Obasanjo and Jonathan in Nigeria politics
If I had an artistic licence, I would have registered the usage of ‘Obasanbration’ and ‘Jonabration’ in languages to be used synonymously with defamation, but unfortunately, I do not enjoy such privilege.
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It is no longer news that commentators on the correspondence between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, spiced by that of ‘Iyabo’, President Obasanjo’s daughter characterised the Nigerian media landscape during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
As we begin the New Year, we wish to be spared further altercations from these political opportunists, whose mischievous commentaries are heating up the political space in Nigeria, thereby pushing the country towards needless chaos.
I do not want to sound political or reading the manifesto of any political candidate or a political party. I want to write and state the facts and demand reactions from any individual or group, if this publication falls short of the facts on the ground.
General election
The political parties in Nigeria are counting the days to the 2015 general election and they are employing various antics and vices to achieve electoral victory. As a Nigerian resident in Ghana, my immediate constituency is the Diaspora Group and I wish to save this group from the malicious misinformation the political elites will be putting out in the public domain to gain political capital.
I intend to achieve my goal by providing a perfect balance of information that will enable the Diaspora Group in Ghana and all over the world to make informed decisions in the upcoming 2015 general election in Nigeria.
It is a known fact that most Nigerians in the diaspora have a minimum of three direct family members who depend on them for their upkeep in Nigeria. With a population of about two million Nigerians living in Ghana, they will have about six million Nigerians back home depending on them for their upkeep and survival and can be swayed by their opinions and suggestions and, therefore, have a political space and voice that should be heard in the political sphere of Nigeria.
The ‘Obasanbration’ and ‘Jonabration’ commentaries are having very negative social, political and economic impact on Nigerians in the Diaspora at large and should be discouraged. These political opportunists should be advised to channel their energies into other constructive criticisms that would enhance the growth and highlight the potentials in the country instead of these mischievous commentaries for and against elder statesmen.
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His Excellency, Olusegun Obasanjo, once said in one of his interviews in the fallout of the April, 2007 general election that “Democracy is a journey and not a destination.” This is true in all sense of the word just as it is also true that attaining social, economic and infrastructural development is a process and not an event that can happen at once.
Impatience
Nigerians are always so impatient towards their fellow kinsmen when they are in the driver’s seat; they become very critical of them and quick to identify the speck in their eyes when they themselves have logs in their eyes. Why must politics be a game where every good deed or achievement of the opponent is written on water and the bad deeds are cast on stones?
Why do politicians want to eat omelet without breaking an egg? Why do politicians request miracles from their opponents but given the same opportunity, they need your tolerance, patience and understanding? Why can’t politicians “do unto others what they wish others do unto them? The answer is essentially because most politicians are just naturally selfish and intolerant towards what they cannot control.
Political rancour whether inter-party or intra-party are caused by power struggle; either someone is over exercising control authority or someone is not willing to be controlled.
Political Godfathers
Should Nigerians always allow competence and efficiency to be sacrificed at the altar of political loyalty and allegiance to god-fathers whose intents are to control elected leaders? That is a question for all to answer.
I believe it is time Nigerians collectively stand up and say NO TO CONTROL. Nigerians living in Ghana have a voice that can be heard, a voice with a population of over six million Nigerians behind it back home, the voice which is more than the population of many states in Nigeria. That voice is standing up today against authoritarianism, dictatorship, god-fatherism, favouritism, nepotism, despotism and all the political vices that previously plunged Nigeria into a position of a pariah country among nations of the world.
Nigeria has been so unlucky to have leaders who wickedly upheld the cardinal rule of power which states that “Power Preserves itself”, meaning once in possession of power, you must always remain in that position of power either directly or by proxy, hook or crook. These self-styled god fathers are just power drunk and cannot articulate visions beyond two years for Nigeria so the people see the nation taking one step forward and three steps backwards.
Symbol of unity
We thank God that in the 2011 general election, all the major political parties in Nigeria endorsed Dr Jonathan for the highest seat of the land to lead and give Nigeria a purposeful and visionary leadership.
He is a symbol of unity and it is on record and I stand to be corrected that President Jonathan is the only candidate in Nigeria presidential elections who has had overwhelming support and patronage of other political parties standing for the same election.
In the April, 2011 presidential elections, all the major political parties, including the main opposition parties unanimously agreed to support the presidential ambition of Dr Jonathan. They had to mobilise behind Dr Jonathan against their own party candidates standing for the same presidential election. This is unprecedented on the political landscape in Nigeria.
It is only the game of football that has been known to unite Nigerians in this manner. By this solidarity in the 2011 general election, Jonathan became the first Nigerian, who despite his political colouration, received overwhelming political support from other political parties.
I am not a member of government at any level, neither am I a member of the government’s communication team. So in my analysis of President Jonathan’s policies and achievements, I will want to access his performance based on empirical evidence known to all, but deliberately overlooked by those political mischief makers just to create a semblance of a failed system to satisfy their insatiable appetite for power.
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We have a leader who within 24 months in office was able to lay a solid foundation and outlined the vision for Nigeria through well-articulated reform programmes aimed at enhancing all sectors of the country’s social, political, economic and infrastructural development. President Jonathan’s political will to initiate and execute these reforms is a testimony to his love and progressive vision for Nigeria. Nigerians know that President Jonathan made a lot of political enemies through these reforms, even enemies within his camp and till date, these adversaries are finding every available opportunity to get at him, but with the support and encouragement of the populace, they will not succeed.
• The writer is a Social/Political Commentator
Email: seidufranklynn@yahoo.com