Politics
President Yar’Adua And Second Term Agenda
The lid over political campaign moves to get President Umaru Yar’Adua re-elected in 2011 has been blown open. The president recently halted all shades of campaign, citing the need to concentrate on governance as motive behind his decision. In defiance of this presidential directive, promoters of this project, mostly the president’s henchmen and chieftains of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have commenced campaign for his re-election. Nwife, one of the arrow heads of the initiative denied an on-going campaign for re-election of the president, but confessed: “But if you ask me whether I want Mr. President to be re-elected, I will say, yes, because Nigeria has never had it so good. This is despite denials by those involved that their moves are not tantamount to re-election campaign for the president”. The political antecedents of these men, and the style adopted are reflective of the regular deceptive pastern of the president’s friends, super rich businessmen and political jobbers in the past at the corridors of power.
The re-election campaign is very hypocritical and an attempt to unduly outsmart the opposition when the political campaign whistle has not been officially blown. Curiously too, we are concerned within why (PDP) must push the president for another term, when nothing had worked in the country, more than two years after the president came on board.
In the first place, why we think President Yar’Adua is qualified to rule the nation if not for his imposition on Nigerians by President Olusegun Obasanjo who manipulated the votes of Nigerians in 2007. the president acknowledged this by admitting publicly in the early days of his administration that the election that brought him to power was flawed; hence his setting up of the electoral reform panel headed by retired Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais.
So far, there is nothing on ground to show that president deserves a second term. His seven-point agenda merely exists on paper and appropriation, infrastructure level is zero, the roads are in a shambles, unemployment is soaring to high heavens, potable water remains elusive while insecurity looms large across the country.
Under developed democracy, the president’s poor performance would have attracted his resignation. He has travelled abroad on many occasions to put his health in shape, sometimes when the nation is facing challenges.
With a leader like president Yar’Adua, Nigerians don’t need anybody to remind us that we have remained too long in the comity of under developed country. With the huge lot left unattended to in the country due to leadership incompetence, allowing the president another term of four years, though legal, will not augur well for the country.
Dr. Charles Anosike a lecturer at Obafemi Awolowo University, said, “We now have more impoverished people walking on the streets today than in the past. Everything points to the fact that this administration does not have the panacea for remedying the country’s anomalies”.
“For running an incompetent government that has inflicted pains on the people and distress, the president does not deserve a second term. He should call his Lapdogs that are behind his re-election campaign to order”, he said.
“Take a look at the president’s Democracy Day’s address. It is instructive that half way into his four year tenure none of his promises in his seven point agenda have concretely materialised, they all seems to remain in the pipeline. The promised to generate or boost electricity supply, improvement of the road network, resuscitation of the of the moribund rail system and dredging of water channels, and the reinvigoration of the agricultural sector to ensure food scarcity, security of lives and property and rampage by criminals. “You could say that isn’t for lack of noble intention on the president’s past but, as have been often said, because the decay is deep-rooted and requires prolonged gestation in planning and effecting a remedy”. But the citizens in the interim are getting the raw deal and wondering what impact governance has. It marked the second year and of the administration of President Umaru Yar’Adua at the federal level and more than two-thirds of governors at the state level. Given our historical antecedents, these represents a testimony that our people have clearly shown their preference for democratic governance and an abiding faith in its transformative power.
You could say that this country earned in the last 10 years from her crude oil resource more than she did in all the previous years of independence, but this hasn’t rubbed off much on its citizenry. Prof. Dora Akunyili, has vigorously carried on with a campaign to rebrand Nigeria but how much of a bad product can you rebrand by changing the package without improving the content? But we have every cause to celebrate and defend this rule and ultimately grow it into a true democracy. Is it time to 2011 in order to roll out the drums and celebrate concrete accomplishments in national development, or time to complain about the published failure and wastages of the past or time to persuade masses loss of memory (amnesia) and simply look forward to deferred promises of the gains of nationhood.
Ucheonye Onyekachi is IT student from Anambra State University.
Ucheonye Onyekachi
Chairman-elect of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Hon. Target Segibo has alleged that the prevalent security challenges in some communities of the local government area could be traceable to parental failure on one hand, and frivolous lifestyle of children and wards involved in crime and criminality in the area on the other hand.
Segibo, who was a pioneer member of the State House of Assembly between 1999-2003, stated this in Yenagoa, the state capital recently while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after receiving his Certificate of Return from the Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC).
He indicated his continued desire to work for the peace and rapid socio-economic development of the local government, noting that having been actively involved in the politics of the area for decades now, he was more grounded in working on modalities towards ensuring enduring peace and unity in troubled communities of the area.
The Chairman-elect who also lauded the state governor, Senator Douye Diri, the state’s leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the electorate for finding him worthy to be elected Chairman of the local government, called on parents/guardiance not to renege on their primary responsibilities of watching over their children and wards, arguing that as the largest local government area in the state, Southern Ijaw should also be noted for peace and development.
