The president needed to do something firm and decisive, but opinions are divided over whether he did well by leaving democratic structures in place in those states, and not replacing the governors with sole administrators, who could have been retired military officers drawing from experiences in Plateau and Ekiti states, which went through emergency rule under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration. It was interesting reading the online spat between two prominent Nigerians on the matter.

Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, former Minister of Aviation, and Ovation magazine publisher, Chief Dele Momodu, were virtually at each other’s throats. Hear Momodu: “I wish to disagree with Chief Femi Fani-Kayode on his position against the decision of President Ebele Jonathan not to sack the state governments after declaring a State of Emergency.

The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not empower the President and Commander-in-Chief to arbitrarily sack a duly and constitutionally elected government in the states. The fact that President Olusegun Obasanjo did it with impunity and got away with it because we had gutless governors does not make it right.

This culture of rambunctious rascality and rabid vindictiveness cannot be allowed to continue. On this one, I support President Jonathan for not terminating the lives of elected governments in a Federalism.” But trust the stormy petrel called Fani-Kayode not to be outdone in such matters.

He replied Momodu tackle for tackle: “Which court said the constitution does not empower the president to suspend state governors? Which court declared Obasanjo’s actions illegal? Obasanjo got the necessary approval for his actions from the National Assembly.

Will someone ask those that say Obasanjo’s actions were not constitutional whether Obasanjo was there when all serving political office holders were removed in the Western Region when a State of Emergency was declared there in 1964?

At the end of the day, only one thing matters, and it is not my interpretation of the constitution or anyone else’s. What matters is whether this hitherto untested system of having a serving governor who has not been able to maintain law and order in his state should still be running it when emergency laws are in place. It will lead to chaos, abuse of power… confusion and more atrocities.

It will not succeed in stopping Boko Haram but will strengthen it and cause it to spread.” Where do I pitch my tent? With Momodu, of course! We leave the interpretation of the constitution to lawyers and the courts, but I think dismantling democratic structures in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa would have created a hell of trouble for President Jonathan, and heat up the polity to explosion point. He would have had more troubles to contend with, alongside the Boko Haram insurgency.

Borno and Yobe are ANPP states (heading towards APC now), and there would have been shouts of blue murder, that Jonathan wants to get the states for PDP through the backdoor. Adamawa is PDP, where the national chairman of the party hails from, and sacking the governor there would also have caused so much rumblings and rupture in the ruling party.

Beyond all these considerations, I think it would have been unfair to sack the governors, when they are chief security officers only in name, and the mechanics of control actually reside at the federal level. If anybody is to blame for anarchy in those states, it is the Federal Government that controls the police, the army, state security service, and other agencies, not the state governors, who are mere spare tyres in matters of security. Talking of the broadcast itself, did President Jonathan need to make it? I don’t think so.

Here’s why: what did he really say at the end of the broadcast other than that more troops would be moved into the three states? Not much. So, did we need a national broacast to move soldiers? No. As the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria said in a press statement, “There is nothing new in the President’s action.

It is more of the same: deployment of more troops to the affected states and use of tougher scorched-earth tactics against the insurgents.

In the first instance, this stepped-up militarization of the states amounts to asymmetric use of force in an environment where the insurgents operate within a civilian population, hence it will ultimately be counter-productive, as the death toll will continue to mount.” True. If I lived in Borno, Yobe or Adamawa, then it would be time to show a clean pair of heels.

Those heels would touch the back of my head as I run for dear life. Why would I run? Hear President Jonathan: “The troops and other security agencies involved in these options have orders to take ALL (emphasis mine) necessary action, within the ambit of their rules of engagement, to put an end to the impunity of terrorists.

This will include the authority to arrest and detain suspects, the taking of possession and control of any building or structure used for terrorist purposes, the lock-down of any area of terrorist operation, the conduct of searches, and the apprehension of persons in illegal possession of weapons.” What does this mean in ordinary language? License to kill.

The president has given our security agencies the order to kill and go. If I lived in Borno, Yobe or Adamawa, I tell you, my heels would touch the back of my head as I run. Our military is in a killer mood, now they have virtually been unleashed.

The ACN said since emergency rule has been declared, government should disband the committee recently inaugurated to initiate dialogue leading to amnesty. I disagree. We will still need to talk with Boko Haram before this insurgency would ever end. Terror activities have been stepped up in the last couple of weeks, even as the amnesty committee began to work. Boko Haram leadership should give the initiative a chance.

The truth is they will never be able to Islamize Nigeria. Neither will they be able to kill almost 200 million Nigerians. If they do so, who will they then rule over? Dialogue is still the ultimate end of this unfortunate situation we find ourselves in, and let both parties continue with the initiative. The Federal Government will not win through outright use of force, Boko Haram will not win either.

Why not then embrace other options with sincerity? I am glad that the president has said the dialogue option would continue, despite declaration of emergency rule. Back to the national broadcast of Tuesday, which was also carried by global satellite television.

A number of times, President Jonathan had gone abroad to say Nigeria was safe for investors, and that only a tiny part of the country was given to insurgency. On Tuesday, he unwittingly reversed that position.

Hear him: “It has become necessary for me to address you on the recent spate of terrorist activities and protracted security challenges in some parts of the country, particularly in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Kano, Plateau, and most recently Bayelsa, Taraba, Benue and Nasarawa states.”

Eleven whole states out of 36! Holy Moses! And you say there is still a cohesive country? If 11 states are, to quote the president, engaged in “spate of terrorist activities and protracted security challenges,” then what are we saying? What are we really telling the world? Nigeria is breaking apart, the centre can no longer hold.

And I’m not the one that said it, the President did. Hear the President again: “These terrorists and insurgents seem determined to establish control and authority over parts of our beloved nation and to progressively overwhelm the rest of the country.

In many places, they have destroyed the Nigerian flag and other symbols of state authority and in their place, hoisted strange flags suggesting the exercise of alternative sovereignty.” Did I say that? No, the president did. But did he need to say it, if only what he wanted to do was deploy more troops in just three states? No.

What he said is now reverberating in international circles, and those ones would be telling themselves that Nigeria is not safe, that even the president has said foreign flags have been hoisted in the country. “They have attacked government buildings, and facilities.

They have murdered innocent citizens and state officials. They have set houses ablaze, and taken women and children as hostages.” My words? No. They are the president’s words. And the whole world heard him. Was it necessary to de-market the country if the intention was just to deploy more troops? Not necessary. Those who wrote that speech for the president sure did him and the country a world of disservice.

Talking of emergency rule in three states, who says that is the only portion of Nigeria under such situation? Recently in Lagos, a local government chairman was kidnapped. Last week in Benin, the family of a serving Supreme Court justice was abducted. In the South-east, kidnap for ransom is a daily occurrence. In Nasarawa last week, cultists killed almost 100 fully armed policemen, and men of the secret service.

Recently in Amansea, Anambra State, scores of mysterious corpses floated on a river. Dozens die daily in Benue and Plateau states, Fulani herdsmen and farmers confront one another hourly in different parts of the country, leaving many dead. In southern Kaduna, the rivers have become rivers of blood, while armed robbers hold sway in many cities. When such scenarios pervade the land, people want to find safety in police stations and military formations. But what do you see in such places, which should be bastions of security?

Barricades upon barricades, bags of sand and stone piled on one another, with sentries at alert to ward off possible attacks. Security men themselves are no longer secure. And you think the entire country is not under emergency rule? It is, and no mistake.

The prayer is that may we never have cause to run helter-skelter, to the extent that our heels begin to touch the back of our heads. If somebody doesn’t say amen, me I’m saying it loud and repeatedly.

There’s no roasting this Rochas   

Last week, I wrote on the rescue mission of Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State. I did that piece in the innocence of my heart, based on what I saw in Imo State, not knowing that I was opening a floodgate from which all sorts would cascade out.

The noble, the virtuous, and the bilious. Come and see the reactions, a lot positive, very positive, and some very negative ones. Some people love Gov Rochas with passion, while some others would rather roast Rochas, and Femi Adesina along with him. Is it now a crime to write what you see? Must everybody see things from the same prism? Not by any means.

The reactions to the Okorocha piece would fill a whole newspaper, and we can only take them piecemeal. But by the time I looked at the percentage of the pro-Rochas respondents, and those who wanted to roast him, the former won by a landslide. There’s no roasting this Rochas, as the reactions show: Playing to the gallery I say it boldly that Rochas is a big disappointment to the people who rejected tyranny to support him in 2011.

I’m from Orlu senatorial zone, and since the first week of January this year when Rochas organized a lavish wedding for his daughter, till May 4, 2013, I’ve had opportunity of being at Owerri, Mbaise-Umuahia, Orlu-Akokwa, Orlu-Ozubulu through Ihiala, Okiwge, Anara, Nkwerre and my hometown several times and nothing seemed moving as is being presented to the whole world. If Owerri was cleaned up because of the May 6-7 events and the expectations of visitors, I do not think it is appropriate to use it as a yardstick of measurement to begin to eulogize the government, as if it is the best thing that has happened to Imo State.

There are governments that are steadily and truly transforming their states than whatever may have been done in Imo State since May 29, 2011 without any noise making.

The declaration of free tuition for Imo indigenes in all tertiary schools owned by the state government and the payment of whatever amount of bursary to them is just a matter of controversy, as it has only led to the reduction of the percentage of admission of Imo indigenes in such schools and has claimed its first victim in the person of the immediate past vice chancellor of the university.

The so-called 4th tier government is also what it is not. Anyway, Rochas will know how the people of Imo really feel about his performance when 2015 election comes.

An Igbo proverb instructively tells us that a man invited his friend to slaughter his goat for him, and after slaughtering the goat, the friend took a large portion of the meat and hid it inside his bag and left the remnant for the owner of the goat, and when he asked the goat owner whether he was pleased with the way the goat was slaughtered and with the available meat therefrom, the goat owner retorted that it was only when he invited him again to slaughter another meat for him that he would know whether he was pleased or not.

So, it will be in 2015. Imo people are very discerning and alert, as the rat does not take away the belonging of someone that is awake and alert.

And at the national level, Nigerians should emulate the Imo example of choosing a perceived or considered best candidate at material time, irrespective of the candidate’s place of origin, religious creed, ethnicity, colour and political party. Abuchi Anueyiagu, 08080242128, buchisbuchis@yahoo.com True radical change The write up is prophetic, analytical and laced with expectation. With the achievement of the governor in Imo State through the help of God, Nigeria will soon experience good governance.

Leaders are sometimes hijacked by pressure groups for selfish reasons. The few programs intended abandoned, the leader is thoroughly incapacitated. The few states that have experienced the true mandate of the people will serve as stimulant for true radical change across the nation.

Only time will tell. Dr Olayinka Oladosu, yinkalola85@yahoo.com I’m a witness Your column on the Owelle Okorocha of Imo is very true and commendable. I am a witness to all the achievements of the governor in his real transformation of Imo because I have traveled through all the places you mentioned in the cause of my businesses in the South-east. I hereby submit that Owelle Okorocha can be trusted with power, most especially at the national level. And I believe he will most likely be the first democratically elected president of our dear country from the South-east. Yusuf Umaru, yusufua1967@gmail.com He can go higher

The development of Orlu is still like a dream to me as I pass through there to my state. Rochas has shown that he’s out to develop all sectors in Imo State, not just the roads. Sometimes I get a bit jealous when I’m watching his good works on the television (“Yes, it is true!”). Although Imo people can’t wait to see him in a second tenure (come 2015), the non-Imolites like me wish he goes for something higher (at the federal level), so that we’ll all enjoy the dividends of good governance. Nelzonnacky Nelson 08182350872; nelzonnacky8k@yahoo.com Not yet Uhuru Imo people have suffered so much after Chief Mbakwe of blessed memory.

What they lack in good governance, they have in tenacity. If you pay a higher minimum wage but you stagnate workers, I do not know which one is better. I pray Rochas does not canonize Ohakim at the end of his tenure. Ohakim romanced with OBJ and failed. Rochas is now a groom to IBB. The only cult hero Imo people have had is Chief S.O Mbakwe. May God rest his soul.

He gave bursary award to students both in Imo State and in Diaspora. It is not yet Uhuru in Imo State please. Engr. Mike Akano. 08033748279, krismikas@yahoo.com I love him I have just finished reading your beautiful piece on the man I love – Governor Rochas Okorocha because of what I consider the wonders he is performing in Imo State, just like my state governor, Adams Oshiomhole. Quoting you, “I heard that while teachers in the state can murder anybody who speaks against the governor who has enhanced their status, the same cannot be said of civil servants, who feel he not given them enough attention…”

Please Femi, you need to elaborate on this. What do the civil servants want? What has the governor done for the teachers that he hasn’t done for the civil servants?

There should be some specific things mentioned for proper evaluation.  Dr. John Odiase, Benin City, odiasejon@gmail.com Big construction site Before the coming of Gov Rochas Okorocha and the people’s resilience in May 2011, Imo political space was enmeshed in political brinksmanship, propaganda and was buried in a blanket of absurdity. There was lack of direction displayed by Ohakim’s government- that it was easy to see Imo was going down real fast.

Two years after, I don’t expect Imo to be heaven on earth. But these two years of Rochas’ administration were sure better for the people because Imo is one big construction site at the moment. Moses Sunday Ajehson (Kubwa, Abuja), moskolo5590@yahoo.com Spurious passion The picture you presented about the present state of Imo is a far cry from reality. The people’s passion for Okorocha, which you claimed is still intact, is only but a spurious passion.

The crowd you saw at Heroes Square was small compared to the crowd that witnessed Ohakim’s declaration for a second term. But what happened later? He lost the election. On the issue of projects, did you verify the quality of works done especially the road projects?

Did you verify whether the award of the said contracts followed due process or not? You do not assess a governor by the number of sycophants that follow him everywhere he goes. Temple Dikeogu, Owerri, templedikeogu@yahoo.com With God on our side… Indeed Imo people have set a roadmap for the nation. All hands should be on deck to make our dreams come true. Let detractors wag their tail of deceits and threats, with God on our side, our will as a people must prevail. Thank you on your write-up. Dennis Chukwuebuka, Owerri, chukwuebukadennis@yahoo.com

A date with destiny Your write up on Okorocha was one of the greatest and emotionally laden essays of all time. Okorocha was a philanthropist before he became a governor therefore being by the side of the people wouldn’t be a problem to him. I love it when he said that he was not after the primitive accumulation of wealth; in a society where people want to steal for their fifth generation unborn not knowing that the greatest legacy you can leave for your children is the fear of God and good education.

Okorocha has a date with destiny. He will surely get there.Rev. Monye J Gold, masmovementnigeria@yahoo.com A man of the people I must say am very impressed with your piece on Gov. Okorocha. Being an Imolite myself, and also a student in one of the federal institutions in Imo State, I deem it fit to say that I concur with virtually all you have said. I have never doubted Gov Okorocha’s willingness to work, even though he isn’t perfect.

Howbeit, he is a man of the people. Ebukah E. Nzeji: 08064597815, ebukah10@gmail.com He’s an angel The only thing I know is that Gov Rochas Okorocha is an angel, a Godsent. I have always known that he will serve his people well, he still has a lot to do. He has six more years to fix Imo to the state of our dream. I have always supported him knowing full well that he will not disappoint. Imo must be better, long live Imo state, long live Rochas Okorocha. Iyke Kinsley, Ilorin, alfaiyke@gmail.com

Posers for Okorocha As an indigene of Imo state from Obowo, I know we have never had a selfless Governor since after Chief Sam Mbakwe. You should ask Okorocha why there is no functional industry in Imo State that can employ 1000 workers today. Why are all the industries established by Chief Mbakwe dead, especially Avutu poultry farm, reputed to be the best in Nigeria? Ask him what happened to his 4th tier government (an idea that cannot be sustained or funded). Ask him what happened to his free education up to university level, when the IGR of Imo State is deplorable.

