A popular Nollywood actress, Nkiru Sylvanus has made it clear that he would not mind to be a second wife to the right man.
Nkiru, who is still single at over 40 said that if the need arises, she would go for a man who already has a wife. She spoke on a TV programme today in Lagos.
Nkiru, who is former aide to the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha said: “if the situation and the person is good, I’ll go for it. I’ve said it before that if ladies don’t stop this nonsense they call ‘one-man-one-wife’, many of them will get to 40 and still remain single. There are more women than men. Go to churches, the number of single ladies in most cases is three times the number of single guys.”
A Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe has likened the burden being carried by President Goodluck Jonathan to that of Jesus Christ.
He said the burden Jesus carried when he died for the sins of mankind is similar to what Jonathan is presently carrying.
Okupe, who spoke in a programme on Channels Television, Sunrise Daily, which was monitored today in Lagos said: “People do not understand the burden this President is bearing. He’s like Jesus Christ. He’s bearing the burden of everybody.”
He said that despite the many problems the Jonathan administration is grappling with, the President would still defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) in February next year.
“I can’t see Jonathan losing this election. It’s not possible.”
Okupe said that insecurity in the North-East had reduced significantly, commending the Federal Government’s efforts. He said that all aspects of the war against terror, including funding, are being taken care of.
“Today, the Nigerian Army is in total and perfect control,” even as he berated the Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, for not trying hard enough to curtail poverty and deliver the dividends of democracy to his people.
The presidential aide said the fight against Boko Haram had political undertone, accusing the APC presidential candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari of not assisting the Federal Government through his utterances.
Okupe alleged that Buhari had said that any attack on Boko Haram is an attack on the North and that Buhari’s recent condemnation of Boko Haram was as a result of his bid to become Nigeria’s president.
He said the over 200 girls that were abducted by Boko Haram in Chibok were still a priority, saying: “The issue of Chibok girls was a tragedy but it is a tragedy that we must bear with fortitude.
“Chibok girls are a major thorn in the flesh of the administration. If it was possible to get them yesterday I know that this government would have done it.”
The Governor of Osun state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has revealed how the deployment of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in monitoring and reporting of events as they unfolded during the August 9 governorship election in the state frustrated those who had the intention of falsifying results. A statement by the Director Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon quoted the governor as saying, in a keynote address titled “Broadband: Oxygen for Digital Economy” at the Africa Digital Forum and Award 2014 organised by the ICT Watch Network in Lagos that ICT was put to use by the various situation rooms set up by the government to monitor, get results and happening across all the units, wards and Local governments in the state. The governor said that Nigeria has a new opportunity for economic resurgence in the digital economy age, saying that the nation has the requisite infrastructure both material and human. “We have a huge human population of 167 million with equally immense needs. This is a potentially immense market with which we can trade our way from poverty to riches. “Added to this is the demography of that population. Our population is predominantly composed of youths who are energetic, enthusiastic, and innovative.” Aregbesola said that the Osun experience in the use of modern technology and the use of Internet could be a model for national ICT development on a non-partisan basis. According to the governor, the use of ICT will enhance greater deployment and consumption of broadband, adding: “in Osun, without being immodest, we can say that ICT has been a major plank of governance. We pioneered e-learning with the invention of Opon Imo. We have also been able to provide card based e-credit for farmers. Of course, we have also deployed e-based payroll and staff ID card on Master Card platform directly connected to the holder’s account. “We have also devised e-ID Card for all pupils in public schools and the card will now serve as payment instrument for our home-grown school feeding and health programme (O’MEALS). “We set up the OYESTECH, an institution for training youths in the use, assembly and repair of electronic gadgets from plasma television, computers to mobile phones.” Aregbesola held that Nigeria has a great potential for enhancing development in this information age through the digital economy. He said that there are still huge potentials in road traffic monitoring and control, CCTV camera, weather monitoring and forecast, national population database among others. “What this means is that there is power and potential in numbers. A great number of people mean a potentially great variety of needs to be met. “The good thing is that in meeting these needs, a self-reinforcing cycle is created in which people have access to employment, are productively engaged, earn income, create wealth, and spread prosperity with accompanying prospect of material uplift and satisfaction.” The governor said that any human mass is a potential source of wealth generation from which positive developments can spring, stressing that what is required is creativity in turning the potential into public good.
Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has asked members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State not to be carried away by the success in the emergence of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa in the recently conducted gubernatorial primaries in the state. Governor Uduaghan who received members of the Delta Political Vanguard who paid him a solidarity visit at Government House, Asaba today asked them not to be complacent or be drawned in the victory of the party. Dr. Uduaghan charged members of the party not be carried away by the euphoria associated with the victory of Dr. Okowa in but that they should work hard to win the main election which he described as more challenging. “Getting the ticket is the easiest part, winning the main election is the more difficult part because of the complexity of Delta State where ethnicity is a major factor. I have experienced it and I have come out victorious, so, I know what I am talking about and by the Grace of God, we shall be victorious in 2015. “The time of celebration is over. We have to extend our hands of fellowship to everybody. We must carry everybody along so that we can win the main election which includes the re-election of our President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan on February 14 and the election of our candidate, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and after that, we can celebrate.” Governor Uduaghan expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the gubernatorial primaries of the PDP in the state which led to the emergence of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa as the candidate, observing that his greatest joy was the fact that none of the aspirants “as at today, has said the process was not free and fair and PDP in Delta State is intact. “We don’t have any faction. Dr Okowa’s victory was applauded by all and I am happy that we waded through this process, peacefully, intact and no petition against the election.” He said that there were plans by certain individuals to disrupt the primaries and where that failed, there was another attempt to switch off the electricity during the counting of votes when it was obvious that Dr. Okowa was leading. He said that he had to ensure that the security operatives nibbed all the plans in the bud. Dr. Uduaghan reiterated his commitment to a peaceful transition process which according to him, made him to sacrifice his Senatorial ambition in the interest of peace. “There is no position that is too much for us to sacrifice for security reasons. If one person dies, you cannot bring him back but any position sacrificed can be regained.” The President of Delta Political Vanguard, Hon. Michael Diden said members of the group were in Government House to pledge their loyalty to Governor Uduaghan’s administration and to thank him for the role he played during the gubernatorial primaries of the PDP which led to the emergence of Senator Okowa as the party’s flag-bearer.
Generally, you can assess the quality of a man, especially a politician by observing those who rise up against him. General Buhari (rtd) is a shinning example of such a person. Expectedly, his declaration for the Presidency, more than that of any other possible opponent of President Jonathan, had thrown a lot of people into a manic frenzy. Some of them are my co-columnists in the Lagos/Ibadan axis – as papers like PUNCH, THISDAY, GUARDIAN and VANGUARD are called. For the purpose of this series of articles, I want to single out the Professors writing for PUNCH and VANGUARD, who, are usually erudite, futuristic, well-informed and reasonably objective; but who have joined the illogical, and the ill-informed in the pack attack on Buhari. When an Area Boy finds himself confronting several adversaries, at once, he steels himself for battle by announcing to his opponents, “Ee ti po to [you are too few for me]”. So, to Professors Abidde, Adelakun, Akinnaso, Olukotun, of the PUNCH, and our own Femi Aribisala, I declare “you are too few” for this battle. Comparing Buhari with Jonathan is like comparing solid “Iroko” with rotten wood. For starters, every carver knows that nobody can make a masterpiece out of rotten wood. And Jonathan’s government is rotten from the head down. So anybody canvassing for a continuation of this government should be regarded as an accessory to the grand larceny going on now in the name of governance. For the readers, I said they are too few because, when reading their articles, one can notice that they are virtually writing out of the same set of notes – packed full with their