Indonesia’s first female provincial leader, and head of one of the country’s most powerful political dynasties, Ratu Atut Chosiyah has been jailed for four years for bribing a top judge over an election dispute.
Judges at a special anti-corruption court in Jakarta, today, found the 52-year-old governor guilty of bribing Mochtar with one billion rupiah ($85,000) to annul a local election result in Banten that went against one of her close associates.
She was sentenced to four years in jail, lighter than the 10-year term sought by prosecutors. She was also ordered to pay a fine of 200 million rupiah.
“Clearly it’s not fair to me,” said Chosiyah, who has been in custody since her arrest, after the verdict was handed down, adding: “I’m the victim.”
Prosecutors said at an earlier hearing that the judge was asked to annul the result during a meeting in Singapore, and the constitutional court later did so.
A main role of the court is ruling on election disputes.
The governor’s brother, Tubagus Chaeri Wardana, was jailed for five years in June for plotting to bribe Mochtar to influence his rulings on election disputes in Banten, after a separate trial.
Despite the scandal, the governor’s family remain powerful in the province.
Mochtar was jailed for life in June for accepting more than $5 million in bribes to influence rulings on election disputes, linked to the case of Chosiyah and a series of others.
NGO Transparency International ranked Indonesia 114th out of 177 countries and territories in its annual corruption perceptions index last year. A number one ranking means the least corrupt.
The case of Ratu Atut Chosiyah has transfixed even graft-weary Indonesia since her arrest last year for giving kickbacks to the constitutional court’s chief justice, Akil Mochtar.
Report has it that her family dominates wealthy Banten province on the main island of Java, controlling five of its eight districts. It is one of several local political dynasties that have flourished since the 1998 downfall of dictator Suharto. [myad]
There are indications that former President Olusegun Obasanjo and some other past leaders of the country are rooting for the current governor of Jigawa state, Alhaji Sule Lamido to run for the Presidency in the next year Presidential election on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It is on record that Obasanjo, who brought in Goodluck Jonathan to run as Vice President to late Umaru Musa Yar’adua, had recently expressed anger with President Jonathan who he said promised that he would do only a term which is supposed to terminate in 2015. Obasanjo has since suspended himself from PDP with a provision that he would return to the party only when President Jonathan honours his promise. Sources said that governor Sule Lamido, who is widely seen as political god-son of Obasanjo, has already confirmed that he would challenge President Jonathan in the next year Presidential election. It was gathered that the Presidency and the PDP had initially dismissed the rumoured ambition of the governor with the hope that it was mere speculation that would fizzle out with time, but that when Jonathan summoned him to the Presidential Villa to clear the air on the issue, he made it clear that he would run. It was learnt that Jonathan was shell shocked when Lamido told him openly that he was keen on running in the next polls. “The way Lamido spoke with the President showed that he was not ready to back down from the race and the way he spoke about the matter was a bit unsettling to Mr. President, who had all along regarded him as one of the governors, who could not move against him.” Lamido was said to have told the President that he had made up his mind to contest against him in the next polls despite a deliberate attempt by forces opposed to his ambition to frame him and his children up. The governor, it was learnt, told the President that he was upset by the frequent embarrassment of his children by some agencies of government over allegations that one of them passed through an airport without declaring $40,000 in his possession. He was said to have also drawn the president’s attention to the fact that there was a deliberate attempt by government agencies to tarnish his family’s image all in a bid to make him drop his presidential ambition but that he was not ready to back out of the race. The action of the governor is said to have angered the Presidency, which promptly reported him to the National leadership of the PDP and asked it to call him to order. It was learnt that Lamido was emboldened to go for the top job by some of his governor friends and prominent Nigerian leaders, who are uncomfortable with the way things are going in the land. Meanwhile, Lamido has declined to make a categorical statement as to whether he would run for Presidency or not, but said however that he had no intention of going to the Senate as is the practice with most of his outgoing colleagues. According to him, the atmosphere for him to become president is not yet there, adding that it is better for him to seek a higher office than to go to the legislature to make laws after implementing laws passed by others for eight years. [myad]
