President Goodluck Jonathan has made it clear that Nigeria will never be held hostage again by rice importers, stressing that there will be no sacred cows under his watch.
The President who spoke today at AgriFest in Abuja said: “All those owing Nigeria on rice import duties must pay.
Jonathan said that he celebrate Nigerian farmers that are into rice production, adding that local rice is so delicious that he eat it often.
“I eat Nigerian rice and can tell you it is better than imported rice. High quality Nigerian rice is now competing favourable with imported rice in the markets. Our rice millers have taken advantage of these new opportunities, and the number of integrated rice mills has expanded from 1 (one) at the beginning of this administration, to 24 today. And they are all here today.”
President Jonathan declared AgriFest as a remarkable event, an event which he said is a celebration and solidarity “with our dear farmers who supply our food, which is the foundation for human life. In furtherance of our rejuvenation and redefinition of Agriculture, and your earnest partnership in this revolution, I am exceptionally delighted to receive you all today.” [myad]
Shortly before the death of King Abdullah as Saudi Arabian Spiritual Head, the Kingdom had appointed his 79-year-old half-brother, Salman bin Abdulaziz, to the throne. His half-brother Prince Muqrin, a decade younger, is the new crown prince.
After today’s noon prayers at Riyadh’s Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Grand Mosque, the body of Abdullah, wrapped in a pale shroud, was carried from the mosque toward the cemetery where he was laid to rest, followed by a solemn procession of Saudi men in traditional dress.
The burial itself was a simple, swift ceremony. After the coffin was lowered into the ground, those present at the graveside — the royals closest to the late king — moved on to a royal palace, where they paid their respects to the new monarch.
The new King, Salman was received both by the Saudi royals and world leaders who came to express their condolences.
Ahead of the funeral, condolences and remembrances poured in from all corners of the globe.
“To God we belong and indeed to him we shall return,” said the homepage of the English-language Saudi newspaper Arab News on Friday.
Bahrain, Jordan and the Palestinian territories, among others, declared days of mourning. The U.N. secretary-general praised Abdullah for his Arab Peace Initiative to end the Arab-Israeli conflict. And U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said he would lead a delegation “in the coming days” to pay respects.
“King Abdullah’s life spanned from before the birth of modern Saudi Arabia through its emergence as a critical force within the global economy and a leader among Arab and Islamic nations,” U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement.
In an address to the nation Friday morning — his first televised appearance since becoming king — Salman offered his condolences to the Saudi people.
“We will, with God’s will and power, adhere to the straight path this country followed since its establishment by King Abdulaziz and his sons after him, and will not deviate at all from it, since our constitution is the book of Allah (Quran) and the teachings of Prophet Mohammed,” he said.
He also spoke of the “desperate need” for unity and solidarity among the followers of Islam, saying Saudi Arabia would continue to promote that.
He has already issued six royal decrees Friday, the Saudi Press Agency reported, including appointing Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz as the deputy crown prince.
Salman, who has 1.33 million followers on Twitter but follows no one, has also changed his Twitter handle from @PrinceSalman to @KingSalman. [myad]
Two-term Presidential Democracy is a beautiful and interesting idea of government in its fundamental assumptions and considerations. It has been established upon some rational thought in hope to sustain the values of democracy itself and to engender a climate for good governance. Because democracy is generally centered on the people, elections become a part and parcel of the system, where people, periodically, come to terms on who they want to lead or not to lead them. 2015 is here and the elections are in February (just some days away). We have got an interesting case at hand in this country and for me, the question is: should we re-elect President Goodluck Jonathan or should we hire another president? My answer is simple and clear. I say we hire a new president. I will share in a moment the reasons behind my position after we examine some foundational tenets of two- term presidential democracy, which happens to be what we practice in Nigeria. This will help build-up to establishing my position. Some of the rational thinking embraced by democrats for the support of a two-term presidency are as follows: First, democracy is about the government of, for and by the people (utterly people centric). The right of the people to vie for election from time to time and also to exercise their power to elect their own government is simply to protect the people’s democratic right to a government of and by themselves. If there ever be a government elected of and by the people, who happens not to govern for the people, then the same people reserve the right to vote out such a government or vote for another to carry out government in the best interest of the people. This is a form of check on the government. A government can misgovern, but then, the people can decide to vote it out. As such, ideally, first-terms are periods of evaluation upon which the government’s re-election should be based. Therefore the idea that a government would have to seek re-election for a second-term becomes a sort of incentive that should propel performance in the first-term. Also, you want to guard against and prevent anti-democratic traps like a monarchical or life- presidency situation by ensuring one person does not politically polarize the country for life. The last point I will mention here is that you want to give room for a dynamic transition of government. Because life itself is dynamic and transitory so government has to be. Situate this in Nigeria and you’ll conclude that the 2015 Nigeria general election is another test on the viability of our two-term presidential democracy. Back to why I’m positioned and support that we hire a new president: it is simply because our democratic system gives us the opportunity to change a non-performing government. I don’t belong to any political party today but my frustration about how Nigeria has been governed dwells at two levels. First is at the Presidential Ticket level and second is at political party level. At the presidential ticket level, Nigeria gave the mandate to President Jonathan in 2011. I was also a supporter of the Jonathan/Sambo ticket in 2011. The logic behind my support was simple; Jonathan emerged without the partisan realpolitik of the PDP. By this I mean, being the vice-president, a relatively insignificant position in Nigerian politics at the time, he (Jonathan) didn’t have to do much but just get nominated