Mr. President, the Honeymoon is Over!

President Muhammadu Buhari should stop giving further excuses and get down to work, writes Kayode Ajulo

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blessed: the soul, uneasy and confined from home, rests and expatiates in a life to come.”

– Alexander Pope, an essay on man

Nigerians are generally a hardy people – resilient in the face of bleak circumstances. This trait, perhaps, is the singular reason the nation has survived the tumults of decades past, from independence till date. Our resilience as a people is a child of hope that “springs eternal in our hearts” apologies to British poet, Alexander Pope. Hope is an optimistic attitude of the mind based on an expectation of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large.

General Buhari

Twenty-One gun salute to the Almighty God for the hopefulness of our hearts and the resilience of our hearts, as a nation, we have weathered all forms of storms and like the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians, “We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Not given to avarice or any of its undesirable cousins – sloth or greed, Nigerians do not demand too much; all the people want is a nation that works and allows every man to aspire to the fulfillment of personal dreams in a secure, conducive and enabling environment.

Nigerians desire a nation that is free from the threats posed by insecurity, dilapidated infrastructure, ineffective health facilities and widespread poverty. It could be said that all Nigerians hope for is a nation that cares for, and supports its citizens as a mother loves her offspring and as a father supports his seed, as seen in other developed nations to which many of our citizens have fled for succor.

It is this hope that, perhaps in our lifetime, we might witness a renaissance in Nigeria that would lift the nation out of its doldrums and into its pride of place amongst the comity of nations that has kept us time after time from the brink of anarchy and discord. It is this hope that brought the nation to the crossroads, to the March 28 valley of decision, where Nigerians once again, expressed indefatigable hope in the future of the nation as they cast their votes.

It is in this hope that Nigerians embraced the Change mantra of the All Progressives Congress, and voted General Muhammadu Buhari as President of our great nation. Indeed, Nigerians, weary of the decades old burden of bad leadership exercised that irrepressible hope that perhaps the retired soldier, famed for his integrity and Spartan lifestyle might succeed where many others, in our eventful history as a nation, have sought but failed to chart a course to our Promise Land.

However, if the omens we have observed in our polity since the May 29 inauguration of the President Buhari-led APC administration are anything to go by, it is fast appearing that again, Nigerians have been sold a dummy, and the much expected and celebrated change may very well be turning out to be nothing but a mirage.

The APC campaign propaganda prepared a menu of delectable promises for the Nigerian citizens and inevitably whetted the appetite of a population starved of good governance for over 30 decades, even though many of these promises were considered too good to be true by a more perceptive minority. The piper played the tune, and for the period that the music lasted, the nation danced. Alas the music has stopped, the honeymoon as requested is over, and the nation appears in for a rude awakening to a reality not as rosy as painted by the ruling APC government.

Promises made have been denied by spokesmen of the president, even though it is public record that those promises were indeed made. The Boko Haram insurgents are still wreaking mayhem and shedding blood in the North-east even though President Buhari made a promise to put an end to terrorism on our territories within a few months of assuming office as president.

Fulani herdsmen have gotten more brazen in their dastardly attacks on innocent and hapless citizens leaving a trail of blood and tears in their wake, yet the presidency has neither addressed the nation on this budding menace nor told the nation how it plans to nip the threat in the bud before it grows to become a full-fledged menace of the same magnitude with Boko Haram.

The economy is on a free-fall as stock prices have continued to plummet owing to the absence of a well-charted and articulated economic policy. As a result, investor confidence is on an all-time low and many potential investors have made for other promising climes to establish their businesses. Unemployment continues to ravage the youth demographic as our universities continue to churn out graduates in hundreds of thousands filling our cities with jobless graduates, who end up turning to unsavory options for making money.

The much-vaunted anti-corruption war has taken off albeit with cries of witch-hunting and bias on the part of the presidency and state prosecutors as some persons, being considered as ‘politically exposed’, are being hounded by the nation’s anti-graft agencies while many equally complicit persons in the mismanagement of state funds have been granted ‘amnesty’ by government on the grounds of hobnobbing with the president or being members of the ruling party.

It is in the wake of all these depressing developments that the National Assembly commenced a senatorial screening process for those nominated to occupy ministerial positions by President Buhari. It has been mooted that the highly anticipated list is lackluster and generally uninspiring. However, what offends the true and discerning patriot in all of these are the smooth but dubious rhetoric and largely unserious manner in which the screening cum confirmation process is being conducted.

It is very appalling that President Buhari – a man perceived as an icon of incorruptibility, after having affirmed to the entire country that he “belongs to nobody and everybody” and that even though “Nigerians have nothing to fear from him as a person, and everything to fear about the consequences of their actions”, would go on to nominate out of 170 million Nigerians, persons tainted with gross allegations of mismanagement of state funds for appointment in the cabinet of a government that rode to power on the premise of integrity and probity.

The circus that was called a senatorial screening process saw nominees and senators backslapping, high-fiving and exchanging jokes as if they were at a cocktail dinner or at a reception dinner for old friends. The lack of seriousness that characterised the proceedings alerted all perceptive viewers to the fact that the entire process was nothing but an extended charade intended to further hoodwink Nigerians that something germane was going on.

The right questions were left unasked and even when asked the questions were skillfully evaded by the nominees. The nominees were repeatedly indulged by the senators as they embarked on an evasive, and sometimes, long-winded rhetoric that wearied many a listener, while some were simply advised to “take a bow and go” without any form of screening.

