Paradigm Shift In Nigeria’s Leadership Question

It was a gathering of who is who in the nation’s polity. Past and present political gladiators, captains of industry, actors and actresses, musicians, comedians, youths, students, the physically challenged, market women, truck pushers and ordinary people all converged on Saturday September 18,2010, at the Eagle Square, Abuja, to keep a date with history. The event was the public declaration by President Goodluck Jonathan for the ruling party, the PDP’s mandate in the 2011 Presidential Elections.

No one could ever imagine that in a land infested with ethnic and sectional politics, a man from the little town of Otueke in Bayelsa State, deep in the creek of the Niger Delta could pull such a mammoth crowd. But that people came from all the six geopolitical zones and the diasporas to Abuja all because of President Jonathan affirms a biblical saying, when the righteous rule the people rejoice. So on that eventful day, Nigerians came to feast and rejoice with President Jonathan, who in the short five months of being in-charge of the nation’s affairs has delivered the dividend of democracy and given hope to their collective aspirations.

For 50 years Nigerians have waited for a moment like this, however, it seems the longer they waited the longer they have to wait. Hence, with all the governors and leaders of the PDP, except that of Kwara State and other aspirants, who were absent for obvious reasons, leaders of 42 of the 60 registered political parties, civil societies, international observers, the world press, friends and even enemies of the President and his Vice and ordinary people were all together at the Eagle Square, Abuja, on Saturday September 18,2010, to tacitly endorse President Jonathan, and make a statement of the coming of age of our democracy and the emergence of a new generation of national leadership.

Given the intimidating support of the people for President Jonathan on that super Saturday, no one need any political fixer to tell other aspirants that they should follow the path of honour and bow out from the race, for God has spoken. As the saying goes, the voice of the people is the voice of God. Hence, by the mammoth crowd that greeted the declaration of President Jonathan, God through the people had spoken that come 2011 President Jonathan would succeed himself for another four years.

That Nigerians have massively declared their support for President Jonathan, from the south­south, manifest their disdain for sectional politics that has hitherto hindered the country’s emergence as the giant of the black race. Moreover, in the 50 years of Nigeria’s existence as a sovereign entity, the military had ruled the country for 28 years. The consequence of this protracted military interregnum on the nation’s psyche is the complete lack of visionary and popular leadership, and the enthronement of godfatherism and blind loyalty into the polity. This is not good enough for a people in dire need of diversity of opinion for sustainable development. Hence, when President Jonathan decided to seek a fresh mandate for the office and challenged the apostles of zoning and bankrupt leadership in the PDP, Nigerians were unanimous in their support for his candidature.

It is unfortunate that some of those contesting President Jonathan’s decisions for the 2011 Presidency as unpopular and anti-democracy are people who have benefited from undemocratic politics and use of power of incumbency to feather their political nests. As these recycled leaders seek the peoples support, whether for one term or longer terms, should they succeed in stopping President Jonathan as they have vowed, the poorer the welfare of the citizens will be. This is why Nigerians must terminate the politics of recycling leaders with undemocratic tendencies in the name of being experienced, tried and tested. Under their watch, settlement and ‘chop I chop’ became our national political ethos. These leaders dislike accountability and transparency, provided security for their allies, friends and the noveau rich to amass wealth, thereby fostering corruption on the nation, and making our people poorer than they were 50 years ago. Their trademark is love for power for the sake of it, a readiness to get into power by all means, and once in power take actions to ensure their continued stay in office. As Nigeria turns 50, Nigerians must be wiser in their choice of those they support into power.

The past 50 years of the country’s existence had seen the leadership throwaway the virtues of vision and selflessness in place of personal riches and incumbents motivated by greed and gain of retaining political power in order to guarantee their discretionary control over public coffers. This period saw the promotion of political patronage as our national ideology. After 50 years of independence, as a nation are we growing or retrogressing? It is unfortunate for somebody who left office twenty years ago to still think of returning to power, not because the people wanted him for his past outstanding achievements but just because he wants to oil his political ego and greed for power.

However, the emergence of Dr Goodluck Jonathan as the fifth civilian President and 14th Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria has certainly opened up the nation’s political space for emerging new thoughts. Today, what was hitherto considered a taboo in political discussions in the country in as recent as four years ago is now being freely canvassed. But attaining that position was not without some sacrifices. Many of our sons like Isaac Adaka Boro, Ken Saro- Wiwa, Moshood Abiola and many others paid the supreme price, some like Professor Tam David- West and Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha to mention a few were disgraced out of office and jailed, while our resources are being systematically looted all in the name of the unity and common good of Nigeria.

