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<br /> Forwarded by Sunny Ofili DATE...Read the full article.

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The Sahara boys must be loving this! Are they consultants? Anyway, finally some Nigerians are discovering bravery.

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Now we are talking. This is what aspirants should be doing rather than banding around against a third term agenda that, though thick in the air, is still smoke nothingless (OBJ can still come out and say he never intended to run). The more important thing is that those who aspire to be president should begin to tell us what they intend to do, what someone else had called manifestos. Before picking on the issues, I must first commend Atiku for leading the pack and perhaps turning the trend of events towards issues rather than criticisms and bickerings.

1. Atiku is interested in running because he believes "he is the most experienced politician available for the job haven been VP for 8 years". This is very true and should have been his strongest point, but the issues from these years of service would haunt him most in this campaign. Prime amongst this is the "black sheep" role he played in the govt (for want of a better word). The govt epitomised by the presidency, has unabashedly communicated that he was more of a liability than an asset (the truth and proof of which we would surely get to know in the coming days). If this is so, then it presents a moral burden (now famous in Nigerian politics) for Atiku - can he eat his cake and have it?. He would be hard pressed to convince us why he should claim benefits from a govt he "supposedly tried to undermine.

2. This statement from the VP, in his declaration, that

“he believes that the on-going reform programme should be entrenched in our laws,
but will modify many of them after consulting widely with stakeholders so that
they can be better implemented in the interest of the country and its people.�

is pregnant with meaning and bodes a big implication for the current reforms. Good that his desire is to institutionalise the reforms (what OBJ also claims is the sole reason for his "third term ambition" even if it would be at the expense of his place in history). The big question is - What does Atiku mean by "modify them"? Implicit in this statement is the possibility of reversal of certain aspects of the reform and we need to know Atiku's position is on each of the 5 cardinal pillars of the reform programs. What risk does this imply in terms of the current thrust of the reforms that are just gaining momentum?

3. He says he "generally he does not intend to lead Nigeria all alone by himself. That he does not believe that good leadership is about a single individual but the ability of a Leader to assemble some of the best hands to help the leader reader to realize his objectives.� Can he muster the required integrity to convince these "best hands" to work for him. Will someone like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Charles Soludo or evn the new NERC chairman Ransome Owan, remain in or agree to wrok for a govt headed by Atiku? This is a testy fact he must convince us about so that we don't return to the age where one Alhaji who know nothing in accounts is made Finance minister or Salisu with a phoney degree from Toronto is made a Director in NNPC at the age of 26! These things are antithetical to performance. (Even OBJ was initially guilty of this when he made Bola Ige minister of power).

4. He has promised to continue with the current “anti corruption war� of the current administration but intends to extend it to cover the state and local government.� Can he do this if the record of some of his actions especially in the first term of this administration are true? How can this be possible and why was it that those governors - Alams, Ibori, Dariye, Igbenedion - considered particularly enmeshed in corruption where associated with him. How can he explain his role as chairman of NCP and the issues the arose - such as the AP privatisation issue with Sadiq - vis a vis an anti corruption drive? It would be a very tall order to convince Nigerians of his capability and moral qualification to combat corruption (which is still our bane in Nigeria).

5. He has promised to give priority to the Niger Delta, and am sure every other contestant would say this, but what evidence from his 8 yrs in govt can he show to convince that this is sincere and possible. This statement is a blanket statement and every aspirant would have to be specific on this. Would he be willing to push for the 25% derivation that the zone is clamouring for. Would the land use decree be revoked under an Atiku presidency? Where does he stand on resource control?

6. He promised 4 to 10 million jobs in "his 4 year tenure". This is very far fetched and sounds political. How does he intend to do this seeing especially that corporate Nigeria and the business world, for reasons best known to them, have not particularly taken to him and instead defferred to OBJ's approach. We would like to hear a broad plan from him on how he intends to achieve this campaign promise.

All said and done, it is still good that he has started to talk of issues and hopefully others would follow suit so that Nigerians can know what options they have as they go to the polls in 2007, even if OBJ secures for himself the opportunity to vie for a third term. The stage is certainly now getting more interesting.

For those that want to respond to this contribution, we should all learn decorum. Stick to addressing issues and attacking the facts of a given position rather than rsorting to intemperate vituperations on people. It usually shows the measure of your person.

Cheers.

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Now that the masquerades have started to unmask, the third term agenda will start to recede like a fading bad dream (whatever the inducement!), it is time to address our minds to the present and the near future. We should expect to see more declarations of intent in the coming days from those still waiting in the wings.

As the beginnings of a lame duck Presidency stare President Obasanjo in the face, now is the time for him to start the process of the long goodbye. That is the only business of government for him now and preparing himself for a thorough and hard probe (of all orifices?? - ouch!):o . After 7 years in office, we now know and can see that he has done his best and we now know and can see that his best has only worsened our state of anomie. We can now see that he has only brought rancour where we needed healing. We can now see that he has empowered only a handful whereas he promised the multitude. We now know that this man was the wrong leader for our country. We now know that those who warned us at the start in 1999 have been vindicated after all the wasted years.

