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When was the last time you heard the phrase: “the Presidency said” or “the Presidency plans to”? Yes. A very long time indeed. Looks like another colourless and going-through-the-motion season is truly upon us. Five months in and things are beginning to crystallise and take ugly shapes around us.
One school of thought in trying to explain the current apathy is that Yar’Adua was never interested nor prepared for the job he now has. Unfortunately for him, the Presidency is a long, long way from Katsina in every sense. Another hypothesis is that the fear of the Electoral tribunal is very real. I thought Yar’Adua has adequately taken care of that little problem with his government of “National Unity”. Or is that little GNU blue pill not working for him? Unhappily, Yar’Adua has chosen not to toe the Chris Ngige route.
Ngige after being foisted on the people of
Anambra
State
by the same perfidious Obasanjo and Chris Uba via a stolen mandate boldly embarked on a populist programme and a massive infrastructural development scheme. Even though he was eventually removed by the courts (or rather, OBJ and the PDP), Ngige had by then done so well that quite a few folks in Anambra were ambivalent about the turn of events. At a point, some people were actually putting pressure on Obi to withdraw his challenge at the electoral tribunal. I’m sure people did not feel that way because they love the name Chris Ngige, but because the man was doing some things right. Sadly, at this point, the same cannot be said of Yar’Adua.
Our current president seems to be cowering, timid, ‘studying the situation’, and in awe of everything and everybody. Political associates, hawks and other desperados are correctly reading the signals and are taking full advantage. There was even a report that Obasanjo having been told some home truths in a pleasantly sarcastic manner by Dr Alex Ekwueme stormed out of a recent PDP stakeholders’ meeting. As OBJ stalked out of the room with Ahmadu Ali in tow, Yar’Adua made to run after him to plead with him but saner voices in the room told him to sit back down and then had to remind him that he is the president of the country – in case that fact hasn’t sunk in yet.
Just like that and without much preamble, we seem to have hit the wall. Since Soludo (and the Central Bank) was stopped dead in its tracks, all has gone very quiet on the economic development front. In fact, the only economic news that filtered through in five months is that the new Minister of Finance wants the country to borrow more money to do “certain things”. In no time at all, down the drain goes all the effort and sweat of Dr Iweala and her erstwhile colleagues. Apparently, we are not earning enough from crude oil sales and that huge foreign reserve is still earning decent interest to be disturbed for now. So we have to go a-borrowing again. It would appear that if the Finance Minister has no debt to service, he cannot think of other duties to occupy his time.
The war, or state of emergency declared on the energy sector (Electricity supply) is stillborn, or perhaps is happening in another country.
The epileptic and selective war on corruption under Obasanjo has been shelved. Actually it is currently being interred, with the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) performing the last rites. In its stead is a slogan: the rule of law. The fight against corruption and the rule of law are being treated as if they should be mutually exclusive. Under this administration, so far, the rule of law means inertia and freedom for connected thieves on technicalities. The EFCC appears to have run out of steam; and the ICPC that really only exist on paper or in its Director’s mind has promptly gone into hibernation.
People that should be scampering for cover since May 2007 now loom large in the polity: Andy Uba, Ibori, Dariye, Akume, Nnamani, Sani Yerima, etc, etc. The boys and girls down at the House of Representatives have quickly read the Braille and took their cues. Enter profligacy and ‘owambeism’ without restraint. Grimly, the Reps are bent on protecting their Speaker leader from intrusive good for nothings like the rest of us.
The only action in town, the most noticeable movement since May 2007 is the Attorney General Vs EFCC battle royal. (Or is that Yar’Adua and his people Vs OBJ and his people?) The priority for this administration – certainly for the Attorney General – appears to be respite for Ibori, Kalu, Odili and co. In effect, they have used their stolen resources and the AGF to fight the nation to another standstill. Everything else has been, and remains pretty much unremarkable.
OBJ did say we’ll miss him and his administration, didn’t he? Can somebody please plead with Oga Yar’Adua now …
demdem@hotmail.co.uk
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Posted by Robot| 15.10.2007 13:16