presidential chairman”, like the Achebe thief in A Man of the People, grabbed too much power for the owner not to notice – hence the PDP schism.

    Before the Jonathan-Tukur power show was the Obasanjo pious profanity of repudiating the PDP zoning arrangement – the same principle that propelled him to power – all in the bid to make Jonathan president, so he could be Baba’s poodle (Baba, that craved relevance at all cost), which Jonathan has not exactly been.

    Even before that was Obasanjo’s blatant subversion of party democratic principles, curling PDP round his fingers as first president of the Fourth Republic, ruthlessly purging those who might challenge him; and imposing on the party an unconscionable ethos of dog merrily eating dog; carefully veiled by a gruff military temper.

    And before all that was the grand subversive genesis: the Army Arrangement, (AA, apologies to Fela) that, in illicit concert with the North’s top political elite, imposed Obasanjo as Hobson’s choice, if only to impress upon starry-eyed democracy agitators the reality of Greek philosopher, Parmenides: nothing ever changes – departure from military rule must be a return to military rule, even if the starched khaki gave way to flowing agbada or babariga!

    Of course, there was Election ’99, but only to ratify Selection ’99 of AA and allied power plotters!

    Well, everything worked perfectly, except that Obasanjo proved no poodle of the North, any more than Jonathan has proved his own poodle! Indeed, things have turned full circle: the “North” finds itself at the receiving end of its own plot, and Obasanjo is threatened by the putative irrelevance he so mortally feared!

    This play of power giants has landed the country with an umpteenth mess: a clumsy Jonathan, a clumsier Jonathan Presidency and the meltdown of the federal ruling party in the clumsiest of ways!

    But having served as undertaker to his PDP, no thanks to unbridled desperation to remain president, Jonathan may yet serve as undertaker to his country. If the Anambra poll is anything to go by – and if that was aimed at securing an ally for 2015 – Jonathan may well press to that extent to make something give.

    Now, flash your mind back to 1983 and Umaru Dikko’s “moon slide”. Back then, the Shagari Presidency was the most incompetent in the country’s history. Now, the Jonathan Presidency would appear to have beaten that record. Yet, Jonathan, at all cost, wants an encore!

    So, if Umaru Dikko’s “moon slide” rigged the country out of democracy, a “space slide” by 2015 might just slide Nigeria into worse. For a country touted to kaput by 2015, these are indeed perilous times!

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) will therefore do well to learn from the PDP pitfall. PDP, ab initio, prided itself an all-comers’ affair. So, it can contemptuously thrust its jaw at any charge of harbouring strange bed fellows.

    APC has no such luxury. It has committed itself to a “progressive” ideology. Yet, not every strand in its rainbow coalition is “progressive”. But it can overcome these teething problems by federalising and being task-driven.

    It can do this by submitting itself to local tendencies, while committing to some pan-Nigeria goals. Then, it must rein in party barons, beyond offering leadership to rally members to the party’s cause, and educating fellow Nigerians on the difference the party can make.

    It should also sort out the very peculiar problem of internal democracy, the main driver of the PDP split, from which none of the APC legacy parties was immune.

    But most importantly, it must work out a restructuring agenda for the country. Without proper federalism, the collapse of Nigeria is only a matter of time.

     

  • Farewell to ‘ father in a million’

    Farewell to ‘ father in a million’

    The remains of Chief Michael Obayemi, father-in-law of former Military Governor of Lagos State Brig-Gen Raji Rasaki, have been interred in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, writes SULAIMAN SALAWUDEEN.

    The late Chief Michael Obayemi, father-in-law of former Military Governor of Lagos State, Brig-Gen Raji Rasaki, was as great in death as he was in life.

    Chief Obayemi, member of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the Second Republic and a successful businessman, died on December 3, last year at 97.

    His remains, in a transparent casket, were brought into Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, in a chartered airbus which landed in Christ’s School field penultimate Thursday for lying-in-state.

    The remains, laid in state for a whole day.

    On Friday, the remains of Obayemi were moved into St. Andrews Anglican Church, Okeila, in a silver coated casket for a church service. The interment soon followed at a mausoleum specially built for him inside Obayemi Estate in Adebayo area of Ado-Ekiti.

