olajuyigbe's comments
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Unfortunately for Yar'adua, the best way to truly living is by dying. Death put paid to all political manipulations he was subjected to without regards to opinion of Nigerian people.
Nigerians and indeed Africans do not say evil things about the dead. Please don't expect anyone to talk about his indecisiveness: he ruled Nigeria for more than sixty days without appointing any minister only to reshuffle cabinet within a year thereafter. He killed the anti corruption crusade and embarked on undeserved persecution of the anti corruption czar, Ribadu. Yar'adua planned emergency measures to combat epileptic power supply in Nigeria is yet to be delivered. In a ploy to gain legitimacy after the patently flawed election that brought him to power, he inaugurated electoral reform only to reject the very recommendations that would ensure credible election. He appeared to be mentally lazy, socially unexposed and out rightly lacking in interpersonal skills. He was a president that Nigeria did not deserve. His greatest strength-silence was also its strongest weakness.
For all his failings, He was an honest man with a measure of integrity. After all, he admitted that election that brought him to power was massively rigged. He was the very first president to publicly declare his assets before assumption of power. It took monumental pressure from the press and Nigerian people to force Jonathan to follow suit about seven weeks later. His visible and greatest achievement was breaking the logjam in the Niger Delta.
Now that cold political calculations have started, it’s almost certain good luck will shine on Jonathan again. The North will have her say, but Jonathan will get the presidency. The arithmetic is not simple but also not complex. Expect a lot of tough words and statements from the North in the next three months. Anyhow, they also know if Jonathan is forced out of power (giving the false impression that south –southerners are second class citizens that are not entitled to be president), it will destroy the fragile peace in the Delta and can lead to conflagration of unimaginable proportion. But it won’t be too difficult to persuade the North to buy into idea of post 2011 Jonathan presidency: under Nigerian constitution, one can only take oath of office twice. So, it is not a bad idea grooming a young and healthy northerner under Jonathan to succeed him in 2015. With 2015 in mind, politicians of northern extraction will do all humanly possible to emerge Jonathan’s deputy. That is the real 2011 politics.
Electoral reforms are in the best interest of Mr. Jonathan. Do the permutations anyhow, the best way and possibly the easiest route for him to be elected come 2011 is via a reformed electoral system. He is just too weak to exploit the current fraudulent system of abracadabra to rig the North(It would take Obasanjo in him to achieve that and of course that would have disastrous consequences). On the other hand, If he could initiate bold reforms (behaving as if he has nothing to lose)and put credible electoral system that makes rigging not to be part of election in place, the popular support would be so massive that he might likely coast home to victory.
Electoral reform should be his first priority not Niger Delta. As it is now, concentrating on Niger Delta is more like a slippery banana peel for him. Apart from being misconstrued as a tribalist, the question remains: can he really boast of any meaningful achievement within a year preceding a general election? It’s unlikely in Nigeria. No matter what, with Jonathan at the helm of affairs, it is unlikely that hostilities will resume in the dreadful delta at least for the next six months. Electoral reform is in the long term interest of the people of Niger Delta too. If the people are allowed to freely choose their leaders, competent leaders that can harness the huge allocation of monetary oil resources will emerge-not the patently corrupt governors that currently parade themselves as leaders. That will be of more benefit to the people in the long term than a knee jerk reaction of building schools and construction of roads that might be abandoned by his successor. (if he’s not elected).
Two years ago, one could readilty say the Niger Delta problem had no military solution. Now, with the mixture of criminality and genuine agitation, the military have to be part of the solution. I suggest all captured camps be turned to military barracks. The region is just too strategic to be left in the hands of mentally lazy gangs who fails to separate criminality from self determination. Or how could one factor kidnapped contractor, todlers and aged people into being part of the agitation for the betterment of the region?
The problem in the Delta does not arise as a result of the federal government miserliness towards the region but as a result of visible poor and corrupt leadership in the oil rich states. Tell me how much more would you take from a nothern state that collects a federal monthly allocation of N1.2b and added to Bayelsa's N7b that would produce satisfaction.
Unlike cocoa, Oil Palm and Groundnut which sustained Nigerian economy a couple of decades ago,the oil in the Niger Delta does not arise as a result of the sweat of the people in the region. It is nature's gift for the development of all.That does not mean the people do not deserve a fair share of the resources even if not for nothing else than being resident of the region.
The write up is a fair description of Lagos.
Isreal has a right to defend itself against rocket attacks. If Isreal calls off this campaign because of civilian deaths, she will be showing Hamas the winning formula. Let Hamas be told that strategy of using civilians as shield cannot work. When an earthworm begins to move like a snake, I am afraid, it has to be killed like a snake.