Issues Around Tom Ikimi’s Famous Letter of Resignation, By Edwin Ikhinmwin

On August 27, the news media widely published the press statement issued by Chief Tom Ikimi announcing his resignation from the All Progressive Congress – APC. In the statement, Chief Ikimi chronicled his stewardship in the APC and his hard work towards the formation of the party. He further discussed his ambition to be the Chairman of the party and the reasons why he failed.
In the process, he accused the governors of the All Progress Congress, prominent members of the party and its current chairman Chief Oyegun of conspiracy to thwart his ambition to become the chairman of the party. He further accused the party elders of being cowards in not being able to confront Asiwaju Tinubu about his so – called domineering posture in the party.
It should be conceded that Chief Ikimi has the right to aspire to any office in the land especially when in his opinion he has worked hard for it. Furthermore, he has a right to be frustrated and to express such frustration in whatever way he liked for failing to achieve his objective. However, he does not have the right to discredit respectable Nigerians just because he could not achieve his ambition.
Ikimi’s letter is a validation of why he could not be elected Chairman of the All Progressive Congress despite his supposed hard work. An examination of the contents of the letter may reveal the reasons why Ikimi could not become chairman of the APC in a free and fair election devoid of imposition. Reading from Ikimi’s letter and an unbiased review of the membership structure of the APC, one can identify at least five power centers; The Buhari bloc, Atiku bloc, Tinubu bloc, the Governors’ bloc and others. None of these voting blocks in the party acting alone has the capacity to dominate the others. Decisions like the appointment/election of the party chairman and other party executives will require the consent of all the voting blocs or majority of them to be successful. In the absence of executive presidential powers as in the PDP, Tinubu has to be a superman/magician to be able to coerce the other four voting blocks to impose any candidate or decision on the party.
It is therefore self-evident that the victory of Chief Oyegun and other members of his executive committee, could only have derived from their popularity and acceptance by all or majority of the stakeholder groups of the APC.
Party politics and election usually involve negotiations and horse trading. This is a legitimate component of the political process and to characterize such as conspiracy against an aspirant to any office is suggestive of ignorance of the political process and tyrannical arrogance by Chief Ikimi. It ought to be recalled that Chief Ikimi has not won any electoral contest since the beginning of the current civilian democratic dispensation. His appointment as the chairman of the NRC during the military transition program could be attributed to the influence of his high military contacts at the time.
Chief Tom Ikimi has by his own admission accepted that he has a personality trait that others perceive as arrogance which consequently repels people from him. If he knows this about himself, then he should work to change that perception rather than attribute his failure in an electoral contest to a phantom conspiracy theory. He might be a very successful worker but he needs to be popular to be accepted by voters whether in a general election or party election. It does not require a seer to know that in a political contest between Chief Oyegun and Tom Ikimi the victor will be Oyegun because Oyegun has a more amiable personality. A historical match-up of the past electoral contest between Oyegun and Ikimi shows Oyegun to be the better of the two. Oyegun as the gubernatorial candidate of the SDP defeated Ikimi locally in Edo State and also beat Ikimi nationally when Oyegun’s candidate M K O Abiola won the presidential election by beating Ikimi’s NRC.
Chief Oyegun and Ikimi are both independent and objective in their views but while Ikimi is militant and combative tending towards arrogance, Oyegun is persuasive and amiable.
It is a sad commentary on the Nigerian political elite that Chief Ikimi is leaving APC not because of any major ideological or policy disagreement but rather because he did not emerge as chairman of the party. What a myopic arrogant and selfish proposition. In the course of his lengthy letter, Chief Ikimi exhibited deliberate amnesia or propagated unqualified falsehood when he stated that he had been in the ACN, AC, and APC for 13 years struggling to form a credible opposition platform. He forgot his days in the APP, then the PDP where we can all remember the Eagle square “Obasanjo, Obasanjo, obasanjo and obasanjo.” spectacle. Perhaps if Obasanjo had rewarded him with a plum ministerial appointment after the Eagle Square performance, the “hard work” for a credible opposition platform would not have been necessary.
Ikimi was the Chairman of a major political party that participated in the ill-fated third republic, yet he was very comfortable to serve as a high officer in a government that derailed that republic. He defended the judicial murder of the late Ken Saro Wiwa a fellow south southerner. At the commencement of the current democratic dispensation he joined the APP, perhaps because of the erroneous misconception of many of the southern elites that a northern leaning party will always win federal elections, rather than the Pan Nigeria leaning PDP as it then was.
In contrast Chief John Oyegun has been a consistent advocate of progressive governance. He is an independent minded public servant who voluntarily retired as a federal permanent secretary and was elected the first civilian governor of Edo state in a popular contest in which the people acknowledged his humility and service credentials. Upon the overthrow of the legimate democratic order, Oyegun joined with others including Tinubu to form NADECO the platform that was used to resist the military autocracy of Abacha. Meanwhile Ikimi was luxuriating in the enjoyment of the loot of office as Minister of Foreign Affairs globetrotting and looking for friends as a result of the universal isolation of Nigeria. It is therefore laughable to suggest that leading a trade mission to China was a high achievement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. A director or any other such officer of government could have successfully led the trade mission and at less cost. The trade mission was foisted upon us because we were isolated and looking for friends. We can ask today what the benefits of that trip are.
The point of this write up is that Chief Tom Ikimi should learn to be a democrat. A political contest is not a do or die matter in which failure to win an election should lead to the denigration of erstwhile colleagues. For about seven years as stated in his letter, Ikimi had been in the same party with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the ACN, AC and APC without any major quarrel until his failure to be elected as APC chairman. He had exchanged visits with Chief Oyegun many times over the years and unsuccessfully wooed him to join the PDP. During these years, Chief Oyegun was nobody’s stooge but because Chief Oyegun beat him in a political contest, Oyegun has suddenly become the servant of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who is at least 10 years younger than Oyegun. This is heresy and an abomination in our culture.
The record is clear that Tom Ikimi is a serial “decamper” always willing to join any government in power and gives the impression that he will rather rule in hell than serve in paradise.
At 70 years one expects more from the high chief of Igueben.
Politics and ambition should be made of sterner stuff. Ikimi should articulate and pursue a vision of a brighter rewarding future for Nigerians rather than drag us into the politics of frustration, rumour mongering and vendetta as clearly evident in his epistle of frustration.
Edwin Ikhinmwin lives in Lagos. Kindly reach him via eikhinmwin@aol.com
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The Gospel According To Tom Ikimi

         

PENDULUM BY DELE MOMODU, Email: delemomodu@thisdaylive.com

Fellow Nigerians, let me start by quickly stating my admiration for the person and personality of Chief Tom Ikimi. As a celebrity reporter, Ikimi is every journalist’s dream. He’s charismatic, charming, lively, debonair, suave, oratorical, worldly, creative, affable and absolutely political. I’ve had the privilege of spending time with him at home and abroad and found him very warm and affectionate. Despite our sharp political differences in those days when I used to visit him, he never appeared an intolerant soul. He was too cosmopolitan to disallow a healthy debate.  He never denied being overly conservative or adroitly capitalistic in nature.

