The Nation Newspaper

Tag: term

  • No fourth term for Chukwumerije

    Sir: One of the tension-soaked issues in the political landscape of Abia North Senatorial District today is Senator Uche Chukwumerije’s ‘ungentlemanly’ ambition to return to the Senate, after 12 years in the saddle. But the shock he received from the just concluded ward delegates’ congress is indicative of the people’s poise to take their destiny in their hands.

    His claim that Oha-Na-Eze Ndigbo persuaded him to go back for the fourth tenure (making it 16 years) is not only sickening and but also makes a caricature of the republican spirit of Abia North constituency. In fact, he insulted the psyche of Ndigbo by the provocative impression that there is a desert of personalities in Igboland, which means: No Chukwumerije, No Ndigbo!  Unfortunately,it is this unrepentant sit-tight mentality that has stymied our country to the laughable level of giant toddler and led to the increasing slide of our hard-won democracy into gerontocracy.

    With his co-travellers in the self-serving desperation, they shut down the activities which they were elected for and arm-twisted the national leadership of the PDP just to extract illusive automatic tickets for themselves. What an ironic twist!

    I therefore urge him to back out from the untamed ambition that is threatening what remained of his credibility. His mantra of ‘bumper harvest’ is a smokescreen intended to create a false sense of hope, and elicit the usual ‘carry go’ hysteria of uninformed masses. Certainly, that hackneyed sing-song is already out of fashion. Though there is always a thin-line between morbid ambition and sugar-coated sycophancy, yet when the chips are down, the people will stand behind their leaders.

    Besides, I make bold to say that he should allow the younger generation to grow. He should groom the youngsters.  We expect him to retire honourably and take up mentoring as a hobby, since his stupendous wealth is enough for his family’s upkeep. In civilized countries, people like him dedicate their remaining days on earth to publish their memoirs for the benefit of future leaders. And at his nearly 76 years of age, he should metamorphose from a politician to a statesman.

    More importantly, and from the points of morality and conscience, he should give chance to other remaining four LGAs in Abia North to produce the next Senator. If Senator Ike Nwachukwu whom he succeeded had remained in the position on the mere argument of ‘preserving institutional memory’, he wouldn’t have been in the Senate today. Let him therefore spare himself of people’s revolt.

     

    •C. Jasper Uche

    Chairman, Umunneochi LGA, Abia State.

     

  • ‘We ‘ll engage more in long term investment’

    With the 2014 Pension Reform Act, Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) can now engage in long term investment in equity and infrastructure that have more economic impact as opposed to the short term investment, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) Chairman, Misbau Yola, has said.

    Yola, who is also the Managing Director of Legacy Pension Limited, said the PFAs will however, need to bring a workable means of channeling pension fund into these areas.

    He noted that employees, employers and other stakeholders within and outside the industry now understand that their pension is safe under the supervision of the National Pension Commission and the administration of the PFA along with the Pension Fund Custodian (PFC) who are the custodian of the pension fund.

    He stated that this is also because there has been no case of fraud since the inception of the new pension scheme, the Contributory Pension Scheme in 2004. Nigerians are now more comfortable with the scheme and we expect that more people will join the scheme, he added.

  • Can Ajimobi break second term jinx?

    Can Ajimobi break second term jinx?

    The Oyo State All Progressives Congress (APC) is crisis ridden, ahead of next year’s elections. Assistant LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the impact the crisis may have on the re-election bid of Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

    MANY stakeholders believe that, judging by his performance in the last three and half years, Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State deserves a second term. But, in the light of latest developments, the governor, who is the leader  of the All Progressives Congress (APC), can no longer take his re-election for granted.  This is owing to the intra-party squabble that has polarised the party. The crisis has weakened the party structure and decimated its membership. The crisis started manifesting, shortly after Ajimobi’s inauguration in May 2011. It was alleged that the governor did not consult the party leadership while constituting his cabinet and that he picked his commissioners from outside the party. At the, time, aggrieved party members, who claimed to have worked for his victory, protest to registered against the decision.