The N4 billion security vote which he claim he forfeited, is it on paper on in reality, after all Obasanjo once told us he was paying house rent in Aso Rock of N167, 000 per annum, but nobody could prove that until he left office. You said it yourself that only eight Governors of APC were at the rally in Owerri. What happened to APGA and PDP Governors and their people on whose platform Okorocha rose to power? He is not a good party man. How can only Okorocha take Imo and Igbo people to APC for his presidential ambition? Politics of cult followership is dead. It is for those with a feeling of inadequacy who want to hoodwink the people.

Instead of renting crowd to sing his praises, let his performance speak for him. Do Governors Obi, Akpabio and Fashola dwell on cult followership? Yet they command national and international respect for their performances, even from opposition parties.

Ask Okorocha how many white men came to Imo State to treat a minor accident injury on their forehead? Is it a crime to have a world-class hospital in Imo State that can handle medical cases of high profile world leaders? How much did he spend on that unnecessary medical trip? If Okorocha’s “world class General hospitals” in the 27 local Government areas could not handle minor injury on his head, of what use is the hospital to the people with serious medical cases? Unknown to you, somebody who has pocketed the State Assembly can easily mobilize market women, jobless youths, hapless civil servants and idle villagers to sing his praises at a price.

These things are very common and very easy to do, so do not be deceived. Government by propaganda, intimidation, deceit, manipulation, double standard and lies, has been ongoing in Imo State. Okorocha will not be the first. When I knew where Okorocha was headed to was when he started fraternizing with Obasanjo who always graced his social functions and “praised” him.

A grand delusion of popularity could turn to a political liability if unchecked. The verdict is that Governor Okorocha has derailed, just like the rest of them who came into office on popular votes. A cut and nail administrator is not my idea of a good Governor for Imo people.

Anybody who cannot condemn all these dictatorial tendencies and executive recklessness is an enemy to Imo people. Darlington Agomuo, darl_orbitnigltd@yahoo.com 08022905726

I submitted that if change would ever come to Nigeria, the populace would have to learn lessons from Imo citizens, who peacefully but resolutely changed an administration they were tired of. They slept in the open, kept vigil in the length and breadth of the state, to ensure that nobody stole their votes. And their will and wishes prevailed.

I did not say much to Okorocha, the then governor-elect in that piece. I merely said: “My words to Rochas would not be today.

But I sure have things to tell him. He should know that not everyone that rode into power on the wings of the peoples’ acclamation is able to sustain it. Ask Isa Yuguda in Bauchi. May Okorocha never turn enemy of the same people who staked their lives for him. Amen.” I also said this to Okorocha then: “Serve the people. Rochas, serve the people. Again, I’ll say it.

Serve the people. And be decent to them. Be a servant-leader. Don’t ride roughshod over them, and they’ll eternally remain faithful.” Well, two years later, here I am, ready to speak, ready to assess 24 months of what Rochas Okorocha calls ‘Imo Rescue Mission.’

Has he succeeded? Has he failed? Or rather, is he succeeding? Is he failing? For two days early this week, I was in Owerri, capital of Imo State. Monday, May 6, was the second anniversary of the supplementary election that saw Okorocha into office, and it has now been dubbed ‘Imo Freedom Day.’ I was lucky to witness the event held to commemorate the day.

Next day, there was also a grand rally at the Heroes Square in Owerri, I was equally there. All these afforded me opportunity to feel the pulse of the people about Okorocha’s administration. I asked pointed questions, I also eavesdropped on conversations as people talked about the government. Above all, I went round Owerri, and even as far as Orlu, looking at projects embarked on by the Okorocha administration. Now, my report card.

I was visiting Imo for the first time in about three years, and my first surprise was the cleanliness of Owerri, the capital. Immediate past governor, Ikedi Ohakim, started the process with what he called the ‘Clean and Green’ initiative.

But after he lost power, the sing-song of the opposition had been that Owerri had returned to its filthy pre-Ohakim days. True? Not true. The Owerri I saw on Monday was spick and span. Squeaky clean. So, the propagandists should hold their peace on that one. I’m not buying. Okorocha rode into power on the wings of popular acclaim.

Has the pleasure cloyed? Has the passion waned? With the turnout of people at the WODDI (Women of Divine Destiny Initiative) Centre, New Owerri, on Monday, I think the romance is still hot. All the commissioners gave an account of their stewardship, and the governor took centrestage for a question and answer session. I was invited to be the moderator.

From the questions asked, and the responses given, you could sense the vibes between the governor and his people. It was a healthy one. Federal lawmakers, state lawmakers, top civil servants, royal fathers, the ordinary people, were all there. Senator Chris Ngige came, wielding his ubiquitous walking stick, and donning his trademark cap.

When the opening prayer was to be said, and he removed the cap, I could see his head shining as the morning light streamed into the hall of meeting. Senator Annie Okonkwo was also there, the new Deputy Governor, Prince Eze Madumere, a great organizer, was calling the shots, making sure things fell in the right places.

Perhaps the clearest indicator that Okorocha has not lost the passion of the people was the rally on Tuesday. The Heroes Square was jammed. About eight governors of the burgeoning All Progressives Congress (APC) were there, and it was truly the mother of all rallies.

The people sang, danced, and were generally upbeat. It was unfeigned, and they talked of Okorocha with true affection. You know when a crowd is rented, this surely was not! Roads, roads, roads. Schools, schools, (you need to see the new Owerri City School and 304 others round the state), markets, hospitals (27 of them, one per local government), and many others.

And you need to get to rustic, almost rural Orlu, the town with a historical name but with a disappointing stature. Orlu is being totally rebuilt. Roads widened, bridges being built, new local council secretariat, and a new City Gate. Could it be because Okorocha hails from Orlu zone? Not at all, the people say. Even in Owerri and Okigwe zones, the rescue mission is in full swing.

Talking of rescue mission, the governor told the people that what he had been doing in the past two years was the ‘rescue’ part of the assignment, now he wants to start the ‘mission’ component.

“People say I’ve been tarring roads, but I’ve not been tarring their stomachs. Now, I will tar the stomachs as I tar the roads,” he vowed. Imo has a state anthem now, a growing fad in the country. If you know the popular Christian hymn, ‘Jesus must be honoured, must be honoured, must be honoured,’ then you know the tune of the anthem.

There were lines that made my head swell, and rekindled my hope that all was not lost for Nigeria after all: “Corruption must stop, must stop, must stop, corruption must stop in our time. “Education must be free, must be free, must be free, education must be free in our time. “Imo must be better, must be better, must be better, Imo must be better, this is our prayer.”

Really inspiring! Nigeria is not completely done for, after all. There is hope in the horizon, with inspiring, selfless leadership. Now, hear this. To make education free in Imo, Governor Okorocha gave up his security vote of over N4 billion. He said the best security you can get is when people become your security.

Amazing! Why shouldn’t such a person get the support of his people, old, young, poor, rich, big, small? When the Federal Government prescribed a minimum wage of N18,000 monthly, he chose to pay N20,000. Why shouldn’t a man who touches the lives of ordinary people get support? He’ll get it, and keep it forever, except he fails or falters in his people-oriented policies.

Okorocha recounted how the recent accident that sent him abroad for treatment occurred. He had been inspecting a project somewhere, and the appreciative people milled round to hail him. One old woman removed her wrapper, spread it on the ground, and begged the governor to step on it.

He said he declined, but felt very moved, even to tears. “I told myself that I would shed my blood for the people, if need be. But as I sat in my car, on the way to another location, a voice asked me, ‘are you Jesus Christ? Why do you want to shed your blood.’ Less than ten minutes later, the accident happened.

The vehicle missed all the other vehicles in the convoy, and it was my own it hit directly. Blood was gushing from my forehead. I had to use the muffler round my neck to try and stop it. Later, I touched the spot, and I could feel my scalp. It was then I knew it was serious.”

At a private meeting later, I asked Okorocha how he had been able to sustain the passion the people had for him. He said: “The passion is even greater than it was in 2011. I keep asking myself, how will I be able to satisfy them all?

But they are pleased, they are happy. I’m not here for primitive accumulation of wealth. I’m here to bring change, to write my name in history like Chief Sam Mbakwe did.” Was there a pact that he would run for only one term? He said no.

Would he then seek a second tenure in 2015? “It is difficult to get out of the entanglement of second term, except I do what will make the people hate me. But I will surely run for something in 2015, whether at the state or federal level.”

Being a part of the two days of freedom celebration, I can surely say Okorocha has not disappointed those who heralded the change in 2011. Is he a perfect governor? No, I have not said that. For instance, I heard that while teachers in the state can murder anybody who speaks against the governor who has enhanced their status, the same cannot be said of civil servants, who feel he has not given them enough attention.

The governor, as father of all, and who should be impartial, should look into that. I recall that Okorocha was like a moving train before the election in 2011.

The incumbent then, Ikedi Ohakim, had imported former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, to Owerri, to campaign for him. The people pelted the ex-president with water sachets. Later, Ohakim brought in Dame Patience Jonathan.

The people were not impressed. The first ballot on April 26 was inconclusive, and supplementary election was fixed for May 6 in four local government areas, and one ward. At the end of the exercise, Okorocha won with over 45,000 votes. Imo today has exemplified what I have always believed about the zoning of political offices.

It can only last for a short while, till the spectre of domination is over, and leaders can then come from anywhere. See the scenario in Imo, a state standing on the tripod of Owerri, Okigwe and Orlu zones. Evans Enwerem, governor in the Third Republic came from Owerri zone.

He did not spend a full term, as the military truncated democratic rule in 1993. The next governor, Achike Udenwa, hailed from Orlu zone, he spent two terms of eight years. Ohakim, from Okigwe zone, finished a term, and wanted a second. But Okorocha, from Orlu, which had spent eight years through Udenwa, threw his hat into the ring.

And the people rallied behind him, shunning the sentiments of zoning for a truly popular candidate. And Imo is the better for it today.

Zoning is only necessary for a season, after which the process must be deregulated in consonance with democratic norms. As I wrote in the May 2011 piece, before change can come to Nigeria, we must learn from Imo people, who have shown us the way. Let me quote from that earlier piece once again: “What we saw in Imo from April 26 to the conclusion of the gubernatorial election last Friday is what can be called an alliance of the people.

It was a mass movement in which the people were very hungry and thirsty for change. Like the deer that pants after the water brooks, their souls longed for a new leadership, and they were resolved that nothing would hinder them.

Like a mighty army, they not only voted, but protected their votes. I can’t count the number of phone calls and text messages I received from Imo people, who voluntarily chose to give me blow by blow accounts of what was happening in the state, as the voting went on. From their messages, I saw a people primed for a new dawn, a people determined to change the leadership of their state.

Rochas Anayo Okorocha was like a cult hero, and making him governor was a task that must be done. “Imo people have set a standard for Nigeria. One day, true change will come to this country, but it will not come on a platter of gold. It will come because the people are hungry and thirsty enough for it.

They will police it, keep track of it at every point of the way, and not relent till they get to Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. It is possible. It has happened in Kano, Bauchi, Abia, now, Imo.” Yes, one day, change will come to these shores. I feel it in my bones. But it will not happen without us. It won’t come without a massive alliance of the people against our oppressors.

We will vote, sleep in the streets if need be, to watch over our votes, and refuse to be cheated by professional manipulators who get more adept at the game everyday. Will it be in 2015? Maybe. I’m game, are you? Remember, it won’t happen till we do something. Just like Imo people did. Let’s do it also, but on a national scale.

Boxing legend, Mohammed Ali, ever boastful in and out of the ring, usually said of himself: “I dance like a butterfly, and sting like a bee.”

Well, here is the story of a governor in Nigeria who also dances like a butterfly, only that I’m not sure he stings like a bee.

Early last week, I got word from government circles that as an Osun indigene, Governor Rauf Aregbesola would love to host me to a dinner party, to celebrate my recent election as president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE). I had met Gov Aregbesola at close quarters only twice before then.

In October last year, I had led a team from The Sun to interview him in Osogbo, and a month later, he had also met some editors from Osun (the State of Osun, as he now calls it) in Lagos. So, I didn’t know what to quite make of the dinner invitation, because I was still sizing up the governor, trying to decide if he was truly an Islamic zealot, bent on putting hijab on the faces of every female in my state, including students.

I also needed to know if he would compel every male to spot a beard before they got government contracts, as Sani Ahmed Bakura reportedly did when he introduced Sharia rule in Zamfara State. So, to Osogbo I went last Friday, accompanied by seven members of the executive of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, who are based in Lagos.

I am sure the two women among us, Funke Egbemode and Mary Ibiyinka Atolagbe, must have wondered if they needed a hijab or not, to complete their dressing, while setting out from Lagos. Weren’t they going to be the guests of a sheik? When in Rome, do like Romans do. But what we got in Osogbo was the complete opposite of what we had expected.

Rather than a subdued, sober and sombre event as often dictated by religion, it was a night of fun, gaiety and great dancing – led by the governor himself, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola. When the NGE team got near the Banquet Hall of the Governor’s Lodge, where the reception was to hold, the first surprise was the band of traditional dancers that heralded us. As soon as they sighted us, they broke into drumming and dancing, singing our praises.

Ray Echebiri, Editor-in-Chief of BusinessWorld, and a member of the NGE Standing Committee, said: “This one na big do o.” And it was. As the welcome party, made mainly of women, sang and danced, Egbemode and Atolagbe showed that they were also thoroughbred Yoruba women who knew their onions.

They gyrated along, with dainty steps, all the way into the reception hall. In the hall was another band, this time, made mainly of men with talking drums. They exploded into a staccato of beats as we entered.

It was then I knew we were truly in for a rollicking evening in the home of culture and tourism, Osogbo, capital of Osun State (or rather, the State of Osun). The deputy governor, Mrs Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori came in by 8.50p.m, and exactly ten minutes later, her principal came in.

Before then, I’d had the chance to meet a large number of the guests, who were people I’d known well over time. Two of our elders in journalism were there, Messrs Segun Babatope and Soji Akinrinade. They are both indigenes of Osun, and it was a solidarity I appreciated so much. My own very brother, immediate past-editor of Sunday Vanguard, now chieftain of Action Congress of Nigeria in Osun, Kunle Oyatomi, was also there.

He hails from Ipetumodu, just like me. How about other old friends I met? Comrade Amitolu Shittu, Kola Olabisi of Osun Defender, Semiu Okanlawon, Gboyega Labiran, and many others.

It was a full hall, filled with members of the Executive Council of Osun, religious leaders, market women, permanent secretaries, general managers, party chieftains, and even executive secretaries from the local governments. A prophet, it is said, has no honour in his home country.

How then would I describe what was happening? A Christian cleric said the opening prayer, followed by an Islamic cleric, and then, wait for it, a traditional religion adherent. Aregbesola de o! The man has come. I didn’t know what to make of it, particularly when the traditional religionist chanted things that seemed like incantations.

What would a Christian do, than to quietly plead the blood of Jesus! As we settled into the programme, the governor whispered to me: “I’ve read your column today. I have comments on it.” I’d heard of him, that he was a voracious reader, very conversant with the traditional and new media.

You always saw him with his ipad, through which he kept constantly in touch with developing events. When the jet of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State was grounded in Akure that evening, he was the first person to break the news to us. Hon Sunday Akere, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, said Osun was fortunate to have two indigenes in the NGE executive – myself and Funke Egbemode.

He added that Osun was naturally a blessed state, producing great men of God like W. F. Kumuyi, Enoch Adejare Adeboye, Kayode Abiara, and many others. “God truly lives in Osun,” he submitted. As we had dinner, the drummers and dancers had a field day. A troupe from the state cultural centre came in to perform. It was simply quaint, pristine.