While I have nothing personal against the person of erstwhile governor of Lagos State Babatunde Fashola SAN, who I have for long considered one of the brightest stars in the nation’s political firmament, I must say that his attempts at refuting the recent allegations of mismanagement of funds under his watch as governor, specifically his claim of ‘not signing any cheques’ and deliberate refusal to acknowledge that he, as governor, was the approving authority, left much to be desired, and also dimmed his trust as a public officer.

What do I say about the screening of APC scribe Lai Mohammed, and also APC Chieftain Chris Ngige? Those two incidents struck me as more of comical friends catching up than people appearing before a panel for screening. The inherent marginalisation of women in the released list is nauseating and very insensitive to the place and role of our mothers and sisters in the ministerial nomination.

7The total omission of the Nigerian youth which is apparent when one considers the age demographic that characterised the list of the nominees is another issue altogether as it exposes the budding conspiracy against the Nigerian youth with the youngest nominee in the list being 48 years old.

As it stands, Nigerians born within the bracket of the 1970s to the present have been effectively excluded from service and deleted from the membership of Federal Executive Council even though it is this same demographic that midwifed the electoral victory on which the present government stands with about 78% votes.

The absurdity is revealed when one considers the distinctly young ages of public officers in other African nations and across the globe. It is made more absurd when one considers the ages of the founding fathers of this nation when they started active participation in politics. It is also common knowledge that former governor of Cross Rivers State, Donald Duke was 38 years when he assumed office in 1999. Is it that Nigerian youths have suddenly become inexperienced and useless as a whole all of a sudden? Is this the Change Nigeria unwittingly voted for?

If these are signs of what is to come, it takes no soothsayer to know that contrary to the promises made during the campaign and also contrary to the rhetoric being dished out in press statements by the presidency’s spokesmen, Nigerians are in for more of the very same dish that they have been served for over three decades by the political leadership. Like someone wittily observed, “the more things change, the more they stay the same”. Nigerians are a patient people; they have waited for decades, and are now being chided for being impatient with the new administration. Wait for security, wait for power, wait for good roads and wait for an upright government to handle the affairs of state. It brings to mind a 1953 play written by Irish playwright Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for the arrival of someone named Godot.

Are Nigerians being asked to be like Vladmir and Estragon, who sat around stupidly, passively and ignorantly waiting in vain for a Godot, who never showed up? Is the call for patience and time a way of encouraging the Nigerian masses to remain passive and ignorant regardless of the cost to the nation and the generations to come?

I am constrained to echo the words of John the Baptist, who sent word from prison to inquire of Jesus: “Are you the messiah spoken of in prophecy, or do we await another?” Like Nigeria, the nation of Israel had languished under the jackboots of oppressors and under dark clouds of corruption at the hands of the priesthood, and the common man in the Israel of that era. The people looked into their scrolls, which spoke of the coming of a redeemer, who would bring liberation and emancipation to Israel.

Like Israel, Nigeria has long sought her liberator too. I therefore also ask of President Muhammadu Buhari, “Mr. President, the honeymoon is over, are you the change we seek or should we seek another?”

-Ajulo is the national spokesperson of the Labour Party

Mr. President, the Honeymoon is Over!

Buhari: Ride This Good Will, for Your Honey Moon is Over

Richard Huloet’s Abecedarium Anglico Latinum, in 1552 first made reference to the term honey moon. Huloet writes’

“Hony mone, a term proverbially applied to such as be newly married, which will not fall out at the first, but th’one loveth the other at the beginning exceedingly, the likelihood of their exceadinge love appearing to aswage, ye which time the vulgar people call the hony mone.”

—Abcedarium Anglico-Latinum pro Tyrunculis, 1552

Buhari

The period of honey moon in marriage is so blissful, that the partners see no wrong, hear no wrong, make no demands on their partners and generally enjoy that which being married allows them legally under both moral laws and manmade laws to possess and enjoy.

Very recently, the former Governor of Lagos State paid a visit to President Buhari and when he came out told journalists, who pestered him for information that the President is on a honey moon. The famed Jagaban unwittingly told Nigerians, that the President just got married to them and that after a marriage there should be a period of bliss.

This period should be enjoyed without any demands by either partner. Tinubu’s logic is that Nigerian’s should allow their partner the President, a period of marriage bliss. This request is on the backdrop of demands of immediate performance and consummation of the marriage by partner Nigeria.

What the Jagaban forgot is that Nigeria is an old bride who has been married several times. In her past marriages she has been abused physically and emotionally. Her children were taken from her by her previous husbands. Some of them are in detention. Some were forced to leave their fathers house and are presently slaving in other people’s houses, yet some of her children who dared to remain room the streets and because of idleness engage in hunger crimes to survive to the next day.

In her previous marriages this old bride also had children some who were favorites of her previous husbands. Nigeria sees these children every day living flamboyantly. Rather than look after their mother they travel to far lands to waste her money on women of easy virtue.

They buy big houses with her money that they barely stay in, for no sooner than they buy the houses, than they return again to plunder their mother. This bride is a hurt bride. She has carried her wounded soul with dignity. She could have been prepared to be left alone. Yes, she would not have minded, after all, a woman who has been married with several children can no longer be called barren.

It was in this state that this bride was, when a tall lanky and very amiable man knocked on her father’s door to ask for her hand in marriage. This lanky man has come before. In fact he has come to marry her three previous times before and Nigeria refused. So when he came this time for the fourth time Nigeria was very reluctant. However Mr. amiable was very persistent. He began to flash a very toothy smile which was hidden before. He made so many promises to the bride.

“I will bring back your children from captivity. I will discipline those children who neglected you. I will bring back everything that they have stolen from you. Look at me, look at me” he begged the bride.

