By Bisi Lawrence
“Time speeds in haste on scorching sands; its heels skate over hurrying seconds, beyond rapid minutes into sudden days.” The temptation to wax poetic holds one enthralled these days, as events cascade over one another in an apparent blur before our eyes, and our mind tries to make some kind of meaning out of them.

The withdrawal of the zoning system by the Peoples Democratic Party, as reluctantly as it may seem, was welcome to several people who love to appear as idealists, but the fact is that the phenomenon should more comfortably be accepted as the realistic process that can relieve our psyche or imagination from the pangs of “marginalization” – that magic word.

It has been used often to conjure the spectre of discrimination to attract sympathy for a just claim and, at times, for an unmerited advantage. One can hardly fault that stance though, since self-love is hardly as unprofitable as self-neglect.

That is why one must congratulate those who share the same ethnic background with the newly appointed Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Onyeabo Azubike Ihejirika. They have waited and pined for this day on which an Easterner would capture the jewel of the military echelons.

As the largest, most powerful and the most formidable unit of the armed forces, the army is normally accorded the pride of place as the elite among the rest; its head thus has a special position, being regarded as “primus inter pares” – the first among equals.

The apparent deferment of the appointment of an Ibo into that position has fondly been described as a major manifestation of the monster of “marginalization”, occasioned as part of the recriminations for the Civil War .. That may be true to some extent.

But the Ibos are not the only ethnic group excluded from appointment to the position. The truth is that even the Yorubas who shared the honour of defending our national unity with several other tribes have been “marginalized” too, with regard to the appointment of COAS.

If records serve us well, it would appear that Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi was appointed to the post of the COAS during the First Republic, while Alani Akinrinade also achieved that pinnacle later. Both were appointed during civilian regimes. Neither an Ibo nor a Yoruba was appointed to that position during a military regime. But while one saw it as a discriminating circumstance and resented it openly, the other, as usual, seemed preoccupied with the narrow interests of individual weal.

The new appointment of Service Chiefs, against the background of all that argument over zoning, no doubt acquires a variety of significance in our nation-building efforts – just like zoning itself. The curious thing about zoning is that it can only be broken by the imposition of another regime of a similar order, if fairness must be observed within a multi-ethnic state like Nigeria.

The appointment of an Ibo COAS initiates a succeeding pattern, the benign nature of which can be established only if it is sustainable. The proclivity of zoning a position permanently to a certain ethnic grouping defeats the purpose and spirit of the exercise, in the first place. But we cannot but zone, though wisely.

So perhaps it is only appropriate that as President Goodluck Jonathan would appear to have been offered the opportunity of ruling this country with the suspension of zoning – (it cannot be entirely abrogated) the first benefits would be in the breaking down of “marginalization”, as it were.

That aspect of the Jonathan government, if it is sustainable, is enough to raise the profile of his presidential ambitions to an acceptable dimension, for it augurs well for the aspirations of other areas under the dark cloud of “marginalization.”

yoruba r’onu

Those Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is said to have harangued the Governors of Yoruba States to fall in line behind President Jonathan. Where else could they go? One would naturally be inclined to fall down at the feet of a shining sun, than prostrate to a rising star. The sleek machinery of the PDP, which was said to have been adroitly operated by the former President himself, now enthralls them in the Yoruba States.

As a matter of fact, it was not so much a matter of the PDP winning the West, as the Afenifere losing it all.

No event, in recent times, has so been so aptly described by the view that ‘’things fall apart when the centre cannot hold.” The centre in the West was Chief Obafemi Awolowo, of beautiful memory, founder of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, father of the Action Group, and Premier/Leader of Government Business, in the old Western Region.

His personality supported and projected his philosophy of the Yoruba as second to none of the ethnic groupings in Nigeria. It was strong enough to hold the fold together politically until his demise. By then, it was firmly established in the psyche of most of the Yorubas that the spirit, or strength, of their identity was lodged in that disciplined leadership that held its own before the world.

Some people felt entitled to the adulation that such a position bequeathed on Awolowo during his lifetime. At his death, the effort to fulfill their yearnings obscured the vision they should have had for the preservation of the Awolowo heritage. Some attempted to step into his shoes, or install a surrogate leadership, or re-create themselves in the image of Awolowo – especially those loud egoists who proclaimed themselves as “Awoists”.

But a butterfly may only mistake itself for a bird; it can never engage in the activities of a bird. That was how they moved the “centre” from Ikenne all over the place until it disintegrated on their heads. When you consider it, even without the advantage of hindsight, how else could Olu Falae have gained preference over a veteran like Bola Ige in any political arena?