And at a point, done with his food, the governor stood up to dance. You know Gov Aregbesola is not very tall, and was that why he could bend so low and do it like that? He would wind the thing, going down, down, down, and suddenly surge up again. “I dance like a butterfly, and sting like a bee,” Mohammed Ali would say. This was surely a butterfly.

When he sat down again, the governor whispered to me: “We dance everytime. We even dance at Exco (Executive Council) meetings. After we have met for many hours, we take a break, eat, dance, and then continue the meeting.”

When he made his formal remarks, Ogbeni Aregbesola revisited the dancing topic again: “Yes, this is how we dance,” he stated. “If we are this convivial, where then is the charge of Islamising Osun coming from? Strict Muslims don’t dance, they object to strings and bands, but even in Exco we dance.”

I remember that in the interview we had with him last October, I had confronted the governor with the allegation of playing up Islam above other religions, asking if he wanted to polarize peaceful Osun along religious lines. He had said: “If my brother, from the same uterus as me, is a Christian, and my sister, from the same uterus as me, is also a Christian, and I have not been able to retain them as Muslims, how then can I Islamize a whole state?”

In his remarks last Friday, the governor went back to that October 2012 interview with The Sun, saying, “the interview was well written, one of the best I ever had.”

Then, he continued with the dancing theme. “When we dance, it is not for vanity, but to let the world know that after the grit of fighting tough battles as we did to retrieve our mandate, times like these come. The struggle was tough, we were hounded, harassed, jailed, but we overcame.”

He spoke also of his worries for Nigeria, saying the country was close to failing. He urged the media to focus on things that would help save the country, “and give Nigerians things that will stimulate them for effective civic responsibilities.”

Well spoken. Dancing over? Not at all. The reception closed at 11.30p.m, and we proceeded to the façade of the Banquet Hall, to do nothing but dance. The band was called Aderoumu Onilu Gomina, and it was in its elements.

One thing I don’t do well is dance. Compel me to do it, I then do a few shuffles, and escape from the scene at the slightest opportunity. As Onilu Gomina opened the floodgate of songs and drumming, the governor, his deputy, the NGE exco members, all took to the floor.

I was next to the governor, and instead of dancing, I simply admired him as he would wind the thing to the floor, and then swing up again, “dancing like a butterfly” (but happily, not stinging like a bee). The marketwomen were there. They danced with the governor. Members of Osun exco were there. It was truly a jolly time.

But where was Femi Adesina, the man in whose honour the celebration was being held? I had found a way to escape from the dance floor, and began to enjoy the spectacle from a distance. Right was the man who sang: Boo le jo, sa ma mi. If you can’t dance, just sway to the music. And I did.

Re: I could have been a suicide bomber

Amnesty repugnant to natural justice Granting amnesty to heinous criminals could be allowable at times with genuine reasons.

But in the present case of Boko Haram sect, the Federal Government and all the people wanting amnesty should rather ponder deeply. President Jonathan should be man enough not to succumb to any blackmail to grant amnesty to Boko Haram. He should not be so desperate about 2015 and throw caution, decency, rule of law, to the rubbish bin.

If Jonathan truly loves Nigeria and wants us to believe his claim that no one can divide it, let him shun the lure of second term and follow the path of honour, integrity and true statesmanship by acting like General Abdulsalami Abubakar who shunned the lure of prolonging his stay in power, by ruling Nigeria for just fewer than 12 months from June 8, 1998 to May 29, 1999, when he voluntarily handed over the reins of governance to civilians.

Anyone calling for amnesty for Boko Haram either doesn’t love the country or is a pro-establishment person, government apologist, because of pecuniary reasons.

And I say it clearly that given the heinous crimes against humanity by Boko Haram, especially against the Igbo, any Igbo person that supports amnesty without full compensation to the families of the victims, is highly suspicious and should be considered as having no love for his people.

Someone’s place of birth is actually by providence and biological accident, and the person’s condition should not provide him an unfounded license to become a rascal, an irresponsible and unlawful destroyer of lives and property to constitute a big public nuisance. Whether anyone is brainwashed, deluded, misguided, hoodwinked, misled, brain-boxed, tricked, etc, it is not enough grounds for the person to become destructive of human lives.

Granting amnesty to Boko Haram is repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience. Abuchi Anueyiagu, 08080242128, buchisbuchis2yahoo.com. Very frightening Man is tripartite, made up of spirit, soul and body, relates with his environment biopsychosocially.

The interplay of both positive and negative forces operates upon his subconscious mind thereby producing the type of personality he or she becomes. Forces of evil, violence bitterness, hatred etc are key factors in moulding an individual. Information transforms, hence a suicide bomber is a product of information.

Where such information emanates from is the issue. Good governance may help, though but it is not able to uproot totally the issue of terrorism. Western nations would have overcome the bitter scourge of terrorism. Nigeria has not even tried to toe the line of good governance.

This makes terrorism in Nigeria a frightening issue. Solutions include: Sincerity of purpose, good governance, eradicating poverty, ignorance and disease, prayer for God’s intervention, forgiveness from those injured and the aggrieved. Dr Olayinka Oladosu, yinkalola85@yahoo.com

No fear of god anymore Environment influences character, indoctrination shapes behaviour; therefore, religious teachers must teach religious tolerance, not the gospel of hate that instigate the killings of people because of religion. Religion ought to save mankind, not kill them. These days, people don’t have regard for God anymore, that is why someone can easily carry arms and shoot at the worshipers of God.

I wept when I read in the papers that someone gave a used condom as offering in a church.  Boko Haram is not after the eradication of education. What they are after is the eradication of the evil they felt education brings because as far as they are concerned if they had Sharia law in a country of Islam that they dream of, there is no way they would witness the massive corruption that has reduced Nigeria into a crawling giant.

But one thing they still have to understand is that 90% of the leaders we have had in Nigeria were not Christians. Therefore even in a religious based country, a bad leader is a bad leader and would do whatever it takes to infuse his evil tendencies. Rev. Monye J Gold, The Mass Movement For Responsible Leadership, masmovementnigeria@yahoo.com Government of panels

The major issue with our government is the evident lack of political will to deal with challenges.  We have had several panels of inquiry on the ever-recurring Jos crisis, with names of influential Nigerians mentioned as master-minds.

You can rest assured that the reports submitted must have been thrown into the waste paper bag.  We are becoming a government of panels and committees. Patrick Azurunwa, patazurunwa@yahoo.com Who is fooling who?

This issue of Boko Haram is bad, no doubt about that but just as Mr President said initially, “you cannot give amnesty to a ghost.” We should not be fooled by mere sentiments. Give the sect amnesty and see if another won’t sprout. You cannot give amnesty to a ghost! Nelzonnacky Nelson; 08182350872, nelzonnacky8k@yahoo.com

You sacred me Initially, I was scared by the headline of your column Though I knew you were writing satire, the mere mention of the word ‘suicide bomber’ each time sends cold jitters down my spine. I agree totally with you that any of us could have become a suicide bomber, but for the grace of God.

The simple message from your article is this: Everybody must work together to stop the carnage going on in the north, particularly Borno State, and restore peace across the length and breadth of Nigeria. Dr. Victor Ike Oye, Umuahia, ochendooye@yahoo.com Cosmetic solution It is not right to sweep these things under the carpet.

They will rear up later, and in fuller force. Amnesty is but a temporal and cosmetic solution. It is not deep rooted and will only postpone bigger evil days ahead. Engr. Emeka Anike, 08023228100delucieme@yahoo.com

Wish you good luck It takes a certain level of desperation and justification to engage in kidnapping, robbery and suicide bombings. The desperation may come from feelings of absolute hopelessness when you feel unable to resist an overwhelming political inertia and corruption. It gets easier to justify such acts of total crime when you don’t see any other way of making a difference in this country.

Having said all of that, I think the theory should be historically expanded beyond the religious frame, and the reasons for suicide bombings. Femi, I wish you good luck if you later become a suicide bomber. Moses Sunday Ajehson, Abuja, moskolo5590@yahoo.com

Battle line drawn Subscribe to amnesty or lead the fight. Those who do not subscribe to amnesty are those who, no matter what, will never see anything good in Goodluck Jonathan. In such a case, they should be given the role to lead in the fight against Boko Haram. Of course, the battle line has been drawn. So let them fight and restore peace to the nation.

That’s all we want. Sammy D’great Samuel, Uyo, samuelsanctus@gmail.com Greater evil coming No child of God (born again Christian) can be a suicide bomber. You definitely can’t be one. You sound emotional; you shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord. We are in the end time, and evil must of necessity increase and multiply. After Boko Haram, a greater evil will still emerge.

This is because Boko Haram is one of the many sons of unimaginable corruption in Nigeria. Except you fight corruption in a ruthless manner, it will give birth to many more sinister children (Leviathan). We need a ruthlessly good man as President and C-in-C, the likes of Jerry Rawlings – men with zero tolerance for corruption.

Our own General Buhari is old and may have lost the fire. We need a young messiah; otherwise Nigeria will go into exile very soon. Israel went into exile severally before she eventually became a strong nation. Col RN Oputa (Rtd), regoputa@yahoo.com Not too late Anything that could bring lasting peace and stop the senseless killing of innocent Nigerians should be pursued vigorously, for as you rightly said, anyone could have been a suicide bomber. It is not late for the north to desist from their idea that one wealthy man in the community is doing good by feeding others without empowering them as is done in the south.

Education and empowerment is the key as the future is still bleak. Nkiru, nkyifek@yahoo.com Distorted theology What you wrote is so factual. The suicide bombers believe they are ‘martyrs’ and they are destroying man, the crown of God’s creation.

What a distorted theology! Obi Chukwukere, Abuja, chukwukere2008@yahoo.ca You couldn’t have been a suicide bomber I am very happy and really thank God  that you didn’t come from any of those troublesome places you mentioned in your article, if not, I wonder what you will do with a bomb in your hands, considering the great influence your pen has on several people.

To those either for or against the amnesty, I will like to state what Abraham Lincoln, said about liberty. “The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty.”

The northerners claim to be the custodian of Islam, but it’s unfortunate that many of them are illiterate, which makes it easy for them to be brainwashed. The Prophet of Islam, (S.A.W) laid very great importance on education. After the battle of Badr, the Meccan prisoners who could not pay their liberty, and the literates among them, were ordered by the Prophet (S.A.W) to teach at least ten illiterate Muslim children as ransom.

If President Jonathan should give the Boko Haram the amnesty, education should be made compulsory in that region, so that they can start reasoning independently rather than listening to the dictates of an illiterate scholar that gets them brainwashed all in the name of religion. Oyebanjo Ganiyu I can end Boko Haram in 3 months I disagree with you that amnesty is the next best option since we have not been able to beat Boko Haram completely, three years down the line. Indeed, I do not accept your opinion that the Goodluck Jonathan administration did well by  resorting to the amnesty option because the use of force of arms has failed.

For me, the real question is: Why has the use of force of arms failed? Why has the combination of the SSS, the Police, the army etc not succeeded in winning the war against Boko Haram? The answer to this germane question is the solution to the Boko Haram onslaught and not dialogue or amnesty for now.  I have the answer, and the solution to Boko Haram!

Honestly, I do. And, believe me, by the grace of God, I will end not only Boko Haram but  kidnapping and assassinations will become too risky and unattractive ventures in less than 100 days, if the president could trust me enough to accept my offer. How? I obviously cannot disclose how on the pages of a newspaper. As a matter of fact, I cannot even tell the security agencies.

Why? Because, the idea will be sabotaged for selfish  interests or parochial considerations. It is not something extraordinary, but just common sense and secrecy. How then can I proffer the solution? Simple. Somebody somewhere should believe my claim and love Nigeria enough to tell the President to invite me for a talk. He is the only one I will tell the solution. And even at that, the president must be ready to listen to me ALONE. No security aide will listen to us, not even the first lady will be a witness.

Why? Nobody, except the president and I should know of the tactics I want to employ until victory is won. And that is when we can then have a dialogue and talk of amnesty-after victory is won.  How I wish this offer will be taken seriously.

Tola Funmi, tolafunmi2004@yahoo.com Unique piece This article is unique. I spoke on the same topic recently when selected civil society organizations met with the U.S Ambassador. God bless. Olufemi Aduwo, National Coordinator, Rights Monitoring Group Quite on point My very best writer is again on point. Amnesty is the way to go to solve this unfortunate scourge called Boko Haram. May the Lord bless you and yours.

Sam Okey Nwosu No sentiment What an objective write-up devoid of ethnic or religious sentiment. Thank God you were born in your part of the country, so that we can enjoy your objective reasoning. Valentine, Asaba, 07030854976 Let’s redress the issues So many places have been bombed in the country. But can killing bring peace and progress?

No. Let’s redress all the issues so that peace and tranquility will reign. Robert Aguh, Abuja, 08034170555 Dangerous views You are pandering to very dangerous views. Accident of birth?

The same proprietor of this ‘accident’ also gave ‘culture’ a way of life. Nobody should justify evil for any reason. George Ibecheozor, Owerri I’m just confused I’m so sad and frustrated each day I wake up as a Nigerian. Our leaders lack vision, and the government is helpless on this Boko Haram matter. Yet the Supreme Court has ordered that MASSOB leader, Ralph Uwazurike, be tried for treason. I’m just confused. Chief J. J. Ibeka, Lagos Unjustifiable Can the loss of a soul by senseless attack be justified because one is misled? Don’t rationalize irrationality. Bertram We deserve amnesty We can’t negotiate with faceless group.

We deserve amnesty from you for expressing our opinions, if it is a crime. Okenze Romanus Amakor Yes, I could have been Truly, I could have been a suicide bomber, especially when I remember how some people thief about N1.7 trillion in the name of fuel subsidy. Emma Mbah, Abuja, 08034474210 Too good to be a bomber You, a suicide bomber? Not you. You are too good natured to be a bomber of men, but a bomber of pen and words.

Go on bombing with your pen. That’s what you are made for. Good write-up. 08083839654 Sweetest revenge You made me cry after reading your column. But I believe forgiveness is the sweetest revenge. Alhaji Danladi Yaro, Sabo, Ibadan Amnesty won’t do it Amnesty did not solve the Niger Delta militancy problem.

We only gave them money. Amnesty will not solve the Boko Haram problem. We will only give them more money to cause mayhem. Amnesty will not wish away MASSOB. In all these instances, they want nation states. Let us try and see the larger picture. Let us go our separate ways. The rot is too deep to heal. Pastor Frank Oputa, Lagos Won’t bomb my village Yes, I also could have been a suicide bomber.

But if I am, I won’t bomb my village, and I will accept dialogue, which will lead to amnesty. Engr Enn Anolue, Aguluezechukwu Waste of money Amnesty is for individuals or groups charged or convicted of criminal offences. Waste of taxpayers’ money. Biodun Ajayi, Umuahia If amnesty will do it… If granting amnesty to Boko Haram can bring lasting peace in this country, let President Jonathan go ahead. We need absolute peace.

Our people are suffering too much. Evang Charles C. Odo, Nsukka. 08062268899 Heartbreaking It is heartbreaking to pay people who have killed, and are still killing. It is cowardice, and will fuel anarchy.

Ndu, Onitsha Face the music Those soldiers who committed genocide in Baga must be made to face the music. Anything short of this will be scratching the problem on the surface and a time bomb waiting to explode. Kunle Sanni Best decision ever Mr President is a man with heart of flesh. He has taken the best decision ever.

But all the victims of Boko Haram must equally be appeased. Sir Goddyson, Bayelsa Dying for nothing Their teachers are not telling them the truth that is why they are being deceived to die for nothing.

