NigerianNews::Special Columnist Joe Chikunie: OUR PRESIDENT’S TRUE CHARACTER.

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Joseph Ifeanyi Chikunie

Head, Space Control

Opebi Road
Ikeja, Lagos

The real man will unfold soon and we shall use this barometer to know how we shall fare after 2011 elections; that is assuming that GEJ will emerge the winner, which I am sure he will. It is only then that a fair and thorough assessment of his stewardship can actually begin.

OUR PRESIDENT’S TRUE CHARACTER.
by Joseph Ifeanyi Chikunie

Now, before the President’s many supporters draw their swords, let me point out from the start that I like Mr. President. Ask me if I believe in him and I shall tell you to wait until after he has been sworn in, again next year.

He sure knows what is up and has amply demonstrated an uncanny understanding of Nigeria’s politics; a rare brand that has confounded their fellows in other countries.

Not that I care a hoot if I am nailed to the cross as a GEJ critic notwithstanding that we both hail from the Niger Delta. The aim of this piece of writing however is to dissect the actions and some utterances of our ruler so far and by so doing expose his peculiar traits, which not only served him well in the turbulent days of succession battle but which predictably would land him a continuation in office come the year, 2011.

Our President is named Goodluck and the wife is Patience; both symbolic names have been totally harnessed by the latter all through his political life. His mastery of luck and cool-as-cucumber candour was the obvious death knell that confounded, confused and annihilated the dreaded ‘cabal’. All the traps set for him, which I am sure a recent Vice President would have falling into were evaded cleverly by His Excellency. While being smart in resisting and evading a highly, charged temptation to exude ambition, he masterfully increased his value in the polity such that there was no other way out but for his traducers to do the right thing by crowning him. Doctrine of necessity or ‘legislative escapism’ became the way out eventually. The apparent action of the Governors and legislators smacked of a face saving measure to wriggle out of a tight corner, which they collectively meandered themselves into.

Having finally assumed the highest office in the land, our President sought to stabilize the polity immediately by appointing a seasoned National security adviser and constituting PAC. The membership of that body is very revealing. His Excellency needed a huge and strong umbrella over his head and at that point, whoever can help stabilize his government became a friend.

Not a few expected him to deal decisively with those who frustrated his Presidency including the service chiefs but their naivety was soon apparent. The ruler was later to reveal what some of us knew that he needed to stabilize the polity. This was the cleverest thing to do especially at that time.

There is no gainsaying that His Excellency stands firmly on two legs: one big baba-like leg and the other a stern, firm Danjuma-like one. As long as those two are his backers, he knew that he is firmly in charge.

Then came that American visit and Christiane Amanpour interview where he again too full advantage, telling Nigerians and foreigners alike what we all want to hear. Talk is cheap and our collective experience as a people has made most of us hard-core pessimists as it concerns political statements by politicians. However, it is very brave of His Excellency to appoint a radical and independently minded Professor Attahiru Jega as INEC Chairman. I bet that many PDP stalwarts still believe that that singular appointment may likely upset the apple cart next year.

So, why then have we not witnessed high level corruption trials against the named suspects in Siemens, Halliburton and other such scandals? The answer again is not far-fetch, Mr. President is very cautious. Those named in the bribery scandals are the shakers and movers of the society and they are very much capable of nipping his ambition in the bud. You see why I say that His Excellency know what is up? Do you think that GEJ loves the EFCC as presently constituted? So why has he not changed the body’s leadership? No matter what Ima Niboro would want me believe, I am unshaken in my thinking that the leadership of the House of Representatives has the sympathy of Mr. President in their hide and seek game with EFCC. He needs to secure his ambition as some powerful forces will pull out their support should he beam his reformatory light in certain quarters. Not that he lacks the will to do just that, he is scared of the repercussions. James Ibori was grounded and eventually escaped from the Nigerian law because a resolute Presidency was out for him. That Ibori’s hot and peppered meal is also appropriate for many other corrupt but highly placed individuals regardless of their status and influence.

The face book self-given assignment is driven by the dual desire to tap into the thought processes of Nigerians towards a collective nation building as our ruler has stated. What we also know is that this move is to curry popularity and win the teeming millions of Nigeria’s youth to his side as he prepares to launch his Presidential ambition.

It will not come to me as surprise to learn that one Barack Obama inspired this face book love. I advise every Nigerian who has easy access to internet to ‘like our President’ because to start with, that is the only way you can gain entry into the domain proper.

The journey so far for His Excellency has been replete with zeal to pander to public opinion but to turn away from this same opinion when it comes to burning issues, which could jeopardize his ambition to become an elected President. It is politico survivalism at best. Not that I blame him because many politicians will do exactly the same thing if they were in his shoes right now. Do not mind the antagonists and hypocrites among them. The national award to many influential Nigerians not caring so much about how honourable they are is politics. So also is the soft landing extended to one Nuhu Ribadu.

When our ruler thinks that a decision will instantly make him popular, he immediately takes it. However, when also this turns out to go against the wishes of many, he also makes a U-turn. He cites the many voices appealing to him for the change of heart. Therefore, head or tail, he wins! A good example is the banning and unbanning of the national football teams.