Let me start by quickly stating my admiration for the person and personality of Chief Tom Ikimi. Ikimi is every journalist’s dream. He’s charismatic, charming, lively, debonair, suave, oratorical, worldly, creative, affable and absolutely political. I’ve had the privilege of spending time with him at home and abroad and found him very warm and affectionate. Despite our sharp political differences in those days when I used to visit him, he never appeared an intolerant soul. He was too cosmopolitan to disallow a healthy debate. He never denied being overly conservative or adroitly capitalistic in nature. Chief Ikimi could not have been otherwise. He’s a very successful architect. His profession thrives on uncommon creativity and some splash of eccentricity. I’m not sure if he still puffs his Havana cigars but I certainly recollect the vivid picture of the cigar-chewing fashionista. I was surprised when he sauntered from the conservative party of PDP to the relatively progressive party of ACN which later metamorphosed into APC. He was in fact one of the arrowheads that midwifed that miraculous birth. Many had dismissed the idea of such a merger as near-impossible but Ikimi and his team worked assiduously to make the impossible possible and they were well applauded for their brilliant efforts. One would have thought the ovation received by the team would suffice and make them work harder on taking this hybrid party to the next level but the ways of our politicians are not the ways of ordinary mortals. In Nigeria, nothing goes for nothing. It is always a matter of what’s in it for me and my home. Tom Ikimi, who was Chairman of the bigger National Republican Convention over 20 years ago wanted to come back in 2014 as Chairman of APC. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was a young Senator over 20 years ago and a Governor as recently as seven years ago would love to run as Vice Presidential candidate to whomever in 2015. Chief Bisi Akande who was Deputy Governor to Chief Bola Ige over 30 years ago in old Oyo State and Governor of Osun State in 1999, returned as Chairman of ACN after and almost became a substantive Chairman of APC having been its interim Chairman. Chief John Odigie Oyegun was Governor of Edo State over 20 years ago and Vice Presidential candidate (to former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano State under ANPP in 2011 and now Minister of Education under PDP in 2014) and is now Chairman of APC out of the blues. I’m sorry if it sounds all confusing, intertwined and sticky like cobweb but such is the political incongruity we are saddled with in our dear beloved country. Nothing is as straight-forward as ABCD even if we all we all went through Primary schools and memorised it off-handed. I was shockingly astonished that APC never thought of handing over their party to modern, colourful, energetic and populist politicians or technocrats like Tokunbo Afikuyomi, Nasir El-Rufai, Demola Seriki, Nuhu Ribadu, Dino Menaye, Dele Alake, just to name a few, to run some offices at the national secretariat. I thought the world has moved beyond putting hard-core and possibly tired politicians to run a party that requires agile workaholics. Just imagine the aura, influence and instant recognition that would have accrued to the new party had a Bukola Saraki been made the Chairman of APC with his pedigree as former Chairman of the Governor’s Forum and a two-term Kwara State Governor. The Chairmanship of a political party is never a joke. The world is moving in modern directions and demands those who understand the new lexicon of Leadership. That is why the British Labour Party picked a young bachelor, Ed Miliband as its Leader. But APC could not identify its first eleven and put them forward. Today we are left with mostly unknown and lacklustre players in the field of play. That is the tragedy of its strategy. The aborted bid of Chief Ikimi should not have been contemplated in the first instance. He should have remained a statesman to the end. The moment he attempted to run the race, he should have known anything could happen. Only one man can win in an election. I’m surprised that as a seasoned politician, he expected Senator Bola Tinubu to abandon his old allies and support him just like that. Politics is always about caucuses anywhere in the world. I don’t see what Tinubu has done wrong by supporting his own person for whatever reason. As a matter of fact, nothing precluded Tinubu himself from running. Tinubu as Chairman would have driven the fear of God into PDP. I shall come back to Tinubu shortly. My epistle today is largely triggered by Ikimi’s recent long-winding and well-publicised gospel to God-knows-who. The epistle was clearly bitter and written to damage Tinubu and APC to boot. Ikimi started by stating his credentials, which I seriously enjoyed. He is a man who served himself, his nation and his God most meritoriously and fervently. He stated the reason he decided to abandon his conservative friends to join forces with members of the opposite camp. He worked actively with his new allies to form a new alliance as a counterforce to those hoping to foist a one-party State on Nigeria. All well and good up to then. Chief Ikimi claims he abhorred the idea of a Unitary Government but yet exploded just because he failed to secure Tinubu’s blessing, and he’s willing to abandon the struggle and head back to where he came from and work for the establishment of that same system he claimed to loathe. I simply find this logic utterly cruel and ridiculous. As an architect, I won’t expect the great Chief to demolish his magnificent home just because a supposed mad man strayed into it. I’m finally tired of all the attacks against the person of Bola Tinubu. Tinubu is far from being a saint but he has