We beg them to stop the killing and accept amnesty, or give the government amnesty. Emeka Umunnakwe Henry, Jos Soon to become history There is more to Boko Haram than we see on the surface. My joy is that one day, it will become history, as nothing remains permanent, and evil will never triumph over good. Uzomba Kanu J.

Not a bomber Thank God that you are not a suicide bomber, but a revered deacon. Jide Ojo, Abuja You won’t go astray For always saying the minds of the downtrodden, the God you serve will never let you go astray. Amen. Abdul More than Boko Haram President Jonathan says Boko Haram members are in the presidency, and the National Assembly.

The damage being done to the economic growth of the country by some people in the corridors of power is much more than the issues of Boko Haram. Mafe A. J Scared to death Our once beautiful and peaceful nation is in a horrible situation, and no one can really situate the problem.

I’m scared to death. No person should be eyeing 2015 until the future of this country is determined. Pastor Livy Onyenegecha, 08036174573 You pulled it off I started reading the piece with some trepidation, but I think you pulled it off brilliantly.

You conveyed the feelings of millions of Nigerians. Manjadda, Sokoto Irrational and brainwashed I believe suicide bombers are irrational and brainwashed. Tunde Oyeniyi, RCCG, Ebute Metta, Lagos The greater threat I think those that brainwashed the suicide bombers are the greater threat than the bombers themselves.

Those are the people that should be fished out. Edmond, Abuja Don’t placate the demons I disagree. If parents fail to give the right training to their children, others will make suicide bombers out of them. No one would make you a suicide bomber even if you were born in Baga, from what you said of your background. Let us not placate the demons.

Rather, let’s support the military with useful information to defeat the terrorists. Col Idris Danjuma (rtd) The way forward President Jonathan is the problem with Nigeria. God made him whom he is, but he has refused to acknowledge God. It is only Jonathan, not amnesty that will restore Nigeria, the wealthiest nation on earth. If Jonathan does not go back to God, Boko Haram, flood etal will only be a child’s play. David Azuatalam, david.azuatalam@yahoo.com

No way There’s no way you would have been a suicide bomber. I thank God who gave you Catholic parents. They sent you to school, where you were not taught that killing of human beings would make you please God. Solomon, U.C Okezie, 08032634142 Sobering Your piece was sobering and thought provoking. The funds spent on amnesty should have been used to provide basic amenities before now. Sammie Boat, Ondo State Stuff of legend Your closing paragraph is the stuff of legend. For me, it’s a rare privilege to have read this magnificent piece.

Thanks. General Kuvuky I disagree I disagree with your postulation that the suicide bomber is “as sane as the next man.” He is an insane, cold-blooded, hypnotized coward. Ikemba Obosima Agent of peace Your mien is too well-rounded to be a suicide bomber. You would have been an agent of peace.

However, the crux of the matter is that we leave our problems to chase shadows. We are enmeshed in bad leadership and election rigging. In an ideal political space, non-performing governments as we have been having since 1999 till date would have been voted out. Dr Omebu, Onitsha What we’ll be, we’ll be Jonathan had a shoeless background, yet he has a Ph.D today, and is president of Nigeria. The Boko Haramites are in it because that is what they want.

What we’ll be, we’ll be, background or not. Uzo Ibekwe, Awka I feel for this country Amnesty or no amnesty, slaughtering won’t stop in this country as long as the servants are armed, while the state is unarmed. I feel for this country. Daniel Our only country An eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind. If Christians retaliate, there won’t be Nigeria anymore.

I appeal to the leadership of Boko Haram to rethink and see Nigeria as our only country. O. N. Chukwukere, Abuja Balanced judgment Your writing smacks of sincerity and balanced judgment. Nigerian is a satanic amalgam of enemies by Britain (God will not forgive them) for evil economic interest. Boko Haram, MEND, MASSOB, etc will continue to torment us until we ilaterally decide to part. The best president is the one that will courageously superintend over the peaceful dismantling of this ill-fated entity. Michael Akunwata, Achalla

In short, where you are born is some sort of biological accident, as you have nothing to do with it. I was born to a father who was a school principal, and mother who was also a schoolteacher.

So, I had no choice than to go to school, and very early too. At nine years old, I was out of primary school, out of secondary by 14, and a graduate at 20. But nothing to gloat about.

These were all due to biological accident, as I didn’t choose the family to be born into. I could have been son to a shoeless fisherman in Otuoke, a cattle rearer in Daura, or a subsistent farmer in Barkin-Ladi. No man chooses the family, or the environment into which he is born.

I was born to parents who are Christians, good Catholics. I was even named Victor on the eighth day, by our parish priest. But did that make me a Christian?

No. I did not become one till 23 years later, when I voluntarily decided to repent of my sins, and start walking with Jesus Christ as my saviour. That one, I had something to do with. It was a free, personal decision.

Why have I inflicted this short autobiography on you? Simply to show that one has nothing to do with one’s early station in life, the family you get born into, your fortunes or misfortunes. The higher powers determine that.

As the Good Book says, there is nothing we have that we have not been given in the first place, including the place we are born into. I could have been born in Chad, or in Niger Republic.

And I could also have been born in the UK, in America, or in Afghanistan. I could then have ended up as a medical doctor, a lawyer, journalist – or wait for it, a suicide bomber.

Yes, you read me right. A suicide bomber. A walking ordnance, with bombs strapped to my body from head to toe, and looking for a target to blow to kingdom come.

The suicide bomber could have been me, it could have been you, it could have been anybody, depending on our background, and the influences that shaped our lives. Who is a suicide bomber? Or put differently, who is a potential suicide bomber?

Former American President, George W. Bush, had said, “those who commit suicide in their assaults on the free world are not rational.” But researchers have proved him wrong.

It is not always true that the suicide bomber is non-rational. Deluded, yes. Beguiled, brainwashed, hoodwinked. Misled. Misguided. But not necessarily irrational. In fact, if he uses his ideology, or even religion to rationalize what he is doing, you will be dazed.

Don’t you dare think those who bombed the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in America on September 11, 2001 were mere psychotics! Nor those who bombed the Pentagon, the Police Force Headquarters in Abuja in June 2011, the UN House, also in August 2011, the Catholic church in Madalla in December of the same year, and many others.

They were as sane as the next man, but just misguided, misaligned, maladjusted, thoroughly brainwashed. “I don’t know of a single case of a suicide bomber who is really psychotic,” said Dr Ariel Merari, an Israeli psychologist at Tel Aviv University, in an interview with 60 Minutes.

He added that the only seeming abnormality in a suicide bomber’s psychological profile is a lack of fear at the time of the attack.

Another expert, Dr Eyad Sarraj, a Muslim psychiatrist, added his voice to the issue: “Suicide bombers were very timid people, introverted, their problem was always communication…

They were not violent at all.” What is this really saying? The suicide bomber could be anybody, really, who has succumbed to the beguiling influences of a philosophy or an ideology. He is not necessarily mad, only hapless.

And that could have been you, it could have been me, depending on what we were exposed to. See how a would-be Palestinian suicide bomber, Murad Tawalbeh, whose bomb failed to go off, described the experience, starting with the moment his own very brother handed over the bomb to him: “He was giving me a ticket to heaven.

I took his hand and kissed it because he wanted to give me something precious. Because he loves me, he wants me to become a martyr… I was very happy… waiting for the time to come.”

But Murad’s explosives failed to go off. And he lives to tell the story. But he sincerely believes his brother who handed him the bomb did so, “because he loves me, he wants me to become a martyr.” What delusion! What psychological manipulation!

The suicide bomber and the falconer behind him are bad news. No decent society should tolerate them, as they leave sorrow, tears and blood in their wake, wherever they pass through.

In Nigeria in the past three years or so, they have despatched thousands to early graves, brought untold grief to thousands of others.

Yes, Nigeria sowed the wind, and is now reaping the whirlwind, but that is no reason to still justify terrorism and suicide bombing. Innocent people are the ones who get killed.

They claim they want an Islamic state, but thousands of Muslims are dead in the process. They started by saying they were avenging the death of their founder, killed in cold blood by the police.

Yes, the police did wrong by executing Mohammed Yusuf, leader of Boko Haram, when he had been captured alive and handed over to them by the military. But must the whole country pay for this forever? No. The urge for vengeance must be satiated at a certain point. Boko Haram is rebellion.

It is insurgence, it is even revolution of some sort. Yes, the military should crush the nihilism, extirpate it completely. But not even the military has been able to do it. So, what do we now see? Carnage bordering on genocide. At least 185 civilians were reported killed in Baga, in Borno State, early this week. Majority were women and children, who were not insurgents.

Yet they were murdered in cold blood. Amnesty International had said it before, that the Nigerian military was committing mass murder in the name of JTF (Joint Task Force) operating in the northern part of the country, particularly in Borno and Yobe, the hotbed of Boko Haram crisis.

Rules of engagement are no longer being observed. It is now rule of the jungle. For how long will we continue like this? Every soul is precious.

Those born in Baga did not choose to be born there. The higher powers sent them there. Now, they are dead in their hundreds, because of sheer accident of the place of their birth.

What a country! Sure, let Boko Haram be beaten, pulverized completely, and blown away like chaff. But it has not been possible. Several times, we had been given timelines, within which Boko Haram would have become history. None has worked.

The security agencies, particularly the State Security Service (SSS) have worked their fingers to the bones, trying to crack the riddle. The SSS has done quite well, I applaud them. They impress me. But then, Boko Haram is still here. What to do next? Since we have not been able to beat the group completely, explore other alternatives, so that the wanton killings can stop.

And then came in the idea of amnesty. I have keenly followed the controversy over whether Boko Haram should be given amnesty or not.

Those who oppose, I have noticed, do so from mainly ethno-religious sentiments, and a feeling of righteous indignation that you should never negotiate with terrorists. Yes, never negotiate. But then, beat down the terrorists.

Grind them to powder, and blow them away. That, we have not been able to do. And should the bloodletting continue ad infinitum? No. Our next best option is first dialogue, then amnesty. It is the duty of every government to maintain law and order, otherwise such government is not worth its salt.

The Goodluck Jonathan administration responded to the Boko Haram challenge as it should have: force of arms. But three years down the line that option has not worked. It would then be foolhardy to maintain the same course that is leading nowhere.

For me, I think the president did well by capitulating to the dialogue and amnesty option, considering that a couple of weeks ago, he was still boasting in Borno that you do not give amnesty to ghosts.

Setting up and inaugurating the amnesty committee, no matter what anybody says, is a step forward in engendering peace in the country. Those who oppose amnesty have their reasons. Good reasons. But which of those reasons equals to the blood of one innocent soul sent to a premature eternity?

And those people should pause and think: if they had been born in another part of the country, grew up in poverty and deprivation, had little or no education, and then came in contact with people who indoctrinated them into the values of martyrdom, would they not have become suicide bombers?

When you have no stake in society, you then have no interest in protecting the equilibrium and tranquillity of that society. Given a change of background and circumstance, those opposing amnesty today could themselves have been the suicide bombers. I could have been a suicide bomber.

You could have been one. Only grace, and nothing but grace, steered us in other directions. Look at this country. Look at the inequities, the iniquities, the barefaced stealing, the corruption. Don’t you get angry to the point of wishing we had shot some people to ribbons like J.J. Rawlings did in Ghana?

I know you feel that way. Then, it means you could have been a suicide bomber. The same emotion that iniquity and inequity invokes in you, is the same invoked in the person who submits himself to suicide bombing.

The suicide bomber has been misled, misguided, brainwashed. But we will not only seek peace with him, we must pursue it, since we have not been able to beat him down.

Boko Haram does not want amnesty. Its leadership says they are the ones who should rather give the government amnesty. Good. Whether government gives them amnesty, or they are the ones giving amnesty to government, one thing is sure: amnesty is a good way to go, as long as it will bring lasting peace. We are tired of the booming of bombs.

We are fed up with gory tales day after day. We are tired of carnage in Kano, in Madalla, in Damaturu, in Baga. No baga should tell us amnesty is not a way forward, otherwise we tell him to join the Nigerian Army, and lead the onslaught against Boko Haram.

Some others would say: you can talk of amnesty for Boko Haram because you, or any member of your family had not been killed. Yes, I sympathize with those who have lost loved ones. The amnesty package should also take them into consideration.

But if I fall into the hands of Boko Haram, and they decide to bomb or slaughter me, will I wail and curse? No. I will simply say: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Lay it not to their charge, oh Lord.”

Re: 2015; why they won’t let Jonathan be

Let his work speak for him Good piece as usual. Human beings will not stop amazing me.

They do not control time, but like to take decision that span years. What is life? It is like vapor that appears for a while and quickly disappears. If I was the president, my focus will be on good governance for the tenure already secured, and let my work, good or bad, speak for me. Indecision as rightly pointed out is an indication that if all things go well, the president will not mind to take a shot at the second term.

Dr. Olayinka Oladosu, yinkalola85@yahoo.com

Who says he’s not interested? I’m amused and amazed when people hide under the cloak of ‘not interested’ to deceive the undiscerning public. Who said President Jonathan was uninterested to run for a second term, but is rather being harried, badgered, harassed, importuned, pestered, persuaded, harangued, begged, pushed, name it, to run, when his men and women have already read his lips thoroughly, and very well understood and accurately interpreted his body language when he said four years wasn’t enough to make any fundamental change in the country?

However, whether Jonathan is being persuaded or not, one thing I would personally tell him and his men and women is that one good turn deserves another. But in this present case, there is no good turn yet as to deserve another.

And I would like to refer him and those egging him on to run for another term to a very instructive saying in Anambra State, which has it that “a masquerade from Abagana went to a neighboring town called Ukwulu and there the masquerade was roundly dazed by unseen forces, and when it managed to escape eventually from the onslaught, the masquerade was asked whether it would go to that town again. Its response was that it was yet to return from its first trip to the town, and was being asked if it would go to Ukwulu again.”

Nigerians are yet to come to terms with the present unsatisfactory administration and people are asking them to support the same person again, when all has not been well. For instance, what would the Igbo that were hoodwinked into giving him their full support in 2011 boldly show they have collectively benefited from the support they gave him? Is it the reactivation of the coal-powered Oji River Thermal power station; or the commencement of full international fight operations at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (merely in name); or the reconstruction of the Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt, Enugu-Onitsha, Enugu-Makurdi, Okigwe-Oba, Ihiala-Orlu-Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene, and Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja Federal Highways; or the second bridge across the River Niger at Onitsha/Asaba, or the Onitsha River Port? The counting is endless.

The Igbo that ceded their first chance in 2011 should rethink and make hay now while the sun shines. It is their turn to succeed the incumbent president in 2015, otherwise if it becomes inevitable that the next president must be from the north, as I always say, let us avoid sentiments and emotions, and support Buhari or any truly better candidate than him in terms of probity, transparency, forthrightness, uprightness, altruism, vision, and strength of character.

Abuchi Anueyiagu, 080242128, buchisbuchis@yahoo.com

When silence heats up the polity When can we have a president who is prepared, who has articulated his plans and programs and continue to drum them to our ears at least two years before election? Right from Tafawa Belewa to Shagari to Obasanjo to Yar’Adua, and Jonathan, they were never prepared but were persuaded to run, when others who displayed wonderful manifestos and showed preparedness were denied the opportunity.

That to me is the crux of our nation’s under-development. How can a sitting president not be able to know or tell us that he can finish all he promised us in two years and quit? Or that he would still need four more years to do this or that (that is assuming he has done any he has promised after he was persuaded earlier). The president should be told that his silence and Abati’s explanation rather than the opposition is heating the polity.

Nkiru, nkyifek@yahoo.com

Performance is the key Your write-up was great. Performance is the yardstick that determines the time frame of any administration. Clever politicians all over the world use the social media to check their popularity. Barack Obama is one of them. Conducting an opinion poll by proxy will aid decision-making and as well propel an administrator to work harder.

