By Rotimi Fasan

ONE would not know exactly when President Goodluck Jonathan came to the conclusion that he could no longer pretend that all is well with his government or the party that produced it, the PDP. But it appears he must have reached that point for quite some time now. He only dithered on when to act to start correcting things or simply wished that the cup of such decision would pass him by.

The crisis in the PDP is but the flip side of the crisis in his government. Both are products of his decision to make very awkward choices and stand by people, mostly subordinates who have more or less increased the liability of his administration. He was a hostage of his own choices and a payer who could not dictate his piper’s tune.

President Goodluck Jonathan

In media debates, commentaries, editorials and, perhaps, personal intimations he was prodded to the danger of his position, of his failure to arrest the drift of his government- the level of corruption among his ministers and the overbearing conduct of others. But our dear president couldn’t care less. In his own words, he couldn’t give a damn. But the last three weeks have seen the President taking decisions that clearly show he does give more than a damn.

With preparations for the 2015 elections in top gear; and with increasing defections from the PDP into opposition parties, particularly the APC, President Jonathan and other stalwarts of the PDP must have seen the urgent need to act fast. They must have realized that it’s no longer politics (or is it business?), as usual. These are dire times for the Jonathan government.

As things stand at the National Assembly with the PDP losing its overwhelming majority status, with popular discontent against Abuja increasing as more and more Nigerians fall below the poverty line and feel the adverse consequences of the palpable drop in standard of municipal services and access to public utilities even as Abuja politicians maintain their lavish lifestyle- it must be clear to President Jonathan and his PDP colleagues that anything can happen.

If Nigerians were able to distinguish between President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP as a party in the 2011 elections, if they could vote for the president of their choice without consideration for party affiliations, that line of separation has definitely blurred over time. Those who will vote for the PDP or for anyone connected to it if an election is called today can no longer be taken for granted, just like a PDP victory can no longer be assumed.

It is clearly in realisation of this that President Jonathan took the decision to beat a path different from the one he had beaten until lately. His latest shake-up of his cabinet with the exit of four ministers including Stella Oduah of the Aviation Ministry makes the point clear. The President is now neck-deep into a house-cleaning programme. This started with his announcement of the resignation of Bamanga Tukur, erstwhile chair of the PDP.

Tukur’s emergence as the PDP chair was not popularly accepted. It couldn’t be clear what great advantage President Jonathan stood to gain from Tukur’s victory as chair of PDP but he was prepared to stand by him. He provided the support the man obviously craved but couldn’t get from his home base or the larger PDP family. Jonathan stood by Tukur and the man vowed never to resign even without the support of very powerful members of the PDP. But in the end Tukur had to go and that was obviously when Jonathan felt he should go.

The removal of Joseph Mbu as Commissioner of Police in Rivers State is another house cleaning job the President had to undertake. Of course, the police hierarchy wanted Nigerians to believe the redeployment of Mbu was a routine task it had to carry out but many would read the matter differently. Was it also routine or deliberate oversight that the Police Service Commission suddenly forgot that the redeployment of Mbu from Rivers State was one issue for the courts to decide as its spokesperson, Comfort Obi, once said? Whatever are the reasons or afterthought being offered on Mbu now, the point is that the man had to leave Port Harcourt if Jonathan wanted to resolve one of the lingering wounds of his presidency. It’s anybody’s guess if that decision came early enough or of what benefit it may now be for the President.

The same question will need to be asked about the removal of Stella Oduah- how late is it coming to effect any change in the perception of Nigerians that President Jonathan enjoys the company of people who abuse their office? How can the President now erase the impression he has a high tolerance for public officers, his own appointees, whose official conduct won’t bear scrutiny? His hands are apparently being forced by the exigencies of the 2015 elections to take decisions he would rather not take.

The presidency may try all it can to make Nigerians think that the series of ‘resignations’ and redeployment of its partisans are routine but Nigerians know better. Three other ministers might have been sacrificed along with Stella Oduah but the bottomline is that the President knew he could no longer ignore the voice of the people if he wants their support. Perhaps, he is coming to the realisation that he runs an obese administration of mostly non-performing ministers out to feather their own nest.

There are Nigerians of impeccable credentials and character from the different ethnic groups in the country. No section of the country has a monopoly of performers nor is there any with the patent for corrupt persons. If all parts of the country must participate in governance, it is a matter of wonder that only the wrong people manage to make it into government. In finding replacements for those who had to go with this latest shake-up, President Goodluck Jonathan would do well to look for not mere politicians from the relevant zones but men and women of character, proven performers who can help bring needed change to the lives of Nigerians.