Should Jonathan Run for President?
Should Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, contest in the 2011 presidential elections? This is one question that has been on the front burner of national discourse particularly since the Presidential Assistant on National Assembly (NASS), Cairo Ojougboh, reportedly let the word out that the President was going to throw his hat into the ring. Even after Ojougboh was compelled to literally eat his words, the question has continued to hang in the air like a lugubrious cloud. Hairs are being split and feathers are being ruffled by Nigeria’s largely self-serving political elites who have elevated the issue to a national debate.
Ordinarily, the decision as to whether to run for a public office or not rests with the individual and, of course, with the political party to which he belongs. The question in Jonathan’s case is made more poignant by the exigencies of Nigeria’s weird leadership selection process which lays emphasis on geographical considerations rather than competence and capability.
The major plank of the argument against Jonathan’s candidature is that, being of southern origin, he stands disqualified by virtue of some zoning arrangement structured by the founding fathers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to which he belongs. This gentleman’s agreement is supposed to maintain political balance between the nebulous north and the disparate south but even the existence of such an agreement is in dispute.
Some leaders of the party argue that Nigeria’s political equation always rested on a tripod (north, east, west) and that any power rotation arrangement not based on that equation is a defective one. Others like the Chairman of PDP Board of Trustees, former President Olusegun Obasanjo outrightly deny the existence of any such agreement.
One of the proponents of rotation, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar stated in a recent interview which he granted to BBC that Jonathan’s candidature would cause “some political instability” because it would violate the agreement on rotation of the Presidency. But it was the same Atiku that schemed to unseat his principal, former president Obasanjo in 2003. It is a notorious fact that the indignities that he was made to undergo in a bid to placate and dissuade an ambitious Vice President from derailing the 2003 Presidential re-election campaign train made the dour faced general so implacable in his subsequent onslaught against Atiku.
In any case, if Obasanjo had joined his ancestors before the 2003 election (God forbid), would anything or anyone have stopped VP Atiku from assuming office as President or from contesting and winning the 2003 presidential election? So much for Atiku’s specious rotation argument.
Polemics aside, arrangements put in place for purposes of political expediency are not unusual in a democracy particularly in a developing country like Nigeria. But they ought not to be held so fastidiously as to impede the growth of democratic practice. Even with the presidency “zoned” to the south or west in 1999 and 2003, no zone was excluded from putting forward candidates in the PDP Primaries. Chief Barnabas Gemade and late Alhaji Abubakar Rimi contested against Obasanjo in 2003.
For Nigeria’s democracy to thrive, it’s facets must be allowed to blossom. One feature of democratic practice that is evolving in the Nigerian polity today is the concept of a “running mate” or “joint ticket”. The relationship between substantive office holders and their deputies or “running mates” whether at the level of the presidency, the governorship or even the local government is often mired in distrust and suspicion. A joint ticket presupposes unity of purpose and unanimity of a shared vision. So a running mate is like an alter ego.
Recent experiences of vacated offices – Atiku’s governorship in Adamawa State, Alamieyeseigha in Bayelsa, Dariye in Plateau, Ladoja in Oyo, Sambo in Kaduna and even YarÁdua’s presidency – demonstrate clearly why a running mate should be chosen with circumspection: a joint ticket endures even if the principal, for whatever reason, vacates the office. Even in the United States after which our outrageously extravagant presidential system is modeled, vice presidents that have had the (mis) fortune of their principal abruptly vacating office have gone ahead not only to assume the office but to seek to renew their mandates. The YarÁdua/Jonathan regime (now Jonathan/Sambo regime) cannot possibly have a stronger defender, a better advocate or a more logical successor to see their shared vision through to it’s conclusion at the demise of the principal than the deputy chosen by him – his alter ego.
Jonathan may have no choice than to contest the 2011 election. What would be his explanation to the international community if he fails to run? Do we need a global advertisement of our federal character, zoning, rotation, quota, and all other undemocratic and inequitable principles that have combined to facilitate the elevation of mediocrity and sectionalism in our polity? Are these not the aberrations that have worsted Nigeria over the years and reduced the celebration of our 50th independence anniversary to a commemoration of 50 wasted years of profligacy?
All said, Jonathan’s eligibility for the 2011 Presidential Election should be hinged on his performance in the next few months not on any other fortuitous consideration. Enhanced power supply, a new Electoral Act and improved security for instance, are enough to sway the electorate.
If Jonathan runs and wins freely and fairly, to God be the glory. If on the other hand he runs and looses, he should be magnanimous enough to accept defeat and congratulate the winner. Then he would ascend to the vacant position of the everlasting Nigerian hero or what the late man of timber and caliber, Dr. K.O. Mbadiwe would call an “immortal” on the Nigerian firmament.
Should Jonathan contest in an election over which he would also superintend? By nominating a dye-in-the-wool radical like Prof. Attahiru Jega as INEC Chairman Jonathan is making good his vow to ensure that our votes count in 2011. Will Jega, a northerner, rig out a victorious northern candidate to favour Jonathan? Very unlikely. Nigerians have confidence in Jega’s integrity and in his ability to conduct free, fair and credible elections. The president cannot and should not be seen to ‘superintend’ over any election. That would amount to interference with the statutory duties of INEC.
For most Nigerians, zoning, rotation, candidates whose only qualification border on geographical or ethnic considerations are not the issues of the moment. Proper preparations, credibility, capacity, integrity, vision, inspiration and ensuring that votes count. These are of greater interest to Nigerians now than PDP’s convoluted rotation or whether Jonathan should or should not run in the 2011 general elections. uchebush@yahoo.com; 0805 1090 050