definitely contributed immensely to the Democracy we all seem to enjoy today. The man has wisely invested whatever he is said to have acquired on building solid monuments in the media, business empires and philanthropy, which most politicians have never been able to achieve. Tinubu is often credited with the attributes of a King Kong and I’m sure the man himself enjoys the unsolicited appellation and coronation. I really don’t know how one man can wield so much power and none of the several Draculas in his party would be able to confront him. No one should blame Tinubu for the timidity of his co-travellers. I know Tinubu fairly well. I virtually lived and operated with him in our exile days. He’s a man who enjoys healthy debates. He’s a master thinker who’s brave enough to match his thinking with action. He and Lt. General Alani Akinrinade stood out in the fight against military tyranny in Nigeria. They spent themselves blind and did not shirk from selling off their properties in their pursuit of democracy and justice in Nigeria. Tinubu gained the upper hand against most of his contemporaries because he was ready to gamble his entire life for the sustenance of civil rule in our country while others played safe. I’ve had cause to disagree with him in the past and he never took it personal against me. One of such occasions was when I challenged him for not supporting the candidacy of Tokunbo Afikuyomi and I blasted him in a newspaper interview. He invited me over to his house in Ikoyi. He wondered why I was kicking against his support for Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola and I replied that I was never against Fashola who was also our friend and saw me anytime he came to play soccer in Ghana; but I was opposed to the way he led Afikuyomi on when he could easily have told him of his choice. I realised one secret about Tinubu that night. Contrary to the allegation of being bullish, he finds it hard to hurt any of his close lieutenants. It is this coyness that gets him into constant trouble; the inability to boldly and openly say No to people. The second and most recent disagreement I had with him was when rumour came out that he was plotting to be a Vice Presidential candidate to General Muhammadu Buhari. Once I confirmed that it was a credible speculation, I wrote an article against a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2015 for the following reasons. One, most of our mutual friends was opposed to it but none could tell Tinubu not to try. This is the problem with our people who are mostly waiting on Tinubu for a favour now or/and in the future. Those who can talk are those who expect nothing. Two, a Muslim-Muslim ticket is presently inconceivable with the current religious configuration and conflagration in our country. Even if the ticket has the chance of winning, we should be sensitive enough to balance the religious equation. Three, I believe a slot must be automatically given to the South-South region that lays the golden eggs for all of Nigeria. It would be wicked and dangerous to remove President Jonathan and also selfishly take away the number two position from them immediately. If the clamour is that North has been deprived of its number one position by the accident of the death of President Yar’Adua then the same argument holds true for the South South who would thus be deprived of the number two position by the providential accident that is the Presidency of Dr Jonathan. Also, the tenuous permutation that the Yoruba would not vote unless there is a Yoruba man on the ticket is self-serving and debatable. What makes my position even more compelling is the fact that the Yoruba are always champions of equity and fair-play. How can Obasanjo spend eight years as President and another Yorubaman comes out of the shadow as Vice President eight years after? Tinubu never complained. He took the public missive to heart like a true democrat, made wider consultations and decided to shelve his ambition for the sake of his party and the nation. Unlike his traducers Tinubu has a great empathy for Nigerians and Nigeria. He has always been willing to sacrifice his personal ambition for the sake of the development of democracy and the future of his country. That he wields tremendous power and influence in whatever party he has midwifed in this political era goes without saying. Yet, he has never sought to be Chairman of such a Party. In 2011 he saw the wisdom in eventually plumbing for the candidature of Nuhu Ribadu whom he thereby rescued from political oblivion rather than pursue his ambition to be Vice President or even President. Even if he dumped Ribadu for Jonathan, he’s said to have seen that Ribadu was not accepted by his people and thus opted for a minority candidate. It is amazing that it is to Tinubu that all those who demand justice and equity turn when they have been oppressed and abased by the PDP. However as soon as they obtain that which they seek they immediately turn against their benefactor and rush headlong back into the arms of their abuser. Tinubu’s has been a thankless job but it is the measure of this remarkable man that he continues to open his arms wide to embrace all those who seek justice and equity not only because of his love for democracy but also in true spirit of a man who adheres to the holy injunction to love his fellow man as himself. The list of those who have benefitted from Tinubu’s legendary largesse to retrieve their stolen mandate or seek retributive