Do Not Truncate Democracy, Tukur Begs Rebellious PDP Governors

Bamanga Tukur

By SaharaReporters, New York

As the crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rages on, its National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, has said that the five governors at the hub of it are heating up the polity and urged them to desist from actions capable of truncating Nigeria's democracy.

It was his first reaction to calls by the governors that he be removed from office, to which he objected by saying that the governors did not make their comments with ‘decorum, humility and caution.’
“As Leaders whom the general public look upon as a role model, they are expected to show respect to constituted authority and the elders which includes Alhaji Dr. Bamanga Tukur who have contributed immensely to the peace progress, development and advancement of this country,” his media aide, Prince Oliver Okpala, said in a statement in Abuja today.
The  governors: Alhaji Sule Lamido of Jigawa, Governor Rabiu Kwankwanso of Kano, Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto, Babangida Aliyu of Niger and Murtala Nyako of Adamawa States, had visited former leaders Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar to complain about the chaos in the party.
They also visited President Goodluck Jonathan on the same issue.
In all their discussions, they called for the removal of Tukur.
“It is unfortunate that these Governors are demanding Tukur’s removal when Tukur has made immense sacrifices for the peace and progress of the PDP and had extended his peculiar kind of brotherly love to all Party men and women,” the statement said.  “The Governors are hereby advised to embrace peace and desist from dramatizing the few problems within our democracy as these can send a wrong signal to Nigerians and the international community.”
Okpala described Tukur as a “true and committed democratic, patriotic Nigerian, a first-class nationalist and an elder statesman of international repute.”
An Abuja-based political analyst who read the statement this evening said he could not understand how Tukur being removed from the position of party chairman amounts to an action “capable of truncating democracy” in Nigeria.
“What does Tukur think he is?” he asked.  “In my view, removing him would rank right next to removing Jonathan from his lofty heights if PDP wants to survive as one.  But that is to assume that the PDP knows it’s left from its right.  If it did, it would not be led by the political equivalent of crash test dummies that they have imposed on the country.”
Full text of the statement:
The recent visit by some Governors from the North to the President has raised furore, although the discussions between the President and the Governors was held behind closed – doors, the Media has been awash with the news of the meeting and the issues discussed.
Media reports have it that the 4 Governors who had earlier visited former President Obansanjo and 2 former Military Heads of State demanded the removal of Alhaji Dr. Bamanga Tukur as the National Chairman of the PDP.
We do not know the veracity of this claim, suffice it to say however that, the Governors have the fundamental right to meet and discuss with each other and whomsoever they like and may also have the fundamental right to freedom of speech and to air their views on any issue of National importance.
However, in so doing one would expect them to make comments with decorum, humility and caution. As Leaders whom the general public look upon as a role model, they are expected to show respect to    constituted authority and the elders which includes Alhaji Dr. Bamanga Tukur who have contributed immensely to the peace progress, development and advancement of this country.
Much as the Constitution guarantees certain fundamental freedom, such as freedom of speech and assembly. There are Constitutional limitations to this freedom and the Leaders should show wisdom, caution, prudence and good counsel in their comments on National issues as their unguided utterances and calls can cause unnecessary political tension.
It is also important to emphasize that the PDP, as a  political platform upon which the Governors were elected have avenues and internal mechanism for resolution of conflicts and grievances, the Governors are therefore advised as Party -men to avail themselves of these avenues before seeking audience or making public utterances capable of overheating the polity.
More importantly, the PDP has a reconciliation Committee entrusted with the task of conflict resolution in the Party.
The Governors by their action and utterances have shown contempt to this committee by not deeming it necessary or worthy to take their grievances to the reconciliation Committee.
One would have expected the Governors to express their grievances privately to the Party Leadership or the reconciliation Committee instead of going public with their grievances before seeking audience with other Nigerian Leaders.
There is no doubt that the Governors peripatetic vision have contributed in no small measure to overheating the polity.
The National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Dr. Bamanga Tukur has tried all in his power to bring peace, tranquility and love in the PDP. His 3 cardinal policies of Reconciliation, Reformation and Rebuilding are aimed at giving all members of the Party a sense of belonging.
The National Chairman also has an open door policy and accommodation for all shades of opinion within the Party. It is unfortunate   that these Governors are demanding Tukur’s removal when Tukur has made immense sacrifices for the peace and progress of the PDP and had extended his peculiar kind of brotherly love to all Party men and women.
The Governors are hereby advised to embrace peace and desist from dramatizing the few problems within our democracy as these can send a wrong signal to Nigerians and the international Community.
The Governors as Party faithfuls and responsible citizens of this Country holding exalted positions should desist from any action that tend to overheat the polity and truncate our nascent democratic structure.
Be it known that Alhaji Bamanga Tukur is a true and committed democratic, patriotic Nigerian, a first-class Nationalist and an Elder Statesman of International repute whose cardinal aim is to protect our nascent democracy, protect the indivisibility of our Country and ensure the progress of our great Party the PDP.
Prince Oliver Okpala
Special Assistant on Media to the
National Chairman of PDP

