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Tag: Southwest

  • ‘Jonathan‘ll lose in Southwest’

    ‘Jonathan‘ll lose in Southwest’

    Former Ondo State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince ‘Diran Iyantan led the Yoruba Ronu group to our office recently. He spoke on marginalisation of Yoruba, Afenifere leadership, general elections, Ondo politics and other sundry matters. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN reports.

    Do you agree that the Jonathan aspiration has marginalised the Yoruba people?

    Yes, it is obvious. The Yoruba contributed to the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011. The Yoruba people singled him out of the crowd to become president, it follows that he should be fair to the race in political patronage, but he failed to do that. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo almost singlehandedly picked Jonathan and ensured he became President of Nigeria. He is an ingrate. He has short changed the Yoruba race.

    The Yorubas are the most liberal people in Nigeria. When Obasanjo was in power, he incorporated every ethnic group into his government. There was no Yoruba man in his kitchen cabinet made up of people like Nuhu Ribadu, Nasir El-Rufai and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. It is opposite under Jonathan. This development made some Yoruba to indict Obasanjo that he sold off his tribe when he was in power.

    What is your reaction to the purported endorsement of Jonathan by the Afenifere group?

    The Afenifere leaders didn’t take the generality of the Yoruba interest into consideration before they took that decision. My father ( now 93 ) is the oldest Afenifere member. He was disappointed by the decision of his colleagues. There was no forum for discussion they just allowed the external forces to influence their parochial interest. It is unfortunate that most of these Afenifere leaders lack electoral value. They can’t win election in their wards. For instance, Olu Falae who was the leader of Peoples Democratic Alliance (PDA) lost in his ward in 2011. The Yorubas are not with them. We know our leaders. Jonathan will lose in Southwest, no amount of bribe he offers his promoters.

    In my discussion with some of them, one problem they have is the meteoric rise of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to political leadership in the Southwest and in Nigeria as a whole. Tinubu achieved this through political evolution. His contribution to the Yoruba race made him the undisputable leader. If not for his steadfastness, Nigeria would have been in disarray. When the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dislodged Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the Southwest in 2003, it was only Lagos State under Tinubu that survived the PDP onslaught. With only one state, he was able to build Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) into a formidable party in the Southwest and Edo State. In 2007, ACN reclaimed some of the states and swept out PDP from the Southwest in 2011.

    Will you say the Afenifere group are keeping to Awolowo’s political philosophy?

    They have gone in the direct opposite of Awo’s political thought, an embodiment of egalitarianism and welfarism. Awo detest corruption in his life time. But the Afenifere leaders have been induced to promote corrupt government and leaders. In Yoruba tradition, when you attain certain age or when you become an elder, you retire from active participation in certain things like business and politics. Most of these Afenifere leaders are in their 80’s or above, they should quit the stage for the younger elements.

    Are you surprised that former Ogun Ste Governor, Olusegun Osoba has returned to Afenifere fold?

    I don’t think he was the closest to Awo while on earth as he claimed. Awo never jumped ship throughout his political career. Time was not auspicious for him to opt out of the progressive family. I feel sad for him for doing that at the twilight of his political career. At a time when the progressives are struggling to liberate themselves from the shackles of conservative elements, it is disappointing that a leader like Osoba decided to join the oppressors.

    The Afenifere leaders based their endorsement of Jonathan on his commitment to implement the National Conference report. What is your comment?

    I considered the national conference as a deliberate ploy to buy time for Jonathan. The progressives first mooted the idea of national conference which was rebuffed by Jonathn. When he became very unpopular, he believed he can use the convocation of national conference as bait. He is now giving an absurd condition that re-elect me first before I can start implementing the report. The time the report was submitted before now was sufficient for the President to implement the report if he was truly committed to its implementation. Jonathan knew what some Yoruba like his polemic. He wanted to keep them busy and engaged the likes of Femi Okunrounmu. He has also induced the Afenifere leaders to collaborate with the South-south in order to win the presidential election. They want to use creation of new states to justify the national confab report. Jonathan has been promising people that he will create new states if he was re-elected. What is the rationale of creating new states when most of the existing ones are not viable?

    Are you surprised that the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) capitulated from his earlier decision not to endorse Jonathan?

    We are pained that the Yoruba Council of Elders is now hob-nobbing with the oppressors of their race. The YCE is supposed to be apolitical. For them now to join the fray of politics of inducement and commercialisation, we are not bothered. Yoruba are united; Yoruba have identified with the general change; we want Nigeria to be rescued from the pangs of desperados. I know their off-shoots are not supporting what they (YCE) leaders are doing. Look at Chief Niyi Adebayo, he is one of those advocating change in the country.

    The Afenifere leaders have described the merger of ACN with other parties from the north as a sell-out. Do you agree?

    It is a belated and jaundiced argument. The little time we have stability in this country was when there was co-operation between the Southwest and the north. We believe the interest of the Southwest will be better protected by working with the north. The Yoruba in the Federal Civil Service are being marginalised and victimised. We cannot endure this sad experience for another four years. God willing, with Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as Vice President, the interest of Yoruba will be properly taken care of. We don’t want Yoruba children to be given dirty jobs like those assigned Femi Fani-Kayode, Doyin Okupe and Reuben Abati anymore. It is not in our tradition and culture to talk carelessly about our elders. Can you imagine Fani-Kayode casting aspersion on Tinubu who resuscitated the integrity of already bruised Yoruba race. Fani-Kayode should temper his problems with common sense and stop making unguarded statements because he wanted to satisfy his pay masters.

    What is the political situation in Ondo State now?

    The emergence of Governor Olusegun Mimiko in 2007 was a result of revolution in Ondo State. What happened in the state is a miniature of what will happen in Nigeria this year. Mimiko was a political orphan. He only had affiliation with the people who provided the arsenal to prosecute that revolution.

    Mimiko started well but suddenly he deviated from the norms of good governance. He betrayed his benefactors including Asiwaju Tinubu and even engaged in unhealthy rivalry with Tinubu. The economy of Ondo State was not strong enough to cope with his inordinate ambition. The state has suffered because of it. There is poverty everywhere. Mimiko is now a political pariah. He is now the most unpopular government in the country. The wind of change is blowing across the state seriously. Mimiko is in a big problem. He has been rejected. His party-PDP will lose in the forthcoming elections.

    How strong is APC in Ondo State?

    The kind of unity pervading in the party is unprecedented because of the policy of inclusive participation we adopt. The successful street walk organised for our vice presidential candidate, Prof. Osibajo bears testimony to the popularity of the party in the state. When our presidential candidate Gen. Buhari came for campaigning, our members trooped out in thousands to welcome him. They waited from 9am to7pm in anticipation of his arrival. The commitment of our members to the change project is total.

    My advice to the APC members is that they should be law abiding, peaceful, resilient and never tired. We are at the threshold of history. We want to give birth to a new baby. We should not be distracted from achieving our goal of installing APC controlled government at the centre and in virtually all the states of the federation.

  • ‘Why Southwest will not vote jonathan’

    ‘Why Southwest will not vote jonathan’

    All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Senator Babajide Omoworare (Osun East), who reflects on President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to the Southwest to woo traditional rulers, contends that the last minute clandestine moves will not swing the pendulum of victory towards the direction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the polls.

