Connect with us

Opinion

How Southern hypocrisy will help Atiku to succeed Buhari

Published

on

CONVERSATION WITH AZU

AFTER last weekend’s primary by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s candidate for next year’s presidential election, political leaders in the South have been hurling abuses at the North for betrayal.

Two southern groups – the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, and the Middle Belt Forum – have led the charge. Beyond the tantrums, however, these groups have very little practical influence on elections or voting. I’m opposed to a system that despises its constituent parts as despicably as Nigeria has despised the South-East. I have said, without mincing my words, that the sudden awakening among anti-zoning elements that there is no better time than now for merit to prevail – as if any section of the country has a monopoly of it – is nothing but sheer hypocrisy.

For the sake of fairness and equity, the arrangement within the political parties that produced Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Buhari ought to have applied not just to the South, but particularly to the South-East, the epicentre of Nigeria’s political crime scene.

Read Also
Did Wike just run for president?
2023: Orji Kalu is insincere, dishonest, out to betray his people for selfish reason — Clark
Atiku’s emergence, affront on South — Southern, Middle Belt leaders

However, instead of directing their anger at Governor Aminu Tambuwal or the North, PANDEF, the Middle Belt Forum and other political groups that are aggrieved by the outcome of last weekend’s PDP presidential primary should face the traitors in their own midst – the governors and party leaders in the South, who rather than put their money where their mouth is, decided to settle, yet again, for the crumbs from the North’s table.

Dejavu

We saw that in 2007. After the Southern Forum, led by Governors Peter Odili, Chimaraoke Nnamani and Victor Attah, swore publicly, tongues sticking out, that it was time for Southern governors to close ranks for a Southern candidate to succeed Obasanjo, Odili wrote in his book, Conscience and history, that it was indeed Southern governors that worked the hardest to frustrate that aspiration, paving the way for Umaru Yar’Adua’s presidency.

READ  PDP CRISIS: Mark, Ayu, Anyim, Wabara, Gana, 23 other elders call for calm

It happened back then as comedy, but now it’s playing out again as farce. At least twice in the last one year, governors under the auspices of the Southern Governors Forum, which comprises the two major political parties and APGA, held meetings from Asaba in Delta to Enugu in Enugu State, at which they pledged to ensure that the Presidency returns to the South. In what amounted to the military equivalent of a mutiny, the Chairman of the Forum, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, said after a meeting in Enugu in September, that: “The next president of Nigeria must come from the Southern part of Nigeria in line with the politics of equity, justice and fairness.”

He added, for good measure and in spite of significant opposition from Northern governors at the time, that the Forum would not back down on its demand and praised his colleagues who were already implementing regional security outfits and anti-grazing laws, all tokens of a Southern resurgence.

Meltdown moment

On Saturday, the South – specifically the South-South -which has the largest number and concentration of PDP governors, had the opportunity to show that it could, at least, stand up for what it believes in. Sadly, it was, yet again, the South’s meltdown moment. Even if the party’s decision to select one delegate per local government area meant that the South had 357 delegates to the North’s 419, the treacherous attitude of Southern governors and political leaders guaranteed a Northern victory.

I don’t understand why Southern groups are crying a river, attacking Tambuwal and making empty threats to block Atiku. If their own governors could not shelve their personal ambitions and come together to back the region’s strongest candidate, why did they expect that Tambuwal, a serial political philanderer, will do it for them? Governor Nyesom Wike has complained that Tambuwal broke the party’s guidelines by speaking twice and campaigning after the campaign had closed. But that was not where the treachery started. It began with the hypocrisy of Southern governors and political leaders who talk an elephant knowing full well they won’t deliver a cricket. While Atiku was busy mobilising traditional rulers and religious leaders, calling in favours and laying mines to trip even candidates from the region who might stand in his way, with the full backing of Northern elders, political groups in the South were waging their campaign for the presidency through press statements on social media. The chickens have come home to roost.

READ  I am not aware of Atiku’s plan to contest 2023 presidency - Wike

It’s true that Nigeria’s abhorrent political maths leaves the South-East with the fewest states and fewest local governments as well. But see how the region which has justifiably felt cheated out of the country’s top job treated its own aspirants, sharing a miserable 15 votes out of 91, between two of them, and leaving the third aspirant with zero votes. The remaining votes were obviously invested in currency trafficking.

