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The Sacrificial Lamb …Jonathan: Suffering Sins Of Others
Government by its nature is a continuum; which means that an
administration of the day must not only be willing to inherent both assets and
liabilities, it must be ready and able to suffer the sins of omission and
commission of others. This, in brief is the plight of the once indigent child
of Otueke in today’s Bayelsa State, on whose desk stops the buck of governance
in Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
It is therefore, no accident that serving President,
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s emergence at the corridors of political power is
today subject to varied interpretations, depending on the political divide a
given critic professes. Either one believes that the President is a deserving
beneficiary of the political leadership of Nigeria, hence, be trusted to
deliver or be prejudged unfit, for being the product of a minority tribe,
without the slightest chance of ascending such high office, in a country,
where, power is generally believed to be an exclusive treasure of a section of
the 1914 forced amalgamation, that became Nigeria.
From the beginning, based on population, geographical spread
and indeed appetite of those blessed with membership of the three unequal
divides – the North, West and East, there indeed was never contemplated a time
in our history, when, leadership of the nation shall be ceded out of Wa-Zo-Bia,
a contraption depicting the three major tribes of Yoruba in whose language ‘Wa’
means come, Hausa/Fulani, ‘Zo’, and in Igbo ‘Bia’.
This tripod, accepts as a given that the right of political
leadership to the more populated North, academic and fiscal management, the
West, while, the Igbos, must remain content with the rewards of their trade,
commerce, industry and unusual resilience.. In such a democracy, to dare
displace the status quo is to attempt a political suicide and be made to suffer
an unthinkable political instability never ever imagined.
Thus out of the equation, none from the now known Niger
Delta, a collection of oil and gas endowed tiny little ethnic groups with
countless tongues, persuasions, creeds, cultures and climes, was ever prejudged
fit and proper to superintend the affairs of a nation, thoroughly divided in
favour of numbers. Ordinarily therefore, to even contemplate a Niger delta
Presidency was, to the self-styled beneficiaries of numbers, not just a taboo
but a mortal sin that must be punished with the most vicious of instability,
criticism, artificial insecurity, betrayal and indeed political vindictiveness
as reward.
But the ways of men are not the ways of God or the gods,
depending on the persuasion of the analyst. That was how, the son of very poor
parents of Otueke, who could not afford even school sandals for their child
one, reluctantly chosen to serve as spare-tyre, as they say of deputies in
Nigeria, to Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua emerged as acting President of
Nigeria in 2010 and later, thanks to the constitution and indeed destiny, the
President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, in spite of countless threats to make his service period ungovernable.
This means, Jonathan inherited not just assets and
liabilities but indeed hatred of fore-thought, for taking what ‘did not belong
to his people’.
The first major signs of what to expect from a Jonathan
Presidency emerged in the days of the incapacitation of then ailing President
Yar’Adua, when, against all known constitutional dictates, a group of
interested Nigerians from Northern extraction, attempted to manipulate the
process to frustrate the emergence of then Vice President Jonathan as acting
President.
Unfortunately, Nigeria, is a part of a larger global village
tilting towards law, order and democracy, and naturally rejected a dislocation
of existing laws to prevent denial of a vice president’s ascension to the
presidency, upon physical incapacitation and eventual death of the principal.
Secondly, years of neglect, marginalisation and indeed economic slavery, had
toughened the youth of the oil producing Niger Delta who had accordingly,
resolved to move away from years of fruitless intellectual advocacy for
national integration and economic survival, to armed insurgency intended to
unravel content of the pipelines, repeatedly promised their beggarly fathers.
With national economic survival, dependent mainly on the
resources of the Niger Delta, thoroughly threatened, the caution to allow
destiny take its normal course became a reluctant option, but never to be
considered as a right.