    President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan visited Osun East (Ife Ijesa) Senatorial District on Saturday March 7, 2015. By the grace of God Almighty and the support of the good people of Ife Ijesa, I proudly represent that Senatorial District in the 7th Senate. I suppose the essence of Mr. President’s visit was to boost his electoral chances. Less we forget, the week before he visited my Senatorial District, he practically moved the seat of Federal Government from Abuja to State House, Marina, Lagos hosting some youths and was serenaded by pop stars etc. The President hosted General Adeyinka Adebayo, Chief Idowu Sofola SAN, Professor Adebayo Olateju and some other elders of Yoruba Council of Elders. He also visited Alaafin Oyo and Soun Ogbomoso, traditional rulers in South West Nigeria.

    The Chairman or President Jonathan’s Southwest Campaign Organization and governor of Ondo State Dr. Rahman Olusegun Mimiko CON has also tried very hard to galvanize support for Mr. President. He hosted Dr. Fredrick Fasheun, Dr. Gani Adams, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Senator Femi Okunrounmu et all; purportedly to appraise the recently concluded National Conference. It should be on record that Mr. President did not do any rally or canvas for votes. All he wants from South West is endorsement. Without being preemptive and imputing motive, I hope the  visits to South West will not be justification for electoral malfeasance.

    On Saturday August 2, 2014, a week before the State of Osun gubernatorial election, Mr. President visited Osogbo to campaign for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate. The city of Osogbo was locked down. Men from the Directorate of State Securities (DSS) covered their faces with balaclavas and shot sporadically into the air. The highlight of the visit was that when Mr. President was given the microphone to campaign, we expected him to inform us of what he has done in the State of Osun and what his presidency will, in the twilight of his government still has in the offing for the good people of the State of Osun. Alas, Mr. President said when next he comes he would tell us what they have done in Osun.

    Since that visit, President Jonathan has visited the State of Osun, by my estimate at least twice. He isnyet to tell us what he has done in my State. The last visit of Saturday March 7, 2015 was to my senatorial district. As usual, the City of Ile-Ife was locked down. Personally, I will remember this visit to my Senatorial District as opportunity for the Thugs of the PDP’s senatorial candidate to destroy APC Billboards. Yet, the President did not come to “turn the sod” for a new project, talk much less of “commissioning” a project. The truth is: there is none to commission. He came to visit our royal fathers, which is in order. What is not in order from my point of view is that one would expect Mr. President to remember the people I proudly represent on the floor of the Senate of the Federal Republic. If he is not starting a new project, he should even complete projects he promised to complete and not to just ask for our votes.

    In the past 6 (six) years, the people of South West Nigeria, particularly the people of the State of Osun and most especially, Ifes and Ijesas have not felt the presence and impact of the Federal Govenrment. The Ile-Ife Water Project that was abandoned in 2009 remains abandoned. The sum of about N4,000,000,000 (four billion Naira) is required to complete it and the Budget Office of Mr. President appropriated a paltry N5,000,000 (five million Naira) in this years’s budget, which is not enough to mobilize the Contractor to site. The counter-part fund of the State of Osun for the Ilesa Water Project in Kajola, a project also abandoned in 2009, is already available. The counter-part fund for the Federal Government in the sum of N2,400,000,000 (two billion four hundred million Naira) is not available. The meagre sum of N5,000,000 (five million Naira) is also appropriated in this years budget for this project. The dualization of Osu – Ife Road has been abandoned. The Omiokun Road project in Arubidi, Ile-Ife has just been commenced by the government of the State of Osun when the Federal Government failed to implement same. This same story will be told of the dualization of the Osogbo – Ilesa Road. The Ife Mini Stadium at Ita-Osa has also been abandoned. The President however, kept coming to South West without commissioning a project. The foregoing tales of woes is true about the entire South Western part of this great country. It is on record that His Imperial Majesty Ooni Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II reminded Mr. President of these outstanding projects and others, when he came last year August to campaign for PDP’s gubernatorial candidate.

    It is also unprecedented in the annals of Nigerian contemporary history that a geopolitical zone will be this jettisoned and abandoned like the Federal Government did the South Western part of this country, not only in the area of infrastruture development as gleaned in the foregoing but also in the area of filling political offices. Our supreme law has protected every geopolitical zone in Nigeria by providing for Federal Character in infrastruture development and appointments. Section 14 (3) of the Constitution of Nigeria provides: “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies”.

    In this area, there has been gross injustice meted out to South Westerners; my geopolitical zone has been crassly short-changed and disgustingly marginalized. Let us even ask ourselves how the Yorubas have faired under President Jonathan’s government. A government that agency facted the afore-sited supposedly inviolable provision of the Constitution is definitely not a friend of Yorubas. This government cannot suddenly wake up from its slumber of almost six years and just fall in love us, because election is lurking. The President is from South South. From Mr. President’s geo-political zone, we also have the following: Petroleum Minister, the Director General (DG) of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA),  DG Security andExchange Commission, the Chairman Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Managing Director (MD) NDDC, the DG Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, the Speacial Adviser (SA) to Mr. President on Millenium Development Goal (MDG), the Chief Economic Adviser to Mr. President, the SA Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation of Ministries, Depaprtments and Agencies (MDAs), Chairman Nigeria Port Authority, DG Directorate of States Security (DSS), , Chairman Poice Service Commission, the Chairman Federal Inland Revenue Service etc.

    The Northwest produced the Vice President as well as the Speaker House of Representatives. This geopolitical zone also prodused the Foreign Affairs Minister, the National Security Adviser, the Inspector General of Police, the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Registrar of Supreme Court,  the Comptroller-General of Customs, the Chairman Independent National Electoral Commission. The Senate President is from North Central, the Minister for Internal Affairs, the Comptroller General of Immigration, the DG Nigeria Health Insurance Scheme, the Auditir General of the Federation and the DG national Orientation Agency. The Chief Justice of the Federarion emerged from the North East with the President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Head of Service, the Chairman NIMASA, MD Nigeria National Petroleum Corporarion (NNPC), SA Political Affairs. The Deputy Senate President and the Deputy Speaker House of Representatives are from the South East, ditto Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Minister of Finance, the Chairman National Population Commision, the DG Budget Office, the DG Soverign Wealth Fund, the DG Debt Management Office, theh Comptoller-General of Prisons, the Chairman and Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission ( NCC), the DG/CEO National Identity Management Commision, the Chairman/CEO National Electricity Reulatory Commision.

    When faced with the foregoing, it is ostensible that my geopolitical zone of South West has been abjectly neglected and politically undervalued. We are not unaware of the fact the whole of Nigeria has been grossly underdeveloped; the seemingly deliberate retrogression of the South West is unprecedented in the history of governence both in terms of infrastructure as well as human capital. It is on record that the people of South West voted for Mr. President en masse in 2011. The good people of South West will assess President Goodluck Jonathan on his performance in our region in the last six years; our assessment will not be based on desperate and empty promises. One wonders what these trips cost? It would have been better if such cost had been put to use to develop projects in South West. To enable us assess whether President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration had been fair to us in South West, I use this medium to throw a challenge to the President’s handlers, let them reel out their achievements for Nigerians to juxtapose and judge. The Awujale of Ijebuland Oba (Dr.) Sikiru Kayode Adetona was reported as corroborating my foregoing position when Mr. Presdient visited his Palace on Thursday March 12, 2015 by saying that “Ijebuland has not felt the impact of Federal Government and that Ijebu Sons and Daughters have not been given important appointments imto the quota arrangement of Nigeria.”