I laugh at the suggestion that what is left of the South’s misery would be saved by the presidential primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, next week. There is an anecdote that helps to explain why that will not happen. In the wee hours of Monday after the PDP primary, I got an unusual message. It was from a confidante who though not a politician, has exceptional instincts from his training as a mathematician and over six decades of observation and experience of Nigeria’s politics. “2023,” he wrote, “the jigsaw puzzle is falling in place.”

READ  Femi Adesina knocks Buhari’s critics, says they divided Nigeria with mouths

He was referring to an earlier conversation we had after the two major parties scrapped zoning – a convenient political arrangement that served and seduced them – and declared they had finally discovered political orgasm in merit. Once the pretence collapsed and President Muhammadu Buhari said tongue-in-cheek that the party chairman’s zone should not deter any presidential aspirants, my confidante said it was very likely that the two major parties would field Northern candidates.

Jigsaw puzzle

Atiku Abubakar is the first piece of that puzzle. It’s not outside the realm of probability that as the APC conducts its primary next week that Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, could be the second, final piece that completes the shame of Southern hypocrisy. And it would be justified, by Southerners no less, that the North- East and the North-Central are just as marginalised as the South-East!

Like Deng Xiaoping said in his famous parable of white cat and black cat, APC insiders have said the party’s main preoccupation now, is how to stop Atiku; that that is the reason why they attempted to drag former President Goodluck Jonathan into the race, to secure the South-South/South-East, and pair him with Justice Minister and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to corner the country’s largest vote bank in the North-West. The additional unspoken attraction, of course, was Jonathan’s single four-year term.

Let’s wait and see. If I were a betting man, I would wager that as things stand today, whoever emerges as APC’s candidate would hardly be a match for Atiku in next year’s presidential election. And Buhari, who would then be obliged to pretend that he is handing over with a heavy heart, would have nothing to lose. Like it was in 2015, it would be yet another gift from the South.

Opinion

Desperate Aiyedatiwa bares fangs inside Govt House chapel

Published

on

By

 

  • Appoints Self General Overseer
    Installs Indian Marabouts As Clergymen
    Stops Pastors from Wearing Cassocks

Nebuchadnezzar, infamous figure immortalized in the Bible, commands recognition as the Babylonian monarch whose relentless conquests laid waste to the temple of Jerusalem, seizing its sacred relics as spoils of war.

Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a great tree that shelters the whole world. But an angelic “watcher” appears and decrees that the tree must be cut down and that for seven years, he will have his human mind taken away and will eat grass like an ox.

 

The holy Bible generously describes and expounds a Chapel or Temple as the hallowed sanctuary of the Almighty. It is reserved for the reverential observance of sacred rites and solemn covenants deemed too divine for mundane settings. In all Chapels or Temples all over the world, these consecrated edifices are sanctuaries apart, shielded from the profane clamor of the secular world.

 

But an archetype of Nebuchadnezzar may have surreptitiously crept into Ondo without anyone noticing. While asking questions on what motivated the biblical Nebuchadnezzar to desecrate the holy Chapel or Temple of God, we are compelled to confront the actions of His Excellency (Hon.) Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa vis-à-vis the recent happenings inside the Government House Chapel.

READ  I am not aware of Atiku’s plan to contest 2023 presidency - Wike

 

In a bold and audacious move that is only comparable to that of Nebuchadnezzar, Governor Aiyedatiwa decreed that ordained priests, including Rev. Babalola of the Anglican Communion and Canon Enoch Adeleke of the Methodist Church, discard their traditional vestments, known as Casoc, in favor of resplendent native attire—Agbada & Sokoto—during sacred ceremonies.

 

This sweeping directive challenges the entrenched doctrines upheld by Orthodox Churches, igniting a maelstrom of doubt and apprehension. Many ponder whether this decree signals a bid to sideline and subjugate Christians within the precincts of the Ondo State Government House, potentially paving the way for the infiltration of unfamiliar beliefs.

 

It is important to note that the Government House Chapel predates Governor Aiyedatiwa’s tenure. It is equally worthy of note to state that none of his predecessor, be it an Executive Governor or Military Administrator, had dared to enact such a seismic shift from the norm.

 

The questions presently agitating the minds of Christians within and outside Ondo state is if the Governor would have dared to wield such authority within a Mosque?