There’re some governors in the South west and South South of Nigeria that when their tenure lapse, if not for constitutional provisions, should they ask for third term they will get it. Rev. Monye J Gold, masmovementnigeria@yahoo.com We won’t let him be What Nigerians want is not who’s begging for 2015 presidency but who’s proactive in delivering campaign promises to the disadvantaged state. We won’t let President Jonathan be until he delivers on his promise of good governance.

Murphy Moffat, murphymoffat@gmail.com

My ear on ground Your reasons on why President Jonathan shouldn’t be left alone are quite obvious. All ears are on the ground to hear if he is running come 2015, including my own ear. To me, President Jonathan has not done anything tangible to boast of, if he decides to run. He has only this year and next to fix this country, if he wishes to be re elected.

If not, Nigerians will show him the way out through the ballot paper.

Iyke Kinsley, Ilorin, alfaiyke@gmail.com

Politics of the stomach Nigeria’s politics has a trademark hereinafter referred to as politics of the stomach.

This is a self-sustenance strategy that bears fruits in intrigues, perfidy, treachery, browbeating, cant, recantation, and flattery. Jonathan is somewhat groomed in all these, therefore his prevarication and sophistry about 2015 should not bother us. What bothers people like me is his performance index about the economy now to justify hitting the hustings and his probable political captainship of Nigeria beyond 2015.

Steve Okoye, Enugu, 08036630731

Give Jonathan amnesty Why is it that you see nothing good in a southern president? Give Jonathan amnesty if he has offended you in one way or the other. Israel Onah, Lagos Let him face the music

President Jonathan cannot be left alone since he remains the head of a government, which creates a problem with the right hand, and seeks solutions with the left.

Since the contradiction of the PDP Constitution about power rotation and the Federal Constitution has not been expurgated, let Jonathan face the music. R. C. Eze, Benin City Internal problem Whatever problem Jonathan has with the PDP is an internal one, and should be so resolved.

A proactive media would not engage in such matters to cause unnecessary distractions to the president, but suggest solutions to problems facing the country. If Jonathan decides not to tell Nigerians his plans for 2015, what goes up must come down.

People should just let him be. Lai Ashadele, Lagos

Jonathan ambition From when Obasanjo foisted him on us as Vice President, Jonathan had an obsession of ruling Nigeria for at least 12 years. His ambition is now second term of seven years. We know it. Ndiana, Uyo Enough sophistry! It is irrational to argue that since Yar’Adua died, the North must complete his term. It is like telling the next ruling house not to go for the throne because the deceased king did not last long.

Whose fault? Enough of this sophistry! Ntufam Attah Enwang, 08030408725 Enjoy the kite How can Jonathan be let be, when his body temperature is rising too early towards 2015? On January 1, 2012, he attempted to remove fuel subsidy. On January 1, 2013, his posters flooded Abuja.

His subtle silence amidst the tension generated proves he is fully enjoying the kite his footsoldiers are flying. They are his known agents, and he should first ask them to let him be.

Charles Otu, Abakaliki Our own Gorbachev? Mark my words. Jonathan will be to Nigeria what Gorbachev was to USSR. Why do we continue to walk down the same path and expect different results? My only foreboding is that the coming change may be cataclysmic.

Deceiving ourselves is what has brought us where we are today. We resist truth, equity and fairness. Nigeria will implode because of it. Pastor Frank Oputa, Lagos Rescue mission Dr Reuben Abati, hold your peace. We have already left President Jonathan alone. We now have our rescue party, APC, to take us to the land of promise. Chief J. J. Ibeka, Lagos All part of politics

The president has not left alone those that oppose him, like Govs Lamido, Amaechi, Rochas Okorocha, and ex-Gov Tinubu of Lagos. So, why would he be left alone? It’s all part of Nigerian politics, so let’s play it on. Dr Sam Ikedi, Enugu Man to beat Jonathan won’t be left alone, so by 2015, his achievements will campaign for him. Jonathan is PDP candidate for 2015.

Others should think of 2019. Hon Okwu Epuechi Things must change I’m waiting for the president to make up his mind so that I can choose any of the parties to contest along this time. I have delayed for a very long time, and now I’m already out. Things must change in this country.

We can’t continue like this. But if bombings stop, I will fuse my party with Jonathan’s. Pastor Livy Onyenegecha, Observers of Good Governance and Performance initiative, Mbaise Haunted forever President Jonathan will always be haunted by his denying PDP’s power rotation agreement, which he was a signatory to.

He will be remembered as one, who by his vaulting ambition, aborted his party’s ambition to rule Nigeria for 50 years. No amount of good luck will see him beyond 2015 as president. Oramah G. S, 08068945461 Another dribbler Never in my life will I trust another Maradona. Mr Dribbler. Alhaji Danladi Yaro, Sabo, Ibadan His body language Whether the president admits it or not, his body language since 2011, before his inauguration, had shown that he wants to run in 2015. But the ambition of one man should not continue to endanger the peace, progress and development of the country.

Mayor, Lagos Decide now! When preparation meets opportunity, success is assured. It is better Jonathan decides now, with convincing plans for good governance.

But he may not get our sympathy votes again. Eronini Nwankwo, Port Harcourt Those heating the polity Jonathan and his aides are the ones heating up the polity. For Nigeria to progress, we need a credible leader, with a total vision for the emancipation of Nigerians in captivity since 1999 till date. Dr Omebu, Onitsha Who is distracting?

My question is, who is distracting Jonathan? Another name for this government is distraction. Sankwai, Zango Kataf, Kaduna

Against the backdrop of overpowering insinuations and outright innuendos about his subterranean preparation for the 2015 presidential race, Jonathan pleaded through Abati: “President Jonathan’s stated wish to be left alone to focus on delivering on his promise of good governance and national transformation without unnecessary distractions should be respected.

Political jobbers and their collaborators in the media should stop heating up the polity with baseless speculations and falsehoods revolving around imaginary plans and schemes by the Presidency for the 2015 elections.”

President Jonathan’s stated wish to be left alone to focus on delivering on his promise of good governance and national transformation without unnecessary distractions should be respected? No, it won’t happen. The president won’t be left alone.

Not by his partymen, aides, the opposition, and not even by his own very wife. He will be harried, harassed, badgered, pestered, even importuned by some ubiquitous professional persuaders about the 2015 race. That is the way the political game is played in Nigeria, and the president’s own antecedent has made the matter worse.

How? Goodluck Jonathan fortuitously emerged as acting President after the death of Umaru Yar’Adua in 2010. It was the proper and constitutional thing to do. Later that year, he decided to run for president in the 2011 general elections.

It was his decision to make, whether to run or not. But there were moral issues, particularly the power rotation agreement within his own Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to which Jonathan was a signatory as number 34 (or is it 35 now). With his own hand, he had appended his signature to the agreement that power should rotate between the North and the South.

When that agreement was conceived and drafted, however, I am sure the likelihood of a president dying in office was not considered, so the variable that emerged in May 2010 was an unconsidered one. But it happened, when Umaru Yar’Adua died in office. Jonathan later decided to run for president.

The decision was his own to make, even though I wrote then that it may not have been quite expedient. However, where the president boxed himself into a corner was when he declared that the power sharing formula in PDP did not include the position of president. He did not need to say so, as it amounted to trying to twist the facts, trying to obfuscate issues that were crystal clear.

He ran and won, drawing largely on the power of incumbency. But one thing lurked in the background, and would always be there like an Incubus. This president is not a man that would swear to his own hurt, therefore, his promises may have to be taken with a pinch of salt.

If you ask me, that is one thing dogging the footsteps of the president almost two clear years into office, and that is why his declarations that he has not made up his mind about the 2015 race may not be believed. So, will the president ever be left alone on the matter of 2015?

No, he won’t be. People will sit on his neck, and generally follow him round with a Babel of voices. Run. Don’t run. Start now. Start later. Set up committees, don’t set up. That is how it will be till Jonathan makes a categorical statement on 2015.

A number of times, the president has said he was yet to make up his mind. Even in the latest press statement, Abati said, “President Jonathan has not yet taken a decision on whether he will seek re-election in 2015 and has therefore not mandated any individual, committee or organisation to start working on his behalf.” But that, in itself, is a problem.

Jonathan’s seeming indecision or quibble is a bother to a lot of people, including his own party stalwarts. If there was truly an unwritten agreement in 2010 that he would do only one term as president, then why the prevarification?

The simple thing would have been for the president to say; “sorry fellow Nigerians, I’d promised my party that I would do only one term, and I intend to keep that promise.” You know what? All the tension about 2015 would die down, particularly within the PDP.

But if you gave your word, and then you can’t publicly own up to those words, you create the platform for discomfort and suspicion. What am I saying? Does the law preclude President Jonathan from running in 2015? I don’t think so.

The Supreme Court will determine that, if the matter ever gets to the apex court, but from a layman’s point of view, I think Jonathan has every right to run. Well, except maybe moral. If you had given your word that you would do only one term, then, keep it by all means. Not being categorical about that promise is one of the reasons why the president won’t be left alone. Not by his partymen, nor those outside it.

When Niger State governor, Dr Babangida Aliyu, came out to say recently that there was a written pact that Jonathan would do only one term, the presidency came out smoking, saying such pact never existed. And in my thinking, it betrayed the president’s body language.

Why bother to rebut the allegation, if you really had no interest in the 2015 race? According to the president through Abati now, “Political jobbers and their collaborators in the media should stop heating up the polity with baseless speculations and falsehoods revolving around imaginary plans and schemes by the Presidency for the 2015 elections.” True? False. If there is any heating up of the polity at all, then it is caused by the perceived equivocation and suspected sophistry of the president on a promise he voluntarily made to his partymen before the 2011 polls.

Again, you know why President Jonathan won’t be left alone on 2015? Suspicion that he may even want more than a four-year term. Before his inauguration in 2011, the president had said four years was too short a term to make any fundamental change in a country like Nigeria.

Read my lips: I need more than four years. Then, he came with the idea of a single term of seven years, which a large number of Nigerians screamed blue murder over. The legislative arm of government has since shot it down.

But you know what the very idea suggests of the president? Despite proclamations that he won’t be a beneficiary of the deal if it sailed through, what Nigerians believed was that the president wanted to stay in office for 12 years minimum. One year to conclude Yar’Adua’s term, the current four years, and the proposed seven years single term. This may be a wrong interpretation, but that is the perception.

And like they say, perception is a greater part of reality. You see what can happen when you have wittingly or unwittingly created an image of someone who doesn’t keep promises? That is why Jonathan won’t be left alone on 2015.

Yet again, why does anyone linked directly or remotely with 2015 in PDP fall into trouble? Gov Sule Lamido of Jigawa and Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State were speculated to be eyeing a joint ticket. Since then, the two have not been able to sleep with two eyes closed.

They are beleaguered from all sides by virulent forces trying to do them in. Very suspicious. If PDP does not let the president be, why should the opposition? If they form a coalition as we see them doing now, is it not part of the political game? Or should they rather leave the turf for the PDP, so that the party gets an undue advantage over them? So, being pro-active demands that the opposition parties begin to move, if they won’t be swept downstream like the sleeping fish.

And by the way, if the supporters of President Jonathan are not quiet about another term in office for their man, why should the opposition be quiet? So, this matter of “heating up the polity” as claimed by the Presidency does not arise.

It makes the race for 2015 even more pulsating, more rigorous. And come to think of it, if a man wants to be president of Nigeria in 2015, and he is still ‘consulting’ by now, what kind of president will he be? Anybody that wants that position two years hence should already be clear in his mind, with plans and programmes clearly mapped out.

But the bane of our country is that our presidents are never prepared, they are rather persuaded. Pity! President Jonathan should serve Nigerians, and work well this year and possibly the early part of the next. By then, he has no option than to make his stand on 2015 quite clear.

But if he thinks he can clobber everybody into submission, close the political space like Olusegun Obasanjo did pre-2007, it is mere wishful thinking. The 2015 din can only go up in decibels, and the president must learn to work hard, despite the pleasant or unpleasant music.

Who was chairman of the event, and what did he say that provoked this piece today? It was former military president, Gen Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB). Hear him talk of House of Representatives Speaker, Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who was also at the event: “Let me salute my brother and friend, the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal for giving us hope and assurances.

His conduct has shown that the upcoming generation has the capacity to sustain the labour of our heroes past. When leaders like Tambuwal have delivered on their electoral promise, we advise them to try something higher. For Tambuwal, your guess is as good as mine.

Well done.” When leaders like Tambuwal have delivered on their electoral promise, we advise them to try something higher. What does that really mean?

Tambuwal is currently the country’s Number 4 man, coming after the president, vice president, and the Senate president. So, what is the higher thing Tambuwal should try, according to IBB? Senate president? Surely not.

Vice president? Most likely not. President? I bet! Yes, Babangida is saying run, Tambuwal run, run for president, and that in 2015. If you have been a regular reader of this column in the last 10 years, you will have known that I am not a fan of IBB. Surely not.

I believe the coup that brought him to power in 1985 was self-serving, and he truncated a regime that was more patriotic, and which would have served Nigeria a lot better.

After eight years in power, Babangida inscribed himself more indelibly in my Black Book when he annulled the freest presidential election we ever had in 1993. That cruel development set off the chain of events that culminated in the death of Basorun M.K.O.

Abiola, winner of the election, in military detention in 1998. So, ask for Nigerians who are unrepentantly opposed to IBB, and you can surely count on me. But then, give it to the man. He knows how to play the power game.

Ever calculating, he knows that to stay relevant in the scheme of things in Nigeria, he must be interested in, and contribute to the process of anybody ascending to power. Goodluck Jonathan’s emergence in 2011 was a freak, something caused by Umaru Yar’Adua’s death in office in 2010, and that was why IBB was not involved.

So, before the man would open his mouth to endorse anyone for an office, he must have weighed his options quite well. In 2015, Tambuwal is the man IBB wants, and whom he would back with his awesome wealth and influence.

Lucky Tambuwal! Babangida may not be able to get back into the presidency through the ballot box as he had always desired since 2007, but he can back somebody, and his influence would go a very long way. Now, to the man Tambuwal. Would he want to be president? He has not said so. But would he? I think so.

And does he have what it takes to be a Nigerian president? I also think so. Let’s see. He’s a lawyer, a seasoned politician and lawmaker, and a fighter. Oh, sure. Anybody who would get into any major position in Nigeria after the death of zoning in 2011 must fight for it. Nothing on a platter of gold any longer.

And that was the lesson Tambuwal and the North-west taught the rest of the country, when he ran as speaker in June 2011, contrary to the zoning formula of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The party had conceded the speakership to the South-west, but Tambuwal threw his hat into the ring, built a bigger coalition, and ran away with the prize.

Some Yorubas begrudge him for snatching what belongs to them. Me, I don’t. Why? Once the PDP refused to abide by its zoning formula in respect of the presidency, it could not pretend the formula was still alive. It’s as dead as dodo.

So, Tambuwal is a fighter, and that is an attribute anyone who would be anything in Nigeria must have. Again, Tambuwal has led the House of Representatives quite well. Two years down the line by June, and he has not stepped on any banana peel.

Even the Farouk Lawan alleged bribery scandal has not diminished the stature of the Speaker, as nothing has been traced directly to him. He has deftly kept the chamber happy and running well, despite the diverse interests.

A plus really, as we know how restive our parliaments can be. I have heard the speaker’s name linked with 2015 a number of times. I even heard that if the PDP refuses to allow primaries, and the ticket is given to Jonathan without a contest, Tambuwal may be the candidate of the coalition trying to register as All Progressives Congress (APC). True? Maybe.

Maybe not. But anything can happen in terms of alignment and re-alignment of forces before 2015. And then, can Jonathan run? Why not? The more the merrier.

