2019 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: BUHARI COASTING TO A LANDSLIDE VICTORY

By

Ayantunji Benjamin Gbenro (PhD)

2019 election is barely two months away, the umpire has declared the campaigns open and the gladiators are already on the field across the country. There are currently over 20 candidates jostling for the highest job in the land. These candidates can be categorized into contenders, pretenders and “I also run”. The contest is seeing by majority as a direct fight between the incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling APC and Alhaji Abubakar Atiku of the major opposition party, PDP. The pretenders are Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, Mr. Donald Duke and Prof. Kingsley Moghalu. Despite the effort by the pretenders, the fact that the candidates’ names are more popular than their platforms speak volume. The lack of financial resources and political structure across the country is a serious impediment to the genuine and laudable aspiration of these patriots to chat a different political course for the country. These candidates could have probably been better if they aspire to go to the National Assembly on the platform of any of the two major political parties and commence the gradual ideological change the country so much needs from inside. The other candidates are the “I also run”, in my opinion. It’s difficult to understand the motivation for most of these candidates to run for Presidents when their names hardly heard even in their wards.

I will try to justify the above prediction on the outcome of 2019 presidential election by considering the chances of the incumbent president with his major challenger, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. The prediction will be done by examining factors such as: the strength and cohesion of APC and PDP, the character and political reach of each candidate, the performance of the incumbent and the electoral value of the running mate to each candidate.

Both APC and PDP experienced crisis after the primary elections. The APC experienced mass exodus before the presidential primary when it was obvious that Buhari was propped to be the only candidate. However, the presidential primary itself didn’t lead to any issue and the affirmation of Buhari as APC’s candidate was a smooth sail. APC also experienced crisis during the legislative and governorship primaries in many states, with Imo, Ogun and Zamfara been the most affected States because the sitting governors couldn’t have their ways in installing their preferred candidates. These states have experienced mass exodus from APC by the supporters of the sitting governors. One thing that is instructive however is that, even in States where aggrieved APC members moved out of the party, the decamping didn’t translate to either withdrawal of support for Buhari or support for Atiku by hitherto. They have largely remained committed to working for the success of Buhari in the presidential election. Contrary to APC’s experience, PDP’s Presidential primary was a battle royale. Among the contenders at the PDP presidential primaries, only Senator Bukola Saraki can today be said to be totally committed to Atiku’s campaign. Other contestants have gone under the radar. Even when some of them appear in the public once in a while, the body language cannot be said to be encouraging. Also, the commitment of the likes of governor Wike of Rivers State, whose State financial and electoral strength appears non-comital. The fact that new decampees into PDP appear to be calling the shot is not sitting well with Majority that stayed to build the party after 2015 defeat. The SE PDP governors and legislators also appear to have developed cold feet on Atiku’s candidacy as a fall out of the choice of running mate. If the structures that Atiku’s campaign will rely on are non-comital to his candidacy two months to the election then there is cause for alarm. The PDP may want to garnish its outing at the recent NW (seven States) zonal campaign, which was the commencement of it campaign but when measured by the turnout of both supporters and party leaders, the outing was a monumental failure and probably a pointer to what to come. Judging from the perspective of party’s cohesion and commitment to candidacy, Buhari appears to be miles ahead of Atiku. PDP can still put its house in order but time is running out.

President Mohammadu Buhari is a man of impeccable character and integrity, even his fiercest detractors will agree with this summation in their closets. He has over the year proved his integrity and this has given him a cult like following among the masses, especially in the north. The person of Buhari alone guarantees, at least, 12 million votes without any campaign in a free and fair election. This cannot be said of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Either real or imaginary, he has been projected as a symbol of everything wrong with our society over the years. This has caused a lot of loathing for him among the masses especially from the north, even in his Adamawa State. Atiku as a candidate cannot withstand Buhari in any northern State even if PDP controls the States’ instruments of coercion talk less of a situation where the State apparatuses are out of their hands. PDP has also done little or nothing to reduce Buhari’s political influence in the past three and half years it has been out of power. If anything, the age, religion and ethnicity that PDP employed over the past three and half years to de-market Buhari in some part of NC, SE and SS has further enhanced his standing in his traditional support base and alienated Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. The story of Jibrin from Sudan, which is obviously been promoted by PDP and Atiku’s camp has further dent their claim that Buhari has no strength to withstand the rigor of office while the inability of Atiku to visit USA despite recent desperate efforts further confirm the assertion made about his person by many but majorly amplified by his former boss, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. While PDP has not been able to make any significant inroad into Buhari’s support base, APC and Buhari have made significant inroad into SE and SS where they are hitherto considered an anathema.

