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He was just a coward and that was the worst luck any man could have - Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls

There is but one coward on earth, and that is the coward that dare not know - W.E.B. Du Bois, Dusk of Down

he bell is ringing, ringing loud and clear, ringing again and again, but those who should listen are deaf and arrogant, so arrogant and so full of themselves they assume an air of superiority over the land. Even when a huge fire is burning and consuming the land and they have been unable to do anything about it; they are ill-equipped to control or contain the fire, suddenly they are moving forward and starting their own fire, and the flame from the fire they are setting up is more likely to consume them unless they cease now. Only a foolish dog will fail to heed the call of the hunter. The ill luck is here, it seems finally, to visit the foolish and the arrogant. Has he not been looking for ways to locate and come face-to-face with the ghosts trudging all over the Northern axis with impunity and he could do nothing about it? He even offered amnesty to the ghosts and they told him to his face - that he is the one in need of amnesty! A dumb arrogance, largely ignored and laughed at; a laughing stock even in the market place among petty traders and motor park touts who joked about the bad luck that has befallen the land and the people since his coming. But now he wants to prove his manhood. And how did he plan to do that? By showing Rotimi Amaechi in Rivers State that he has executive power and he is ready to abuse it to prove that he is the ruler of a dystopia called Nigeria. The coward has come to town, welcome to the world of Goodluck Jonathan, the emperor without an army that can contain or even dislodge Boko Haram. Here is the portrait of a coward as a commander-in-chief.

Pity the man who has so much to do but chose to do evil and return to the chapel inside Aso Rock to pray to a God who does not know him; his hands soiled and his ways loaded with evil and the gains of greed, he is seeking the face of the witches and listening to their voice of perdition and damnation. He has chosen the weird sisters over the wise men in the land. He is ignoring the fatherly rebuke of a Nobel Laureate, the same who uphold truth, fairness and desire change in the nation. He should ask himself one question: where are those who refused the Laureate's wise counsel yesterday? I know where they are: They are either dead, their death mocked and ridiculed, disgraced and chased out of office and shamed, or they are living in contempt and irrelevance.

It all started with the grounding of the Rivers State plane, then the suspension of the leadership of the PDP in Rivers State who are considered supporters of the governor, the governor that is giving Jonathan sleepless nights because he is not seen to be in support of Jonathan's second term agenda, and is also suspected to be nursing a presidential ambition of his own - all of these quite legitimate in a true democratic environment. Only the coward "who dare not know" is the laughing stock in our world today, and that is "the worst luck any man could have." The news now is that the police have locked down the Rivers State House of Assembly, a direct order from Aso Rock and an laced with cowardice. But how could that be in a presidential system with clear separation of power? This is what Fela Anikulapo-Kuti will refer to as "power show," the flexing of muscles that could not be flexed before Boko Haram. Cowards surely die many times before their death and even when death is near and certain a coward continue to deceive himself claiming how powerful he is but never confronting the real enemy, in this case Boko Haram.

One cannot even begin to list the successes of Rotimi Amaechi despite belonging in the party of looters, the PDP, and Jonathan has not been able to replicate Amechi's successes at the federal level, yet he wants to stay for a second term! It is in the character of the PDP for failed office holders to hold on to position of power even when they have failed and looted the treasury. Didn't James Ibori and Lucky Igbinedion spend two terms in office, for doing nothing for the people and doing everything for themselves? I suggest Amaechi should now invite Jonathan to see the new roads, schools and hospitals recently built in Rivers State. When Jonathan is coming for this august visit he should bring with him his provincial stooge in Bayelsa State to tour the projects with him, at least to let his dog know and see what good projects and new developments look like.

Jonathan's luck has deserted him. With his back turned to truth and his head giddy with delusion, he is coasting on and drifting into troubled waters. His raft is at a loose end, swinging here and there, and with no straw around it is certain this raft will capsize and only a regretful had-I-known will be left. Despite his failure in improving power supply, education, health care, social service and roads, Jonathan is determined to sit-tight for another four years! He does not deserve one day more, he has not earned the respect of the people, rather it is their scorn and anger he's been able to bring out in clear terms, and the people have made it very obvious that their contract with Goodluck Jonathan will not extend beyond 2015. Is that nor clear enough? Has his luck not helped him far enough and taken him beyond where bare feet could ever have taken him? Desist from evil and stop your wicked schemes now. Focus on Boko Haram, concentrate on fixing the terrible federal death traps called highways/roads, the deplorable schools and universities, the daily darkness gift and poor power supply, and equally abandoned and deplorable teaching hospitals. Is it not a shame that your wife had to seek medical help in a foreign land? You called that a miracle, but how many Nigerians have been able to enjoy fully paid, state-sponsored medical trip to Germany that will turn into a miracle? The logjam you are making in Rivers State may be what will consume you if you don't desist and be man enough to take a step back and put away your puppetry for good.