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  • Jonathan’s problem personal, not generational, says Tinubu

    Jonathan’s problem personal, not generational, says Tinubu

    All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader  Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday said President Goodluck Jonathan should consider his deficiencies as his  personal failure and that of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He said it amounted to an error for the President to generalise the shortcomings as generational failure.

    Dr. Jonathan at the opening of his campaign last Thursday that his generation had failed Nigeria and that he would address the youth.

    Tinubu said the APC would sweep the “recklessness and filth” of the PDP next month at the general elections.

    He called on “Nigerians to rise to the challenge of voting the ruling PDP out of office.”

    Tinubu spoke at the campaign inauguration of the party’s governorship candidate in Sokoto State, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambawal, who is the House of Representatives Speaker.

    He said: “If the president doesn’t know the history and responsibilities of his office, he should quit the office and go back home.”

    Two serving governors and three of their former colleagues were in Sokoto, the seat of the Caliphate to add glamour to the campaign of Tambawal and his running mate, Ahmed Aliyu.

    According to Tinubu, “the APC is the cure to the disease affecting the country,” noting that the party was fast growing in the Northwest and other parts of the country.

    The former governor went on: “Our great party (APC) is growing larger and larger by the day throughout Nigeria and especially in the North West.”

    Describing Tambuwal as a great politician, Tinubu maintained that APC and Nigerians were proud of his sense of resilience and commitment to the progress of the nation’s democracy.

    His words: “This is a great day for a great campaign of a great man.  We are launching the spirit of change and development in Sokoto for all APC candidates in the state.”

    He described the APC as a baby of yesterday which has grown to political maturity.

    “We will not let it die prematurely but to nurture it to the benefit of Nigerians who are clamouring for change. APC is the cure for the headache we are having right now”, he pointed out.

    Asiwaju, urged Nigerians to appreciate Tambuwal as a loyal and very committed individual to the mission and progress of the country.

    He urged the people of Sokoto to overwhelmingly support the course for change for continued transformation.

    Presenting the Speaker before a crowd of party faithful, who thronged the Sokoto Trade Fair venue of the event on behalf of the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, former interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, described Nigeria as a great country with great people of great time.

    Akande said: “Wamakko is a great man who is to be succeeded by a greatman (Tambuwal). On behalf of the National Chairman of the party, I have the privilege and honour to present to you Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as APC gubernatorial candidate at this campaign flag off ceremony.”

    In his remarks, Tambuwal promised to consolidate the works of his predecessor if given the mandate. He explained that he would run a transparent government based on the leadership principles of the founding fathers of the Sokoto Caliphate.

    He condemned the calls for an interim government, describing such as unconstitutional.

    The Speaker said: “We and the generality of Nigerians are not disposed to the unconstitutional option. We are ready for free, fair and credible elections that will provide an enabling environment for the benefit of our people and dear nation.

    “APC shall emerge under free and fair contest for the national leadership which will In sha Allah be headed by a fearless, committed, credible and disciplined leader in Buhari.”

    Earlier, APC Northwest zonal Vice Chairman, Inuwa Abdulkadir, said the era of backwardness would soon be history, urging Nigerians to use their votes as necessary weapons to install a progressive government.

    He disclosed that the APC has in the last few weeks been experiencing the influx of new members from the PDP.

    “This development is apt and will help our mission and vision for the country in fighting insurgency, insecurity among other grey areas of challenges when we get the mandate to form government at the centre”, he said.

    Also speaking, Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, noted that APC was admiring good governance in line with its principles of giving Nigeria and Nigerians the desirable leadership.

    “We are confident that Tambuwal will embrace the qualities of Wamakko and ensure result-oriented drive for the people of the state”, he said.

    Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State had earlier described Tambuwal as a committed agent of change, who stood his grounds against the antics of the ruling PDP to shortchange Nigerians.

    Oshiohmole said: “Edo people are proud of your strength and vision for a new Nigeria. They want Sokoto people to unite and vote Wamakko and Tambuwal.”

    Former Governors Ahmed Sani Yarima (Zamfara) and Muhammadu Adamu Aliero (Kebbi), spoke in the same vein. They said Nigerians should support and embrace APC as a formidable political tool for change, adding that” APC is now the choice of an average Nigerian and this is not the first time an opposition party in Sokoto under Wamakko is winning elections.

    “The choice of Tambuwal is for a responsive continuity and spread of development as does his outgoing leader (Wamakko),” they said.

    The duo noted that the country was in a quagmire following what they described as “absolute deterioration and insecurity.”

    They said: “Wamakko has succeeded twice in shaming his predecessor and it will again repeat itself.

    “We are urging you to use the power of your votes to fight PDP out of office. PDP is a cirlce for rigging elections.”

    They urged the electorate to protect their votes.

    Describing the strength and unity upon which APC was built to rescue Nigerians, the state Acting Chairman, Alhaji Usman Damadamin Isa, said the party was for all Nigerians and devoid of religious, ethnic and personal sentiments.

    “I therefore call on the people of Sokoto state and Nigerians to turnout enmasse and cast their votes for the party. We should use our votes to sweep off PDP”, he advised.

    Those who honoured Tambuwal at the campaign launch include: former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Usman Bayero Nafada, Deputy Minority Leader, Suleiman Kawu Sumaila and other party leaders.

     

  • Ugwuanyi: A personal encounter

    There are two things, in my view, that define a man: his spirit of philanthropy and sense of community. A man who gives freely of his possessions to others does the will of God and is always on top (as the late MKO Abiola would say, the hand that gives is always on top).

    Similarly, a successful man is actually one who easily connects with and does things for, or the will of, his people. Such a man has a strong, powerful kindred spirit, a keen sense of community and is almost always called upon to lead.

    Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, PDP consensus candidate for the Enugu governorshiprace next year, a grassroots politician and a cheerful giver, fits this bill very well. He is one of the few men in his generation in our part of Igboland about whom the people can veritably say “here is our leader in whom we are well pleased.” I am yet to see a politician in Enugu State whose choice as a governorship candidate has generated such widespread interest and acclaim as Ugwuanyi’s.

    When Dr. Ike Abugu, an engineer and small and medium enterprises scholar died in the ill-fated Dana Air crash of June 3, 2012, it fell on some of us his relatives, friends and associates living with him in Lagos, to organize a befitting burial for the Russian-trained metallurgical engineer. We formed a burial committee where one was appointed chairman of the publicity sub-committee. The publicity sub-committee processed and produced the burial programme brochure, posters, banners and T-shirts. It also made radio/TV announcements and placed adverts in newspapers. Emma, Ike’s younger brother, a chartered accountant and a former bank executive director, is a well-heeled young man and could easily have financed his brother’s burial. But, chairman of the burial committee Bishop Oscar Ossai, founder/pastor of the City of Refuge, Ogudu GRA, Lagos, and co-chairman Dr. Nick Okonkwo Idoko, lecturer, peace advocate and radio presenter, had reasoned that the job of the committee was not just to come and draw up budget for the burial but to raise money to support the burial effort as well.

    On that note, we started reeling off names of Ike’s friends and associates to contact. Quickly, we ticked off Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, Dikeora Ogidi and a senatorial aspirant on the platform of PDP for Anambra Central; Vita Abba, chairman PDP, Enugu State; Okey Ezea (IdekeNsukka), Labour Party governorship candidate for 2011in Enugu State and chairman of Ideke Holdings; Senator Ayogu Eze, chairman Senate Committee on Works;  Charlie Ugwu (Onowu Igugu), a lawyer and estate magnate, Abuja; Olisaemeka Ugwunze of MESCANA Holdings Lagos and Prince Emeka Mamah, Chairman Ifesinachi Industries and Ifex Couriers (Nigeria Ltd), among others. One of the committee members, Hillary Ogili, a freight forwarder, public affairs analyst and politician, then whispered into my ears: “O’l boy, put down Gburugburu (Hon. Ugwuanyi’s) name.” Okay, I said, but I didn’t have his number. And in any case, I didn’t know how familiar he was with Dr. Abugu…the names we had written down were people with whom we shared friendship with Abugu. But Larry assured that he would provide Gburugburu’s number, stressing that going by Abugu’s gregarious nature and Hon. Ugwuanyi’s penchant for connecting with people, especially with members of his Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency, how sure was I that he didn’t know Ike personally? So, I put down his name.

    To be sure, we got very encouraging responses from the aforementioned people and much more. But, the interesting thing about Ugwuanyi’s contribution was that it was the only one made largely in blind trust—he didn’t know me very well and it turned out that he wasn’t quite familiar with Dr. Abugu either. But he was moved by the fact that such a prominent person from his constituency had died in such horrible circumstances, to make a generous contribution. He was in South Korea attending to his official assignment as chairman of the House Committee on Maritime when all this was happening. Could I kindly meet him at the airport on Saturday (he sent the text on Thursday evening), to collect his own contribution? The rest is history, as they say.

    Before, then I had met Ugwuanyi briefly at a function in a very telling circumstance. In November 2009, my club, Ezike Diamond Club had, in collaboration with the Movement for the Creation of Adada State, organized a lecture at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, with the theme State Creation: Imperative of Adada in the South East, to which many prominent people from the South-east, Enugu State in particular, had been invited. Hon. Ugwuanyi, a tall, huge man, had come in quietly and sat in the crowd: no frills, no fanfare, and no airs. I was introducing guests to the high-table as we waited for the official compere to arrive without even looking towards the direction where Hon. Ugwuanyi sat when club chairman Ted Ojimba, feeling very uncomfortable, ran to me and asked why I hadn’t introduced Gburugburu; did I not know him?

    Of course I knew him by reputation, but I had hitherto not met the PDP consensus candidate for Enugu 2015 governorship election, and so didn’t know he was the one sitting where he sat. I was later to discover that he constantly signaled to people who went to greet him not to hail him loudly so as not to disrupt proceedings, otherwise the hall would have broken out in thunderous Gburugburu!

    Two character traits are obvious here: empathy and humility. Ugwuanyi is typical of the biblical concept of the good man, one who rejoices with those who rejoice and mourns with those who mourn. He is also the type that humbles himself that the good Lord may exalt him. If a leader has these two qualities in good measures, he is certain to excel. Think of Bill Clinton and you have the portrait of Enugu Governor-in-waiting.

  • My personal house now under water, says Jonathan

    My personal house now under water, says Jonathan

    PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan’s home in Otueke, Bayelsa State, is submerged .

    The President disclosed this yesterday while commending development partners and organisations that have so far responded to the cries for help to rehabilitate flood victims.

    He noted that his personal house in Otuoke that was initially spared, has been submerged in water up to window level.

    Dr. Jonathan spoke at the launch of ‘Save one million lives’, a United Nations Commission on Life Saving Commodities for Women and Children at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He said: “Nigeria is so devastated by the flood. Sometimes when you watch on television, you do not appreciate what we are going through. I travelled from North to south and on Sunday I was in my village after touring my state. I left my village on Sunday morning and as at that time water was about entering my compound.

    He said: “As at this morning, the information is that my house, up to the windows, is under water.

    “So, you can see what people are passing through within this period. But with the assistance the development partners will give us and people who are in the humanitarian sector, we will soon get over it.”