It all started like a dream , late President Umaru Musa Yar'adua was hospitalized, Jonathan became Acting President and when he died (Yar'adua)even before his corpse left Aso Rock for burial Jonathan was sworn – in as President. As he settle to work so as to try his best in solving Nigeria's numerous problems, godfathers , praise singers and opportunist distracted him by encouraging him to discard the PDP's gentleman agreement on power zoning and rotation which he himself was a witness to the agreement as Deputy Governor of Bayelsa state.
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan seem to be attempting to miss the great and golden opportunity to be among the greatest men in the world courtesy of conducting a free and fair election that he is not a participant. The cabal that surrounded him held him hostage, and retinues of money seekers in the names of Goodluck Jonathan for President 2011 are all over his pockets to try to get what they can.
Jonathan is surrounded by men and women that envy him and may be scheming to destroy his name, reputation, prestige and dignity. If not, why can't they sincerely advise him to shelve his presidential ambition to some distant future? Already there is an agreement which every noble and respected person usually fulfills his part. And those campaigning for him have already sold him wrongly using tribe, region and religion which led to overheating the polity. Even the sellers of Jonathan project for 2011 are people of questionable character, jesters and have failed in all previous projects they champion for late General Sani Abacha's live presidency and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo's third term, and does President Jonathan have the kind of money that can satisfy their thirst for naira in championing his cause?
We already have a tradition in this country that it is not honorable for any one occupying presidential office when his principal is dead to contest for elections. General Olusegun Obasanjo in 1979 can contest as the Nigerian constitution did not stop him but he decided to fulfill the promise of his principal late General Murtala Muhammed. General Abdulsalam Abubakar also did not contest in 1999 after General Sani Abacha died, his principal even as he can transform himself, but instead he followed the path of honour and handed over power to Obasanjo. Is there any constitutional provision that stops Obasanjo in 1979 and Abubakar in 1999 from contesting? Like Obasanjo 1979, Abubakar 1999, will Jonathan 2011 who his principal also died with his party zoning the presidency to North for 8 years honour the agreement and refuse the temptation to hold on to power ?
2011 scheming have occupied President Jonathan that if he leaves office next year he can hardly pin –point any achievements of his administration. Unemployment, Insecurity, roads that are death traps, corruption, ill-equip hospitals and poorly motivated doctors etc are increasing by the day. Workers are not paid their salaries and in some cases more than two years and yet he can spend billions on festivities and presidential jets ! Like previous governments, Jonathan's administration did not make any difference. And to be candid and frank, Nigerians are tired of Jonathan led administration. Nigerians are praying and hoping that it will come to an end by May next year.
President Goodluck Jonathan has already exposed himself and all political calculations predict his defeat woefully at the poll come 2011 if he decides to contest. From his state of origin Bayelsa to other parts of the country there's no state he can confidently boast that he can win in a free and fair election.
Will President Jonathan listen to wise counsels of Nigerians that he should respect his party zoning agreement? And he should stop over heating the polity by his presidential ambition. Already due to Jonathan's ambition, Nigerians are now dividing along religious, tribal and regional lines.
And if President Jonathan has confidence of what he is doing is right about contesting for presidency come 2011, why is he handling it like the way late Abacha did on Tazarce (Tenure elongation) and Obasanjo on third term? It is not late for President Jonathan to disassociate himself from all campaigns for his continuity in office and to declare those that refuse to stop as enemies. Nigeria is above our personal interest and its peaceful co-existence is the most important. A word is enough for the wise.
Shehu Mustapha Chaji
shehuchaji@yahoo.com
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Friday, 21 May 2010
Janar Babangida na cikin tsaka- mai -wuya
Masu goyon bayan Janar Babangida suna ganin cewa a lokacinsa ya samar da ci gaba ta fannoni da dama kamar su hukumar samar da aikin yi (N.D.E),Bankin talakawa (People’s Bank),hukumar kare haddura(FRSC),hukumar raya karkara (DEFRI),hukumar wayar da kan matasa (MAMSA) gina tagwayen hanyoyi kamar na Kaduna zuwa Kano,kafa jam’iyyu da ba su kudaden tafiyar da su,hukumar wayar da kan mata (Better Life) da sauran su .
Suna ganin cewa in har Babangida ya sake dawowa bisa kujerar mulki to zaa sami ci gaba fiye da wanda aka samu a lokacin da yake mulki irin na kama karya ta soja.Kuma suna ganin cewa in shi ya bata to a ba shi dama ya zo ya gyara.
Akwai masu ganin cewa kafin ma Babangida ya fito takara ana da bukatar ya yi wa `yan Najeriya cikakken bayani game da irin rawar da gwamnatinsa ta taka wajen soke zaben June 12 , yadda aka yi da sama da Dala biliyan goma sha-biyu na rarar man fetur, gaskiyar zancen yunkurin juyin mulkin marigayi Mamman batsa da kashe shi , shigar Najeriya kungiyar O.I.C da maida huldar jakadanci da kasar Isra’ila, da kuma uwa uba karbo bashi daga bankin duniya wato I.M.F, dora Najeriya bisa tafarkin S.A.P da ake ganin shi ya karya darajar Naira da kuma jefa Najeriya a halin da take ciki a yanzu.
Amma babban abin tambaya ga shi Babangida da magoya bayansa shi ne a yaushe shi janar din ya amince da kuma yarda da tsarin dimokuradiyya? Domin a lokacin sa ya kawo tsare-tsaren da ya yi wa dimokaradiyya targade ko kuma a ce ya karyata. A lokacinsa ne jam’iyyun N.R.C da S.D.P suka gudanar da zaben fidda gwani wanda Malam Adamu Ciroma a jam’iyyar N.R.C da marigayi Janar Shehu Musa Yar’aduwa ya lashe a jam’iyyar S.D.P sai kawai ba tare da wani muhimmin bayani ba ya rushe zaben nasu.
Haka ma Babangida ya sa `yansiyasa da al’ummar kasa sake shiryawa da fitowa sabon zaben da aka tsara na shugaban kasa a inda Alhaji Bashir Tofa na jam’iyyar N.R.C da marigayi Cif M.K.O Abiola na jam’iyyar S.D.P suka tsaya takara . Ana cikin ba da rahotannin sakamakon zaben, kwatsam sai Babangida ya soke zaben ba tare da wani kwakkwaran dalili ba. Rigingimun da suka biyo baya shi ya tilasta masa sauka daga kan mulki ba da shiri ba, bayan shekara takwas.
Soke zaben June 12 ya jefa Najeriya cikin wani yanayin rikici da tashin hankalin siyasar da tun yakin basasar Najeriya ba a taba fuskantar irin wannan yanayi ba. Tirjewar da kabilar Yarbawa suka yi na an soke zaben da dan uwansu ya dauki hanyar lashewa yasa a zaben 1999 aka barwa Yarbawa su kadai suka tsaya takara wato Cif Olu Falae da Cif Olusegun Obasanjo. Sanin kowa ne yadda Janar Babangida ya taka rawa wajen ganin cewa Cif Obasanjo shi ya lashe zaben.