Little wonder, the outcome of the 2010 presidential
elections became a violent awakening from a choking dream of bloody nightmare,
which expectedly translated into an orgy of bloodletting, destruction of
property and the entrenchment, thereafter, of artificial, inhibiting huddles to
economic success, national cohesion and indeed political stability. The period
also emboldened the little known Islamist extremist group, Boko Haram, which
has, for the most part of the Jonathan presidency, waged a war against the
Nigerian state, thus raising questions on the future propriety of an indivisible,
united and indeed stable Nigeria.
Since then, the conspiracy of the vocal few among the
disenchanted political class has remained unabated, with not a single moment of
respite for the Jonathan presidency to do the work Nigerians overwhelmingly
elected him to do. From the election of leaders in the House of
Representatives, to the debates on oil subsidy removal; from organised labour’s
strike over National minimum wage to the crippling demands of the Academic
Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU), for reforms and special
remunerations; from the destruction and killings, with Christians and churches
as targets, in parts of the North, by terror-based Islamists extremist
insurgents, to the fresh demand for review of the derivation principle and from
the protests against Currency Restructuring to the now exhumed, Northern States
Governors’ demand for review of the long settled onshore/offshore dichotomy,
one single theme runs through, ‘pull-Jonathan-down,’ at all cost.
Otherwise, how can a People Democratic Party, PDP-controlled
Lower Chamber, the House of Representatives, as much as contemplate refusing
the request of a serving Nigerian President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces of Nigeria, to present the 2013 annual budget proposal to a joint sitting
of the National Assembly, with the lame excuse of inspecting on-going projects
within the same period? How can a National Assembly become a quasi-opposition
party to an elected President, with hardly a common ground for issues of
national stability and cohesion? How can a serving President be blamed for
virtually every problem, including products of years of maladministration by
successive governments and planlessness, infrastructure decay, virtual death of
the manufacturing sector, a monolithic economy depended pre-dominantly on oil
and gas, death traps called federal roads, epileptic power supply and above
all, decay of the health and education sectors among others. And have all
solved, at a go.
Such has been the fate of Jonathan, who in spite of obvious
distractions, has kept his head above water and ventured policies and projects
hitherto adjudged no-go-areas. And the list is long and impressive but
swallowed by the loud voices of political selfishness, ethno-religious
insurgency and indeed protests, based on pre-mordial loyalties and hollow in
content and reason.
Even so, mention must be made of a few bold efforts which
though very well-known, are never counted as worthy achievements, simply
because of the pre-determined agenda of making this government ungovernable.
For instance, that Nigerian refineries were deliberately left comatose in
preference for refined products’ importation, under a subsidy regime
manipulated by a powerful cartel with influential backers, preceded the
Jonathan presidency. But it took the serving government to initiate subsidy
removal intended to raise the needed funds to fix the ailing refineries. What
was the response? A gang-up of sorts that eventually labeled the president as
anti-people, and for which a nation-wide strike was called to pull Jonathan
down. Today, probe of the sub-sector has not only exposed the huge national
resources that yearly go down the drain, Nigerians now know that it requires
the uncommon patriotism, strength of character and discipline of a man like
Jonathan to confront such national maladies.
What of the education sector known for its rot and
concomitant brain-drain? It was the same Jonathan presidency that ended the
protracted agitations of ASUU to initiate proactive reforms which led to improved
wages for university teachers, better fiscal vote for the sector, development
of infrastructure for citadels of knowledge and indeed improved academic
standards.
The state of electricity power generation and supply was
well known, in spite of our near frequent appeal to temporary, even permanent
amnesia. From a power generation of 2,200 mw, in most part of nearly 52 years,
the brief period of the Jonathan presidency has raised the ante to an
impressive 4,4000 mw with the target of 4,800 by the end of the year. This is
in spite of familiar frustrations by the influential generator-import cartel
which had consistently frustrated previous attempts at addressing problems of
the sector.
Only last week, in line with the resolve to privatise the
power sector for improved service delivery, financial bids for five public
power-generation concerns, were opened, with the promise of a stable
electricity power regime.
