FEATURE ARTICLE

Temple Chima UbochiFriday, November 19, 2010
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Bonn, Germany

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SIX MONTHS IN OFFICE:
SOME OF THE MISSTEPS OF THIS PRESIDENT SO FAR AND BETTER WAYS FORWARD (AN ADVICE) 1

Make sure what you risk is yours to lose (L. M. Heroux)

All stakeholders must participate in the gains and losses of any particular situation (Christine Lagarde)

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so (Douglas Adams)

Man is deeply vulnerable when faced with overwhelming evil. Instead of consolidating his energy to fight it, he wastes valuable time and effort puzzling over it, insisting it is not, cannot possibly be, what it seems (Konnilyn G. Feig)

The way our system is structured now, it will be difficult for a most sincere politician to perform and give the much expected dividends of democracy to the people. In spite of the fact that the country made more money now than before, there was nothing to show for it in terms of development owing to large scale corruption. The country spent its resources on high bill and overhead for political office holders. People should scrutinise those seeking for their votes, in order to elect credible leaders who would represent their interest at all levels. (Oba Sikiru Adetona, Awujale II)

If Nigeria breaks away from the old order next year by conducting a credible, free and fair election, the country will certainly be on the path of greatness. The singular action will also earn the nation the confidence of local and international investors, culminating in rapid national development. (British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Bob Dewar)


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igeria has been an unlucky country in that almost all who have ruled it, at one time or the other, failed to make any lasting positive impact. It surpasses all human understanding how a country can be misruled for 50 years by different rulers, one after the other. We have had enough of dunce ruling us, and for that, anybody who wants to rule Nigeria from now onward, must be sure that he will be different from those before. Nigerian presidency should not be a place for trial and error; we don't want a situation where a man rules for years and after leaving office, will remember that he made mistakes or that he forgot to do certain things while in office, as such, (he) will be asking for another chance to rule in order to correct his mistakes as a president or head of state.

President Goodluck Jonathan marked six months in office on November 6, 2010. This column wants the president to succeed, that's why it's going to point out some of his missteps so far, so for him to take corrections and forestall committing such blunders from now onward till the end of this tenure. The points here will also help him (Jonathan) if he eventually wins the 2011 election, although there's no guarantee on that. This has nothing to do with endorsement or not, as this column is yet to apprise (scrutinize) all the serious contenders for the presidency, as to known who will be the best amongst them, for the presidential post, taking into consideration what we know now and how many times past rulers have failed Nigeria.

Mr. President, millions of Nigerians place their hope on you; you're carrying an enormous responsibility on your shoulders, therefore you need not to fail. Providence made you president for a purpose: Superintending free and fair elections will accomplish the providential assignment and the reason why you became the president of Nigeria in the first instance. Also, you may or may not be the next president of Nigeria, but, free and fair elections conducted under your watch, will make you a national hero.

For a start: The president as the chief security officer of the country and of course, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, is supposed to know a lot and to do a lot more, but, to say very little. He's supposed to allow his ministers, advisers and aides to do the talking when necessary. It's unpresidential for the president to be the first to make statements which others can quote out of context, and which his spin doctors will be forced to put into perspective in order to minimise the damage they have already caused.

Sir, before getting to the crux of this article, this column will use this part (of the article) to highlight some of the points it will elaborate on in subsequent parts. Most of all, this column was one of those which gave unwavering support for your ascendancy as the acting president when your predecessor was ill and away in Saudi Arabia. Infact this column made it a personal point then that it was your inalienable right to be the acting president in the absence of your former boss and even praised (eulogized) Prof. Dora Akunyili for taking the initiative when others were afraid of confronting the flagitious cabal who surrounded Yar'Adua then, and who tried all they can to frustrate and deny you the constitutional right of taking over, even temporarily, in the case of the president being incapacitated due to illness. Then, due to the pressure from so many Nigerians, yours truly included, the national assembly was forced to empower you by upholding one of the tenets of the constitution as regards to the post of acting president. Along the line, your predecessor passed on (may the souls of the departed continue to rest in peace), and then you became the substantive president.

Sir, when you became the acting president, you came in with a lot of national and international goodwill, support and blessing, but, unfortunately, you have lost most of them so soon! You have wasted the huge political capital you took to the office in only a matter of months. May be you forget that Nigerians were yearning for change and for an achiever, and many who supported your ascendancy are now questioning if you are the right man for the job afterall. Please, your Excellency, take stock of what you have achieved within this short time and where you did go wrong too early.