A shekara bakwai da Shugaba Obasanjo ya yi yana mulki, sau nawa Janar Babangida ya fito domin kare talakawa daga manufofin gwamnatin da suke takura talaka da jefa talakawa cikin halin ni-` yasu? Shin da `yan Arewa suke ta koken cewa wannan gwamnatin na danne su, Babangida ya fito ya samar masu sauki?
Janar Babangida ya shaidawa `yan Najeriya cewa babu gudu , babu ja da baya, zai fito takarar neman Shugabacin kasa a zaben 2011 . Masu nazari kan harkokin siyasa na ta tsokaci kan rawar da Janar din zai taka wanda zai iya kai shi ga samun nasara ko faduwarsa a zabe. Tun zangon farko na wa’adin Shugaba Obasanjo masoya da magoya bayan Babangida suke ta kira gare shi ya fito amma Janar din ya yi bayanin cewa shi ba zaiyi takara da Shugaba Obasanjo ba.
Wani abin murna da farin ciki shi ne cewa fitowar ire-iren su Janar Babangida na tabbatar da dorewar tsarin dimokuradiyya a wannan kasa wanda mulkin soja ya ja mata tsaiko ga ci gaba ta fanin siyasa , zamantakewa da bunkasar tattalin arzikin kasa .
Zaben 2011 ya zama kalubale ga Janar Babangida domin ya riga ya furta cewa lallai zai fito . Dole cikin abubuwa uku a sami daya , ko dai ya ki fitowa takara wanda zai tabbatar da zancen manazartan harkokin siyasa cewa Janar Babangida matsoraci ne a fagen siyasa na gwagwarmayan neman al’umma ta mara masa baya ya kaiga darewa kan kujerar mulkin Najeriya a tsarin dimokuradiyya. Kai, in har ya fito takara aka kada shi a zaben to alkadarinsa ta karye a yadda al’umma suke ganin sa a wani dodon bango mai bada tsoro. Ko in ya fito takara har ya kai ga lashe zaben to ya tabbatar wa al’ummar Najeriya da duniya baki daya cewa shi ne mutumin da ya fi tasiri a siyasar wannan karni, ba a Najeriya kadai ba, har ga Afirka gabaki daya . Kuma wannan shi zai ba shi babbar dama na gyara sunansa a tarihin siyasar Najeriya domin mutanen Najeriya da dama suna ganin shi ne ya jefa Najeriya a halin da ta tsinci kanta a ciki har yanzu.
Dabara ta rage ga mai shiga rijiya , mu talakawa fatanmu shi ne Allah Ya ba mu shugaba nagari wanda zai fidda talaka daga halin kuncin da ya sami kansa a ciki .
Shehu Mustapha Chaji
shehuchaji@yahoo.com
08038222575
Suna ganin cewa in har Babangida ya sake dawowa bisa kujerar mulki to zaa sami ci gaba fiye da wanda aka samu a lokacin da yake mulki irin na kama karya ta soja.Kuma suna ganin cewa in shi ya bata to a ba shi dama ya zo ya gyara.
Akwai masu ganin cewa kafin ma Babangida ya fito takara ana da bukatar ya yi wa `yan Najeriya cikakken bayani game da irin rawar da gwamnatinsa ta taka wajen soke zaben June 12 , yadda aka yi da sama da Dala biliyan goma sha-biyu na rarar man fetur, gaskiyar zancen yunkurin juyin mulkin marigayi Mamman batsa da kashe shi , shigar Najeriya kungiyar O.I.C da maida huldar jakadanci da kasar Isra’ila, da kuma uwa uba karbo bashi daga bankin duniya wato I.M.F, dora Najeriya bisa tafarkin S.A.P da ake ganin shi ya karya darajar Naira da kuma jefa Najeriya a halin da take ciki a yanzu.
Amma babban abin tambaya ga shi Babangida da magoya bayansa shi ne a yaushe shi janar din ya amince da kuma yarda da tsarin dimokuradiyya? Domin a lokacin sa ya kawo tsare-tsaren da ya yi wa dimokaradiyya targade ko kuma a ce ya karyata. A lokacinsa ne jam’iyyun N.R.C da S.D.P suka gudanar da zaben fidda gwani wanda Malam Adamu Ciroma a jam’iyyar N.R.C da marigayi Janar Shehu Musa Yar’aduwa ya lashe a jam’iyyar S.D.P sai kawai ba tare da wani muhimmin bayani ba ya rushe zaben nasu.
Haka ma Babangida ya sa `yansiyasa da al’ummar kasa sake shiryawa da fitowa sabon zaben da aka tsara na shugaban kasa a inda Alhaji Bashir Tofa na jam’iyyar N.R.C da marigayi Cif M.K.O Abiola na jam’iyyar S.D.P suka tsaya takara . Ana cikin ba da rahotannin sakamakon zaben, kwatsam sai Babangida ya soke zaben ba tare da wani kwakkwaran dalili ba. Rigingimun da suka biyo baya shi ya tilasta masa sauka daga kan mulki ba da shiri ba, bayan shekara takwas.
Soke zaben June 12 ya jefa Najeriya cikin wani yanayin rikici da tashin hankalin siyasar da tun yakin basasar Najeriya ba a taba fuskantar irin wannan yanayi ba. Tirjewar da kabilar Yarbawa suka yi na an soke zaben da dan uwansu ya dauki hanyar lashewa yasa a zaben 1999 aka barwa Yarbawa su kadai suka tsaya takara wato Cif Olu Falae da Cif Olusegun Obasanjo. Sanin kowa ne yadda Janar Babangida ya taka rawa wajen ganin cewa Cif Obasanjo shi ya lashe zaben.
A shekara bakwai da Shugaba Obasanjo ya yi yana mulki, sau nawa Janar Babangida ya fito domin kare talakawa daga manufofin gwamnatin da suke takura talaka da jefa talakawa cikin halin ni-` yasu? Shin da `yan Arewa suke ta koken cewa wannan gwamnatin na danne su, Babangida ya fito ya samar masu sauki?
Janar Babangida ya shaidawa `yan Najeriya cewa babu gudu , babu ja da baya, zai fito takarar neman Shugabacin kasa a zaben 2011 . Masu nazari kan harkokin siyasa na ta tsokaci kan rawar da Janar din zai taka wanda zai iya kai shi ga samun nasara ko faduwarsa a zabe. Tun zangon farko na wa’adin Shugaba Obasanjo masoya da magoya bayan Babangida suke ta kira gare shi ya fito amma Janar din ya yi bayanin cewa shi ba zaiyi takara da Shugaba Obasanjo ba.
