Uche Igwe
The
Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, must be close to
President Goodluck Jonathan. At least, that is what he wants the
President and some of us among the Nigerian public to believe. The
Burutu-born politician prides himself as a prominent member of the
so-called kitchen cabinet of the President. This larger-than-life
posturing has often led many analysts to conclude that he speaks the
mind of his boss. It is in this light that I want us to pause and
examine the recent acrimonious media exchanges between the minister and
the Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, and collectively assess the
implications on the polity.
There are many who believe Orubebe’s
motive is to please and, probably, help President Jonathan by fighting
real and imaginary enemies on his behalf, with an eye on 2015. However,
by his action, he has unwittingly ended up hurting the President. One
Igbo adage says that it is only your best friend who will tell you that
your mouth smells. In the past one month, many prominent activists from
the Niger Delta region including Ms Ann Kio Briggs of the Ijaw
Republican Assembly; Rueben Wilson of the Forum of Peace in the Niger
Delta; and Chief Ebikabowei Victor Ben (aka General Boy Loaf) have
decried what they described as the non-performance of the Jonathan
administration in critical areas of the economy. Many observers have
also pointed at the seeming deficiencies of this government from time to
time. How come the same people who stood behind Jonathan during the
turbulent days prior to his ascendancy to the Presidency and even in his
campaigns in 2011 have almost all turned around to become his biggest
critics? In the case of Orubebe, instead of being a true friend to Mr.
President, he is rather busy distorting his vision and creating
multidirectional minefields for him.
Many of the so-called Jonathan’s men
often forget that he is the President of Nigeria; not that of the Niger
Delta region only. So, why must the Orubebes of this world continue to
make him look like the President of Ijaw Republic? Why must Jonathan be
made, by his advisers, to look as though he is concerned about projects
in his immediate constituency only? Come to think of it, Amaechi, the
governor of Rivers State and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum
could also be seen, literally, as President Jonathan’s “younger
brother”. Even if they have minor political differences, they should be
allowed to resolve those internally as a family and not on the pages of
newspapers. And people like Orubebe should be posturing, like true
African elders, to amicably resolve whatever the issues, real or
imaginary, that exist between the President and the Governor rather than
being seen to be fanning, further, the embers of such discord, as it
were.
Wild insinuations such as the one
reportedly made by the Niger Delta Minister in Uyo recently will
potentially amplify the differences and project the President as someone
who cannot keep his “family” together. There are those who have accused
Amaechi of nursing presidential ambition; so what? Now that the Peoples
Democratic Party and many Nigerians appear to have agreed to abolish
the zoning principle, it then means that anyone qualified can vie for
the highest office of the land. One thought that the PDP-led debates
resulting in the final emergence, as Presidential candidate, and
acceptance of Jonathan at the 2011 General Election had established
conclusively that zoning was dead and buried and that any worthy
candidate, irrespective of tribe or tongue, faith or religion and gender
could vie to occupy the highest office in the land. Indeed, our
constitution says so! By jettisoning zoning in favour of merit, the PDP
reaffirmed this fundamental right of every citizen way back in 2011.
Let me return to the East-West road
issue. That road is now a scar on the conscience of the Jonathan
administration and a symbol of palpable incompetence. It is such that
should make every Nigerian cover his face in shame for standing between
President Jonathan and one of his most important potential legacies. The
minister should perform on his immediate assignment and stop playing
politics. For Amaechi, let us leave that for Rivers people to decide
whether he is performing or not. The now grossly-overdue completion of
the East-West Road is disgraceful. The funds committed so far in the
project make the delay inexplicable. What many people are asking across
other regions is that if Jonathan can so neglect “his home region”, what
shall other regions do? The Niger Delta minister must be told that the
current drama he is orchestrating makes it look like some people see
2015 as a fait accompli. Instead, he should be told that the signals
coming from the turbulence in the PDP do not make 2015 a fait accompli.
The non-completion of the East-West Road will definitely come to hunt
and hurt Mr. President’s 2015 ambition especially in the South-South
should he decide to contest.
Furthermore, the leadership of the PDP
ought to have waded into a matter like this to ensure speedy resolution
and avoid unnecessary cracks and distractions. However, it seems that
the manner in which the leadership emerged may still haunt the party for
a while. It is believed that the organs of the party have been hijacked
by centrifugal political forces such that most members of the executive
are hardly on the same page on any issue. So who will talk to whom in
this? Which legitimacy will the person draw on? With all the
realignments and talks about mergers by other political parties, how
come the President’s men and the PDP leadership cannot work together to
save their party from any possible implosion?
I do not know exactly what those who want
to help the President to achieve his immediate political aims must do.
But I know what they must not do: If they love the President, they must
not complicate the big man’s problems through tribal myopia and
infantile political demagoguery. They must stop shielding him from the
truth that most of those who supported him in 2011 are disappointed at
him. The President’s “Yes-men” must be told that they are actually
harming and not helping him and must desist from such forthwith. They do
more harm to the President than the so-called real or perceived
enemies.
Punch
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