    The feud  led to the defection of Senator Femi Lanlehin (Oyo South) and Senator Ayoade Adeseun (Oyo Central). The duo accused Ajimobi of shutting out party stakeholders from his administration. Lanlehin defected to the Accord Party, while Adeseun joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).  Many party leaders are not happy with the governor’s attitude towards  stakeholders and they are contemplating leaving the fold. It was learnt that a chieftain of the party, Chief Michael Koleoso, prevailed on aggrieved members, including the two senators, not to dump the party to no avail.

    Analysts see the exit of the two senators as a dangerous signal for the APC, saying it under scores a reflection of the selfish ambition of party leaders who are supposed to work together to ensure the party’s success at the polls next year. The governor, they say, must improve his relationship with the people and work harder on the membership drive.

    Apparently, Ajimobi has a different view. He sees the defection of Lanlehin as a big relief, according to observers, because he considers the latter as a major threat to his re-election bid. Lanlehin had never hidden his plan to contest for the governorship election next year. He was the major opponent of Ajimobi for the ticket in 2011, but he lost to the governor. He was however pacified with the Oyo South senatorial ticket. In spite of the attempt to mend  the cracks, the relationship between them has not been cordial. Lanlehin is the most vocal critic of the Ajimobi Administration.

    Against this background, an epic battle for the Agodi Government House is in the offing. The question on the lips of many observers is; can Ajimobi break the second term jinx? The history of the state suggests that no  governor has ever won a second term.

    A party stalwart, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, beyond Lanlehin and Adeseun’s exit, the internal wrangling in the party is weakening its structure. He said the governor has given little or no regard to other stakeholders in the appointments of commissioners, advisers and the caretaker chairmen of the 33 local government areas.

    He said: “When the appointments into political office were to be made, shortly after 2011 election, Governor Ajimobi told party leaders to submit names of nominees, which they did. But, to their utter dismay, most of the nominees didn’t make the list. The governor allocated juicy positions to his loyalists referred to as ‘Senaco’.  Since then, the party has been divided between Senaco and those of former Governor Lam Adeshina, known as ‘Lamists.”

    He said the last cabinet reshuffle has created rumbles within the party. Some of the commissioners, he said, were sent packing because of their loyalty to the Lam Adesina group.

    From the opposition’s point of view, the governor’s performance alone cannot earn him  a second tenure. Former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP Alhaji Yekini Adeojo said the governor cannot get a second term. He explained that some of the governor’s policies have brought hardship to the people. He cited the Urban Renewal Project, which has led to the demolition of structures. But the government has defended its action by explaining that alternatives are being provided to the affected persons, despite the fact that nobody allocated the structures being demolished to the owners.

    A youth activist, Mr. Akin Olagunju, however disagreed with Adeojo’s position. He said  Ajimobi is set to re-write the political history of Oyo State by becoming the first governor to run and win a second term  notwithstanding the opposition propaganda. Olagunju said the crisis rocking the PDP in the state may be a big plus for Ajimobi,  if the party remains divided.

    The chairman of the APC, Chief Akin Oke,  also dismissed the idea that Oyo people do not elect a governor twice. He described it as a myth, saying the performance of Ajimobi in his first term so far has surpassed the imagination of the opposition and would see him through the polls. Oke said the experience of the people during the Alao-Akala’s administration would also be a key factor in determining the success of Ajimobi at the poll. He argued that the restoration of peace by the governor cannot be wished away. He maintained that if no governor had served the state twice, Ajimobi would be the first to do so because of his excellent performance.

    The governor himself has vowed to break the second term jinx saying he will be the first governor to achieve that. “I will be the first governor to break that jinx. Who says Ibadan never serves a governor twice? I will be the first to achieve that,” he said.

    Ajimobi maintained that, since he was the one serving the people of Ibadan and Oyo State in general, the notion would not apply to him. His words: “We are the one serving the people and not the people serving us. The notion that no governor ever served twice in Oyo State is wrong because Awolowo and Akintola governed the state twice. Ajimobi stressed that his performance would speak for him in the next election.

