For the lovers of peace and unity of this country, Nigeria, it was refreshing to hear our President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan instructed members of his Presidential Campaign Organisation which he inaugurated last week, Tuesday January 6, to stay clear of personal attack of his political opponents. He went for specific by asking not only members of the campaign organisation but the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in general to understand that “they have an obligation to consolidate the nation’s democracy, strengthen its institutions and project Nigeria positively by running a disciplined, issues-based and civilized campaign.”
President Jonathan who dismissed pessimists that Nigeria can get it right in this year’s elections asked members of his campaign organisation to ensure “that through your campaigns, and activities, this primary objective is not lost.”
The Presidential campaign inauguration speech, though, ensconced in what Political analysts and pundits termed in some kind of innuendos and veiled ‘yabbis’ of the same political opponents, brought some kind of relief. It signalled mature campaign: the campaign that would aim at addressing what his government has been able to achieve for the country in the last over five years (if the tenure of the late Umar Musa Yar’adua which he completed is added). We were expecting the campaign of how the government is going to do things differently, from May 2015 if he is re-elected, to defeat the lingering dangerous activities of Boko Haram: the campaign on how power is going to be steady and our dead industries and commercial activities revived; how prices of essential food commodities are going to come down to the reach of the increasing number of destitute and hungry Nigerians.
Hope rose, from his speech, espousing “issue-base” campaign that Nigerians would be treated to issues relating to the crashing prices of crude oil across the globe and how it would be tackled locally for the betterment of Nigerians.
Nigerians were waiting, as the campaign taxies to a start, to hear the Jonathan government and PDP as a party, tell them that an entirely new method will be adopted to wrestle the monster: Corruption to the ground and that, irrespective of what happened, the government would ignore the political music, supposedly being played by people in the opposition, even, forgetting for a while, that opposition in an ideal democracy, plays such music, either to provoke the ruling party or more importantly, to put the government on its toes.
But, just when the game is about to start, President Jonathan fell flat for sentiment or emotion. He got enraged with what he imagined to be personal attacks on him and then went personal.
While speaking as he received in audience at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday evening, Tanko Yakasai-led Northern Elders Council, he blew hot and terrible, saying: “Some people call themselves statesmen but they are not statesmen. They are just ordinary politicians.
“Some people are hiding under some clogs, some big names and creating a lot of problems in this country.
“Making provocative statements in this country; statements that will set this country ablaze and you tell me you are a senior citizen. You are not a senior citizen you can never be. You are ordinary motor park tout because if you are a senior citizen you will act like one.
“It is not because of the offices we occupy, it’s by divine grace and providence that some of us occupy these offices. But what role are you playing to build this country
“For you to be a statesman is not because you have occupied a big office before but the question is what are you bringing to bear? Are you building this country? Or are you a part of people who tell lie to destroy this country? To create enmity and make people who ordinarily would have been living together to fight themselves.
“Are you planning to set the country ablaze? Because you did not get that particular thing you want.
“At the appropriate time Nigerians will know all of us even though I know most of you know us but the younger ones do not know.”
God help this country that the President, the father of the nation and the chief security officer of the largest nation in Africa, would be going into his re-election campaign setting this dangerous tone, no matter the circumstance.
As a matter of fact, the President, and a few hours before him, his campaign organisation spokesman, Femi Fani Kayode, who promised to “expose General Buhari” very soon, have set the tone that would lead the nation into anarchy.
What the President and Fani-Kayode have done is to institute the politics of vendetta, politics of open insults in market place, politics of hatred towards opponents who dare to challenge them in the contest for the Presidential seat; politics of throwing tantrums in all directions without caring about the consequence and politics of exposition.
Why would President and PDP jump into the dirty waters to swim, so to speak, with those they perceive, rightly or wrongly, of trying to dirty them?
Honestly, from the tone of President Jonathan’s diatribe on Wednesday (implying that anybody merely challenging him at the February Presidential poll is out to destroy the country or to cause chaos in the country), the rest of us, Nigerians need to pray and ask God for His gracious intervention.
That is for those of us who love peace and unity of this country, Nigeria.
[myad]