I believe he has the constitutional right to do so. Anybody can run for anything in Nigeria. The minimum educational qualification is secondary school certificate (which you don’t even have to pass). So, run, Tambuwal run. If Jonathan wants another term, run, Jonathan run. If the Igbo nation wants the presidency, run Igbo nation, run. Let anybody run. The person that succeeds in building the biggest national coalition wins.

That is where we are in Nigeria today. Babangida chose the outing very well. A media event, where whatever he said would be well reported and amplified.

He also chose his words carefully, the dribbler in the mould of Maradona that he is. When leaders like Tambuwal have delivered on their electoral promise, we advise them to try something higher. He did not mention the ‘something higher.’ But we know what it is. Presidency, and no mistake. For me, the redemption of Nigeria is the main thing.

This country is in a mess – on all fronts. It is begging for redemption, for salvation. Does Jonathan need another term to achieve it? No law broken, except on the moral front, since he had allegedly promised PDP stalwarts in 2010 that he would do just one term.

Is it Tambuwal that will get the job done? Let him go ahead. Or is it any other person we do not know yet? All I know is that Nigeria needs to be redeemed. And by 2015, may we be able to say, “now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed.”

Easter is the season that marks the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of the Christian faith.

But was it a peaceful season in most parts of the country? No. In fact, with the news that assailed our ears on Monday, Easter was obviously marked with blood and gore in many parts of the country, showing that our country has descended almost irretrievably into the nether regions.

At Easter, particularly on Sunday, the very day of resurrection, hell enlarged itself, and scores of Nigerians plunged into it from different parts of the country.

In Ataka village, Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State, at least 20 people were slain, when assailants belching fury and venom attacked the Kaura chiefdom. It was sorrow, tears and blood on resurrection day. In Kano, that commercial city fast becoming a killing field, 15 people were despatched.

They included one soldier, and 14 suspected members of the Boko Haram sect. Fifteen souls, gone to a premature eternity! This one is sympathising with members of Boko Haram killed by soldiers, some people may say. Why not? Yes, when Boko Haram kills innocent people, I grieve.

And when Boko Haram members are also wasted, I sorrow. Deeply. “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind” (John Donne). No man should die cheaply, unsung, like chicken. Not the victims of Boko Haram insurgency, and not the insurgents themselves.

And particularly, not on Easter Sunday, the day Jesus Christ rose triumphantly from the grave. Is man not the crown of God’s creation? From Gombe came the news that two people were shot dead by gunmen, who then vanished like ghosts. I tell you, Gombe is another very deadly city now, where life has become nasty, brutish and short. The only difference is that killings in that city do not hug media limelight as happens with Kano, Jos, Damaturu, Maiduguri and others.

Talking of Maiduguri, two dastardly killings occurred at Easter. In the first case, a policeman was celebrating the wedding of his son, when gunmen came, and shot him dead. In the second, a teacher of Mass Communication at the University of Maiduguri, Murtala Muhammed, was outside his house opposite the campus, when he was shot dead by assailants who disappeared like ghosts. (That word again, ghosts. We will talk more about it).

At Easter, Plateau was not the home of tourism and hospitality it once used to be. It lost that status long time ago. When the world marked the resurrection of Jesus, at least 20 people were killed in that once halcyon state. In the past month, no less than 100 people have been killed in one form of reprisal killing or the other in Plateau State. Osun State? In Osu, near Ilesa, herdsmen killed two people, and injured four others.

Ekiti? One Ayodele Jeje was killed, and many skulls broken and limbs fractured, as political thugs of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), confronted one anther. On and on like that, you had blood flowing, covering the Nigerian landscape like water, at Easter.

Deaths upon deaths, at the season of resurrection! Death has become 12 for half-a-kobo in Nigeria. Cry thy beloved country.

My worry is this: do we know the enormity of the evil that has been unshackled in Nigeria? And does anybody care? Or are we banking on mere luck to see us out of it, since we are now a country that runs on sheer luck? Let me borrow the words of Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, to emphasize the magnitude of evil stalking the land. At the colloquium to mark Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s 61st birthday last week, Soyinka had said: “Let’s face it. This nation is on the brink.

There are those who don’t understand this, who won’t accept this. I feel very sorry that they will wake up one day and find out that we have fallen over the brink. It is not what we envisaged during our struggle for independence.

It is not what we envisaged when we struggled to overthrow dictatorship and install the rights and dignity of human beings in the society. But whether we like it or not, it has come upon us.” It has come upon us. This nation is on the brink. Words that send cold chill coursing down the spine. Words that conjure a sense of foreboding and presentiment! But does anybody care? Let’s give it to the security agencies, they are working their fingers to the bones.

The State Security Service (SSS) particularly has earned my respect in the war against terror. The agency has acquitted itself quite well, making admirable strides.

The military has done well too, though I suspect it goes beyond the rules of engagement in Borno and Yobe states, particularly whenever a soldier is killed. However, no matter what anyone may say, despite the occasional lull we witness, the war against terror is not yet won.

Not by any stretch of the imagination. When the lull comes, it is suicidal for the security agencies to lapse into a false sense of victory. That was what happened in Kano recently, when luxury buses were bombed at a commercial motor park, with all security agencies caught napping.

Before the carnage in Kano, a defence chief had said the back of Boko Haram had been broken. Then, the tombs were opened, the ghosts emerged, and struck with utter ferocity. Sometime in late 2011 too, the then Defence Minister had said Boko Haram was becoming history, while a military top brass even assured us that the sect was running out of suicide bombers (as if he was usually there whenever they held their meetings). Then, on January 20, 2012, Kano was bombed from one corner to the other.

The lesson? Eternal vigilance is the price for liberty. Never abuse the alligator till you have safely crossed the river. After the recent motor park bombings in Kano, SSS spokeswoman, Maryln Ogar, said it happened because all of us took our eyes off the ball. We were off guard, became careless because of the lull in acts of terrorism in the previous weeks. Well spoken, Maryln. But you know what? It is your job.

Yes, the ordinary citizen has a duty to give information, but then, if I go to sleep, you must be awake. When America was bombed on September 11, 2001, and President George Bush disappeared from public view for some hours, one top official later came to assure the country that the president was safe. I remember that one American retorted angrily: “Don’t tell me the president is safe.

Rather, the president should tell me that I am safe.” The security agencies should tell us that we are safe, and not attempt to share the blame with us when they lose concentration, however momentary. Senior Special Assistant to the President, Dr Doyin Okupe, said Tuesday that Boko Haram terrorism is dipping in Borno and Yobe states. Good news. But not cheering enough! There is usually a calm before the storm.

There was a lull in Kano, before the upsurge came again. And curiously, on the same day that Okupe spoke, what did Army Chief, Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika say? “As we speak, I am aware that Boko Haram is training somewhere. I am also aware that Boko Haram is ordering new equipment and planning new attacks.” So, who do we believe? Are we then not in bigger trouble than we think?

Are we not between the rock and a hard place? Are we not truly at the brink as Soyinka said? And will things continue like this? I like how Sam Nda-Isaiah put it in his column in Leadership newspaper this week: “Between now and 2015, what’s going to happen to us?

Are we going to continue like this? Who are those funding these murderers? And why is it so difficult to find this out? Are they fifth columnists or black legs? Or maybe they are just simply ghosts as the president himself would say.” Ghosts.

Back to that word! During his visit to Borno and Yobe states recently, President Jonathan said there would be no amnesty for Boko Haram, as you can’t grant such to ghosts.

At least 14 insurgents were killed in Kano on Easter Sunday. Were they ghosts? About 22 were killed recently when they attacked an army formation. Were they also ghosts? And the president once said they were in his own government, in the military, the police, and the judiciary. How did the president know, if they were truly ghosts?

Ghosts don’t have flesh and blood, Boko Haram does. Ghosts are bulletproof, Boko Haram is not! There are people who know Boko Haram, and can help initiate a dialogue. I mean real people, flesh and blood, and not those that government is plotting to hang by naming them Boko Haram sponsors.

Government itself once said such talk was going on through backroom channels, so were they talking with ghosts? Many people have urged that amnesty be granted to Boko Haram members. Not a bad idea, but I believe it must be preceded by frank dialogue.

Only after that can amnesty come. Jonathan spoke like a tough man in Maiduguri, but I know it was mere braggadocio. For all our sakes, for the sake of this rickety contraption at the brink called Nigeria, there must be change of tactics on Boko Haram.

Force of arms alone cannot do it, and will not do it. At Easter, I enjoyed the messages of goodwill sent to me, particularly by my Muslim friends. Yes, religion should never be a cause of hatred and bloodletting. May God keep us till another Easter. And may it be a different one for Nigeria.

Before then, may our country have resurrected from the dungeon in which it is currently consigned. Right was the man who posited that there was a country. Maybe there will still be one in future.

Lesson for T.A Orji

When I look at what is happening in Abia State, where a son is looking for the head of his father for sacrifice, I weep. If President Goodluck Jonathan decided to pardon his father who made him whatever he is today, I see no big deal about that. I commend Mr President for that giant step. Imagine same situation in Abia State, where the son is expected to show mercy but instead vowed to sacrifice his godfather on the altar of political wickedness. Let the pardon go round as I make a case for Al- Mustapha too. He must not de in prison.

Chief J. J. Ibeka. Lagos, chiefomereoha66@yahoo.com

It humbled me

Your column on the above issue humbled me. I believe strongly that Jonathan did the right thing at the ‘wrongest’ time.

Thanks. Yusuf Umaru, yusufua1967@gmail.com

Good packaging, wrong delivery

The pardon granted Alamieyeseigha is good, but the timing was wrong. If President Clinton could forgive his brother for drug related crimes, corruption in Nigeria is like drug cases in the US. Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, when he was the chairman of the EFCC, threatened that about 25 governors will rot in jail after their tenure. Today, Ribadu is seen hobnobbing with those governors he threatened will rot in jail. Ribadu with his holier than thou attitude, should seek forgiveness from Allah for the role he played in this case. He who comes to equity, must come with  clean hands. I support the pardon. Oyebanjo Ganiyu

Other ways to do it

In life, there are times and seasons, and it happens to us all.  Jesus Christ our Lord was denied mercy by the Jews, who instead gave it to Barrabas, an armed robber, and Jesus was crucified. Every criminal deserves mercy if he or she repented of the sin he has committed. However, if granting a man pardon could portray you and your country in bad light of supporting or encouraging corruption, then there are other ways to compensate him if you feel that he was your political Rabbi. You could have given him contracts but make sure he executes them, you could also appoint him unofficially to supervise some things on the home front. Should Jonathan visit Britain today or try to seek their support in one way or the other, with what face would he look at the Prime Minister, or even the Queen? Even Americans are frowning greatly over this gesture.

Rev. Monye J Gold, masmovementnigeria@yahoo.com

He did well

If I ever admired Jonathan, that time is now. He did well giving his one-time boss his life back. Why in heaven’s name should a man go on groaning under the vindictiveness of an ex-president who was also a beneficiary of the prerogative of mercy? Which state helmsman, past or present, has not misappropriated state funds? Why should this brand of justice be selective?

Of all the reasons advanced by the antagonists of GEJ on this matter, the one, which beggars belief, has to do with “negating the anti-corruption drive.” I find it so because since the inception of this republic in 1999,the fight against corruption has been far from genuine; it has always amounted to grandstanding and witch-hunting.

When Nigeria is finally ready to confront this menace head-on, the drive should be all encompassing, sweeping all retrogressive elements away. Until that time, hypocrites who deck themselves out in that holier-than-thou attire should keep their mandibles shut!

Oge Oputa Jr., darkone41519@yahoo.com

Saints in prisons, sinners on streets

Alamieyeseigha’s under-merited two years jail term was a blow to the laws of the land, and an encouragement to corruption.  And here we are with a pardon today.  It is an open secret that the pardon was spurred by the spirit of ‘what you sow is what you reap,’ and not necessarily of forgiveness.  Alamieyeseigha’s touch on Jonathan might be the real ‘shoes’ he had always lacked in life, so having his former boss with the stigma of jail hanging on him might amount to ingratitude.  With this development, President Jonathan has shown us the quality of his decision against corruption.  While numerous Nigerians who deserve pardon are rotting in prisons, accused of stealing goat or bag of rice, big time robbers are pardoned.  Nigeria is a country where ‘saints’ are in prisons, and sinners freely walk in the streets.

Evang Abuoma Chuka, President Africa Liberation Campaign Organisation.  08032713718

My heart bleeds

One devastating fallout of this Alamieyeseigha saga is that it now attracts so much empathy for James Ibori.  The Nigerian state has no cosmic right to continue prosecuting past governors and other accused persons.  To think that Alamieyeseigha is now a just man, as Ibori is incarcerated in the U.K for the same offence, makes my heart bleed.  I hereby demand that the U.K should immediately deport or assist Ibori to escape, dressed as a woman.  We have a government that has made a clear pronouncement that criminality must thrive in Nigeria.

Barrister F.O.A. Nwanosike, Movement for the Survival of Nigeria

I wept

After reading your piece, I wept for my country.  Our president has shown that he’s in full support of corruption.  Maybe tomorrow, he will pardon all kidnappers and Boko Haram members.

Mazi Dave Nwankwo, J.P, Port Harcourt

Two crosses

Alamieyeseigha’s story is that of a man carrying two crosses.  If he has men in high places to remove one, who removes the second?  He remains a wanted man in the U.K.  Nigeria is at the receiving end in all of these.

Ladesope Ladelokun, Mowe, Ogun State

Let’s set them free

Your piece is a hilarious lampoon of Jonathan’s gungho gift to his kinsman.  Let the president set all convicts in prisons for the offence of corruption free. Ayo Moses, Ibadan

I support the pardon

As Nigeria consists of ethnic jingoists, I morally support the pardon for Alamieyeseigha.  As Jonathan knows, Nigeria may kill you for doing a good job, and bury you for not doing it.  But the president should also pardon the late Gov Bakin Zuwo of Kano, who didn’t see any crime in millions of government cash being found in Government House.  A crowd now even asks that Maina be freed of N10 billion alleged fraud, because he recovered N250 billion pension fund.  That’s Nigeria.

Dr Chuka Nwosu, Enugu

Very disappointing

It is a thing of absurdity that our president that has been vowing to stop corruption could go behind and institutionalize it.  It is disappointing and highly disgraceful.  If Jonathan has intentions of coming back, he should watch his utterances and actions.

Pastor Livy Onyenegecha, Observers of Good Governance and Performance Initiative, Mbaise

Why not?

If Ojukwu, Gowon and Obasanjo could be granted pardon, and allowed to take part in politics, I wonder why Alamieyeseigha should not be granted also.  Enough is enough.  Jonathan has done no wrong.  America?  We’re not under them. C.O Ajala

Screaming foul

If the two ends of the ‘mercy package’, moral and politics, which Jonathan delivered to his former boss are placed on a scale, the side of politics will tilt heavier than morals.  That is why many are screaming foul. Nduka Udeagha, UNN

Just a tip

President Jonathan disappoints us daily, and makes us angry.  Alamieyeseigha’s case is just a tip of the iceberg. 08038742548

I’m surprised that people are surprised

I am surprised that people are surprised by Jonathan’s pardon of the former governor.  The president is not fighting corruption.  Alamieyeseigha may likely become the next chairman of EFCC.

Ndiana, Uyo

Indefensible pardon

In their desperation to justify the indefensible pardon, we have been told the U.S has no locus standi, since it is our internal affair.  Pray, on what pedestal did our president affect helplessness by asking the international community to come to our aid in tackling crude oil theft in his media chat on CNN?

Bomo Aprekuma, Port Harcourt

Three brands of mercy

There are three brands of mercy.  The first is natural, which arises without prompting.  The second is political, where though the malefactor is not seen to have shown remorse,  political considerations take the centrestage.  The third is the politico-natural mercy, which is granted to someone who fouled the law but the process leading to his conviction is pre-determined and selective.  Alamieyeseigha, therefore, deserves this brand of mercy because he was a victim of selective justice.