Wani abin murna da farin ciki shi ne cewa fitowar ire-iren su Janar Babangida na tabbatar da dorewar tsarin dimokuradiyya a wannan kasa wanda mulkin soja ya ja mata tsaiko ga ci gaba ta fanin siyasa , zamantakewa da bunkasar tattalin arzikin kasa .
Zaben 2011 ya zama kalubale ga Janar Babangida domin ya riga ya furta cewa lallai zai fito . Dole cikin abubuwa uku a sami daya , ko dai ya ki fitowa takara wanda zai tabbatar da zancen manazartan harkokin siyasa cewa Janar Babangida matsoraci ne a fagen siyasa na gwagwarmayan neman al’umma ta mara masa baya ya kaiga darewa kan kujerar mulkin Najeriya a tsarin dimokuradiyya. Kai, in har ya fito takara aka kada shi a zaben to alkadarinsa ta karye a yadda al’umma suke ganin sa a wani dodon bango mai bada tsoro. Ko in ya fito takara har ya kai ga lashe zaben to ya tabbatar wa al’ummar Najeriya da duniya baki daya cewa shi ne mutumin da ya fi tasiri a siyasar wannan karni, ba a Najeriya kadai ba, har ga Afirka gabaki daya . Kuma wannan shi zai ba shi babbar dama na gyara sunansa a tarihin siyasar Najeriya domin mutanen Najeriya da dama suna ganin shi ne ya jefa Najeriya a halin da ta tsinci kanta a ciki har yanzu.
Dabara ta rage ga mai shiga rijiya , mu talakawa fatanmu shi ne Allah Ya ba mu shugaba nagari wanda zai fidda talaka daga halin kuncin da ya sami kansa a ciki .
Shehu Mustapha Chaji
shehuchaji@yahoo.com
08038222575
Barkindo's NNPC
By Shehu Chaji
IT is indeed an interesting season when all manner of faceless groups front for different interests, stoking the fire of ethnicity and hate. And in their desperation to desecrate the temple of harmony, no institution is sacred and no individual - however highly placed - is spared. The February 9 Movement is one of such faceless groups.
With no fixed address, the group has in recent weeks issued a distorted organogram of the NNPC, titled 'Barkindo's NNPC at a Glance' with the sole purpose of projecting the corporation as a national institution in which Northerners monopolise all top positions. It is also obvious that the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the NNPC, Mr. Abubakar Barkindo, is the target of this new campaign of calumny.
The sponsored adverts usually signed by one Fred Seadog (obviously a fictitious name), has been repeatedly published in several national newspapers. It seeks to create the wrong impression that appointments into top management positions in NNPC are lopsided in favour of indigenes of Nigeria's Northern states, to the disadvantage and detriment of the three other geopolitics zones in the South. For clearly selfish and self-serving reasons, this faceless group is desperate to manufacture and manipulate information so that Barkindo will be seen as a parochial person who cannot see beyond his section of the country. The NNPC management, apparently in reaction to this misinformation, recently issued an extensive staff profile of the organisation. Hopefully, the true picture of Barkindo's NNPC revealed by the released staff profile will put paid to the lies and disinformation being spread by the February 9 Movement.
That the NNPC as a public institution has, over the years, failed to live up to the high expectations of the teeming population of Nigerians is an undisputable fact. But to allege that the firm has, under the current leadership, been used to feather the interests of a section of the country, sacrificing merit for other sectional interests is to be uncharitable to Barkindo who has brought an uncommon sense of purpose into the management of the organisation.
From his first day in office, Barkindo has left no one in doubt that his goal is to transform NNPC from its current status as an inefficient cost-centre to a fully capitalised and commercially run enterprise governed by global best practices. While he has received applause from several quarters over this, it is easy to understand that many others, especially those who feed fat on the loopholes that existed in NNPC, would not take kindly to his reforms. Let's now look at the true statistics of NNPC staff distribution.
The facts and figures on the ground are indeed an eye-opener. It reveals that the South-South geopolitical zone enjoys the lion share of staff allocation at both management and overall staff population levels. The zone occupies 277 of the 941 management slots in the NNPC. Barkindo's North East zone comes least in the management staff distribution with 86 slots, over three times less than that of the South-South. Quite naturally, the office of the Group Managing Director can only be occupied by one person and that person happens to be Barkindo who is on level M1. But the NNPC has six Group Executive Directors, One Coordinator and a Company Secretary/Legal Adviser all on the same level of M2. There is also a Chief Transformation Officer on the same level.
By the NNPC official oganogram, after Brakindo, you have Prof. O.O Omorogbe from Edo State as Company Secretary/Legal Adviser and Dr. Tim Okon from Akwa Ibom State as Chief Transformation Officer. Of the six Group Executive Directors, Mr. Phil Chukwu from Imo is in charge of Exploration and Production; M. A. Arokodare (Ekiti) is in charge of Account and Finance; Faithful Abbiyesuku (Rivers) is in charge of Engineering and Technology while Mukoro (Delta) is the coordinator for Gas and Power. The other Directors are S. O. Oniwon (Kogi) who is in charge of Refinery and Petrochemicals; Yusuf Attahiru (Adamawa) responsible for Corporate Services and Aminu Baba-Kusa (Kano) in charge of Commercial and Investment. So of the nine officials on M2, six are from the South and three from the North. That is the fact. But that does not even give a full picture of staff in NNPC. Overall, the South-South, South-East and South-West geopolitical zones which make up the South of Nigeria, enjoy a total of 647 management slots, leaving the North with 294 slots.
How does the faceless group rationalise an NNPC management in which only four Southern states of Delta (77), Rivers (67), Anambra (75) and Ogun (62) have more than the combined total slots of the entire 19 Northern states? Or a situation where only eight of the Southern states of Anambra (297), Ogun (325) Delta (1,001) Rivers (1,110), Imo (475), Akwa Ibom (490), (Abia (321) and Edo (523) contribute nearly half of the entire staff of the oil company. The three geopolitical zones of South East (1042), South -South (2,564) and South West (967) presently have a combined total of 4,573 senior staff, leaving the North with just 2,857. In recent times, faceless groups like the February 9 Movement, have sadly tried to create the impression that any high position going to a Northerner is based on anything but merit. It is definitely a perception they try to create, out of their ignorance or mischief. To continue to project anybody from the North as unfit for high public office, or a people always being smuggled to leadership positions through other means but merit, is to be uncharitable, to say the least.
Indeed from these NNPC figures and statistics, one can easily observe that the South-South zone alone with 2,564 has more than one-third of the entire senior staffers in NNPC which presently stands at 7,430. Any of the two major states in the South, Delta and Rivers states for instance with 785 and 749 respectively, boasts more senior staffers in NNPC than all the states in Barkindo's North-East zone combined. The staffing imbalance in favour of the south is even more glaring at the junior level, where the South-South zone alone (with 671 junior staff) has more than the total for the entire North (543).