On performance, though opinions may differ depending on the yardstick employed on whether Buhari has done excellently well or not, one thing that cannot be disputed is that he has done more when compared to PDP’s performance in 16yrs vis a vis the available resources. The various infrastructural developments across the nation will be a testimonial Buhari will flaunt to the electorates in seeking for re-election. I don’t know how PDP and Atiku will want to deny such verifiable evidences knowing fully well what was done by them in 16yrs. The security across the country has greatly improved under Buhari when compared to PDP’s era. Boko Haram have been pushed to the brinks of lake Chad compare to when it threatens to overrun the whole of Northern Nigeria and Abuja. The herdsmen crisis and kidnapping which a section of the media tried to amplified beyond reasoning has been largely curtailed in recent time. The economy appears to be on the rise compare to the free fall state Buhari inherited. Pensioners owed over years are been paid. This and many more are things Buhari will point to and it will be compared with the 16yrs of PDP. The Buhari’s anticorruption crusade is yielding results when high profile convictions, forfeitures and fear to engage in corrupt practices under the current administration is compared with 16yrs of PDP when corruption became synonymous to Nigeria.

Another area the Buhari Administration will score big is its Social Intervention Programs. This has been thoughted as the most ambitious Social Intervention program, ever, in Africa. The over three hundred engaged in Npower with thirty thousand monthly stipends have relatives and PVC and will make a statement at the right time. I am sure that they will speak for Buhari at the poll comes 16th of February 2019. The three hundred thousand captured in the conditional cash transfer also posses PVC and relative. They will speak at the right time for Buhari. The over nine million children enjoying the school feeding and almost ninety thousand food vendors also have PVC and relatives. The two million that would have benefitted from Trader money also have PVCs and relatives. Market money, Anchor borrowers etc beneficiaries will also speak when it is time. These people are the neglected of the society by the successive government who are prioritized by Buhari’s administration. They will all make their opinion known at the poll.

The choice of running mate is usually to compliment the candidate in any election. The choice of Osibajo in 2014 was to balance the religious card and to bring the Southern voters on board. The choice worked perfectly well. The choice of Peter Obi is doing the opposite to Atiku’s candidacy. First, the choice has caused a lot of disaffection among the political elites in the SE. If SE, which is considered the major support base of PDP and Atiku singing a discordant tune, then, an obvious threat to his success is brewing. In addition to this, some actions of Obi as Anambra State governor which was viewed as anti-Muslim and anti-north is now been brought back to remembrance. This will further alienate Atiku from northern voters. Osibajo on the other hand has gone beyond just a compliment to Buhari, to what many analysts refer to as Political “Star Boy”. His connection to the ordinary man on the street has extended the cult like followership of Buhari among the masses beyond the north to other regions of the country. His loyalty during Buhari’s sickness has proven his Christianity beyond rhetoric and endears him to people of other religion. His competency has been applauded by all and the synergy between him and his principal is what the nation has never witnessed at that level of governance. The more PDP try to throw mud at him the more they make him popular a leader without stain. When compare to each other, Buhari’s running mate is million of light years ahead of Atiku’s in terms of what he brings to the political table.

When the factors discussed in this article are married with other factors such as voting population by States and the standing of each candidate in each State vis a vis the standing of his party in the States, I will make bold prediction that Buhari will not only win the 2019 presidential election but he will do so with a margin that exceeds that winning margin of 2015 presidential election. Except something catastrophic happens, Buhari is coasting to a landslide victory in the 2019 presidential election.

ATIKU AS A MULTIPLE BENEFICIARY OF BRIBES.

Copied.

Indicted!! Yes, but Atiku was cut in the report as being a multiple beneficiary of bribe payments but being out side the jurisdiction he was not indicted

...Whilst all of these was going on, the FBI put in an official request requesting support on their investigation which went to the President at the Times desk and which is well reported in his book "My Watch" and also reported in Ribadu's book about his service which if you ask me corroborates OBJ's story... His wife who was a conduit for some of these illicit funds was quickly ferried out of the US to Dubai where she took residence and still wisely ceased to visit the US from that time till this very moment and subsequently sold his house in US since his wife who inhabited it had been relocated to Dubai and he wouldn't take the rest of visiting the US having been informed from diplomatic sources that should he venture that way he would be indicted and prosecuted which leads us to now.

... Pressure has resulted in his being given a visa but because of the nature of the society, the US is one that no one can by any stroke of imagination approach. The FBI who indicted and got the conviction of Jefferson not to indict Atiku if he ventures within their jurisdiction... That was why he had to return to Nigeria because the lobby he engaged together with Obasanjo were not given the assurances they sought that he would not be arrested upon arrival in the US...