Centenary celebration: Ezekwesili, others battle FG

Nigerians have described the ongoing year-long celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates as a misplaced priority.

According to the information on the centenary website,www.nigeriacentenary.com.ng, there are dozens of events, competitions and games which Nigerians are encouraged to participate in online as part of activities lined up for the celebration.

The events lined up for the celebration include college road shows, music competitions, comedy night shows, Miss Centenary Pageant, festivals and carnivals.

The organisers of the multi-faceted and multi-location celebration, which is expected to climax in January 2014, also asks citizens to upload “state heritage pictures,” promising them cash prizes and other goodies.

But most Nigerians following the ongoing centenary activities on the Internet say “celebrating history” is not enough to mark the nation’s journey from the amalgamation of 1914.

According to them, the feast amounts to a celebration of mediocrity. They say it is therefore unnecessary and a waste of resources. They argue that the project has no significance in the amelioration of the challenges of Nigeria’s nationhood.

Former Minister of Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, frowns on what she sees as a  jamboree, which she says, has taken shine off the careful introspection, such occasion should have provided the nation with.

According to her, there is nothing special to brag about on Nigeria’s 100 years of existence as the polity is currently “suffocating all.” She adds that decisive steps need to be taken to get the nation back on track.

“How can we be celebrating 100 years of being a country that has yet to become a ‘nation’ with fanfare? I wish the President and our political leadership could redirect it to a season of frank dialogue on the future of Nigeria,” Ezekwesili says in a Twitter post.

She insists that there is a need for the Presidency to cut short the amalgamation “fanfare” for a “frank talk,” warning that failure to do so may spell doom for the country.

She adds, “Our country is currently brittle and that is not a good place to be no matter what the President or his aides say. Nigeria’s centre is not holding because the parts that make up the whole – levels, sectors, persons, persuasions, are creaky.

“If you take a credible poll across our diverse divides as a people, you will find out that this old Nigeria is suffocating all; this old Nigeria hobbles us all to less than we are. There is so much more to us than what we currently are as a people.

“We may keep pretending that we do not need to talk, but God forbid we land in a spot where we are forced to talk.”

Another Nigerian on Twitter, Bode Omotoye, says the Federal Government’s hinging of the reason for the fanfare on the unity of the country is sheer insincerity.

He notes, “One major problem with Nigeria is that we are not honest with ourselves. Things are bad but our leaders are pretending.”

Aligning herself with the thoughts of Ezekwesili, one Ego Okoro, observes that the centenary celebration is out of place.

“Don’t know if our leaders are seeing the poverty and illiteracy level in this country. As far as I am concerned, we have very little to celebrate,” Okoro notes.

An obviously furious Nigerian, Ameer Tsidi, laments, “It is saddening how these vile unconscionable beings plan to celebrate mediocrity. The nation is experiencing a total systemic failure; instead of trying to ameliorate the situation, they want to celebrate.”