Busanga has got it in one. The actions of Atiku amount to the rediscovery of bravery in the face of a rampaging tyrannt and the proverbial bull in a China shop. Having failed to intimidate this man and cower him for 3 years by the most despicable acts of humiliation and bullying, they may now have to beg him just as they did on that convention night in 2003. This is a man who has rediscovered the power he has over his enemies and the realisation that his enemies are not as all powerful and all knowing as they have tried to pretend. In a way attitudinally, Atiku reminds of Fela "Baba" Kuti of a different era sticking two fingers at a tormentor albeit the same Obasanjo.
Now listen to the tirades and beyond the cacophony of frightened voices with the loss of attendant power staring them in the face and throwing them into a frenzied panic. You will hear about all manner of PDP meetings from dusk to dawn. You will hear of NWC, NEC, this caucus and that caucus, ward level, local govt level, state level etc ad infinitum. All na efulefu -a total waste of time. This is a party that has long lost its soul and is waiting for the undertakers. Atiku did not make any claims about the 2003 elections in his speech but referred to the unwholesome hijacking of the PDP from under their feet. When he talks about "no elections", he refers to the lack of democracy in the PDP and how Ahmadu Ali and his NWC came to be but the anti-Atiku crowd are clutching at straws to try to discredit him. They would need to come up with stronger arguments because demonstrably this dude is made of sterner stuff. But let us examine the churlish outrage from the apologia for a second. When Uba and the President alluded to their complicity in brazen electoral fraud, did the heavens fall? Was Uba not promoted for acts of single handedly winning a state for the now comatose and disreputable party?

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"Can he muster the required integrity to convince these "best hands" to work for him. Will someone like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Charles Soludo or evn the new NERC chairman Ransome Owan, remain in or agree to wrok for a govt headed by Atiku?"
"...where one Alhaji who know nothing in accounts is made Finance minister or Salisu with a phoney degree from Toronto is made a Director in NNPC at the age of 26.."

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Omovudu's words continue to trouble me because inherent in statements he has continued to exude in a rather temperate manner on this board is a racism that he may not intend. Every time he makes reference to northerners, it is invariably negative and when he talks about the virtuous and "best hands", they are invariably from his neck of the woods. I don't know where it is written that without Okonjo, we cannot reform (SAP like) or whether she and the others are the only persons with the integrity to manage economic reform. We do not even know where he got the appellation of "best hands" from. It is this phoney indispensability that has created this harvest of the 3rd term continuity chorus that is so inimical to our growth and progress. There are still countless Nigerians of remarkable ability performing good deeds in public and private enterprises outside and within Nigeria. Political leadership is about integrity, energy, acceptability, reliability, passion and much more. It is people of like minds that rally to a political cause and when you win power, into office. You cannot start to dispense political patronage to outsiders in a "monkey de work baboon de chop" fashion like Obasanjo has done in his second term to ingratiate himself. That can only weaken the political infrastructure of parties. I will continue to argue that we need robust institutions to steer the ship of the state and Obasanjo's greatest failing is his inability to successfully develop and nourish effective institutions. His style has also encouraged personality cults in the name of political parties and perhaps we can now start to move away from these. We are also told that Atiku is associated with corrupt governors and presumably the President is not. So it seems that no one has made allegations against Peter "2 jets" Odili, Victor "phantom" Attah, Ebeano "no beans" Nnamani, Ayo "bird flu" Fayose, "Dr" Omololu "Ikoyi Houses" Olunloyo, Abdullahi "Dr Alh Prof JP" Adamu, Adamu "N800m Calender" Muazu, Bukola "SGBN" Saraki, Kwankwaso, Don "Tinapa" Duke or his men friday Tony "300bn" Anenih, or the 3rd term Mantu, or Ahmadu Ali of the NPA board "sleight of hand" and Ibadan garrison fame or Bode George and the never ending NPA investigation???

As with most politicians, Atiku has started to promise an impossible Utopia. That his handlers are allowing him to make such silly promises like 4-10m jobs in 4 years shows that these people have either not come to terms with the realities of running the Nigerian state or still believe that they are dealing with an unintelligent electorate that would not take them to task on such claims. They would be very mistaken. As he has now declared his intent, the Turaki Vanguard must now transform from a shadowy grouping into a professional political machine. Perhaps Elendu has sent in his proforma.:wink: In the coming days and weeks, the face of Nigerian politics will change further because one who has come to dominate and bestride the political landscape like a colossus is about to find out that by his unrepentant actions, he has laid the foundations of his cenotaph in the hall of ignominy. Rather than becoming the father of the new democratic order, he will become one of the cast offs of a bygone totalitarian era - a failed experiment in civilian dictatorship. It is perhaps likely that having apparently failed in their ambition for a 3rd term, they will want to scuttle Atiku's aspiration and that can only be good for our democracy except there is one waiting in the wings to take advantage - that crafty Prince of the Niger. In the scramble for relevance however, Mr President may sooner find that failure is an orphan as his erstwhile praise singers start to migrate to find other deities to worship with the lucre from his failed attempts tucked under their belts. "Born again" Gbenga Daniel's recent vituperations in the name of some yoruba deity is a timely reminder that with these people, their gods are transient and only suited to the particular circumstances. Nigeria will be grateful to Atiku for helping us see off a dictator and tyrannt but I doubt that we will be grateful enough to grant him the ultimate prize.