Chief Ikimi could not have been otherwise. He’s a very successful architect. His profession thrives on uncommon creativity and some splash of eccentricity. I’m not sure if he still puffs his Havana cigars but I certainly recollect the vivid picture of the cigar-chewing fashionista. I was surprised when he sauntered from the conservative party of PDP to the relatively progressive party of ACN which later metamorphosed into APC. He was in fact one of the arrowheads that midwifed that miraculous birth. Many had dismissed the idea of such a merger as near-impossible but Ikimi and his team worked assiduously to make the impossible possible and they were well applauded for their brilliant efforts.

One would have thought the ovation received by the team would suffice and make them work harder on taking this hybrid party to the next level but the ways of our politicians are not the ways of ordinary mortals. In Nigeria, nothing goes for nothing. It is always a matter of what’s in it for me and my home. Tom Ikimi, who was Chairman of the bigger National Republican Convention over 20 years ago wanted to come back in 2014 as Chairman of APC. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was a young Senator over 20 years ago and a Governor as recently as seven years ago would love to run as Vice Presidential candidate to whomever in 2015. Chief Bisi Akande who was Deputy Governor to Chief Bola Ige over 30 years ago in old Oyo State and Governor of Osun State in 1999, returned as Chairman of ACN after and almost became a substantive Chairman of APC having been its interim Chairman. Chief John Odigie Oyegun was Governor of Edo State over 20 years ago and Vice Presidential candidate (to former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano State under ANPP in 2011 and now Minister of Education under PDP in 2014) and is now Chairman of APC out of the blues.
I’m sorry if it sounds all confusing, intertwined and sticky like cobweb but such is the political incongruity we are saddled with in our dear beloved country. Nothing is as straight-forward as ABCD even if we all we all went through Primary schools and memorised it off-handed.  I was shockingly astonished that APC never thought of handing over their party to modern, colourful, energetic and populist politicians or technocrats like Tokunbo Afikuyomi, Nasir El-Rufai, Demola Seriki, Nuhu Ribadu, Dino Menaye, Dele Alake, just to name a few, to run some offices at the national secretariat. I thought the world has moved beyond putting hard-core and possibly tired politicians to run a party that requires agile workaholics. Just imagine the aura, influence and instant recognition that would have accrued to the new party had a Bukola Saraki been made the Chairman of APC with his pedigree as former Chairman of the Governor’s Forum and a two-term Kwara State Governor. The Chairmanship of a political party is never a joke. The world is moving in modern directions and demands those who understand the new lexicon of Leadership. That is why the British Labour Party picked a young bachelor, Ed Miliband as its Leader. But APC could not identify its first eleven and put them forward. Today we are left with mostly unknown and lacklustre players in the field of play. That is the tragedy of its strategy.

The aborted bid of Chief Ikimi should not have been contemplated in the first instance. He should have remained a statesman to the end. The moment he attempted to run the race, he should have known anything could happen. Only one man can win in an election. I’m surprised that as a seasoned politician, he expected Senator Bola Tinubu to abandon his old allies and support him just like that.  Politics is always about caucuses anywhere in the world. I don’t see what Tinubu has done wrong by supporting his own person for whatever reason. As a matter of fact, nothing precluded Tinubu himself from running. Tinubu as Chairman would have driven the fear of God into PDP. I shall come back to Tinubu shortly.

My epistle today is largely triggered by Ikimi’s recent long-winding and well-publicised gospel to God-knows-who. The epistle was clearly bitter and written to damage Tinubu and APC to boot. Ikimi started by stating his credentials, which I seriously enjoyed. He is a man who served himself, his nation and his God most meritoriously and fervently. He stated the reason he decided to abandon his conservative friends to join forces with members of the opposite camp. He worked actively with his new allies to form a new alliance as a counterforce to those hoping to foist a one-party State on Nigeria. All well and good up to then.
Chief Ikimi claims he abhorred the idea of a Unitary Government but yet exploded just because he failed to secure Tinubu’s blessing, and he’s willing to abandon the struggle and head back to where he came from and work for the establishment of that same system he claimed to loathe. I simply find this logic utterly cruel and ridiculous. As an architect, I won’t expect the great Chief to demolish his magnificent home just because a supposed mad man strayed into it.
I’m finally tired of all the attacks against the person of Bola Tinubu. Tinubu is far from being a saint but he has definitely contributed immensely to the Democracy we all seem to enjoy today. The man has wisely invested whatever he is said to have acquired on building solid monuments in the media, business empires and philanthropy, which most politicians have never been able to achieve.
Tinubu is often credited with the attributes of a King Kong and I’m sure the man himself enjoys the unsolicited appellation and coronation. I really don’t know how one man can wield so much power and none of the several Draculas in his party would be able to confront him. No one should blame Tinubu for the timidity of his co-travellers. I know Tinubu fairly well. I virtually lived and operated with him in our exile days. He’s a man who enjoys healthy debates. He’s a master thinker who’s brave enough to match his thinking with action. He and Lt. General Alani Akinrinade stood out in the fight against military tyranny in Nigeria. They spent themselves blind and did not shirk from selling off their properties in their pursuit of democracy and justice in Nigeria. Tinubu gained the upper hand against most of his contemporaries because he was ready to gamble his entire life for the sustenance of civil rule in our country while others played safe.

I’ve had cause to disagree with him in the past and he never took it personal against me. One of such occasions was when I challenged him for not supporting the candidacy of Tokunbo Afikuyomi and I blasted him in a newspaper interview. He invited me over to his house in Ikoyi. He wondered why I was kicking against his support for Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola and I replied that I was never against Fashola who was also our friend and saw me anytime he came to play soccer in Ghana; but I was opposed to the way he led Afikuyomi on when he could easily have told him of his choice. I realised one secret about Tinubu that night. Contrary to the allegation of being bullish, he finds it hard to hurt any of his close lieutenants. It is this coyness that gets him into constant trouble; the inability to boldly and openly say No to people.
The second and most recent disagreement I had with him was when rumour came out that he was plotting to be a Vice Presidential candidate to General Muhammadu Buhari. Once I confirmed that it was a credible speculation, I wrote an article against a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2015 for the following reasons. One, most of our mutual friends was opposed to it but none could tell Tinubu not to try. This is the problem with our people who are mostly waiting on Tinubu for a favour now or/and in the future. Those who can talk are those who expect nothing. Two, a Muslim-Muslim ticket is presently inconceivable with the current religious configuration and conflagration in our country.  Even if the ticket has the chance of winning, we should be sensitive enough to balance the religious equation.