He bought new clothes and changed his swag. He cultivated new friendships among them the famed Jagaban. He hired men who sang his praises. They inundated the bride with his praise. She was confused, her then husband was also amiable though he wasn’t much of a husband but at least he wasn’t abusive. He just couldn’t bring himself to say no to their thieving children.

Left with no choice, Nigeria agreed to marry the tall lanky amiable gentleman, who has asked for her hand in marriage a record four times. She was all smiles at the wedding.

Everyone was there even her jealous sisters, brothers, previous husbands, even husbands of other women from far land who have laughed her to scorn were there too. Nigeria danced to the wee hours of the morning. May 29, 2015 was the wedding day. It was a very memorable day, for the first time in a very long time this abused bride was the cynosure of all eyes. She basked in this euphoria. She was ecstatic. Here was a hundred year old woman, getting married to a younger man. Her expectations were really high and for good reason.

In this excitement she rode off with her new groom to embark on a honeymoon. Unfortunately no sooner have they settled down for consummation, than her husband started complaining.

“You are rushing me, he told her. I need time to study you. Please be patient with me”.

Nigeria was livid with anger. She placed a call to her father’s house. Her brothers and sisters were divided. While some supported her demands for immediate consummation of marriage, others asked her to give her new husband the benefit of the doubt. Jagaban one of her husband’s close friends insisted to her that her husband is still observing the honey moon.

RIDE THIS GOOD WILL,THE HONEY MOON IS OVER!

Majority of Nigeria’s people loved her new husband. They are willing to give him a chance. They said it is not his fault that her previous husbands were abusive. They said the bride’s faculties were affected by abuse and she needs a strong husband to tame her wild state of mind.

I am seriously inclined to give Nigeria’s new husband a chance. But this honey moon must of necessity be over.

The bride’s economy is bleeding. Unemployment is hitting the roof. There is hunger and fear in the land. Insurgency is battering the bride in the Northeast. Nigeria is experiencing an economic war the type that faced America in 2007/08.

President Buhari (The husband) should as a matter of great urgency establish an economic (war) Council for in my opinion; Nigeria is presently facing an economic war more dangerous than a conventional war. If I recall correctly Obama’s council had economic Professors like Larry Summers and a host of other egg heads in the team. There is no shortage of these egg heads in Nigeria.

He should lunch our own version of stimulus package (not the one given to the profligate Governors which Shaka Momodu a columnist with Thisday Newspapers termed a reward for bad behavior). He should draw heavily from our Sovereign Wealth Fund, African Export and Import Bank (Afrexim), International Finance Corporation (IFC), African Development Bank (ADB) and other institutions willing to partner with Nigeria in rebuilding our economic systems. These loans will be strictly applied to jump start the economy and rebuild all the major employers of labor which were destroyed by the previous administrations. There is nothing economically wrong in borrowing to shore up the economy and drive growth.

The President should simultaneously embark on aggressive power generation. My suggestion will be the establishment of mini solar farms which will eventually be integrated into the national grid. In Nigeria, there is constant sunshine almost all year round. Solar farms will provide the necessary power to jump start industrial clusters which will employ labor.

The hydra headed monster of corruption should be attacked vigorously. My suggested approach will be a massive re-orientation starting from nursery schools to all our tertiary institutions. Children should be taught every day that corruption is a sin. They should be taught about love of country, about sacrifice for Nigeria, about value systems. Moral education should be made as much of importance as academic education. All avenues geared towards redefining the average mindset of every Nigerian should be employed.

I wrote a piece recently on Nigeria Airways Limited, one of the major employer’s labour which the President identified in his first week. It is gratifying to note that Mr. President has taken action with regards to this neglected economic booster. The same effort should equally be given to other areas that can generate immediate employment for Nigerians. The railways should get immediate attention. The Nigerian Shipping line should receive attention. There should be a renewed focus on agriculture. These institutions will create massive jobs for the citizenry.

I have dwelt so much on job creation because, I know that Nigerians are very resourceful people and given the basics of life they will triumph. Employed youths will not resort to crimes for their minds will be engaged in meaningful pursuits.

Mr. President is enjoined to ride this goodwill and convince his new wife that he is not like her previous husbands. He has what it takes to make a very good husband. That is what Nigeria deserves. The honey moon extended by the Jagaban is hereby declared to be over.

–– Nwachukwu Okafor a policy Analyst wrote from Cary, North Carolina. Email:angelaviationnigeria@yahoo.com

Buhari: Ride This Good Will, for Your Honey Moon is Over

Okupe’s prediction and the APC

When the Senior Special Assistant, Public Affairs to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr Doyin Okupe, swore that the All Progressives Congress would not last one year, many Nigerians went after him in anger.

Doyin Okupe

Maybe Okupe sowed some seeds that justify what he got, but the medic turned politician saw something that most of us did not pause to consider. In our anger, we condemned the message because of the messenger.

Experienced politician that he is, having been in the top echelons of a national party as far as 24 years back, Okupe must have seen the congregation of politicians from every shade of opinion and interest coming together in a hurry and concluded that at some point, there would, without fail, be a conflict of interests, which could precipitate a conflagration that the APC may be unable to weather through.

Those who were in a hurry to condemn Okupe must be having a rethink now. Reports following the elections of leaders of the National Assembly indicate that combatants in the APC are determined to snuff life out of the in-house opponent without regard to what that may do to the party and a country that is haemorrhaging.

Now, how that surprises anyone still baffles me. If you understand that no idea, principle or person is permanent in the contemplation of the average politician, you will not be miffed to see men, who smiled at each other last night, draw the daggers in the morning.

