Some three Wednesdays' past, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, for now, Acting President of Nigeria, with no less a power as a substantive one, proved to his fellow countrymen particularly the kitchen cabinet of the allegedly recuperating president Yar’Adua, who was in charge of the only full-stop available to the government, when he put on offer the entire cabinet positions of the ministers.
And to prove that he was everything good in Yar’Adua and more, like speed and being very picky, he one week after, submitted a list of nominees to fill the vacant positions—which is an improvement on the sacked one despite the short time it took to source the personalities and compile the list— to the senate for consideration and confirmation.
In his list, many of the avoidable constraints to real development in the past, was absent: the nation was not saddled with men and women in the evenings, if not night, of their lives, both mentally and physically. And neither was it made a compensation spree or safe house for the zonal leaders of the rigging arm or burning squad, of the Peoples Democratic Party like was the experience in the years of yore. It is rather, on the main, made up of energetic persons who are prepared to exert themselves mentally and physically to proffer top drawer solutions to the myriad of challenges plaguing the nation. This prospect of a return to governance and government with momentum should no doubt excite ordinary Nigerians who are almost getting used to the idea of either, a slowed, delayed or reversed movement of governance and government.
But for the immediate family of the president under the shepherding influence of the iron lady, Turai, the so-called cabal or inner caucus of the government which includes the most senior ranking members of the National leadership of the PDP and a collection of ex-this, ex-that, all of whom had individually and collectively apostrophized information about his true health situation as to leave opinions and conclusions to each and every other member of the 150 million strong Nigeria’s family, it must be bad news. And one bad news that can only grow unless the man in the centre of it all, Yar'Adua, shows through evidence acts—and quickly too— that he is still capable of discharging his responsibilities, to the nation.
He needs to act quickly in the light of the fact of the emergency of a new set of ministers whose loyalty is to the current head of government. And though these minsters, largely professionals, have been picked for the purpose of helping to fast track the implementation of his 7 point agenda or a concise form it, would not hesitate to exercise good judgement and declare him incapable of running the affairs of the state preparatory to the national assembly final intervention, should it become obvious that his continued stay as the substantive president constitutes a source of distraction or constraint to the system and only beneficial or a source of empowerment and encouragement, to subversive elements otherwise referred to as cabal or fifth columnist.
But this is not going to be a tea party, as it seems. And it is apparently for this reason that the PDP and the thirty six governors of the federation have met to resolve to carry on with the present arrangement. Because acting in any other fashion would mean playing into the hands of the component of the northern politicians and leader and professionals that are rabidly pro-north irrespective of the consequences to the constitution and by extension, the stability of the nation, and who have the ear of the common masses: the uninformed up north, who have lost out in the present circumstances.— their well-being lies in the patronage that is extended to them when a fellow northerner who finds them of any consequence as image makers within the region, is at the helms of the nation’s affairs.
Their pestiferous activities ,as usual, would include rousing namby-pamby Muslims like is the case in Jos and using same to foment troubles and even commit well coordinated heinous crimes in some of the major cities in the region where it is bound to affect southerners and Christians residing there, as either settlers or indigenes. This would be with a view to causing a reprisal attack else, of a more deadly dimension, and in the process create a reason for a military intervention, an arbitrary arrangement, from whence they benefit, more. After-all, all it takes to start a stamped amongst elephant is for an elephant-fly to bite a sensitive spot in just one of the animal.
For now, their activities are centred, around proxies who are already in court challenging the National Assembly’s actions that made Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the Acting president. I dare say that the judgement of the court, whichever way it goes, would still leave the Acting President indifferent. If the present arrangement is up hold, life goes on, if it is up turned, then the National Assembly would have no choice but to impeach the already incapacitated president, causing him and his family, the ultimate loss. Head or tail, Goodluck “dey kampe” until Yar'Adua crawls out of his recuperating bed to “fellow Nigeria” us. But until then, it is Good luck to Jonathan as he continues to keep a date with history.
Meanwhile, the members of this cabal were reported to have embarked on a brainwashing mission of the son of the late Shehu Yar'Adua, nominated for a national assignment, as a minister. The idea is or, was, since he has already passed through the senate screening, to get him to reject the rare opportunity and privilege of offering his services to the fatherland. This was, no doubt, with a view to creating a semblance of unity amongst the Yar'Adua’s on an imaginary opposition to Goodluck and a false sense of solidarity with Musa and his immediate family.
The same people who could not talk Turai and her cronies into taking the entire family into confidence, and allow them meet the man—and this according to the media includes the mother of the man. All of them just like ordinary Nigerian relied on third party or second hand information to know anything about one of their own under whose watch one of the business legacies—one half of Bank PHB— of their hero was de-winged. There is no doubt in my mind that the solo runs of Turai since last November must have been due to her winner takes all dealings with the other family. Murtala must accept this offer! And the Yar'Adua bomb will not explode! And should it even explode for any reason, they will find no wind to carry their evil message of destruction beyond the confines of their homes.
Thankfully, So far, the president has handled this cancerous group with evil temper, with so much dexterity that it is impossible to with hold admiration for him. Here, one is talking about a clique that is influential enough amongst people of no consequence but with raw energy for violence, as to put a spoke into a lot of wheels, for the country; and all that just to sustain a man whose health condition does not equal his determination or rather, that of the profiting clique, to remain in power, and provide leadership.
POSTSCRIPT: it seems some news paper houses in Nigeria are suffering worse illness than Yar'Adua—the loss of their sense of intelligent predictions; and has in the process fallen into the category of useless soft-sells that relish in fixing date for the declaration of the state of Biafra, and Ojukwu, with his frail health, meeting some world leaders and all such nonsensical stories.
These papers I am referring to, otherwise referred to as national papers, seems obsess with the idea that the Acting President is just a robot to be manipulated to any end, by past leaders, particularly, Obasanjo. First it was, Goodluck to take orders from Turai, then Goodluck to run in 2011 with IBB: still as VP and the most recent, Obasanjo arranges Goodluck to run with El Ruffai in 2011 but first, the El Ruffai will return to the country as his adviser on Anti-graft. The same man who is yet to clear his name of all the fraudulent stories attached to it, resulting from his under the table deals during his reign as a minister, All this stories, in a period where you would expect them to be focused on Atiku’s imminent return to the PDP and what it says on OBJ’s bogus control OF Goodluck.
Atiku is on his way back to the PDP says one of the papers and I am inclined to believe it as result of recent activities of the renunciation of membership of the AC by Peter Okocha, the flag bearer of the party in the last gubernatorial election, in Delta state and a dye in the wool follower of the Turakin. Okocha is the favourite of the new Adedibu of the south-south region, Chief Edwin Clark, for the governorship of the state in the last election. EK Clark has never hidden his preference of Okocha over the current man, who has performed abysmally, for the governorship seat of the state.
If Okocha still has the ear of Chief Clark then he would have to move to the PDP, the president party from whence it is expected that he, Clark, would be able to bend the president to do him a favour as to who governs delta state. More so, the current governor is an associate of Ibori, an anti Goodluck personality and rightly, a persona non grata in the Presidency. Where is there is an Atiku, there is an Okocha and vice-versa.