Three, I believe a slot must be automatically given to the South-South region that lays the golden eggs for all of Nigeria. It would be wicked and dangerous to remove President Jonathan and also selfishly take away the number two position from them immediately. If the clamour is that North has been deprived of its number one position by the accident of the death of President Yar’Adua then the same argument holds true for the South South who would thus be deprived of the number two position by the providential accident that is the Presidency of Dr Jonathan.  Also, the tenuous permutation that the Yoruba would not vote unless there is a Yoruba man on the ticket is self-serving and debatable. What makes my position even more compelling is the fact that the Yoruba are always champions of equity and fair-play. How can Obasanjo spend eight years as President and another Yorubaman comes out of the shadow as Vice President eight years after?
Tinubu never complained. He took the public missive to heart like a true democrat, made wider consultations and decided to shelve his ambition for the sake of his party and the nation.  Unlike his traducers Tinubu has a great empathy for Nigerians and Nigeria.  He has always been willing to sacrifice his personal ambition for the sake of the development of democracy and the future of his country.  That he wields tremendous power and influence in whatever party he has midwifed in this political era goes without saying.  Yet, he has never sought to be Chairman of such a Party.  In 2011 he saw the wisdom in eventually plumbing for the candidature of Nuhu Ribadu whom he thereby rescued from political oblivion rather than pursue his ambition to be Vice President or even President. Even if he dumped Ribadu for Jonathan, he’s said to have seen that Ribadu was not accepted by his people and thus opted for a minority candidate.

It is amazing that it is to Tinubu that all those who demand justice and equity turn when they have been oppressed and abased by the PDP.  However as soon as they obtain that which they seek they immediately turn against their benefactor and rush headlong back into the arms of their abuser. Tinubu’s has been a thankless job but it is the measure of this remarkable man that he continues to open his arms wide to embrace all those who seek justice and equity not only because of his love for democracy but also in true spirit of a man who adheres to the holy injunction to love his fellow man as himself.  The list of those who have benefitted from Tinubu’s legendary largesse to retrieve their stolen mandate or seek retributive justice for perceived wrongs yet subsequently turn around to betray him is lengthy and is like a Who is Who of Nigeria.

It is said against him that he imposes candidates on his Party and is despotic and nepotistic.  However, it is only fitting that someone who has deployed such huge and significant personal resources to the cause when others have shied from doing so should at least be allowed to influence the selection of those who would guide and lead that cause.  This is particularly more so as he has had the singular opportunity of observing most of the contenders firsthand because of his ability to sacrifice his time and person and travel far and near to meet with party members and interact with them.  None of those who fault him have remotely done a fraction of what he has done in this regard and if truth be told his choices have always been quite successful. Governors Fashola, Adams Oshiomhole, Abiola Ajimobi, Rauf Aregbesola, Ibikunle Amosun, and Kayode Fayemi; Aminu Tambuwal and Abike Dabiri, to mention a few, have been particularly outstanding.
Tinubu’s monumental work to further ensure the future of democracy in present day Nigeria is most laudable and he should indeed be dubbed ‘Defender of the Faith’ and encouraged to do more.

2015: Men, forces that will stop Jonathan

         