opinions, half truths, some falsehood and some venom. The bile belongs to Femi Aribisala, the VANGUARD columnist, who, like Doyin Okupe, must be operating with a dictionary compiled by the devil – when writing about Buhari, Tinubu and APC. Let me assure Femi that we also have a dictionary at UniJankara, full of hotter words. So nobody should be under the impression that he owns a monopoly of such words. First, the readers of this defence of Buhari might want to observe that all those mentioned above, pretending to reflect “the views of Nigerians” are Southerners, Christians, mostly Yoruba, employed and well-paid, well- or over-educated, and they probably have not stepped into Kano, Sokoto, Bauchi, Nassarawa or Kogi States in the last five years – if at all. Buhari who they all love to “hate” or “hate to love”, however is a Muslim, Northerner, Fulani, and has spent most of his time in the north since retirement. The ethnic and religious prejudices, obvious to me, might be a mere coincidence to them but, there is no denying the fact that none of that group can sustain the illusion that they speak for the average Northerner, ill-educated, unemployed, lacking all the basic amenities and clinging to life made more tenuous by Boko Haram insurgency which had escalated during Jonathan’s tenure of office. None can because none knows where the shoe pinches; they write in the comfort of their offices and homes, proclaiming how millions, who they have not met will vote in the North especially. This is rotten scholarship. In fact, nobody among them knows how most Northerners will vote. Among their often-repeated fallacies, based on prejudice, is the charge that Nigerians will not vote for Buhari because he is a “religious fanatic”. Even if true, two observations will dispel this rumour peddled as truth. One, no Muslim in the entire country had ever mentioned to me that he considers Buhari a fanatic and none will vote against him for that reason. The hang-up about Buhari’s perceived fanaticism belongs to some Christians. Second, one person’s fanatic is another person’s staunch believer in his faith. So, “fanaticism” might actually work in his favour. Speaking strictly for myself, a Muslim fanatic is preferable to a wishy-washy Christian. Everybody knows where the first stands on issues affecting morality; nobody can trust the second. At any rate, my own reading of the two Holy Books – Bible and Quran – has convinced me that there is very little the Bible abhors which the Quran supports; and vice versa. Our “Christian” columnists are only raising false alarm. Having disposed of that, at least for now, let me turn, briefly, to the issues of Jonathan’s performance and corruption. Kindly let me quote verbatim what Adelakun and Aribisala wrote in defence of Jonathan and to run down Buhari’s bid for the Presidency. First Adelakun, in PUNCH, October 23, 2014. “Even though many Nigerians are probably weary of Jonathan’s government by now, they are still practical enough to understand that another four years of Jonathan’s government will not kill them. It might bring Nigeria to her knees but at the same time, it is a pain that can be endured.” (italics mine). Despite the use of “probably”, when the word to use is “certainly,” nobody reading that sentence can fail to shed tears for Nigeria. When the brightest and the best expect us to re-elect a President who will not alleviate their suffering, but deepen them till 2019, then all is lost. Let me close this first part by drawing attention to Aribisala’s statement, undoubtedly made proudly about “his country”, not mine. “In Nigeria, nobody gets elected as President on the platform that he is going to be an anti-corruption crusader when he gets into office.” Apparently, Femi approves of that situation and will like it to continue – as long as Jonathan gets re-elected. This is a Professor? I thought professors are supposed to be engaged in advancing positive original ideas, not in telling us to continue to go to hell, as we are doing now.