Although the FG, through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, claims the celebration is a wholly private sector-driven initiative, some Nigerians insist that it will only provide another avenue for some government officials to enrich themselves.

Tunde Owoeye says, “It appears to me as another avenue to plunder the resources of this country. We have nothing to celebrate than being alive.’’

However, one Bolaji Ibukun, in a tweet, comforts Nigerians who took to Twitter to lament the state of underdevelopment as he urges them to develop a positive mental attitude.

He notes, “Let’s all as Nigerians think positively. The power of positive thinking is one thing we all need to have a more productive economy and a better Nigeria.”

Punch

Court overrules INEC on Fresh Party’s deregistration

by: Eric Ikhilae

A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday voided the decision by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the Fresh Democratic Party (FDP).

Justice Gabriel Kolawole held that INEC acted unconstitutionally as it exercised its powers to deregister the party without giving it fair hearing as provided by the Constitution.

The judge also voided the provision of Section 78(7)(ii) of the Electoral Act 2011 for being inconsistent with the provision of the Constitution.

That portion of the Electoral Act allows INEC to deregister any party that did not win either National Assembly or State Assembly seat.

The judgment was on a suit by FDP challenging its last year deregistration by INEC. The party was among 28 others proscribed by the electoral body.

Justice Kolawole held that the powers to deregister parties, granted to INEC in Section 78(7)(ii) of the Electoral Act assumes quasi-judicial nature when it comes to deregistering parties, and “must not be exercised without giving the party to be deregistered a fair hearing.

“The first plaintiff (FDP) was entitled to be heard by the first defendant (INEC) before taking the decision to deregister it,” the judge held.

Justice Kolawole criticised INEC’s defence, holding that it failed to provide any shred of evidence to prove that it accorded the party fair hearing before proceeding to deregister it.

The judge, though upheld the National Assembly’s power to make laws as it relates to its enactment of the Electoral Act 2011, held that paragraph 2 subsection 7 of section 78 of the Electoral Act was inconsistent with the Constitution.

Justice Kolawole described the provision, as enacted by the National Assembly, as “a legislative mischief that must be addressed.”

He held that the country’s electoral process had not matured to the level where it could garanty free and fair election.

The judge noted that the concern of all should be how to create acredible electoral process.

He granted nine of the plaintiffs’ 10 prayers, which include that INEC breached Sections 14, 15(2) and (3) and 17 of the Constitution in excercising its powers to deregister parties.

Justice Kolawole also held that INEC, as established under Section 153 of the Constitution, could not deregister parties without recourse to sections 221-229 of the Constitution.

The judge refused to grant the plaintiffs’ prayer for N10millon cost. He asked them to see their effort as a contribution to the growth of the nation’s democratic process.

TheNation

INEC meets on APC registration on Thursday

by: Yusuf Alli

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will on Thursday make its position known on whether to register the All Progressives Congress (APC) or not.

The electoral commission said it would follow compliance with the laws instead of sentiments.

But it was learnt that INEC field officials did not see APC as a religious party, contrary to insinuations.

According to sources, INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega and all the National Commissioners will meet on Thursday.

Some of the National Commissioners who travelled abroad were being recalled yesterday, according to sources.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “We will lay the controversy over the registration of All Progressives Congress to rest on Thursday. But INEC management will be guided by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act.

“We will also stick to our target of making the political space as free and fair as possible to all stakeholders without partiality.

“We are hopeful that by Thursday, most of the National Commissioners would have been around.”

On the insinuation that the APC is a religious party, the source said: “Our officials did not find such a colouration in their assessment to brand APC a religious party.

“If we did, we would have made our position known that we cannot register the party. We screened the list of all its national officers and nothing suggested a tilt towards any religion.”

The source stressed that INEC’s decision would be informed by Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 78 of the Electoral Act.

“We have been doing final assessment of the application of the APC in line with these provisions in the Constitution and the Electoral Act,” the source said.