 Atiku is trying to become our president! Can you imagine that? For those waiting for him to be indicted first it shows a sad descent into poor moral values... For offices such as this, it should be enough that the candidate not only have high moral rectitude, but must be seen to be above board especially criminally.

..For those who don't know the oath of office the president and his vice (as well as the governors and their deputies) who swear to specifically and unequivocally state that they must NOT allow their personal interests affect the decisions they make in office particularly to THEIR  assocuates or families' benefit.
. .. In 2006, ATIKU, as our vice president, concessions the Onne Port (Nigeria's largest port built with Federal Government money)  to Intels, a company he at the time had a minor interest... He also concessioned the Warri and Calabar ports to this same company as well as two terminals in the Apapa port in Lagos all for 25 years!!!... All other similar concessions done at the time were for a period of 10 years!!! ... To make matters worse it was decreed literarily that all oil and gas cargoes entering Nigeria must berth at the Onne Port creating a monopoly of sorts to himself and for his own benefit ...This created and incredible stream of revenue which accounts for Atiku's tremendous wealth till this date.

Osanobua.. All that talk about business ventures is crap as he has no known successful high monetary generating  company/factory  outside of this port concessions... May I add that somehow Intels also got the Nigerian government to reimburse them the sum of $5.2billion dollars for the equipment Nigerian government put to make the port functional. So, now you had a scenario where the port was built by Nigeria and they now ostensibly owned the equipment with which it functions but they had  concessioned in which the concessionaire was charging $5 per kilo of cargo and believe it or not the Nigerian Ports Authority was being paid only a paltry $1 per kilo! Monies which was not even being paid until this government  came into power...Obasanjo never knew about this because as Vice President, privatisation was the exclusive preserve of Atiku as BPE reported directly to him as they still do to Osinbajo (who appointed the current DG Alex Okoh - his trusted  junior pastor at RCCG Banana ISLAND, Ikoyi) as we speak.

..These general concessions of these four ports to Intels allowed Atiku to take a major stake in the company and he is now the second largest shareholder in the company after Volpi it's Italian major owner...Now as vice president if you had the panacea to the workings of our ports is concessioning them to yourself so you can benefit what the Nigerian government ought to have benefitted???... Consider that at the peak of that port it was making $8million a day!!!... Obasanjo suspended Intels concession as a result of his finding this out for a period of 3 months!!!  Yar"Adua, in spite of his family's holdings in Intels (they used to be the original second largest shareholders and it was Abacha's desire to own the company that led to Yar'Adua's incarceration and ultimate death as Abacha took over the company forcefully when he got to know what the company was milking from Nigeria. It was only returned upon Abacha's death) taking firm decisions against the company's unweildly monopoly!!!

...Anyone who doesn't have a problem with allowing a man such as this around our national  treasury needs his value system examined... You don't have to like Buhari but Atiku would in my estimation not have a moral platform from which he can sustain a presidential bid due to this massive pillage of our country's resources and I so maintain!!!...I rest my case!!!...

Everything I have written can be verified and is true...

This man will sell everything we own to himself and his PDP friends under the pretext that government has no business in doing business which was their catchphrase for the then privatisation exercise!!!

... Small wonder that Nigeria Shipping Line with 10 ships was sold and Nigeria Airways with 33 planes was sold to themselves...for coins.

It will also interest you to know that all those planes and ships sold are still air and seaworthy!!!...
Now which indictment can be bigger than these ???

... The right to the office is constitutional as well as a moral one and in any sane country for the above reasons his candidacy would not go beyond the realm of conjecture as he would be made to answer these questions 1st if he dared venture out and no sane political platform in a decent country would field a tainted man like this!!!

...If it is by just one vote he will lose!!!God will have mercy on Nigeria and ensure this in Jesus' holy and mighty name... Elections are not run on the pages of social media or the electronic or print media nor by the elites who have lost their intrinsic values but by structures controlled by parties through their state governments... He has no chance for this reason... They have the propaganda machinery on payroll but APC keeps winning elections, period!!! That is the best sample size that  can be used to project the results of next year's elections...So, it shall become..... Tufiakwa, Atiku, God forbid!!!

President Muhammadu Buhari’s opinion on religion is out this morning on Church Times,

UK’s largest Anglican newspaper. Link: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2018/30-november/comment/opinion/don-t-politicise-religion-in-nigeria

Don’t politicise religion in Nigeria

Muslims and Christians can flourish together, says President Muhammadu Buhari

IN 1844, the Revd Samuel Ajayi Crowther returned home to Yoruba land (now part of modern-day Nigeria). Twenty years earlier, he had been kidnapped and sold to European slave traders who were bound for the Americas. He was freed by an abolitionist naval patrol, and received by the Church Missionary Society. There, he found his calling.