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), today, re-admitted troubled Burkina Faso, even as President Goodluck Jonathan said that the collective action of members countries to nib in the but military incursion in any African will deepen political security in the sub region. As ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State its began its 46th Ordinary Session in Abuja today, the interim President of Burkina Faso, Michel Kafando, took his seat. In his welcome address, the host, President Jonathan said that the appointment of Michel Kafando as the interim leader of Burkina Faso is a reflection of his high standing with his people. “It is also an affirmation of ECOWAS commitment to Democracy and Good Governance as well as its zero tolerance for unconstitutional change of Government. We are pleased that we have remain engaged with the situation in the country and that we were able to find a common voice in seeking to resolve it. “We see the presence of H.E. Mr. Michel Kafando at this Summit, as strengthening and deepening political security in our sub region. We wish him every success in the enormous task ahead of him and his compatriots. President Jonathan commended the ECOWAS chairman and President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama for the able and statesman-like manner in which he has managed the affairs of the Community since he assumed office. He said that like the success story that is unfolding in Burkina Faso, “we are pleased that our exertions to stabilize the polity in other member states, particularly Guinea-Bissau and Mali have also yielded results. Our Organization has worked assiduously for the return to normalcy and stability of these countries through various interventions.” Jonathan assured that Nigeria remained steadfastly committed to supporting peace and stability in the West African Region, in the belief that a politically stable West Africa will safeguard the vital interests of all its peoples and be a viable partner in the search for global peace. Acknowledging that much achievements may have been recorded in the area of democracy and economic growth in the member-nations, President Jonathan admitted that the sub-region has continued to face many serious challenges. Prominent among these challenges, he explained, is the ravaging Ebola epidemic, adding that the last six (6) months have witnessed the negative impact of the Ebola Virus Disease(EVD) on the region. He said that since its outbreak in March, this year, the disease has resulted in over seven thousand (7,000) deaths apart from negatively impacting the economies. “I, therefore, call on member-states as well as our development partners and the international community, at large, to contribute generously to the ECOWAS Regional Solidarity funds to fight the Ebola Virus Disease.” President Jonathan said that another worrisome situation is the rising scourge of terrorism which is now threatening the peace and security of the sub-region. He said that the Sahel Region has witnessed the increasing proliferation of small arms and light weapons as a result of which countries in the region are today threatened by insurgents and terrorists. “Their actions have dire consequences for the continuing peace, stability and prosperity of the region.” The Nigerian leader said that in the Gulf of Guinea, the increasing incidence of piracy has reached a worrisome dimension, and is compounded by drug trafficking, oil bunkering and human trafficking. “All of these require urgent and concerted actions from all of us. Nigeria calls for stronger and more effective regional, continental and global alliance to rid our region of terrorism, piracy and violent extremism.” He advised that ECOWAS prepares to mark its 40th anniversary, member countries must not forget that beyond politics, the economic development and integration of the region must remain the fundamental objective of the Organization. He called on his colleagues to, as a matter of must, accelerate their efforts toward monetary union by striving to meet the convergence criteria and achieving the harmonization of tariff regimes. He said that within the Community Institutions, there is an urgent need for structural reforms in order to enhance capacity and improve transparency. “Activities of our Organization must conform to global best practices to strengthen confidence and assure growth. More importantly, we must diversify our revenue base and reduce our imports in the face of rapid changes in the global arena. “It cannot continue to be business as usual, if our Organization is to fulfill the vision of our founding fathers.” President Jonathan acknowledged that the Organization has been universally acclaimed as a model in regional integration and hoped that they would sustain this standard and continue to demonstrate their cohesiveness. He urged members to act and continue to speak with one voice as a region, noting that out of the five regions of Africa, West Africa has the highest number of Member-States of the continental organization which is the African Union. This, he added, is an important leverage for members who should utilize and exploit it to advance the overall interest of the region.
