Editorial Opinion

  
Custom Search

Nigerian
News


NigerianNews
 Editorial
 Editorial Opinions

more editorial Opinions

All we can now hope for is that the Danjuma-led PAC will take the honorable path and follow through with their threat, and as we said before, "quit now and quit soon", and for President Jonathan, let it be known that you wear an historically proud Ijaw hat which cannot be threatened.

 


Zoning and the incapacitation of a presidency
NigerianNews Editorial

 

It is clear that President Jonathan does not understand the import of his Special Assistant to the President Dr. Cairo Ojougboh declaration's at National Assembly that the President would run in 2011.

Obviously the PAC did not understand the damage of declaring the president they profess to serve a lame duck by their utterances. Whether Jonathan decides to run or not is irrelevant, but it is important not to make him weak by threatening that his tenure was of a limited duration. The President's Special assistant saw the damage, and promptly attempted to repair it, so far so, good.

The PAC had (as if they are really important in the eyes of Nigerians) threatened to resign should the president even contemplate exercising the constitutional right bestowed on all eligible Nigerians by our  military midwifed 1999 constitution. At this point, we were expecting these honorable men of the PAC to follow through with their threat. Apparently a nocturnal  movement, the Nigerian way, has overtaken this event and the assistant has been made to swallow his words. Faces are now saved, but we are now left wondering whether the president's proud historic Ijaw hat is not now about to be overshadowed by the ferocity of self seekers.

He is about to miss the opportunity of historic proportion. He has exposed the naive side of himself by not realizing that it is not about whether he would run or not, but making sure that he is effective in the remaining Yar'Adua's presidency. Ordinarily, saying that you have not decided should keep the antagonist guessing, but that is not the way Nigerian mind works. You have just thrown them a lifeline to malign you some more. Mr. President, keeping mum on your assistant's pronouncement at the National Assembly is good politics for these two reasons:

  1. This pronouncement liberates you from those who seek to muffle your tenure. If they are honorable after hearing your assistant's pronouncement, they would resign as they themselves had promised.
     

  2. According to a Newspaper yesterday, PDP zoning arrangement is a gentleman arrangement engineered in December 2, 2002. A gentleman's arrangement is far inferior to a written Party constitution, and a written party constitution is far inferior to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that is what you are required to uphold. President Jonathan must not fail to stand by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which does  not stipulate zoning.

It is laughable when they say it was a gentleman's arrangement. Do we need to be reminded that Vice President Atiku went about prodding the PDP governors to adopt him in place of his boss? What is gentlemanly about that? At least, that is not how the politics is gentlemanly played in the country of its constitutional origin.

A paper reports today that your VP will be Gov. Sambo. If this is correct, we wish both of you well. We had thought the way to sanitize the polity is to bring back Nuhu Ribadu as your VP and thereby inject an active young blood to the polity, but you know best, and we pray that you have not created another albatross around your own neck as in Obasanjo's administration! This should have been an opportunity for you to be your own man and not a captive of a party. Cowardice has its own price, we hope you are a true Ijaw man and not a coward.

All we can now hope for is that the Danjuma-led PAC will take the honorable path and follow through with their threat, and as we said before, "quit now and quit soon", and for President Jonathan, let it be known that you wear an historically proud Ijaw hat which cannot be threatened.

 

 
 

  Unique visitors: 4457