RingTrue BY Yemi Adebowale
Email: yemi.adebowale@thisdaylive.com
Nine days ago, I watched some so-called admirers of former President Goodluck Jonathan gather at his Abuja office, urging him to come out and contest the 2023 presidential election. The sponsored crowd carried placards with inscriptions such as, “Goodluck declare now, we are sorry; Goodluck don’t abandon us, come back; Goodluck please come back; and Goodluck we love you.”
Jonathan’s admirers are right about the pathetic state of Nigeria. This country is indeed in a big mess, no thanks to seven years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s mismanagement. A spokesman of the Jonathan fans, Mayor Samuel was apt when he said, “We were deceived and brainwashed by those who claimed they could do it in 2015. Now, we know better, under Jonathan the minimum wage could buy one or two bags of rice. What do we have today? We are begging President Jonathan to forgive us, we have realised our mistakes; we want him back to complete what he started.”
Samuel noted that the “saboteurs” that came after Jonathan were empty, adding, “We are here to say sir, forgive us, come and lead us again. We are calling on you to come and take the mantle of leadership in 2023. Nigeria is in comatose. Please answer this call, the youth are here, the women are here, the children are here, pregnant women are here, please hear their cry. All we need is a leader that will not discriminate, a Nigerian that will work for the South-south, South-east, South-west, and the north. The Transformation agenda was working until the saboteurs came to deceive us, to brainwash us.”
Yes, this country needs a president in 2023 that will reunite its people. Buhari has badly mismanaged Nigeria’s diversity, which ought to be our strength; brothers are killing brothers. This country has never been this divided. Just as Bishop Kukah said, “the Buhari administration, sadly, has divided our people on the basis of ethnicity, religion, and region, in a way that we have never witnessed in our history. This carefully choreographed agenda has made Nigerians vulnerable and ignited the most divisive form of identity consciousness among our people.”
Under Buhari, the economy is in chaos. Insecurity is unprecedented, with terrorists rampaging across our country. Scores of innocent Nigerians are killed daily. So, Jonathan’s admirers are right to apologise to him over all the lies told about him ahead of the 2015 general election. Lies about this former president sponsoring Boko Haram so as not to hold elections in 2015 were the most painful. Despite the current huge crisis in Nigeria, Jonathan cannot be an option in 2023.
Before examining Jonathan’s capacity to tackle Nigeria’s current disarray, let’s quickly look at speculations that he would contest under the ruling All Progressives Congress. How can a Jonathan who was President for five years under the PDP contemplate contesting for President under the APC? This is reprehensible. Many say there is no morality in Nigerian politics but not at the level Jonathan is now. He must not be seen running after or dining with the APC. For Jonathan to even think that the ruling party would give him its Presidential ticket is preposterous. A party that once described him as clueless and a drunk will now turn around to present him as its presidential candidate? This is impossible. How will the APC market him? For me, the APC simply wants to disgrace Jonathan further at its Presidential primary.
Now to the issue of the former president Jonathan coming back to tackle the huge problems created by Buhari. The complications of this country are now beyond a Goodluck Jonathan. Yes, to some extent, Jonathan did well as Nigeria’s President for five years. But he was evidently a weak leader while his reign lasted. His leadership and management capacity is limited. I will never forget how the hopeless Rabiu Kwankwaso intimidated Jonathan to sack Festus Odimegwu as Chairman of the National Population Commission for selfish reasons.
All manner of people were intimidating Jonathan while his reign lasted. This former president displayed frightening weakness and left many things badly done or not done at all. It was his failings that produced calamity Buhari. If Jonathan had done the needful, nobody would have talked about Buhari ahead of the 2015 presidential election. Nobody would have mentioned this extremely clannish and incompetent Buhari. So, what is Jonathan coming back to do? With the chaos this country is now, Jonathan is clearly not the kind of President that can stimulate Nigeria. He is too feeble a man.
The former president’s decision to come out and address the rented crowd at his office nine days back was disgraceful. His speech showed a man contemplating contesting in 2023 but afraid of the justifiable repercussions. I heard Jonathan saying he could not declare now because some political processes were still ongoing and that they should just watch out; that Nigerian youths want him to contest for President in 2023. So, youths are the ones pushing Jonathan? Is that what he wants us to believe? Let him tell that to the marines. Jonathan says he is consulting over 2023. Consulting with whom? Watch out for what? Is he not finding these statements embarrassing?
One of the impostors called the Citizens Network for Peace and Development, going about campaigning for Jonathan said, “The entire country, men, women, East, North, South and West are unanimous for Jonathan to contest the 2023 presidential election.” Haba! Which country is this group talking about? This group is a good example of those deceiving Jonathan. Its statements and actions are all aimed at achieving a selfish objective.