Almost all the national dailies in the first week of this month carried the incredible story of how members of the Election Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party mandated by the National Headquarters of the party to conduct House of Assembly primary elections in Adamawa State were “kidnapped.” The story read like a script from a Nollywood drama. It was in reality sourced from a petition signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the committee, Ambassador Tim Ihemadu and Mrs. Victoria Nyam-Isha respectively. Captioned: “Forceful Abduction, Assault, Threat and Confiscation of Election Materials by Agents of the Adamawa State Government,” the petition gave an account of the traumatic experiences of the committee members in Yola in their bid to conduct the primaries. From their account, it would appear as if the governor, Bala James Ngilari collaborated with some chieftains of the party in the state viz Chief Joel Madaki and Mr A. T. Shehu in this criminal act. The petition did not spare even the Police Commissioner and Director of State Security Services in the state. The Committee members complained that while they were held hostage, party thugs with the help of government officials freely rigged the elections and gave them the results which they announced to the media under duress. The panel disowned the results, and urged the party to do same. The Peoples Democratic Party subsequently ordered all Adamawa State primaries including state assembly, governorship and those of the national assembly moved to Abuja without giving any reason. This has since been done and the results of such primaries held in Abuja announced. Unfortunately this has not restored harmony in the fractured status of the party in the state which has been the case for some years now. All the governorship, senatorial and House of Representatives candidates of the party in the state with the exception of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu attended a press conference addressed by their spokesman Professor Andrawus Sawa last week. They lamented that without due recourse to the party’s constitution of a 7 days notice, the purported Governorship primaries was said to have taken place at Abuja instead of Adamawa. “More to that, the purported election was conducted in contravention of a court order restraining the PDP and INEC from using any delegates list other than the one recognized by all the party executive at all levels,” they added. The situation in the Adamawa branch of the party where primaries are held, far away from the local constituents raises a number of fundamental issues. Primaries for such offices as state houses of assembly and governorship offices are supposed to be held in the locale of such offices. To take them far way in distant lands denies the local folks the sense of participation and political education which are all essential ingredients of democracy. And if the PDP, the ruling party cannot hold their primaries in a state they control, what is the guarantee that they can hold general elections in the state. This abnormal practice has the potential of becoming the norm and all state primaries even for the local councils will be moved to Abuja. This will certainly raise questions about the federal system of government we are running. I raise this issue because following fast on the Adamawa example, the Yobe State gubernatorial primaries were held at the Legacy House in Abuja on the 9th December. This attracted an immediate response from three out of the four gubernatorial contestants. In a Newspaper advertisement, the three politicians, Dr Yerima Ngama, Malam Ibrahim Talbe and Alhaji Hassan Kafayos argued that the act contravened section 50 of the PDP Constitution and the 2014 electoral guidelines of the party. At the personal level, I feel taken aback. Late In 1982, I took a flight from Kaduna to cover the NPN gubernatorial primaries in Yol, then the Gongola State capital. The major contestants were Alhji Bamanga Tukur and Edward Aliyedeno. On the flight, a rumour started making the rounds that Edward had stepped down for Bamanga. I drove straight from the Yola Airport to Lamido Cinema, the venue of the primaries. Initially it looked to me as if the flight rumour was true. It was yellow, yellow everywhere. Yellow was the colour allocated to Bamanga. But it turned out that Edward was still very much in the race. Accreditation and voting soon began. It was an endless and boring but transparent process. At the end of the day, Bamanga won with a landslide. The loser Edward stood up and made a stammering but moving speech conceding defeat. Then Bamanga stood up to give his acceptance speech. It was all very moving. As a young graduate of political science and a reporter, I went to bed contented that I had just witnessed a practical example of what I had read in the books. Tragically, thirty two years after that demonstration of political maturity, Adamawa, which should have moved from there to the next level and be more civilized, has instead, degenerated into political rascality and suffocating corruption today. The feeling in Adamawa is that Abuja is trying to impose a governor on the state. Reference is frequently made of how Murtala Nyako who was imposed on the state as a result of the Atiku/Obasanjo shootout in Abuja turned out to be a curse and a comprehensive disaster on the state. Maybe the current happenings in Adamawa would not have been so significant if Nuhu Ribadu were not involved. As the founding Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu made global impact as a frightening thief catcher. Daily he railed the nation against corruption at every opportunity. It does appear to me now that his definition of corruption was rather limited to bribe taking, contract inflation and similar such acts of financial sleaze. It is rather disheartening to hear that Nuhu is not only part of the conspiracy to deny the ordinary citizens of Adamawa the right to choose who should be their governor but is the chief beneficiary of the political heist in his home state. Bribe taking and contract inflation are corrupt acts and those involved in it should be despised by decent human beings. Politicians involved in swindling their less fortunate citizens of their rights are also corrupt and should be hanged in the market square in full view of the people. The ultimate consequences of their criminal acts on society are more devastating than “direct stealing,” if I may use Nuhu Ribadu’s words at his 2006 appearance in the Senate.