In reading the NNPC's facts and figures, however, one must note that as oil-producing states, the South-South remains the major catchments zone for the NNPC, just like most other oil companies. That the zone, alongside the two other geopolitical zones of the South, continues to dominate the nation's oil conglomerate is a fact that must be acknowledged. One, therefore, wonders why anyone would like to distort these bare facts. And if one may ask what or whose interest do the distortions seek to serve?
Barkindo is doing his utmost best to successfully manage the NNPC at a most challenging period of global economic recession and against the background of daunting challenges at home, including government's planned deregulation of the oil industry. The NNPC has done relatively well under him. Rather than attempting to unjustifiably drag Barkindo's name to the mud, the cowards behind the February 9 Movement adverts should allow him to get on with the task of reforming and repositioning the NNPC to serve the best interests of the nation.
Chaji lives in Kano
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/editorial_opinion/article04//indexn2_html?pdate=180310&ptitle=Barkindo's NNPC
IT is indeed an interesting season when all manner of faceless groups front for different interests, stoking the fire of ethnicity and hate. And in their desperation to desecrate the temple of harmony, no institution is sacred and no individual - however highly placed - is spared. The February 9 Movement is one of such faceless groups.
With no fixed address, the group has in recent weeks issued a distorted organogram of the NNPC, titled 'Barkindo's NNPC at a Glance' with the sole purpose of projecting the corporation as a national institution in which Northerners monopolise all top positions. It is also obvious that the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the NNPC, Mr. Abubakar Barkindo, is the target of this new campaign of calumny.
The sponsored adverts usually signed by one Fred Seadog (obviously a fictitious name), has been repeatedly published in several national newspapers. It seeks to create the wrong impression that appointments into top management positions in NNPC are lopsided in favour of indigenes of Nigeria's Northern states, to the disadvantage and detriment of the three other geopolitics zones in the South. For clearly selfish and self-serving reasons, this faceless group is desperate to manufacture and manipulate information so that Barkindo will be seen as a parochial person who cannot see beyond his section of the country. The NNPC management, apparently in reaction to this misinformation, recently issued an extensive staff profile of the organisation. Hopefully, the true picture of Barkindo's NNPC revealed by the released staff profile will put paid to the lies and disinformation being spread by the February 9 Movement.
That the NNPC as a public institution has, over the years, failed to live up to the high expectations of the teeming population of Nigerians is an undisputable fact. But to allege that the firm has, under the current leadership, been used to feather the interests of a section of the country, sacrificing merit for other sectional interests is to be uncharitable to Barkindo who has brought an uncommon sense of purpose into the management of the organisation.
From his first day in office, Barkindo has left no one in doubt that his goal is to transform NNPC from its current status as an inefficient cost-centre to a fully capitalised and commercially run enterprise governed by global best practices. While he has received applause from several quarters over this, it is easy to understand that many others, especially those who feed fat on the loopholes that existed in NNPC, would not take kindly to his reforms. Let's now look at the true statistics of NNPC staff distribution.
The facts and figures on the ground are indeed an eye-opener. It reveals that the South-South geopolitical zone enjoys the lion share of staff allocation at both management and overall staff population levels. The zone occupies 277 of the 941 management slots in the NNPC. Barkindo's North East zone comes least in the management staff distribution with 86 slots, over three times less than that of the South-South. Quite naturally, the office of the Group Managing Director can only be occupied by one person and that person happens to be Barkindo who is on level M1. But the NNPC has six Group Executive Directors, One Coordinator and a Company Secretary/Legal Adviser all on the same level of M2. There is also a Chief Transformation Officer on the same level.
By the NNPC official oganogram, after Brakindo, you have Prof. O.O Omorogbe from Edo State as Company Secretary/Legal Adviser and Dr. Tim Okon from Akwa Ibom State as Chief Transformation Officer. Of the six Group Executive Directors, Mr. Phil Chukwu from Imo is in charge of Exploration and Production; M. A. Arokodare (Ekiti) is in charge of Account and Finance; Faithful Abbiyesuku (Rivers) is in charge of Engineering and Technology while Mukoro (Delta) is the coordinator for Gas and Power. The other Directors are S. O. Oniwon (Kogi) who is in charge of Refinery and Petrochemicals; Yusuf Attahiru (Adamawa) responsible for Corporate Services and Aminu Baba-Kusa (Kano) in charge of Commercial and Investment. So of the nine officials on M2, six are from the South and three from the North. That is the fact. But that does not even give a full picture of staff in NNPC. Overall, the South-South, South-East and South-West geopolitical zones which make up the South of Nigeria, enjoy a total of 647 management slots, leaving the North with 294 slots.
How does the faceless group rationalise an NNPC management in which only four Southern states of Delta (77), Rivers (67), Anambra (75) and Ogun (62) have more than the combined total slots of the entire 19 Northern states? Or a situation where only eight of the Southern states of Anambra (297), Ogun (325) Delta (1,001) Rivers (1,110), Imo (475), Akwa Ibom (490), (Abia (321) and Edo (523) contribute nearly half of the entire staff of the oil company. The three geopolitical zones of South East (1042), South -South (2,564) and South West (967) presently have a combined total of 4,573 senior staff, leaving the North with just 2,857. In recent times, faceless groups like the February 9 Movement, have sadly tried to create the impression that any high position going to a Northerner is based on anything but merit. It is definitely a perception they try to create, out of their ignorance or mischief. To continue to project anybody from the North as unfit for high public office, or a people always being smuggled to leadership positions through other means but merit, is to be uncharitable, to say the least.
Indeed from these NNPC figures and statistics, one can easily observe that the South-South zone alone with 2,564 has more than one-third of the entire senior staffers in NNPC which presently stands at 7,430. Any of the two major states in the South, Delta and Rivers states for instance with 785 and 749 respectively, boasts more senior staffers in NNPC than all the states in Barkindo's North-East zone combined. The staffing imbalance in favour of the south is even more glaring at the junior level, where the South-South zone alone (with 671 junior staff) has more than the total for the entire North (543).
In reading the NNPC's facts and figures, however, one must note that as oil-producing states, the South-South remains the major catchments zone for the NNPC, just like most other oil companies. That the zone, alongside the two other geopolitical zones of the South, continues to dominate the nation's oil conglomerate is a fact that must be acknowledged. One, therefore, wonders why anyone would like to distort these bare facts. And if one may ask what or whose interest do the distortions seek to serve?
Barkindo is doing his utmost best to successfully manage the NNPC at a most challenging period of global economic recession and against the background of daunting challenges at home, including government's planned deregulation of the oil industry. The NNPC has done relatively well under him. Rather than attempting to unjustifiably drag Barkindo's name to the mud, the cowards behind the February 9 Movement adverts should allow him to get on with the task of reforming and repositioning the NNPC to serve the best interests of the nation.