Another is the provision of a conducive democratic clime in
which free speech is more than ever before, lavishly guaranteed. We can go on
and on, but President Jonathan has pleaded with Nigerians to exercise, a little
more Patience, incidentally, the name of his wife and First Lady, and prepare
to see the fruits of his silent revolution by 2013. A period of about two years
in office.
Is it too hard to ask? Is there any government that can
solve all problems at just one go? Were it that easy with successive
administrations, would Nigeria be where, she is today? How long shall Jonathan
remain a sacrificial lamb, pre-convicted to suffer for the sins of the past?
At 52 years of nationhood, My Agony is that many Nigerians
cannot still see the bold signs of political conspiracy, ethno-religious
gang-ups and indeed the ‘pull-him-down’ at-all-cost agenda, vigorously being
pursued by a political clique that believes that political power is their
birth-right, with the ready connivance of their ill-advised apologists.
But I see a future, when like the American creed,
encapsulated by William Tyler Page, (1868-1942) the Nigerian will proudly say,
“I believe in the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a government of the people, by
the people, for the people, where just powers are derived from the consent of
the governed, a democracy in a republic, a sovereign nation of many sovereign
states, a perfect union, one and inseparable, established upon those principles
of freedom, equality, justice and humanity for which Nigerian patriots
sacrificed their lives and fortune.
‘I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it,
to support its constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to
defend it against all enemies.
Such is the future I see. Happy independence, Nigeria.
Soye Wilson Jamabo
Front Pix
DEPLOY YOUR CAPACITY, TECHNICAL KNOWHOW TO REVITALISE SONGHAI FARMS, FUBARA TELLS TASK FORCE
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has said that diversifying the economy of the State has become inevitable because of the need to solve the problem of food shortages while also providing jobs for the teeming unemployed youths.
These, he said, are the reasons why great care has been taken to critically look at the prospects of revitalising the Songhai Integrated Farms, which is located in Bunu Tai, in Tai Local Government Area of the State.
Governor Fubara insisted that if the problem associated with food shortages is tackled with good intent and purpose, about 40 to 50 percent of current problems of economic hardship plaguing the country and its people would have been solved.
Governor Fubara made the assertion while inaugurating the Chairman, Mr Biedima Oliver, and members of the task force saddled with the responsibility of supervising the revitalization of Songhai Integrated Farms by its partners: Vitalcrop Ventures Limited and Imagine Adama Limited, at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Other members of the task force included, the Rivers State Commissioner for Agriculture, Engr Victor Kii; Commissioner for Finance, Barrister Emmanuel Frank-Fubara; Dr Ayebaesin Beredugo; and Mr Maurice Ogolo.
The Governor explained that it took him time to approve the constitution of the task force being inaugurated because of the ugly experience with the previous group that shown such interest.
Governor Fubara stated that a process was initiated and driven halfway into the handing over of Songhai Farms on concession to an interested partner who latter showed a total lack of the needed capacity to undertake such task.
He said, “As a matter of fact, if few of you could remember, we even conceded the place to an investor who came in after he had made his presentation, and we, believing that he has the capacity, we said okay to him, and we had already signed up.
“But something happened. He came back to tell us that he wanted us to give him a N5billion bank guarantee. We then asked him, why? If we have the N5billion, why do we need you to come and even revitalize Songhai Farms? We would have put that N5billion there ourselves. For that reason, we cancelled that arrangement.”
Governor Fubara said now that two separate companies have come together to indicate interest and given the assurance of having the needed capacity to drive the process, he is delighted to see them meeting that expectation.
Governor Fubara pointed to the expectation of the people who want to see the Songhai Farms back on stream on a sustainable basis.
That expectation, he insisted, is also what his administration wants to see actualised within its lifespan.
He noted, “We want to see food sufficiency, because we know when Songhai Farms comes on board, there will be food, which is one of the problems we are having in this country. If we are able to tackle the issue of food, 40 to 50 percent of our problem will be solved.”
Governor Fubara also stated that although he believes in the presentation made by the group and has taken their assurance to heart, but warned that he would not tolerate a repeat of what happened before.
