In the after-hours of a long night party on one New Year’s Eve, I remember sitting idle in the gradually deserted party hall of a quiet metropolitan suburb. The fireworks had subsided and long been replaced by jubilant tones and sounds of upbeat fellows in some all-night jamboree. I shared the untidy hall with a trusted friend that was slowly recovering from the merciless strike of consumed alcohol, controlling all his actions from within his system. I was no better. I had long dropped on an orthopedic sofa at one end of the hall, begging the object to keep my weight and body intact. My mind was focused on the speed at which the entire world was spinning around like a merry-go-round when I suddenly heard a voice. My trusted friend spoke. “This life is dead complicated,“ he said. “But guess what! It’s a very easy deal as well”. I waited for him to proceed. Nothing came forth. I then burst into some typical booze-induced hysteric laughter at the emptiness in these words. “Contradiction” I thought aloud.

But seeing the stage today of dramatic scenarios unfolding in Nigeria, I consider myself a contemporary witness of a political zeitgeist, in which an erstwhile easy deal is rendered dead complicated. At center stage is none other than the holder of the apex office of President Mr. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

Mixing the past and the present in a dynamic political world of endless motions, I perceive political analysts basking in the illusionary stratosphere of constructive misconceptions. Views are advanced to furnish the comical impression of a new Nigerian President that is starting off with little or no goodwill of the masses to cushion-off the early days of jumpstarting a new dawn of political calmness and activism. A notion I strongly hope that the President does not share.

An erstwhile state governor that is credited with quiescent composure and focused achievements in the management of public coffers away from deficits to surpluses and zero interest in looting and grabbing cannot but arouse public interest and patience in outright curiosity. Even though lacking in serenity, there is sufficient public fortitude in waiting to identify the direction of the President’s course. There is definitely a period of probation.

The precious, golden question though is what the President makes of this gracious term of public resilience. There are many before him in various positions, who no doubt, will be well and able in resounding audible songs of ‘paradise lost’ in wasted opportunities. There will be songs enough to echo the speed at which chances evaporate in thin air leaving the actor to the merciless, blistering bite of some frosty polar temperature.

I have no doubt, some will wonder what Frisky Larrimore is up to again with such a chain of self-professed philosophical pieces of wisdom. After all, the President has not even completed a 100 days in the exalted office.

Indeed, the current trend in the actions of the President leaves plenty doubts in the mind of many observers, if this highly admirable and respectable President is not slowly getting the jitters on what he has chosen upon himself.

Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s predecessor President Olusegun Obasanjo will be able to sing an audible song on how fast eight years of public administration slipped through his desk with the speed of a whirlwind. A hundred days will disappear with the speed of a nighttime sleep lost in dreams that may appear so real that the dreamer would strongly wish to continue sleeping and only rise to the shock of disillusion when the wake-up call ushers in reality and all that pretty stuffs turn out to have been just a dream after all the frames and strains.

Today, I see a President that is apparently consciously worried by a widely condemned electoral process and the question of legitimacy. A president, obviously in fear of the unpredictable countenance of Supreme Court Judges. Rather than ordering a speedy repair work on the death-trap and robbers’ den called Lagos-Benin Expressway, almost all of the President’s early days are consumed in aggressive flirts with opposition parties to join a government of National Unity and have them withdraw election petitions.

I see a President that is in fear of losing touch with the northern constituency that was fractured into factions in the wake of highly divisive electoral manipulations. The expectation of some power-base solidity in the revamped but slowly mended northern constituency is throwing the President at the mercy of multifarious subordinate offshoots in different identities. Everyone knows how best to go about everything and would ideally love to provide all Ministers and the political agenda. The President is almost bugged in the entangling web of the gangsters of interest and a government is waiting to be formed.

I see a President that is scared of displaying too much proximity to his predecessor and yet not seeking to advocate any act that may ostracize Olusegun Obasanjo. A delicate balancing act that may demand a huge price at the cost of advancing a noble cause. Opposition parties were aggrieved on several issues. Politicians of several colors have axes to grind on countless platforms. But reconciliation is high on the President’s agenda. At all cost? Some past politicians are roaming free in spite of obvious and provable crimes against the masses they were supposed to serve. Grievances or not, Nuhu Ribadu is being held high on a sacrificial platform to appease grievances that can never be avoided in the upright delivery of a delicate job. But little does the President know that Nuhu Ribadu in the role of a sacrificial lamb will be making him a potent material for future presidency in a functioning democracy. Ribadu for President á la Tunde Idiagbon. Mr. President, encourage Ribadu and streamline his path. Not replace!