    It is therefore strange and curious that any freeborn Yoruba adult will adopt a President that has not done anything for his or her region. The All Progressive Congress presidential running mate is from this region, it is dubious that our elders who claim to be Awoists will not adopt the grandson-in-law of the late sage. Whether the people pandered as Yoruba Leaders that are endorsing President Jonathan actually have the mandate of Yoruba people to so do is another topic for future debate. Whether they even have the clout to deliver is another topic for intellectual polemic in future. What matters now is whether President Jonathan has reciprocated the over 2,700,000 (two million seven hundred thousand) votes cast for him by the Yoruba nation in 2011. What assurance do we have that the gargantuan maginalizatoion of Yorubaland by President Jonathan will not continue if he is re-elected? Will the present and coming generation forgive those endorsing Jonathan when accounts are given in future? How will they be remembered by the unborn generation? Anybody campaigning for and endorsing President Goodluck Jonathan in the South West is patently on his own.

    We can not continue on this perilious path and mortgage the future of the generation next and our imminent leaders. The die is already cast, effort of this nature of unfruitful and unmeritorious trips to South West by Mr President is an attempt to reap where he did not sow. I sincerely advice Mr President to listen to the street, do away with praise singing and empty promises of shylocks around him whose major interest is financial exploitation. The wind of change (blowing across the Nation) is looming to all except the Court Jesters in the Presidential Palace.

    I do not believe in nepotism, ethnic jingoism and tribal chauvinism, in fact I owe full allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I abide by my Oath to protect, preserve and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic. Put siccintly, I am a patriotic nationalist. It is however a matter of duty for me as a Senator of the Federal Republic to protect the interest of those who voted for me in Ife Ijesa senatorial district, and the State of Osun as a whole. I also owe my Yoruba race to protect it from under development, systemic annihilation and calculated extinction. Lastly, as a matter of honour, I must uphold Section 14 (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which from the foregoing has been serially impugned and successively assailed.

  • Jonathan’s desperate forays into Southwest

    Jonathan’s desperate forays into Southwest

    It was largely the activism of the Southwest that made his ascension to the throne in 2010 possible, and he could not have won as fluidly as he did in 2011 without either the Southwest’s indifference to the Buhari presidential campaign of that year or their tacit cooperation. Yet more than five years after that momentous poll success, President Goodluck Jonathan has exhibited nothing but contempt for the Southwest, passing them over for top appointments. In-between, during the 2012 fuel price hike protests largely inspired by the politically conscious Southwest, Dr Jonathan again showed nothing but scathing disdain for the highly critical region, describing the Lagos elite as enervated and pampered, and their children spoilt brats who wastefully rode two or three cars, guzzling a disproportionately huge portion of the country’s oil resources. And in Ibadan, while campaigning at Mapo Hall in 2011, he described the Southwest progressive leaders as rascals from whom the region must be delivered. In particular, at the 52nd Independence anniversary lecture in Abuja, Dr Jonathan made shockingly ignorant remarks on the fuel subsidy protests, which in distorted logic he said were sponsored.

    Dr Jonathan has never been at ease with Lagos, though he now courts them. During his 2011 campaigns, he tried to rouse ethnic hatred by suggesting openly to non-natives that if they banded together they could defeat the candidate of the ruling party in the state. The campaign failed, but it has not stopped him from pursuing that same horrifying tactics, nor discouraged him from again reaching out to ethnic groups within the state as well as wowing Lagosians themselves with promises of future projects. Perhaps he is even secretly appalled by how easily members of the Southwest elite can be compromised by contract largesse and other forms of inducements.

    Throughout his first term, he never did anything major or strategic for Lagos, but he is back expecting the state to vote for him in March. Worse, other than fixing a few roads, he has done nothing concrete for the Southwest, but he has spent nearly the whole six weeks extension of the electoral timetable appealing to the region to support his reelection. Indeed, it was only a few months to the elections that he appointed a Yoruba official as his chief of staff. Otherwise, citing his displeasure with the region’s critical view of his government and the rebuff of PDP’s Mulikat Adeola-Akande as Speaker of the House of Representatives, he ensured no Yoruba appointee was among the top 15 positions in his government. After all, the region is a den of opposition, and its pungent media, with their fumigant tentacles spread all over the country with sanctimonious lack of grace, too unfriendly, too imperious, too acerbic.

    If he had appointed Yoruba men and women into key government positions on his own volition, and had cited key projects in the region, he could justifiably campaign on the bases of these friendly and statesmanlike gestures to wow the region for votes. With no achievements to hawk, and with beggarly outstretched hands, he has embarked on a furious electoral drive targetted at the region’s grovelling traditional elite using the false face of Yoruba leadership and cashing in on the divisions and power struggles going on in the region. He has reportedly seduced Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) leaders who, in exchange for pipeline protection contracts, have promised him support, as if the region could be sold and bought so cavalierly in transactions masterminded by half-wit and unprincipled traders masquerading as politicians and cultural icons. And those whom he cannot seduce, he has unleashed defamatory attacks on their persons in the hope that he can alienate them from their supporters and party support base.

    Dr Jonathan’s Southwest converts have thus deliberately refused to focus on his weaknesses, which are legion and alarming, and on his absolute lack of finesse, diplomacy, intellectual depth, and sound judgement, not to say his abiding suspicion and even hatred for the Southwest elite and their many organs such as the media and democratic structures that define their essence, persons and history. The converts are not discomfited by the unsavoury fact that Dr Jonathan is unreasonably promoting militant groups and other ethnic militias to usurp the functions of military and paramilitary organisations.

    In spite of all these depressing manoeuvres, the real Southwest is likely to see through the Jonathan shenanigans. They will recognise that voting for Dr Jonathan is endorsing incompetence, and that voting for, say, Jimi Agbaje, no matter their unhappiness with the progressive leaders of the region, is in fact enthroning the likes of Bode George and Adeseye Ogunlewe and other scoundrels. The region is likely to recognise that should Dr Jonathan be reelected, he would enact the worst economic policies ever seen in these parts, for his government has already crippled the economy and is barely struggling to cover the mess until the elections are over. Wiser counsel is likely to prevail, for the prohibitive and burdensome cost of reelecting Dr Jonathan far outweighs the discomforts of voting Gen Buhari with all his chequered history.

  • ‘PDP’s machinations in Southwest ‘ll fail’

    ‘PDP’s machinations in Southwest ‘ll fail’

    Peter Ajayi is the National Coordinator of the Salvage Group, which comprises professionals in the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI, he speaks on the general elections and the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) attempt to woo Southwest voters. 

    Why did your group call for the resignation of Lagos APC spokesman Joe Igbokwe?

    We called for his resignation because he has been unable to use his office as publicity secretary to mobilise the Igbos for the party. It is obvious that most Igbos in Lagos are not for the APC. They have vowed to vote for the PDP in the coming elections. Is it not very strange in a state that has been very fair to them? We have a lot of them occupying both appointive and elective positions at local and state governments. As a matter of fact, Igbokwe doubles as the publicity secretary of APC and the general manager of Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance Regulatory Agency (LASMIRA). As general manager of LASMIRA, he is a very busy person. So, adding the job of the publicity secretary of the APC has overburdened him. The job of publicity secretary requires full attention and concentration. Personally, I don’t have anything against him. Our call for his resignation, which was published in some national newspapers, is to save our party. The position of publicity secretary is one of the most sensitive offices within the party. He is shouldered with the responsibility of giving information, representing and speaking on behalf of the party. At this critical moment, our party does not need someone who is not accessible; who does not have time to discuss issues of our party with members. Our position still remains that Joe Igbokwe should either resign as publicity secretary for lack of competence or as LASMIRA general manager.