And this is not just about Nigeria. The flip-flop of politicians in more advanced democracies seems a little else obvious because while Nigeria adorns mortals in messianic garb, institutions are stronger in those countries. Which is why, whether it is a Barack Obama, a George Bush or a Bill Clinton, there are institutions which deal with malfeasance and beat a leader into line.

Here, we rely on human beings to save us from human beings. As a result, only a Muhammadu Buhari is believed to be able to fight corruption, only an Attahiru Jega is able to organise free and fair elections. Now that his tenure is over, we are at a loss about sustaining the credibility that attended the 2015 elections.

Rather than build the Independent National Electoral Commission into a reputable body where anyone can function with limited opportunity for manipulations, we prefer to seek another Jega or his clone. We would rather depend on strong individuals than on strong institutions. But I digress.

Politicians do not have to be nice. They are not clerics, bound by some ecclesiastic charter of charity to which they are eternally committed to. If something suits the purpose of the politician today, he is all for it but everything changes the moment that fancy object outlives its purpose.

For instance, why did President Barack Obama stand so solidly against gay marriage during his campaign in 2008 but made a total turnabout in 2012 with a recent claim that he “evolved” on the issue?

Obama’s volte face is so absolute that his administration held the passage of the anti-gay marriage bill against Nigeria! That is the way of the politician, he is not even sure of his own ways until some exigency presents itself. No matter what they say, ambition drives all politicians. As someone once alluded, only statesmen think about the future, politicians are too engrossed about winning the next election and the game for 2019 has started in earnest.

The attempt to impose leaders on the National Assembly and the move that blindsided those who were bent on imposition is all politics and we must come to terms with the fact that the political field does not have the sanctity of a religious place. In any case, every Nigerian politician of clout is guilty of some measure of imperialism or treachery in their areas of influence, so it would be hard for anyone to cast a first stone.

This is why the current travails of the APC which resulted from the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara as the Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives, respectively, against the wishes of their party could be fatal to the birthing of the change that Nigerians envisaged when they voted for the APC at the last elections. And when that happens, there would be no one to blame other than the party itself.

What I am saying is that only the APC is able to help us move on from the feeling of uncertainty that has gripped many Nigerians since the emergence of people, not sanctioned by the party as leaders of the National Assembly.

Unfortunately, the APC does not seem be in control of the situation. Although the Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, indicated that the party had no choice but to accept the elections of Saraki and Dogara, the fact that Tuesday’s first caucus meeting of the APC senators nearly resulted in fisticuffs is an indication that all is not yet well with the party.

Those who think they got bloodied by the elections early this month are likely lurking in the corner looking for an opportunity to take their pound. I smell that someone is cooking up plans to serve those who carried the day the cold dish of revenge, some banana peel of sorts.

This is where it gets scary. If anyone in the APC, no matter whose interest they represent, strikes back at Saraki and Dogara for any reason, the APC would be on its way to fulfilling the doom predicted by Okupe. And any disaster on the APC will tell negatively on Nigeria and may put paid to the promise of change that they made. And there would be nobody to blame other than the APC itself and its seeming unpreparedness to govern fairly.

Although there is a dearth of statesmanship on the Nigerian political landscape currently, President Buhari being the only one I see from where I stand, there is an inexhaustible list of politicians in the APC who qualify to be in the hall of statesmen, only if they would bury their personal ambitions and consider the future of the country.

For instance, penultimate weekend, Saturday Punch reported a subtle battle for the soul of the party between Alhaji Abubakar Atiku and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Now, each of these men has considerable following with which they can pull the plug at any time and so, a prompt cessation of this silent war, which has not been refuted by any of the parties, would be important to saving the party and helping it deliver on its promises to Nigeria.

Before Atiku, Tinubu and their supporters push the people off the bridge incurring   democratic fatalities, they need to imbibe lessons on the role of kingmakers from American politician and Catholic influencer, James Farley, who orchestrated the electoral success of politicians including Franklin D. Roosevelt without causing dislocations in the American political system.

What we ask of these gladiators is that if only for this one time in their career, they should put the interest of Nigeria first. I worry that unless President Buhari gets the full cooperation of his party, such that some far-reaching reforms can happen in Nigeria within the next four years, the trouble that we thought were over as a result of the peace that followed the 2015 elections will revisit us.

They must consider the interest of millions of Nigerians who have no food to eat, who die from common ailments that most of the world does not talk about again, of hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs sweating under the harsh business conditions in the country, of the power and energy crises and a myriad of other problems that make life feel like hell for Nigerians.

 

• Twitter:  @niranadedokun

Okupe’s prediction and the APC

Senator Ita Enang: The Story Of A Shameless Lawmaker By Inibehe Effiong

Senator Ita Solomon Enang was born on August 23, 1962. He hails from Ididep, in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Enang became a councilor in 1987, and a member of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly in 1992. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1999 where he served for three consecutive terms (1999-2011). After spending 12years in the House of Representatives, he was elected to the Senate in 2011 to represent the Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District of Akwa Ibom State.

Senator Enang

On Saturday December 27, 2014, Sen. Ita Enang granted an unprecedented two hours interview to a private radio station in Akwa Ibom State, Planet Radio 101.1 FM Uyo. For the first time in over 15years as a federal legislator, Sen. Enang spoke frankly about the state of affairs in Akwa Ibom State and took a sweep at the Governor Godswill Obot Akpabio-led administration and openly opposed the governor’s unholy third term agenda using his stooge, Udom Emmanuel, as a veil.

The interview as expected has generated so much controversy and debate especially on social media within and outside Akwa Ibom State. This is so because the now vociferous and outspoken Ita Enang has always been a pro-establishment politician. His incurable leaning towards the prevailing unjust system is very notorious.