Section 222 of the Constitution says: “No Association by whatever name called shall function as a political party unless:

the names and addresses of its national officers are registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission;

b. the membership of the association is opened to every citizen of Nigeria irrespective of his place of origin, circumstance of birth, sex, religion or ethnic grouping

c. a copy of its Constitution is registered in the principal office of INEC in such form as may be prescribed by INEC

any alteration in its registered Constitution is also registered in the principal office of INEC within 30 days of the making of such alteration

the name of the association, its symbol or logo does not contain any ethnic or religious connotation or give the appearance that the activities of the association are confined to a part only of the geographical area of Nigeria and

the headquarters of the association is situated in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja

Section 78 of the Electoral Act reads: “A political association that complies with the provision of the constitution and this Act for the purposes of registration shall be registered as a political party. Provided that such application for registration as a political party shall be duly submitted to the Commission not later than six months before a general election.

“The Commission shall, on receipt of the documents in fulfillment of the conditions stipulated by the Constitution, immediately issue the applicant with a letter of acknowledgement stating that all the necessary document has been submitted to the Commission.

“If the association has not fulfilled all the conditions under the section, the Commission shall within 30 days from the receipt of its application notify the association in writing stating the reasons for non-registration.

“A political association that meets the conditions stipulated in the constitution and this Act shall be registered by the Commission as a political party within 30 days from the date of receipt of the application, and if after the 30 days such association is not registered by the Commission unless the Commission informs the association to the contrary, it shall be deemed to have been registered.

“An association which, through the submission of false or misleading information pursuant to the provisions of this section, procures a certificate of registration shall have such certificate cancelled.

“An application for registration as a political party shall not be processed unless there is evidence of payment of administrative fee as may be fixed from time to time by the Commission.

“The Commission shall have power to deregister political parties on the following grounds; breach of any of the requirement for registration and for failure to win a seat in the National or State Assembly election.”

TheNation

INEC is not a structured organisation – Fashakin

Rotimi Fashakin, National Publicity Secretary of congress for the Progressive Change (CPC), in this interaction with Evelyn Okakwu, speaks on several issues including the revised edition of the Code of Conducts for political parties released by the INEC chairman; expected roles of political parties in the conduct of free and fair elections in the country; the electoral prospects of the new merger All progressives Congress among other sundry issues.

On the revised code of conduct for parties Fashakin, who spoke on a sad note about the new code of conduct for political parties in the country said that although he read in the newspapers of the existence of a revised edition of INEC’s code of conduct, his party, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) was not represented at that even. He said “And even though one would have ordinarily expected that such an important document that pertains to the attitude and conduct ofparties before during and after elections would ordinarily be in the website of INEC, it was not. Therefore the CPC spokesman noted that his party has always said that INEC is not a structured organization because does not have the structured view about organizing elections for the country. In his words:” You will see a lot of volt- face, vacillations going back and forth. We are living in an electronic age where you put things at the reach of countless many where people can download and read. But, it’s really unfortunate. And besides when institutions and establishments refuse to leverage on the available technologies, then there is high tendency that they will run into problems. What does it take for INEC to have a computer scientist to help them upload that detail on the internet through their website?”

On 2015 general elections
Experience about elections in Nigeria especially those conducted under the leadership of INEC has not been very interesting and there is nothing really on ground to show that INEC has learnt anything yet. First of all, on April 2nd when the elections was to start, midway through the elections, we got announcement that the elections has been cancelled and that we will have to do it again the following week, that was on Aprill 9th 2011. While INEC had repeatedly publicized jingles that the electorates should wait after voting for their votes to be counted, the late NSA; that is National Security Adviser to the President then, the late General Andrew Azazi, came with a counter directive that electorates should vote and go home immediately after. It took the esilience, the doggedness of political parties in shooting down that order. INEC alone should have the final say as regards election. The effort to achieve a free and fair conduct within the Nigerian polity is like a mirage. If you go to Ghana, all the troops, the soldiers and all those that are to be used for elections are, as at the time of elections, under the command of the chairman of the election so that he determines what they do and where they go. And that to a great extent will determine the independence of those conducting the election, not that the President, being the Commander-In-Chief will be giving orders.