justice for perceived wrongs yet subsequently turn around to betray him is lengthy and is like a Who is Who of Nigeria. It is said against him that he imposes candidates on his Party and is despotic and nepotistic. However, it is only fitting that someone who has deployed such huge and significant personal resources to the cause when others have shied from doing so should at least be allowed to influence the selection of those who would guide and lead that cause. This is particularly more so as he has had the singular opportunity of observing most of the contenders firsthand because of his ability to sacrifice his time and person and travel far and near to meet with party members and interact with them. None of those who fault him have remotely done a fraction of what he has done in this regard and if truth be told his choices have always been quite successful. Governors Fashola, Adams Oshiomhole, Abiola Ajimobi, Rauf Aregbesola, Ibikunle Amosun, and Kayode Fayemi; Aminu Tambuwal and Abike Dabiri, to mention a few, have been particularly outstanding. Tinubu’s monumental work to further ensure the future of democracy in present day Nigeria is most laudable and he should indeed be dubbed ‘Defender of the Faith’ and encouraged to do more. [myad]
Former militant leader in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo has accused top military officers in the country of corruption, insisting that President Goodluck Jonathan should act fast and sack them. Dokubo made particular reference to the nation’s service chiefs and other top brass. According to him, corruption in many ramifications has been the underlying factor in what he called “not-too-impressive war against insurgency,” adding that the insecurity problems in the country would be well taken care of if these top military officers are sacked immediately.
Dokubo Asari said in an interview that though it does not really bother him the amount of destruction members of Boko Haram are causing in the north eastern part of the country, where their activities are very intense, but that inefficiency in the security services is far worse now before the coming of the current helmsmen in the services.
“Sincerely, my brother, when an Ijaw was NSA, the insurgency was not up to this scale in its progression,” he said even as he linked the development to the alleged plot by the North to stall Jonathan’s bid to seek a second term as President.
“In Nigeria, the insurgency is that Goodluck is an Ijaw man. He is a southerner and must not rule. They are going to make the country ungovernable. So, they now apply Islamic sentiment which is nowhere. There is no compulsion in religion. That is what the Qur’an says; quoting from the Holy Book, which says; ‘To you is your faith and to me is my faith.’
“Nobody can proclaim Islamic jihad on a multi-religious setting like Nigeria. My father has nine children and I am the only Muslim. When you proclaim Islamic jihad you expect me to go to my house and start fighting my people while you have your own?
“When I have killed them, all you will do is to turn around to say I am Gambari born to rule. You are ruling Hausa, Nupe and Yoruba people who are Muslims like you and you refuse to give them power. Is it an Ijaw man that you have sent to kill his uncles, aunties, brothers, sisters and other relations?
“All that they are doing has nothing to do with Islam; it is politically aimed at seizing power. We are waiting for them, they are plotting and we are all plotting. What is happening now is unthinkable more than during the days of Azazi as NSA. For me the president should overhaul the nation’s security.
“For the insurgency, for people like us they are helping us, without shooting one bullet they are busy shooting the bullet for us. They are busy fighting our cause, so let them go about doing it. Their demand of creating Islamic caliphate is okay; if the people accept, that is okay.
“That is not Goodluck’s business; it is mine. Why should we continue to allow people to die, for what purpose? Nigeria is not sacrosanct. The Soviet Union dissolved; Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, amongst others did; let us dissolve Nigeria; we are not the same. Nigeria cannot survive, so, for me I say kudos to Shekau.
“You are doing my duty. He is doing what I am supposed to do. I am relaxed. Let them be doing it, let the army be running. Everything that is happening is to my own good; it is to the good of my people because we have less people to fight when the time comes.” [myad]
The National Universities Commission (NUC) has made it clear that anybody patronizing or obtaining any certificate from any of the institutions of higher learning it declared illegal, does so at his or her own risk. It warned that certificates obtained from these sources will not be recognised for the purposes of NYSC, employment, and further studies.
The Commission, In a statement, announced to the general public, especially parents and prospective undergraduates, that the under-listed “Degree Mills” have not been licensed by the Federal Government and have, therefore, been closed down for violating the Education (National Minimum Standards etc.) Act CAP E3 Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
The statement said that relevant Law enforcement agencies have been informed for their further necessary action. The list of the illegal Universities, as given by the NUC are:
1) University of Accountancy and Management Studies, operating anywhere in Nigeria.