by the front-man, which was late President Yar’Adua. Vice-presidents are only constitutionally relevant to replace the president. The extent of their good to the government was the full prerogative of the president and you really don’t have to be a heavy weight politician to be nominated. My imagination like most Nigerians was that this gentleman (Jonathan) had a clean slate on which he could really transform the country. He would be less susceptible to any arm-twisting by many trade-offs typical of the political process of securing a presidential ticket if he was to push himself forward from ground-zero. I thought, at least his providential ascension would grant him a good deal of insulation from many political interests that could force-his-hand. More so, at the sentimental level, we all witnessed a quintessential common-man rise to power in what seemed to be a divine orchestration. The “I had no shoes” story of Jonathan resonated with millions of Nigerians; he seemed an embodiment of a political messiah. This was very okay for many people. The process upon which he emerged even engendered more sympathy towards his person as the country witnessed Yar’Adua’s cabal covet his chances of acting as president. Even when the dying president’s health was in serious doubt, he stayed gentlemanly throughout the entire process until the Senate invoked “the doctrine of necessity” and ultimately, Nigerians gave him a full mandate at the 2011 elections. We believed, we hoped, we trusted and then we stood with him. Jonathan promised transformation, “a breath of fresh air”, he actually promised a lot enough to catalogue. Five years have happened to Nigeria since we elected Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to preside over government. It’s time to renew that mandate. Yes! It’s time all the principles and tenets of two-term presidential democracy come to play. We have reached a point of either choosing to continue with this government or change it. But I’m not in any doubt we have to change this government. I rather change because I have the democratic right to vote out a government that doesn’t work for me after I hired it with my vote. In all fairness, I’m sure President Goodluck Jonathan can say the good things he has done for this country. But he has to be fair to over 100 million citizens of Nigeria that are still in poverty. His (Jonathan) government has not had any meaningful positive bearing on their livelihood. Democratic government is of the people, for the people and by the people. The government led by Dr. Jonathan has been of the people and by the people at 2011 elections, but for five years it has never shown up for the people. And that’s why we, the people will vote him out. I ask some serious questions that we have to answer faithfully for ourselves and for our country, Nigeria. Do you think Jonathan will do the expectations of the people in a second-term? Is it when there’s no more significant incentive to concede to the will of the people we are expecting him to do the needful? Everyone observes that democratic leaders tend to be complacent in their second-terms because of the mindset that they are not returning anyway. Do you honestly think that Jonathan even has any incentive to perform if re- elected? I have answered these questions faithfully to myself and for my country and I have come to a firm conclusion without second-guessing to vote for change. I have now lost hope in Jonathan’s presidency and I am hopeless like many Nigerians that continuity in this direction will yield significant positive results. The only hope there can be is to change this government and hope.
The beauty of the ingenious two-term presidential system we practice grants us the power and periodical opportunity to hope again. If we discover there isn’t hope in a new government, we will also vote it out again after four years. But to stick to the status-quo is to accept everything that is careless, reckless, insensitive and poor about this government for another four years; it’s hopeless. As we seize another opportunity to decide on the future of our country, posterity bestows upon us a duty to elect the personnel that will carry out government in the interest of the general public and President Jonathan has clearly shown that’s not his forte. President Jonathan inherited an economy where the crude oil price began to soar to unprecedented heights. The price has fluctuated near and above US$100 per barrel since February 2011 to August 2014. This means, as a nation, we earned more value from crude oil than ever before in the history of our nation. Sadly, we sight claims and counter claims of mismanagement, theft, squander and misappropriation of public funds. The government even agrees to losing revenues daily of about 400,000 barrels of oil due to illegal bunkering, vandalism and production shut-in. Impunity reigns supreme as we see no serious action to give a meaningful report to the public on these matter. Today, we are seeing an unprecedented drop in petrol dollar earnings; I don’t see this government doing more with less. I suspect all pronouncement of the government on how it hopes to manage the situation because it has ever been reputable for paying lip service to its duties. Many allegations of corruption on government officials fly in the dailies and we witness blatant passive reactions to these. So much scandal on corruption that it is almost seen as normalcy when headlines of news agencies carry billions of dollar figures on corruption allegations. It is so precarious that a former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, who is also reputable for engendering large scale corruption in Nigeria during his military tenure, caled his cohorts at that time saints if they were to be compared to this government. As a matter of fact, the president even finds it hard in his own language to differentiate between stealing and corruption. I’m utterly afraid of this government because Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has shown time and time again that he presides over a government that is simply not willing to confront corruption resolutely. From the look of things do you think President Jonathan even in another term will fight corruption just because he has started promising to fight corruption in his campaign for re-election? Well, you can’t be entirely sure though, but you can take an educated guess. This stance of the government has put our economy on a free fall. It doesn’t matter how much we earn as a nation, it doesn’t even matter what they say our GDP is, as long as the inequality gap is not breached, we will never taste the dividends of democracy. Again, it doesn’t matter how much the increase in megawatts the country has gained in this government, as long as you don’t have electric power supply, then it counts for nothing. Nigerians don’t even want an 11, 7 or 5 point agenda. All we want is one-point power agenda. Fix power in the smartest innovative and effective way and see how it bears on the life of every Nigerian. And to be frank, I won’t bet on the approach and politricks of this government to fix power within another four years.