However, in terms of intellectual erudition, legislative dexterity and clear appreciation of the dynamics of law making, Senator Ita Solomon Enang is the best that Akwa Ibom State has ever produced, and one of the finest lawmakers in Nigeria. Admittedly, Enang knows it all when it comes to the workings and operations of the legislative arm of government.

There is absolutely no basis of comparison between Ita Enang and Obong Bassey Albert, the former Finance Commissioner in the Akpabio regime, that the PDP has chosen to replace him in the upper chamber in 2015. That is if at all the PDP wins at the poll given the obvious popular anger against the party by the masses in the state. To compare Albert with Ita Enang is equivalent to comparing a primary school pupil with a university professor.

However, Ita Enang is a very selfish, unprincipled and greedy politician. Though Bassey Albert is equally an unprincipled and very greedy politician, unlike Enang, Albert understands the magical effect and importance of the politics of stomach infrastructure; a bane that is fast eroding the remaining modicum of sanity in our polity and electoral culture.

All these while, Ita Enang had closed his eyes to the evils of the Godswill Akpabio regime. He preferred to dance to the tunes of the little god of Akwa Ibom State when his people needed his articulate voice the most. Enang had practically mortgaged the rights of those he was elected to represent for personal political aggrandizement.

When the goings was good, he clapped for the emperor without any sense of decency and iota of shame. Then, he never whispered against the atrocities committed by his ally and saw nothing wrong in the crude looting of Akwa Ibom State. He went about as if there was nothing wrong in his state. As far as he was concerned, Akpabio had done so well for Akwa Ibom State.

Now that he has been denied the opportunity of going back to the Senate for a second term, he has suddenly remembered that Akpabio’s performance is not in any way commensurate with the huge allocations accruing to the state. He now wants us to ask probing questions and rise against the Akpabio dynasty.

What a wicked, hypocritical and shameful cacophony of an expired politician! Our people are no fools, they know that his vituperations are self-centered and utterly frivolous. We cannot carry placards for him because he was never, he is not, and will he will never be our hero. Let him suffer the afflictions brought on him by the ghost of stewardship alone.

When Godswill Akpabio in a shameless display of nepotism robbed Ita Enang’s constituents of the presence of the newly approved Federal Polytechnic for the state which was originally approved for and meant to be cited in Enang’s hometown in Ididep, Ibiono Ibom LGA  of Uyo Senatorial District, and wickedly hijacked it to his own village in Ukana Ikot Ntuen in Essien Udim LGA of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District he kept quiet and played ‘Mr. Loyalty’ in the hope of getting a second term.

Today, the same Enang is angry that Akpabio frustrated all federal lawmakers from the state from getting PDP return tickets to the National Assembly, except those from his District and tribe.

The same Sen. Ita Enang that is today saying that the Akpabio’s stooge, Udom Emmanuel, is not acceptable to the people had previously endorsed Udom as the right man for 2015. Then, Udom was not Akpabio’s third term agenda.

We, the sensible and liberated people of Akwa Ibom State, do not need a Senator Ita Enang to tell us that Akpabio is evil. We do not need his tutelage on the mass looting of Akwa Ibom State by Akpabio and his family. We do not need Ita Enang to speak for us. We have always known all the things that he is making arrogant and selfish noises about. So this teacher should stop teaching us nonsense (apologies to Fela).

This should be a lesson to the political class; that betrayal is not good. As the most popular legislator from Akwa Ibom, Ita Enang have all it takes to call Akpabio to order but he never did.

As a proud indigene of Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State that Ita Enang has been “representing” since 1999, I know how unpopular he is. Ita Enang is known and celebrated in Abuja but hated at home. He has never won in a free and fair election. Effective representation is more than speaking fanciful and seductive English in Abuja without more, it encompasses defending the interests of the constituents.

During the massively rigged 2011 general elections, I was one of those that played a significant role in ensuring that Sen. Enang lost at my pooling booth. Of course, he lost woefully. In the end, he was declared the winner by INEC despite the known fact that he was defeated on ground.

Ita Enang is claiming that he has given out scholarships to his constituents and that he will never be tempted to publish names of the beneficiaries. But that is a big lie. Throughout my university days in the Faculty of Law, University of Uyo, I never heard of any such scholarships.

I did not just passed through the university, the university passed through me. So there is no way such scholarship scheme would have existed for students of my constituency that Ita Enang has been “representing” for the past 15 years without my knowledge.

Though on principle I do not accept scholarship grants from politicians and the government, I would have at least knew one beneficiary of Sen. Enang’s scholarship scheme.

Ita Enang is completely out of touch with his constituents. He should first account for the huge constituency allowances he has received since 1999 as a National Assembly member before asking Akpabio to account the billions that has accrued to Akwa Ibom State in allocations.

How can a lawmaker that does not have any traceable pedigree of standing on the side of his people suddenly call for mass action against the very monstrous, corrupt and oppressive regime that he had always dined with?

What a wicked, hypocritical and shameful cacophony of an expired politician! Our people are no fools, they know that his vituperations are self-centered and utterly frivolous. We cannot carry placards for him because he was never, he is not, and will he will never be our hero. Let him suffer the afflictions brought on him by the ghost of stewardship.

Our mumu don do!

Inibehe Effiong is a Human Rights Activist based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Email: inibehe.effiong@gmail.com

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Senator Ita Enang: The Story Of A Shameless Lawmaker By Inibehe Effiong

2015: How To Rescue Nigeria From PDP’s Inept Leadership

By Eze Chukwuemeka Eze

THE CURRENT STATE OF NIGERIA

The wise King Solomon rightly posits that, “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan” (Proverb 29:2). It goes without saying that Nigerians are groaning day and night under the wicked rule they are being subjected to through a government that has abdicated its responsibility to the people, and in every way possible shows the wickedness of its reign.