Chaji lives in Kano
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/editorial_opinion/article04//indexn2_html?pdate=180310&ptitle=Barkindo's NNPC
Lawal Jafaru Isa, Kano CPC and 2011
As the 2011 elections approaches, politicians in Kano state as elsewhere allover the country are planning, scheming, contacting and making consultations on how to succeed or takeover from Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, Executive Governor of Kano state or from the ruling ANPP in the state.
The newly registered party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) is a party that political analyst and commentators are predicting can be a party with all it takes to defeat both the ruling ANPP and opposition PDP in Kano state. The CPC been the party that General Muhammadu Buhari belongs to, and Kano as the hub of his political backing will make both Shekarau of ANPP and Kwankwaso of PDP to be nervous as the political permutations of the state will change completely the day he entered the ancient city for campaign.
Brig. General (rtd) Lawal Jafaru Isa, the former military governor of Kaduna state from 1993 to 1996 is among the leading members of the CPC in Kano state. Even though the people of Kaduna state are in the best position to tell the world who is Lawal Jafaru Isa, any person current with events when he was in charge even as a military governor , the way he govern was quite distinct and different. The legacies he left in Kaduna state are numerous which was unlikely with the military governors and will envy most of our elected or selected civilian governors of today.
With the 2011 elections around the corner, Lawal Jafaru Isa (rtd) has finally answered the calls of Kanawa to contest for the seat of Kano state governor under the platform of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). Like most people of Kano he is concern with how the state have been under developing in the past 10 years upon the billions of naira been collected as federal allocation and internal generated revenue.
Problems bedeviling Kano are many ranging from unemployment, chronic poverty, high divorce rate, insecurity, illiteracy to mention but few of the social and economic problems that the present administration of Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau could not solved. Worse still, the present led Kano state leadership is not leading by example. When they claimed that they had equip the hospitals, but their wives are giving birth in Europe and America . They claimed that they had build schools and employed teachers, but their children are schooling in London and Malaysia . Virtually the economic sector has collapse due to lack of ideas by the Kano led ANPP leadership to modernize the sector.
Kano state has the highest population in the country. According to the 2006 census, it has approximately 10 million people. Among the population if one will use the yardstick of development in relation to poverty, unemployment and inequality, can Kano state be said to be developing in the past 10 years? With the general assumptions used, can people of Kano said to be productive in relation to economic growth? It is said there are about 2 million Achabas, 2 million Yan bunburutu (petrol hawkers) two million Almajiris, more than 1 million Zaurawas (divorced women) and if you add the number of Yan jagaliyas, Yan dabas, with these numbers minus the under aged, the sick, the elderly, the unemployed, how many are left that are really contributing to the economy?
With the condition that Kano finds itself , it needs a man with a vision, creative, humble, sincere, hardworking and that had been tested and trusted to deliver the dividends of democracy, Lawal Jafaru Isa (rtd) has all the above listed attributes. And if the CPC gives him the opportunity to contest on its platform he has the ability and competence to deliver Kano sate to it. Most of those presently seeking Kano state governorship are merely contesting to replace a namesake, a mentor, to avenge, their party must win or riding on their families name. So far, none of them have unbundled his agenda to the electorates or they had an outstanding record that can prove that they can make a difference.
The Kano CPC should learn from current happenings in the state where the main political parties to reckon with are accused of bending the rules to favour particular candidates. It primary elections should be transparent, free and fair as this will enable it to escape internal wrangling that will surely spell doom for a party when it denies the choice of majority of it’s members. It will be hardly for the Kano CPC to have a gubernatorial material more than Lawal Jafaru Isa(rtd) , a man that the oppress and downtrodden masses, civil servants, the business community, traditional and religious leaders, youths, students e.t.c will support , back and cast their votes for him on the platform he will contest on due to his previous records.
The leadership and stakeholders of Kano CPC must work collectively for their party to succeed in Kano . The factions of Alhaji Haruna Danzago and Alhaji AbdulMajid Danbilki Commander should bury their differences for the greater interest of the party. And Dan Zago should change his attitudes and nature of politics so as to create space for those that will soon decamp from ANPP and PDP in the state when finally they fail to secure tickets they are looking for. The Kano CPC stands to gain a lot and win the state only if the leadership and stakeholders buried their selfish interests.
Kano state needs a new beginning come 2011 elections, with a new set of leaders and representatives that will sincerely work for the betterment of the state and its people. With Lawal Jafaru Isa (rtd) as governor in the next dispensation, Kanawa may feel the impact positively for the change they truly need.
Shehu Mustapha Chaji
shehuchaji@yahoo.com
The newly registered party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) is a party that political analyst and commentators are predicting can be a party with all it takes to defeat both the ruling ANPP and opposition PDP in Kano state. The CPC been the party that General Muhammadu Buhari belongs to, and Kano as the hub of his political backing will make both Shekarau of ANPP and Kwankwaso of PDP to be nervous as the political permutations of the state will change completely the day he entered the ancient city for campaign.
Brig. General (rtd) Lawal Jafaru Isa, the former military governor of Kaduna state from 1993 to 1996 is among the leading members of the CPC in Kano state. Even though the people of Kaduna state are in the best position to tell the world who is Lawal Jafaru Isa, any person current with events when he was in charge even as a military governor , the way he govern was quite distinct and different. The legacies he left in Kaduna state are numerous which was unlikely with the military governors and will envy most of our elected or selected civilian governors of today.
With the 2011 elections around the corner, Lawal Jafaru Isa (rtd) has finally answered the calls of Kanawa to contest for the seat of Kano state governor under the platform of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). Like most people of Kano he is concern with how the state have been under developing in the past 10 years upon the billions of naira been collected as federal allocation and internal generated revenue.
Problems bedeviling Kano are many ranging from unemployment, chronic poverty, high divorce rate, insecurity, illiteracy to mention but few of the social and economic problems that the present administration of Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau could not solved. Worse still, the present led Kano state leadership is not leading by example. When they claimed that they had equip the hospitals, but their wives are giving birth in Europe and America . They claimed that they had build schools and employed teachers, but their children are schooling in London and Malaysia . Virtually the economic sector has collapse due to lack of ideas by the Kano led ANPP leadership to modernize the sector.
Kano state has the highest population in the country. According to the 2006 census, it has approximately 10 million people. Among the population if one will use the yardstick of development in relation to poverty, unemployment and inequality, can Kano state be said to be developing in the past 10 years? With the general assumptions used, can people of Kano said to be productive in relation to economic growth? It is said there are about 2 million Achabas, 2 million Yan bunburutu (petrol hawkers) two million Almajiris, more than 1 million Zaurawas (divorced women) and if you add the number of Yan jagaliyas, Yan dabas, with these numbers minus the under aged, the sick, the elderly, the unemployed, how many are left that are really contributing to the economy?