But that was what happened. But you may ask how they could have kept the “centre” in lkenne? Well, we suggested that they could borrow a leaf from what happened in the case of the North – the spirit of their cohesiveness resides in their meetings still convened in the house where the late Sardauna, Sir Ahmadu Bello, lived – and still lives!

The meetings of the Yoruba leadership should never have been moved from Ikenne. But that is the way it is.

The old Western Region now has eight States worked into it. The former Eastern Nigeria has nine by asking for them, and demanding them, ceaselessly, importunately – and successfully. If it were the other way around, the outcry of “marginalization” would have been heard from dawn to midnight.

Don’t get me wrong; I make that remark as a compliment to a people who know what they want and how to get it; a dynamic ethnic group fully aware of the priceless benefits of identity, which is a manifestation of what one stands for. What do the Yorubas stand for today as we approach fifty years of the national independence to which we contributed in no less a measure than any other nationality within this country?
“Yoruba ro’nu!”(Peace to the shades of Hubert Ogunde.)

“hurry-hurry” time-table

The yearnings of Nigerians for “credible” elections may end up in smoke – as usual. This is what we have craved for, all these years. But it seems set to elude us, once again. The word, “credible”, intrigues me.

For one thing, it is incredible that we could think that, with all of what we still have to accomplish in the preparations demanded to solve even the sheer logistical problems alone, we could imagine that we it is possible to hold “credible” elections, four months from now. If on the other hand, we are able to swing it, it would still be incredible – if you know what I mean – like the “eighth wonder of the world.”.

Professor Attahiru Jega, the lNEC Chairman, seems to be treading the beaten path of those who have failed before him. They too said everything was possible, everything was in place, and everything would be smooth sailing.

We had no reason to doubt them because we assumed that they knew how grave was the responsibility they bore, and how onerous was their task. So we assumed, until D-Day when materials for voting were absent from poling booths, when voters could not find the right location for the casting of their votes, and when security and order broke down at several centres.

We had assumed that INEC knew what they were doing, and so we believed that these horrible events no longer had a place in our election exercise. INEC, or NEC as it once was, had glibly boasted of alternative measures that had been put in place in case of any emergency, and the Police had assured us that everything was “under control” – there would be no rigging, no violence and they would give “fire for fire”. Phooey! It all went wrong.

I hope I am wrong, since I agree with President Jonathan that our tomorrow will find no excuse for our today” if we botch this one like the others, especially when it is apparent that we could avoid it. We could do that by reviewing what seems to me a surreal outline of a time-table that does not seem to have any basis in reality, a time-table which evinces no fall-back measures against some obvious eventualities that are a function of our infra-structural inadequacies, both in human and technical terms.

Nigerians are already grunting about the unheard-of sum of 87 billion naira given out for the elections. Nothing irks my fellow countrymen like having to spend more than a paltry sum of money on even the most successful and profitable venture.

Just imagine the outpour of grief if the venture then fails – I mean, with all that money? It is not too late to revise that “giddy” timetable,. What is the hurry? Why the haste? Where is the fire?

Echoes
(0803.625.2297) “You miss the point when you deny and attempt to refute Mr. Ruhl ‘s assertion that the duo of the IMF and World Bank never had a hand in IBB’s adoption of SAP.

The main issue ought to be why was such a failure. To my mind, SAP failed because of poor implementation. IBB failed to moderate SAP as to fit NAIJA’s distinctiveness. IBB failed to tackle corruption which made nonsense of the savings the austerity measures were meant to bring.

IBB failed to appreciate that massive cuts in public spending will hurt the poor, who are in the majority, most of all, especially when it is well known that the country lacked social security programmes. SAP worked in Brazil because President Lula modified it to suit that country’s peculiarities.

Sir, I believe it’s you who missed the point. SAP did NOT fail here in Nigeria. It might have failed in Brazil where its purpose was probably diverted off course by several factors. The main issue was Mr Ruhl’s denial of WHO’s involvement in the programme. Do you contest that?

It was a “bum steer” handed to several other developing countries as the talisman that would transport them to prosperity. And who else did that, but IMF and the World Bank? Of course, you are free to bash IBB; this is the season. You don’t even need Mr. Ruhl’s help for that – nor a putative response to my column either ..

Echoes
(0803.316.433) With regard to SAP, as a matter of fact, the Americans implied that the concept was a Soviet plot, while the Nigerian Socialists said it was an American plot to destroy the Non Aligned group. What killed it was IBB not really committing himself to the core of its beneficial directives.

Yes sir. But IBB has taken responsibility for all that, as he should. Mr Ruhl was in error in trying to exculpate his principals. That is the point.
Time out.