 Published
June 1st, 2010
In nowhere is the saying action speaks louder than words
more true than in Nigeria, especially among Nigerian
politicians. Since the elevation of Yar’Adua to celestial
glory, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has spoken to
Nigerians more with his body language than any other form of
communication.
This resort to body language was first manifested during a
CNN interview when Christiane Amanpour pointblanckly
asked then Acting President Goodluck if he would contest
next year’s presidential election. Goodluck shifted uneasily
and went on frolic with words and never answered the
question.
Now that Musa Yar’Adua had joined Shehu Yar’Adua, “divinely”
leaving the reigns of governance to Goodluck, Goodluck is
still yet to answer the nagging question. His body language
shows he craves to run. His action by proxy shows he is
salivating to run and by proxy, he has started uprooting
obstacles on his way.
The first obstacle was the soul of his party PDP. To capture
the soul of this monster, the National Chairman had to go
for a more Goodluck friendly chairman to emerge. Ogbulafor
had in the days of uncertainty over Yar’Adua’s expiring
date, voiced that Goodluck will not pick up wherever
Yar’Adua would have left. This position by Ogbulafor was
predicated on the zoning arrangement by the PDP. The
communiqué of the caucus meeting where PDP discussed zoning
had been made public and Goodluck Ebele Jonathan then Deputy
Governor of Bayelsa was in attendance.
A good number of Nigerians have come heavily against this
zoning (mind you at federal level only) chanting that it is
not in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria. I agree with this school of thought but differ
greatly that such an internal arrangement of a party to win
votes should be a national issue. Unfortunately it is a
national issue because the political party in power, has the
exclusive control over the machinery of rigging, spanning
from the appointment of INEC Chairman to the security
agencies and intimidating rival party’s polling agents at
the day of election.
Political Party “politricking” have never been worked out
based on constitutional provision rather on manifesto of the
party. Every political party panels out strategy that will
enable it win the required votes to be the major distributor
of the coveted means of making its members instant
millionaires.
Throughout the history of Nigerian politics, zoning has
always factored in. It is either on Christian/Muslim,
Hausa/Igbo, Hausa/Yoruba alliance. Even the military
incursion into Nigerian politics did not abolish zoning
despite the redemptive cum revolutionary ideals of these
coup plotters.
Those chanting that Goodluck should run, are being economic
with the truth. In as much as I hate zoning-for if I am a
PDP member, I am excluded to contest any meaningful post in
my state because my Senatorial Zone under the PDP had had
its turn of every juicy post –this is not the time for PDP
to abolish zoning. The six geo-political zones should have a
realistic attempt at eight year tenancy at Aso Rock before
we can justifiably say that it is no longer expedient to
hold on to the zoning. Until this is done, groups in Nigeria
will still be shouting marginalization and uneven playing
ground aided by power of incumbency.
This is not the time to copy United States of America, where
a family had produced two presidents. In America, there is a
robust political culture where to be a President is a
dreaded burden. In the United States, people get quality
representation from their Reps and Senators that they care
only marginally about who becomes the President of United
States. In America there is true federalism and sectional
development that some citizens never had course to leave
their state capitals in search of anything. But in Nigeria,
you must be an Abuja politician before any meaningful
dividend of democracy can surface in your area.
A careful look at those edging in Goodluck will expose that
they are those who had benefitted from the Zoning
arrangement of the PDP nay the psych of Nigerians.
In a free and fair election or selection, would the South
East by the way they were marketing the Senate President be
allowed to constantly reproduced Senate President from
1999-2007? To disagree with me is to impute that there were
no other qualified Senators to Chair the Senate but the
South East for that 8 years. Same was applicable to the
House of Representative where an attempted impeachment of
OBJ resulted in leadership casualty but not in removing the
Speaker from the North. Even in the current dispensation,
the former Speaker’s “itchy fingers” did not take away the
Speaker’s seat from the South West despite eminently
qualified PDP Honourables from other geo-political zones. It
is hypocritical for the so called PDP Reform Forum to be
championing the abolition of Zoning. A good number of them,
became Governors of their states for two tenures because
other Senatorial Zones based on zoning conceded to them
despite the below performance of a good number of them. It
is most unfair to want the bridge to break because you have
crossed it. If Goodluck and PDP are sincere about abolishing
Zoning, why is the vacant National Chairman seat of the PDP
left for the South-East to fill?
The real selfish reason these politicians are asking for the
demise of zoning is because they have had their cake, are in
their twilight and if zoning is maintained, most of them
will not have the opportunity to contest and mesmerize the
poor hungry electorates with their PDP assisted wealth.
If not for the loud body language of Goodluck and the
understanding that the incumbent never losses election, the
issues that should have defined the 2011 elections would
have been on the front burner rather than the issue internal
crisis of the PDP.
Goodluck should speak up.
Che Oyinatumba
oyimnatumba92@yahoo.com |