After several calls on the president since the abduction of over 200 girls in a school in Chibok, he has only found it important to visit Maiduguri after 9 months. What message do you pass to the people with that sort of disposition? The people are angry at this type of decorum that forsakes the poor and down trodden. The president won’t go there at the heat of things but he’ll make efforts when it’s close to elections in February. Whether that’s a right judgment or not, you will forgive those that bear that feel that way easier than you will forgive the president for his poor handling of such a dire situation. One can observe countless faults in this government. If you allow a thorough evaluation, you would write a serial. It’s even harder to determine what the president stands for, what he is strong on and what his boundaries are. But Nigerians won’t crucify him, even though Doyin Okupe, one of his Senior Special Assistants has likened him to Jesus Christ – they will only not vote him again. Voting President Jonathan out will be the most important message Nigerians will send to politicians and political parties – that power truly belongs to the people. At every point in time Nigeria has been dissatisfied about a government they voted into power, it had always been the military that was forced to change the government in what eventually turns out to be worse. This time the people can do it and the elections in February will show. Like the US, Japan and India came to a point in their history where they had to vote out the same government they voted in for not performing, the time for Nigeria has come. As a matter of fact, Jonathan is not the alpha neither is he the omega of Nigeria’s problems. And this brings me to the second level at which my frustration about how Nigeria is governed dwells – the political party level. In as much as I personally advocate a change of government based on the fact that for five already, the government has failed the people, continuing with the same political party that has had the chance at the federal level for 16 years has to be also questioned. So far, the ruling party, PDP has produced three presidents for Nigeria. On the graph of performance, the line has moved from top to bottom in succession of presidents. In our recent democratic history, the popularity of the president has only been this low when President Obasanjo attempted a third-term bid. In fact, President Goodluck’s current popularity is at the lowest as it manifests in how his politics divides opinion and loyalty within his own party. And here’s my frustration: 16 years of time in any generation is a great time to see landmark attainments through. When you cut through the clutters and get down to the common man on the street in Nigeria, the only landmark attainment that has had a significant bearing on lives at the bottom is the telecommunication revolution, saw through by the Obasanjo administration. Any other attainment that anyone can classify as major either has no significant bearing on lives of the general masses or has been marred by corruption over time. By “significant bearing on lives at the bottom” I mean, If it is correct that we have over 100 million Nigerians in poverty, then any policy that doesn’t affect at least 10 million (10%) poor Nigerians positively is not significant by any margin. Before giving him the mandate in 2011, we loved the persona and carriage of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Perhaps he was in the right political party at the wrong position at the right time. “Right political party” because it is evident the PDP is capable of bearing good fruits as seen in some of its achievements (at least one can’t totally take all away from the PDP). And “Wrong position at the right time” because if one imagines it was Donald Duke or one of those excellent PDP governors in the South-south that was nominated as Yar’Adua’s running mate, our situation may have just been totally different. In any case, it is the PDP that produced Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan. I’ll recommend we try another political party at the federal government, at least for another 8 years. This is not necessarily because the opposition is better, but more because this sort of competition is excellent for our democracy. The notion that an opposing political party is capable of swaying votes and changing the government is healthy for democracy and development. All parties will have to be at their best and the country will surely be better for it as we have seen from examples in other leading democracies. Adedeji Adeyemi Political Analyst and Convener, Organising For Change mail@adedejiadeyemi.com B.Sc. Political Science (Redeemer’s University, Nigeria) M.A. International Relations (University of Birmingham, UK). [myad]
President Goodluck Jonathan has joined other world leaders in commiserating with King Salman Ibn Abdulaziz and the people of Saudi Arabia on the death of his predecessor, King Abdullah Ibn Abdulaziz.
In a condolence letter to the new Saudi Monarch, President Jonathan said that King Abdullah will also be long remembered for entrenching the process of progressive reform in his country.
The President said that he was confident that the existing cordial and mutually-beneficial relations between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia will be maintained and further strengthened under King Salman.
“I have received with great sadness, news of the death of His Highness, King Abdullah Ibn Abdulaziz at the grand age of 90.
“On behalf of the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I wish to express my heartfelt condolences at the sad loss of this illustrious monarch and revered leader. Our thoughts go out to the people of Saudi Arabia and, particularly, the Saudi royal family at this time.
“King Abdullah will be remembered for entrenching the process of progressive reform, enduring stability and economic consolidation in Saudi Arabia, while preserving the Kingdom’s place as the universally acclaimed centre of the Islamic faith.