Crowther made his voyage home to establish the first Anglican mission in Yoruba land. He came with the first Bibles translated into Yoruba and Hausa languages. He opened dialogue and discussion with those of other faiths. And his mission was a success: Crowther later became the first African Anglican bishop in Africa.

Today, Nigeria has the largest Christian population on the continent. The messages and teachings of Christianity are part of the fabric of each person’s life.

ALONG with the millions of Christians in Nigeria today, I believe in peace, tolerance, and reconciliation; in the institution of the family, the sanctity of marriage, and the honour of fidelity; in hope, compassion, and divine revelation.

Like Bishop Crowther, I am a descendant of Abraham; unlike him, I am a Muslim. I believe our two great religions can not only peacefully coexist but also flourish together. But Muslims and Christians must first turn to one another in compassion. For, as it says in Amos 3.3: “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?”

As they are People of the Book, I believe that there is far more that unites Muslims and Christians than divides them. In fact, I believe that the messages of the Bible are universal: available for anyone to exercise, and instructive to all.

We must resist the temptation to retreat into our communities, because, if we do, we can only look inwards. It is only when we mix that we can reach new and greater possibilities.

Whichever religion or religious denomination they choose to follow, Nigerians are devout. Anything that Nigerians believe will place impositions on their practice, and belief is therefore sure to cause widespread alarm.

And, unfortunately, there are those who seek to divide Nigerians — and our two great religions — and to do so for their own advantage.

I stand accused — paradoxically — of trying to Islamise Nigeria while also being accused by Boko Haram terrorists of being against Islam. My Vice-President is a devout man, a Christian pastor. He, too, is accused of selling out his religion, because of his support for me.

This is not the first time that I — nor, indeed, my Christian-Muslim evenly split cabinet — have been the subject of such nonsense. Fortunately, the facts speak differently from the words of those who seek to divide us from one another.

Since my administration has been in power, Boko Haram has been significantly and fatally degraded; I have befriended church leaders and church groups both within and outside our country; my Vice-President has addressed and opened dialogue with Muslims up and down our land.

In all things, we seek that which all well-meaning Christians and well-meaning Muslims must seek: to unite, respect, and never to divide. Does it not say “There is no compulsion in religion” (Qur’an 2.256)? Does it not say “Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us” (Luke 9.50)? This, surely, is the path that followers of both our two great religions must walk.

UNFORTUNATELY, those who wish us all to walk apart have recently found another focus for their efforts: the tragic clashes between nomadic herdsmen and settled farmers in the central regions of Nigeria.

For generations, herders have driven their cattle from the north to the centre of our country; they tend to be predominantly Muslim, although not exclusively. The farmers, in certain areas of central Nigeria, are predominantly Christian.

The causes of this conflict are not religious or theological, but temporal. At the heart of this discord is access to rural land, exacerbated both by climate change and population growth.

Sadly, there are some who seek to play fast and loose and so make others believe that these are not the facts. When religion is claimed as the cause — and by those who know that it is not — it only makes finding a resolution more difficult.

The government has taken action to mediate, to bring the two groups together in peace and unity. But we also need all parties to follow the teachings of the scriptures, and encourage reconciliation rather than cause division. As it is said: “Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?” (Mark 8.18).

As our constitution codifies, politicising religion has no place in Nigeria; for it makes us turn away from one another; it makes us retreat into our communities and walk different paths.

I believe that there is a better way. To those who seek to divide, I still hold my hand out in brotherhood and forgiveness. I ask only that they stop, and instead encourage us to turn towards one another in love and compassion. Nigeria belongs to all of us. This is what I believe.

Muhammadu Buhari is President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

