Tony Anenih’s tall order By Mahmoon Baba-Ahmed The Chairman PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih has requested President Goodluck Jonathan to express his opinion freely and frankly about his ambition for contesting 2015 presidential elections before or at the end of next month. “That, he said, “was imperative to give the party proper directive and set the agenda straight as the party, for the first time, has embarked on discussing its future.” What Tony Anenih and the stalwarts of his party are demanding is categorical confirmation of President Jonathan‘s implicit expression of interest that will convince party members about the “nature of their journey and where they will be heading to”, and “it is no longer right to say the time is not right.” The issue of President Jonathan’s interest in re-contesting the presidential election is not a secret; it has been a subject of discussion liberally at official and informal circles everywhere in the federation. It is equally well known that President Jonathan’s prevailing ambition to contest had been rocking the boat of the party with many members rigidly resisting him and others showing staunch support. So it is right and proper for President Jonathan to come out of his shell and declare his intention so as to save the party from unnecessary wrangling and squabbles his continued silence might engender. The question of Jonathan’s running for presidency is unnecessarily overheating the polity and polarizing members of his stressed party. In fact it has become a vexed issue hotly debated by those against him and his sympathizers. Now that the party’s chief oracle has spoken in a manner that implies consent, President Jonathan may be at liberty to act according to his conscience as the coast has been cleared for him. His antagonists within the PDP and rival political parties will surely be waiting to take advantage of that moment by exploiting his weaknesses. But President Jonathan has repeatedly said he is not presently preoccupied by that prospect, what is more important to him was the delivery of democracy dividends through the entrenchment of good governance. In his view any step taken towards premeditated disclosure of his intentions to run could be counterproductive. It could also slow down the tempo of progress and cause chaos and confusion in the management of the affairs of the country. In that case President Jonathan should be told emphatically that his decision to contest or not to run in 2015 will not in any way jeopardize political processes or disrupt governmental activities. Even now as he has not signified apparent intention to contest there is nothing to suggest that the country is not being administered without a purpose and is floating freely without being steered in a specific direction. Can everyone, therefore, argue that the prevalent apathy among the despondent populace; the pervasive corruption that bedevil the country and the incompetence of over bloated civil service are not unconnected with his inhibition to declare his interest for a second term tenure? President Jonathan’s contest is a matter that bothers his party alone, for it had been a divisive factor causing rancor and bitterness among its rank and file. Other parties are not anxious about that, believing that President Jonathan could be a powerhouse to the PDP, but to them he is no more than a burnt-out fuse. They fervently hope he will eventually contest so they could trounce him convincingly. Needless to say, President Jonathan had his eyes firmly fixed on second tenure since he was inaugurated in May 2011. That was because he had earlier tasted the trappings of power and was thoroughly ruined by its corruptive influence and now needs to eternally remain on its destructive path. Jonathan’s tenure has brewed nothing but tears and blood and many Nigerians expect him to decline any offer to run again. In that case the peace and progress he had been harping on could effortlessly manifest and promote the renewal of hope. That apart, Jonathan’s resistance to any form of temptation to run for the second term will foretell good omen for this country. Doing so will provide him with ample opportunity to plan and organize credible elections that will usher in a democratically elected government acceptable to all. In addition, that will also stall the development of the ugly trend within the PDP which strives on ethic chauvinism and religious bigotry, thereby prompting further bouts of crises that have threatened to overwhelm the country. President Jonathan should hasten to heed Chief Tony Anenih’s advice and respond in the negative so that the current debacle resulting from standoff in a bitter dispute between him and his belligerent handlers on one hand and some intransigent members of the governors’ forum on the other could be amicably resolved. The bone of contention in that prolonged vendetta is simply President Jonathan’s candidature for 2015 which the governors and majority of Nigerians find him unsuitable. Will President Jonathan therefore consider all the odds against him and reconsider his undeclared intention to run? President Jonathan may not find Tony Anenih’s request a tall order, he will certainly run, albeit tragically.
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 16:14:23 +0000
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