    What impact would the polls shift make on the March 28 and April 11 general elections?

    I believe Nigerians are resolute in their quest for change. They want to see and feel the effects of good governance. They have realised the great havoc corruption is causing in Nigeria. They know stealing is part of corruption. No amount of money can buy their conscience. We are not looking at the short term, but the long term gains of our desire for change. We are not unaware of the billions of naira and dollars being spent by President Jonathan and members of his party in their desperate attempt to woo people to vote for him. Our people are happy to have their share of the national cake. The postponement of the election for six weeks would not have any negative impact on our party’s chances; rather we see it as an opportunity to further engage our supporters and prospective voters. Their attempt to weaken us is making us stronger and more acceptable by the populace.

    There are allegations that some aggrieved governorship aspirants who lost to Ambode are secretly supporting Agbaje. What do you make of this allegation?

    This is the story purportedly formulated by the PDP. The governorship aspirants knew all along that only one of them would get the ticket. Before the primary, they reached a decision to support whoever becomes the candidate. Our party is a one big family. Immediately after the primary, all the aspirants met with the governor, the candidate and leadership of the party and resolved to work for the party that have given them opportunities to excel in life. Other aspirants at different levels, such as the Lagos House of Assembly, the Senate, the House of Representatives, those who lost out in the primary have also met and resolved to work for the interest of the party.

    Do you think the recent successes of the military against the Boko Haram terrorist group would influence the general elections?

    Our soldiers have always performed excellently well. They have always performed well at international peacekeeping operations. What our soldiers need is encouragement, motivation and a free hand to work. They will always excel. They were intentionally made to be morally, emotionally and financially handicapped to score some political cheap points in the past. We are all aware that Ministry of Defense has the highest chunk of the national budget, but the question is, why the sabotage? Who are the saboteurs? Why the sudden decision to fight Boko Haram within six weeks? After they have been allowed to cause havoc for years.  Why did the President suddenly awake from its slumber to do what ordinarily Nigerians had expected him to do for the past years? It is too late; peoples minds are made up already

    President Jonathan has been coming frequently to the Southwest in recent times, to canvass for support for his re-election. What impact would this have on the election? President Goodluck Jonathan has been coming to the Southwest to share the national cake to equally corrupt, hungry and selfish people in the region. I refuse to refer to them as leaders because they are not representing the common interest of the people. Are you aware that the power station the President commissioned in Ogun State has previously been commissioned by former President Olusegun Obasanjo before he left office? We are now begining to have a clearer picture as to why the elections were postponed. It was just to further convince some gullible Nigerians through deceitful outings and projects, more especially in the Southwest. The question is, why has he not visited the region for the past six years? President Jonathan is acting a script written by Doyin Okupe, Ayodele Fayose, Reuben Abati, Obanikoro, Femi Fani-Kayode and others. One of their gimmicks was to come to deceive some gullible people in the Southwest having seen the region as a stronghold of the APC. Our people cannot be bought over.

  • APC alleges plan by PDP to cause havoc in Southwest

    THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of planning to disrupt its (APC’s) road show in Ekiti today.

    It alleged plan to use PDP thugs adorning APC T-Shirts to infiltrate the rally and instigate violence.

    A statement in Lagos yesterday by APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, accused the PDP, “working through Governors Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti and Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo, to cause mayhem in the Southwest before, during and after the forthcoming elections to make free, fair and peaceful polls impossible.”

    The statement alleged that the PDP resorted to the plan “having realised that the PDP’s stock in the geo-political zone has been totally depleted, despite their massive bribery of some leaders in the region”.

    The APC, therefore, called on security agents to be on the alert during the road show in Ekiti and through the Southwest as the elections approach.

    The statement reads: “Scared stiff about the success of the one-million-march in Lagos last Saturday and worried about the successful rally being repeated in Ekiti and elsewhere in the South-west, the PDP has perfected a devilish plan to cause mayhem during the Ekiti road show. The APC T-shirts being sewn by Governor Mimiko will be given to their thugs, who will then be mandated to infiltrate the road show and start a fight.

    “Beyond that, the two ‘generals’ of the PDP in the South-west, Fayose and Mimiko, have perfected a scheme to take the military and police uniforms being sewn in Ado-Ekiti to Akure, where they will be worn by thugs for the purpose of intimidating APC supporters before and during the elections.

    “Already, a special task force under one Soji Bello has been set up in Ondo State with the express mandate of attacking and beating up all known supporters of APC in the state while another team has been mandated to cause mayhem in the Hausa-dominated Sabo and Shasha areas of the Ondo State capital, Akure.

    “Finally, the PDP ‘generals’ plan to cause their own ‘Boko Haram’ to strike in the Southwest, after which some Southwest based militias will retaliate against those purportedly behind the attack, thus triggering a region-wide mayhem. These plans are the outcome of all nocturnal meetings involving these PDP ‘generals’ and some other anarchists,’’ APC said.

    The party said it has decided to expose these plans to put the nation’s security agencies on the alert, as well as to alert Nigerians and the international community to the evil machinations of those who were bent on triggering massive chaos and violence ahead of the polls.

    “APC is a very peaceful party. Not a single violent incident has been recorded at any of our rallies since the beginning of the current electioneering campaign. Also, despite the massive turnout of Nigerians for the one-million-man march in Lagos on Saturday, the march was violence-free.

    “We, therefore, urge those who are doing everything possible to make a peaceful change impossible to realise that they are being watched closely by Nigerians and the international community, and for them to realise that there will be no hiding place for them either within or outside Nigeria if they carry out their dastardly plans. “Today, the world has zero-tolerance for perpetrators of mindless killings, chaos and violence,” it warned.

     

  • Fallacy of Jonathan’s Southwest endorsement

    Fallacy of Jonathan’s Southwest endorsement

    The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) has joined a section of the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, in drumming support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term ambition. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the futility of the campaign in a region that has a reputation for rejecting inept leadership and its implications for the elections.

    The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) has joined the train of President Goodluck Jonathan’s promoters in the Southwest, when it endorsed his re-election bid recently. Previously, the council had maintained a neutral position, saying the presidency.

    But, members of the group led by Major-General Adeyinka Adebayo paid a surprise visit to President Jonathan at State House, Marina, Lagos, apparently to express its support for his second term bid. During the visit, members of the delegation commended the president for offering good leadership to the country. Besides, Gen. Adebayo-led a powerful delegation to the post-National Conference Summit organised by the leaders of the Afenifere and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at Premier Hotel, Ibadan.

    Analysts have described the sudden volte-face of YCE as ridiculous, saying it has seriously undermined its integrity. They reasoned that YCE is supposed to be apolitical adding that aligning itself with a political party will make it lose its dignity.

    Afenifere and YCE hinged their decision to support the President on their desire to see the recommendation of last year’s National Conference implemented by the man who convened the conference. But, the Deputy Leader of Afenifere, Senator Ayo Fasanmi, was not swayed by that reasoning. He asked whether it is only Jonathan has the exclusive ability to implement the report.