To say that Nigeria is currently at the cross roads – confused and not knowing what tomorrow portends, occasioned by the visionless and misguided leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the centre – is to say that appropriate words to describe the state of our nation under an uncaring and corrupt government can’t be found. Today, we have a government that cannot protect or guarantee our security as contained in the Constitution. Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka recently stated that Nigeria practises ‘Government of Impunity.’ And, according to Dr Peregrino Brimah, Nigeria occupies the first position in the ranking of nations with the worst governments in history. He pointed to a report from the World Bank in April which listed Nigeria among the five poorest countries in the world, with the largest number of people said to live on less than $1.25 a day. The others are India, China, Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

President Goodluck Jonathan instead of addressing the issue on poverty as raised casually dismissed the report by saying: “Nigeria is not a poor country.”

The rebasing of Nigeria’s economy, setting Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa, while revealing the true economic position of Africa’s largest nation, simultaneously re-certified Nigeria as the nation in the top position for worst leadership in social welfare and opportunities for the people. With 70 per cent of the nation’s population living under a-dollar-a-day; economically factored, Nigeria has the poorest people of any nation in the world today. With the rebased economy rating, Nigeria has unparalleled HDI (Human Development Index) to revenue and economy ratio of all nations. Poorest people, in the case of Nigeria, are derived from or correlate with poorest leadership.

Is it not surprising that Nigeria, at the end of 2013, surpassed Mexico in kidnapping, recording the cruelest and second highest single abduction events in recent history? By the end of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014, Nigeria surpassed Syria, Libya, Iraq and Central Africa Republic (CAR) in deadly acts of terrorism and sectarian violence. The Nyanya bombing was ranked the fifth worst bombing of its kind in world history, post-1970, by the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI). The Jos bombing, with over 200 reported dead in one attack, is second only to 9/11 and the disputed Syria chemical weapons attack.

According to the report, “In combined values, with about 80,000 people killed in four years of largely unchecked Boko Haram violence, and with over 4,000 killed in the first quarter of 2014 alone, Nigeria has fast outpaced other nations of the world in deadly terror. Nigeria’s leadership in December 2013 secured the world’s top position rating in insecurity and failure to protect life, and discourage terror. Current rankings put Nigeria’s leadership second only to Hitler, after surpassing Saddam Hussein, in the current century, in terms of deliberate internal wastage of life.”

A recent report on global life expectancy by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has rated Nigeria low in its report titled, “World Health Statistics 2014”, and published few months ago. According to that publication, life expectancy for both men and women is less than 55 years in nine sub-Saharan African countries, namely: Nigeria, Angola, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Mozambique and Sierra Leone. The yearly report is the definitive source of information on the health of the world’s people. It contains data from 194 countries on a range of mortality, disease and health system indicators, including life expectancy, illnesses and deaths from key diseases, health services and treatments; financial investment in health, as well as risk factors and behaviours that affect health.

Speaking at an event in New York City, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State, said the Nigerian government under President Goodluck Jonathan squandered its oil resources, and indirectly helps corruption to fester in the troubled country. Her words: “They have squandered their oil wealth; they have allowed corruption to fester, and now they are losing control of parts of their (own) territory because they would not make hard choices.” The former U.S. Secretary of State at the function organised by the International Crisis Group also noted: “The Nigerian government has failed to confront the threat, or to address the underlying challenges. Most of all, the government of Nigeria needs to get serious about protecting all of its citizens, and ensuring that every child has the right and opportunity to go to school.”

That is not all, according to Sarah Seawall, U.S. Under Secretary of State, “Corruption prevents supplies as basic as bullets and transport vehicles from reaching the front lines of the struggle against Boko Haram.” Back home, former president, Gen Olusegun Obasanjo, in his assessment of Jonathan’s performance in office posited: “I don’t believe he has performed to the expectation of many Nigerians, not just me.” While U.S. Senator John McCain, in his view, submits that Nigerians don’t even have a government in the right sense: “We shouldn’t have waited for a practically non-existent government to give us the go-ahead before mounting a humanitarian effort to rescue those girls. Mr. Jonathan, who leads a corrupt government that has little credibility, initially played down the group’s threat and claimed security forces were in control. It wasn’t until Sunday, more than two weeks after the kidnappings, that he called a meeting of government officials.” (New York Times).

To worsen the nation’s situation, President Jonathan has proven himself as incapable of running this country as his six years of administration have been most disastrous to the country. Our hospitals have become more of a consulting and mortuary centres; our federal roads are now death traps, after billions of naira had been budged and wasted and looted. We have an elected Government that hates democracy, but prefers ‘lootcracy’! Under this administration, the civil war years can be described as haven, as Nigerians are killed in droves today, without any solution at sight! Under this administration, Nigerians are so divided in both tribal and religious matters! Salaries of civil servants are not paid! Graduates are produced in millions yearly without any plan of employment for them. Instead of allowing these unfortunate graduates to live in peace, they are being defrauded by government agencies, while a good number has lost their lives in their search for nonexistent jobs! We now have a government of deceit, which major achievement is making our nation a laughing stock before the international community.

A government that has succeeded in making us a mockery before the international community and African leaders; which major achievements are trumatising and transforming the nation into darkness as well as digitalising corruption to such a level where a whopping sum of $10 million can be said to have developed wings, and unaccounted for.