The Governor said, “I hope your story will not be (end) halfway too. I hope you have the capacity and all the technical knowhow to handle it. It is not when we start now, after we had finished inaugurating the task force, you will come back to tell us that you need $2million. If we have $2million, we won’t need you. We will invest it by ourselves.”
Governor Fubara, however, praised the capacity of the Chairman of the task force, Biedima Oliver, saying that incidentally, he was one of the personnel that convinced the then administration to develop the Songhai Farms, and had worked with the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) to manage the project.
He said, “He knows and understands the workings of Songhai, and now that we are making you the chairman of the task force, we want to believe that you will make that place come back to life.
“I don’t have any doubt in your capacity. A few things you’ve touched, you turned them to gold. Please, bring it back to what we used to see in Songhai. Bring it back with the help of your committee.”
Governor Fubara assured that his administration will remain committed to providing all the necessary support that they may require to make their assignment a success.
He added, “So, I hereby inaugurate you. Your task is very simple: Do everything within your powers and with our support to make sure that Songhai becomes operational to the benefit, not just the people of Tai, but to the entire Rivers State and Nigeria as a whole”.
In his acceptance speech, the Chairman of the Task Force to Supervise the Revitalization of Songhai Farms with Vitalcrop Ventures Limited and Imagine Adama Limited, Mr. Biedima Oliver, expressed appreciation to Governor Fubara for the opportunity and confidence reposed in them to revive Songhai Farms.
Mr. Oliver assured that they will deliver the expected goal on Songhai Farms, and doing so on time and on target so that the good people of Rivers State can eventually be happy and also benefit from the huge investment.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has declared that all the policies and programmes of his administration are tailored towards the protection of interest of Rivers people, especially the youths.
This, he said, is borne out of the importance his administration attaches to youths’ development and empowerment as leaders of tomorrow.
Fubara, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, disclosed this when he received the youths of Emohua Local Government Area under the auspices of “Emohua Youths For SIM” on solidarity visit to Government House, Port Harcourt, last Friday.
He said that his administration has put in place modalities that will boost the livelihoods and well-being of Rivers citizens, which youths of Emohua will also benefit when they materialise.
The governor, who spoke through the Rivers State Head of Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, pointed out that the recently awarded Elele-Omudiaga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Ikiri-Omoku Road, the ongoing Emohua-Kalabari Road, reinstatement of illegally sacked workers of Emohua Local Government Area and the approval for electrification of the area, are part of deliberate measures to open up the area to make life conducive and more meaningful for the people.
According to him, “Everything about the governor is putting the interest of Rivers State first. He is looking at and taking action on those things that we need to do to restart the wheels of progress in Rivers State.
“There are many things the governor has planned and is already doing that will boost the life and welfare of every citizen of Rivers State, but most importantly the youths.
“Growing up, I learnt that Egbeda is one of the biggest communities in the whole of Ikwerre, and it’s predominantly an agrarian community. They have food in Egbeda, they have food in Ubimini, they have food in Omudiaga and other natural resources. The whole world is tilting to agriculture, and this is the way to go.
“The Elele-Umudioga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Omoku road, when completed, will open up the area for real development. Your food and everything you produce there will now have value, they will no longer be thrown away. In all these, you the youths are going to be the utmost beneficiaries.”
He added, “Same will be applicable to the Emohua-Kalabari Road which will also, trigger development in the area, and you will be the greatest beneficiaries. When the LGA is also electrified, you will be having 24 or 20 hours of electricity, and those things the youths can do with electricity, you can stay at home and create wealth for yourself and children.
“All the totality of what the governor is doing, when they are completed, or even as some are completed now, the youths are going to be utmost beneficiaries.”
While acknowledging that youths are the true leaders of tomorrow and any government that fails to carry them along in the scheme of things is doomed to fail, the governor assured them of his administration’s commitment to always address issues concerning youths and ensure that they are part of his government.