    By Chidi Obineche

The tapestry of the 2015 presidential elections is gradually taking the shape of a two horse-race, with President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and a candidate, (ostensibly of Northern extraction) of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, slugging it out. Unlike the 2011 elections where Jonathan contended with a myriad of lack-lustre opposition candidates and forces, there are clear indications of an emerging fierce, hotly-contested battle that will ultimately test his might, popularity, and try his soul. But while the men opposed to his return to power, strategize, and fine tune their methods and tactics, a vortex of forces have crystallized to inject more pep to the inhibiting factors. These men and forces have clawed their way to illuminate the issues behind the elections, as well as an intriguing post-election outlook.
Jonathan, in obvious optimistic acknowledgement of the emerging vista, underscored it in his last democracy day remarks when he said “All these distractions were planned to bring down the government. Since they failed, terror will also fail. Forces of darkness will never prevail over light. I call on all Nigerians to continue to pray, and with God on our side, we shall overcome”.
The Men
A growing march of opposition to his second term bid for power has found breadth in an opposition movement that has recently metamorphosed in a constellation of core groups, with the APC serving as the rallying point. These men and groups are as vociferous as they are tenacious. They deploy tendentious propaganda, and a nimble pro-activeness to stoke the people’s consciousness, creating despair, and presentiments in the minds of the people.
They include, a former President, leaders of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Aggrieved Ijaw leaders, Civil society groups and the labour movement. Until recently, four of the six former heads of state were sharply opposed to his second term ambition.
In a deft political maneuver and engagement, only Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is yet to swing his support. The journey towards the realization of this objective formed one of the reasons while his erstwhile political adviser, Ahmed Gulak was unceremoniously relived of his appointment. So far, Jonathan has demonstrated immense courage, and tenacity of purpose in containing the ex-leaders, even as plans are afoot to rein- in the remaining dissenting voice. Respected clergy men, traditional rulers, and at least seven elder statesmen close to Obasanjo have been railroaded into the project. Initial advances to him were repelled. However, his obduracy is being gradually watered-down, given his considerably reduced criticisms of Jonathan’s government of recent.
Jonathan’s election managers are also reaching out to the “recalcitrant” leaders of NEF. No dice has yet been cut in the offensive, but there is hope that “they will soon be reined-in”, a source close to one of the Jonathan’s support groups told “Sunday Sun”. NEF is about the only remaining influential Northern group that is yet to assent to Jonathan’s 2015 return bid.
At the home front, Jonathan is contending with an array of prominent Ijaw leaders, whose disdain for his continued hold on power is as complex as they are confusing.
They include former Petroleum Minister, Prof Tam David West, Chief Alagbo Graham Douglas, supporters of Henry Okah’s Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), and of course, leaders of the APC in his zone, with Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and ex-governor Timipre Sylva at the apex. The latter vividly approximates the axiom of the fly that is perched precariously on the scrotum. A slam on it may result in smashing the scrotum with it. One of the Ijaw leaders often alleges incompetence as the main reason for his opposition to his comeback bid. But Sunday Sun findings reveal that his alliance with, and support for the presidential ambition of a former military head of state formed the nucleus of his opposition to Jonathan.
The political disagreements between Jonathan, on the one hand, and Amaechi and Sylva are too well known, and have formed the thrust of his homeland resentment.
The duo are working tirelessly to firmly implant the APC in the zone, with the motive of embarrassing Jonathan at home during the election.
But the president of the Ijaw Professionals Association, Arch Amakpe Kentebbe, has however dismissed the efforts of Amaechi, and Sylva as “falling short of standards of patriotism” adding however, that in a democracy they are entitled to their views and choices. He said, Jonathan is doing a good job and that is why the forces are gathering against him, “If he was not doing a good job, he will not have these forces gathering against him. He will overcome them. They are myopic people from a small segment of the population, he explained.
Although the PDP, and Jonathan’s election managers have worked hard in out-clawing the APC’s stranglehold in 18 states, about 10 serving governors will still be arrayed in opposition to him, the highest number ever since 1999.
The role and influence of serving governors in Nigeria’s electoral history are instructive and legendary. This, perhaps informed the drive and desperation of Jonathan in this regard. Although, it has been stridently denied, the governors of Borno, Yobe, Kwara, Ondo, and Anambra states are on their way to the PDP to galvanize support for Jonathan.
Civil society groups and the labour movement have shown tremendous apathy and disenchantment with Jonathan’s leadership style and are believed to be working towards aborting his dream. Leaders of the PDP have often accused these two groups of being lackeys of the APC, an accusation they have denied. The labour movement in particular has not made any move or statements injurious to the President’s ambition, but the body language, disposition and association, show the contrary in the buildup to the election next year. In the Ekiti governorship election of June 21 this year, the labour movement openly worked against the interests of the president’s party, and have also taken sides with the opposition on a number of issues.
The forces
About nine key forces may torpedo Jonathan’s dream if not adequately addressed. They include the handling of the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency in some parts of the North, anti corruption battle, alleged single term pact, possible legal ambush, choice of running mate, controversies, internal disenchantment in PDP, local media opposition, and lop sided appointments.
His name sake Jonathan fields, a philosopher, elaborately enunciates the principles of the embattled man to overcome odds.
He wrote: “let’s face it – the leap of faith required to follow a dream is usually accompanied by guts, wrenching, knee quaking, soul shaking fear” Regrettably, his confronting the monster of insurgency has been largely perceived as lacking in guts, but profligate in knee quaking, and soul shaking fear. The perception may be faulty, but the vast majority of Nigerians are hanging on to that thin line of argument to push for the emergence of a macho- man, preferably of a military background to prosecute the war against terror.
Those who are favourably disposed to this strand of opinion hinge it on the complexity of the raging insecurity and the history of insurgencies.
Elder Asu Beks a prominent Ijaw son and leader of Ijaw Peoples Assembly differs. He captures it this way: All the wars in modern history have been successfully prosecuted by men with vision. Look at Wiston Churchill of great Britain and Eissen Hower of the U.S.A.
A President with vision understands the dynamics and rubrics of insecurity, and takes on the challenge as the tempo and circumstances dictate. Jonathan is well equipped to overcome the challenges and shame his critics.
For good or bad, the insecurity problem will be at the core of the 2015 elections, and will determine the thrust of support for Jonathan by a preponderance of voters. The Hydra-headed monster of corruption is also a formidable force. The opposition has latched on it as a campaign factor to stir anger and anti- Jonathan sentiments in the minds of people. Founder and National chairman of the United Nigeria Progressive Party (UNPP) Chief Chekwas Okorie, has even canvassed the stoppage of salaries for staffers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) , and ICPC ( the Independent Corrupt Practices and Allied Offences Commission) for redundancy.
“I think their salaries should be stopped. They are redundant.”  He told Sunday sun
The President’s alleged mysterious single term pact looms large ahead of his re-election.
Obasanjo first fired the Salvo in his speech at Eagle square, Abuja in March 2011, during the grand finale of the PDP Presidential rally that brought Jonathan to power. He said “we are impressed with the report that Dr Goodluck Jonathan has already taken a unique, and unprecedented step in declaring that he would only want to be a one term president. If so, whether he knows it or not, that is a sacrifice, and it is statesmanly. Rather than vilify him and pull him down, we  as a party should applaud and commend him, and Nigerians should reward and venerate him”.
Since that opening salvo,, those opposed to him have vicariously highlighted this speech.
Niger state Governor Muazu Aliyu Babangida, in the hey days of his trenchant criticisms of Jonathan, took it up from there: “I recall that the time he was going to declare for the 2011 elections, all the PDP governors were brought together to ensure that we are all in the same frame of mind. “and I recall that some of us said, given the circumstances of the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua,and given the PDP zoning arrangement, it was expected that the North was to produce the President for a given number of years. He was also said to have committed himself to one term in Kampala, Uganda at the time.
“Even when Jonathan went to Kampala in Uganda, he also said he was going to serve a single term.
… For now, President Jonathan has not declared for a second term ambition, and we must not be speculating based on those who are benefiting from the campaign. I think, we are all gentlemen enough. when the time comes, we will all come together to see the right thing to do”.
Another Northern governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso joined Babangida . “I have a copy of the agreement, and some of us have come together to enforce the agreement. We will soon release a copy of the agreement to the public to prove a point that we are not just raising the alarm. I think the right thing is for the president to stick to the agreement. Some of us were almost stoned for sacrificing the interest of the North for the South-South.” About 20 governors were said to have signed the agreement, prior to the party’s primaries in 2010. Also included, were members of the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, then, led by Chief  Okwesileze Nwodo, Chief Tony Anenih, and the then Minister of Defense, Dr Haliru Bello.
Second Republic member of the House of Representatives Dr Junaid Mohammed adds more flavor to the agitation against the President’s aspiration. He said, “Even without the promise or deal, said to have been entered into by the governors with the President in 2011, an ordinary reading of the constitution at face value, will indicate that Jonathan cannot avail himself of another term in 2015, simply because the constitution provides for two terms for anybody, notwithstanding the intervening circumstances.
“Secondly, the constitution provides for people taking the oath of office only twice in their lifetime. Now, how this president can proceed to take oath of office three times is something I cannot understand, and they are unwilling to subject the matter to the Supreme Court for interpretation”.
While Jonathan is smarting from the single-term imbroglio, some PDP leaders are seething with anger and nursing secret grudges against him over what they term as his “inclination to selfishness and betrayal of members and the party’s interest for his own convenience”. The anger is most pervasive in Edo, Anambra and Ondo states.. An Edo PDP leader whose name is withheld told Sunday Sun that “The man may not have things easy with aggrieved members of the party like us, who have worked very hard in the past at various times to ensure the success of his presidency.
He uses and dumps members anyhow for his selfish interest, especially during times he was supposed to stand and defend the collective interests of the PDP and loyal members of the party’s interest.
“Look, many of us who are aggrieved are just keeping our cool and playing along with him until the appropriate time. Now that the campaigns are starting, and he is eager to come back, and the North is not disposed to him, he would have no choice than to fall back on us for one support or the other. Then, we will either have the choice of taking our pound of flesh, or back him for the sake of the party’s interest.”
“But I doubt if the man knows the level of animosity and ill-feelings towards him by members of PDP like us, who are unhappy because of the way he had dealt with us when it mattered most”.
A chieftain of the Anambra PDP (name also withheld) corroborated him, in reaction to the president’s alleged involvement in the loss of PDP to the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA in the November 16, 2013 governorship election in the state. “There is nowhere in any presidential democracy, where a sitting president of a ruling party would mortgage the electoral interest of his party for that of opposition”.
The choice of a fitting running mate also constitutes a clog in the wheel of his ambition. There has been doubts over whether he will retain the Vice President Arch Namadi Sambo. Sambo has been accused by several Jonathan’s supporters of deficient in grassroots politicking even in his Kaduna base, and lacks the clout to galvanize enough support for Jonathan’s candidature in the North. Some have even proposed his replacement with any serving governor from the North West, except governor Yero. The dilemma in making a choice is double-edged. If he retains Sambo, those opposed to the choice may work against him, and capitalize on Sambo’s alleged weaknesses. If he changes him, the uproar and backlash may be difficult to contain, and may indeed add to his headache.
Jonathan has in many ways than one, portrayed himself as not a skilled crises manager. According to Abraham Lincolm, “the dogmas of a quiet past are insufficient to the stormy present”. From the Nigeria Governors Forum,( NGF) crises, impeachments of governors, Good governance tour, to constant brushes with his aides, committing of gaffes, to Mrs Jonathan’s blabs, large doses of inertia which creates poor public perception have been thrown up.
It does not end there. His pardon of his former boss, ex governor Dieprieye Alameiseigha, and that of a rapist homosexual ex-major Bello Mogaji angered the international community. Mogaji was convicted and sentenced to 5 years for sodomy by a military court in 1996. He was said to have had sex serially with 4 students of Army Cantonment Boys Secondary, Ojo, Lagos state. (Mohammed, Joseph, Emmanuel, and Isaac).
The local media is also aghast at the president’s predilection towards the foreign media, and may likely dissolve into portent opposition to him.
Also of interest to his re-election dream is the nature and direction of his key appointments. For instance, there is a sweeping general belief in his stronghold in the south that he panders more to the North, especially the North West in all his key appointments. Former Anambra state governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife sums it up “The Minister of Defense- North West, National Security Adviser- North West, Inspector General of Police- North West, Chief of Defense Staff- North Central. What is left?”
As a riposte to some of these appointments, the South East PDP is up in arms with the IGP (Inspector General of Police) and by extension the president over the recent top police postings. The Ndigbo cultural society, a socio-political group also joined the South East PDP to condemn the postings. The group’s president, Chief Udo Udeoogaranya observed that “Ndigbo predominantly occupies two Geo-political zones of South East/ South South in Nigeria in addition to millions of residents in Lagos state and substantial residents across all other states of the federation. That they could not get a single police zonal command out of the I2 zones in the federation is totally inacceptable”.
Rather than be his oyster, Jonathan’s skewed appointments may turn to his albatross as he may end up losing his strongholds, while not holding firmly to the appeasement areas.
His assiduity, management of critical issues of governance in a 21st century Nigeria, deflation of the forces ranged against him, will prove decisive in the outcome of his dream.