With the condition that Kano finds itself , it needs a man with a vision, creative, humble, sincere, hardworking and that had been tested and trusted to deliver the dividends of democracy, Lawal Jafaru Isa (rtd) has all the above listed attributes. And if the CPC gives him the opportunity to contest on its platform he has the ability and competence to deliver Kano sate to it. Most of those presently seeking Kano state governorship are merely contesting to replace a namesake, a mentor, to avenge, their party must win or riding on their families name. So far, none of them have unbundled his agenda to the electorates or they had an outstanding record that can prove that they can make a difference.
The Kano CPC should learn from current happenings in the state where the main political parties to reckon with are accused of bending the rules to favour particular candidates. It primary elections should be transparent, free and fair as this will enable it to escape internal wrangling that will surely spell doom for a party when it denies the choice of majority of it’s members. It will be hardly for the Kano CPC to have a gubernatorial material more than Lawal Jafaru Isa(rtd) , a man that the oppress and downtrodden masses, civil servants, the business community, traditional and religious leaders, youths, students e.t.c will support , back and cast their votes for him on the platform he will contest on due to his previous records.
The leadership and stakeholders of Kano CPC must work collectively for their party to succeed in Kano . The factions of Alhaji Haruna Danzago and Alhaji AbdulMajid Danbilki Commander should bury their differences for the greater interest of the party. And Dan Zago should change his attitudes and nature of politics so as to create space for those that will soon decamp from ANPP and PDP in the state when finally they fail to secure tickets they are looking for. The Kano CPC stands to gain a lot and win the state only if the leadership and stakeholders buried their selfish interests.
Kano state needs a new beginning come 2011 elections, with a new set of leaders and representatives that will sincerely work for the betterment of the state and its people. With Lawal Jafaru Isa (rtd) as governor in the next dispensation, Kanawa may feel the impact positively for the change they truly need.
Shehu Mustapha Chaji
shehuchaji@yahoo.com
Kano 2011: Ko Takai zai taki sa’a?
Malam Salihu Sagir Takai to tantama babu kan cewa shine dan takarar gwamna karkashin jam’iyyar ANPP da Gwamna Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau ke son ya zama magajin sa a zaben 2011. Taron da kwanakin baya akayi a gidan gwamnatin jihar Kano dan kaddamar da Takai Shekarau ya fito karara yana jinjinawa wa dan takarar sa.
Kafin zancen ya fito fili kan goyon bayan Takai yan siyasa da yan takarar gwamna a karkashin jam’iyyar ANPP sunyi ta koke koke da kokarin nusar da gwamna yayi adalci wajen fidda dan takara.
Takai ya kasance kwaminishinan kananan hukumomi a gwamnatin Shekarau a yanzu.Har yanzu Gwamna Shekarau bai fito ya bayyanawa al’ummar jihar Kano dalilan da yasa ya fifita Takai a kan sauran masu neman takaran gwamna ba. Kuma Shekarau na amfani da dammar sana tsaida dan takara dan sanin cewa a tsarin da muke a kai a yanzu na dimokaradiyya da wuya gwamna ya tsaida dan takara jam’iyyar sa bata tsaida shi ba.
Jam’iyyar ANPP a jihar Kano tayi farin jinin masu son takaran gwamna a karkashin ta. Cikin jiga jigan masu neman takarar sun hada da Mataimakin Gwamna Inginiya Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo da Sanata Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya da Alhaji Sani Kawan Kofar Mata da Sheik Ibrahim Khalil da Inginiya Sarki Labaran da Sanata Mohammed Adamu Bello da Alhaji Habibu Sale Minjibir da sauran su.
A bisa tsarin jam’iyyu a kan baiwa yan takara dama in basu daidaita ba a tsakanin sub a su shiga zaben fidda gwani dan gwada kwanji a fidda wanda yayi nasara. Koken da ragowar yan takara a jam’iyyar ANPP a jihar Kano keyi kenan domin hanyar da aka dauka ga dukkanin alamu suna zargin ba za’ayi masu adalci ba.
Tuni mafi yawa daga cikin yan takarar neman gwamna a karkashin jam’iyyar ANPP a jihar Kano sun fito karara sun bayyana cewa basu amince da take taken Gwamna Shekarau na kin basu dammar su ta hanyar dankara masu Takai ba. Sanata Mohammed Bello ya fito ya bayyanawa duniya cewa in har ba’a bashi dammar sa ba to zai fice daga jam’iyyar ANPP. Haka ma ragowar yan takarar kamar Mataimakin Gwamna Inginiya Abdullahi Gwarzo da Sanata Kabiru Gaya da Alhaji Sani Lawan Kofar Mata da Alhaji Habibu Sale Minjibir sunyi Magana da muyar guda wajen kin yarda da saida Takai da mara masa baya da Gwamna Ibrahim Shekarau keyi da nusar dashi cewa rashin adalcin da ake son yin a iya kai jam’iyyar ta fadi zabe a 2011.
Amma me yasa Gwamna Shekarau ya kafe lallai Takai ne dan takarar sa? Amsa bai wuce yana ganin cewa shine wanda kila zai cigaba da manufofin gwamnatin sad a kuma kau da kai ga masu bukatar tone-tone bayan ya bar mulki ba. Ko kuma yana gain a tunanin sad a hangen nesa irin nasa Takai yafi sauran masu neman gwamnan jihar Kano nagarta da cancanta.
Suma ragowar yan takarar na gwamnan jihar Kano suna ganin cewa sun cancanta kuma sun taimakawa Shekarau a zaben 2003 da 2007. Kuma suna ganin suna da goyon baya da masoya da magoya baya da zai iya kaisu ga lashe zaben 2011.
Tsayar da Mallam Salihu Sagir Takai na fuskantar tirjiya ba wai daga yan takarar gwamna a jam’iyyar ANPP ba hard a Kansiloli da Chairmomi da Kwamishinoni da manyan jami’an gwamnatin Malam Ibrahim Shekarau. Kazalika wasu yan jam’iyyar ta ANPP suna zargin Takai da rowa da rashin iya hulda da jama’a.
Shawara ga Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau in har yana son jam’iyyar sat a ANPP ta taka rawan gain a zaben 2011 ni a ganina ya kamata a matsayin sa na uba kuma jagora ya hada kan yan jam’iyyar sa. Ya kuma zama me koyi da tsarin dimokaradiyya ta hanyar baiwa kowa dammar sa . Ya bari ayi zaben fidda gwani a jam’iyyar ba tare da ana ganin hannuwan sa karara yana mara wa wani dan takara baya ba. Ya sani duk masu neman tsayawa takaran gwamna sun taimaka masa a lokacin da yake tsananin neman taimako.
Kuma Gwamna Shekarau ya san da cewa in ya matsa sai Takai to lallai aminan sa da abokan tafiyar sa a siyasa zasu iya bankarewa suma fice daga jami’iyyar ta ANPP da bat agama farfadowa daga halin da ta shiga ba sakamakon ficewar Janar Muhammadu Buhari daga jam’iyyar ba. Sannan wasu zasu iya kin ficewa daga jam’iyyar amma suyi mata zagon kasa.