Mr. President, looking at your meteoric rise to the helm, we know that you're ordained by God and for a purpose: May be to give Nigeria free and fair elections. Your ascendancy to the presidency has divine backing, because, looking at how you emerged, nobody can deny that divine providence has a hand in it. What nobody is sure of, is whether providence supports your desire to contest the 2011 election. It might be that your divine assignment is to conduct free and fair elections in 2011 without you contesting and thereby leaving something Nigerians would always remember you for (lasting legacy). Having said that, you have the right to contest, but, whether you will win or not is still an open question. You know that in a free and fair election, only the best wins, whether you will be the one, is still to be seen. Those asking you not to contest because you're not a northerner are making a big mistake. Your ascendancy broke the jinx and laid to rest the myth that only peoples from a section of the country were born to rule.

We know you're pre-occupied with winning the next election that you have relegated tackling Nigeria's numerous problems to the back burner, but, the wrongs of your predecessors cannot wait until you win the 2011 election, because, in a free and fair election, anything can happen. What of if you fail to win, then you must have missed a once in a life time opportunity to right some wrongs. Your Excellency, Nigerians have noticed your desperation to win the 2011 election and it seems that you will stop at nothing to remain in office after May 29, 2011. Sir, it doe not work that way. Your predecessor should serve as a good example for us all. Remember the axiom "man proposes, but, God disposes". Unless it's the will of God that you will win the election, or else, you will be standing on shifting sands and all your efforts will come to naught. God might have ordained you president, but, don't forget that God can take that away also, if you are not using power to His glory. Remember those who God made kings in the Bible (Saul etc), but, who offended Him (God) by their attitude, making Him to withdraw His love and support from them. If it's the will of God, you will remain the president, if not, you're just wasting your time.

Your Excellency, you wanted to change the rule of the electoral game in the middle of the game, through the electoral bill submitted to the national assembly, to your advantage. That was wrong! The Senate just rejected your plan on party delegates by their blocking of your bid to amend the Electoral Act 2010. Majority of the Senators alleged that the bill contained some highly toxic elements that would be contagious to the enthronement of internal democracy in the political parties. You inserted the clause that would have seen Ministers, Special Advisers, Commissioners, among others, become automatic delegates at party primaries as that would have favoured you. In other words, you wanted the National Assembly to amend Section 87 (8) of the Electoral Act 2010 to allow for political appointees to participate as automatic delegates at the national convention of political parties. Section 87 (8) of the Electoral Act 2010 states; "A political appointee at any level shall not be a voting delegate at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of nomination of candidates for any election. Where a political party fails to comply with the provisions of this Act in the conduct of its primaries, its candidate for the election shall not be included in the election of or the particular position in issue." But, the National Assembly rejected changing the clause in order to provide a level playing field for every contestant and participant in the electoral process in such a manner that a sitting elected public officer would not have an undue advantage over others. Please tread carefully next time Mr. President!

Mr. President, you said on October 19, 2010, that any discussion about convening a Sovereign National Conference in Nigeria should be forgotten, noting it was "highly irrelevant and unnecessary at this time." Sir, you said it was a waste of time for Nigerians to be talking about convening a National Conference, stressing that what was needed was good and visionary leadership to move the country forward. In your words: "Any talk about a convergence of the different ethnic groups should have taken place after the amalgamation in 1914 by Lord Lugard, and not this time when we are four years away from celebrating our centenary (100 years) as a nation. I believe it is irrelevant at this time because we have a 1999 Constitution, and a National Assembly, that should make good laws to govern our country." Sir, may I respectfully say that you got it all wrong. This SNC issue would never go away, neither can you wish it away just like that. Nigerians want to discuss and determine the basis for their continued co-existence and whether anybody likes it or not, there will be no peace and progress in Nigeria until this issue is resolved. So the earlier you start thinking along that line, the better for all of us. You're an example of what's wrong with Nigeria. You want to contest for the presidency, but, some egoists from a section of the country have been trying to frustrate you out by claiming that it's their turn to produce a president.

Sir, you said that sovereign national conference is no longer necessary, but, this column would like to know what informed your opinion. Did you ask the citizens of Nigeria, who kept you there, before concluding that SNC is no longer necessary? SNC would have been un-necessary, if you're providing the visionary leadership you talked about, but, unfortunately you're far from that for now and things are not as they should have been in the country. It's not lost on this column that only an honest president can admit that things are wrong as to warrant the convening of a sovereign national conference, because, that would be tantamount to admitting failure, but, you could have done more good to yourself by avoiding this issue for now. This column wonders what your advisers are there doing and drawing fat pay and allowances, if they can't make you look presidential by coaching you on how to avoid getting into "hot soup" by being evasive on issues which can ruin you politically. You must know that the issue of SNC would never go away by declaring it un-necessary as Nigerians would want to know the basis of their continued existence as a country. Your position on this issue will determine how Nigerians will feel about you as a president.