2015 Potential Candidates And Their Endorsements

The presidential elections scheduled for February 14, 2015, are slowly approaching with no aspirant officially declaring his interest. However, this does not mean that the race for a place at the Aso Rock has not started yet, as endorsements are already rolling in for potential candidates.

^{None of the potential candidates declared for the ticket so far.}
1. Goodluck Jonathan
The number of pro-presidential groups grows day by day. The current leader of the nation was endorsed by South South group ‘De Servants for Jonathan’, while Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) vowed to mobilise 3 million of its members to actualise Jonathan’s re-election bid.
At the same time the Northern Elders Forum issued an ultimatum for President Jonathan, to bring the Chibok girls back by October 2014 or forget about his 2015 ambitions.
2. Atiku Abubakar
The former vice president (1999 – 2007) has been recently endorsed by South South Youth Forum for Atiku. The group is convinced that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar fits all the requirements for the leader of Nigeria, stands out from other candidates “based on his experience and wide network, major criteria that will better the lots of Nigerians.”
The veteran politician believes he has lots to offer for Nigeria. He has embarked on a ‘peace tour’ across the country to prove this point.
3. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso
The Governor of Kano State was endorsed for the race a couple of days ago by 34 members of state’s House of Assembly. The decision was made because the assemblymen see him as a “resolute, competent and detribalized leader” who can deal “with the  prevailing security challenge and other socio-political problems”.
4. Muhammadu Buhari
The former military head of state is deemed as a great candidate too. According to a poll conducted about 4 months ago by the movement ‘For The Future Nigeria’ Nigerians would be satisfied if the All Progressives Congress issues a ticket for Buhari and Governor Fashola.  The chances of ex general have also increased in the light of terrorist attack on his convoy in Kaduna on July 23, and Buhari’s miraculous survival, without a single scratch.
5. Bukola Saraki
The senator, who represents Kwara central senatorial district, said he would announce his intention to compete “at the right time”. Another prominent APC member sees party’s victory in Osun State as a good sign and a first step for defeating the Peoples Democratic Party in 2015.
It would be noted that the office of the Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, keeps silent on Amaechi’s plans, but the power, influence and charisma of the governor should not be underestimated as well.
SOURCES: Naij.com news

2015: APC in a Four Horse Race

       

 General Muhammadu Buhari

• As parties plot strategies to maintain regional strongholds

By Chuks Okocha 

Though, formal campaigns for next year’s general election are yet to begin, the race for the presidential tickets of the major political parties is certainly hotting up. The parties are also exploring possible permutations that would give them political advantage in the various geopolitical zones.

While President Goodluck Jonathan may not have any strong challenger for the Peoples Democratic Party presidential ticket, in the All Progressives Congress, it looks set to be a four horse race between former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki; and Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. Each of the aspirants has some things going for him in the race, and downsides, too.

This is inspite of the fact that Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, yesterday declared his intention to run for the presidency on the platform of the party and newspaper publisher, Sam Nda-Isaiah, has been holding consultations about his presidential aspiration.

Buhari, a native of Daura in Katsina State, ran unsuccessfully for the presidential office in the 2003, 2007, and 2011 general elections. He has a strong grassroots support in the North, and across the country. Buhari is famous for an impressive record of honesty and a tough anticorruption stance. He is generally seen as the foremost contender for the APC presidential ticket.

The modified direct primaries approved on August 21 by the national leadership of APC for the choice of the party’s presidential candidate, beginning October, also appears to put the former Head of State in pole position. The system, which will involve about 300, 000 party members chosen from the ward, local government, and national levels voting to elect the presidential candidate, is hailed for its ability to reduce the influence of moneybags.

But, Buhari, a Muslim, is criticised, especially, in the South and among the country’s Christian population, for his alleged strong religious views. He is also believed to lack the wherewithal to finance an effective campaign and maintain strong political structures in the different states of the country. At 72, it is thought in some quarters that Buhari may not have the energy and drive to effectively lead a large and diverse country like Nigeria.

Atiku, 68, is from Adamawa State. He was presidential candidate of Action Congress in the 2007 election. Ahead of the 2011 general election, he was consensus candidate of the Northern Political Leaders Forum and contested unsuccessfully against Jonathan for the PDP presidential ticket. He also contested the presidential primaries of the now defunct Social Democratic Party in 1993 and placed third after Moshood Abiola and Babagana Kingibe.

The former vice president maintains robust political structures across the country and he is believed to have cross-party sympathy. Atiku is thought to have a huge war chest for campaigns and maintenance of his structures. He runs a media office that is widely adjudged to be the most vigorous in the country at the moment. His wide political network fits perfectly into the modified direct primaries approach adopted by APC for the election of its presidential candidate.

However, Atiku does not seem to have strong grassroots popularity. The October 11 governorship bye-election in his native Adamawa State may also be a hurdle before Atiku, as sources within APC say it may be taken as a gauge of his popularity and strength in his home state and, thus, his capacity to effectively hold the party’s presidential ticket.

Saraki, a native of Kwara State, is a medical doctor and senator. He successfully led the Nigeria Governors’ Forum as governor of Kwara State.

Saraki comes from a strong political background and he, apparently, leveraged his position as NGF chairman to make a lot of contacts across the country. He has a good control of APC in his state, and the party, the ruling party in the state, has a big chance of  retaining control of the state in the next general election, which stands Saraki in good stead in the presidential race. Saraki, 52, also has age on his side.

But Saraki’s North-central origin may not count in his favour in the North, as most people in the region may likely prefer someone from the North-west or North-east.