The latest in the series of global ridicule to which the scandal-prone Jonathan Administration has subjected Nigeria to is the recent impounding of a whopping sum of $9.3 million cash, against every norm of international transaction; allegedly for the purchase of arms by the President Jonathan government. The South Africa Government is currently investigating the shameful act, alleging that this is just a monetary laundering exercise.

My good friend, Hon Nebukadineze Adiele, while commenting on this latest scandal stated: “Notwithstanding whatever excuses that Nigeria is making today, the transporting of $9.3 million into South Africa alone is a criminal act of money laundering. It violated the various monetary policies of the entire world: it violated currency laws in Nigeria, South Africa, U.S. (it is its currency), and any nation whose airspace was passed as the money moved. That the money was for illegal arms purchase is another violation of the laws of the entire world. It violated almost every anti-arms trafficking laws of Nigeria, South Africa, and all the nation’s whose airspace was entered throughout the journey. It was also a violation of any international treaty entered into by Nigeria, with respect to arms control or illegal trafficking in arms.  Through this transaction, Nigeria has disgraced itself and President Jonathan has (once more) brought his incompetence to the international stage.”

Capturing the present state of our nation under the present administration of President Jonathan aptly, Senator David Mark, most successful president of the upper chamber, affirmed that Nigeria is at war. His words: “The escalation of violence and the heinous crimes daily perpetrated by insurgents and terrorists, including the declaration of a Caliphate, has reached alarming proportions. Regrettably, the Boko Haram sect, these harbingers of death, have become more emboldened and daring, killing innocent Nigerians and destroying property at will.

“From abductions, kidnappings and bombings, the situation has now degenerated to capturing and occupying some parts of Nigeria. In what is obviously intended to humiliate us as a sovereign nation and test our resolve, the terrorists have brazenly hoisted their flags to confirm their assault and affront on our collective will as a nation. The Boko Haram sect has in no unmistakable terms declared a total war on Nigeria and Nigerians. Their ideology is alien to our culture.”

But sadly, after few days Senator Mark made this remarkable statement, he was among the shameless PDP leadership that nominated President Jonathan, who has demonstrated incompetence as a hobby, to fly the PDP flag during the 2015 general election. So, who is deceiving who?

Ironically, Nigeria is certainly more divided under this (democratically elected) administration than ever. And only Divine intervention can enable us survive the visionless and clueless leadership that now pervades our nation. Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Tambuwal, last Thursday, observed that Nigeria was moving backwards, saying: “There was never a time the nation passed through the challenges it is currently facing, especially in terms of insecurity, corruption and other vices that have been on the increase in this country.”

For leading Nigeria to its present comatose state, one cannot be far from the truth if one says that President Goodluck Jonathan is a colossal failure, in terms of his leadership style.

Notwithstanding  the foregoing woes backed by facts and figures,  a notorious group that calls itself Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), which I prefer to call Tragic Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), led by a notorious subsidy thief, and made up of scammers, rouges, vampires, vultures, scavengers, looters, plunderers – all seeking the continued ruination of Nigeria by the most corrupt and inept regime that has ever infested Nigeria, headed by clueless President Jonathan in order to continue the looting spree and impunity associated with this administration.

Correcting the Abnormality Caused By GEJ Over PDP’s Zoning

The fact remains that the founding fathers of PDP in their wisdom, enacted in its constitution with a Gentleman’s Agreement, that power should rotate between the predominantly Muslim North and Christian South every two terms. General Olusegun Obasanjo, from the southern part of Nigeria benefitted from this arrangement for eight years (1999 to 2007). The 2007 presidential election witnessed power shifting to the North, but after the death of President Umar Yar’Adua, a Northern Muslim, then Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, a Southern Christian, took over as acting president.

The former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, said he was present at the meeting where Dr Jonathan, then acting governor of Bayelsa State, signed the agreement in 2003 that the North would produce the president between 2007 and 2011; and that Jonathan, who was the deputy governor of Bayelsa State, signed as number 43. But sadly, President Jonathan went ahead to scuttle this policy designed by the founding fathers, by contesting the 2011, which he won. And after spending six years in office by 2015, he is still offering himself to contest the 2015 presidential election, which if he wins, will make him to rule the country for ten years; against the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that stipulates that nobody should rule the country exceeding eight years.

Throwing light on the above, former Governor Abdullahi Adamu, one time National Secretary of PDP’s Board of Trustees (BoT), in a recent media interview, stated that President Jonathan’s  running for the 2015 presidential election, is absolutely reneging on an agreement. According to him, at a meeting with party leaders at the Conference Room of the Office of the First Lady, Presidential Villa, the President agreed not to seek re-election, after conceding that it was the turn of the North to produce the president on the platform of the ruling party, following the demise of former President Umaru Yar’Adua. According to him, at the meeting, which he attended in his capacity as the then secretary of the PDP’s BoT, virtually all the PDP governors then were present. The former governor recalled: “I was there. I was the secretary of the Board of Trustees of the party. The president himself was there. Some state governors were there. Samuel Ogbemudia was there. Virtually all the PDP governors were there. Mr. Jonathan would be violating the agreement if he decides to enter the presidential contest, which holds in February next year.”

Undemocratic adoption of President Jonathan for the 2015 elections by the PDP Leadership

In the Guardian News Paper Published on July 29, 2011. President Jonathan, said and l quote “l won’t stay in office beyond 2015″ Not minding the massive failure in all sectors of our economy, the immorality and the political implication on our nation of President Jonathan contesting the 2015 general elections; the various echelons of PDP Leadership have adopted him as the party’s sole-candidate for the 2015 presidential election. With this development, Nigerians have no option than to rally together and ensure that this evil calculation is not allowed to see the light of the day as extra day after May 29, 2015 with PDP Leadership at the centre will be hellish for all of us.