Sir, you're wavering, just like your predecessor and former boss, as people find it hard to take your words on anything. You make contradictory statements every now and then. Take firm stand on issues. Few weeks ago, while speaking when you paid homage to the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, you said that you would no longer set deadline for stable power in the country, but will try to improve the situation to a reasonable level in the next five years. You, Mr. President, noted that with the level of your government's effort in the provision of power, Nigerians would begin to see remarkable improvement in the next five years. In your words: "We are not making promises that by this time we are going to generate this or that. No, all what we are saying is that we are gradually moving and we are stabilising power. By God's grace, by this time next year, power will be a bit stable than what we are observing now". Then few days ago, it became promises time again: You, Mr. President, said that if your administration's plans for the power sector are vigorously pursued, that Nigeria would be generating enough electricity for domestic and commercial use by April next year. You added that "in the next four years, domestic power generation should rise to about 20,000 megawatts (mw)" which you declared would be adequate for larger manufacturing industries, some of which now generate power to run their operations. Sir, do we take April next year or the next five years or the next four years as the time to expect a reliable power supply?

Your Excellency, Nigeria cannot wait for 5 years more to have a constant power supply. All you need to do is to be committed and to give the assignment (to turn the sector around in a year or two) to capable hands. First of all, you need to flatten out the generating sets importers, who are the mafia sabotaging all efforts to fix the power sector, because, a constant power supply would be detrimental to their selfish interest. The generating sets importers are putting their interest above that of the whole nation, and now is the time for some people to pay some prices for making Nigeria a country in perennial darkness. Nigeria cannot wait again that long (5 years) to have constant power supply because of the adverse effects: We will lose more multi-national companies to neighbouring countries having constant power supply; those (multi national companies) which will remain in Nigeria, will pass the high cost of their private power generation over to the customers through higher prices of their products; many Nigerian companies will fold up; unemployment will continue ballooning; many unemployed youths will take to crime etc. The promise of 5 years is too bogus and evasive. Sir, if you can't get things done in a year or two, then there's no need for you to contest the next election. Then, just conduct free and fair elections for Nigeria, and then hand over in 2011. If you do this, you must have accomplished your divine assignment and your name will be engraved in gold in Nigeria's history. 5 years is unacceptable to Nigerians because, even if you win the 2011 election, you will be out of office before your time frame elapses. If you fail to achieve this goal by the end of your tenure, you will then justify your failure by claiming that you told Nigerians that it will take 5 yeas to have constant electricity, thereby passing the buck, in other words, the assignment and the blame, to your successor.

Sir, you got it also wrong when you said, recently, that Nigeria's problems are beyond the government. In your words: "The problems of the country are beyond the government. Nigerians must work with the government to end the nation's woes. As a people, we must make our own sacrifice. If all of us could make sacrifices, then it is obvious that this nation will be a great one. Every Nigerian must make commitment and show willingness to change our country for the good."

Sir, although Nigeria's problems are many and deeply entrenched, but, they are not insurmountable! You ought to be radiating confidence and hope instead of despair, incapability and fear, my dear president. All we need is a peoples' oriented government that will tackle the problems head on with the entire "arsenal" at its disposal. Nigeria has only one primary problem and once that (primary) problem is sorted out, every good thing will fall into place. The primary problem of Nigeria is corruption and from there emanated all other (secondary) problems; curb corruption in Nigeria, and it (Nigeria) will be paradise on earth.

Sir, how do we start now to get corruption out of our ways? It's only by having free and fair elections in 2011 and thereby electing peoples' oriented governments, in all tiers, that we will start bashing corruption and bringing Nigeria out of the doldrums the ruling class has consigned it to since 1960. Unfortunately, the previous government, that you were its vice president, made mincemeat of the war against corruption started by Obasanjo and driven by Nuhu Ribadu. Your predecessor scuttled all efforts to fight corrupt just to please his sponsors and friends. He (your predecessor) appointed Michael Aondoakaa as the AGF and the minister of Justice and this man made sure the war against corruption went no where through his aiding and abetting of corruption during his tenure. Aondoakaa was so corrupt and a friend of criminals that the legal council had to strip him of his senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) title some months ago. Just an instance: James Ibori, the former governor and prince of thieves of Delta State, was so powerful during the previous administration that Yar'Adua and Aondoakaa had to create a special court for him in his Delta State, that acquitted him of all the corruption charges slammed against him by EFCC, (because nobody can convict a prince in his fiefdom). Ibori was positioning himself to take your post of vice president in 2011, if Yar'Adua was still alive, but, today, he (Ibori) is a fugitive; a Dubai court has ruled that he should be extradited to Britain to face money laundering charges against him; he (Ibori) is now seeking political asylum in Dubai in order to forestall his extradition to the UK; and his wife, Theresa, has been "spilling the beans", in a London court, about the criminal tendencies and antics of her husband. Who thought these would happen to "King" Ibori about a year ago. That's life!