2019: Atiku’s misadventure, Buhari’s ride to success tribuneonlineng.com Nov 25, 2018 1:02 PM Atiku, Buhari The struggle of Nigeria’s former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to mount the horse as the country’s President has been legendary and sustained. Since 2003, when he deputized former President Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ), the ambition to lead Nigeria has refused to quench like a candle in the wind. When the main opposition PDP conceded its 2019 presidential ticket to Atiku, it seems his closest permutation to Aso Rock, Nigeria’s seat of power. Observably, since the day Atiku was crowned PDP’s presidential flagbearer his excitement has known no limitations. It’s being the happiest moment of his life, beaming with smiles, anywhere he makes public appearance, as though he has been declared winner of Nigeria’s 2019 presidential ballot. So, Atiku intensified his perpetually acerbic attacks on the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, disparaging every single effort of the APC led government. He promised Nigerians a redemption, which spurred fresh expectations of the magic his anticipated Presidency would offer the people. At last the chance is here for Atiku to make an impact; but he has bungled it from the outset. Atiku stabbed himself on the back, November 18, 2018 with his vision in a launched policy document, variously christened “The Atiku Plan,” or “Let’s Get Nigeria Working Again.” It failed miserably to inspire the confidence some Nigerians initially had in a possible Atiku Presidency. Echoes are loud that Atiku’s policy document was flat or watery on critical areas Nigeria is yearning for further rescue from the Buhari Presidency. They faulted Atiku as barren of any grasp of problems of Nigeria and fresh insights, by his duplicity and or embellishments’ of most of the policies and programmes of Buhari, which he had relentlessly and voraciously criticized. To put it mildly, the PDP standard-bearer failed to impress and others sensed some dubiousness on his change of stand on some of the issues he campaigned vigorously before his party awarded him its presidential ticket. In some sections of the policy document, it appeared more like plagiarism of the policyinitiatives of the Buhari Presidency. It dashed hopes and dampened spirits even in the camp of his most ardent supporters. Nigerians have been analyzing the “The Atiku Plan,” document from the perspective of various critical sectors of the economy. Some Nigerians dissatisfied with the Buhari Presidency, point to the nuances of national insecurity; a tottering economy; hyper unemployment rate; a comatose industrial sector, reflected in abandoned national industries/companies; the clamour for restructuring and the least, but also, very important, power rotation among the six geo-political regions of the nation. Disappointedly, Atiku’s vision in these sensitive sectors left a vacuum in the hearts of millions of Nigerians. Many have concluded that the Atiku quest for the Presidency of Nigeria is anchored on the crest of a swindle of Nigeria. They could not reconcile how a politician who has sought leadership of the country for years and vociferous in condemning existing structures and performance had nothing strikingly different in his policy document. Atiku has contradicted himself on everything he promised Nigerians which propelled him to kick every shadow to ensure, he secures a ticket in the ruling or major opposition party to contest the presidential ballot. From the policy document, its discernible Atiku does not either know what is restructuring of Nigeria as currently canvassed especiallyby Southerners or has developed cold feet towards the idea even before the opportunity to occupy Aso Rock. Quite clearly, Atiku dreads the North, which is viciously opposed to the idea of restructuring of Nigeria now. And in order not to offendsensitive interests of the Northern oligarchs, Atiku glossed over the idea like a pupil reciting nursery rhymes. He shamelessly harped on independence of local government councils and mixed council autonomy withrestructuring of Nigeria. Thereafter, he tactlessly strayed into natural resources. Hear him; “Once power over minerals and mines is devolved to the concurrent list, states where deposits of mines and mineral resources are found will have control over those resources and only pay royalties to the center.” This is sufficiently vague. It does not offer any clue on how his version of restructuring would be executed; but relied on an unconvincing probability of the devolution of powers from the concurrent list. Atikuparroted the issue of restructuring of Nigeria, everywhere in Southern Nigeria to earn their support for partynomination and the actual ballot in 2019. People of the Niger Delta are infinitely discouraged about Atiku’s candidature. He hinted in the policy document of providing incentives to investors to invest in Modular refineries in the North to source crude oil from Chad and Niger through pipelines under a Public Private Partnership. South-Southerners are already feeling a sense of alienation and abandonment under an Atiku Presidency. The people are feeling the experimentation of the Buhari Presidency with Modular refineries’ in the South-South, where the oil wealth is domiciled as a better sense of judgment from a neutral and impartial leader. The OBJ/Atiku Presidency (1999-2007) conceived the concept of privatization of national assets. And Atiku was the chairman, National Council on Privatization and Commercialization (NCPC). It’s very clear to all Nigerians that the exercise was a rape of Nigeria, as the assets were undervalued and sold to cronies and undercover agents. It has stirred disquiet in many quarters. There are speculations Atiku is likely to alter the document, by expunging such offensive sections. To demonstrate that Atiku is bereft of any fresh ideas for seeking to govern Nigeria, the policy document also endorsed removal of oil subsidy, like Buhari’s government. But it discloses his target of establishing what he called, a “Special Purpose Fund” for the funds to be domiciled and channeled to “building infrastructure in education, health and the empowerment of women and youth. What’s is new, Nigerians are asking? It was the same OBJ/Atiku Presidency that scrapped PTF, a similar concept, which would now be smuggled back under a new nomenclature? Therefore, what informed his quest for the Presidency exactly, if all he knows is retaining and renaming old concepts? Today, Atiku is concerned with expansion of modern railway lines, which are projects currently executed by the Buhari Presidency. The PDP 2019 Presidential candidate dropped the final bombshell by stating that “To increase the nation’s refining capacity, we shall privatize all four-outstanding government owned refineries to competent off-takers with mandates to produce agreed levels of refined output.” Nigeria is stressed on national insecurity many fronts. The Boko Haram terrorism; militancy in the Niger Delta; armed banditry and cattle rustling; kidnapping and violent separatists agitations and herders/farmers clashes. Atiku boasted when Buhari emerged President that if he were the leader of Nigeria, Boko Haram would have ended in six months. But his policy document shied away from intimating on the details of what would have pass as a marvelous master plan. Nigerians fault President Buhari for his insistence on grazing reserves for Fulani herders, instead of ranches, especially by most states in the Benue valley. Unfortunately, Atiku’s policy document portrays him as a leader with the worse sympathy for the atrocities of Fulani herdsmen. Atiku does not see open grazing by herders; the clashes with farmers and mass deaths as a national security threat. And so, his document is handily silent on it. Its apparent Atiku’s failure to inspire the electorates with his long awaited policy document is his greatest nemesis for the quest to lead Nigeria in 2019. Worse still, while the North has just four more years to allow power transit to the Southern part of the country, Southeast possibly, Atiku plans his policy document extending to between six and eight years; an early sign of a sit-tight leader. Having bared his mind, millions of Nigerians have come to the inevitable conclusion that President Buhari has no real alternative in 2019. With his cunning misadventure, through self-revelation, Atiku has made it an easy ride for Buhari’s success in the next general elections.