    Dr. Lekan Olagoke, an Ibadan-based university don, agreed with Oke and Ajimobi. He argued that the governor’s activities  have impacted positively on the lives of the people. “He has shown greater commitment to service through his Urban Renewal Programme, which had placed the major cities in the state on a new pedestal,” he noted.

    Olagoke made  reference to Ibadan, which hitherto was classified as the dirtiest city in West Africa, pointiing out that Ajimobi has successfully changed the face of the metropolis. He said the governor has restored peace and security in Ibadan, which used to be a theatre of war between the warring factions of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).  Other achievements, according to him, are the dualisation of roads leading to all the major cities and towns around the capital; youth empowerment scheme for unemployed graduates; and free medical services for the people including surgical operations.

    The political scientist argued that the ideal thing in a society where performance is the criteria for re-election is to allow Ajimobi to have a second term.

    Similarly, Alhaji Wasiu Adekunle, a trader based in Ibadan, is rooting for Ajimobi’s re-election to enable him complete the numerous projects. He commended Ajimobi for his developmental strides.

    Adekunle lauded the Ajimobi Administration for putting smiles on the faces of market men and women, and  artisans, through the provision of N300 million interest-free loans. “In fairness to him, Ajimobi cannot be written off as a non-performer, considering where the state is coming from. He is the best thing to have ever happened to the state in terms of governance,” he said.

    Legal luminary Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN) said the politics of Oyo State is unique in the sense that it is not political parties that would determine who wins the election. According to him, traditional, professional and cultural elites determine who governs the state.

    Akintola said any political party that underrates the influence of Alaafin of Oyo, the Olubadan of Ibadan and Soun of Ogbomoso is doomed politically. He said the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) is also influential in deciding the political direction for the people. He said it was not Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) that won the election for Ajimobi in 2011. Rather, he was the choice of the elite. “I know  the role played by the Alafin and the late Alhaji Azeez Arisekola Alao in that election. I know the role played by Chief Lekan Balogun, Senator Teslim Folarin, Elder Wole Oyelese and Chief Yekini Adeojo, despite the fact that all of them are PDP members. It was the collective effort of the elite that brought Ajimobi to power, not ACN or APC”, he added.

    For Moshood Erubami, the President of Nigeria Voters Assembly, a civil society organisation, there is no doubt that Ajimobi would be returned by the electorates in next year’s election. He said the governor has demonstrated enough courage to assist the people and ensure that governance meets their  genuine desires.

    Erubami said: “This is a governor that is daily adding value reconstructing  the state, re-orienting the indigenes, restoring hope and transforming governance with demonstrated character of integrity. His style of governance has been posing questions to his predecessors about where the monies being committed to development projects during his administration were being put during their own tenure that nothing concrete was visible beyond fuji and juju fanfare on daily basis.

    “The face of Ibadan had remained  rough, dirty and structurally defective in the last 30 years, with nothing to show for the years of government and governance in the state. This made it difficult to attract investors to site industry in the state, thereby reducing it to a teacher’s state without major platform for sustainable human development.

    “The current environmental beautification effort of government is quite discernible to all as everyone can note the order being brought to motor garages, the changing face of our road, reduction in traffic hold-ups. Past governments had created different security outfits to address insecurity and other societal decay, but none was as effective and mobile as Operation Burst, which is ever mobile and steadfast in curbing brigandage in the society. Never before has any administration introduced a security outfit that is as mobile and effective as Operation Burst.”

    No civilian governor has spent more than a term in Oyo State, since it was created in 1976. The late Chief Bola Ige, who was elected in 1979 tried to retain the position in 1983, but lost to Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, who took over from Ige in October, 1983, spent only three months in office due to military intervention. The late Chief Kolapo Ishola, who came into office during the transition programme of Gen, Ibrahim Babangida did not also complete his first term due to Gen. Sani Abacha’s coup that overthrew the Interim National Government (ING) headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan in 1993.