“While the Government and people of Nigeria share in your loss, we are hopeful that you and the entire people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would be comforted by the enduring legacy of selfless service that King Abdullah leaves behind.
“As Your Highness ascends to the throne as King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, I am confident that the excellent fraternal relations and productive partnership that have always existed between our two countries and peoples will be further strengthened and deepened in the years ahead.” [myad]
Over the last few days, Nigerians have been stunned as a national institution, the Nigerian Army, was used in the most disgusting manner to try to tarnish the impeccable credentials of General Mohammadu Buhari. This culminated in a double speak by an Army Spokesperson, who declared the truth regarding the unnecessary raging controversy over Gen Mohammadu Buhari’s certificate and at the same time cast a serious doubt over the authenticity of same piece of evidence held by the Army. Many Nigerians were appalled, to put it mildly, to see the Nigerian Army, an institution that was the pride of Africa but has been reduced to this sorry state, being dragged into partisanship by a selfish few. The reason for the constant desecration of the Nigerian Army under the present administration of President Jonathan, is unknown by watchers across the nation and the international community. Under this PDP-led government, our once gallant soldiers, who bravely defended our territorial integrity and shone in international assignments, have been reduced to a situation where dedicated Army officers, fund themselves to prosecute the war against terror within our shores. The impunity and highhandedness of this administration should not be taken lying low. This is why we are concerned about this sudden redeployment of some Police Officers including the controversial AIG Joseph Mbu. Nigerians have not forgotten the role Mr Mbu played in the botched plan to scuttle the democratic establishments in Rivers State. The hard-working governor of Rivers state, Governor Rotimi Chibike Amechi, backed by the people of Rivers state and Nigerians, fought this battle Royale and emerged victorious. The scars of that war are still very fresh for all to see. Having failed to deliver Rivers State to those who sent him on the sinister mission, Officer Mbu was redeployed to Abuja where, in the last redeployment of officers exercise, it was widely reported that all the PDP governors rejected the idea of having Mr Mbu as their states’ Police Commissioner. We believe that this special redeployment of police officers, including the partisan Mr Mbu, days before an election in which the incumbent is expected to lose heavily, is politically motivated and planned to benefit the incumbent. As we are not unaware of the antecedents of Mr. Mbu, a police officer that at worst, should be facing trial for the atrocities he committed in Rivers state and at best, should have been retired, we are gravely concerned as to the brief that has been given to Mr. Mbu regarding the forth-coming elections. It’s of great concern that Mr Mbu, who was reportedly rejected by all the PDP governors, is being foisted on Lagos state, an APC state, at this crucial time. We are hoping that Mr. Mbu and those he represents in his partisan capacity, are in the know that Nigerians, including Lagosians, are poised to recover their nation from the bandits that have held them down for sixteen years and no one is going to be able to stop them. If this late redeployment, soon after we had one a few months ago, is aimed at scuttling the democratic process that will hand back Nigeria to Nigerians, then, those who are nursing such diabolical plans must think twice. Nigerians across the nation are waiting for this date with destiny, it’s the 14th if February. Nigerians would receive a love offering on this day as they head for the polls. Nigerians on this day, will also insist on their votes, counting. It’s reassuring that the Abuja Accord is in place and we believe that Nigerians will abide by that accord. In order to support Nigerians to stand by their political leaders who signed the accord, we need to have free, fair and credible elections, devoid of intimidation and vote robbery. This is the only way Nigerians, who did not sign the Abuja Accord, will stand by the accord. It will be beneficial for all Nigerians to be assured that officer Mbu and others that have now been redeployed will be acting in the interest of all Nigerians and not showing partisanship by taking sides. We need to know that they will work within the oath they swore as officers of the Nigerian entity. Nigerians are no longer willing to see their votes disregarded. The Nigerian people, ordinary Nigerian people have a stake in this nation. They want to have a say in who runs the affairs of their nation. Previous elections have seen their votes disregarded by the few that have taken the collective destinies of Nigerians into their hands. But no more! Nigerians are the ones with the prerogative to decide who runs their affairs. Consequently, we insist on free, fair and credible elections devoid of bullying and intimidation. Twitter: @Laurestar. [myad]
Paul Okoye, one of the P-square music icons, was at the Marriage Registry, Ikoyi, Lagos today to tie the knot with his love, Anita Okoye. The ceremony was as simple as ever. It was bereft of all kinds of fanfare but well-atteended by family members, friends, colleagues in music industry and well-wishers. [myad]
Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the sixth king of Saudi Arabia, has died at age 90, even as Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz has been appointed as the new king, the Saudi Arabian state television announced.
Thousands of Saudi Arabian citizens gathered in Mecca early this morning to mourn King Abdllah who was reputed to be a master politician that gained a reputation as a reformer.
The announcement of Abdullah’s death came several weeks after the state-run Saudi Press Agency said that he was suffering from pneumonia and had been admitted to the hospital..
Funeral is expected to be held in the afternoon today at the Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Grand Mosque in Riyadh, and many world leaders are likely to pay their respects.
Jordan’s King Abdullah cut short his visit to Davos, and is heading to Riyadh, according to a Jordanian government source.