On INEC Independence and impartiality
They showcase themselves like an appendage of the presidency. But it should not be so. More so that the President is also normally a candidate in the elections or his party is also having candidates contesting in the elections. The chairman of the Commission should always ensure that the deployment of security agents to anywhere conforms to the structured plan of INEC. According to INEC there are 120,000 polling stations, although we later found out that there are 86,000 with verifiable addresses. The remaining 34,000 just existed on the computer, but did not exist in reality.
So when you have a situation like that, that even INEC’s process is also fraught with some inadequacies here and there then you know that there is a big problem. I think the problem is that because the INEC chairman was appointed by the President, he therefore sees himself as an appointee of Mr. President and must do the bidding of Mr. President. But it should not be so. People should be more interested in how posterity judges them. If you are removed by the president and your integrity is intact then so be it. Nobody should delude himself in understanding that if we don’t have people in authority that are derived directly from the ballot; those that come to authority through the votes of the people, we will have true democracy. That is a fetal lie instaed that will be the beginning of impunity. Because they know that it was not from the people that they got their authority from, which is contrary to section 14 of our constitution that sovereignty belongs to the Nigerian people and from whom the people in government derive their authority and powers”.

On parties’ role in conduct of successful elections
First of all the party plays a dominant role in the area of education and sensitization. Before the General election in 2011 we sensitized supporters adequately like the situation I mentioned to you earlier that the NSA then gave a contrary directive to that of INEC. We brought out a press statement urging our supporters to discard that directive and follow on the directive of INEC via earlier jingles. We asserted our believe in the supremacy of INEC regarding election matters, also we were able to bring out the absurdity in the conduct of the election through the petition at the tribunal. We were able to show Nigerians that we have a multilayered electoral system, which in itself is something we must watch out for. Because when a Nation has succeeded in getting its electoral system well, that nation is more than 50 per cent on the path to development. Nigeria has not reached that. This country is really on the path of impunity. That is why anybody that becomes a president in this country becomes like ‘An Averter, a thin God’. So as a political party, like in the APC constitution now, we now have executive in the poling units so that if we have executive members in polling units and then INEC now turns out to say that in that polling unit that nobody voted for a candidate, then we should be able to challenge that. In APC constitution we now have ward executives local government executives, National executives, as well as poling unit executives. Those are the ways in which political parties can go about ensuring a reduction in election rigging.

Reason for the merger APC
Also political parties have seen that if you still remain as regional parties, you will not have a head way at all which is the problem of this country. We have only one dominant party while the other ones are regional parties, but with the emergence of APC, we now have another dominant party which is part of the ingenuity of political parties. For us to be able to say ‘let’s come together and give the Nigerian people real choice’. Some people really want to vote but they will just say;‘pleasedon’t let me throw away my vote please’ then they will just go and vote for PDP because they feel PDP is big’. But if they see another party that is seriously competing with PDP, they will say look I don’t like this PDP people let me go to APC. So that is another thing that political parties can do.

On voters turn out at 2015 elections
Well voters apathy is as a result of many factors. People may become paranoid for various reasons. For instance people may say;‘why should I vote when there is only one dominant party and INEC chairman is an appointee of the President, hence INEC is ever ready to support the president’. But if we are able to make people know that there is a viable dominant party other than PDP and security is well checked to ensure the safety of these electorates; if the electorates believe that their votes will count, they will vote”.

On the activities of political thugs during elections
You see, when you have a very irresponsible political class, who are ready to bread Monsters all in a bid to grab political power; you will have this kind of problem. Ask yourself what is to problem that is stopping us from having electronic voting? Those at the top echelon of political authority know that the only thing that can sustain them in that office is rigging. Look at our old electoral system, you have 120,000 polling units, over 8000 ward collation centers, 774 local government collation centers, 37 state collation centers and finally the Abuja central office which is the final collation center.
As an Engineer, I know that one of the things you can do to help yourself in your design is to reduce control points, because control points are potential failure points. In advanced countries that have brought fidelity to their electoral process, they have from the polling units an electronic system straight up to their central office. All that will happen for rigging to accrue is that you post soldiers to this control points, to prevent agents from having access to the hall which was what happened in 2011 when we told the electorates that they should not follow the directive by NSA to the president”.

