The once cordial relationship between Mr.
President and his darling Nollywood practitioners became strained, soured and
still very shaky with that misplaced appointment of an engineer to head
Nollywood’s apex body.
But I had to quickly change my mind having
monitored closely the shenanigans currently playing out at the exalted forum of
our elected governors.
Of
course, it’s no longer news that our elected governors are at present fighting
dirty and roforofo over the outcome
of their recently held election. What is perhaps news is the fact that such
national disgrace could only happen in Nigeria.
It’s
quite sad, shocking and shameful that 35 out of the 36 governors of the federal
republic of Nigeria could not sit and conduct a simple election to determine
who will lead them.
Again,
is it not ironical that ‘democratically elected’ governors could not elect one
of their Excellencies, to help pilot their affairs for the next two years?
Such Nollywood drama could only take place in
Nigeria, where those who are supposed to be our leaders, always play politics
with virtually everything, including our national patrimony.
As
a way of resolving this monumental national disgrace, I want to advice the
already divided Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), to immediately invite and
engage the services of Prof. Attahiru Jega, the INEC boss, to assist them in
the conduct of another fresh election.
The
Jega option becomes imperative since our governors have proven beyond every
reasonable doubt that they could not conduct a simple election among
themselves.
Sincerely,
the coming of Jega and his team at INEC, will help our warring governors
determine who their authentic leader is between embattled Rotimi Amaechi and
reticent Jonah Jang of Rivers and Plateau States, respectively. In fact, the
suspension of Amaechi from the extended PDP family might even make the coast
clearer for Jang ahead of the next election to be conducted by Jega.
But
if at the end of the day, Jega and his team could not conduct a free and free
election that will ultimately usher in a genuine winner. Then, we will now call
on President Goodluck Jonathan to use his constitutional powers to declare a
state of emergency in NGF.
Unlike
Adamama, Borno and Yobe where Mr. President did not remove the governors of the
affected states and did not also suspend democratic institutions, he should ‘sack’
the warring governors, collapse their offices and appoint a Sole Administrator
for NGF, until peace is restored.
Jokes
Apart, the mess coming out of the Governors Forum election is uncalled for and
smacks of irresponsible leadership.
Must
every election in Nigeria be settled in law courts, even those involving social
clubs and charity organizations?
Nigerians
deserve an unreserved apology from these governors who rubbished, disgraced and
denigrated their respective states by washing their dirty linens in public with
reckless abandon.
The
big question begging for answer from many Nigerians is what the big deal is in
conducting a simple, free and free election among 35 state governors?
If
these respected leaders cannot conduct a simple election among themselves, it
then means Nigeria is in a big trouble ahead of 2015. God will surely save us.
Did I hear your loud Amen?
And
the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), captured it succinctly in a recent press
statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed:
“If
an election involving only 35 governors can generate so much controversy and
threaten to overheat the polity, what will happen when millions of Nigerians
vote in 2015?” ACN queried.
Also
sounding a note of warning at a recent book launch, the national chairman of
All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, insisted that the
inglorious Governors Forum crisis is tearing Nigeria apart.
Here
are Umeh’s exact words: “Today, we can see that the country is overheated, with
so much distraction. If we are not talking about security challenges, we are
talking about the Governors Forum. There is nothing like Governors Forum in our
constitution. We have 36 governors in Nigeria and every day we are inundated
with activities of 36 men. They are tearing the country apart. It shouldn’t be
like that. I think the President is paying too much attention to governors.”
How
can our great but battered and plundered nation move forward when those who are
supposed to be at the driver’s seat as leaders, are already fighting over an
office that is not recognized by the laws of the land? Which way Nigeria? In a
country where nothing works, especially social amenities, our leaders are busy
disgracing themselves and the entire nation.
Instead
of wasting unnecessary energy and time fighting over who leads them, our
governors should think of ways of helping to improve the very poor security in their respective states, provide
good roads, tackle unemployment, build and equip hospitals as well as revamp
and rescue decaying infrastructure. Enough of this national embarrassment.
The
book of Proverbs 11:14, made it clear that: “Without wise leadership, a nation
falls, with many counselors, there is safety.”
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