    The late Adesina, who came to office in 1999, could not win in 2003. He lost to Rasheed Ladoja, who had a turbulent tenure, following a face-off with the strong man of Ibadan politics, the late Chief Lamidi Adedibu. Ladoja’s impeachment and his eventual restoration by the Supreme Court  prevented him from seeking a second term. The PDP had already conducted its  primaries and the  ticket for the 2007 election had been given to Alao-Akala before his reinstatement. Alao-Akala won the election. He governed for four years. His attempt to secure a second term in 2011 also failed, like those of his predecessors.

  • Kwara 2015: Ahmed’s battle for second term

    Kwara 2015: Ahmed’s battle for second term

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has been endorsed for second term by many stakeholders. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU writes on the succession battle in the Northcentral state between the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Ahead of next year’s general elections, Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed’s second term ambition has been endorsed by no fewer than 15 groups and associations. They include students’ bodies, women groups, the National Union of Road Transport Workers Union (NURTW), and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Also, musicians, artisans, traditional rulers and influential political leaders from the three senatorial districts are backing him. To many observers, these are core stakeholders who can mobilise for his victory at the poll.

    However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has decried the gale of endorsements, saying that it will not work. The party said that it will not brighten the chance of the governor in the election.

    Few weeks ago, the Kwara North Youth Consultative Forum, the National Association of Kwara State Students (NAKSS), and the Ilorin Emirate Students Union also promised to support his candidature, if Ahmed emerges as the flag bearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Giving reasons for supporting the governor’s bid, the students said that his people-oriented policies and programmes are worthy of commendation. Their leadern Ajadi Muyideen, lauded what he described as Ahmed’s selfless service to the people. He expressed gratitude to the goverment for the payment of bursary to tertiary students. He said the move wsas a relief to parents.

    “As a body that always fights for students, we want to personally salute the courage of our dear governor for his good works and we assure him of our unalloyed support at all times,” he said.

    Also, the Ilorin Emirate Students Union, in its statement signed by its President, Alaburo Sherifideen, described the governor’s achievements in education as unprecedented. Sherifideen noted that the governor had been sensitive to public yearnings, pointing out that the reduction of tuition fees at the Kwara State University, Malete, by 50 per cent has reduced dropouts rate among tertiary students. He also praised the governor for making primary and post-primary education tuition free. He said the renovation and construction of classrooms had enhanced a conducive atmosphere for learning in schools.

    The Coordinator of Kwara North Youth Consultative Forum, Ibrahim Kutan Muhammed, said Ahmed has success stories to tell in  health, agriculture, energy, works and transport, education and youth development. “In view of his doggedness, the Kwara North Youth Consultative Forum is in full support of the governor for a second term in 2015 so that he can continue the good work,” he added.

    However, despite the gale of endorsements, Ahmed has other hurdles to cross. Kwara Central District, like the South, is agitating for power shift, although the zone had enjoyed the slot for 12 years. There are other calculations. The Peoples Democratic party (PDP) may zone its governorship to the Central, which is more populous and has a history of bloc votes. The propaganda of the opposition party is strong. Ahmed has been painted as the product of Saraki Dynasty at a time some elements are pushing for a shift in political alliance.

    However, the governor may have done his calculations very well, ahead of the electioneering. For three and half years that he has ruled the state, he has not stirred any controversy. Also, no politician has come between him and his political leader, Senator Bukola Saraki. Unlike other states, where crises between predecessors and their successors have reached the peak, there is a cordial relationship between the former governor and Ahmed. His leader and the entire political camp are proud of his achievements. There appears to be an understanding that, since Saraki spent two terms of eight years, that precedent should be followed.

    However, as the succession battle gathers momentum, the second term battle will not be a walkover for the governor. Ahmed has to work harder to secure a second term.

    Following Saraki’s defection to the APC, some calculations were altered. There are new permutations. There is a debate on which senatorial district is likely to guarantee victory for the party, especially when the PDP is working to snatch victory from it. Since last year, some people have said that the defection may cost the governor the second term ticket. Although there is no consensus yet on succession in the APC, some party chieftains believe that Ahmed’s political future hangs in the balance, despite the fact that he has performed. However, those against his ambition allude to political expediency, claiming that since the PDP is likely to pick its flag bearer from Kwara Central, the ruling party should not be indifferent to its implications for the election. This latter group feels that another a stronger aspirant would be a better option.