On appointment of the INEC chairman
Ideally the INEC chairman should be a judicial officer appointed by the NJC that is the National Judicial Commission. It is very immoral that the man to conduct the election, that the president will participate in, is appointed by the President”.

PeoplesDaily

How possible is Nigeria’s break-up?

BY AZUKA ONWUKA (AZUKA.BRAND@AUGUSTCONSULTING.BIZ)  

Azuka Onwuka
| credits: File copy

The current political, ethnic and religious tensions in the country, accentuated by the tussle for the 2015 Presidency, have begun to make many people raise the alarm that the often misquoted and misrepresented personal comments of the participants at the United States’ National Intelligence Council conference of the possibility of a break-up of Nigeria in 2015, if certain things occurred, is about to come to fruition.

Many people have often quoted the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency as the body that made that prediction so as to give that misrepresentation more authenticity. But reports show that some participants at the National Intelligence Council conference had noted that if some junior officers were to stage a coup in Nigeria, it could cause a crisis of immense proportions in Nigeria, which could destabilise the West African sub-region.

But are the fears of a possible break-up of Nigeria real or exaggerated? Another question is: Given the constant tensions in Nigeria, why has it not disintegrated?

Going down memory lane, the closest Nigeria came to disintegration was between July 1966 and January 1970. A counter-coup against Maj.-Gen. J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi had led to the massacre of Igbo civilians, especially in the North, with an estimated 50,000 of them killed. That incident led to bad blood between the Eastern Region, led by Lt. Col Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and the rest of Nigeria, led by Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon. There were efforts to settle the differences, the culmination of which was the Aburi Accord in Ghana, under the chairmanship of Ghana’s military head of state, Lt.-Gen. J.A. Ankrah. But it failed to stop a war that raged from 1967 to January 1970, which claimed the lives of over one million people, most of whom were Igbo. But at the end of the war, Nigeria still remained one in spite of discontent.

The second incident closest to breaking up Nigeria was the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, won by Chief M.K.O Abiola, by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. This injustice was greeted by protests. While the scheduled date of Babangida’s exit of August 27, 1993 drew near, there were fears that the self-styled Evil Genius wanted to extend his stay in power, and the junta of Babangida heightened the tension in the land by the propaganda that Abiola was mustering an army to invade Nigeria. Just before August 27, there was an exodus of people from Lagos. Happily, that day came and went quietly with Babangida handing over power to an Interim National Government led by Chief Ernest Shonekan.

Gen. Sani Abacha subsequently sacked the Interim National Government and unleashed a gruesome dictatorship on Nigeria from November 1993 to June 1998. There were frequent strikes and protests. The fears that Nigeria would disintegrate heightened. That fear evaporated when Abacha died in 1998 and Abiola followed suit a month after.

But before the June 12 crisis, there was another incident that had the trappings of a break-up: the 1990 military coup led by Major Gideon Orkar. The curious part of that coup was the announcement of the excision of some Northern states from Nigeria. If that coup had succeeded, the fate of those Northern states would have hung in the balance.

Then came the Niger Delta insurgency of the first decade of the 21st Century. The region had complained for a long time that despite producing the wealth of the nation, it was being treated shabbily and its land polluted. Armed groups started the bombing of oil installations as well as kidnapping of foreigners working in the petroleum industry in the region. It looked as if that would lead to a pull-out of parts of the Niger Delta from Nigeria, until in 2009 when President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua initiated the amnesty programme.

That was followed by the violence of the Islamic fundamentalist group known as Boko Haram in some Northern parts of the country. The sect’s members bombed schools, markets, churches, mosques, military offices, media houses etc. Given Boko Haram’s audacity and continuous attacks, it was feared that its attacks, especially on Southerners in the North, could lead to reprisals in the South that could spark off an ethnic war. But it was managed until President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the three Northern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe this year.