tribuneonlineng.com

Nov 25, 2018 1:02 PM

Ministers angry over ‘twisted’ version of concession call

Some ministers who served under former president Goodluck Jonathan have angrily reacted to some of the claims by him in his book, ‘My Transition Hours’, released on Tuesday.

Commenting on his acclaimed concession call to President Muhammadu Buhari while the final results of the 2015 presidential election were yet to be announced, Jonathan said he rebuffed advice from ministers and an aide not to concede.

Those he named as having advised him are Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (then minister of finance), Mohammed Bello Adoke (attorney-general), Osita Chidoka (aviation), and Warpamowei Dudafa (senior special assistant on domestic affairs).

Jonathan wrote: “They were recommending sundry alternatives, but I was quiet in the midst of their discussions. I hugged my thought, figuring out how to do that which was best for the country. My personal interest was receding rapidly and the interest of Nigeria looming large.

“I excused myself and left the sitting room. I walked into my study. Even there, my mantra was a strong circle around me, supporting and comforting me.  Let the country survive. Let democracy survive. My political ambition is not worth people being ‘soaked in blood.”

However, a former minister, who spoke with TheCable, has described Jonathan’s version of the events as a “big lie”.

“Let him enjoy the euphoria of his book launch first, but those he has defamed will surely respond in due course,” the former minister said, adding that Jonathan, by his latest claims, may finally demystify himself over the concession speech “which had elevated his status internationally”.

Another former minster who spoke with the TheCable but also refused to be identified described Jonathan’s version of events as “most unfair and petty”.

“The impression the former president is trying to create is that the people came to tell him not to concede. In truth, Jonathan was being persuaded by a former south-south governor not to concede, so some ministers were quickly invited to come and counter the plot,” the former minister said.

“What would Okonjo-Iweala, Adoke and Chidoka be doing at the villa at that time if not that something was going wrong? Is Jonathan trying to say he was not involved in Elder Godsday Orubebe’s attempt to disrupt the announcement of the results? Is Jonathan trying to claim innocence of a plot to secure a court injunction to stop INEC from further announcing the results? Jonathan needs to be a man of honour.”

Here are the other versions of the concession story as narrated in books by Okonjo-Iweala, who was a witness; Olusegun Adeniyi, celebrated journalist and author; and Bolaji Abdullahi, former minister of sport.

OKONJO-IWEALA’S VERSION

Okonjo-Iweala said she whispered to Jonathan to concede

Okonjo-Iweala wrote that when she got to the villa on March 31, she found a group of politicians urging Jonathan not to accept defeat and another group asking him to throw in the towel.

“At the Villa, I was met outside the residence by Osita Chidoka, who collected my input for the (concession) speech and told me the president was in the residence. When I entered the Villa, the president was in one of the living rooms with the Vice President, some advisers, and a group of politicians who were arguing passionately about the conduct of the elections and irregularities of which they said they had evidence, such as videos of underage voting in certain parts of the country.