As soon as I heard the announcement, I simply shook my head knowing that that particular decision will be upturned. It was a very hasty and not well thought out decision. The government has all the capacity to reform NFF and other such sports bodies without necessarily banning or infringing upon the rules governing football worldwide. Put succinctly, the government itself is fully embroiled in the mess our sports has become. When I think of such clubs as Leventis United, New Nigerian Bank FC, Stationery Stores, Ranchers Bees FC just to mention a few, I wonder why things have rotten so badly so soon. There was the Academicals Cup football competition and others where talented footballers were discovered and harnessed. Those days of Patrick Okpomo as Secretary General of the NFA witnessed giant strides by Nigeria in Nigerian football.

Today, it has become a cash and carry business as NFF officials also double as players’ agent. Why would they fight therefore to have their players in the team whether they measure up or not?

It is imperative to state that Nigeria requires a very tough, firm and a no nonsense ruler. Our society has become so decadent that any cosmetic and half hearted reform by any ruler will only amount to scratching the surface. The battle our dear President finds himself in today is either to do the right things as many Nigerians demand and risk losing his seat in the next elections or to maintain an equilibrium such that he can still remain in power post 2011 elections.

So far, he is acting in tandem with the latter option but herein lie the danger. Our political history show that once a candidate rides on the back of unscrupulous men to power, he is thereafter encumbered from executing people oriented programmes. In other words, a President who emerges as a result of the influence of corrupt but powerful people cannot and will not be the messiah that Nigerians have been praying for.

A fearless and a zero tolerant for corruption ruler would have long ensured that everyone named in one bribery scandal or the other, regardless of status or political importance is made to face the full wrath of the law.

Such a ruler will not bother whether he wins the next election or not but will seek to lay the foundation for a great Nigeria where people learn that it does not pay in the end to live luxuriously at the expense of the country’s well being.

The irony of it all is that in countries where such rulers have emerged, they become the beacon of hope for the people and more often than not are rewarded by the people who in truth constitute the sovereign. However in Nigeria, it is a complex situation as the pseudo-democracy in place gives power to the people on paper while a few individuals actually decide where the power pendulum swings to.

It is against this backdrop that a President, who should ordinarily rid the society of ills bedevilling development, has to think twice before embarking on a wholesale reform agenda. Yet, Nigeria desperately needs a radical and fearless leader who can look us in the eyes sternly, charging us to refrain from corrupt tendencies. Such a leader will understand that punishment for corruption and other crimes is the only way to deter others. He will not respect names and personalities in dealing with the issue.

We need a leader who understands that there are no two or more ways to socio-economic development. We must be on the one and only track where there is an absolutely zero tolerance for corruption. This has to be vigorously and seriously pursued with no half measures but with full dose. My hope is that the Goodluck Jonathan government will implement develop mental programmes by empowering youth through job creation and qualitative education, provision of constant electricity and building the much economic climate for private investment. There is need to create an enabling environment for potential investors from all parts of the world. It saddens me to see investors scamper away from our shores to go into Ghana.

The state of our road network is anything but encouraging. The Lagos-Benin road particularly is nothing but an eye-sore. To think that billions of naira contracts have been awarded to companies in recent times with nothing to show for it; is even more mind bugling. Yet, nobody has been prosecuted for a blatant and wicked corruption act. Development requires also a very good transportation network: road and railway. The provision of infrastructure and their maintenance is paramount in the development and South Africa has exemplified this in so many ways.

Good governance does not entail saying the right things but by the execution of projects and programmes that people can see and feel. Granted that more time is required by the government, it can begin now to lay a firm groundwork for our development.

As at now, I am certain that GEJ is not his own man and cannot be until after the 2011 Presidential elections. He knows that the Governors forum and the clique of mighty men who decides who gets the presidency hover above his head; watching his every step closely. He is no fool and understands that without their support, his ambition is dead.

This is why the man’s true character is firmly under wrap and those who either celebrate him or vilify him do so prematurely. If he does wrap up the Presidential elections with a victory, either of two scenarios will play out.

The first is that he will turn his back on the corrupt but mighty who helped prod him to victory as he decides to go the whole hog in making Nigeria great. By so doing, he will be pursuing populist ideals but spiting those who also have what it takes to give him a political fight to finish battle. This scenario requires a President with balls and from the man’s pedigree and body language since assuming office as deputy governor of Bayelsa State, he will be handing me a shock if he toes this line.

The second scenario of course is to continue the present balancing act where some populist ideals are pursued as long as they do not threaten the survival and stability of his government.

Nigeria direly needs the first scenario to play out if we are to pull ourselves out of the doldrums but I will not be surprise if eventually the balancing act is again employed by a Nigerian ruler. Balancing acts are the same old, same old that flatter to deceive. Soon, we shall all know where His Excellency pitches his tent eventually because it is not possible to be with the people while at the same time hobnob with characters, who are anti-people’s development and vice versa.

The real man will unfold soon and we shall use this barometer to know how we shall fare after 2011 elections; that is assuming that GEJ will emerge the winner, which I am sure he will. It is only then that a fair and thorough assessment of his stewardship can actually begin.

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