2) Christians of Charity American University of Science & Technology, Nkpor, Anambra State or any of its other campuses.
3) University of Industry, Yaba, Lagos or any of its other campuses.
4) University of Applied Sciences & Management, Port Novo, Republic of Benin or any of its other campuses in Nigeria.
5) Blacksmith University, Awka or any of its other campuses.
6) Volta University College, Ho, Volta Region, Ghana or any of its other campuses in Nigeria.
7) Royal University Izhia, P.O. Box 800, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State or any of its other campuses.
8) Atlanta University, Anyigba, Kogi State or any of its other campuses.
9) Sunday Adokpela University, Otada Adoka, Otukpo, Benue State or any of its other campuses.
10) United Christian University, Macotis Campus, Imo State or any of its other campuses.
11) United Nigeria University College, Okija, Anambra State or any of its other campuses.
12) Samuel Ahmadu University, Makurdi, Benue State or any of its other campuses.
13) UNESCO University, Ndoni, Rivers State or any of its other campuses.
14) Saint Augustine’s University of Technology, Jos, Plateau State or any of its other campuses.
15) The International University, Missouri, USA, Kano and Lagos Study Centres, or any of its campuses in Nigeria.
16) Collumbus University, UK operating anywhere in Nigeria.
17) Tiu International University, UK operating anywhere in Nigeria
18) Pebbles University, UK operating anywhere in Nigeria.
19) London External Studies UK operating anywhere in Nigeria.
20) Pilgrims University operating anywhere in Nigeria.
21) Lobi Business School Makurdi, Benue State or any of its campuses in Nigeria.
22) West African Christian University operating anywhere in Nigeria.
23) Bolta University College Aba or any of its campuses in Nigeria.
24) JBC Seminary Inc. (Wukari Jubilee University) Kaduna Illegal Campus.
25) Westlan University, Esie, Kwara State or any of its campuses in Nigeria.
26) St. Andrews University College, Abuja or any of its campuses in Nigeria.
27) EC-Council University, USA, Ikeja Lagos Study Centre.
28) Atlas University, Ikot Udoso Uko, Uyo Akwa Ibom State or any of its campuses in Nigeria.
29) Concept College/Universities (London) Ilorin or any of its campuses in Nigeria.
30) Halifax Gateway University, Ikeja or any of its campuses in Nigeria.
31) Kingdom of Christ University, Abuja or any of its campuses in Nigeria.
32) Acada University, Akinlalu, Oyo State or any of its campuses in Nigeria.
33) Fifom University, Mbaise, Imo State or any of its campuses in Nigeria.
34) Houdegbe North American University campuses in Nigeria.
The NUC said that in addition to the closure of these institutions, some other Degree Mills are also currently undergoing further investigations and/or ongoing court actions, the purpose of which to prosecute the proprietors and recover illegal fees and charges on subscribers. The institutions are: 1) National University of Nigeria, Keffi, Nasarawa State.
2) North Central University, Otukpo, Benue State.
3) Christ Alive Christian Seminary and University, Enugu.
4) Richmond Open University, Arochukwu, Abia State.
5) West Coast University, Umuahia.
6) Saint Clements University, Iyin Ekiti, Ekiti State.
7) Volta University College, Aba, Abia State.
8) Illegal Satellite Campuses of Ambrose Alli University.
NUC made it clear that the list of illegal institutions provided so far is not exhaustive. [myad]
Despite the fact that Nigerian minister of sports has recognized Chris Giwa as the new President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the World football governing body, FIFA has cancelled the election warning Nigeria that if Giwa and his new executive committee do not vacate their seats by Monday next week, it would ban the country from its activities.
In a letter dated Friday, August 29 and signed by FIFA secretary general Jerome Valke, FIFA warned Giwa and his executives to stop parading themselves as NFF officials.
FIFA said that it does not recognise the executives’ election from Tuesday, although the global footballing body said that “it appears the ministry of sports has recognised them.”
“We will not recognise the outcome of the above mentioned elections and should there still be persons claiming to have been elected and occupying the NFF offices at midnight on Monday 1 September 2014, we will bring the case to the appropriate FIFA body for sanctions, which may include the suspension of the NFF.”
The letter was addressed to NFF secretary general Musa Amadu.
Giwa and his executives took office on Wednesday and the following day paid a courtesy call to sports minister Tammy Danagogo, who promptly endorsed their election.