I see a President that is stuck at a crossroad not knowing precisely which way to go. A president that almost seems to be pursuing the personal ambition of being everybody’s darling. A President whose conviction for the strength of arguments advanced by one or two interest group(s) as opposed to others seems to be replacing an authentic political agenda in the name of calmness and legitimacy. Gosh, Mr. President! Wake up now and show some guts!

For once in this political dispensation, I am impressed by the pronouncements of the Action Congress. Even though on the wrong side of the fence by failing to extend the hand of fellowship and rallying around the unity of the country, it is steadfast in its rejection of political offices even at the risk of breaking up with its ranks. It is even topped with a word of wisdom urging President Yar’Adua to implement his agenda and not wait for the Action Congress.

I am impressed by the pronouncements of Muhammadu Buhari, who openly chastised the power brokers of the northern constituency asking where they were when he took the previous government to court over flawed elections in 2003. It didn’t matter then because the President was a Yoruba man. The divisive ethnic card notwithstanding, Muhammadu Buhari also stands on the wrong side of the fence for contradictory stances and the good-boy rigmarole. It was he who signaled to his party to waive all notions of election petition because it serves no purpose as his experience taught him. This time though, is he boosted by clandestine assurances to hang on fast to a hitherto discarded idea in a roundabout turn? Buhari like Atiku only knows best what promises his election petition holds.

The entire set-up is tangling up deeper in an ever-complex web that may be difficult to unravel.

I hear a party leader come out in the open to dissociate from a government policy that he oversaw with the party’s organ. Wolves in the party are going for nothing but the head of the ‘dare-devil’ leader. But does anyone learn from the lessons of the past? Obviously cowed by the fear of losing his position Ahmadu Ali played along and accepted the policies of the former President. Now, he has nothing to lose. His term is over and its time for another party leader. Is it more pertinent to address the issue of a regime of fear, in which Ali was intimidated, vis-à-vis replacement with an inclusive approach or punish the voice of dissent for a wanton display of cowardice? Lessons to be learnt indeed.

No doubt the former President Olusegun Obasanjo is not a saint. I have no doubt that his policies were tailored and implemented with the love of the nation at heart in the quest to do his utmost for the nation under his control. As a human though, he sure had his flaws and not all that he did were short of blemishes. Ahmadu Ali’s complaints definitely have legitimate clues to look into. The controversial issue of subsidies will trail Nigeria’s development for a long time to come unless a viable policy is devised to define a clear course.

The entire set-up is tangling up deeper in an ever complex web that may be difficult to unravel.

I hear a party desperado struggled to rally fighters to upset a pre-determined hierarchy in a board of trustees. Rivalry triggered between stalwarts whose taste of power seems to acknowledge no terminal point. The truth however, is that a deal remains a deal. An amended party constitution subjected to the modus operandi of party operatives (irrespective of the influence of incumbency) is a done deal. Dissent through the backdoor and at a point of no return, is treachery and indecent. It’s all thumbs down for Tony Anenih. But should he pay the ultimate price of crucifixion? Will he accept his errors and choose the path to the ranks that he belongs? Will he be pardoned? Lessons to be learned indeed!

This life is dead complicated. But guess what! It’s a very easy deal as well. It all depends on what you make of it.

Robot  Villager

# 1 In the after-hours of a long night party on one New Year’s Eve, I remember sitting idle in t...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 09.07.2007 13:03

ithinkbetter  Villager

# 2 No doubt the former President Olusegun Obasanjo is not a saint. I have no doubt that his policies were tailored and implemented with the love of the nation at heart in the quest to do his utmost for the nation under his control. ....villigers, hear..hear...hear! in almighty god's name i reject obasanjo's love -god forbid! Posted by ithinkbetter| 09.07.2007 15:03

Common Man  JJC

# 3 Here we go again…..!!! The problem in Nigeria is not about the lack of ideas for moving the nation forward, rather our inability to translate laudable ideas into flawlessly implemented policies and laws. Or rather like Awo once said, (I quote) “The Problem with Nigeria is not Illiteracy, but the Illusion to knowledge”. How I wish the man is alive today to witness the current developments. All these are made worse with: - Dishonest and selfish conception, perception and assessment of issues and policies and the indiscipline in executing same. - Hero-worshipping, mediocrity cult and insincerity of purpose. Despite my misgivings about the developments so far, I will still resist every urge to rate the current leadership of Nigeria for now. If an optimist is a person who orders a dozen oysters with the hope of paying with the pearls he finds in them, then I remain an optimist. The Gods are not to blame and time will tell. common man Posted by Common Man| 29.08.2007 08:13