READ  National Assembly sends 2022 budget to Buhari for assent

 

In response to this seismic upheaval, Christians across Ondo State and beyond are implored to maintain vigilance. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) must rise up against what is perceived as a grievous affront to the tenets of Christianity.

 

Adding to the intrigue, Aiyedatiwa proclaimed one fateful morning that he had been anointed by God to assume the mantle of General Overseer (GO) of the chapel. His subsequent participation in conducting last week’s Sunday service casts doubt upon his jurisdiction in matters of faith, casting a pall of uncertainty over Orthodox Churches.

 

But beyond this, the governor is said to have imported some strange-looking Marabouts to form part of the. An inside source disclosed that the men were indeed imported from India as part of a larger team of prayer warriors ahead of the governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress.

 

An elder in the chapel, who pleaded not to be named, said the governor has become paranoid about how church matters are are run in the chapel.

READ  Wike roars again, says 'I dare anyone to suspend me from PDP'

 

“It is surprising what is driving the governor recently. He is carrying out changes that are aliens to the order of service in the chapel. Recently, some strange people were brought into the chapel. Some people said they were part of of his prayer warriors. It was later that we gathered that they were from India. We have never seen anything like this before,” the elder said.

 

Continue Reading

Opinion

Ondo 2024: Aiyedatiwa gets desperate, dangles Port Ondo contract before prominent Yoruba monarch for presidency support

Published

on

By

 

  • Promise of 25% equity stake
    Desperate to meet Tinubu and Southwest governors for support.
    Top Ondo Obas frowns at the idea

Ondo State governor, Lucky Ayedatiwa has become hyper desperate ahead of the the governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) in April.

Inside sources have revealed that the governor, as part of his desperate search for the party’s ticket, has made the contract for the construction of Port Ondo as a bargaining chip to the Oni of Ife, his Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, to help secure the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR and the South West Governors.

 

The deal, according to impeccable sources, was brokered by the two prominent Yoruba politicians (names withheld) who had stood with Ayedatiwa in his recent political battle against his former boss and benefactor, late Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, CON.

 

Reports have it that, Aiyedatiwa became desperate after several failed attempts to get the President’s attention over his ambition. He reportedly ran to a former governor of Ondo State, who according to information, has become his godfather and Chief Strategist.

READ  PDP CRISIS: Mark, Ayu, Anyim, Wabara, Gana, 23 other elders call for calm

 

The former governor was said to have secured the assistance of an Osun State-born former Secretary of the APC. At the meeting, which was held at the private quarters of the Oni of Ife, he was asked to provide an opportunity for Aiyedatiwa to meet President Tinubu and the governors of the South West.

 

Among the issues discussed at the meeting was how to overlook Aiyedatiwa’s alleged ‘sins’ to Akeredolu, during and after his death.

 

However, as at the time of filing this report, some prominent monarchs in Ondo State are said to have gotten wind of the plan and are said to be spoiling for a fight.

 

A source, who did not want to be metioned, said the action of the governor is already causing a lot of anger and bad blood among the monarchs in the Sunshine State.

Continue Reading

Opinion

OF OTA-FRIENDS AND ORE-NEMIES OF AKETI- END OF THE EMERGENCY BEARD OF LUCKY AYEDATIWA

Published

on

By

 

By Sola Ajisafe, Esq

” The worth of a man is not in the vastness of his estate or the fatness of his vault but in the totality of his character and serenity of his inner being” – Anonymous

 

Last week, I called out our Governor about the whereabouts of his wife, our First Lady and why the “Oza room” had been empty. Nothing of note came out from him or his aides that tends to answer the relevant question. This is a common practice in the media orgy coupled together currently around the Governor. They will “leave ete to be treating lapalapa”.

 

Just like the ridiculous Press Statement about the clownish violence perpetrated on his other contestants during the President’s visit or the anti- Aketi executive poorly put together by Lucky. Wetin be my own? Today, my attention is to ask Mr. Governor ” Where is your Aketi beard?

 

The disappearance of Lucky’s beards is a significant pointer to how fake, unreliable and fluid our Governor is as a person. The open celebration and association with Aketi arch enemies, betrayers and discredited individuals in his newly inaugurated Executive is a pointer to what to expect in that government. Aside from a few individuals, that teal lack character and content. Anyway, (10) months no be anybody’s friend. E no dey play o.

