Events in the last few days in the political firmament of Nigeria
clearly show that our so-called new breed politicians have not learnt any
lessons from the nation’s political experiences right from the first Republic
when the same politicians through their greed and wanton disrespect for
democratic tenets invited the military to destabilize the then nascent
democracy.
These political shenanigans and reactionary attitudes that reared
its ugly head in the last few days reached a considerable crescendo with
the petty squabbles that characterized the outcome of the hotly contested
position of chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF).
In that election which took place at the weekend in Abuja, one
person among the 36 State governors was expected to emerge to occupy the single
chair of the chairman of the Governors Forum but at the end of the exercise two
men emerged to claim the right to seat on that 'single chair'.
A preponderant opinion emerging from the venue of that election is
of the considered view that the River State governor Mr. Rotimi Chibuike
Amaechi was re-elected and therefore is the bonafide leader of the Nigerian
Governors Forum. Jonah Jang has also emerged as the second claimant
to the chair of the Nigerian Governors forum but not without the groundswell of
opinion that he indeed is occupying a 'phantom chair'. PDP announced the
suspension of Rotimi Amaechi from their fold. Too bad.
There are two strands of opinions from this election which are
diametrically opposed to each other and each of the proponents are holding on
to their divisive positions regarding the accuracy of who indeed is the
chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum.
Mr. Godswill Akpabio is at the head of those governors
championing the claim that Jonah Jang is the rightful occupant of the chair of
the Nigerian Governors Forum.
Others who have supported him but are not active members of his
political platform are the Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko and the Anambra
State governor Mr. Peter Obi. But the illogicality in their claim is that those
who went into political battle and got bruised cannot at the same time lay
claim to impartiality and therefore cannot be seen to play the role of an
unbiased umpire. So their claim falls flat on its face irredeemably.
The second strand of argument led by the Ekiti State governor Dr.
Kayode Fayemi is the one that maintains that the River State governor is the
real and only winner and therefore the rightful occupant of the only chair of
the Nigerian Governors’ Forum's hierarchy.
This opinion finds favour with critics and other independent
stakeholders who believe that since their claim corresponds factually and
substantially with the position of the unbiased umpire and the Executive
Director of the Nigerian Governors Forum, it is therefore very likely that they
are right.
An interesting dimension is that Jonah Jang's occupation of what
looks like a ‘phantom’ chair is said to have been endorsed by the Abuja
Headmaster and the President of the Federal Republic Dr. Goodluck Jonathan who
was in Ethiopia to celebrate the golden jubilee of the African Union. From
Ethiopia, the President was quoted conspicuously in the media as saying that
his name brings ‘good luck’ to Nigeria.
The trouble I have in accepting this presidential verdict of
goodluck is that his candidate for the Nigerian Governors Forum's headship
[Jonah Jang] did not seem to have benefitted from the 'good luck' that
flows from our President’s name [whatever that means].
Back to the issues relating to the actual election, Nigerians were
told by the returning and/or presiding officer and the head of the forum's
bureaucracy, at the election that Governor Amaechi of River state defeated
Jonah Jang of Plateau with 19 votes to 16.
However Jang supporters said the entire body of PDP governors
endorsed the candidacy of Jonah Jang prior to the election. But elementary
logic and common sense tell us that endorsement prior to actual election
is different from the real election. For instance before the
kickoff of the European football league championship in Wembley Stadium in
England between Bayern Munich and Barusia Dortmund, all of Germany, some of us
endorsed Borusia Dortmund and prayed fervently that the team emerges victorious
but our hope faded when Bayern Munich defeated our endorsed team. Do we then
cry blue murder because our beloved and endorsed team did not win?
Who tells the PDP Governors that in secret balloting, some of
those who had consented to a group accord may not betray the consensus and
go for their own consciences instead because they are not robotic items to be
remote controlled from somewhere?
My sincere advise to governor Jang who is called “Baba” (meaning
father) by his political supporters in Plateau is that he should fully
concentrate on governing Plateau State given that the beautiful State of
Plateau has more than its own fair share of troubles. Inter-ethnic and
inter-religious crises are tearing that most beautiful State in Nigeria apart
even as terrorists have severally targeted Plateau State because of what it
represents in the North.
Please 'Baba' Jang govern Plateau well and leave the political
intrigues of NGF alone for young men to contend with.
The opposition Action Congress of Nigeria [ACN] has raised
alarm that the rejection of the result of the election of NGF by the PDP
is a dangerous dress rehearsal of what will happen in the much talked about
2015 election.
My take is this: President Jonathan has pledged to conduct free
and fair general elections in 2015 even though he hasn’t indicated if he will
participate as a presidential candidate or not. We are prepared to believe him
for now.
* Emmanuel
Onwubiko, is head; Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria and
blogs@www.huriwa.blogspot.com; www.huriwa.org.
27/5/2013
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