“For over 20 years, I’ve been living peacefully with all my neighbours, both at home in Oporoma, headquarters of Southern Ijaw LGA and here, in Yenagoa.
“I’ve grown up children, but I don’t give them more than what they needed as students to go to school and stay okay as a father because I discovered that most of the security challenges we’re facing today in the Southern Ijaw LGA, and other parts of the state, is traceable to parental failure and children’s wanting to lead a frivolous lifestyle”, he said.
“As parents/guardians we should be able to know the kind of friends our children/wards keep. We must not pamper them. We must tell them that they have to do something legal to earn a living. We must question any source of sudden wealth and affluence on the part of our children and wards.
“But I want to assure our people of Southern Ijaw that as their incoming Chairman, when I’m sworn-in, having been actively participating in the politics and other activities of the area, collectively we’ll work to ensure enduring peace, unity and development of the LGA”, he added.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State House of Assembly has screened and confirmed the first batch of Commissioner-nominees for Governor Diri’s second term State Executive Council.
The Tide gathered that the State Chief Executive in a bid to form his cabinet for his second tenure had earlier submitted a list of 14 names to the state legislature for confirmation as commissioners.
However, The Tide reports that only 13 out of the 14 nominees attended the constitutional exercise of the lawmakers.
Though no official reasons have been given, the immediate past Commissioner for Sports, who is also a former member of the state Assembly, Hon. Daniel Igali, was conspicuously absent during the screening exercise.
Inline with the House’s rules and Standing Orders, two other former members of the state Assembly who were also part of the nominees, Dr Gentle Emelah, immediate past Commissioner for Education, and Mrs Ebiwou Koku-Obiyai, were simply asked to take a bow and leave.
Following the exhaustive grilling, however, the immediate past Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Mr Biriyai Dambo, SAN, his Finance counterpart, Mr Maxwell Ebibai, were confirmed.
Also confirmed were the immediate past Works and Infrastructure Commissioner, Moses Teibowei, Mrs Koku Obiyai, Dr Gentle Emelah, Ayibakipreye Brodericks, George Ekpotuatein Flint and Komuko Akari Kharim.
Furthermore, Mr Perepuighe Biewari, Dr Jones Ebieri, Barr. Peter Afagha, Mrs Bidei Elizabeth and Michael Magbisa received the nod to be appointed commissioners by the state lawmakers.
In his advice to the nominees shortly after their screening, Deputy Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Michael Ogbere, enjoined the Commissioner hopefuls to work as a team with those they will meet on ground, admonishing that they remain loyal to the government at all times.
On his part, Leader of the House, Hon. Monday-Bubou Obolo, said the people of the state expect a lot trom them and that the House will do its best to keep them on their toes through its oversight functions while giving them the needed legislative support where necessary.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
A former lawmaker representing Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Farah Dagogo, has described the outcome of the 98th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as another demonstration of the resilience of the party to weather any storm that comes its way.
This is contained in a statement released bythe Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the estwhile federal legislator, Ibrahim Lawal, at the weekend.
In the build up to the NEC meeting, suggestions and permutations had been rife of the likelihood of the PDP running into another round of crises as the party tries to navigate a path for the North Central Zone to produce a substantive National Chairman to complete the truncated tenure of former Chairman, Dr. Iyiorchia Ayu.
Speaking on the sidelines of the NEC meeting that saw Umar Damagum retain his position as the party’s Acting National Chairman until the next NEC meeting scheduled for August, Dr Dagogo said those who genuinely have the best interest of the party at heart made timely sacrifices to keep the party firm and afloat.
The former member of the National Assembly said but for the political maturity and sagacity employed by the party’s National Leader and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, alongside other leaders, before and during the NEC meeting, the party would have ‘played into the hands of some individuals, who wanted the party to implode in order to improve their political fortunes’.
He expressed optimism that by the adjourned date of August, Damagum would have seen that “it is in the best interest of the party for him to vacate the position for a more purposeful and result oriented leadership’’.
“ For me, the outcome of the NEC meeting was a win-win situation. Against all odds, the party came out unscathed and will continue to wax stronger.
“Yes, the Acting Chairman retained his position, but it is obvious to him now and others that it would be in the best interest of the party for him to vacate that position for a more purposeful and result oriented leadership by August.
“The so called tension generated in the build up to the NEC Meeting was actually orchestrated by the inordinate desire of some few individuals who wanted to thwart the sterling call by party faithful for a review of its failing leadership and directionless.
“ The Party however did not play into the hands of those individuals, who wanted the party to implode in order to improve their political fortunes. Thanks in good measure to the political maturity and sagacity employed by the Party’s National Leader and Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, alongside other leaders, before and during the NEC Meeting. We are where we are now because of their sacrifices and dedication to the party, “ he added.
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