Kuma Gwamna Shekarau ya tambayi kansa ko lallai ne ya sami biyan bukatun sa in Takai yayi nasarar zama gwamnan Kano a 2011? Baya duban yadda ake kwashewa tsakanin gwamnonin da suka sauka da wanda su da kansu suka tsayar har suka zaama gwamnoni masu ci a yanzu?
In Gwamna Ibrahim Shekarau ya manta to ya sani akwai jan aiki a gaban sa koda jam’iyyar sa kansu a hade kafin su iya lashe zaben 2011. A kullum jam’iyyar PDP a jihar Kano sai kara karfi take ga kuma sabuwar jam’iyyar CPC da Janar Buhari ke cikin ta da in har sun tsaida dan takaran gwamna mai nagarta suma zasu iya lashe zaben gwamna a Kano a 2011.
Tsakanin Gwamna Shekarau da Takai da masu adawa ba’a san maci tuwo ba sai miya ta kare. Ko Takai zai taki sa’a ya zama magajin Shekarau? Lokaci ne kadai zai bayyana mana.
Shehu Mustapha Chaji
shehuchaji@yahoo.com
Kafin zancen ya fito fili kan goyon bayan Takai yan siyasa da yan takarar gwamna a karkashin jam’iyyar ANPP sunyi ta koke koke da kokarin nusar da gwamna yayi adalci wajen fidda dan takara.
Takai ya kasance kwaminishinan kananan hukumomi a gwamnatin Shekarau a yanzu.Har yanzu Gwamna Shekarau bai fito ya bayyanawa al’ummar jihar Kano dalilan da yasa ya fifita Takai a kan sauran masu neman takaran gwamna ba. Kuma Shekarau na amfani da dammar sana tsaida dan takara dan sanin cewa a tsarin da muke a kai a yanzu na dimokaradiyya da wuya gwamna ya tsaida dan takara jam’iyyar sa bata tsaida shi ba.
Jam’iyyar ANPP a jihar Kano tayi farin jinin masu son takaran gwamna a karkashin ta. Cikin jiga jigan masu neman takarar sun hada da Mataimakin Gwamna Inginiya Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo da Sanata Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya da Alhaji Sani Kawan Kofar Mata da Sheik Ibrahim Khalil da Inginiya Sarki Labaran da Sanata Mohammed Adamu Bello da Alhaji Habibu Sale Minjibir da sauran su.
A bisa tsarin jam’iyyu a kan baiwa yan takara dama in basu daidaita ba a tsakanin sub a su shiga zaben fidda gwani dan gwada kwanji a fidda wanda yayi nasara. Koken da ragowar yan takara a jam’iyyar ANPP a jihar Kano keyi kenan domin hanyar da aka dauka ga dukkanin alamu suna zargin ba za’ayi masu adalci ba.
Tuni mafi yawa daga cikin yan takarar neman gwamna a karkashin jam’iyyar ANPP a jihar Kano sun fito karara sun bayyana cewa basu amince da take taken Gwamna Shekarau na kin basu dammar su ta hanyar dankara masu Takai ba. Sanata Mohammed Bello ya fito ya bayyanawa duniya cewa in har ba’a bashi dammar sa ba to zai fice daga jam’iyyar ANPP. Haka ma ragowar yan takarar kamar Mataimakin Gwamna Inginiya Abdullahi Gwarzo da Sanata Kabiru Gaya da Alhaji Sani Lawan Kofar Mata da Alhaji Habibu Sale Minjibir sunyi Magana da muyar guda wajen kin yarda da saida Takai da mara masa baya da Gwamna Ibrahim Shekarau keyi da nusar dashi cewa rashin adalcin da ake son yin a iya kai jam’iyyar ta fadi zabe a 2011.
Amma me yasa Gwamna Shekarau ya kafe lallai Takai ne dan takarar sa? Amsa bai wuce yana ganin cewa shine wanda kila zai cigaba da manufofin gwamnatin sad a kuma kau da kai ga masu bukatar tone-tone bayan ya bar mulki ba. Ko kuma yana gain a tunanin sad a hangen nesa irin nasa Takai yafi sauran masu neman gwamnan jihar Kano nagarta da cancanta.
Suma ragowar yan takarar na gwamnan jihar Kano suna ganin cewa sun cancanta kuma sun taimakawa Shekarau a zaben 2003 da 2007. Kuma suna ganin suna da goyon baya da masoya da magoya baya da zai iya kaisu ga lashe zaben 2011.
Tsayar da Mallam Salihu Sagir Takai na fuskantar tirjiya ba wai daga yan takarar gwamna a jam’iyyar ANPP ba hard a Kansiloli da Chairmomi da Kwamishinoni da manyan jami’an gwamnatin Malam Ibrahim Shekarau. Kazalika wasu yan jam’iyyar ta ANPP suna zargin Takai da rowa da rashin iya hulda da jama’a.
Shawara ga Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau in har yana son jam’iyyar sat a ANPP ta taka rawan gain a zaben 2011 ni a ganina ya kamata a matsayin sa na uba kuma jagora ya hada kan yan jam’iyyar sa. Ya kuma zama me koyi da tsarin dimokaradiyya ta hanyar baiwa kowa dammar sa . Ya bari ayi zaben fidda gwani a jam’iyyar ba tare da ana ganin hannuwan sa karara yana mara wa wani dan takara baya ba. Ya sani duk masu neman tsayawa takaran gwamna sun taimaka masa a lokacin da yake tsananin neman taimako.
Kuma Gwamna Shekarau ya san da cewa in ya matsa sai Takai to lallai aminan sa da abokan tafiyar sa a siyasa zasu iya bankarewa suma fice daga jami’iyyar ta ANPP da bat agama farfadowa daga halin da ta shiga ba sakamakon ficewar Janar Muhammadu Buhari daga jam’iyyar ba. Sannan wasu zasu iya kin ficewa daga jam’iyyar amma suyi mata zagon kasa.
Kuma Gwamna Shekarau ya tambayi kansa ko lallai ne ya sami biyan bukatun sa in Takai yayi nasarar zama gwamnan Kano a 2011? Baya duban yadda ake kwashewa tsakanin gwamnonin da suka sauka da wanda su da kansu suka tsayar har suka zaama gwamnoni masu ci a yanzu?
In Gwamna Ibrahim Shekarau ya manta to ya sani akwai jan aiki a gaban sa koda jam’iyyar sa kansu a hade kafin su iya lashe zaben 2011. A kullum jam’iyyar PDP a jihar Kano sai kara karfi take ga kuma sabuwar jam’iyyar CPC da Janar Buhari ke cikin ta da in har sun tsaida dan takaran gwamna mai nagarta suma zasu iya lashe zaben gwamna a Kano a 2011.
Tsakanin Gwamna Shekarau da Takai da masu adawa ba’a san maci tuwo ba sai miya ta kare. Ko Takai zai taki sa’a ya zama magajin Shekarau? Lokaci ne kadai zai bayyana mana.
