Observation on Nigerian Presidential Letters by Wale Adedayo
It is my THIRD time of reading former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter to President Goodluck Jonathan. Sincerely, those who have been calling Obasanjo’s names because of that letter should go and hide somewhere. Obasanjo wrote well, deep from the heart about TWO things he is passionate about – Peoples Democratic Party and a united Nigeria that is well-respected abroad.
I had cause to discuss Jonathan’s messy political strategy with a friend close to the seat of power in Abuja a few months back while in the FCT. He was diffident initially. But after telling my friend pointedly that the reason Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko was allowed to ‘win’ his re-election was because of his closeness to Jonathan, not because he had serious electoral votes as voters proved decisively in that state. My friend was shocked to know that one also had access to key reports that detailed how the PDP gubernatorial candidate’s victory was stolen because of the man’s perceived closeness to Obasanjo.
It is the same in other parts of the South-West, where Labour Party under direct supervision of presidential aides is being promoted as party of misplaced efforts to get ‘good loyalists’ of Jonathan into office. Jonathan’s aides believe that all members of a divided PDP will always vote for him being the party’s presidential candidate. Those in Labour Party will also vote for him.
But this is naive political thinking. As I told one of them in Ijebu Ife recently, it is only a very foolish PDP member that’ll vote for Jonathan in 2015 knowing FULLY WELL that it is the same man who has destroyed the party for his personal ambition. Instead of uniting different factions, he encourages some to go outside the party into Labour Party and also work to keep the party divided believing that all factions will vote for him.
So, what becomes of those who want to be Governors, Senators, House of Reps members, House of Assembly members, Councillors and Council Chairmen? Once everybody is scattered, votes are divided and only for that of president will there be unity of votes. It stands to reason that these ordinary members will also seek their fortunes elsewhere in APC and completely distance themselves from Jonathan who is cutting his nose to spite his face.
From Obasanjo’s letter, I doubt if all hope is lost. Jonathan can still make amends IF he allows genuine reconciliation. If not, APC’ll win the next general elections with a landlside victory never witnessed before in Nigerian history with a sitting president and his party soundly defeated by the opposition.
Another supid move is the court case4 instituted against the five PDP governors who have defected. Do these presidential aides really believe Jonathan has loyalists in the National Assembly? What stops a Senator moving for the impeachment of the president today? There are so many impeachable offences already committed by Jonathan, and ONLY a united PDP can stop the process of impeachment. Where is the PDP today?
A commentator on NaijaPolitics yesterday posted there’ll be war in the creeks if Jonathan is disgraced. Who said so? It is those from the creeks who should pray there is no war. If war breaks out today all hands will be against them as it happened to Biafra, and I am sure some of them will NEVER return to their villages again because it will be wiped out completely.
And, pray, who are those that’ll even fight on Jonathan’s behalf? Is it these fools who should be fighting for their homelands, but had Henry Okah imprisoned in South Africa while they keep on buyinh houses all over Abuja and Lagos? Are these the jokers who’ll fight? Fight who?
A big thanks to Obasanjo for trying to assist the PDP back to life. Let’s wait and hope that Jonathan will see the handwriting on the wall. Chief Obafemi Awolowo warned President Shehu Shagari more than two years before the old man was thrown out of office. Awo was abused to no end by political jobbers who later ran away and left Shagari to his fate.
Let’s hope we can still salvage our party from these hawks who see nothing but looting in their horizon (All Credits to WA)