    Kwara Central has the highest number of voters. Therefore, it is the target of the PDP.  The  aspirants in the zone include Dele Belgore (SAN) and Prof. Oba Abdurahaman. But, the zone cannot solely install the governor. Therefore, the opposition party is also mobilising support in the  South, where the governor comes from, and the North, to pull the rug of the feet of the APC.

    In spite of the permutation, the APC is still believed to have an edge over the PDP. The ruling party is popular across the three districts. Not only has it been able to overcome the regression to ethnic division by the PDP, but, unlike the PDP, which lacks an arrowhead, the APC is forging ahead under the leadership of Saraki, ably supported by his lieutenant, Ahmed.

    But, the uneasiness in the APC, which was triggered by the strategic decision of the PDP to pick its candidate from the Central, has not fizzled out. Since the zone is regarded as a huge electoral asset, given the fact that it boasts of the highest number of registered voters, the anxiety in the APC and among the governor’s is not unfounded.

    If the PDP eventually picks its candidate from the zone, as being speculated, the South, where the governor hails from, would be up for grabs. Sources said that the North could go either way. But, the endorsements may altered the conjecture, as the APC and its supporters are not sleeping on guard. In fact, the endorsements are part of the strategies to convince the anti-second term ambition that people are pushing for continuity because Ahmed is popular.

    A strong message was sent to the governor’s critics when he was endorsed by stakeholders from the North District. The Emir of Lafiagi, Alhaji Kawu Haliru, has thrown his weight behind his second term bid. The endorsement ceremony was witnessed by former Governor Shaaba Lafiagi, who is representing the district in the Senate, House of Representatives member Aman Pategi, many public office holders, community leaders, representatives of professional groups, youths, women, artisans and peasants. Speakers at the event highlighted developmental projects and  empowerment schemes across the districts. Urging the APC to field him in next year’s poll, they maintained that the governor has lived up to expectation.

    Emir Haliru, a highly respected leader, is believed to have spoken the minds of his people. Analysts believe that his blessings also came as a relieve to the governor’s camp, as it meant that the zone’s agitation for power shift, may not affect APC’s chances at the polls.

    The endorsement by stakeholders from the North is also significant for another reason. It may weaken the alleged one term pact between the governor and his leader. In 2011, the feeling was that Ahmed will spend one term and handover to a governor from the North. But, since the endorsement of the governor, there has not been any contrary view.

    Also, the North, like the Central, has the advantage of a bloc vote. Although there are some PDP governorship aspirants from the zone, they are paper weight actors.

    The South, where the governor hails from, is solidly behind the him. Many analysts believe that the endorsement and the mobilisation of indigenes appear to have properly positioned the governor for the final endorsement by the party. In fact, his kinsmen have embarked on an aggressive mobilisation for his ambition. During the voter’s registration, they trooped out for the exercise. Now, the calculation is that the combined forces of Saraki in the Central and Ahmed’s foot soldiers in the South should forge a working alliance with compatriots in the North to ensure the push for continuity next year.

    However, the PDP is of the opinion that the APC’s calculations would hit the rock. According to its leaders, this agenda may not work.  The PDP believes that endorsements do not translate into electoral victory, adding that the royal father who has endorsed Ahmed lacked the mandate of the voting public.

    The PDP Deputy Publicity Secretary, Femi Yusuf, doubted the validity of the endorsements, saying that it is unreliable.  He said the next election would be a battle of supremacy between the APC and the PDP. Faulting the endorsements, he said they were instigated by the government.

    “We see the endorsement as a mere figment of the imagination of the APC. It does not provide the party with any leverage when the election comes.

    “That aside, the traditional ruler is a civil servant, who collects salary from the state government monthly. So, what do you expect? When they are endorsing him for a second term, what would warrant the endorsement? What have they done for the area  for them to say he should continue in office?