Nigeria’s two main oil workers’ unions are set to embark on what they called indefinite nation-wide strike tomorrow, Monday, the action that threatens to ground many vehicles across the country. The strike will also hurt the output of the country, wich is the Africa’s largest oil producer. In a joint statement today, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSA) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) said the action is aimed at forcing the passage of a new law and meeting several other longstanding demands. These include the adoption of the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill aimed at overhauling the inefficient and corrupt sector and tackling unfair labour practises by both oil companies and government agencies. The unions said the strike call was also a reaction to “the inability of the government to carry out turnaround maintenance of the refineries” and its failure to reduce petrol prices at the pump to reflect the fall in global oil prices. They said workers had been mobilised and that the action would “not be suspended” until the government and operators showed “a strong commitment” to resolve the issues.
The strike will affect all operations in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry, as members will be withdrawn from all oil and gas installations.
President Goodluck Jonathan has announced that he has directed the ministry of Culture and Tourism to establish a National Hall of Fame in honour of the Nigerian authors. The President, who spoke on Friday at the opening ceremony of the 33rd International Annual Convention of the Association of Nigerian Authors at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State said that he has also directed the ministry to work with the leadership of ANA to see how government can partner with the private sector to give added fillip to its Literary Prizes to further enhance its prestige. “I am therefore directing the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to establish in our nation’s capital, a National Hall of Fame, in honour of those, who out of their creative genius, had contributed to the growth and development of our country, and the advancement of human civilization. “I have also directed the Minister of Culture to work with ANA leadership to see how government can partner with the private sector to give added fillip to your ANA Literary Prizes to further enhance their prestige. The prizes over the years have showcased budding talents who are now masters in different literary fields. You have to sustain that enviable tradition.” Jonathan said that he has always felt a particular closeness to the literary community, as indispensable partners in his government’s quest to build a better society. President Jonathan recalled that it has been 33 years since the master story teller, Chinua Achebe, called fellow writers to Nsukka to float an association to promote and protect the interest of creative writers in Nigeria “Our writers have written the country’s name in lights all over the world. Some of the best-known Nigerians are writers; and they have won every international award going, including the Caine Prize for African Writing, the Orange Prize for Women’s Fiction and the most coveted, the Nobel Prize for Literature – won in 1986 by Professor Wole Soyinka. “The late Professor Chinua Achebe, winner of the prestigious International Booker, gifted the world a book that will last for all time, when he published Things Fall Apart in 1958. It has been translated into over 50 languages, and is regularly voted one of the greatest novels ever written.” The President said that it was in recognition of Professor Achebe’s monumental contribution to world literature that he was physically present at the literary giant’s funeral in his birthplace of Ogidi, Anambra State, last year. It was also necessary, he said, to identify with the Nigerian literary community, which had suffered a great loss. “As a demonstration of our commitment to Achebe’s indestructible legacy, we also supported the International Colloquium on Arrow of God at 50 earlier this year.” He recalled that a few days ago, the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award, the highest and the most prestigious honour this nation bestows, went to no less a persona than Professor Niyi Osundare, whom he described as the great poet, scholar and survivor of Hurricane Katrina that had continued to paint his country’s name in gold. He said that the admission of Professor Osundare as the 71st member of the body of the Nigerian National Order of Merit Laureates demonstrates that as a nation, “we promote and celebrate excellence. “We value you, our writers. You elevate our thinking and worldview, you liven up our days with your creative imaginings, and you provide succour and catharsis in difficult times, such as the one our country is going through at this period. I salute the creative spirit that has propelled our writers to excel in the midst of their peers worldwide.” President Jonathan noted that writers serve as the nation’s conscience and raise critical questions which promote good governance and accountability. According to him, such disposition paves the way to a just and equitable society, adding: “many episodes of our history including the civil war have been examined in your works; you give us a perspective on the past while helping to map a way to the future.”
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Comparing Buhari With Jonathan: Iroko Versus Rotten Wood, By Dele Sobowale
For the purpose of this series of articles, I want to single out the Professors writing for PUNCH and VANGUARD, who, are usually erudite, futuristic, well-informed and reasonably objective; but who have joined the illogical, and the ill-informed in the pack attack on Buhari.