Kwankwaso, 58, has a strong experience in the civil service and politics. He was the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives in 1992 and delegate to the Constitutional Conference in 1994. The former defence minister swept to power in 2011 with a strong political ideology anchored on the Kwankwasiyya Movement, eight years after losing the governorship seat to Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau.

Kwankwaso has strong support among the APC governors and in Kano State he is widely admired for his excellent performance. The Kwankwasiyya Ambassadors of Nigeria, a group backing his presidential aspiration, though based in Kano State, is a strong political force trying to take the message of his performance beyond the state.
However, Kwankwaso does not seem to have political structures beyond Kano State that can support an effective presidential campaign.

Besides the four aspirants, House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal is also widely speculated to nurse a presidential ambition on the platform of APC. He is currently a member of PDP, but there is a strong suspicion he may soon defect to APC.

Meanwhile, ahead of the presidential election, PDP and APC are plotting strategies focused on gaining advantage in states and geopolitical zones with high voting strength.

THISDAY gathered that PDP strategists are banking on support from the South-south and South-east, while APC is counting on the North-west and North-east, with both parties readying to slug it out in the North-central and South-west, which are seen as battleground zones.

A senior presidency official said, “The general permutation for the 2015 presidential election is based on the support of the South-south states, irrespective of the fact that Edo State and Rivers State are technically in the hands of the opposition APC.” 

PDP estimates to get at least 70 per cent of South-east votes. It hopes to get even more in the South-south, Jonathan’s native zone. But whatever PDP may lose in the South-south and South-east, it hopes to cover in the North-central, whose states are governed by PDP, except Nasarawa State, the source said.

“The low population strength in the two geopolitical zones of South-east and South-south is reinforced with the voting strength in the North-central.” The source explained that Jonathan would get more than 25 per cent of the votes in the North-east and North-west states. He said PDP strategists believed the party would get between 40 and 50 per cent of the votes in the South-west, which they recognised as the stronghold of the opposition.
The South-west has the second highest voter population after North-west.

An APC chieftain, who is among the main strategists of the party, told THISDAY that whatever votes PDP could garner would be countered in the states of Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna and Katsina, which he described as the stronghold of the opposition.

‘Buhari deserves APC’s presidential ticket’ in 2015

       by Muideen Olaniyi  

 

Mr Bala Mohammed Yahaya is the coordinator of Buhari for President Youth Frontier, on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview, the chieftain of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Niger State-born politician speaks on what makes retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari the leading APC presidential aspirant who can win election in 2015. Excerpts:

You have been mobilising your party’s youth towards the emergence of retired Maj.Gen. Buhari as APC’s presidential flag bearer. Why are you so passionate about the General’s undeclared ambition?
General Muhammadu Buhari is a household name across Nigeria’s landscape. He is a quintessential political figure that enjoys the sincere goodwill of our national elites as well as genuine popularity among the Nigerian masses, since the advent of our current democratic dispensation.
I have read some self-contradictory and obviously orchestrated reports about the chances of some contenders for our party’s presidential flag-bearer for 2015 elections. There is no doubt that Nigerians are polarised along ethno-religious line and politicians are unfortunately exploiting the division to gain undeserved sympathy. But in politics, the most important thing as far as power is concerned, especially at this period of dangerous politicking, is the electoral value possessed by a party’s flag bearer. The candidate for a national post should have a wide range of followership within and outside his region.
It is in line with the above postulation that I say without any prevarication that General Buhari is the best candidate going by his impeccable records and pedigree.

What values do you think Buhari possess which others do not have?
As an enthusiastic reader of the political barometers of Nigeria, I am convinced and persuaded that General Buhari towers above other candidates, considering his doggedness and preternatural popularity.
We all recall with absolute clarity how he formed and nurtured the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) within six months to the general elections and yet produced key office holders at different levels of government. An analysis of the man Buhari will reveal vividly the picture of an incorruptible, transparent and a no-nonsense politician of the ilk of world’s best past and present leaders.
He has reiterated times without number that corruption has eaten so deep into the fabric of this country and that only a strong-willed and disciplined person can rid it of this cankerworm. This he made so clear shortly after he was endorsed as the presidential flag bearer of the then All People’s Party (APP) in 2003.
He said: “When economic mismanagement and official thievery of the national resources on an unprecedented scale leads to hunger, poverty and desperation, the entire society becomes a tinder box and it needs just a little elite tinkering to ignite. There is a grinding poverty of vision, of initiative and of ideas across the entire leadership spectrum particularly in the nation’s executive branch. Once again, leadership in Nigeria has become a total stranger to transparency and accountability and betrayal of trust is the order of the day. In other words, corruption which, way back on May 30th 1999, President Obasanjo promised to eliminate is nowadays enjoying unprecedented prosperity”.
It is true that the APC is strategically positioned to win the presidential seat next year. But none of the party’s presidential hopeful, with due regards, can be compared to General Buhari.

What is the basis of your optimism that your mentor and the APC will win the 2015 elections?
No, we are not just optimistic. But we are really confident that Nigerians will vote wisely for Buhari and their votes will count this time around. Coming back to your question, let’s look at the possible policy areas where General Buhari will succeed vis-à-vis other contestants who have not really mastered the complexity of the Nigerian state and what the people are yearning for.
Firstly, education is an important sector that has suffered neglect over the years. This accounts for the poor quality of our graduates. This decline in the educational standard cuts across all levels; primary, secondary and tertiary. With General Buhari at the helms of affairs, this sector will surely be revamped and education will be made affordable for the common man who cannot bear the outrageous fees being charged at the moment.
The spasmodic face-off between the federal government and tertiary institutions, teachers will become a thing of the past under a Buhari’s presidency. The atmosphere of teaching and learning which is nothing to write home about shall be improved considerably.
Secondly, health care delivery is another area that the General will give utmost attention to. Most of our hospitals are in a state of dilapidation with near or total dearth of facilities. In fact, they have become mere consulting clinics. No serious minded nation treats the issue of health with levity, while health is regarded in other climes as a matter of life and death.
Thirdly, the roads network system in Nigeria is something that has drawn condemnation from various quarters, as they have become death traps, consuming precious lives on a daily basis. The number of lives lost on our highways can only be quantified by the Federal Road Safety Commission. This unfortunate development is embarrassing to this nation.
Some of these roads have suffered neglect over time. The previous government has turned a blind eye to this important area.
But above all, the critical things in Nigeria today are issues of security and corruption. And these precisely are areas where General Buhari has drawn much of national and international reputation. You will remember him as a foremost military strategist and civil war veteran as well as a personification of probity in public service in his various capacities as military commander, military governor, federal minister and head of state.

What are the chances of his scaling the hurdles of your party’s primaries, as a precondition for the presidential contest?
General Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to the cause of Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. For a man to form and nurture a political party six months to 2011 general elections and  posed a great political threat to the ruling party, such a man is, without an atom of doubt, a political Goliath whose party is capable of consuming or wrestling power from the incumbent government. No wonder, the declaration of his name sends jitters down the spines of the power wielders, political buccaneers and gladiators alike in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In synopsis, the road to 2015 presidency can only be successfully navigated by an experienced and fearless locofoco of General Buhari’s mode. I therefore, urge all and sundry, irrespective of party affiliations, to throw their weight behind this patriot, as the nation needs a man of iron determination to steer the ship of the state at this trying moment when insurgency has taken over the nation due to lack of political will and pervasive corruption on the part of the leadership of our dear country. 