    The deceased’s four widows, Felicia, Victoria, Rachael and Juliana Obayemi, sat on special chairs. They looked reserved and withdrawn. Clearly, in their late 80s and early 90s, they wore a uniformed Iro and Buba made of striped Aso-Ofi.

    His children over 20 grandchildren and great grandchildren, filed out in traditional dresses. They looked resplendent and beaming smiles. They were led by the eldest daughter, Evang. Ibiwumi Ebun, who with three other immediate siblings, including Chief Julius Abiodun Obayemi, Mrs. Funmilayo Ajibike and Fatima Raji-Rasaki sat on the last row of chairs next to their mothers during the service. They were also dressed in same striped Aso-Ofi.

    As early as 10 am, the church had become filled up, with legion of dignitaries and extended family members, including political and business associates of the deceased.

    Amid songs by the choir and exchanges of pleasantries, the cleric, Rt. Rev. Christopher Omotunde, Anglican Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, mounted the podium and offered a message which extolled the virtues of the deceased and condemned the greed and violence which, according to him had become prevalent in the society lately.

    Rev. Omotunde urged political leaders to observe limits in material acquisition, saying “life is a zero sum game, vanity upon vanity, all equals vanity.”

    According to him, “what enduresin life are legacies of selflessness, patriotism, and commitment to humanity in all regards.”

    Omotunde recalled the times of Chief Obayemi, the Baba Ijo of St. Andrews Anglican Church, Ado-Ekiti, noting: “he forgave all his political adversaries and eventually triumphed over them all. He died an accomplished man at a ripe old age.”

    “Baba Obayemi had his properties destroyed and vandalised during a political turmoil here in the town and he had to relocate to Iyin-Ekiti. When the then Vicar, Bishop Awelewa Adebiyi, came here and heard of his great and noble deeds, he went to Iyin-Ekiti to meet him.

    “After much persuasion, Baba agreed to come back to Ado-Ekiti and rebuilt his properties. Funny enough, most of the people indicted by the police in the destruction of his properties were from this church.

    “As a godly person, Chief Obayemi agreed that the matter be withdrawn from the court and he forgave those indicted and that did not stop him from continuing his support for the church and the people,” he said.

    The reception held at the Christ’s School field was no less intimidating with about seven gigantic canopies each occupying a minimum of 1,000 guests.

    The itinerant drummers were on hand to make quick fortune, singing praises and doing funny stunts with the drums. The Juju music maestro, King Sunny Ade, was also on hand to tickle the ears with his Juju music, drawing his hosts, Fatimo and her husband, Brig-General Rasaki to the dance floor.

    Chief Obayemi’s first child, Ibiwumi, described him as “a father in a million, one who cherished his children more than gold and silver, a father who doesn’t like being cheated and would not cheat anyone.

    Hon Raji-Rasaki recounted how she went “blank” on being told to write a tribute, saying this was “not because I did not have anything to say but the harsh reality of his being gone hit me and it hit me real hard.”

    She said: “Dad, it was your love which kept me going in those bleak times that seemed really bad. You always had an answer to every question I had, the right word for every doubt and the perfect solution to every challenging situation.”

    The deceased’s first son, Abiodun, described him as “an icon and rare among men. Your life and times would remain an enviable case study and a good research material for the questing academic.”

    In an attendance at the reception were the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Arisekola-Alao; Chief Lateef Oyelade; Akogun Lekan Alabi; Alhaji Muibi Akanbi Yusuf; Former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Hazeem Gbolarumi; Dr Rauf Masa, Ibadan tyre dealer, Alhaji Lamidi Ajadi and Hon Kabiru Adesokan.

    There were former Military Administrator of Ogun, Ondo and Ekiti States, Rear Admiral Joseph Olaseinde; Rear Admiral Abiodun Olukoya; Commodore Kayode Olofinmoyin, Navy Capt. Atanda Yusuf, former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, his deputy, Mrs. Biodun Olujimi; Wife of former Oyo State Governor Alhaja Mutiat Ladoja and former ace broadcaster, Mrs Ronke Tanko Ayuba.

    Others were the Senate’s Chief Whip, Senator Hosea Agboola; Senator Grace Bent; former speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon Moruf Atilola; former secretary to the Oyo State government, Alhaji Sarafadeen Abiodun Ali; former commissioners in Lagos and Oyo states, Architect Kayode Alison and Dr. Olu Alabi.