When an Area Boy finds himself confronting several adversaries, at once, he steels himself for battle by announcing to his opponents, “Ee ti po to [you are too few for me]”. So, to Professors Abidde, Adelakun, Akinnaso, Olukotun, of the PUNCH, and our own Femi Aribisala, I declare “you are too few” for this battle.
Comparing Buhari with Jonathan is like comparing solid “Iroko” with rotten wood. For starters, every carver knows that nobody can make a masterpiece out of rotten wood. And Jonathan’s government is rotten from the head down. So anybody canvassing for a continuation of this government should be regarded as an accessory to the grand larceny going on now in the name of governance.
For the readers, I said they are too few because, when reading their articles, one can notice that they are virtually writing out of the same set of notes – packed full with their opinions, half truths, some falsehood and some venom. The bile belongs to Femi Aribisala, the VANGUARD columnist, who, like Doyin Okupe, must be operating with a dictionary compiled by the devil – when writing about Buhari, Tinubu and APC. Let me assure Femi that we also have a dictionary at UniJankara, full of hotter words. So nobody should be under the impression that he owns a monopoly of such words.
First, the readers of this defence of Buhari might want to observe that all those mentioned above, pretending to reflect “the views of Nigerians” are Southerners, Christians, mostly Yoruba, employed and well-paid, well- or over-educated, and they probably have not stepped into Kano, Sokoto, Bauchi, Nassarawa or Kogi States in the last five years – if at all. Buhari who they all love to “hate” or “hate to love”, however is a Muslim, Northerner, Fulani, and has spent most of his time in the north since retirement.
The ethnic and religious prejudices, obvious to me, might be a mere coincidence to them but, there is no denying the fact that none of that group can sustain the illusion that they speak for the average Northerner, ill-educated, unemployed, lacking all the basic amenities and clinging to life made more tenuous by Boko Haram insurgency which had escalated during Jonathan’s tenure of office. None can because none knows where the shoe pinches; they write in the comfort of their offices and homes, proclaiming how millions, who they have not met will vote in the North especially. This is rotten scholarship. In fact, nobody among them knows how most Northerners will vote.
Among their often-repeated fallacies, based on prejudice, is the charge that Nigerians will not vote for Buhari because he is a “religious fanatic”. Even if true, two observations will dispel this rumour peddled as truth. One, no Muslim in the entire country had ever mentioned to me that he considers Buhari a fanatic and none will vote against him for that reason. The hang-up about Buhari’s perceived fanaticism belongs to some Christians. Second, one person’s fanatic is another person’s staunch believer in his faith. So, “fanaticism” might actually work in his favour.
Speaking strictly for myself, a Muslim fanatic is preferable to a wishy-washy Christian. Everybody knows where the first stands on issues affecting morality; nobody can trust the second. At any rate, my own reading of the two Holy Books – Bible and Quran – has convinced me that there is very little the Bible abhors which the Quran supports; and vice versa. Our “Christian” columnists are only raising false alarm.
Having disposed of that, at least for now, let me turn, briefly, to the issues of Jonathan’s performance and corruption. Kindly let me quote verbatim what Adelakun and Aribisala wrote in defence of Jonathan and to run down Buhari’s bid for the Presidency.
First Adelakun, in PUNCH, October 23, 2014. “Even though many Nigerians are probably weary of Jonathan’s government by now, they are still practical enough to understand that another four years of Jonathan’s government will not kill them. It might bring Nigeria to her knees but at the same time, it is a pain that can be endured.” (italics mine). Despite the use of “probably”, when the word to use is “certainly,” nobody reading that sentence can fail to shed tears for Nigeria. When the brightest and the best expect us to re-elect a President who will not alleviate their suffering, but deepen them till 2019, then all is lost.
Let me close this first part by drawing attention to Aribisala’s statement, undoubtedly made proudly about “his country”, not mine. “In Nigeria, nobody gets elected as President on the platform that he is going to be an anti-corruption crusader when he gets into office.” Apparently, Femi approves of that situation and will like it to continue – as long as Jonathan gets re-elected. This is a Professor? I thought professors are supposed to be engaged in advancing positive original ideas, not in telling us to continue to go to hell, as we are doing now.
[myad]