By Dele Sobowale
“I CAN TELL YOU THAT President Goodluck Jonathan knows those behind this ugly act. He is taking it with levity; he has refused to expose them. The President is demonstrating his weakness and telling the whole world that he is not capable of ruling the nation.

Tell the President I said so. If he continues like this we are going to wipe out Nigeria” –  Reverend James Oladunjoye, a retired Bishop of Owo Diocese, on President Jonathan’s handling of the Boko Haram challenge, in PUNCH, April 24, 2012.

“It ain’t what a person….
Ralph Waldo Emerson,………

This would be second week in a row that I find myself coming out in defence of President Jonathan on an issue; and it is all a matter of coincidence – before some blockheads read any special meanings into it. Last week, it was about “a tempest in a teapot”.

Irrespective of what the opponents have to say about it, St Jonathan’s Cathedral Otuoke has come to stay. This week, the matter is, literally, more deadly – Boko Haram. And Reverend James Oladunjoye had just made the sort of contribution which could have been improved upon by silence.

Before the fanatics in Christendom get hot under the collar, let me remind them that Jonathan, the National Security Adviser, NSA, and I are also Christians. And, just before anyone says that I have no stake in the North, let me tell them that I have property in Kano, which I have refused to sell because it is my strong belief that the building will outlast all the problems of Nigeria.

Like Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr, I have a dream of a future Nigeria, united, strong and a pride to all those who will inhabit the space then. Unlike the retired Bishop, I don’t think “we are going to wipe out Nigeria”; instead, I think we are going to build it –even if the job takes a thousand years and rivers of blood sweat and tears” – to repeat what Churchill said about war-time Britain. Furthermore, we are going to start with Jonathan, despite all his faults, and not with his resignation.

When the man of God announced that Jonathan “is telling the whole world that he is not capable of ruling the nation”, he forgot to tell us the other choices available to us. Had he done so, he would have immediately recognized the grave consequences of his utterances.

Jonathan, for whom I did not vote, was overwhelmingly elected in, perhaps, the second freest and fairest elections ever held in Nigeria – to serve four years; unless he dies, resigns or gets impeached. To the best of my knowledge, the man is not about to die; he has also not committed any impeachable offence – even the church at Otuoke is not an indictable misdemeanor. So that leaves resignation – if Reverend Oladunjoye is to have his wish. And, it is that very option which would create more problems than it would solve.

Will Jonathan resign alone, or, with Sambo? Jonathan quitting alone means that the Vice-President takes over. The consequences of those are not only numerous; they are invariably catastrophic. To begin with, the votes were for Jonathan; Sambo contributed next to nothing to the result.

Nothing proves that point more than the fact that Kaduna is one of the deadliest states in Nigeria today from the standpoint of Boko Haram operations and the Vice-President had been powerless to help. If, morning shows the day, then Sambo taking over from Jonathan will make no difference.

On the other hand, the simultaneous departure of the President and Vice-President will produce a David Mark presidency. Millions of Nigerians will respond to such a possibility by saying “perish the thought”.  The last option is the Speaker of the House; nice guy; but loads of problems will follow his ascendancy to power. So who is Oladunjoye suggesting should rule and how, within the presidential system we practice, will that new and “capable” leader emerge?

Those are minor reasons to reject this message by the retired Bishop, the more important reasons concern the assertions he made, without proof, about Jonathan. When he announced, as if it were true, that “I can tell you that President Jonathan knows those behind this ugly act”, my reaction is “Sir, you can tell that to the marines”…

AWARD FACTORIES OF NIGERIA –3

“You can fool all the people………

Have you heard of the Kwame Nkrumah Award? Or the Oxford Socrates Award? If not, don’t worry, our research team at UniJankara has uncovered how those “international” affiliates of Nigeria’s award factories have been cashing in on our mania for awards in Nigeria. One award factory called Nnamdi Azikiwe Annual awards, of which you might have heard, has had to be disclaimed by the family of Nigeria’s great leader. You don’t expect an “award” for guessing why, do you?

Kwame Nkrumah, for those too young or too forgetful to know or remember, led Ghana to independence in 1956 – four years before Nigeria’s leaders got their acts together. And as President of Ghana, formerly Gold Coast, he was a Pan-Africanist to the core.

But like most African leaders, he also gripped by the sit tight disease until he was toppled by a coup. He died in exile. Still, he was one of the greatest African leaders ever.  So, it would be assumed that an award for leadership bearing his name would be appropriate; don’t you think?

The answer is “Yes and No”. Yes, if it is all on the level. No, if it is not. Unfortunately, a lot of eminent Nigerians – governors, SANs, business moguls, even “men of God” – have been taken to the cleaners by those organising the awards.

To begin with, they are not Ghanaians but mostly Nigerians cashing in on our flawed mentality for dubious awards. A nominee is required to pay “processing fees” before receiving the award. Once the mugus fall for that ploy other demands foll
ow. Yet, the dupes line up for it. Apparently, it is more prestigious to receive an award in Accra than Abeokuta or Ado.

Oxford Socrates is the Rolls Royce of awards because it combines two strong global brands – Oxford (pretending to affiliation to Oxford University when it is not associated) and Socrates, the great philosopher who lived several hundred years before Christ.

Socrates was a wise man, but the award organizers possess real cunning. They know that, even among eminent people, “a sucker (fool) is born every minute”, according to P.T. Barnum. It is pathetic that so many Nigerians are so anxious to have cheap plastic adorned with their names in exchange for lots of cash.

So they fall over themselves. Should I mention names? Don’t worry; they know themselves – SANs, PHD holders; Professors; Ministers.  God help us!