Another deceptive pro-Jonathan group, Dawo Dawo Network (Network for the return of Jonathan), said drafting the former president to the 2023 presidential race “is a national sacrifice.” National sacrifice? Which sacrifice? The weird group adds that Jonathan’s commitment to nation building “is exemplified by non-criticism of sitting and former leaders.” So, not censuring current and previous leaders means Jonathan is committed to building Nigeria? These guys are evidently jesters aiming for Jonathan’s pocket.
Just as Ohanaeze Ndigbo recently said, people luring Jonathan to contest under the APC are his enemies. The organisation stated: “It is only in Nigeria and in third world like Africa that such an idea could be contemplated in the first place.”
Pa Ayo Adebanjo adds that Jonathan mulling the idea of contesting the 2023 presidency is shameful.
For me, Jonathan should concentrate on his status and role as an African statesman and stop dreaming of returning as president in 2023. This former president should stop wasting time, energy and resources “consulting” with hawks on 2023. In the last seven years, Jonathan, as an African statesman, did a lot of conflict resolution jobs across the continent. This is where he belongs. He has attained an enviable level across the continent. So, he should do more in this regard. Jonathan should also do more for the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation and add local conflict resolution across Nigeria to his mission. He has no business with the race for 2023.
Ben Ayade is Simply a Clown
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State wants Nigerians to believe that the current state of insecurity in the country could have been worse if Buhari were not the President. He wants us to believe that Buhari “exudes a depth of knowledge and a depth of the intellect.” Ayade, during his visit to the President at the Villa early this week, came out confused and started praising Buhari’s “understanding of the international and global security challenges and what he has done to stem the continuous incursion of bandits and Boko Haram into Nigeria.”
This country is experiencing an unprecedented insecurity and somebody gets up praising Buhari. Nigeria is bleeding and this governor is cheering the President. Ayade is clearly high on something. Only God knows what it is. This governor is one of those bootlickers around the President unwilling to tell him the truth about his ineptitude. Nigeria is suffering because of coldblooded men like Ayade; men who are always economical with the truth because of selfish interest. Ayade wants to contest for President. This is why he has been running his mouth like a broken tap. He cares less about the blood of innocent Nigerians spilled everyday because of Buhari’s clumsiness. The blood of these innocent people will be on the head of Ayade and his likes. One thing is certain: They will all pay for the blood of innocent Nigerians spilled daily.
Gov Ikpeazu is Still Maltreating Seniors, Workers
Okezie Ikpeazu is one governor that has inflicted the biggest pain on civil servants and pensioners in Abia State, in all its years as a state. His seven years as governor have brought blood and tears on public servants. Ikpeazu still has a year to go. Only God knows how these traumatised workers and seniors will survive this catastrophe called Ikpeazu.
Abia senior citizens were again on the street last Wednesday, marching under the aegis of Concerned Abia Pensioners, in what they said was the beginning of a two-day protest across the state over 38 months unpaid pension.
Coordinator of the pensioners, Chief Emeka Okezie, said: “We have been dehumanised and subjected to unimaginable suffering as our death toll ranges between 10 to 15 pensioners every month. We have no money to buy drugs, especially our diabetic and hypertensive pensioners. We have children to look after, especially those in the universities. We are only looking up to God and don’t know where we are heading to”.
Few days back, Abia State health workers were also on the streets, crying over the rate at which their colleagues “are dying out of frustration, suffering and hunger” following the non-payment of salaries for over 12 months by Ikpeazu.
An official of the state’s Hospital Management Board declared: “Abia State Government has turned the board into a place of frustration, pain and death. We buried three of our members last week; three are in the mortuary and there is no money to bury them. One of us, a young lady, has recently developed a mental problem. She walks about on the street aimlessly.”
The health workers also staged a protest at the front of their office, wielding placards with inscriptions such as, “Save our souls in HMB”, “Our children are dying of hunger”, “Pay HMB workers their 12 months’ salary arrears” and “Our landlords are on our necks for house rent,” among others.
Speaking during the protest, the state’s chairman of Allied Action Committee, Echeta Chikezie, stated that the government paid basic salaries of 2019 just last year, pointing out that the workers accepted it because of the suffering they were going through.
The statement of the Abia State chairman, Medical Health Workers Union of Nigeria, HMB branch, Chidinma Nwokoma is instructive. She said: “Our heart is bleeding that the governor, whose mother is retired as a nurse, a health worker, can hate us this much. We are treated like second class citizen and our children are being thrown out of school.”
Today, I challenge Ikpeazu to amend his ways and pay pensioners, health workers and other Abia civil servants he is exposing to shame. I am sure that this governor has never gone without his own pay for a single day. Besides, there are so many goodies attached to his office which he has never for one day reduced. So, why should Ikpeazu be living big while seniors and civil servants are wallowing in pain? Retirees are dying waiting for pension, yet, he is unperturbed. This man, Ikpeazu, is cruel. This is the right word to describe him.