Shehu Mustapha Chaji
shehuchaji@yahoo.com
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Jonathan and 2011 elections
The Acting President Dr Goodluck Jonathan had promised Nigerians that the 2011 elections will be free and fair, a promise he has repeated on several occasions within and outside the country; the same free and fair elections that the current crop of leaders has denied Nigerians since 2003.
Event though Jonathan cannot deny being a beneficiary of the electoral fraud that brought them to power, he seems to understand the demand by Nigerians for free and fair elections come 2011. That call is being re-stated even by foreign governments and international organizations concerned with issues of democracy and good governance.
Many Nigerians thought that with Acting President Goodluck Jonathan if he continues to be in charge up to during the 2011 elections, we may have better elections than the previous ones, being that his party the PDP has informed the world that the presidential ticket of it’s party for 2011 will still come from the North. The party felt that since the South has ruled for eight years, it would be fair and for equity and justice for the North to manage what is left after 2011 if the party wins the elections.
But recent happenings in the polity may once again lead to the denial of Nigerians free and fair elections come 2011. Jonathan up till now has not informed Nigerians of his intensions regarding his presidential ambition in 2011, aside of making some comments that are neither here nor there. Will he abide by his party, PDP’s rotational arrangement? And if not, how does he want Nigerians to view him? Or, if he decides to contest for presidency in 2011 what guarantee do Nigerians have that he will not rig the elections in his favour? And finally what will he lose by being an unbiased umpire, by not contesting, but concerned only with conducting an election that will be acceptable by most Nigerians and international community?
Instead of Jonathan to concentrate on how to reduce the sufferings of Nigerians through providing qualitative education, good drinking water, stable power supply etc, he is now occupied with schemes to fully takeover and to continue to be at the helm after the 2011 elections. And unfortunately, appears to be using the old tricks of former President Olusegun Obasanjo of blackmail and intimidation to achieve his goal.
There are numerous reasons why I am sceptical of Jonathan continuing to exercise executive powers after 2011. How can he convince Nigerians that the concerns of people and their welfare will be his priority as agencies under his supervision have been left to decay with their workers left for years without salary and he comfortably goes to sleep without providing a solution to cushion their sufferings?. Or why as a leader he will not abide by agreements placed by his party which is in the interest of peaceful co-existence of the country? And how sure are we that after 2011 he will not seek another term in 2015? And of course, why renege on principle of collective responsibility by dismantling all the structures and policies of his principal? Is he running an entirely new government or continuation of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua’s administration, of which Jonathan has been a part at inception in 2007? Does he think that Nigerians are comfortable with his activities in government since he started acting for Yar’adua?
If Acting President Goodluck Jonathan wants Nigerians and the international community to take him serious in his promise of conducting free and fair elections in 2011, he should forgo any ambition to stand for election for either Presidency or Vice President, to enable him to be fully nonpartisan in the 2011 elections. He will have the golden opportunity to write his name in gold by presiding over the best election ever in Nigeria by conducting free and fair polls in 2011.
From now to election time, Jonathan should fix outstanding problems bedevilling the country such as providing stable power supply, fixing our bad roads; provide security for Nigerians in their homes and roads. And try his best in fulfilling the promise of 7-Points Agenda of his principal.
More so, he should act with wisdom by not taking on more debts that unborn Nigerians will have to repay; and discard intensions showing him as sectional and a cohort of local and international interests.
Nigerians are watching, and will not accept any election that smacks of electoral fraud and rigging. Jonathan should not listen to advice of political hyenas and scavengers that will lure him to betray the nation’s best interests.
Shehu Mustapha Chaji
shehuchaji@yahoo.com
Event though Jonathan cannot deny being a beneficiary of the electoral fraud that brought them to power, he seems to understand the demand by Nigerians for free and fair elections come 2011. That call is being re-stated even by foreign governments and international organizations concerned with issues of democracy and good governance.
Many Nigerians thought that with Acting President Goodluck Jonathan if he continues to be in charge up to during the 2011 elections, we may have better elections than the previous ones, being that his party the PDP has informed the world that the presidential ticket of it’s party for 2011 will still come from the North. The party felt that since the South has ruled for eight years, it would be fair and for equity and justice for the North to manage what is left after 2011 if the party wins the elections.
But recent happenings in the polity may once again lead to the denial of Nigerians free and fair elections come 2011. Jonathan up till now has not informed Nigerians of his intensions regarding his presidential ambition in 2011, aside of making some comments that are neither here nor there. Will he abide by his party, PDP’s rotational arrangement? And if not, how does he want Nigerians to view him? Or, if he decides to contest for presidency in 2011 what guarantee do Nigerians have that he will not rig the elections in his favour? And finally what will he lose by being an unbiased umpire, by not contesting, but concerned only with conducting an election that will be acceptable by most Nigerians and international community?
Instead of Jonathan to concentrate on how to reduce the sufferings of Nigerians through providing qualitative education, good drinking water, stable power supply etc, he is now occupied with schemes to fully takeover and to continue to be at the helm after the 2011 elections. And unfortunately, appears to be using the old tricks of former President Olusegun Obasanjo of blackmail and intimidation to achieve his goal.
There are numerous reasons why I am sceptical of Jonathan continuing to exercise executive powers after 2011. How can he convince Nigerians that the concerns of people and their welfare will be his priority as agencies under his supervision have been left to decay with their workers left for years without salary and he comfortably goes to sleep without providing a solution to cushion their sufferings?. Or why as a leader he will not abide by agreements placed by his party which is in the interest of peaceful co-existence of the country? And how sure are we that after 2011 he will not seek another term in 2015? And of course, why renege on principle of collective responsibility by dismantling all the structures and policies of his principal? Is he running an entirely new government or continuation of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua’s administration, of which Jonathan has been a part at inception in 2007? Does he think that Nigerians are comfortable with his activities in government since he started acting for Yar’adua?
If Acting President Goodluck Jonathan wants Nigerians and the international community to take him serious in his promise of conducting free and fair elections in 2011, he should forgo any ambition to stand for election for either Presidency or Vice President, to enable him to be fully nonpartisan in the 2011 elections. He will have the golden opportunity to write his name in gold by presiding over the best election ever in Nigeria by conducting free and fair polls in 2011.
From now to election time, Jonathan should fix outstanding problems bedevilling the country such as providing stable power supply, fixing our bad roads; provide security for Nigerians in their homes and roads. And try his best in fulfilling the promise of 7-Points Agenda of his principal.
More so, he should act with wisdom by not taking on more debts that unborn Nigerians will have to repay; and discard intensions showing him as sectional and a cohort of local and international interests.
Nigerians are watching, and will not accept any election that smacks of electoral fraud and rigging. Jonathan should not listen to advice of political hyenas and scavengers that will lure him to betray the nation’s best interests.
Shehu Mustapha Chaji
shehuchaji@yahoo.com
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