    Fasanmi said: “Those who endorsed President Jonathan based their decision among other reasons on his commitment to implement the outcome of the National Conference. However, the outcome of the conference will require a constitutional amendment. Hence, it is the national and states assembly that have the power to incorporate the conference resolutions into the constitution. So, the President has minimal not pivotal role to play in this matter.”

    Former Senate Minority Leader Olorunnimbe Mamora, aligned himself with Fasanmi’s position that the President does not have the exclusive right of implementing the recommendations of the conference. “The implementation cannot be done outside the National Assembly. The report is a public document that can be implemented by whoever wins the presidential election. The issue of true federalism, devolution of power and fiscal federalism recommended by the National Conference are contained in the All Progressives Congress (APC) manifesto. I can assure you that if Buhari is elected, he will ensure that the report is implemented.

    On the directive that the Yoruba should vote for Jonathan in the re-scheduled March 28 presidential election, Afenifere chieftain Senator Biyi Durojaiye said it is illogical. He said, he could not understand the criteria or the rationale for the endorsement of Jonathan by both the Afenifere and the YCE, which directed the Yorubas to cast their votes for him.

    He said: “I cannot understand the basis for endorsing an administration that had been criticised by the Afenifere leaders for marginalising the Southwest. What has changed now that they want the Yorubas to overlook? Is it because Jonathan has engaged some Yoruba elements to castigate former President Olusegun Obasanjo?

    “I am amazed that some Yoruba leaders are asking our people to support a government that lacks good morals, that has the tenacity to hold on to power at all costs, that changes the rule of the game at its convenience, that plots to remove the chief electoral umpire.”

    Fasanmi said it was too late for Jonathan to be making promises of appointing a Yoruba person into a high position after his re-election. “Despite the fact that Jonathan won five states in the Southwest in 2011 with 2.7 million votes, the people from this zone play minimal role in his administration. Even when he appointed Southwesterners into his cabinet, they were not assigned strategic portfolios,” he added

    The Second Republic senator regretted that his colleagues, including Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Sir Olaniwun Ajayi and Chief Ayo Adebanjo spearheaded the endorsement without sparing a thought of the future. He said the Awoists calling on the Southwest to vote for President Jonathan have mocked their antecedent and rich history of struggle for a better Nigeria.

    He challenged the Afenifere leaders to list the achievements of President Jonathan in the Southwest that could warrant their endorsement of his candidature. He said the Jonathan administration has marginalised the region in the distribution of appointments and amenities, wondering why the Afenifere chieftains are rooting for his re-election.

    President of Yoruba Consultative Group (YCG), Chief Ayo Adegoke, advised President Jonathan not to be deceived by the political jobbers, who have been assuring him that they would win Southwest votes for him. He said President Jonathan should not expect bulk vote from the southwest in 2015. According to him, what happened in 2011 will not play out this time around.

    Adegoke stated: “Jonathan got sympathy votes in the Southwest in 2011 not because of the PDP, but because he came from the minority group that had never ruled this country. The same Jonathan has squandered that opportunity and relegated the Southwest to the background in the scheme of things. When he was not allowed to take over the leadership of the country at the time the late President Umaru Yar’Adua travelled abroad for medical treatment, it was the people of Southwest that fought for him.

    “Despite the goodwill the people of Southwest accorded him in 2011, what did they benefit from his government? Instead most Yoruba holding senior positions in civil service lost their jobs. Jonathan should not be misled by the self-serving groups like the Afenifere and the YCE that the Yoruba would vote for him. The so-called leaders lack electoral value; some of them cannot win in their wards.”

    Adegoke described the Southwest as the traditional home of the progressives. I don’t see a situation whereby the Yoruba would for any reason this time around abandon the APC, which was co-founded by their leaders and other like minds across the country. He said the politics of the Southwest is based on principle and peoples interest. It is not possible for the people of this region to vote for the PDP, given the performances of the APC governors in the zone, he added.

    A PDP chieftain confided in our correspondent that it will be herculean for the party to score the required 25 per cent in Southwest states during the presidential election in the Southwest let alone winning the states. He agreed that the Jonathan administration marginalised the region, in spite of the goodwill of the people towards him during the 2011 presidential election.

    He said: “I share the view that we do not deserve Yoruba support this time around. The people of the Southwest voted massively for Jonathan in 2011. It is a general cake that has to be shared among those who contributed to its baking.

    “We went to Abuja on this issue. All the PDP governors and leaders were there to confront President Jonathan. He promised to rectify the anomaly after 2015 elections. Apart from ministerial appointment, which is constitutional, what have we gained from Jonathan’s administration so far? We have nothing to show for the massive support he got from Southwest in 2011.”

    A lawyer, Tolu Afolabi, said the self-appointed leaders of the Yoruba should know their limitations. He said: “Nobody appointed either the Afenifere or the Yoruba Council of Elders to speak on behalf of the Yoruba race. The Yoruba know what is good for them. They can decide for themselves. Those promising Jonathan Southwest votes are on their own.”

    Afolabi noted that the leadership of the Afenifere and the YCE have betrayed the Yoruba race by endorsing an administration that marginalised their region in terms of appointments and infra-structural development. “At a time when the people of Southwest like other progressives across the country are yearning for a change they are asking us to vote for a government that has failed,” he said.

    “The political setting that made people to vote for Jonathan in 2011, irrespective of party affiliation, has changed. The political leadership of the Southwest at that time interacted with their colleagues in government to give him solid votes, but that situation does not exist today. Jonathan and his foot soldiers should face the reality that the Southwest is a no-go area.

    “The new political leadership in the Southwest represented by the APC has been consistent with the principle of protecting the general interest of the Yoruba, which Chief Obafemi Awolowo stood for all his life. That principle made him more popular in death. Awo is revered because of his landmark achievements in education, health, agriculture and rural development that stood him out among his peers. The so called Awoists should retrace their steps and stop ridiculing themselves.

    On the claim by the Afenifere that they are supporting Jonathan because he is from the South, the lawyer said the group has betrayed Awo’s philosophy and his political approach. Afolabi said:  “Awolowo never discriminated against the North in expanding his political empire. “Awo’s  Action Group (AG) went into alliance with the United Middle Belt Congress led by the late J.S. Tarka and the Borno Youth Movement in the First Republic. The political horizon of the late sage widened in the Second Republic when he signed a pact with the Concerned Citizens of the North led by the late Major  General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua in 1983. That explains why Awo was able to pick a Fulani man, Alhaji Muhammadu Kura, as running mate. The Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) performed better in the presidential election in the North in 1983 compared to 1979.

    “It will be wrong of the Afenifere leaders to describe the coming together of the mainstream politicians of Yoruba extraction and their counterparts from the North as a sellout. Awo started it and he even predicted that the progressives of the North and the South would come together one day to rescue the country.”

       

  • Why Yoruba will reject Jonathan, by Southwest APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), Southwest Zone, yesterday described last week’s summit by some Yoruba elders and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders as “the gathering of strange bedfellows”.

    It said it was a futile effort to promote a bad product.

    The party, in a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Ayo Afolabi, said those championing President Goodluck Jonathan’s cause in the Southwest are aware that they are in the minority.

    The party listed reasons why Yoruba would not vote for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the March 28 election, saying he has squandered the confidence the Yoruba reposed in him since 2010.

    The statement reads: “Those championing Jonathan’s cause in the Southwest know they are in the minority and that is why, despite purporting to be acting in Yoruba’s interest, they held a conference that was not open to the public.