The son of Nigeria’s First Republic Prime Minister, Dr. Abdul Jhalil Tafawa Balewa, captured the illegality of this plot thus, “What type of democracy do we have? Is the PDP a communist party? Where is the place of internal democracy? What Nigerians need and where they want the country to be in future are paramount issues. We need to put our ideas before the people and allow them to decide”.

Implications of GEJ Contesting the 2015 Poll

Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, former Archbishop of Lagos and first president of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and other Nigerian leaders knowing that President Jonathan is an embodiment of failure in leadership have spoken against his third term bid but Dr Umar Ardo, an Adamawa State PDP stakeholder, captured aptly the ineligibility of President Jonathan in the 2015 general election in an open letter to the National Chairman of PDP. He wrote: “Any person of average intellect who read the 1999 Constitution (as amended) along with four key judgments of the Supreme Court (INEC Vs Boni Haruna; Peter Obi Vs Chris Ngige; Ladoja Vs INEC, and INEC Vs 5 PDP Governors), would easily conclude that President Jonathan’s eligibility to contest for another four-year term in 2015, or at any other time thereafter, under the present constitution is impeded. This argument is premised on the fact that what constitutionally applies to the governor on the issue of eligibility or otherwise to contest elections is ipso facto applicable to the president.

“In those judgments, the apex court had established the relationship between the governor and his deputy on the issue of succession (Boni Haruna); determined the holding of office in a term at four years (Peter Obi); affirmed that a governor can stay less but not more than four years in a term (Ladoja); and declared that tenure of the executive in office is a cumulative maximum period of eight years, and not a day longer (five PDP governors). By 29 May 2015, President Jonathan would be five years 23 days as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. If the president contests and wins the 2015 presidential elections or at any other time later, he will exceed the cumulative tenure of eight years maximum period as interpreted by the Supreme Court. Therefore such a contest will be unconstitutional.”

Nothing else will be far from the truth than this truism, but NEC, BoT, and the leadership of PDP are well aware of all these facts. But in demonstration of their hatred for our nation, they are ready to wreck our Constitution, in their drive to achieve the misguided vision and mission of their party.

Options, Way Out of PDP’s Evil Trap

Are Nigerians actually tired of these evil cabals that have hijacked governance in the country? If yes is the answer; how to correct these anomalies associated with the poor leadership of our country by PDP lay in their hands. The fate of our country can only be ratified and put back on track if Nigerians rise and get PDP sacked by 2015. If not, the woes ahead on all of us may not be described. We have done too much talking!

The Next Question: Is APC Leadership Ready to Bail out Nigeria?

All Progressives Congress (APC), to the understanding of some of us, was divinely formed to find solution to the abnormality that PDP has become and the quagmire state we have found ourselves as a nation. If this is the case, the challenge before APC, therefore, is enormous; and Nigerians will hold the leadership responsible should they for any reason fail to rescue our nation from the 16 years of ruination of our country by the inept leadership of PDP Government at the centre.

The Obasanjo Solution

I have read the statement of our statesman and leader, General Olusegun Obasanjo, in his recent reaction to the PDP nomination of President Jonathan as its sole candidate, entitled, “Obasanjo To President Jonathan On Second Term”. He said: “Your word must be your bond.” With respect to Gen Obasanjo, the fact remains that he created the monster in President Jonathan, and should find how to get this puzzle sorted out and save our nation from the doom that awaits her should this man succeed against all odds to be re-elected by 2015

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APC Presidential Candidates

One is happy with the no zoning policy adopted by the leadership of the party and with the presidential aspirations of Gen Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, Governors Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, Adams Oshimhole of Edo State, Okoroacha of Imo State and Kano Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso, without post-primary crisis. Also, to add Tambuwal’s under the platform of APC; I am sure that any of them can send the present inept leadership of PDP to the cleaners. But the challenge is that should there be any crack in this team, the plans and plots of PDP will easily sail through. In this regard, I wish to appeal that a sort of college be formed among these aspirants; to include our governors and BoT members, to select a candidate from among them, so as to avoid any sort of crack. This will enable us forge a united, virile campaign that will send this enemies of Nigeria out from power. But should any of these candidates, for any reason, decide to break this accord, and PDP succeeds, then we all should wait to see the true President Jonathan.

Conclusion

Many of my friends have come against me asking why I should be postulating this position against a fellow Southerner, but I will take consolation from the stand of the great Irish political philosopher, statesman and the father of conservatism, Edmund Burke, who died in July 9, 1797. He may have had the messy state of our nation in mind when he stated, and I quote: “All that is needed for the forces of evil to succeed is for enough good men to remain silent.”

The point that I have been in the centre of the struggle for a better Nigeria is not in doubt, prompting the penning down of this article. So it will be sad should anybody dare suggest that I was either influenced or motivated in writing this article for any other consideration, if not for patriotic reasons.

The fact remains that should APC loose out in the 2015 general election, but God forbid, the true colour of President Goodluck Jonathan will be revealed to Nigerians. And the heat may be unbearable. The ball is now in your court to do that which is necessary to rescue Nigeria from the imminent doom that awaits her, should we fail in this mission.

Let me; therefore, conclude this thesis by asking you all to listen to what the most outstanding African, both dead and living, Nelson Mandela, said about our present predicament: “It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then, people will appreciate your leadership.”

• Eze Chukwuemeka Eze was the immediate past National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New PDP

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2015: How To Rescue Nigeria From PDP’s Inept Leadership