Steve Okoye, Enugu, 08036630731.

It should be post-humous

I think state pardon for criminal offences should be granted post-humously, to have the desired effect on the fight against corruption, especially in a country with debilitating peculiarities in all dimensions of its existence like Nigeria.   The Constitution would have to be amended to incorporate that provision, otherwise the fight against corruption would be a mere ruse, doomed to failure. Lai Ashadele, Lagos

No rights to question

Your piece was quite therapeutic.  Your observations will go a long way to help the president tidy up the good work he did.  Mercy, like grace, is boundless, and in the absolute sense, nobody has the full rights to question the giver of mercy.  If Alamieyeseigha is repentant, it will be a more grievous sin for anybody not to forgive him. Sis Rose Obioma Aniagoh (Mrs)

Harvest of surprises

When the sinners go marching in, it will be a harvest of surprises.  The people we least expect will be the special guest of honour in Hell.  And the ones we underrate will wear golden crown in the Kingdom of God.

Noah S. Ondachi

Lost for words

‘Between mercy and judgment’ made good reading.  I was lost for words.

Sammie Boat, Ondo State

Belief rekindled

After reading your piece, my belief in a redeemable Nigeria was rekindled.  Jonathan has done a lot of damage to our psyche, it is high time we cautioned this president on his questionable decisions.

Udo Ohanele, Abuja

If it was in China…

I expect Jonathan to apologise.  I don’t believe in the presidential pardon.  The man stole and was caught.  If it was in China, his head would have been off.  Will Jonathan then go and replace it?  This whole place is stinking with corruption. Mafe A. J.

Let corruption continue

This is a government of absurdity.  They live in it everyday.  They have pardoned one of their own, let corruption continue to have its way.

Valentine, Asaba, 07030854976

I’ve lost confidence

Since the day of the pardon, I lost confidence in Jonathan’s claim of fighting corruption.  My heart is embittered.  How can a pickpocket who stole N100 be in jail, while the man who stole billions is free?  No amount of mercy will make God do injustice. Ikeh Ejidike

He did what he thought was good

The constitution invests enormous powers on the president.  He wields such powers at his discretion.  In the recent pardon, the president did what he thought was good for his sake and that of the nation.

Eronini Nwankwo, Port Harcourt

What ‘Oga at the top’ should do

I think Oga at the top should pardon Lawrence Anini too.

Barrister Elendu

Extend the pardon

Let the president pardon all armed robbers.  They are human beings too.

Alhaji Danladi Yaro, Sabo, Ibadan

It doesn’t matter

If mercy is an attribute of God, and Jonathan showed it to his former boss, it is no longer material whether the pardon is shown now or towards the end of Jonathan’s tenure.  The purpose of mercy will be defeated if it is meant for those who have done right as you suggest.  Jesus Christ did not find any righteousness in the woman caught in adultery before He showed her mercy. Barrister Adebayo Bello

No justification at all

President Jonathan has no justification to grant that pardon at all.  Every child in this country knows how much one pound is, when converted to naira.  And Alamieyeseigha carried one million pounds on him, and another 1.8 million pounds in his account.  And then state pardon?  Just because Jonathan wants a second term?  What is the president teaching millions of unemployed people reaming our streets?  I pity my country.

Chief Alex I.D Igwemma, Onitsha

Pure hypocrisy!

You do not pardon a saint, but a sinner.  Alamieyeseigha is an ex-convict that is why the state has pardoned him.  And for those righteous men condemning Jonathan, let them remember that God will only forgive our sins when we have forgiven others.  Ironically, some of those criticising are asking for amnesty for Boko Haram.  Pure hypocrisy! E. Achinivu

Right and wrong

Jonathan was right, but the timing was wrong.  Your column was rich.

Okoro C., Nnewi

Heavens won’t fall

In a government of thieves, bandits and rogues, I find it difficult to single out only one person and label him thief.  Jonathan has done what he has done, and the heavens won’t fall.  How come we expect him to deviate from the impunity that has become vogue in this country?  Impunity walks everywhere.  Let it reign, nothing will happen. Pastor Frank Oputa

Opposition camp

Most people criticizing this noble pardon by Mr President are from the opposition camp, so positive thinking and judgment can never come from them. Engr Enn Anolue, Aguata, Aguluezechukwu

None is free

I hate corruption, but pardoning Alamieyeseigha is not my problem.  Has he pardoned himself?  Is he ready to go and sin no more?  God is merciful, we his children should always show mercy because none is free from sin. 08068513648, from Abia

Nothing but the truth

Well said.  You have only restated the truth, the same truth the Holy Book enjoined us to always know, so that our soul can be set free.  Furthermore, you can only know and appreciate the truth from provoking and choking falsehood in our land and governance. Fred Agbaje Esq, Lagos

How simplistic!

Suddenly, all opposition politicians, civil rights groups, etc are saying Alamieyeseigha’s pardon will derail the war against corruption.  How simplistic!  One man’s pardon, and the war crashes?  The usual Nigeria style of holding on to one issue and making mountain out of it.  The president did no wrong. Dan Williams, Benin

What else?

What is wrong in pardoning a man who had been jailed, freed, and had his properties confiscated?  What further price do we want him to pay?

Okey Frank, Abuja

The list of the pardoned people was sprinkled with some former military officers convicted of coup plotting: Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (post-humous) Major-General Abdulkareem Adisa (post-humous) and General Oladipo Diya, former Chief of General Staff. Understandably, D.S.P Alamieyeseigha dominated the impassioned discussion more than any other, because he was a governor, a servant of the people at the time he was caught and charged with money laundering in the United Kingdom.

The then Bayelsa State governor had been arrested in London with the sum of one million pounds on him, and another 1.8 million pounds was later traced to his account.

It was the proceeds of daylight robbery, pure and simple. We know the story. Alamieyeseigha jumped bail and found his way back to Nigeria. He resumed his position as governor, but was eventually impeached by the State House of Assembly.

He was frog-marched before the courts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), where he eventually pleaded guilty and was convicted. He lost properties to the Federal and Bayelsa State government, both at home and abroad.

All these happened less than eight years ago. Under the umbrella of the Council of State (which some people say was a mere smokescreen) President Goodluck Jonathan granted pardon to Alamieyeseigha last week. Ironically, Jonathan had ascended to the position of Bayelsa State governor after Alamieyeseiya’s impeachment, in consonance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

He later went on to become Vice President, and now President. Did Jonathan do right to have pardoned his former boss? Did he do wrong? Opinions differ, and have been animated, heated and inflamed. Even the United States of America joined the fray, saying it was “deeply disappointed over the recent pardons of corrupt officials by the government of Nigeria.”

And trust Nigerians, they have taken positions depending on regional and sectional considerations. A good number of people from the South-south have spoken in favour of the pardon, while others from other parts of the country see it differently. A number of justifications have been whipped up by the Alamieyeseigha sympathisers. He has been convicted, served term, forfeited properties, and is now repentant.

Justice is not meant to ostracize a man forever, but to reform him once he is penitent. The president swore to uphold the constitution, which gives him power to exercise the prerogative of mercy, so he did not do anything outside his powers. The due process of the law was not fully followed in getting Alamieyeseigha out of power by the EFCC, so it is only just that he be pardoned (But why not return him to power to complete his term as Bayelsa governor?). It was Niger Delta money he stole, and Niger Deltans have forgiven him.

And many others, including the downright ridiculous, the fatuous, and the otiose! Alamieyeseigha stole Niger Delta money, and the people of the region have forgiven him. Really? When was a plebiscite conducted to determine that? And if he stole Niger Delta money, then didn’t he contribute to the privations in which the region found itself, and in which it is still marooned today? What a way to reason!

But that is not the thrust of this piece. The intention is really to appraise the ensuing conflicts between the demands of mercy as enshrined in the major religions of the world, and the need for judgment that is fair and firm.

Most major religions espouse the need for mercy. In fact, they all have what is often called the Mercy Rule (or the Golden Rule). Christianity: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Islam: “Do unto all people as you would they should do to you.” Hinduism: “Never do to others what would pain you.” Buddhism: “Hurt not others with that which hurts yourself.”

Confucianism: “Do not impose on others what you do not yourself desire.” Taoism: “Regard your neighbour’s loss or gain as your own loss or gain.” Bahai: “Desire not for anyone the things you would not desire for yours.” Judaism: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour.” Sikhism: “Treat others as you would be treated yourself.” What we glean from these is that God, whom most religions attempt to point humanity to, is full of mercy and love. He wants you to deal a fair hand all the time. He is full of grace and mercy. Christianity, with which I’m fairly familiar, in fact rates mercy over judgment. “Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement. James 2:13” (New International Version).

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Matthew 5:7.” Do you remember the woman caught in the very act of adultery in John Chapter 8? The Law of Moses prescribes that she be stoned to death. But when she was brought before Jesus,He told her: “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. John 8:11.” Mercy outweighed judgment. Ah, this one is justifying the pardon for a convicted crook like Alamieyeseigha! Wait, don’t crucify me yet.

I’m only trying to appraise what may seem a doctrinal complexity in most religions. Where do you draw the line between judgment and mercy? That is the issue. The Holy Quran, 39:53. “Oh my servants, who have transgressed against your own souls, do not despair of God’s mercy, for God forgives all sins.

It is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” Outside religion, morality equally prescribes mercy. No wonder William Shakespeare wrote: “The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blest. It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.” Mercy is an attribute of God. Jonathan showed it to his former boss, Alamieyeseigha, and by that, Jonathan himself may receive mercy in future since the Good Book says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

But did he do right? Did he do wrong? Or is it only the Kingdom of God that runs on mercy, while the kingdom of men runs on ‘an eye for an eye?’ The hen has upturned my medicine pot, I too will break its egg. You eat sour grapes, your teeth are set on edge. You lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. And you can blame anybody but yourself. The American government says in pardoning Alamieyeseigha, the Nigerian government has done havoc to the war against corruption. I agree. Former EFCC boss, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who had prosecuted the ex-Bayelsa State governor, also said the action “is capable of stopping the entire war against corruption.

The message that is sent to the courts and the law enforcement agencies is a very negative one. It is a very discouraging act.” I also agree. But where then do we draw the distinction between the laws of man, which justifiably prescribes judgment for corrupt acts, and the word of God, which recommends mercy over judgement? Alamieyeseigha fell from grace, he got disgraced and ended in jail. Ill-gotten properties were retrieved from him, he is still a fugitive from the law, a wanted man in the U.K today. But at what point does mercy come in?

Was Jonathan right to pardon him? Was he wrong? At a point during his travails, I had the rare opportunity to sneak into Alamieyeseigha’s detention place sometime in 2006, at a hospital in Victoria Island, Lagos. The full story may be told another day, but I got spirited into the hospital room, and met just the ex-governor and his wife. His case was in court, and he was being treated for serous cardiac troubles. Posing like a family member, I had got in with a hidden tape recorder, and did a full interview with the beleaguered man. His spirit was totally broken.

He told me of how the then president, Olusegun Obasanjo had been after him, because he was perceived to be loyal to Atiku Abubakar, Obasanjo’s estranged deputy. He told me of how Obasanjo’s wife, Stella, had warned him to be careful, that her husband was gunning for him, before Stella died. And many more. It was a pathetic story, which was the major lead story of Daily Sun at that time. Alamieyeseigha really suffered, and in that lonely hospital room, I saw the futility, the ephemeralness and transience of power once again. Only his wife was with him.

A year earlier, his very word was law, and he had a crowd of aides at his beck and call. But then, nobody stuffed the one million pounds into his pocket. And nobody secretly deposited the 1.8 million pounds into his account. He lay with dogs, and he got up with fleas. He broke natural and spiritual laws, he had to face the consequence. But at what point does judgment terminate? Should the punishment be for life?

Or should he be reintegrated into society and public life through pardon? Puzzle. Dilemma. What do I think? I believe the pardon granted Alamieyeseigha raises more questions than answers. It sends very wrong signals about the Jonathan government and its commitment (or lack of it) to the anti-corruption war. Maybe if the president had wanted to favour his former boss, he should have granted the pardon shortly before leaving power, in 2015, in 2019, or in whatever year.

Doing it now positions the administration quite wrongly. And there is this other poser. If Diya, Yar’Adua, and Adisa were pardoned, what of others also convicted for the same coup plot? Was Gen Tajudeen Olanrewaju not also convicted? Why is he then not fit for pardon? Was Major Akiyode not jailed for life, and didn’t he die in prison? So, why didn’t he qualify for post-humous pardon like Adisa and Yar’Adua? Untidy, in fact, very messy, I’ll say.

It’s like Jonathan was so much in a hurry to pardon his former boss, and in the process, a lot of things were done shoddily. Not a positive development for a government reputed for many missteps in the recent past. Also, D.S.P Alamieyeseigha is still a wanted man in the U.K. What if he strays into U.K territory one day, and he’s bundled into court, and sent to jail? We’ll then have another James Ibori case on our hands.

We pardon a man in Nigeria, he’s chained like a monkey in the U.K. Last Sunday in church, the congregation was asked to pray that God would destroy the spirit of corruption, pollution and perversion of justice in Nigeria. As I joined in that prayer, it came powerfully to me that the spirit of corruption was well and alive in Nigeria. And pardon for convicts of corrupt acts would only empower and embolden that spirit.

The same Good Book that prescribes mercy equally admonishes us: “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy. Hosea 10:12.” Mercy may, therefore, be for only those who have done the right things, who have sown in righteousness, and not for felons. Or have I entangled myself in a doctrinal labyrinth? Somebody, please help me.

Re: 2015 and the march against Amaechi

What the president should know I really don’t know much about Gov. Rotimi Amaechi, but I have always known you never to support sycophants and hypocrites.

President Jonathan and his foot soldiers should endeavour to read about Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) from the Bible and the Qur’an, to find out how much his half-brothers suffered in vain to turn his life anti-clockwise, instead they pushed him to his destiny.

The President should know that whoever is digging the grave of his enemy should not make it too deep, in case he falls in it. I don’t know what President Jonathan has done for the common man in terms of democracy dividends that inspires him to nurse a second term ambition. Gov. Akpabio should know that the cane that was used to beat the first wife, is hanging on the rooftop. In politics, there is no permanent friend or permanent enemy, only permanent interest. A word is enough for the wise. Oyebanjo Ganiyu No apologies Amaechi owes no one apologies if he wishes to contest for the presidency of Nigeria.

Even if he wishes to play a second fiddle to a northerner; it is still a matter of choice. When you have an aspiration, Satan can never fold his hands and let you have a free ride, he must use people to give you problems. There is no easy way to the top; let Amaechi maintain his composure and keep his hands clean then God will help him. It is no longer news that Jonathan can contest in 2015 as the court has ruled.

Therefore, let him win the PDP primaries and face Nigerians. We have come to a stage in Nigeria where we have to understand that politics is a popularity contest and not a kill and go affair as it used to be. At this stage, Nigerians are fully aware of the challenges we face and are ready to take their destinies in their hands by picking a leader of their choice.

A situation where a group of people force themselves on Nigerians, enrich themselves and leave Nigeria and Nigerians in a constant state of poverty and under development is gone; any leader that seeks political office must show us his track records of success and the positive economic impact his government has played to enhance the living standard of Nigerians. Rev. Monye J Gold, masmovementnigeria@yahoo.com National legislators should save us I’m not bothered about Governor Rotimi Amechi and his present rub of shoulders with his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), because he’s a big gun and he’s at home with the party’s internal system and is capable of handling whatever is between them. However, members of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) have since the formation of that body become larger than Nigerians whom they are serving.