“King Abdullah’s life spanned from before the birth of modern Saudi Arabia through its emergence as a critical force within the global economy and a leader among Arab and Islamic nations,” U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement.
He praised Abdullah’s role in sponsoring the Arab Peace Initiative, which attempts to solve the long-simmering conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“This is a sad day. The United States has lost a friend, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, and the world has lost a revered leader,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement. “He was so proud of the Kingdom’s journey, a brave partner in fighting violent extremism who proved just as important as a proponent of peace.”
King Abdullah became king of the oil-rich nation, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, in August 2005. But he had been running Saudi Arabia since 1996, after his half-brother King Fahd’s stroke.
In the context of the kingdom’s conservative circles, Abdullah was seen as reformer and often came up against the more hard-line clerics.
Since ascending to the throne, Abdullah took steps toward broader freedoms and invested some of the country’s vast oil wealth in large-scale education and infrastructure projects.
“He was really quite extraordinary figure. He was probably the most progressive and liberal minded king of Saudi Arabia since King Faisal, which is a long time ago, in the early 1970s,” CNN’s Fareed Zakaria said about Abdullah, who he described as “much loved.”
“I had the opportunity to meet with him once and what you got a sense of was somebody who really was determined to move his country forward,” Zakaria said. “It’s a conservative country and a conservative society — and he kept emphasizing that to me — but he was very clear in the direction he wanted to go.”
However, resistance from conservative factions hindered some of his efforts, leaving many women in particular disappointed by a lack of progress toward greater independence.
Under Abdullah’s leadership, the country slowly squashed al Qaeda, capturing or killing its leaders in the kingdom, forcing the remnants underground and sidelining radical preachers.
It also took a more prominent role in international affairs.
Last year, it became the lead Arab nation in a U.S.-led coalition to eradicate the ultraradical ISIS group in Iraq and Syria.
Analysts are predicting a smooth political transition despite the many challenges facing Saudi Arabia, including Iran, the rise of ISIS, the crisis in Yemen, and the drop in oil prices.
Saudi Arabia has 16% of the world’s known oil reserves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The country is widely seen as the leader of OPEC and has a large influence on energy prices and political stability in the Middle East.
“Remember, the last time the price of oil fell like this, the Soviet Union collapsed,” said Zakaria. “That said, the successor is a very competent man.”
He added: “I don’t expect any major shift, but it marks a big change, and we’ll have to see what the new king is like.” [myad]
The Igbo Internet thugs who campaign for Goodluck Jonathan are an utter disgrace to humankind. They are, indeed, a strange species of homo sapiens. Maybe, they are a hybrid of homo erectus and home sapiens! Their actions are hardly compatible with those of people who have what the French call l’amour propre, self esteem or self worth. A little over a year ago, Femi Fani-Kayode wrote a series of horrible articles well circulated in the media against the Igbo. Falling short of calling for Igbo extermination, Femi confessed his great admiration for Adolf Hitler’s Mien kempf, probably the most racist book in world history. All manner of people who called themselves Igbo Internet warriors were calling for his head. You would naturally expect them to kick against Jonathan’s recent appointment of Femi Fani-Kayode as the director of media and publicity of his reelection campaign, thus becoming the face and voice of the president, an Ijaw who has strangely been portrayed as an Igbo. But far from taking exception to this sacrilege, the self-styled Internet warriors, whom Oby Ezekwesili memorably calls Internet thugs, are rather now in cahoots with Femi! They quote him approvingly every minute. Why? Femi has a huge propaganda budget! Most of these Internet warriors are on his payroll, and their principal duty is to besmirch the integrity of Muhammadu Buhari, apart from raising cudgels, knives, daggers and guns against thoughtful Igbo people who raise questions about the propriety of their action. The Great Zik of Africa was fond of describing such irresponsible characters as knaves. The knaves enthusiastically circulated a forged hospital document alleging that Buhari has prostate cancer. Just before this forgery, they reported online that Buhari had fainted at a campaign rally and was rushed to a hospital even when the same characters were commenting on Buhari’s ongoing campaign stumps in different parts of the country! As Jonathan was about to visit Onitsha last week, they circulated a picture of a bridge under construction somewhere but mischievously claimed that it is the so-called Second Niger Bridge which becomes relevant to the president only during electioneering campaigns. The essence of circulating the false picture was to deceive their own Igbo people into believing that work on the mythical bridge had taken off in earnest. How some Igbo Internet fraudsters could have the courage to “419” or swindle their own people in broad daylight in order to please an Ijaw president and turn round to claim that they are the champions of Igbo interests remains one of the greatest mysteries of our time. It is revealing of the kind of ethics of the government in Abuja and their supporters all over Nigeria. It is also revealing of why some people in Nigeria and elsewhere think that the Igbo have too many Judas Iscariots, too many people eager to kill even their own family members for a mess of porridge. On a personal note, I am deeply worried about the enthusiasm of a couple of professionals and Pentecostal pastors in this forum to indulge in this fraud in the name of politics. They need be reminded in public that certain actions of theirs do cause tremendous and eternal violence to their personal and professional reputations, to say nothing about their supposed religious callings. They are advised to read up the idea of the scandal of perception in Catholic theology. Put succinctly, their utterances and actions as ordained ministers of God or equivalent could cause some believers to lose faith in God.