Furthermore, in 2011, the plan of Jonathan to run for president also caused tension in the land, especially from the viewpoint of the North. His ambition to run was viewed as negating the gentleman’s agreement to rotate the Presidency between the South and the North. The death of Yar’Adua in office had cut short the turn of the North, it was further claimed. Nevertheless, Jonathan ran and won. There was bloodshed in parts of the North, but the nation trudged on.

Now that the 2015 presidential election is on the radar, tensions have risen again. Some tactless individuals in the North have threatened that if the North does not rule in 2015, there will be trouble. Their fellow tactless counterparts in the South-South have replied them that if Jonathan does not rule in 2015, there will be trouble. The 2015 election has therefore been given an ethnic hue again, with many fearing that there will be trouble. The current crisis in Rivers State has further worsened the situation.

However, I believe that the future of Nigeria is not threatened in the nearest future for some reasons. The first is the existence of petroleum in the South and lack of it in the North. Oil is the major national glue in Nigeria. Nigerians have become so lazy that the fear of not getting the proceeds from oil is the beginning of patriotism and oneness.

Second, even though there are armed groups in different parts of the nation, the Nigerian Army is still stronger than all of them. These armed groups do not operate under a united platform that will make them more formidable, and so they are individually of no match to the Nigerian Army.

Third, there is the often unspoken fact that deep in the hearts of Nigerians, they really want to be Nigerians. Nigerians may spew hatred about one another on Monday over underage marriage or the Presidency, but on Tuesday, if the United Kingdom or the United States threatens Nigeria over gay rights, Nigerians will suddenly come together to tell them to take a jump. If schoolchildren are killed in Borno State on Wednesday, Nigerians will exchange angry words and ask for the nation’s disintegration, only to return on Thursday to celebrate the victory of the Super Eagles at the African Cup of Nations as one nation on Sunday. It is a funny type of marriage.

However, the problem is that Nigerians are angry with the poverty in their land in spite of the immense wealth of their nation. They feel frustrated by the corruption, the frequent ethno-religious bloodshed, the marginalisation, the injustice, the unequal opportunities, the harsh environment for personal attainment, to mention but a few. When the citizens of a nation are prosperous and safe, they think less of disintegration.

Finally, from North to South and from East to West, Nigerians are diverse in their worldviews and orientations. The continued attempt to make Nigerians move together as one on all issues of life – including on religious and ethnic matters – will continue to cause problems. A true federal system of government like that practised in the US, the UK, Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, etc, is meant to allow the different federating units to retain their identity and worldview while pursuing national visions with their compatriots.

What Nigeria has today is a pseudo-unitary system of government, where everything takes place in Abuja and every state has to conform to what Abuja wants. The states and zones are forced to accept lifestyles that run against their beliefs just for the sake of other states and zones. If this is not changed through constitutional means or a national conference, Nigerians will continue to feel trapped in a nation that they love but which continues to suffocate and frustrate them.

Punch

Jonathan, govs search for Tukur’s successor

 BY NIYI ODEBODE, JOHN ALECHENU AND OLUSOLA FABIYI 

National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

There are indications that President Goodluck Jonathan and governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party have started searching for a new national chairman to replace Bamanga Tukur.

The PUNCH learnt that the President had acceded to the long time demand of the governors that Tukur be replaced as a panacea for the crisis rocking the party.

Our correspondents learnt in Abuja on Monday, however, that while Jonathan had agreed with the request for removing the second republic governor of the old Gongola State as chairman of the ruling party, the President had yet to be satisfied with any of the possible replacements being suggested to him

Some of the names said to have been suggested to the President include those of a former Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Adamu Mua’zu; and Dr. Musa Babayo, who emerged as the PDP chairman at the North-East congress in 2012.

It was gathered that while Jonathan rejected Mua’zu because of his closeness to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the President was said to have expressed the fear that Babayo was “too close to the governors” and could hijack the party from him.

Atiku’s son, Mohammed, got married to the daughter of Mua’zu, Malama Badariya, in June.