He commended the youths for toeing the path of truth by identifying with his administration, urging them to sustain the tempo and shun evil, as his government will ensure that the trend whereby politicians turn youths to beggars are over.
He said, “Youths are, indeed, the leaders of tomorrow. The time of youth is a very important time. It a time that your parents or whoever is your leader at that time have to make the greatest investment in you. And any Government that decides to only carry the elderly, chiefs aling and abandon the youths is bound to fail,” he asserted.
“But I am happy that Governor Fubara has concentrated his energy on everything that will benefit the society, especially the youths.
“And based on these, I want to thank you for recognising what is good and calling it good, for shunning what is evil, for saying the Governor is standing for you.
“Let me tell you, you are on the right direction. Let me tell you again, Rivers State is the bride of Nigeria. The whole Nigeria is looking at what will happen here. As they look here and see you standing on the path of truth, this is a very important step that you have taken to right all the wrongs of the past, to make Rivers State stand on the tripod of justice, peace and security. That is what we are going to gain through the governor, taking all the wise actions that he has already initiated.
“The projects the governor is embarking on are meant to prepare nets for the youths to fish and put food on their table, hence you should continue to follow him.
“The SIMplified Movement brought upon by the governor will ensure that Rivers youths stop the habit of going to bow down before politicians, pledging loyalty before they can eat.”
Earlier, spokesman for the Emohua Youths for SIM, Comrade Ovamale O. Ovamale, had said that the visit by youths from the 14 political wards in Emohua Local Government Area was to thank the governor for the award of the Elele-Omudiaga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Ikiri-Omoku road, the approval for electrification of the area and reinstatement of sacked workers of Emohua Local Government Council, of which the youths were mostly affected.
According to him, “Siminalayi Fubara of recent has given Emohua Local Government road that links Elele to Omoku, which comprises over four communities in the local government.”
“Emohua Local Government has also been in darkness for eight years. No community in the local government that has light. But, of recent, because of the passion and love the governor has for the people of Emohua, he has approved the electrification of the local government.
“Also, the illegal sack of Emohua Local Government workers, for which the youths were mostly affected and without the approval of the Local Government Service Commission, the governor, in his compassionate nature, has reinstated them, and that is why we said we must come and thank His Excellency”, he said.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured that his administration will collaborate and continue to consult widely in delivering a liberated State experiencing enduring peace.
Fubara said, in doing so, he would not operate as a dictator but as a member of a team that has the best interest of the State at heart and determined to leave a lasting legacy that can be celebrated.
The governor spoke during the formal presentation of Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office to the Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, King Ateke Michael Tom, as first class tradition ruler, at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Fubara stated that, during the Sixth State Executive Council meeting, N80.8billion was approved with 50 percent contract value paid already as the Government awarded the construction of the Elele-Egbeda-Omoku Road.
He said the project will be funded from the savings from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to underscore his administration’s prudence without also borrowing to complete the project.
“We are at a crossroad in our State where we all need to stand for what is right. It happens once in a life time. So, for now, be one of those people that will be in the course to liberate and free our dear State.
“And I know strongly that having the support of a peace-loving Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, having the support of the wonderful Council of Chiefs, having the support of the great people of Rivers State, we will bring peace in our State. We will do those things that are right to develop our State.
“We will continue to consult. We will not act as dictators. We will act as people who know that one day, we will leave, and when we leave, the way we have acted will speak for us. We will not force people to talk good about us. Our legacy will be a signature for how we led”, the governor said.
Fubara explained that he acted within the ambit of the law to upgrade the traditional stool upon which King Ateke Tom sits in recognition of his efforts in promoting peace in Okrika, and indeed, the State, and urged him to continue to do justice to everyone.
In his speech, Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Hon Charles Amadi, congratulated King Ateke Tom for being formally presented with the Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office as first class traditional ruler.
Also speaking, former Transport Minister, Chief Abiye Sekibo, thanked the governor for fulfilling his promise of upgrading the traditional stool of Okochiri Kingdom, and pledged the support of Kirike Se people to his administration.