By Donu Kogbara
I SPEND a lot of time with Nigerians and foreigners who are interested in the presidential election. Most of them are shocked when I say that I intend to vote for Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 because he is “my Brother”.

Some express shock because they don’t expect crude, simplistic, emotional regionally-biased decision-making from a well-educated and normally cerebral professional writer/broadcaster who grew up abroad, can’t speak any Nigerian language and has more foreign than indigenous instincts and habits. Others express shock about my pro-Jonathan stance because I have not made a secret of the fact that I regard his administration as lacklustre at best.

Furthermore, I am always sanctimoniously harping on about principles and bitterly complaining about leaders who have failed to transform this country into the major success story it will become if it is run efficiently and honestly. And let’s not forget that Rotimi Amaechi, the Governor of Rivers State, is my friend…and that I’ve defended him on numerous occasions since he fell out with The First Couple…whom I have openly blamed for certain aspects of the quarrel.

Rotimi Amaechi and Goodluck Jonathan

For all of the above reasons, most folks expect me to obediently echo Amaechi’s opposition to another Jonathan term…or to at least be more circumspect and rational when the possibility of another Jonathan term is being seriously discussed. And I’m often accused of being hypocritical, contradictory, etc. I can understand why I am attracting so much criticism.

A citizen of my calibre should be more reflective and more consistent. A journalist who cares about her reputation should always be coolly objective. But we are all human and, therefore, deeply flawed. And I will probably stubbornly stay where I am, both politically and psychologically, for as long as Nigeria continues to be the kind of place in which tribalism is rife.

Ninety percent of the Niger Deltans I know share my views and simply aren’t willing to abandon our Oga At The Top electorally, even if they are disappointed in him and even if they like Amaechi. As a matter of fact, the majority of Rivers people are really sad about the fact that our President and our Governor are at loggerheads; and all we want for Christmas is for them to patch up their terrible quarrel and work together.

Anyway, dear readers, practically every Nigerian who berates or chides me for pledging my vote to Jonathan for reasons they regard as silly and sentimental just happens to not be from the Niger Delta. But you know what? I will not believe that most of my critics are capable of the saintly impartiality they expect from me until I see how they behave when they are in my shoes!

Meanwhile, are Jonathan’s Northern opponents saying that Jonathan should go because they have identified a super-duper Northern candidate who is likely to perform magnificently in future because he has a fantastic track record and has what it takes to drag our economy and society into the 21st century? No!

Modernising philanthropist

Are Jonathan’s Northern opponents saying that Jonathan should go because the replacement they have in mind is a dynamic modernising philanthropist who has done laudable things like establishing a highly effective NGO in his village?

No!

Jonathan’s Northern opponents are saying that Jonathan should go because they feel that it is their “turn” (even though they ruled Nigeria – ineptly and corruptly – for 36 years during the five decades that elapsed between Independence and Jonathan’s becoming Head of State in 2010).

They basically feel that it is their region’s “turn” to run the show. So don’t blame me too much for (perhaps childishly) saying that I will only give up my regional bias when they give up their regional bias!

On reflection, it would be nice to have a synchronized detribalisation exercise – a special day on which we will all agree to simultaneously outgrow the majority mindset and to start to think like civilized nationalists rather than like unprogressive Northerners or South-Southerners or Igbos or Yorubas. But let it happen after Jonathan has been returned to the Villa in 2015!

In the meantime, he has already made some smart moves on the power sector front. But there is plenty more work to be done. Even I would not support a candidate if I thought that he was a completely lost cause. Not even if he was my same-mother-same-father blood brother.

But I have met Mr President and was impressed by some of the observations he came up with in my presence, so I know that he has what it takes to run this show called Nigeria dynamically and inspire confidence across the board. He now needs to prove his detractors wrong – and make his fans proud – by ferociously focusing on fulfilling his potential for the next few months. Jonathan should remember that votes should be earned.