Ostriches are the largest, flightless living species of birds that are found in Africa. They weigh between 63 and 145 kilogrammes and are 6 – 9 feet tall. When exposed to danger, the ostrich usually escapes by burying its head under the sand while exposing its huge body. This is called the ostrich game because the bird is notorious for disingenuously ignoring the obvious. Those who play the ostrich refuse to face painful facts and unpleasant truths.
If media reports in recent weeks are anything to go by, the same could be said about the attitude of President Goodluck Jonathan and his rumoured bid to re-contest his position in 2015. Otherwise, how else will we describe the statement credited to his spokesperson, Dr. Reuben Abati, asking Nigerians not to distract the President with 2015 elections? In Abati’s words, “President Jonathan’s wish to be left alone to focus on delivering on his promise of good governance and national transformation without unnecessary distractions must be respected.” The Egba-born trained comic artist turned journalist further dismissed the rumours of the President’s 2015 election bid as the handiwork of “political jobbers and their collaborators heating up the polity with baseless and falsehoods revolving around imaginary plans and schemes”.
However, can Abati’s words be trusted? He has consistently denied that his boss may be seeking re-election in 2015. But, how can we explain why President Jonathan is submerged in politicking even when several aspects of his political promises still remain in the pipeline? For example, Jonathan has been shifting the goal post in the power sector almost endlessly. He has neither begun the second Niger Bridge nor built the coastal road in the Niger Delta. Instead of fighting corruption the way he promised during his inauguration, he is rather superintending over distributional politics. Available reports indicate that corruption has grown in leaps and bounds under the present administration. The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, last week submitted a new report entitled, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012″ to the US Congress which indicated that Nigeria was found to be steeped in “massive, widespread and pervasive corruption” in “all levels of government and the security forces.”
To many Nigerians, the President has displayed outlandish hypocrisy that will make it almost impossible for anyone to trust him again. But practically, he seems to have unleashed his men to do everything and anything that will improve the chances of their principal’s objective which is to clinch the most coveted position again come 2015. As a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is the constitutional right of the President to vie for another term in office. Never mind that some quarters believe that he allegedly admitted to serving one term. That is at best a circumstantial political stunt which is neither here nor there. But, what many people are worried about are the tactics that he is deploying.
One of these deplorable tactics can be seen in his interference in the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. In the absence of a viable opposition and constructive dissent, the NGF is seen by many observers to have provided Nigerians with an alternative platform to debate national issues. Instead of stampeding the governors into “selecting” a leader on their behalf, Jonathan and his strategists should seek an NGF that is more open to the views and aspirations of the Nigerian people. He needs an objective channel to feel the pulse of the people. Deliberate efforts must be made beyond tokenistic “facebooking” and “twittering” to get feedback of his policies on the Nigerian people. That is the direction the President and his loyalists should invest their energies and not hassle to intrude into the right of free association of the governors. A viable NGF with a majority membership drawn from the ruling party is an added value to the Peoples Democratic Party and by implication Jonathan himself. Frankly, the fact that he convened a meeting last week, to push for a leadership change at the NGF, exposed his political apprehension and ostensibly heightened the suspicion even among the governors allegedly loyal to him.
One other blunder comes from the alleged interference of the Presidency in the affairs of the Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party. Since the controversial ruling that ousted the executive members of the state chapter and installed another, fingers have been pointing at the Presidency. Although some of these remain at the level of speculations, such “rumours” are very unhealthy for a President who is posturing that he is not yet thinking about 2015. The hasty inauguration of the new executive by the national secretariat makes many observers tilt to the suspicion that it was in obedience to the orders from the “Oga at the top”. Since the controversy erupted, the President’s minders and spokespersons have remained quiet, allowing Nigerians to rightly or wrongly speculate that such judicial banditry might have been part of a rehashed vindictive agenda, directed to whittle down the state governor’s influence at home. One will think that President Jonathan currently should enjoy some goodwill in Rivers State. Such goodwill could diminish if he (or his proxy) is seen to be meddling unnecessarily in avoidable political battles.
Which brings us to the question, how can the Presidency be living in denial? What are they afraid of? What are the achievements that this government can point to, that will make anyone vote for them again, peradventure the President puts himself forward for reelection? Are we going to rely on the sentiments of power shifting to the goose that lays the golden egg? Has that tale not become old-fashioned and obsolete? Is it feasible to continue to depend on the marginal support that comes from dispensing patronage to political entrepreneurs with a long history of subverting the will of the people? Can the Presidency sustain the current onslaught of harassing and hounding any person with contrary views until all Nigerians are instilled with fear? How long will Nigeria survive under the current democratic authoritarianism? The late Prof Clauke Ake eloquently described this as democracy without choosing.
Someone should tell the President that Nigerians have become wiser, or so it appears in the last three years. He may be the one distracting himself by chasing shadows. Whenever and if ever he makes up his mind, he should be told that what Nigerians want to see are new jobs created, improvement in their security, stability in the power supply, expansion in their infrastructure and enhancement of their livelihood. Our young people want assurances of a secure future through visionary and incremental development, not just promises.
With the advent of information technology, we now know the amount of money being siphoned away through corruption and many of us know the opportunity cost in terms of development impact. It is imperative President Jonathan now owns up to his 2015 ambition. It is his constitutional right to do so. He should push his programmes aggressively to ensure that there can be concrete deliverables from his 2011 electoral promises. He should sharpen his radar and break away from the walls erected around him by the real political jobbers and connect to the people who elected him in 2011. He must realise that he has become so unpopular even among politicians that he must be ready to make innovative compromises and incorporate those who will bring mileage to his rumoured ambition. He no longer has the luxury of time. In 2015, performance will count, not luck. Playing an ostrich game with his ambition at this time is strictly UNPRESIDENTIAL!
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