They only serve their personal or selfish interests, which was why they insisted they must produce Obasanjo’s successor and the running mate in 2007, and it happened. They requested that Okwesilieze Nwodo who wanted to sanitise and reform the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) must go, and of course he was immediately sacrificed to please the (PDP) governors. They held President Jonathan in the jugular some of the time, but now he wants liberation and his interest and theirs are clashing over who becomes PDP presidential candidate in 2015.

The governors even control the national legislators through nomination for national assembly elections. They also nominate the people that constitute the national working committee of the various political parties, ministers, federal appointments, etc. They became powerful lords that determine the fate of everyone or who becomes what, including the presidency, in the present political dispensation.

For me, it is high time the national legislators became courageous, made laws prohibiting the NGF and thus save the entire country from the NGF pangs or stranglehold. Lest I forget, I visited the Akanu Ibiam Enugu Airport two days ago and enquired why the reconstruction project is still uncompleted. One of those in the aviation sector at the airport directed me to ask the Secretary to the Federal Government, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim.

I requested why he referred me to Anyim, whether he’s connected or has anything to do with the project, but the man told me the SFG should know better, at least being an Igbo at a very high level in the federal government.

So, I ask those concerned, why is the project yet to be completed, for international flight operations to begin at the airport? Abuchi Anueyiagu, 08080242128,buchisbuchis@yahoo.com Against himself If you ask me, Amaechi is marching against himself.

He should look at where he is coming from and be humble enough to respect President Jonathan, in the spirit of Niger Delta. If he is hobnobbing with the same Obasanjo who told us his (Amaechi’s) governorship ambition had k-leg (I don’t know which English is that), then he should expect anything from President Jonathan.

This is the same Niger Delta that has cried of being marginalized. Now to think that a Niger Deltan is being used to stop another Niger Deltan from enjoying a second term in office, which other past leaders enjoyed, is an inexplicable calamity. Amaechi should not be a black sheep in the family of Niger Delta governors. Governor Akpabio of Akwa Ibom has recorded unprecedented feats in his state that even the outside world has come to acknowledge, yet it did not enter into his head to challenge President Jonathan.

The president is where he is today, mostly because of his humility and that is what God looks out for in a leader. Past leaders who were talking tough and flexing muscles were mere local champions. That is why they never left any enduring legacy.

Rather the Jonathan administration is clearing up their mess methodically. If the Governors Forum has turned into a political party and has assumed unconstitutional powers, I expect the president to proscribe it. Now that the careless political calculation of Amaechi has brought the federal might on him, what has he gained? Even those supporting him cannot come to his rescue openly, because they are merely trying to use him.

How can a Niger Delta man replace a Niger Delta man in Aso Rock? Amaechi think. Darlington Agomuo, 08022905726, darl_orbitnigltd@yahoo.com Thick and steely Jonathan signed PDP zoning formula, but later denied its existence. Earlier, he had sworn not to contest in 2015. Now, he wants to try what had ruined IBB, Abacha, and Obasanjo.

I will just siddon look. Has it not been said that INEC under Jega has merged with PDP and the police? As for Amaechi, worry not. That guy is thick and steely. Barrister F.O.A Nwanosike, President, Movement for the Survival of Nigeria (MOSON). Let him be They should let Rotimi Amaechi be.

The constitution allows every eligible Nigerian to contest for whatever office. Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia Divine power It’s like fighting the man who wields the ofor in Igbo land, (ofor approximates to divine power). In all the encounters involving Rotimi Amaechi against the Establishment, he wielded the ofor while his traducers had no time-tested moral justification, hence the spate of victories in his kitty.

All the scheming against Amaechi amount to playing Goliath against David. You know how it ended in the Holy Bible. Steve Okoye, Enugu, 08036630731 Stand steadfast I will advice Rotimi Amaechi to stand steadfast, as no man can extinguish a candle lit by God. If in doubt, his case in becoming Rivers State governor against all Obasanjo’s obstacles is a case study. Mafe A. J I agree 100% Many thanks for your article on Amaechi and 2015. I agree with you 100% that whoever desires to run should do so.

Even a Yoruba man of the mould of Mimiko/Fashola should run. It is the zoning curse that brought up the incompetence we now have to contend with. Dr Wilson, Ikoyi, Lagos Misuse of power The march against Amaechi is a reflection of misuse of power, the use of swiftness to wear a perceived enemy out, and the use of crafty interlopers to beat Amaechi to submission.

Anyway, the man is a warlord himself, and he’s not afraid of war. Let’s hope he will triumph again. Ayo Moses, Ibadan I pity Amaechi Few can dare the federal might and succeed. I pity Amaechi because very soon, if he doesn’t ‘repent,’ he will be reduced to nothingness. Udofot Toby Umana, Badagry, Lagos We’re behind him We the masses must stand behind Gov Amaechi. He’s a brave man, let him face the challenge.

God and the masses are behind him. Alhaji Danladi Yaro, Sabo, Ibadan A matter of conscience The issue is not about Amaechi, not even about the two terms of four years each as enshrined in our constitution. It has to do with conscience, which only truth can heal.

Has Jonathan delivered on his campaign promises? Are Nigerians better off under him? If no, then, there should be no second term for Jonathan and PDP. Dr Omebu, Onitsha Too much desperation Your piece gives penetrative insight of things to come in 2015. The desperation of the first family is manifesting all too early in a manner that governance is now halted for politics.

I believe Amaechi will certainly prove his mettle. Charles Otu, Abakaliki Nothing but the best An excellent analysis of events that will define the 2015 presidential election. Most frankly, I think anybody with proven integrity and ability should not be afraid to declare his/her ambition.

Nigerians need nothing but the best man for the job. Any clamp down should be seen as draconian. Ogbonnaya M. Ogwo The hunter and his dog Your piece is exceptional and analytical. The danger that hunts the hunting dog will also hunt the hunter. Amaechi should not be victimized for standing by the truth. Sunday Chuna, Akpajo, Rivers State May God cleanse Nigeria The bond in marriage is natural support between husband and wife.

And since when were you blessed by God to be at Jonathan’s bedside at midnight, when you should be beside your wife, to know what they discuss in bed? That said, the Amaechi scenario is usual in politics, especially in Nigeria. And anyone who decides to venture into it must be ready to bear the brunt of its deadly blows. Let’s hope for maturity while Amaechi’s battle lasts.

May God cleanse Nigeria. Lai Ashadele, Lagos What’s wrong with them? Amaechi is nursing an ambition for 2015, which is the reason for the heat from the presidency. What is wrong with South-south politicians? Must they all be in Aso Rock? Okey Frank, Abuja Not wise Amaechi has some cogent points, but till 2014, it is not so wise to disturb the president. It is a distraction to him. We should rather pray for Jonathan.

Rose Obioma Aniagoh (Mrs) Presidency doing right To me, the presidency is doing the right thing. It must stop Amaechi from gaining political momentum before the president can declare his second term ambition. Failing to do this, the president will see a different thing come 2015. Engr Enn Anolue, Aguata Aguluezechukwu Troubled waters If Amaechi’s sin is his ambition to be a vice president, then our democracy is in troubled waters because we then have a dictatorial system where everyone is silenced because oga is interested.

But Amaechi is well equipped to parry any scud missile directed at him. Sam, Akure Amaechi, fear not They way and manner our leaders fight with every political arsenal at their disposal, if half of such efforts are put in governance, the people will rejoice. Amaechi, fear not. Chief J. J. Ibeka, Lagos He will fail The president will fail abysmally in removing Amaechi, because any Nigerian has right to aspire for any office. After all, Jonathan scattered the zoning formula of PDP and he’s now being accused of not keeping his promise to serve just one term. Anyamele Samuel Chinaza Greatest undoing Please tell the president that Amaechi won’t be his problem for 2015, but the electorate. Let him march against all perceived enemies in PDP, so he can win the primaries.

But his greatest undoing will be his non-performance. Pastor Sam Igwe Not our problem I don’t think Nigeria’s problem is religious or tribalistic. Aren’t Jonathan and Amaechi from the same region and religion? As a country, we need a Nigerian Dream that will set the standard for us. Hilary Eze, Nsukka, 07063783395 This Igbo adage Everybody should fight for his right.

An Igbo adage says, aka ekpuchi onwa, meaning the hand cannot cover the moon. Celestine Ameze, Abakaliki Change is inevitable I pray Gov Amaechi will join the 2015 presidential race. He has so far emerged through thick and thin as a Field Marshal.

Thank God that the PDP zoning is dead. Any government that cannot eradicate corruption has failed. Change is inevitable in Nigeria. Col R. N. Oputa (retd) God forbid It is unfortunate that Nigeria is in deep mess, and the so-called leaders are busy playing yeye kind of politics. Are we going to continue like this for another seven years? God forbid. Ibrahim S. Aduvoh, Ipaja, Lagos. So shall it be For Gov Amaechi, it is trial time.

The fire brigade formation of the PDP Governors Forum is an attempt to defuse the strength of the Governors Forum, and breed bad blood between two South-south governors. Chibuike means God is my strength, and so shall it be for Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. Okenze Romanus Amakor Thank God for Amaechi Jonathan’s presidential ambition for 2015 has k-leg. Thank God for Gov Amaechi.

But if I fail to find Buhari’s name among the presidential candidates, I will tear my voters’ card. Emeka Sylvanus They are brothers I think both the president and Gov Amaechi should work together to develop the country, they are brothers and should not allow politics to becloud their sense of good brotherliness. 07052873152

And then, if you’ve confronted the Dame’s husband, who also happens to be president of the country, you’ve fought him to a standstill over disputed oil wells between Bayelsa and your own state, you not only need to watch your back constantly, you would do well to always walk in reverse, so that your back is protected.

God also help you if you’ve been linked to the 2015 presidential race in any way, when the incumbent has not said he is not running. You may then become a marked man, an enemy of the first family, if not of the state.

What it translates to simply is this: when President Goodluck Jonathan and Dame Patience Jonathan retire to the presidential bed at night, and sleep eludes their eyes, there is only one person to blame.

You. They discuss you back and forth, how you’ve become too big for your boots, how your wings must be clipped, since there can be only one president in the country at a time. This is the unenviable situation in which Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State has found himself. He is now the constant object of discussion by the first family, the man that drives away sleep from the eyes of the president and his dame.

There must be a final solution to this Amaechi bother, or don’t you think? That is why the Rivers State governor is today beleaguered, assailed and embattled from all sides. Everywhere he turns, he contends with hostile forces seemingly unleashed against him from the very top. Unfortunately for the presidential forces, however, this is not one puny, lily-livered opponent, who will take cover at the sound of a firecracker.

In fact, Amaechi is as tough as they come, as hard as flint. Or have you forgotten how he battled former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to a standstill? In the prelude to the 2007 elections, Amaechi had won the primaries to run as governor. Suddenly, playing god as usual, Obasanjo unilaterally struck off his name, saying his candidacy had k-leg. Celestine Omehia, who is Amaechi’s cousin, was then imposed on the party as replacement. Omehia won the election and got inaugurated as Rivers State governor. But Amaechi went to court, fought a long, gruelling battle, and as they say, the rest is now history.

The Supreme Court gave Omehia the left leg of fellowship, and handed Amaechi the mandate. He’s running second term in office today. Remember how Amaechi got down to work, and he began to turn Rivers State right side up. Today, he’s one of the governors I regard highly in the country, simply because he’s doing good work for his people. But giving a new face to the state had its own downsides.

Many shanties had to be pulled down, hoodlums were confronted, tough decisions taken. They were painful but inevitable. And in the process, Dame Jonathan was rubbed down the wrong side. The First Lady is from Okrika, in Rivers State, and she confronted the governor over demolitions in her community, to the extent that it became a public harangue sometime in 2010. At an official event, Dame Jonathan had publicly rebuked the governor. “Listen!” She had declared. “You must listen to me. I want you to get me clear.

I am from here (Okrika). I know the problems of my people, so, I know what I’m talking.” It was hardly a civil way to talk to a governor, and it caused no small ruckus in the media. But a few weeks later, we saw Amaechi and Dame Jonathan embracing at a social event. I was not deceived, and neither were a lot of people. Then came the dispute over oil wells between Bayelsa and Rivers State. The Rivers State governor felt his state was to be short-changed as oil wells that traditionally belonged to Rivers were being awarded to Bayelsa, where the president comes from. He screamed blue murder, and almost brought the roof down.

In fact, he was reported to have said the president was the agent provocateur in the whole matter. Even prominent Kalabari elders joined the fray, and protested publicly in Abuja. The president had to beat a hasty retreat. But did Amaechi live happily ever after? Not on his life! An ambush was set for him, and the trap was sprung recently. But before then, something else had happened that further engrafted Amaechi’s name in the presidency’s Black Book. The Yoruba talk of a man that his enemies want to roast, who then daubed himself with oil, and sat near the fire. All that would be done to him is a gentle push, and he would begin to sizzle merrily.

A news report last year had linked Amaechi to the 2015 race as vice presidential candidate to Gov Sule Lamido of Jigawa State. The pairing, according to the report, was done by former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. The former president disowned the report through a press statement, while Amaechi equally shouted himself hoarse, saying he had no such ambition. But his detractors turned deaf ears.

Yes, he is a confirmed enemy, and must be decisively dealt with. How to do it? Stop him from getting re-elected as Chairman of the influential Governors Forum. Since the Obasanjo days, we know how powerful governors have become. Under the aegis of the Governors Forum, they had insisted one of them must be president in 2007, and Obasanjo picked Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

We also know the role they played in making Jonathan president in 2011. So, it goes without saying that if Jonathan would rule beyond 2015, the Governors Forum must be headed by his own man. With Amaechi in that position, the president didn’t need an enemy. So, Amaechi must go. And that was the drama that played out a couple of weeks ago. The presidency moved its armada against the Rivers State governor, who is interested in getting a second term as chairman of Governors Forum.

But not a mean fighter himself, Amaechi fought back spiritedly, and if the election had held that time in February, it’s not unlikely that the presidency would have been worsted. Amaechi has grit. He has guts. And for me, most importantly, he has the required credibility and independent-mindedness required for the office.

The coalition he had built among his fellow governors was larger than that of the president, and so, to get him out, the Governors Forum must be balkanised. The PDP Governors Forum was, therefore, formed, with Gov Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom as chairman, and election into the main Governors Forum was postponed till May. So, the battle has been deferred by some weeks. Who blinks first? Amaechi or the presidency? We wait. For me, the showdown over who leads the governors as we approach 2015 has given some clear indications of what is ahead.

One, President Jonathan would likely run for another term in office. He says he would make a pronouncement on it in 2014, but for me, his body language has spoken. The president will run, and that is one of the reasons he wants a change in the leadership of Governors Forum. Has President Jonathan the constitutional right to run? I think so, as a layman looking at the 1999 Constitution. But then, the Supreme Court has the final say.

Again, developments in the Governors Forum have clearly shown that power will never be handed out on a platter of gold to any part of the country again. Any region that wants power must jostle for it. After the 2011 election, which put paid to zoning in the PDP, the party can only pretend that the formula is still sacrosanct. To return to zoning would be to approbate and reprobate at the same time, as lawyers would say. Any region that wants power must begin to build coalitions, play the political game to the hilt, and go for it.

The Igbo can run, the North can run, Jonathan can run, anybody can. The power game has been deregulated in Nigeria earlier than one envisaged, and let the bold step out, and the fainthearted run for cover. So, Amaechi, fight, fight for your right to a second term as Chairman Governors Forum. If you build a bigger coalition, you floor the presidency, and what’s wrong with that? Nothing! And does Amaechi intend to run with Sule Lamido in 2015?

He has denied it. But if he truly wants to, what’s wrong with it? The frank truth about the political situation in the country today is that anyone interested in any office must take his destiny in his hands. He must run, and run well, without waiting for anybody. It is everyman for himself, and God for us all.