DISSECTING IKIMI’S BIKINI PROBLEM AND HIS HATRED FOR TINUBU

By- Edmund Otudeko

Any one attempting to write Tom’s surname on a smartphone or tablet will find that the in-built auto-correct feature will attempt to write the surname as ‘Bikini’-that flimsy, not-meant-for-high-occasion clothing worn by fun seekers on beaches.

While this gives good cause to LaughOutLoud, it isn’t really Tom’s fault but it is very telling in an ironic way. Tom has come to symbolize that typical ‘not-to-be-taken-serious’ Nigerian politician whose value at any gathering is, at best, comic, and at worst, disruptive. This is why, when Tom recently felt compelled to write an article justifying why he decided to renounce his membership of the only credible opposition party in Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress (APC), many people were amused. This is because he didn’t have to offer any justification. No one was expecting any justification from him. After all, what is it to Nigerians that this Tom was decamping…once again…as usual and…as expected?

After reflecting on Tom’s flip flopping on the political stage over the years, his ignominious role in the dark days of Nigeria’s political history and his childish rant in the letter announcing his departure from the APC, one could not but understand how, in the minds of discerning citizens and keen political watchers, the reputation of Tom as one not to be entrusted with the important and consequential was fully earned.

Given his antecedents as the ‘sell out’ Chairman of the National Republican Convention, Tom is rightly regarded in political circles as the fun seeking beach goer in a bikini. While I won’t advise any one to conjure up the picture of Tom in a bikini in one’s mind, the metaphor explains why Tom will never be trusted with any office of consequence. No one invites the bikini wearer to the high table.

Tom continues to complain to any one who would listen that he was barred by certain forces from emerging as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress. The truth is that Tom keeps missing the point and breaking one of the fundamental rules of life inscribed in the Temple of Apollo in Delphi: Man, know thyself. Tom should look in the mirror and limit his ambitions and his opinion of himself. Tom was not barred by ‘certain forces’. Tom was barred by the will of the members of the party. And the members were right. No Nigerian would have taken the party seriously with Tom as its Chairman.

Only very exceptional men can manage the inherent weakness of man in failing to know himself. Tom does not appear to be one of such exceptional men. Tom needs to begin to see himself as he is seen and as he is:

• Tom cannot, even under the most twisted definition of the term, be counted as a true Nigerian Progressive. He is one of those of whom Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu spoke of in the Punch Newspapers of June 12, 2013: “Many who connived with the clique in those debasing and disenfranchising years are … today even masquerading as champions of democracy … Such people include those … who now today sit atop parties’ Boards of Trustees … Some reign at the pinnacle of the legislative arm of government in Abuja. There are numerous others in the arms of government and even among the progressives, who ought really to search their conscience, if the survival, well-being and progress of Nigeria is truly in their agenda.”

• Tom cannot live down his role in the scuttling of the aspirations of Nigerians in 1993. For, if one is revolted by the duplicitous politicians who, while heading political parties connived with the military to annul and waste the democratic gains of the June 12, 1993 Presidential Elections, one of one’s prime objects of anger should be Tom.

• If one is convinced-as are all independent observers and students of history-that most of our nation’s woes are the result of years of military misadventure in governance aided by self-serving and sycophantic civilian politicians, Tom should deservedly be one’s punching bag.

• Tom is one of the Nigerians who have helped the PDP design, oil and perfect its anti-democratic electoral fraud machine. One needs look no further than to Chief Tom Ikimi, the owner of the ‘Obasan-joooh….Obasan-jooh’ voice that, in 2003, manufactured the contraption that foisted even more years of PDP misrule on Nigeria. (In furtherance of that electoral fraud machine, the PDP stole the recent election in Ekiti and, even before formally declaring for the PDP, Tom is already helping that party spread the official lie by blaming APC’s loss in that state on the perception of APC’s leaders by the people of Ekiti.)

• Tom is one of the lead facilitators of that dark episode in Nigeria’s history when, 19 years ago, the respected playwright and activist, Mr. Ken Saro Wiwa and others were gruesomely murdered by the ruthless regime of General Sani Abacha which Tom enthusiastically, obediently and dutifully served as an adviser and foreign minister and who proudly and unapologetically defended gruesome murders and miscarriage of justice before the whole world.

• Tom is undoubtedly that imposing man who possesses fairly impressive oratory prowess. But it is largely for amusement as of those fun seekers in bikinis. However, people who know what is at stake should not be amused by it. We must begin to reject the culture and leaders that promote the use of empty words and phrases to disguise the issues or to disguise their own lack of understanding of the issues and lack of good will and intentions.

Tom, in his defection rant, claimed to have played a prominent role in the founding of the Action Congress of Nigeria and the All Progressives Congress and felt that entitled him to the Chairmanship of the APC. In light of the above, he should know that if he had been promoted ‘in his bikini’ to such a high office in the APC, which is Nigeria’s surest bet out of the doldrums, all progressives would have been part of those George Santayana referred to as “Those who do not remember history” and are, ipso facto, “condemned to repeat its mistakes.” If the military and the PDP would gladly treat Chief Tom Ikimi as a leader, the APC rightly cured itself of such malady. The APC must not been seen as suffering from collective amnesia.

The only problem with Tom’s rant and diatribe is his attempt to cast aspersions on otherwise principled politicians dedicated to the struggle to liberate Nigeria from the shackles of corrupt and inept leadership foisted on the nation by Tom’s natural family, the Peoples Democratic Party (“PDP”). In the same old, intellectually lazy fashion we have become accustomed to from PDP sympathizers and enemies of progressive politics, Tim joined the ranks of desperate detractors of the Asiwaju of Lagos, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in attempting to cast aspersions on his person and integrity.

It is a historical fact that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is one of the visionary behind, and one of the principal architects involved in, the formation of the All Progressives Congress. It was the Asiwaju’s personal leadership that led the now-defunct Action Congress of Nigeria to unanimously support the vision to cast lot with the APC and it was his (and few others’) tireless and selfless investment of time and resources that built the APC into the formidable alternative party that it now is.

Long before the formation of the APC, the Asiwaju has since cemented his reputation as the leader of a new brand of politics and activism in Nigeria. The politics that vigorously promote the welfare of the electorate and activism that courageously and doggedly pursues the enthronement of the rule of law and the pursuit of business as unusual for the sake of the greater good.

In his first Inaugural Address as the Governor of Lagos State, he famously said, “As flag-bearers, we are not unmindful of the heavy burden and responsibility that we carry. We are not unmindful of the huge expectations of our people, young and old, man and woman, able and disabled. Nor are we unmindful of the misery and poverty that the generality of our people have had to endure almost forty years after Independence. … Our goal, as the Prophet of old commands, is to lighten the burden of our people, alleviating poverty by providing jobs for our youths, houses, secure homes, water, good roads and creating efficient mass transportation system, industrial development and providing life more abundant for our people.”