 

Mr. Governor, it was not news that on your return from your long Abuja trip with your “Abuja activists”, the first thing Ondo State people noticed was that you have changed your looks and the Aketi beard had disappeared. If there was anything to point to the fact that the romance between you and your boss had ended, it was that change of personality. When on the day you addressed a press conference asking for forgiveness it was clear that you were playing with our intelligence as a people.

READ  Wicked neighbour: Ritualists murdered man six days to wedding, collect ransom, dismember victim

 

I know as of a fact that in Nigeria of today, everything is cruise, just like most politicians in Nigeria are petty traders. They lack originality, political ideology and are bereft of sound intellectual understanding of what it means to be politically straightforward and upright. They are duplicious in their actions and profoundly vague in their thoughts. They are not better than Aba/Onitsha or China ( Chinco) products usually referred to as ” baruf” (fake) during our secondary school days.

When the going was good

I said Nigerian politicians are cruise chasers. The current vogue of wearing Awo or Afenifere cap remains a valid example. At a point in time, every manner of persons adopted it as their passport to enter the progressive palour. As they come in many colours and shapes so are the baboon elements and their virtues. They only take to mind the shapes and the embossed scollopings. They do not come an inch close to what it represents. Many of them and the ” alright sir boys” around Alagbaka government house/office have the same mental attributes except that one give alms while the other takes. All na same.

 

Just like the Awo cap, some elements within the Akeredolu government picked up the tendency of wearing beards immediately Aketi came on board in 2017. Not long after some of them could not maintain the discipline and tenacity that came with having the Fidel Castro or Che Guevara beard. That was what Aketi carried as far back as his days in the University or shortly thereafter. Time and age enveloped it and turned it to a Father Christmas on him.

READ  BREAKING: Buhari meets Ohaneze, Igbo leaders

 

Our Governor, Hon. Lucky Ayedatiwa was one of those that started the culture of wearing beards like Aketi. He was helped by time and age so he does not have to add anything to make it white. Yet, “abinibi” is quite different from “ability”. While Aketi’s beard was custom made, those of the copy cats were as fake as the products of “Yaba Apa Otun, Katangua or Oshodi under bridge”where tokunbo clothes and materials are sold.

With Aketi’s beards
The story here is not just about wearing a beard to look like your boss. I used to pity these imitators in those early days of the Aketi government. They do not carry those beards because it fits them or that they were comfortable. They carried it to show off their loyalty. I have seen people move from one politically exposed person and one party to another wearing the badge of their loyalty like an insignia of office only to take to flight immediately something happened. I have heard people tell me ” I will read Aketi like a book for eight (8) years, only to take to flight having realized that the man is nearing his end. They divulged his medical history to his ” ota-friends” and ” ore-nemies”.

 

For instance, who would believe that Hon. Lucky Ayedatiwa will so soon return almost clean shaven from his haitus in Abuja without the ” emergency beards” that he wore so much and faithfully when he was stalking Aketi and his family to get political relevance. Immediately he got what he wanted and he learnt from the snitches who report every action of Aketi to him he “dis-beard” himself from Aketi and became the Lucky of the emergency activists both in Abuja and in Ondo State.

READ  PDP CRISIS: Mark, Ayu, Anyim, Wabara, Gana, 23 other elders call for calm

 

For me, loyalty is not something to be worn like a badge or rendered like a song. Loyalty does not mean you cannot quarrel or disagree on principle. It also does not mean you should be a slave. However, loyalty means “one for all, all for one”. When it’s comfortable or not comfortable.

 

Every leader and influential person must learn something from the life and times of Aketi. Human beings love what they can get from you. They do not care about you so soon you are no longer useful to them or you no longer posses the capacity to do things for them.

 

I call on everyone that still has a dint of humanity in them and felt a hunch for Aketi and decided to stay with him during his trying period and are been persecuted to know that a new dawn is in the offing. And for those who benefitted from Aketi but contributed towards his death by their actions and deeds or are determined to destroy his legacy or are willing to forget the good old days to note that Karma is a bitch and so unforgiven. Just take note of my words.

The disappearance of Lucky’s “Aketi beard” was too sudden. It showed there was no altruism in it in the first place.

 

Continue Reading

Trending News