The Director of Media and Publicity of All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Mallam Garba Shehu has said that the failure of President Goodluck Jonathan to deliver democratic dividends to Nigerians has been the root cause of the failure by the President and his Peoples Democratic Party to conduct the ongoing political campaign on issues-base. Garba Shehu said that because the government of Jonathan had failed, he and his team made non-issues and abuses the order of the day. The APC campaign spokesman, who spoke when he had an audience with members of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) in his office in Abuja, said: “Ordinarily, Jonathan’s campaign should have been based on his achievements. They are running against their own records. “So it would have been for them to present their scorecards to Nigerians rather than attacking the presidential candidate of the APC, General Muhammadu Buhari, who has not attacked anyone.” Garba Shehu said that contrary to the position being publicised by the PDP, Buhari would not tamper with the free speech of Nigerians, adding: “Men change. Buhari was a military man, but now he is a full democrat. He will not censor online. The censorship of online will come from the community of users itself.” Garba Shehu said that APC will work with the online publishers to deepen online journalism. This was even as a former Commissioner for Information in Lagos State and prominent member of the APC, Dele Alake, who was also at the meeting, thanked the online publishers for taking time out to visit the party. Alake said the coming together of professional journalists to form GOCOP was a good development, adding: “It is a symbol of good things to come. “Online journalism is the present and future of journalism. “Most people of voting age are now on social media. “So whoever takes online media for granted is undoing himself.” Alake described Buhari as an acerbic leader, saying: “he (Buhari) has held plum positions and remains simple. He is a disciplined man. “The fulcrum of the problem we have in this country is indiscipline. Now we have an epitome of discipline. What we need in this country at this critical juncture is someone who can extricate us from this abyss. “Governance is not rocket science. In four years, we can get there. We can meet the basic needs quickly by providing low hanging fruits. “From there, we can then move on to medium and long term policies, which can be considered as the high hanging fruits. “Jonathan lacks the courage to rule this country and also none of his subordinates can look him in the eyes and tell him the truth. The country needs a drastic change. Especially for our kids.”
Former Nigeria Minister of Education and presently the Deputy Director General of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation, Professor, Tunde Adeniran, has said that PDP is ready to partner professional online journalists and publishers to enhance the re-election campaign of President Goodluck Jonathan and for the development of the nation. Adeniran said this when he played host to members of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) in Abuja. He described journalism as an impactful profession, adding that with the development of the online media, the expectation of the society from journalists has gone higher. He said that in reaching out to Nigerians, both within and outside the country, the online media has become a critical factor. He said the patriotic duty before the PDP requires that the party works with the online publishers in the bid to disseminate what the administration of President Jonathan has achieved. Adeniran said that contrary to what the opposition had been disseminating, the administration of President Jonathan has performed creditably in all sectors. According to him, what is required now is for Jonathan to be given the second term mandate to build on his achievements. “Having gone through what we have gone through as a nation, what are the choices? “We need to make the choices. We cannot afford not to be conscious of two things: this country belongs to all of us. “We have to factor our various tendencies into all we do so we do not create more problems. “You do not solve a problem by creating the ground for future battles. That is why people question the handling of issues by the President. “It is simply because the President considers the future implications of any decision before taking it.” Professor Adeniran said that the online media has a critical role to play in this regard, adding “the role of the online media should be to either assist or damage the move of the leader. “And when the decision is to damage, it can be more damaging than even what external enemies will do. “So, when we partner, it presupposes a meeting of minds. “I have done sufficient homework to value partnership. We do not exist without having people value your contribution to the society. “The interest of our country as partners should be paramount.” Professor Adeniran expressed confidence that Jonathan will emerge victorious in the February 14 presidential election. He said the President had performed exceedingly well to deserve a second term.
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Jonathan’s Re-election: A Hopeless Pursuit Of Hope In Continuity, By Adedeji Adeyemi
Two-term Presidential Democracy is a beautiful and interesting idea of government in its fundamental assumptions and considerations. It has been established upon some rational thought in hope to sustain the values of democracy itself and to engender a climate for good governance. Because democracy is generally centered on the people, elections become a part and parcel of the system, where people, periodically, come to terms on who they want to lead or not to lead them.
2015 is here and the elections are in February (just some days away). We have got an interesting case at hand in this country and for me, the question is: should we re-elect President Goodluck Jonathan or should we hire another president? My answer is simple and clear. I say we hire a new president.
I will share in a moment the reasons behind my position after we examine some foundational tenets of two- term presidential democracy, which happens to be what we practice in Nigeria. This will help build-up to establishing my position.