And long before his election into executive office, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu played key roles in Nigerian politics. He was elected to the Senate from Lagos West constituency with the highest votes in the country in the short-lived Third Republic. In the Senate he was the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Finance, Currency and Appropriations. In that capacity, he initiated a far-reaching probe of the finances of the National Assembly that set him at loggerheads with the legislative bureaucracy and the military regime at the helm of affairs at the time.

Asiwaju was also at the forefront of Chief MKO Abiola’s campaign for presidency in 1993. When the June 12, 1993 election, described as the freest and fairest in the country’s history was annulled, he emerged as one of the fiercest opponents of the annulment. As the arrowhead of the struggle to actualize Abiola’s mandate, the military junta reached out to him severally to jump ship and come over to their side. He was offered juicy appointments and contracts to no avail. He refused to betray his principled commitment to the sanctity of a free and fair election. Exasperated by Tinubu’s intransigence, the military viciously went after him. He was detained. His house was fire-bombed. He eventually had to flee the country for his dear life. His wife, now Senator Oluremi Tinubu and her children had to be smuggled out into exile. Tinubu, while in exile remained steadfast in his commitment to the pro-democracy struggle, making great personal and financial
sacrifices towards this effort. A pseudo democrat would rather enjoy the transient benefits of economic and political power rather than risk his life fighting for truth and justice but not Tinubu who remained steadfast.

It is in the light of the Asiwaju’s indisputable record of service and sterling leadership that the attempts by some elements in and outside the APC to reduce the Asiwaju’s influence in the party raise red flags for many Nigerians who have anchored their hope of Nigerian redemption on the APC.

Do people like Tom think that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s claim to leadership is simply that he was once elected to the Senate of the Federal Republic or that he performed as one of the most conscientious Governors of Lagos State in recent years? No! It is because of his profile in courage! It is because of his sacrifice for the greater good in good times and bad times. Who was the rallying point and strategic voice for all the opposition figures in the dark days following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 Presidential elections? Who was in the forefront of the global assault on the regime of General Sani Abacha? Who was the governor that redefined governance after years of mismanagement by the military? Who was the governor with the courage and vision to fight all the way to the Supreme Court to establish the fiscal rights of States in the Federation? Who is the politician with acumen and endurance to organize the political opposition that our
democracy surely needs to survive? It is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Thus, to reduce the influence of such a leader or to discount the value of his guidance is the recipe for doom. The people perish when they lack vision, so the holy writ says. In the same way, the APC will lose its way if it forsakes the counsel, leadership and vision of its founders and, in particular, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Asiwaju has always sided with the aspirations of the people of Nigeria and his vision is, first, of leadership that is not about the spoils of office or ethnic loyalties but about ideas. The prime idea being that democratic governance must be transparently fair and must deliver tangible benefits to the people.

Also, the Asiwaju’s vision is of the promotion of leaders whose democratic credentials are unimpeachable, he himself having sacrificed greatly both during the struggle for the enthronement of democracy and now during this struggle for the enthronement of good governance. In the dark days of the June 12 struggle, was it not the Asiwaju who sacrificed greatly to mobilise and support the forces of democratic governance? Was it not the Asiwaju who successfully led the defence of the Constitution and the rights of states against an imperial presidency? Was he not the one who led democratic forces to ward off an onslaught of the might of the humongous and corruptly oiled political machinery of the PDP in the desperate effort to ‘capture’ the states of the South West? Was it not during his leadership that the winning electoral strategies that restored progressivism to most parts of the South West were successfully formulated and implemented?

Furthermore, the Asiwaju’s vision for the APC is of the elevation to leadership of persons who are not men of mere words but men who have toiled in office for the sake of the people and who have performed so exceptionally well that they can raise their heads up high and walk confidently among the people of this country. The Asiwaju himself was a popular Governor of the cosmopolitan state of Lagos for 8 years. It was the Asiwaju’s administration in Lagos that in 2001 became, perhaps, the first state administration to record 90% budget performance. In fact, for his excellent performance as the Executive Governor of Lagos State of Nigeria (1999 – 2007), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu received several awards. These include Best Governor in Nigeria for Y2000 by the Nigerian-Belgian Chamber of Commerce; Y2002 Best Practices Prize in Improving the Living Environment, awarded by the Federal Ministry of Works and the UN Habitat Group; and the Y2000 Best
Computerized Government in Nigeria Award by the Computer Association of Nigeria.

In the Asiwaju’s vision, the APC should be a party of resolute leaders who are in the forefront of the fight for justice, for good governance, for the integrity of the ballot box, for real development and for change in a corrupt and dysfunctional polity. It should be a party of leaders who are echoing the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln who himself paid the supreme sacrifice in his leadership of his people by dedicating themselves to the unfinished work which heroes in the past have thus far so nobly advanced. The APC of the Asiwaju’s vision should be a party of leaders dedicated to the great task remaining before us: that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish.

The APC will also do well to take advantage of the Asiwaju’s wide, varied and rich experience of Nigeria. He has been priviledged to know Nigeria well from the perspective of an ordinary citizen living in a country struggling with developmental issues and every day infrastructural problems; from the perspective of a Nigerian living in the diaspora; from the perspective of a citizen making his first foray into the murky waters of politics; from the perspective of an activist-politician co-leading the often very dangerous struggle against military dictatorship; from the perspective of a public servant twice elected to serve as the governor of the largest, richest and most cosmopolitan state in Nigeria; and from the perspective of a political leader now seeking to put democracy on firmer footing by organizing a viable, coherent, and alternative political leadership for Nigeria

For the umpteenth time, people like Tom must surely be reminded that it is intellectually lazy to capitalize on Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s relationship with the Managing Director of Oando Plc to create ridiculous conspiracy theories. Surely, the deal between Oando Plc and Conoco Phillips is one scrutinized by regulators in Nigeria, the United States and South Africa. To suggest that it was a front for some shady deal is lazy and also mischievous, uninformed and rash.

Tom referred to the number of defectors from the APC to justify his own defection. But he should be reminded that the struggle of the opposition is not one that can be endured by all. It is a natural phenomenon for the chaff to be separated from the grain. The wheel of the formidable machine of progressivism will continue to roll undeterred. When the battle is finally ended and the roll is called, we know those whose names will be missing.
Even the most ardent sympathizer and fan of the PDP or President Goodluck Jonathan now agrees that Nigeria is in desperate need of a breath of fresh air, longing for an influx of air that is not stale or smelly, a portion of air that is not "contaminated" with unpleasant people or situations and demanding a new, fresh, and imaginative approach to the Nigerian Project. Gladly, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has, thanks to the vision of courage of selfless and indefatigable progressives, offered longsuffering Nigerians an alternative to the clueless and debilitating failed leadership offered the nation by the PDP over the last 15 years.
And as the year of battle draws close, there may be more defections but there also will be more people enlisting for the struggle. But even as the APC is seeking the help of all and sundry to defeat the cancerous monster that is the PDP, only men of sterling characters and reputation may apply. Beach goers and large men in Bikinis may keep amusing themselves.