    “It is insulting and delusional for them to think they can decide for Yoruba people .

    “Also, that Tony Uranta and Peter Obi attended a ‘Yoruba summit’ in supervisory role from the Presidency is another addition to the list of insults to the Yoruba nation from the Jonathan administration.

    “Jonathan candidacy is unsellable. Southwest people will speak with their votes on March 28.

    “As it was in 2010, when Nigerians were united across ethnic and religious divides against bad governance; so will it be on March 28 when they will choose Muhammadu Buhari.”

  • 8,000 displaced in Southwest

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said about 8,046 persons have been affected by fire and windstorm in the Southwest.

    The figure, according to NEMA, was recorded in January and February in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states.

    A statement by the agency’s Southwest spokesman, Ibrahim Farinloye, recorded 1064 fire victims with 652 being residents of Iwaya, the slum community which has witnessed incessant fire outbreaks and 412 persons being victims of various infernos in Eko Market.

    He said NEMA has given relief materials to the traders through the State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA).

    Farinloye said the agency has delivered relief materials to victims of Iwaya fire disaster through the Lagos State Government, including 300 bags of cement, 400 bundles of roofing sheets, 500 pieces of wax fabrics for women and 200 pieces of Guinea Brocade for the men.

    “Others include 100 pieces of children wears; 100 bags of garri, 40 cartons of tea; 60 packets of zinc nails, 60 bags of 3” nails, 150 bags of rice, 500 pieces of blankets, 500 pieces of insecticide treated net.

    “NEMA has also released 400 bags of cements, 300 bundles of roofing sheets, 100 bags of rice, 100 bags of garri, 250 pieces of insecticide treated nets, 500 ceiling boards, 100 bags of 3” nails, 20 bags of sugar and 75 cartons of noodles to LASEMA to be distributed to the victims of fire disaster at Berlin Street, Marina.

    “In Ogun State, Igbo Aje Market, Ilaro of Yewa South, had 306 traders affected by a market fire outbreak that occurred on January 27.

    “About six thousand, six hundred and seventy-six persons were affected in four different incidents of wind and rainstorm disasters that occurred in 6 communities in Afijio Local Government; Lagbondoke and Agunpopo communities of Atiba Local Government; Irewole and Isokan communities in Oyo West Local Government and Oko town in Surulere Local Government in Oyo State.

    “One thousand houses and two hundred and fifty-one shops were affected in all the three states.”

     

     

  • 2015: How far can Jonathan go in Southwest?

    2015: How far can Jonathan go in Southwest?

    President Goodluck Jonathan would need all the votes he can get in the southern part of the country to stand a chance of winning next year’s presidential election. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN x-rays his chances in the Southwest, which may turn out to be the President’s Achilles’ heels in the South. 

    The Southwest geo-political zone is probably the only part of the South where President Goodluck Jonathan would experience an uphill task in his bid to secure a second term during next year’s general elections. Against this background, Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been making frantic efforts to woo the people of the region, to ensure the party’s victory at the first balloting.

    Indeed, the PDP and its strategists in the Presidency are believed to be jittery over the realisation that losing the Southwest might cost them the presidential election. Similarly, the party is also apprehensive over its fate in the Northwest and Northeast zones.

    The PDP’s calculation, according to analysts, is that if the President defeats the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Southwest and secures 25 per cent in all the states in the Northwest and Northeast, he could avoid the second ballot.

    In 2011, Jonathan polled 2,786,410 votes from the Southwest, the stronghold of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which is one of the opposition parties that metamorphosed into the APC. Despite the fact that the ACN fielded a presidential candidate, Jonathan came first in all the Southwest states, except Osun. A breakdown of the figure shows that he polled the highest vote of 1,281,688 in Lagos State; 487,758 in Oyo; 309,170 in Ogun; 135,009 in Ekiti; 387,376 in Ondo and 188,409 in Osun.

    Realising that he had neglected the zone, President Jonathan embarked on an image-laundering tour of the region, which climaxed at an event in Ile-Ife, Osun State, dubbed the Yoruba Progress Summit, where the President pledged that he would take proper care of the Yoruba, if re-elected next year. Jonathan said at the summit, which was held at the Oduduwa Hall of the institution, described the Southwest as a key part of Nigeria that his administration must work with.

    The summit was organised by the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF), which is made up of some members of the Afenifere and Yoruba elders sympathetic to Jonathan’s administration. The President had earlier in the year  visited some traditional rulers in the zone, to seek their endorsement for his re-election bid.

    The question now is: on the day of election, how would Jonathan fare in the Southwest, which is an APC stronghold? Analysts are of the opinion that the factor working against Jonathan’s interest in the region is the perceived marginalisation of the zone under his administration. They argue that it will be difficult for Jonathan to replicate his 2011 feat in the Southwest, including Ekiti and Ondo states, which are governed by the PDP. The analysts are of the view that in spite of the massive support Jonathan received from the people of the Southwest in 2011, his administration  has not done much for the region.

    To a pan-Yoruba movement, the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG),  it is too late for President Jonathan to woo the Yoruba nation to back his re-election bid. The ARG Publicity Secretary, Kunle Famoriyo, described the summit organised by the YUF in Ile-Ife as an after-thought and a futile effort to sneak the President into Yoruba land through the backdoor.

    Famoriyo said: “For the past five years under his administration, the Yoruba people have been deliberately marginalised and skewed out of national reckoning, especially in terms of key appointments and opportunity to partake in key sectors of the economy.”We are surprised that President Jonathan believes the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, over which he has no control, is enough to atone for the deliberate marginalisation in key appointments, over which he has control.”

    The ARG scribe dismissed the summit by saying that it was conveyed by the people who are falsely parading themselves as leaders of the Yoruba people. “Those Yoruba persons posing as Yoruba leaders know that leadership in Yoruba land resides in treasured virtues of Omoluwabi and Afenifere philosophy, not necessarily in persons. Yoruba people know their leaders.

    “We dare say that more than any so-called leader at that event (Yoruba Progress Summit), those students who braved all the odds to tell Mr. President the truth, are the true leaders; irrespective of their origins. We salute the courage of those students who spoke truth in the face of oppression and we enjoin every Nigerian to replicate their courageous act,” the ARG spokesman argued.

    Civil Rights activist Moshood Erubami castigated President Jonathan for what he described as total neglect of the Southwest. Erubami said: “No real Yoruba man or woman who supports a pan-Yoruba political and developmental agenda will vote for Jonathan in the coming election, because the Southwest has not gained anything from his administration.

    The civil rights activist argued: “There is no tangible thing President has done since he took over from the late President Yar’Adua to warrant his being given a ticket to re-contest the election. Obviously, most of those who constitute the Yoruba elders in the current move to pacify the race to vote for him are enemies of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo during his lifetime and obviously it has continued after his death.

    “The frequent visits of these elders to the seat of power and the toothy smile usually on their faces when coming out of Aso Rock says it all that they are not true Awoists. Most of the Afenifere leaders in the group asking for Jonathan’s re-election are those who felt betrayed by the consistent Awoists who populate the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “We cannot therefore put the destinies of the Yoruba race in the hands of the present flock of the Yoruba elders who are friends of Jonathan, using crass opportunism to stay alive and think the task of restoring the Yoruba nation to its pride of place can be achieved. The task of bringing the race to its desirable height is too vital to be left in the hands of political jobbers. For real development to be achieved, these elders must first be rejected, displaced and replaced.”