Unfortunately, the incumbent AGF and minister of Justice is also forestalling the war against corruption, just like his predecessor, and EFCC is complaining about it. Ironically the previous and present AGFs and ministers of Justice, the chief justice of the federation and the efcc boss are all from Benue State. Is there a connection here? Mr. President, this column still wonders why Ms. Waziri is still the EFCC boss, because, she proved incapable of taking the corruption war to the corrupt ones, right from day one in office, based on how she came to be the number one crime fighter in Nigeria. She was appointed to protect certain interests and nothing tangible can be achieved as long as she remains at the EFCC's helm. We're not talking about cosmeticology here, because, that's where she can fit in well, as she's a fine woman who takes good care of herself. That's different from fighting crime that is deeply entrenched.


Courtesy: African Examiner (cartoon by Asukwo, EB)

In the cartoon above, the little (emasculated) man in the middle, who is the Nigerian masses, is telling you, Mr. President, to play dirty, if necessary, in order to defeat those vices as they (the vices) do not play clean either.

Sir, government is a representative of the people charged with the responsibilities of directing the affairs of the state and exercising power on behalf of all. All the people cannot rule at the same time, otherwise there will be conflicts of interest and government will then be too wieldy and gridlocked. So in order to avoid the quagmire, the people delegate their power to a few to exercise it on their behalf. Under normal circumstances, the government is the people and the people are the government, but, unfortunately, that has never been the case with Nigeria, as subsequent governments, since 1960, remained out of touch and out of reach of the people who they were supposed to represent. Mr. President, if you feel that the government cannot solve Nigeria's problems, then there's no need for you to contest the next election. There must be a Nigerian who's ready to contest and lead a government that will tackle most of Nigeria's problems, out there, and such a person is who Nigeria needs right now. There's nothing unique about Nigeria's problem(s), all we need is a government that knows its onions (unfortunately we haven't had any since independence) who will turn Nigeria around. If you must contest the next election, know that Nigerians expect you to solve Nigeria's main problems, so you can't give us the excuse that government cannot solve all Nigeria's problems. Afterall, Nigeria's problems were caused by previous Nigerian governments, so the problems should not be beyond the government. Mr. President, Nigerians are not amused by what you said here. Mr. Ayoola wrote: "Jonathan Goodluck is simply a joker of the highest order, calling for sacrifices when his partymen at the National Assembly are awarding mega salaries to themselves, when ex- rulers are being awarded pensions more generous than that enjoyed by former leaders of the world's largest economy, when he, Jonathan, had just blown billions of Naira (most of it ended up being stolen)on the celebration of a non-worthy marking of 50 years of independence, when his partymen in the PDP, from the very top to the lowliest ward councillor are well known for profligacy and delinquent debauchery of the highest order, when he is splashing out on new Presidential Jets, he now has the temerity to ask Nigerians, the suffering masses, to make sacrifices!!!! Mr. Oga Jonathan Ebele Goodluck, when are you and your fellow travellers going to start making sacrifices? Please tell us, we want to know. The masses of Nigerians daily sacrifice their lives to bad roads, killing Hospitals, kidnappers, armed robbers, lawless security officers and to starvation and hunger".

Mr. President, Nigeria is dancing to the precipice! If care is not taken, there will be no Nigeria "tomorrow". Recently, 13 containers holding rocket launchers, grenades and other explosives were intercepted in Lagos' main seaport, and this was coming only weeks after deadly car bomb attacks in Abuja. The weapons originated from Iran and were imported to Nigeria by some northerners who want to destabilize Nigeria should they lose the next election. Forget about the third country theory postulated just to deceive people, the weapons were meant for Nigeria and only God knows how many containers slipped into the country before this seizure. Because, taking Nigeria's factor into consideration, that the SSS, Customs etc etc seized 13 containers of deadly cargo, means that more of that number have slipped through into the country undetected. Everywhere in Nigeria is a "weapon depot" that two kids in Oyo State had to find loaded guns in a crevice in their school toilet, and thinking they were toy guns, the innocent kids started playing with them, before one shot the other dead in that process. Who kept guns in a primary school toilet and for what purpose for goodness sake?