As the nation beckons on President Jonathan to contest the 2011 elections, one is not oblivious that many political jobbers and those who are against his running in the first place are not happy as his entry has demystified their taunted political supremacy. For the actualisation of Jonathan­Sambo Presidential project, it is worthwhile to ask Nigerians that have suffered under the hegemony of these imperial political overlords to rise up and defend their mandate. The mandate is not President Jonathan’s personal estate, but the peoples. Hence, they must watch and guide their mandate jealously, else the same cabals that stole and annulled their mandate in June 1993 are still very much alive and should never be underrated, because they are evil geniuses in the act of truncating constitutionally elected governments. The day these people are completely silenced and made totally irrelevant as it is now imminent, then shall we have a stable and prosperous country.

This is why all progressive forces in the country must not relax and be carried away by the success of President Jonathan’s declaration for a fresh term. They must know that those opposed to the emergence of a transformed leadership in 2011 will stop at nothing including ganging up and fomenting crisis. These people have a very large war chest of sinister machineries, people, security and intelligence networks, and very deep pockets, and local and international connections that they can deploy at very short notice in their quest for power. They have done it before and are capable of doing same again should the people go to sleep on the euphoria of a very successful declaration by the President. Nigerians from all walks of life, just like they did at Dr Jonathan’s declaration must stand up to defend their mandate whenever it is threatened by a band of political imperialists and looters of our national treasury.

In one of the best speeches ever made in Nigeria’s recent political history by a politician, President Jonathan in an attempt to touch base with his generation, said that if he of all persons, who never had a school bag, wore one pair of uniform without shoes, never knew the colour of electricity, drank garri as ala carte and ate rice and chicken only on Christmas day, could make it in life, then the youths of today who are priviledged to have electricity though epileptic, drink pure water instead of water from streams, ride in buses instead of trekking to school and eat fried rice and chicken at will, can. So, the challenge facing him is how to transform the Nigeria’s huge potentials, human and material resources, and opportunities into making her among the 20 developed economies by the year 2020. He said this is a promise he owes the people for their massive support of his Presidency and will ‘never ever let Nigeria down’.

That Nigerians want and trust President Jonathan as the man to lead them after 50 years of wandering in the wilderness of underdevelopment as a result of the poverty of leadership is because within the short period he has been in office, he has demonstrated in unequivocal terms the capability to effectively and efficiently direct the country on the path to greatness. Even those who hate him for what they termed his non-adherence to the letters of the party zoning arrangement cannot with equanimity fault him; as they know beyond doubt that based on their past leadership records that Nigerians can not trust them with power any longer. They should tell Nigerians how many times they promised the nation and spoken on an issue and failed, compared to how many times President Jonathan has capitulated on any of his words.

Besides, why on earth do these so-called political demagogues think that a sitting President, who is not barred by the Constitution should not seek re-election because of a so called unwritten party agreement. Which should President Jonathan uphold, the nation’s Constitution or a political party unwritten agreement? Can these self seeking politicians point out where it is written in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that Dr Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan swore on May 6, 20I0  to uphold, that in the year 2011 it will be the turn of a particular section of the country or person to be the President of Nigeria. Assuming these turncoat democrats and later day apostles of power shift were in President Jonathan’s shoes, would they have voluntarily left power because of an unwritten party agreement? Let these people who want President Jonathan crucified for not abiding by the so-called zoning agreement in the PDP tell Nigerians how many times they had been in power, and if they voluntarily handed over power to another section of the country. If they don’t know, the people of the south-south and south-east, and even the south­west that one could say may have benefited from the crumbs  that fell from their political tables are now wiser and will not fall for their high sounding rhetoric and cheap blackmail to reject President Jonathan.

Besides, President Jonathan can be trusted to lead Nigeria better, because as Vice President to late President Umaru Yar’ Adua, he exhibited a high sense of integrity, and loved his boss in sickness and health until death do them part. He was not power hungry. If President Yar’ Adua were alive today to vie for the office, Dr Jonathan would not have gone behind him to collect forms of expression of interest in the office of President. As acting President while his boss was critically ill, Dr Jonathan did not usurp the powers of the office of President. Similarly, even when his boss was smuggled into the country under the cover of darkness without his knowing on February 25, 2010, and he was barred from seeing him for three months before he eventually died Dr Jonathan did not frown at those who orchestrated the whole episode. During those sad moments of our national history, Dr Jonathan demonstrated exemplary leadership qualities and absolute loyalty to the Presidency, which as an institution is bigger than an individual personal ambition, assuming he had one, and the office bigger than the individual occupying it, hence was loyal to his boss till he died.

Da-Wariboko resides in Port Harcourt.

Biobele Da-Wariboko