    Curiously, the leaders of YUF rooting for Jonathan’s second term had earlier expressed disappointment over what they described as systematic marginalisation of the Southwest in federal appointments. For instance, a chieftain of the Afenifere who is also a leader of the YUF, Senator Femi Okunrounmu, confirmed that the Yoruba leaders had made representation to the President over the perceived marginalisation of Southwest by his administration.

    Okunrounmu said: “We (Yoruba leaders) had met with Jonathan to complain about the marginalisation of the Yoruba, but he has not done anything about it.  So, we have decided to pay him another visit. We have already made our intention known to the Presidency. We are now waiting for the President to give us an appointment.

    “We have the details of the situation which we intend to present to the President. It is as if the Southwest has been excised from the country. If you look at all the top political positions and appointments in the country, it is not hard to see that Southwest has been marginalised in this administration.”

    Another chieftain of the Afenifere, Chief Olu Falae, alleged that the President’s pattern of appointments with no consideration for the Yoruba suggests that he does not appreciate their contribution to his emergence as the President.

    Falae pointed out that the Yoruba were sidelined in appointments and control of political offices. He listed the topmost positions as that of the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of House of Representatives, Chief Justice of the Federation, Deputy Senate President, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, President of the Court of Appeal, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, National Security Adviser and Head of Service of the Federation.

    The former Secretary to the Federal Government argued that none of these offices was being occupied by a Yoruba, stressing that the absence of Yoruba in the power hierarchy had adversely affected the zone.

    Another Yoruba elder decried the Yoruba marginalisation by the Jonathan administration. He said: “the relegation of the Yoruba is not just in higher hierarchy of government but also in agencies, parastatals, and corporations. A situation where the total appointments for the entire Southwest fall short of those of certain states elsewhere in the country suggests either a deliberate effort to ignite ethnic resentment or a glaring outcome of total collapse of coordination in the machinery and records of government. Available data indicate that the Yoruba have lost more than half of their appointive positions since the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua. For instance, eight general managers of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) were sacked in October 2012, six of whom were Yoruba.

    Public affairs analyst, Bisi Akintunde said President Jonathan should not expect bulk vote from the Southwest in 2015. He said what happened in 2011 will not play out this time around. “Jonathan got sympathy votes in the Southwest not because of the PDP but because he came from the minority group that had never ruled this country. The same Jonathan has squandered that opportunity and relegated the Southwest to the background in the scheme of things.

    “Despite the goodwill the people of the Southwest accorded him in 2011, what did they benefit from his government? Jonathan should not be misled by the self-serving leaders of the PDP in the Southwest that the Yoruba would vote for him in 2015. The so-called leaders lack electoral value; some of them cannot win in their wards.”

    He described the Southwest as the traditional home of the progressives. “I don’t see a situation where by the Yoruba would for any reason this time around abandon the APC, which was co-founded by their leaders and other like minds across the country. Besides, the politics of the Southwest is based on principle and peoples interest,” he added.

    Akintunde said: “Whoever bothers to study the pattern of reaction of the electorate in the Southwest would agree that the zone is inhabited by independent-minded people, whose reactions to political issues are determined by several factors, including high-level of education and political sophistry and obviously reactions to matters pertaining to their political leaders and environment.”

    Former PDP National Vice Chairman in the Southwest, Senator Yinka Omilani aligned himself with the position of the Yoruba elders, who are insisting that President Jonathan has marginalised the region. He said: “I share their view. We don’t deserve it at all. The people of the Southwest voted massively for Jonathan in 2011. It is a general cake that has to be shared among those who contributed to the baking of the cake.

    “We went to Abuja on this issue. All the PDP governors and leaders were there to confront President Jonathan. He promised to rectify the anomaly after 2015 elections. Apart from the ministerial appointment, which is constitutional, what have we gained from Jonathan’s regime so far? We have nothing to show for the massive support he got from Southwest in 2011.”

  • Southwest PDP: A divided house

    Southwest PDP: A divided house

    Three months to the general elections, the Southwest Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is in chaos. The state chapters are polarised by the struggle for political offices. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the implication of the war of atttriction on the party, ahead of next year’s polls.   

    The dark clouds hanging the future of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Southwest is yet to disappear. For more than two years, the party has been embroiled in crisis. The acrimony climaxed when the former National Chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, appointed Mr. Buruji Kashamu as the Chairman of the Zonal Contact and Mobilisation Committee. Since then, the Southwest PDP has not been the same.

    The crisis has polarised the zone. The discontent is such that virtually all state chapters are grappling with crises. Efforts to resolve the crises have not been successful, given the division within the ranks of party leaders. It is the divergent interests that prompted the national headquarters to set up the Integration Committee headed by the Senate President, Senator David Mark, to bring the warring factions together, ahead of next year’s general elections.

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, under whose leadership the PDP rose to prominence in the Southwest, has lost control over the party, even in his home state, Ogun. Analysts described Kashamu’s appointment as an imposition intended to spite the former President and reduce his political influence. The party structure, they said, was deliberately handed over to Kashamu to undermine Obasanjo, who has vowed that he would never recognise a party leader who is wanted in the United States of America for drug offences. Besides, Obasanjo’s letter to the national chairman, announcing his withdrawal from the affairs of the party on account of recent development, has complicated matters for the party.

    It was against this background that a party elder, Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN), said  summoned some leaders and elders to find ways of putting the division in the party behind them and forge ahead as the preparation for next year’s election gathers momentum. Akinjide said: “In Nigerian politics, the Southwest is an important zone to reckon with. Why are we taking up arms against one another? What exactly is happening to us? If we call ourselves leaders, should we then be found in a demeaning position?”

    Supporting Obasanjo’s position on the alleged imposition of Kashamu as party leader in the zone, Akinjide said: “Obasanjo said there are some alleged criminals in the party. One of them is a drug addict. I mean the criminal element who wants to lead us. We won’t allow them.”

    Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has also declared interest in the zonal leadership of the party. He told the Southwest PDP chieftains at a meeting in Abuja that, being the only governor elected on the platform of the party, he should automatically become the zonal leader.

    In a veiled reference to former President Obasanjo, Fayose said:  “The party would not beg anybody to return to its fold. This is the last time that any member of the party, irrespective of his position, whether former governor or President, will be begged to remain in the party. If they want to join other parties, they can go. They should not disparage the party again because if they do, they will go. They have enjoyed benefits in the party, so they should respect the party.”

    The internal struggle for political offices and positions, particularly the squabble over who gets the party’s governorship tickets has created more divisions in the fold. The party is factionalised in the six states that make up Southwest.

     

    Oyo

     

    Unless the party puts its house in order in Oyo State, its dream of wresting the governorship back from the All Progressives Congress (APC) would remain a mirage. The party is sharply divided into four groups.

    A former Minister of Power and Steel, Elder Wole Oyelese, confirmed that there is a division in the chapter, when he said: “As things are now in the state, the PDP has four groups.” According to him, the groups are championed by former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ms. Jumoke Akinjide, Senator Teslim Folarin and the neutral group led by him.

    One of the factions close the First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, has been trying to bring former Governor Rashidi Ladoja back to the fold. But, apparently the other factions are not favourably disposed to the idea. Recent efforts of the First Lady to reconcile the former governor with the PDP leaders in the state have met a brick wall. Dame Patience, according to reports, had at a meeting held at the Presidentia Villa, Abuja, requesting the party leaders to “accommodate” Ladoja in the party and support his governorship ambition in order to take the state back from the APC.

