By Tim Owhefere

The political march towards 2015, despite the avalanche of uncertainties deliberately engineered by unfriendly friends, hell bent on bringing the heavens down, has once again placed our continued unity on the Road To Golgotha. Golgotha, the final place of crucifixion also known as the Place of Skull represents two variables. These are absolute destruction as typified by the skull and absolute redemption as believed by the Christians in the crucifixion of Christ.

President Jonathan

The year 2015 in projection has created another Tower of Babel with discordant voices and varying opinion each deploying every means to silence the other in the battle to win or redesign the psyche of the electorate to achieve one goal…..Jonathan must run or must not run.

The intent of this literary exercise is not to discourage or encourage any of the schools of thought or the ideas being sold by them but to put forward in very clear language the untainted truth which if allowed to prevail will tally with the adage…A stitch in time saves nine. It the opinion of this writer that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan should not only run for a second term in 2015, but that all men and women of goodwill, who sincerely treasure our continued   unity as a nation must rise above petty tribal politics to ensure that President Jonathan is re-elected for a second term. In this shade, I salute the courage and nationalism in Mallam Nuhu Ribadu who has seen the need to sail on the same boat with President Jonathan to foster good governance. His present posture now poses a major challenge to our brothers, Governors Amaechi, Oshiomhole and their co-travellers.

In a country where every political speech or statement is often punctuated by the proverbial unity and indivisibility of our great nation, it beats ones imagination that a particular section of the country or the political class do not still comprehend the untainted truth that the power to rule this country do not and cannot be confined to any particular section of this country. All Nigerians are equal. This is the modern day gospel and it should be preached with such vigour to awaken some of our Northern brothers from their wishful thinking that they have suddenly become our new colonial masters.

In the political history of this country, the Hausa/Fulani in all sincerity cannot claim not to have had a fair share in the administration of this country, be it military dictatorship or civilian democracy. Under their administration, Nigeria designed and built a brand new capital called Abuja, now the most beautiful and expensive city in black Africa. It is of note, that this project was financed from the scratch with the resources extracted from the communities of those being paraded today as unfit to rule, Jonathan inclusive.

I cannot stop praying for Jonathan, but for him, am sure by now the country called Nigeria would have relocated all of us from the Niger Delta to a barren land, somewhere up in the north, quarter us in some hurriedly built 2-bedroom flats, rename the colony of flats after their heroes and compel us to spend the rest of our lives there because crude oil must be drilled even from our bedrooms in the Niger Delta. It looks like a dream but it would have become a reality going by the way the country was drifting and the attendant arrogance from some our brothers up North.

Many years back, you would never contemplate a business trip to Abuja without ensuring that you have a well starched Hausa/Fulani clothing in your travelling bag. Matched with an Hausa cap, it was perceived as the Master key to open all doors for success. Your academic attainment was of no relevance. Even having dressed the way, they wanted all of us to dress then, your inability to speak their “national” language immediately reveal your fakeness.   All that is now history, demolished by Obasanjo and being smoothened by Jonathan. I can now dress the way of my fathers, a wrapper, top and even carry a walking stick in pursuit of government contracts in Abuja. I wish I was a woman, I would have dated Jonathan for free, no cash demands because he has restored the dignity of a people….the mocked people of Niger Delta.

Still on political governance, the Yoruba from the South West are a people of very high intellectual standing. They come first in this country when it comes to education but it took the life and death of people like Chief MKO Abiola for them to be considered good enough to govern this country. First, it was a make-believe arrangement headed by Chief Shonekan, but when it became obvious that the  arrangement would never pacify the Yoruba with all their might, they chose a Youba man   General Obasanjo whom in their reckoning will be a stooge and do their bidding. How wrong they were, some are still licking their wounds, but it availed the Yoruba a chance to rewrite their history and place themselves on the same pedestal with the North…..those qualified to govern Nigeria.

The emergence of Jonathan in governance was also supposed to rewrite the history of the Niger Delta, to enable us move up to that same pedestal and preach further the unity of this country but some people think otherwise. Such persons must be made to understand that there can never be unity in the absence Justice and equity. Let it known also that this unity will remain a mirage until the south east move up to that same pedestal. No one is a fool again in Nigeria, those years of slavery and foolishness are gone forever.

If a section of this country is not fit to govern like the other sections that have done so, that unfit section is also not fit to remain with the superior section lest it infest it with her ignorance. In clearer language, the unfit section should not also be a part of Nigeria. Herein lies our predicament of Jonathan running for a second term. He must run and he must win in line with the unity we preach. If he runs and loses by any margin, those of us from the Niger Delta will interpret it to mean our collective rejection by the Nigerian state. Let no one be deceived by the few from the region fighting this concept, they are on their own. They are traitors of our cause and will reap the fruit of their greed in no distant time.

However, to those our brothers from the South West and up North who genuinely see us as brothers and partners, who consistently believe in Jonathan and to a larger extent the whole region, be assured of our continued respect and love. Nigeria is a country of one people, one destiny in obedience to God.

*Owhefere is a serving two-term member of the Delta   State House of Assembly where he represents Isoko North Constituency.)