“They were urging the president not to concede the election. More politicians came in and joined them. On the opposite side of the room were the Minister of Aviation Osita Chidoka; the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke; and the Minister of Agriculture, Akinwunmi Adesina. They were relaying a dissenting view, arguing that the president should concede.

“I was immediately drawn into the argument as everyone turned to hear my views. I said I thought the president should concede and do so before the announcement of the vote count was completed. The Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Affairs, Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei, a politician, whom I expected to side with the politicians, also said he sided with those who thought the president should concede.

“A heated argument ensued. Throughout the discussion, the president said not a word. He kept his own counsel and just kept welcoming guests and party loyalists who were joining us at the Villa.

“I sat next to the president and whispered to him that if he was going to concede, he probably should do so before the announcement of election results ended.

“Suddenly, he got up and left the room. We all thought he had gone off for a few moments of quiet. He returned about twenty minutes later and sat down without saying a word. I decided to take a chance and press him again on a timely concession. As I whispered again for a second time, the president responded to me out loud, “CME (Coordinating Minister of the Economy), it is done. I have called President-elect Buhari and conceded!”

OLUSEGUN ADENIYI’S ACCOUNT

Olusegun Adeniyi authored ‘Against the Run of Play’

Adeniyi, in his book, ‘Against the Run of Play’, said Dudafa knelt and begged Jonathan to concede.

He wrote: “Kneeling in front of Jonathan were his Attorney-General and Justice Minister, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN; Aviation Minister, Mr. Osita Chidoka and Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Affairs, Mr. Waripamo-Owei Dudafa.

“The mission of the three officials was to persuade Jonathan to call and congratulate his opponent, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), even as the final results were still being collated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“Seated a few metres away in the room were Vice-President Namadi Sambo; Akwa Ibom Governor, Mr. Godswill Akpabio; Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, Mr. John Kennedy Opara and the Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

“Chidoka had co-opted Adoke and Dudafa to make the plea after a conversation he had with Jonathan the previous day. The President had acknowledged that the results were going against him and that he was going to concede.

“This was at a period when Nigerians were unsure who would win, with many politicians within the ruling People’s Democratic Party still betting on Jonathan. He, meanwhile, had asked Chidoka and a few others, including his spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, to give him a draft concession speech.”

BOLAJI ABDULLAHI’S ACCOUNT

Abdullahi wrote ‘On a Platter of Gold’

Abdullahi wrote more comprehensively on the concession in ‘On a Platter of Gold’.

He said Jonathan had told Chidoka earlier in the day that he was gong to accept defeat, but things began to change quickly.

He wrote: “By the time he returned later that day, the sombre atmosphere at the Presidential Villa had become somewhat charged. The president’s media adviser, Reuben Abati had also brought a draft speech. He was asked to go and work with Akinwumi Adesina, the Minister of Agriculture, to reconcile the two speeches. Several other people had also arrived, and now sat around the presidential living room like a delegation of mourners, each trying his best to surpass the other in a show of grief .Among them was the Vice President, Namadi Sambo and the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio.

“Jonathan had by now given indication of his plan to accept defeat. What they probably did not realise, however, was that by asking him not to concede, they were presenting him with a dilemma. He had roundly promised the country a credible election. And if there was one legacy he would like to leave behind in office, it would be that he conducted the most credible election in the nation’s history. Therefore, to contend that the election has been anything but credible was to rob himself the chance to leave even this imprint on history. The alternative of course was for him to simply accept defeat and walk away.

“In the battle for the president’s mind, Chidoka could see that he was hopelessly outnumbered. Many had even started to accuse him openly of working for the former Minister of Federal Capital Territory and APC Governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai. Having taken in the atmosphere, the Aviation Minister quickly summoned two other people he knew could exert significant influence on the President: the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke; and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. They soon arrived.

“A usually sedate President Jonathan, who appeared like he did not care only a while ago, was now fuming. He ranted about how the election was rigged. How children were used to vote. How Jega had compromised and betrayed his trust. Okonjo-Iweala, whose words normally carried weight with the President, was pleading with him, but he was not listening.

“Abati returned with an updated draft of the speech, which he had started by having the president congratulate the winner, Muhammadu Buhari. But the president said, no, he was not going to congratulate Buhari because he wasn’t convinced that he had won the election fair and square. Chidoka turned to Jonathan and asked, ‘Sir, but are you still going to give the address?’