Some of the rational thinking embraced by democrats for the support of a two-term presidency are as follows:
First, democracy is about the government of, for and by the people (utterly people centric). The right of the people to vie for election from time to time and also to exercise their power to elect their own government is simply to protect the people’s democratic right to a government of and by themselves. If there ever be a government elected of and by the people, who happens not to govern for the people, then the same people reserve the right to vote out such a government or vote for another to carry out government in the best interest of the people. This is a form of check on the government. A government can misgovern, but then, the people can decide to vote it out. As such, ideally, first-terms are periods of evaluation upon which the government’s re-election should be based. Therefore the idea that a government would have to seek re-election for a second-term becomes a sort of incentive that should propel performance in the first-term. Also, you want to guard against and prevent anti-democratic traps like a monarchical or life- presidency situation by ensuring one person does not politically polarize the country for life. The last point I will mention here is that you want to give room for a dynamic transition of government. Because life itself is dynamic and transitory so government has to be.
Situate this in Nigeria and you’ll conclude that the 2015 Nigeria general election is another test on the viability of our two-term presidential democracy.
Back to why I’m positioned and support that we hire a new president: it is simply because our democratic system gives us the opportunity to change a non-performing government. I don’t belong to any political party today but my frustration about how Nigeria has been governed dwells at two levels. First is at the Presidential Ticket level and second is at political party level.
At the presidential ticket level, Nigeria gave the mandate to President Jonathan in 2011. I was also a supporter of the Jonathan/Sambo ticket in 2011. The logic behind my support was simple; Jonathan emerged without the partisan realpolitik of the PDP. By this I mean, being the vice-president, a relatively insignificant position in Nigerian politics at the time, he (Jonathan) didn’t have to do much but just get nominated by the front-man, which was late President Yar’Adua. Vice-presidents are only constitutionally relevant to replace the president. The extent of their good to the government was the full prerogative of the president and you really don’t have to be a heavy weight politician to be nominated.
My imagination like most Nigerians was that this gentleman (Jonathan) had a clean slate on which he could really transform the country. He would be less susceptible to any arm-twisting by many trade-offs typical of the political process of securing a presidential ticket if he was to push himself forward from ground-zero. I thought, at least his providential ascension would grant him a good deal of insulation from many political interests that could force-his-hand.
More so, at the sentimental level, we all witnessed a quintessential common-man rise to power in what seemed to be a divine orchestration. The “I had no shoes” story of Jonathan resonated with millions of Nigerians; he seemed an embodiment of a political messiah. This was very okay for many people. The process upon which he emerged even engendered more sympathy towards his person as the country witnessed Yar’Adua’s cabal covet his chances of acting as president. Even when the dying president’s health was in serious doubt, he stayed gentlemanly throughout the entire process until the Senate invoked “the doctrine of necessity” and ultimately, Nigerians gave him a full mandate at the 2011 elections. We believed, we hoped, we trusted and then we stood with him. Jonathan promised transformation, “a breath of fresh air”, he actually promised a lot enough to catalogue.
Five years have happened to Nigeria since we elected Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to preside over government. It’s time to renew that mandate. Yes! It’s time all the principles and tenets of two-term presidential democracy come to play. We have reached a point of either choosing to continue with this government or change it. But I’m not in any doubt we have to change this government.
I rather change because I have the democratic right to vote out a government that doesn’t work for me after I hired it with my vote. In all fairness, I’m sure President Goodluck Jonathan can say the good things he has done for this country. But he has to be fair to over 100 million citizens of Nigeria that are still in poverty. His (Jonathan) government has not had any meaningful positive bearing on their livelihood. Democratic government is of the people, for the people and by the people. The government led by Dr. Jonathan has been of the people and by the people at 2011 elections, but for five years it has never shown up for the people. And that’s why we, the people will vote him out.
I ask some serious questions that we have to answer faithfully for ourselves and for our country, Nigeria. Do you think Jonathan will do the expectations of the people in a second-term? Is it when there’s no more significant incentive to concede to the will of the people we are expecting him to do the needful? Everyone observes that democratic leaders tend to be complacent in their second-terms because of the mindset that they are not returning anyway. Do you honestly think that Jonathan even has any incentive to perform if re- elected? I have answered these questions faithfully to myself and for my country and I have come to a firm conclusion without second-guessing to vote for change. I have now lost hope in Jonathan’s presidency and I am hopeless like many Nigerians that continuity in this direction will yield significant positive results. The only hope there can be is to change this government and hope.
The beauty of the ingenious two-term presidential system we practice grants us the power and periodical opportunity to hope again. If we discover there isn’t hope in a new government, we will also vote it out again after four years. But to stick to the status-quo is to accept everything that is careless, reckless, insensitive and poor about this government for another four years; it’s hopeless. As we seize another opportunity to decide on the future of our country, posterity bestows upon us a duty to elect the personnel that will carry out government in the interest of the general public and President Jonathan has clearly shown that’s not his forte.
President Jonathan inherited an economy where the crude oil price began to soar to unprecedented heights. The price has fluctuated near and above US$100 per barrel since February 2011 to August 2014. This means, as a nation, we earned more value from crude oil than ever before in the history of our nation. Sadly, we sight claims and counter claims of mismanagement, theft, squander and misappropriation of public funds. The government even agrees to losing revenues daily of about 400,000 barrels of oil due to illegal bunkering, vandalism and production shut-in. Impunity reigns supreme as we see no serious action to give a meaningful report to the public on these matter. Today, we are seeing an unprecedented drop in petrol dollar earnings; I
don’t see this government doing more with less. I suspect all pronouncement of the government on how it hopes to manage the situation because it has ever been reputable for paying lip service to its duties.
