When good luck eludes Goodluck, Buhari gives Jonathan APC
A little over two weeks ago, I had wanted to wish my Nigerian friends and brethren good luck, and also to urge them to be patient, but I realised I could have been accused of politically campaigning in favour of one of the then presidential candidates.
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One of the candidates, the incumbent, has Goodluck as one of his names, while Patience is the name of his wife. Therefore, my harmless goodwill message would have been misconstrued for campaigning for President Goodluck Jonathan, and wishing Nigerians to vote for him to maintain his wife Patience as the First Lady.
As it turned out in the voting two weeks ago in Africa’s most populous country, my Nigerians friends and brethren wouldn’t have taken my goodwill message lightly as they never wanted to have any ‘good luck’ and could not have ‘patience’ any more. They voted Goodluck out of office as President.
Effects of Nigeria’s elections on Ghana
Since the election in Nigeria, many in Ghana have begun analysing its political, social, and economic implications for Ghana. Many have even analysed the similarities between Ghana and Nigeria and their presidents, the personalities involved in the elections in Nigeria and the impending one in Ghana, and the emerging political landscape in the two countries.
So the question is: Does the Nigeria election have any effects on Ghana and its politics, elections, economy, and governance? The answer is clear— Yes, it does, but to what extent is where political scientists, journalists, and analysts differ in their opinion. So perhaps it’s better to leave some of the arguments for now and see the unfolding events coming out of the Nigerian election.
Some arguments: Antwi-Danso’s
Before the election took place, there were many discussions in our media about what was likely to happen in that country. One of the frightening assertions made was that of Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso, a Senior Research Fellow at the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy.
He was reported to have made a categorical statement that “the President of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, will rig Saturday's presidential polls,” and that “Jonathan will use the power of incumbency to manipulate the polls in his favour.”
Speaking on an Accra radio station, Dr Antwi-Danso said chances of Jonathan losing the elections were “almost impossible” because 27 of 36 governors had declared support for Jonathan already, which, to him, was a winning ticket.
I was alarmed by Dr Antwi-Danso’s statement, first, because it was not based on any scientific analysis and he didn’t give any evidence to support his statement. Secondly, most of his public statements are associated with the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy of the University of Ghana, and, therefore, one expected him to have considered the diplomatic relations between Ghana and Nigeria before his statement when he had no empirical evidence to support it.
As it turned out, his prediction was very wrong. It raises serious questions about how opinion polls and election predictions are made in Ghana and other African countries, especially when such so-called predictions and polls are led by academics and journalists claiming to be experts in such areas. Such false predictions have the tendency to cause mayhem after election.
Sampson Ahi’s
Another troubling statement I heard was that attributed to the Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works & Housing, Sampson Ahi, describing General Muhammadu Buhari, then main opposition candidate in Nigeria’s election, as ‘a sick old man,’ who was going to lose the general election.
According to the Wednesday, March 18, 2015 edition of the New Statesman newspaper, Mr Ahi, who was speaking to students of Sefwi-Wiawso College of Education said, "If you look at Nigeria, they also have an old man there who, instead of taking care of his grandchildren, is desperate to be President and to unseat the young man.
Thank God, Mr Ahi had denied ever making such statement, and even added that he was not at the college at Sefwi-Wiawso either. “In fact, I was very surprised when I read the story because I had never gone to the Sefwi-Wiawso College of Education for any programme, neither had I made that comment even in a chat with anybody,” he said.
Since Mr Ahi’s denial, I have been waiting to hear the New Statesman to either challenge him and proof that he indeed made the statement, or retract the story and apologise to the deputy minister, but regrettably, I haven’t heard anything from the newspaper.
‘Ghana and Nigeria should be brothers forever’
It is important for Ghana and Nigeria to remain close in bilateral dealings and also how they approach international issues with one voice to strengthen themselves and the sub-region. It is out of this consideration that any issue and acts which could potentially destroy the good relationships between the two countries must be avoided.
Seriously, if Ghana and Nigeria decided to improve trade between themselves, they would achieve a lot of economic benefit which in the end would attract other ECOWAS members to join them.
Some of us have from time to time expressed concern about unprofessional journalism. The editorial team of the New Statesman newspaper must be ashamed of itself for the harm it has caused Ghana if it turns out that the story it published was not true (as it is at the moment without any challenge to the minister’s denial).
Appeal
In that case, the National Media Commission would have to call it to order and compel it to apologise, not only to the deputy minister, but Ghanaians and more especially, to Nigerian and, President-elect Buhari.
By the way, back to my ill-fated goodwill message to my Nigerian brethren. Therefore, as it is now, we know that if good luck eludes Goodluck, surely Buhari will give Jonathan APC to energise him.
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Those of you who are a bit older would know the medicine, Aspirin and Phensic Combined (APC), which was one of the most popular anti-headache tablets some years back.
However, this Nigerian APC turned out to be a political party called the All Progressives Congress which has kicked Jonathan out of Aso Rock, the Presidential Palace.
We will talk about the potency or otherwise of the APC later.
The author is a Political Scientist, and Media and Communication Expert. fasado@hotmail.com
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