The immediate consequence of a FIFA ban on Nigeria would be the African champions forfeiting two 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers fixed for September 6 against Congo in Calabar and September 10 against South Africa in Cape Town.
The crisis caused by the purported election has meant league matches will not be played across the country as scheduled this weekend after referees, club managers and players announced a boycott until the situation is resolved.
Two months ago, Nigeria was suspended by FIFA following direct government interference in the running of the game in the country when a court sacked the elected NFF executive committee led by Aminu Maigari and the sports minister appointed a civil servant to head the NFF.
In the FIFA’s letter today, it accepted the decision of the majority congress where 39 of the 44 members resolved at an ad hoc general assembly for executive committee elections to now take place on September 4. [myad]
The First Lady, Dame Patience, has said that her husband, President Goodluck Jonathan, had improved the fortunes of Nigerian women, saying: “Nigerian women have never had it so good. As a gender-loving President, His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has done a lot to improve upon the fortunes of women in Nigeria.
Dame Jonathan made the remark when she received the National Executive members of the Civil Defense Officers’ Wives Association led by its President, Mrs. Aderonke Abolurin, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The first lady urged members of the association and other women to continue in their support for the government, all its programme and activities.
“For the first time in our nation’s history, Nigerian women are very visible in all areas of our national life; In the executive, judiciary, legislature, even in the military and para-military agencies, among others,” she said.
“By so doing, we will collectively be beneficiaries of the Transformation Agenda.” she added.
She stressed that as wives of security officers, they occupied a unique position in the society.
“You not only keep the home front intact, you also complement the efforts of your husband’s in securing the nation,” she said.
She expressed delight that their support had impacted positively on the performance of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps in crime prevention and control.
The first lady also urged them to be steadfast in prayers for the safe return of the abducted Chibok girls.
She said they should also pray for the protection of security men who are working day and night to ensure that peace reigned in Nigeria.
“They are our husbands, sons and brothers. Let me also use this opportunity to remind you of your duty to take good care of your children, train and teach them in the way of the Lord.”
The race for Aso Rock Villa is expected to peak on February 14, 2015, with the presidential election in which a winner will emerge, preparatory to a new four-year term, with effect from May 29, 2015. The incumbent president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, is poised to exercise his constitutional right to a second term in office in spite of political shenanigans by forces that are opposed to him.
Even though he has not formally declared that he would run in the presidential race, his body language, nuanced and veiled remarks, which perceptive minds easily discern, point to his readiness to take a shot at the nation’s topmost job for another term. This has been the expectation — reasonable as it is — of many Nigerians who are rallying behind him and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party.
For some privileged Nigerian politicians who are close to Jonathan and enjoy his mutual respect, he will seek re-election. One of them, Chief Tony Anenih, who is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, was categorical on the issue in his extempore address to South-south leaders in Calabar during the recent tour of the zone by the National Chairman of the Party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu.
Anenih delivered his message in a way that left no one in doubt at all about its real intendment: he told the gathering that he is a father who knows what his son wants; that his (political) son (Jonathan) will contest the 2015 presidential election. He then urged Mu’azu to take the message back home to the northern part of the country. Gbam! The Oracle of Uromi, Nigeria’s political Nostradamus, has spoken.
Truth is, Anenih is not loquacious and his declaration in Calabar, at a time Party leaders were dancing round the issue by merely calling on the President to contest, was one of his rare interventions that have, over the years, seen him provide answers to political jigsaw puzzles. He rarely comments publicly on political issues. He would rather respond to them silently and build bridges of understanding, by reaching out to groups and individuals to achieve desired results.
But when he chooses to speak up, as he did in Calabar, he cannot be ignored. Like a crystal ball watcher, he had once declared that there was no vacancy in Aso Rock, meaning that then incumbent President Olusegun Obasanjo would be re-elected. He walked his talk by collaborating with other members of the PDP apparatchik to realize victory for Obasanjo and the Party.
The issue today in the unfolding 2015 presidential politics is Jonathan, on whom Anenih has greatly raised the stake: that he will contest (and, I daresay, WIN!) and why not? Here is an incumbent President whose performance in office has given him a huge head start over any likely challenger in the PDP for the party ticket. Therefore, with an amazing record of achievements to flaunt, the argument that is being strongly canvassed in some circles in the Party is that the President should be given the right of first refusal, something akin or tantamount to an automatic ticket.