A member of the PDP National Working Committee who spoke in confidence with one of our correspondents said, “From all indications, both the President and the governors have agreed that Tukur should go.

“Although the governors have tipped Mua’zu and Babayo, the two candidates are not acceptable to the President.

“Jonathan wants Tukur to stay until a good replacement is found for him. He does not want to lose the control of the party because of the governors’ desperate move to sack Tukur.”

As a ploy to stall the removal of Tukur, the President was said to be insisting that the governors should wait for the outcome of the party’s mini-convention before taking a final decision on Tukur.

The PUNCH  had reported on Monday that five PDP governors – Murtala Nyako, Adamawa; Rabiu Kwankanso, Kano; Babangida Aliyu, Niger; Sule Lamido, Jigawa; and Aliyu Wamakko, Sokoto – at a meeting with the President on Saturday insisted that Tukur should resign before the convention and all National Working Committee posts be declared vacant.

The party’s mini –convention, where some national officers of the party including the Deputy National Chairman are to be elected, has been fixed for August 31.

As a ‘Plan B’, The PUNCH learnt that the President was banking on the emergence of Chief Uche Secondus as deputy national chairman to check Tukur.

The second leg of the plan, it was learnt, would see the President appointing Secondus as the deputy to continue to act as national chairman in the event that Tukur is still pushed out after the convention.

Jonathan, under the plan, would refuse the possible appointment of a substantive national chairman thus allowing Secondus to conduct the party’s presidential primaries for the 2015 election.

 Secondus, a former National Organising Secretary of the PDP, hails from Rivers State and he is a close ally of Jonathan.

He aspired to be the deputy national chairman during the last national convention of the party but did not receive the backing of his state governor, RotimiAmaechi.

Tukur’s spokesman, Oliver Okpala, on Monday, refused to respond to the latest development but promised that “an official statement” from him would be issued on Tuesday (today).

He said, “Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning I am issuing an official statement on the meeting of the governors with the President.

“You will also get the reaction of the national chairman to all the issues raised, including the call for his removal.”

In a related development, the PDP has recognised Mr. Ken Emeakayi as the chairman of the party in Anambra State.

A statement by the Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Tony Okeke, said the decision to recognise Emeakayi was taken after consultations with major stakeholders in the state.

Okeke appealed to members of the party in the state to work with Emeakayi in order for the party to achieve a desired result in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

The statement said, “Following comprehensive consultations with the major stakeholders of our great Party in Anambra State coupled with the desire to have a strong and united party to effectively reposition the fortunes of  the Party as the November 16, 2003 State Governorship Election approaches, the leadership of the Party hereby announces the decision to recognize Ken Emeakayi, as the substantive Chairman of the party in Anambra State.

“All members of our party in Anambra State are hereby directed to work with Mr. Emeakayi towards achieving victory at the forthcoming governorship election in the state.”

 Meanwhile, the security situation in the country, it was learnt, would be the subject of discussion at a proposed meeting between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the PDP governors.

This is coming as two governors from the South-South zone met with the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, on the lingering crisis between President Jonathan and most of the governors.

The meeting with Obasanjo, said to have been brokered by some of the aggrieved governors in the party, was also said to have been sanctioned by Jonathan.

One of the PDP governors, who confirmed the proposed meeting said he was however yet to receive his own invitation.

 The governor said, “Yes, the meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo would hold in August, though I have not received my own invitation.

“The meeting is going to discuss the crisis in our party and the Nigeria Governors’ ‘Forum. It will also look at the crisis in Rivers State.

“We are all scared about what is happening in the country, especially with a statement by a former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar,  that the nation’s democracy is at risk due to the Rivers crisis.

“That was a statement that made some of us to wake up from our slumber and start moving to address the matter. The former head of state is not a flippant person and does not talk recklessly. We have to take him seriously.”

The governor also confirmed the meeting between the President and the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, in Abuja on Friday night.

“Such consultations will continue and I can tell you that we are serious about saving this democracy,” he added.

Punch