    “You can only deserve endorsement, if you have surpassed the previous administrations. But, the past 12 years have shown that the people of the North District have been neglected. Go to Baruten or Kayama, Lafiagi and Patigi to see for yourself.”

    However, the Special Adviser to the governor on Communication Strategy, Alhaji Raheem Adedoyin, disagreed with the PDP spokesman. He said:”The governor, through his ‘Shared Prosperity Agenda’, has sustained the impactful developmental momentum of his predecessor and he actually deserves the support of well-meaning people to continue his people-oriented projects.

    “He has successfully consolidated on the projects of the former governor and opened up new ones, which have direct bearing on the people and that simply explains why the people are clamouring for continuity.”

  • Chairmen advocate second term for Ajimobi

    Chairmen advocate second term for Ajimobi

    Eleven local government chairmen in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, have solicited support from two artisan groups for the re-election of Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

    The council bosses, through an initiative organised by the Association of Local Government (ALGON), Oyo State chapter, donated to two artisan associations – the National Automobile Technicians Association (NATA) and the National Union of Tailors (NUT), tools in an empowerment programme to boost their productivity.

    The event, which featured the distribution of items, such as breast drill machine, spraying kits, blow lamps, gloor turches, gas guages, socket wrench sets, sewing machines, tool boxes and generators, was attended by an official of the State Universal Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Busari Adebisi; the National Vice- President of NATA, Comrade Dele Odewale; the National Vice-President of the NUT, Chief Rasheed Ibitade; the Chairman, ALGON, Oyo State branch, Mr. Yekeen Popoola; the Chairman of the Oyo State Water Corporation, Mr. Bosun Ajuwon, among others.

    The Chairman of Ibadan South East Local Government, Mr. Mobolaji Najimudeen, said they felt the need to empower the artisans with tools to boost productivity.

  • One bad term …

    One bad term …

    Clearly the most damning irony about the controversial Goodluck Jonathan 2015 campaign poster, which copies flooded Abuja, is its claim that “One good term deserves another”. But even the most rabid of Jonathan supporters would concede his has been a bad, nay, terrible term.

    So, what does a bad term deserve? A re-sit, as Gabriel Igbinedion, the Esama of Benin, reportedly quipped in pleading the case of his son, Lucky? Lucky’s 2003 “re-sit” and the subsequent 2007 vote-fiddling meant to block positive change, only made Edo a near-total paralysis before the redemption of the Adams Oshiomhole era. Lucky for Lucky. But absolutely terrible for Edo.

    Yet the Edo paralysis was nowhere near the chaos and gridlock that is the Federal Republic under Goodluck Jonathan. Yet, the good luck president ogles a second term!

    If free and fair election were guaranteed, it would have been electoral suicide for President Jonathan to seek a second term; and supreme electoral folly for his party to present him.

    Indeed, so sure would have been the electoral rout to come that the opposition would have flocked into churches, mosques and traditional shrines for pre-election thanksgiving, doubly assured that the sitting president was a lamb being led to the slaughter, by virtue of his woeful performance.

    But alas! Nothing is assured, not the least free elections, in Nigeria’s peculiar politics. That is why a personage that logs the record of perhaps the most incompetent president Nigeria has ever had would deem to flex muscles and yearn for a second term! It is a salute to the contempt with which the ruling racket holds the Nigerian people, as well as the electoral process.

    Still, to be fair to the president, he has denied authorship of those posters – fair enough.

    The snag, however, is there is a feeling of déjà vu over the incident: a very vivid sense that we have seen all this dissembling before.

    Under Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, the self-made “military president” would say something and his alter ego, the trinity of Dr. Aitkins, Arthur Nzeribe and Abimbola Davies’ Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) would canvass the exact opposite, with sickening patriotic piety.

    Under Gen. Sani Abacha, Daniel Kanu’s phantom Youths Earnestly Ask for Abacha (YEAA!) urged a thoroughly hated iron dictator and power usurper to go ahead and transmute, prompting The Economist, the London weekly, to write, in its 23 April 1998 issue, a tongue-in-the-cheek article it entitled, “Abacha, for ever, and ever”. Only “divine intervention” put paid to the Goggled One’s inordinate dreams.