For me, that is not a bad idea. It will, however, be appropriate if individuals who desire the Party’s presidential ticket are allowed to contest for it in the primary in order to strengthen internal party democracy. I can place a bet that whatever scenario plays out, Jonathan will be incredibly comfortable. This is because he enjoys the confidence and support of the Party, which he leads. He is thus the man to beat in the Party. He is also the man to beat in the presidential election.
Jonathan said that much in his last media chat when he declared, in an answer to a question on when he would formally declare his intention to seek re-election, that he remains the defending champion and he is therefore not under pressure to announce whether or not he would participate in the 2015 presidential race. I completely agree with him. Implicit in that rationalization is that he would contest.
The pressure is actually on the opposition parties, especially the All Progressives Congress (APC). They should be worried that they have not been able to produce their candidates. Not only have they not been able to produce their candidates, they have also not been able to package and sell them, as a number of groups have done for Jonathan by running television jingles dwelling on the achievements of his government.
Besides, the time-table released by the electoral body has circumscribed the opposition parties. The same time-table has egregiously given Jonathan and the PDP a clear edge. By the time the opposition parties accept the Jonathan challenge to come up with their candidates, it will be some four months to the election. The opposition will certainly struggle to sell their candidates in four months against the run of an incumbent PDP president whose achievements since stepping in the saddle, particularly from 2011 till date, are remarkable.
And when electioneering begins full blown, it is a fact that while Jonathan will be reeling out his catalogue of achievements to Nigerians, others will be inundating the people with campaign promises. It is not difficult to know which narrative will appeal to Nigerians more. Already, as groups and individuals intensify calls on the President to announce his intention to seek re-election, the leitmotif of their advocacy has been the avalanche of achievements of his government in all sectors of the national economy. This is sweet song to the ears of Nigerians, not the salad of mendacity and propaganda that the opposition has been feeding the Nigerian people on daily basis.
Significantly, the zonal rallies and advocacies by a number of groups have provided veritable platforms by PDP leaders, members, friends and followers of the President to sing and dance about his landmark achievements; and to urge Nigerians to pressure him to seek re-election. Nigerians are doing their reality checks to match claims of performance with tangible “democracy dividends”, and I believe, they must be ready to, in their large numbers, reinvest their mandate once more in Jonathan for another four-year term.
In the name of politics, people act in ways that raise the question “what principles motivate their actions?’ Then, of course, there is a not-too-strange-for-our-clime reaction: “in politics who needs principles?” For which a reasonable response is available: human beings do; otherwise we are no different than brutes.
What is depressing is that the majority refuses to ask questions and we are all still prisoners of primordial attachments and sectarian affiliations. Break loose and secure a semblance of the freedom of the mind, which in the end is the most prized object of our humanity, and you become a suspect subject to mental evaluation. Political correctness runs amok and the irrational loyalty of tribal jingoists and religious bigots are ever present distractions of readers’ comments on many topical stories on the websites of our media outlets.
A case in point: Question the propriety of invading states with the intimidating force of the military and the aggravating scenario of having them masked and you are immediately underwhelmed with a variety of responses, not a few justifying the practice on nothing but an unsound recourse to “my side is always right and the other side is never right.” And when the Chairman of INEC himself came up against the practice, was there a rethink on the part of those folks who saw nothing wrong with the practice? No. It makes the stomach turn.
The need for principles in our politics cannot be overstated because just like vision, without principles, the people and the nation perish. And there is a difference between principled approach to politics and its tactical counterpart, though it is easy to confuse them. Almost all voluntary actions are aimed at achieving one goal or another and tactic is the chosen path or method of getting there. Needless to say, if the goal is devilish, nothing can make the tactic or method angelic. Just as a good end does not justify an evil means so a good means does not justify an evil end. And much of what we have in our politics is the combination of evil means and evil ends.
We need a constant reminder that the ultimate end, the fundamental assumption, the principle of politics, especially democratic politics, is the good of the people. When monarchs fight over territories, they play politics, but not necessarily for the good of the people. Our advancement from monarchical rule in favor of the republican ideal is an indication of our belief that the people’s interests are the sole justification of whatever we do and their voices are pivotal to the recognition and promotion of their interests. We err irredeemably if we act as if we know more than the people what those interests are and how they ought to be promoted.
