To say that the current government has a huge credibility deficit is an understatement. The rot is much and there is no rescue in sight to cleanse the system and the polity. Who will spearhead the crusade anyway? Good men in government these days are in short supply. There is virtually no one in charge. Put differently everyone is and nobody is in particular. All you hear are babel of voices: Asari Dokubo, Ijaw youth council, Ijaw elders, Bayelsa collectives, South-south forum, Niger Delta voice, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and sometimes Reuben Abati, Doyin Okupe and Labaran Maku. As every perspective observer must have noted that whenever he wants to, President Goodluck Jonathan always chooses the homestead to make national pronouncement, or engages in diatribes against his adversaries, known or imaginary. We will return to that shortly.
Nigeria’s problem is bigger than we want to admit. God forbid that we should face another scourge of civil war again, but the fear is real. The Boko Haram insurgency has already been designated a civil war between the group and the federal government. If war is defined as a threat to political stability, national cohesion, regional peace and security, you will not be too quick to dismiss the International Criminal Court, ICC’s classification of the lingering conflict in the country as a civil war. Last month the United States also designated Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. Both classifications have far reaching consequences for the government and people of Nigeria, yet there are no genuine efforts to avert the
looming danger. Last month, when Boko Haram attacked a military base in Yobe state, soldiers who had let their guards down had to flee even as many were killed. Only two days ago, the Maiduguri airport and military base were attacked living in its trail blood and tears. Are these no issues that should worry any sane person? There is danger in living in denial; if military bases are under constant attack with superior firepower by the insurgents, are we not on the path to another civil war? Is it when the North east becomes a Republic of Boko Haram that we would scamper for safety? Is that really what the Jonathan government wants to bequeath to the country?
On the political front, the story is not different. Already Jonathan holds the unenviable record of presiding over the disintegration of the party that brought him to power. If you think it cannot get any worse, tarry awhile. Wait till the party loses power at the national level. That may seem desirable, especially for the PDP-weary populace, but surely, the depletion of the ruling party has a lot of negative implications. It will be like starting afresh and another unpleasant milestone for the government of the day. Even though he did not admit losing grip, Jonathan secretly encouraged Senate President David Mark to declare defecting
lawmakers’ seats vacant, to which the former (Mark) rejected. Imagine a party losing five states, two are still sitting on the fence, and quite a large number of legislators would follow their governors to the APC. Uhmm, talk of a General without troop!.
The president’s latest gaffe was his congratulatory message to the APGA winner of the highly controversial and tension-soaked Anambra governorship election. For crying out loud, what has the president got to do with a state governorship election when, he was not a participant, from another party, who out of good sportsmanship is expected to congratulate his opponent? With the open declaration of support for APGA, the president has proved again, that APGA is another arm of PDP and the two are working hand in hand. That too is another first by Jonathan.
Then the ASUU debacle. After many failed attempts (including military -style tactics by Minister Nyesom Wike) to force the hands of ASUU did not work, the president has resorted to calling them names. In his home state of Yenegoa, Bayelsa state capital at the weekend, Jonathan called ASUU’s struggles, subversive activities. Recall he once said the strike was politicised. All these comments failed to intimidate and cow ASUU. “What ASUU is doing is no longer trade unionism… I had the longest meeting with ASUU in my political history. We didn’t start that meeting until around 2pm and it ended the next day in the early hours of the morning. As far as the government was concerned, all the critical people that should be in a meeting were there. So, what else do they want? The president queried.
“What ASUU is doing is no longer trade dispute, but subversive action…”, he concluded. The president’s frustration might have stemmed from attempts to infiltrate ASUU’s rank and file using all sorts of means as he does always with politicians, traditional rulers and the country’s opinion moulders. The truth is that the president lacks the tact and clout needed to fix ASUU’s demand and he’d rather commit funds to oil political patronage and bribe his way out than spend money on education.
