I watched the President’s declaration with some fun fair.
I was amused because of several funny behaviors of man which is usually
exhibited when man wants to create false impression. And this is usually played
out during political rallies such as in declaration arena of this kind.
First, I must confess that the President did much more than
I expected. He gave an unwritten speech and the speech was smooth. He could
have memorized it but, in all, it was an excellent job very well delivered. The
President, generally, does not and did not exude the kind of confidence one
would have expected but he was forth with convincing rhetoric. Vice President
Sambo, is definitely, more charismatic and stable but his speech was written.
As I said, the President articulated beyond my expectation but I keep saying
that the President cannot offer Nigeria and Nigerians any thing because I always
see a hand of Esor in a Jacob’s voice in his activities.
From Alhaji Bamanga Turko , Bernabas Gemade, through to all
the governors, present and past government functionaries, that addressed the
gathering, one was astonished as to the level of energy they dissipated
shouting “PDP” power into the public address system’s microphone. Some of them
turned outright musicians and even did not allow Nigerian artists, who were on
hand, the opportunity to do the singing.
The arena, once more, demonstrated how ridiculous
politicians are. One governor after another spoke how his state was 100% behind
the President’s anticipated declaration – even those who cannot pay salaries in
their states not to talk of any meaningful road network. I just imagined if
after all these rubbish the President had stood up to say he was no longer
interested. And my breath seized momentarily when after a few words the
President asked his wife to hold on when she unfolded the cloth, she clutched
all the while, and wanted to hang same over the shoulder of the President. I
had thought the President wanted to renounce his ambition. And you would have
seen how all those people who have been rallying behind him would have just
quickly switched tents.
Most politicians in Nigeria do not do or say anything
because they believe in it. They are all driven by selfish desire to belong and
amass wealth. So all their support for President Jonathan’s candidacy was not
because they believe in his ability to turn the system round after all they do
not understand the meaning of development outside their pockets. What have they
done in their respective states?
If politicians are ever genuine and trustworthy, one would
have imagined that these people will move the mountain whenever they come to
power judging by the strength they exhibited when they spoke in the Eagle Square
- The President’s declaration arena. But ssome of us are too old to take them
seriously. The very people who shouted them selves out are the very same people
we have seen severally in similar occasions in the past from 1979 to date. And
most of them are still in leadership and you cannot relate their shouting at the
arena with their performance in the office both now and in the past. So what is
the basis of their noise making?
Take the case of ubiquitous Tony Anenih as an example. Our
smooth operator was on hand, as usual, to tell us that - as an elder - we should
believe him and give our support to Mr. President by 2011. And when you
remember that this is the same Chief Anenih of recent past, who used over 496
billion naira to construct more ditches on our roads across the federation
(during the big masquerade’s eight dark years), you will tend to be lost as to
his sincerity. All of them who spoke are the very people who brought and kept
us where we are today and they were all in unison that there is need for rebirth
because the past was wasted. And my question to them was who is fooling who?
Some of the speakers did not mince words when they spoke to
the crowd in telling them that they were not educated enough by addressing them
in a mix of real and pigeon English. These speakers included - but not limited
to - the governor of Cross River State, Lyel Imoke and the women affairs
Minister, our own dear Mrs. Anenih whose idea of development is that his fellow
women were tying beautiful wrappers and umbrella-like “geles”. Usually,
electorates are seen and regarded as the ordinary people who are not very
educated and addressing them in borrowed English is usually used by some
politicians to imply that they are down to earth with them.
And when you do some simple analysis, you will discover
that these electorates remain ordinary because of the activities of these
politicians who will never use their good offices to genuinely empower them.
And the irony of it is that these same half or none educated people see the
politicians who address them so scornfully as being sympathetic with their
course or as being down to earth with them.
One other intriguing moment caught my admiration during the
declaration. The NTA crew was at their best when they captured and synchronized
the wriggling of one madam, whom I suspected was our branding officer, and the
dismayed countenance of the first lady. I think, it was Samy Okposo who was
performing while one madam danced profusely to the rhythm. While the madam was
dancing, the NTA camera beamed on our first lady, Dame Jonathan Goodluck, as she
watched contemptuously as to the cause and meaning of these uncontrolled dancing
steps. I am not sure the President noticed this scenario neither did he observe
that first lady by his left was not comfortable with madam’s rendition.
One ridiculous aspect of Nigeria’s democracy is that a
President wields so much power that no one dares look into his face even when
one does not believe in him. And this derives from the fact that our system
encourages personal enrichment over and above infrastructural development. And
since the president has a strangling hold over who gets what, in defiance to the
constitutional provisions, he can squeeze an unyielding governor. Contrast this
with the American system where a Senator or a governor of state can go ahead and
challenge the President on virtually anything even within the same party. Where
the President is not personally powerful, he must be having the backing of a
very powerful cabal. So it is not surprising that all PDP governors have become
so stigmatized about President Jonathan who was, not long ago, one of them.
In all, I still remain adamant with my position that
President Goodluck will not do anything strange because, it is still the old
wine in slightly new skin or what I term Jacob’s voice in Esor’s body. If most
of the people who milled around him in the declaration arena are the very people
from where he will pick his team whenever he is voted into power, then we have
not moved an inch from our headache. And if we extrapolate by the open air
ramblings of these men and women, and their attestation that Mr. President is a
listening person, we will then come to a conclusion that our trouble has just
been re-enacted. The President who will deliver Nigeria should not be a
listening one, and if he should be listening at all, he should not listen to the
advice of the very irresponsible and inordinate people who have helped in all
ways in bringing and keeping us in this devastation.
Chris
Onyishi
Nsukka,
Nigeria
ctekchris@yahoo.com
Published
September 19th, 2010