Elections are the means or method by which the people not only register their interests but also choose how they will have them promoted and through whose instrumentality they will have them satisfied. Let us concede that even in matters so fundamental and so intimately connected to the people, they can be mistaken in their judgment about how or by whom. But that is their prerogative: to be mistaken. We cannot therefore justify the imposition of our will on them by appeal to the possibility, even probability, of mistakes on their part.
By and large, elections are the means by which the will of the people is frustrated, violated and undermined. And much as it may have been cast in that light, this is not just an inter-party issue, it is also an intra-party phenomenon. Witness the demand for internal democracy within political parties. With elections, tactics trump principles for a good number of our political players, and because it has happened very often, even otherwise decent and morally conscious people take it as the norm. Coming in a variety of forms and shapes, it is anything but normal.
With the fierceness of our electoral competitions, where the stakes are high, political tactics come into their full focus. While principles underpinning elections are about fundamental ideals of government by consent of the governed, tactics are the means of brightening the electoral chances of particular candidates. These may include such mundane ones like securing the support of political heavyweights or, in the case of a party, fielding popular candidates. These appear innocuous though the devil is in the detail.
There are far more insidious tactics, including the use of de facto political power to intimidate opponents (with troops and police), the use of state funds to buy voters and starve opponents of access to funds, and most objectionably, the politicisation of ethnic and religious sentiments to divide the people with the sole objective of manipulating the electorate and having an edge.
This has gone on for far too long with impunity. Many would maintain that the political parties are equal opportunity offenders, but the most daring culprit has always been a party that controls the centre. We don’t have to quibble over this because the evidence is copious from the beginning of the republic. Unfortunately it is getting worse and it is time that reasonable stakeholders, people of goodwill, think seriously about the harm it does to the psyche of the electorate and our long term interest in the deepening of democracy.
The effectiveness of such odious tactics has always been an issue but it depends on the integrity of citizens and how much they understand the evil that the actions of the politicians do to the system. If they have a good understanding, it also depends further on how much they personalise the actions as an insult to their dignity, itself a factor of education and wellbeing.
In 2011, Candidate Jonathan rode high on the goodwill of the electorate who saw in him a fresh start with a transformation agenda. They also saw him as a victim of a gang-up by a section of the political class. But the honeymoon didn’t last before the realities of federal ineptitude stared citizens in the face. Increased insecurity, increased mass poverty, increased corruption and the regionalisation and spiritualisation of disenchantment have marred the transformation agenda of the president. In the face of these developments, the ruling party has effectively severed the relationship between politics and principles in favour of crude political tactics. Included here are such tactics as the recourse to the politicisation of religion, the manipulation of ethnic sentiments and the deployment of security agents for partisan advantage. So much for transformation!
The few examples I cited are not unknown to readers. But someone would object that having observed that all political parties are implicated, I chose to scapegoat the ruling party. It is no scapegoating and there is a good reason for taking my samples from the practice of the ruling party. The PDP has ruled the country since the return of civil rule. Since 1999, states and governors have been at the mercy of the centre. The various agencies of government, including the EFCC, Police, Military, etc, have acted under the direction of the President, the leader of the ruling party, or his designee. A truly transformational agenda would have nipped the repulsive practices in the bud. Instead, the proverbial witch has only continued to breed more offspring. I have alluded to the common belief that the parties aren’t different and there may be some truth to it. But at the inception of the political parties in 1998, what was true and still is to some extent was that PDP was the party of the military, peopled by characters with no moral scruple about politics and people. They didn’t care about the evil that was visited on the nation post-June 12, 1993; they were into militarised politics and they had a shareholder mentality about politics, including a cut-throat competition for power for material benefits, with no enduring agenda for the common people. Fifteen years later, this leopard has not changed its skin a bit.
I grieve internally for some of the genuinely decent and humane persons now taking a decision of a lifetime to associate with this group of devourers.
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Politics, People And Principles, By Segun Gbadegesin
I have alluded to the common belief that the parties aren’t different and there may be some truth to it. But at the inception of the political parties in 1998, what was true and still is to some extent was that PDP was the party of the military, peopled by characters with no moral scruple about politics and people. They didn’t care about the evil that was visited on the nation post-June 12, 1993; they were into militarised politics and they had a shareholder mentality about politics, including a cut-throat competition for power for material benefits, with no enduring agenda for the common people. Fifteen years later, this leopard has not changed its skin a bit.