“President Jonathan said he was going to give the address, but he was not going to congratulate anyone. He would only appeal to Nigerians to remain calm and await the announcement of the final results. It was obvious that the ‘rejecters’ had made an impact and were having the upper hand. And, sensing that they were winning, they pressed their advantage. They reminded President Jonathan of what Buhari was capable of doing to him,and argued that even if he was going to concede, the terms had to be negotiated.Vice President Sambo wanted Jonathan to wait until the full results were announced before he made a statement. Even then, he thought the statement should not be to congratulate Buhari but to say that the president had kept his promise to conduct the elections but the party would meet to review the results and then decide whether to accept the outcome or reject it. Some others argued that even if he must concede, the Peace Committee should be brought in to negotiate some kind of softlanding not only for him, but also his associates. No one gives away power so cheaply, they insisted.

“Okonjo-Iweala and Adoke however countered that if the president issued a statement conceding defeat as he had planned to do even before the final results were announced, he would be snatching a major victory out of the jaws of defeat.

“Sir, why don’t you even call General Buhari to congratulate him?” No one could recall who first made this suggestion. But this was a major tipping point that every one of the ‘persuaders’ would be happy to claim. They all agreed that if the President called Buhari to congratulate him, that would settle the matter and turn him to an instant hero, even in defeat. “You have lost the mortal game, this is the chance to claim immortality,” one of them.

“One person who had been listening to all the arguments but contributing very little was Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, the President’s long term aide. His only previous contribution to the debate was when he said to the president, “Daddy, no matter what, we are leaving here May 29.” He knew President Jonathan more than most. He knew that if all these people pressuring him to reject the outcome of the election had known him half as well, they would have realised the catastrophic implication of what they were advocating and would have known that this man did not have the stomach for carnage and blood. Dudafa knew that when President Jonathan said his ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian, he meant it. He also knew what the president meant when he once said, that he was no Nebuchadnezzar. Therefore, the moment the idea of a phone call to General Buhari was mentioned, he started working with some other domestic aides to get Buhari on the phone. He soon got through.

“Your Excellency, sir. Hope I’m speaking with General Buhari, sir. President Goodluck Jonathan would like to speak with you, sir,” Dudafa said to the phone and handed it over to President Jonathan.”

THE WEAKNESS YOU IGNORE WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU

There was a man in KADUNA who had repeatedly accused Governor El Rufai's Goverment of massive corruption through the Media Houses.

The young man named 'JARFA' was one day invited to the Government house by the Governor, who directed Mr. Jarfa to charter a 'KEKE NAPEP' that he (the Governor) will pay when he arrived and that he had already instructed the security details at the gate for his free passage...

Mr. Jarfa arrived as instructed and the Governor told him to let the KEKE man go and that his men will drop him later...

He gave Mr. Jarfa N200,000.00 to pay the KEKE man as a way of empowering the poor rider as well as to let the KEKE man always remember the very day he brought a passenger to the Government House....

The Governor asked Mr. Jarfa upon his return from paying the KEKE man, ''What was the reaction of the KEKE man after giving him such a huge amount?
Mr. Jarfa answered that the KEKE man was actually dazed with shock!!!

Unknown to Mr. Jarfa, the security details at the 2nd gate had been asked to stop the KEKE man and bring him back...
When the KEKE man was brought back to the Governor, the Governor asked him, ''How much did Mr. Jarfa give you???
And the KEKE man said N2,000.00.
This happened in the presence of 'Holier-than-thou' MR. JARFA!

The Governor smiled and said, ''You see... from N200,000.00 to N2,000.00, you have pocketed N198,000.00 in a space of a second, only you!!!
You have lost the chance to own a brand new car. Look at the key here.
I thought you were a honest man. I was even looking forward to working with you, but you have messed up, you are even worse! You can leave now with your N198,000.00. Thank you very much for coming!!!”

Since that very day, Mr. Jarfa's voice has disappeared from the radar of Media Airwaves!!!

May our loyalty and honesty never be tested!! Most of us are Mr. Jarfa waiting to happen in Nigeria.

This is one of the most challenging stories ever read.

God help our faithfulness to be truly faithful.

That's the kind of followers most of us are, yet demanding much from leaders raised amongst us.
Real change begins with me..

God help us all.

*Posted as received.

ROAD PROJECTS IN NIGERIA.

365 roads are under construction in Nigeria.
244 of them were awarded in 2001 yet had stopped being active by 2015, due to lack of funds in an era of oil boom.

In contrast, the remaining 121 roads were awarded in the last three years in a period of oil glut and global hardship.

The first translates to 16 roads per annum in the period of plenty and the latter category represents an average of 40 roads per annum in a tough period.

The difference is crystal clear.

~ Babatunde Raji Fashola
Minister of Works, Power & Housing