    But, the chieftains have vowed not to concede the ticket to Ladoja, who they insist is not a member of the party. Otunba Alao-Akala, who was present at the meeting, confirmed that Mrs Jonathan asked them to accommodate Ladoja. Alao-Akala said they disagreed on the ground that Ladoja had yet to dump the Accord Party for the PDP. Alao-Akala insisted that he would not step down for his former boss. Ladoja, on the other hand, has not ruled out joining the PDP. But, obviously, he doesn’t want to do so without the assurance that he would get the ticket. Ladoja emphasised that he could not leave certainty for uncertainty. “I have built my party into a winning party. How then can anyone expect me to leave that party, which is the pride of all aspirants, to another party?”

    The problem facing the PDP in the state is how to pick a candidate that will be acceptable to all factions among the arrays of aspirants. They include: Senator Folarin, Alao-Akala, Akinjide, Oyelese,  and youthful  Seyi  Makinde among others.

    All the aspirants, except Alao-Akala, hail from Ibadan. The aspirants from Ibadan insist that the ticket should be conceded to Ibadan. They premised their argument on the fact that Alao-Akala had served two terms allowed by the 1999 Constitution. But, the former governor faulted the claim, saying he contested the governorship election only in 2007. He added that he ran a joint ticket with Ladoja as deputy governor and took over when Ladoja was impeached to complete the tenure. He boasted that he would win the primary because his popularity cuts across the state. He hails from Ogbomosho, the second largest town in the state.

    Indications are that, if the party gives the ticket to any of the aspirants from Ibadan, Alao-Akala will not support him or her. Can the PDP afford to ignore the support of the Ogbomosho people? The outcome of David Mark-led Integration Committee will decide whether or not the PDP will go into next year’s polls as a bloc.

     

    Ogun

     

    The fight over the soul of the party in Ogun State has taken a new dimension. The struggle is between the Mandate Group led by Kashamu and the Jubril Martins-Kuye faction. The JMK is rooting for the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole, to emerge as the party’s governorship candidate. The group is also calling for the dissolution of the state executive, which was installed by Kashamu. The Mandate group, on the other hand, has drawn the attention of the Mark Committee “to the activities of the members of JMK Group who are moving around to deceive the panel to do their bidding in order to satisfy their selfish interests.”

    It added: “This late hour scheme is meant to cause a fresh round of crises after the party has been stabilised and it is now functioning very well. We wish to state that this is not the time for anyone to start using the names of the President, the Senate President and/ the National Chairman to cause disaffection and further any selfish interest.

    “Even, if they want to foist the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Dimeji Bankole, on the party and give him automatic ticket for the governorship election, they should not throw away the baby with the bath water. Any attempt to do so would cause more grievous harm than it was meant to resolve.”

    The Mandate Group reminded those behind “Dimeji Bankole Must Be Governor” campaign that it was the same Bankole, who lost his re-election bid for the Abeokuta South Federal Constituency which is made up of just only one local government.

    A source disclosed the Presidency has endorsed Bankole as the consensus. This development, according to source, is causing disaffection in the party. Kashamu, the sole financier of the PDP in Ogun State, is not happy with it.  The source recalled that Kashamu had warned Bankole to go through normal process to realise his ambition. Other aspirants jostling for the ticket include Gboyega Isiaka, Kayode Amusan, Hon. Abiodun Akinlade and Ishola Sarafa, .among others

    Another source of worry in Ogun PDP is the return of the former Governor Otunba Gbenga Daniel to the party. Daniel was prevailed upon by President Jonathan and the National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, to collapse the Labour Party (LP) structure into the PDP, to strengthen it for next year’s general elections. This development, according to sources, did not go down well with Kashamu. Daniel was stampeded out of the PDP by Kashamu and took over the party’s structure, which ought to be under the former governor, if not for the crisis that engulfed the party prior to the 2011 general elections. The old rivalry seems to have been rekindled by the  ambition of the two gladiators. Daniel is interested in the Ogun East Senatorial District ticket, which had been exclusively reserved for Kashamu. The Mandate group is not comfortable with the idea of dissolving the state executive council of the party to accommodate Daniel and his LP members that recently defected to the PDP.

     

    Ondo

     

    The defection of Governor Olusegun Mimiko has destabilised the Ondo State chapter of the PDP. The fear that the national leadership would hand over the party structure to Mimiko has become a reality. Against all expectations, the National Working Committee (NWC) had dissolved the state executive council and constituted a caretaker committee without the knowledge of the state executive members.

    Reacting to the dissolution, the state chapter said: “To say the least, this action is a clear intention that those we expect to safeguard the interest of the party are intent on beheading it. We also consider this action a disappointment, particularly in view of the fact that there is a subsisting court order, barring the NWC from taking this action. We want to remind Abuja that it is by choice that we are party members and that the party is not a prison yard where we are inmates who are bereft of liberties and rights.”

    The state party secretariat had been closed down by the police. Observers are of the view that the closure was done to pave way for a new executive to be put in place by Mimiko. A party chieftain, Benson Enikuomehin berated the governor’s moves to truncate the democratic process in the state. He said Mimiko became governor in the state today through the judiciary and that a man of his calibre is expected to obey court ruling.

    Enikuomehin said this development may ruin the chances of President Jonathan and the PDP in Ondo State at the general elections next year.

     

    Lagos

    Many party chieftains believe that, since Chief Olabode George became the leader of the party, peace has eluded the chapter. Today, key party leaders are up in arms against George. They complained that he has aborted efforts to unite the polarised chapter by taking unilateral steps considered infuriating to other party leaders. Others have accused him of imposition of Dr. Shamusideen Ade-Dosunmu as governorship candidate in the last election and preventing a proper congress from holding at the ward, local government and state levels.

    Today, the relationship between George and Senator Musiliu Obanikoro is frosty.  Obanikoro had resigned his ministerial appointment to contest governorship election. Supporters of Obanikoro believe he lost governorship election in 2007 because the party leadership starved his campaign organisation of funds.

    Ade-Dosunmu too has declared his ambition to contest for the party ticket. Will George stick out his neck for him despite his poor outing in 2011 or support Jimi Agbaje to slug it out with Obanikoro at the primary? A party chieftain said the battle for the PDP ticket is between George and Obanikoro.

    Already, not less than 10 governorship aspirants are eyeing the PDP ticket in Lagos. They include Babatunde Gbadamosi, Deji Doherty, Remi Adikwu-Bakare, Tunde Daramola, Koshoedo, Bode Oyedele and Akintoye Branco-Rhodes.

     

    Ekiti                                                                      

     

    Governor Fayose runs the party as sole administrator. He has unilaterally picked the candidates for the state and national assembly elections. The governor reportedly said that, as the leader of the party in the state, he is in a better position to decide who is qualified for what position. Stakeholders of the party have complained against turning the party into a personal estate.

    The governor was also said to have masterminded the removal of the former Southwest PDP Caretaker Chairman, Chief Ishola Filani, from office. The removal of Filani, an indigene of Ekiti, according to party sources, was because Fayose prefers someone that would be loyal to him.

    Since Fayose emerged as the governorship candidate of the party at the primaries, other contestants have kept distance from him. Notable among them are former Police Affairs Minister Caleb Olubolade and Senator Gbenga Aluko. This suggests that proper reconciliation has not taken place.