    President Olusegun Obasanjo, after hiding behind a finger over a botched term elongation gambit, invoked Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” cheeky nonsense; declaring that if he really wanted a third term, and had asked his God, his God would have given it to him. In Nigeria’s political jungle, Obasanjo had found his own variant of Maradona’s Hand of God!

    And even Goodluck Jonathan, in his caretaker presidency days, was asked whether he would run for president, during the raging zoning controversy. Instead of a simple and straight answer, he lurched into a long and winding story of how he could run for president, or team up with someone as vice president, and how, in mid-sentence, he suddenly realised he was not even thinking of such things!

    Can someone please compare and contrast Jonathan’s answer back then to his current refrain that he is too busy on his job right now to be messing around with 2015 posters?

    Of course, the unsure caretaker president later became absolutely sure he would be real president for only one term – the one term he is making a hash of. Though now he disowns these satanic alter egos pasting Abuja with his campaign posters, he is now even more unsure whether to stop them or tell them to continue, because he is too busy with state duties! It is the making of Goodluck Jonathan as a presidential dissembler!

    It is clear therefore that, despite the empty anti-corruption posturing of the Obasanjo years, little has changed in Nigeria’s sick power chamber. And President Jonathan: his might have been a shifty, parlous and near-hopeless tenure. But the president has been clear-eyed and sure-footed in the power lessons he has allowed himself to learn. To the chagrin of long suffering Nigerians, he is no different from his far-from-illustrious predecessors.

    That is why Jonathan’s pre-election dissembling could well have been from a manual straight out of the Obasanjo, or Abacha or Babangida years. When IBB was swearing for the sanctity of this so-called transition programme, state money was being funnelled to his alter ego trinity to create so much chaos that, at the end of the day, a brow-beaten nation would “beg” the military president to please exchange his uniform for baba riga and continue his good work. Fortunately for Nigerians, the IBB scheme collapsed on his head.

    Everyone, of course, knew state money was responsible for Kanu’s thunderous YEAA for Abacha; and also behind the cacophonous racket by the musical soldiers of fortune that were part of the gravy. Goodluck Jonathan spawned his own musical mercenaries with his Eagle Square Abuja Goodluck Nigeria concert, which has turned nothing but bad luck for Nigerians. Obasanjo, to this day, denies the alleged hefty money that changed hands for his term elongation gambit. He can tell that to the marines!

    Not surprising, therefore, pre-election manoeuvring are afoot – again, straight from the IBB/Abacha/Obasanjo-era ignoble books.

    Up, from nowhere, has popped a 10 million cell phone-purchase programme for farmers. Ibukun Odusote, permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, disclosed N60 billion (about US $384 million) would be blown on this sweetheart deal. Akinwunmi Adesina, Agriculture minister, claimed otherwise after a public uproar.

    The making of another scam? Might this sudden quixotic love for Nigerian farmers be to 2015 what the oil subsidy voodoo payment was to 2011?

    Inside the PDP, a civil war has broken out – and not unconnected with 2015, even if the theatre of war is the party’s Board of Trustees (BOT). President Jonathan wants his man to head the BOT and help storm-troop delegates; and harvest nomination. Obasanjo, doomed to life-long political hustling when he could have earned post-presidency authoritative influence is, Don Quixote-wise, throwing his hat into the ring for a laughable candidate. To these party bosses, intra-party manoeuvres to skew the nomination process are even more vital than the long-suffering electorate!

    And outside, the cement cartel, unfazed poster children of Nigerian crony capitalism that reached its zenith during Obasanjo’s era of transparent corruption, is staging its own civil war! Might this high-stake manoeuvre be a bid to extract concession from a government whose party would soon come, cap in hand, for election donations?

    These bewildering dramas, not what the incumbent has done or not done, are why Jonathan could deign to dream of an encore, when his present tenure is nothing but disaster. But it is also left for Nigerians to counter: one bad term begets absolute electoral rejection.

    But will they? The day they do, all this rascality will stop.