Sir, this column will write elaborately on these intercepted weapons in the subsequent parts of this article, but, for now, know that you have to be strong and to put certain things right in the country. Nigeria is still not a nation and the Muslims will not hesitate to destabilize it, if one of their own is not at the helm. Mr. President, build Nigeria into a country or quit. One thing is clear here: If Nigeria has a Moslem president, Iran wouldn't have shipped the weapons to Nigeria. Iran is an evil country and an arrogant trouble maker; it (Iran) is exporting Islam, weapons of mass destruction and terrorism all over world, and is not happy that a Christian (you Mr. President) is the president of Nigeria. Iran has dared the west and got away with it, but, Nigeria might be the "little fire" that will burn it (Iran) real deep. It's good that Nigeria has reported Iran to the United Nations. Iran is hiding something from Nigeria, despite its claim that it has settled the misunderstanding (with Nigeria). Ironically, Nigeria has denied any settlement of misunderstanding over the arms intercepted. We just read how one of the two Iranians connected with the controversial shipment of arms and ammunition to (the Apapa Port) Lagos fled to Iran. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, who made this known, said the suspect, left Nigeria with the delegation of the Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki. According to Nigeria's foreign minister: "I sought from the foreign minister, an access to interview him, but he was not willing to do that. He (the suspect) ... went back on the foreign minister's delegation. My view is that if a third party is laying claim to a cargo in Nigeria, then they will do so properly and through the proper channels. I haven't had such a claim brought to my attention. When it is, I will deal with it appropriately. In the meantime, the security agencies are still investigating that aspect of the claim on their own."

To end this part (of the article): Mr. President, you should know that Iran wouldn't have tried that nonsense, if a Moslem is the president of Nigeria. Iran wants to destabilize Nigeria because a Christian is at the helm. It's good that your government reported Iran to the United Nations, but, you should do more by recalling our ambassador to the Islamic Republic, if you haven't done that by now, as a protest for this heinous act of theirs.

To be continued

Tit Bits

Mr. President, please take a break here and share the Tit Bits with fellow Nigerians. These are for the lighter mood of all my readers. This column wishes all a great day!

ONE:

I just found out that our journey began from Genesis through Exodus.

On the way, we saw Leviticus recording the Numbers of people at Deuteronomy, while Joshua was waiting at the beautiful gate for Judges to see Ruth calling loudly "Samuel, Samuel". At a stage, the first and second Kings of Chronicles were coming to visit Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther for the misfortune of Job, their brother.

Then they noticed that Mr. Psalms was teaching his children Proverbs concerning Ecclesiastes and Songs of Solomon. This coincided with the period that Isaiah and Jeremiah were engaged in Lamentation for Ezekiel and Daniel their friend. By that time, Amos and Obadiah were not around.

Three days later, Hosea, Joel and Jonah travelled in the same ship with Micah and Nahum to Jerusalem. More also, Habakkuk visited Zephaniah who introduced him to Haggai a friend of Zechariah whose cousin is Malachi.

Immediately after the old tradition, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John got involved in Acts with the Romans who were behaving like the Corinthians, who were also always at loggerhead with the Galatians.

At that time too, the Ephesians realising that the Philippians were close to the Colossians, suggested to the Thessalonians that they should first of all see Timothy who had gone to the house of Titus to teach Philemon his younger brother how to read and write Hebrew. On hearing, James asked Peter to explain to him how the three Johns have disclosed to Jude the Revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.......All I can say is W-O-W!!! (Courtesy Ijay)

TWO:

Coca-Cola Salesman in Saudi Arabia (courtesy: BNP)

A disappointed salesman of Coca-Cola returned from his assignment to Saudi Arabia.

A friend asked, "Why weren't you successful with the Saudis?"
The salesman explained, "When I got posted, I was very confident that I would make a good sales pitch.
But I had a problem. I didn't know how to speak Arabic. So I planned to convey the message through three posters.

First poster: A man lying in the hot desert sand totally exhausted and fainting.
Second poster: The man is drinking Coca-Cola.
Third poster: Our man is now totally refreshed.
And then these posters were pasted all over the place.

"Terrific! That should have worked!" said the friend.

"The hell it should have!" said the salesman.
"No one told me they read from right to left!"

THREE:

For those who haven't read it. This is sequel to my last article. Access it through the link provided:

https://nigeriaworld.com/news/source/2010/nov/16/1000.html

THE THANX IS ALL YOURS!!!

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IMAGES IN THE NEWS