Many allegations of corruption on government officials fly in the dailies and we witness blatant passive reactions to these. So much scandal on corruption that it is almost seen as normalcy when headlines of news agencies carry billions of dollar figures on corruption allegations. It is so precarious that a former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, who is also reputable for engendering large scale corruption in Nigeria during his military tenure, caled his cohorts at that time saints if they were to be compared to this government. As a matter of fact, the president even finds it hard in his own language to differentiate between stealing and corruption. I’m utterly afraid of this government because Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has shown time and time again that he presides over a government that is simply not willing to confront corruption resolutely. From the look of things do you think President Jonathan even in another term will fight corruption just because he has started promising to fight corruption in his campaign for re-election? Well, you can’t be entirely sure though, but you can take an educated guess.
This stance of the government has put our economy on a free fall. It doesn’t matter how much we earn as a nation, it doesn’t even matter what they say our GDP is, as long as the inequality gap is not breached, we will never taste the dividends of democracy. Again, it doesn’t matter how much the increase in megawatts the country has gained in this government, as long as you don’t have electric power supply, then it counts for nothing. Nigerians don’t even want an 11, 7 or 5 point agenda. All we want is one-point power agenda. Fix power in the smartest innovative and effective way and see how it bears on the life of every Nigerian. And to be frank, I won’t bet on the approach and politricks of this government to fix power within another four years.
After several calls on the president since the abduction of over 200 girls in a school in Chibok, he has only found it important to visit Maiduguri after 9 months. What message do you pass to the people with that sort of disposition? The people are angry at this type of decorum that forsakes the poor and down trodden. The president won’t go there at the heat of things but he’ll make efforts when it’s close to elections in February. Whether that’s a right judgment or not, you will forgive those that bear that feel that way easier than you will forgive the president for his poor handling of such a dire situation.
One can observe countless faults in this government. If you allow a thorough evaluation, you would write a serial. It’s even harder to determine what the president stands for, what he is strong on and what his boundaries are. But Nigerians won’t crucify him, even though Doyin Okupe, one of his Senior Special Assistants has likened him to Jesus Christ – they will only not vote him again.
Voting President Jonathan out will be the most important message Nigerians will send to politicians and political parties – that power truly belongs to the people. At every point in time Nigeria has been dissatisfied about a government they voted into power, it had always been the military that was forced to change the government in what eventually turns out to be worse. This time the people can do it and the elections in February will show. Like the US, Japan and India came to a point in their history where they had to vote out the same government they voted in for not performing, the time for Nigeria has come.
As a matter of fact, Jonathan is not the alpha neither is he the omega of Nigeria’s problems. And this brings me to the second level at which my frustration about how Nigeria is governed dwells – the political party level. In as much as I personally advocate a change of government based on the fact that for five already, the government has failed the people, continuing with the same political party that has had the chance at the federal level for 16 years has to be also questioned. So far, the ruling party, PDP has produced three presidents for Nigeria. On the graph of performance, the line has moved from top to bottom in succession of presidents. In our recent democratic history, the popularity of the president has only been this low when President Obasanjo attempted a third-term bid. In fact, President Goodluck’s current popularity is at the lowest as it manifests in how his politics divides opinion and loyalty within his own party.
And here’s my frustration: 16 years of time in any generation is a great time to see landmark attainments through. When you cut through the clutters and get down to the common man on the street in Nigeria, the only landmark attainment that has had a significant bearing on lives at the bottom is the telecommunication revolution, saw through by the Obasanjo administration. Any other attainment that anyone can classify as major either has no significant bearing on lives of the general masses or has been marred by corruption over time. By “significant bearing on lives at the bottom” I mean, If it is correct that we have over 100 million Nigerians in poverty, then any policy that doesn’t affect at least 10 million (10%) poor Nigerians positively is not significant by any margin.
Before giving him the mandate in 2011, we loved the persona and carriage of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Perhaps he was in the right political party at the wrong position at the right time. “Right political party” because it is evident the PDP is capable of bearing good fruits as seen in some of its achievements (at least one can’t totally take all away from the PDP). And “Wrong position at the right time” because if one imagines it was Donald Duke or one of those excellent PDP governors in the South-south that was nominated as Yar’Adua’s running mate, our situation may have just been totally different. In any case, it is the PDP that produced Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan. I’ll recommend we try another political party at the federal government, at least for another 8 years. This is not necessarily because the opposition is better, but more because this sort of competition is excellent for our democracy. The notion that an opposing political party is capable of swaying votes and changing the government is healthy for democracy and development. All parties will have to be at their best and the country will surely be better for it as we have seen from examples in other leading democracies.
Adedeji Adeyemi Political Analyst and Convener, Organising For Change mail@adedejiadeyemi.com
B.Sc. Political Science (Redeemer’s University, Nigeria) M.A. International Relations (University of Birmingham, UK). [myad]