As Sunday Awoniyi said, it is time to start preparing to say goodbye to bad rubbish. Let the President start packing.

Aluta!

Gwobezentashi

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My candid view as one of the country's patriots in the Diaspora, i would by nature suggest that a South-South native be considered for the presidency come 2007 but the alternative will be the incumbent Vice President of the Federation Dr. Alhaji Atiku that his deportment appears to be a person of confidence, not tribally inclined, soft looking, diplomatic pragmatic and with God fearing qualities, thus he could be considered on these basis to signpost for the presidency hence we should all consider the oneness of the citizens in mind in the process of unity that will contemplate to building a nation without marginalisation or oppression nor discrimination of sorts that, with result shall lead to the development of the socio economic political scenerio of the Nigerian state.

Also, it is the moral and obligatory duty of the next dispensation to address the situation of those Nigerians stranded in overseas to be easily recalled back home through a programme of rehabilitation to gainfully integrate into the society.

Thereupon, It's being relayed by the Nigerian Press that many of her citizens are stranded in many parts of the globe due to bureaucratic laws of the host countries that circumstance made most of our able citizens to become illegal immigrants thus without a stay permit and this is very common in the western world currently but not by the making of our citizens to remains in such a status therefore the government should be bold enough to tackled this malignant disease caused by the mismanagement of our past with the present government as related to employment and economic stagnation that as a result agitated these prosperous, gallant citizens to travel out to check for a better life but unfortunately Nigerians are presently terrorised in countries likes in Saudi Arabia, Morocco, libya,Spain,Italy,England,Ireland,USA,Holland,etc.

Finally, the Niger Delta debacle should be resolved once and finally with sincerity, accordingly, we needed a government that will promote a true federalism principles and give the citizens a futuristic ideology that will borne optimism in the minds of the Nigerian masses and eventually provide a space for a true democratic environment.

Meanwhile our cherished and prizely honoured Alhaji Abubakar Atiku should reclaimed from these facts of previous governments defects as to maximised it candidature for the presidency..

God bless.

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Hello, Omovudu:

Thank you very much for expressing my mind, almost to the letter: in toto!

Maybe the Law of Unintended Consequences is fully at play in Nigeria right now:


STAGE #1:
Saint Mathew Aremu spreads the innuendo that Demon Turaki Abubakar is corrupt, and therefore not suitable to be his disciple, much more his successor.

STAGE #2:
Saint Mathew publicly denounces Demon Turaki as disloyal, openly condoning, and facilitating intrigues, and schemes to edge Turaki out of the PDP (e.g.: de-registration-registration flip-flops); leaks scandalous stories about Turaki’s “greed� for looting “privatised� items, openly ridiculing him from time to time, as Saint Mathew deems reasonable.

STAGE #3:
Exactly one year to the 2007 presidential elections, Demon Turaki suddenly erupts, openly challenging Saint (General) Mathew Aremu Obasanjo’s naked impudence, megalomania, and dictatorial proclivities like nobody else has ever dared to do before in Nigeria.

Predictably, Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, is visibly rattled. Special Assistant Deacon Femi, on behalf of Saint (General) Aremu, unleashes a latrine load of verbal diarrhoea on the person of Turaki, asking him to resign. Turaki Abubakar instead, asks Saint Mathew to resign, giving reason: breach of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

STAGE #4:
Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (Turaki Adamawa) publicly announces his presidential ambitions, thus ending the silly and boring war of nerves between the two of them, which President Olusegun (Baba) Obasanjo seems to relish with sardonic over-indulgence.

STAGE #5:
Now that Demon Alhaji (Turaki Adamawa) Atiku Abubakar (The Disloyal) has called off the bluff of Saint General (Balogun Owu) Mathew Okikiolakan Obasanjo (The Great), we fervently pray that our geriatric general of a president, Baba Gbenga, is bold enough, and patriotic enough to substantiate all those juicy innuendos of mind blowing, scandalous “greedy� acquisitions that Atiku Abubakar looted in the course of “privatising� Nigeria, if nothing else, at least to even out scores. If he succeeds, he can then go through the due processes of kicking Alhaji Atiku Abubakar out of Aso Rock Villa, as Vice President, for good, and possibly sent to jail for abject corruption. If not, General Olusegun Obasanjo (GCFR) should just SHUT UP, thereafter!

Finally, for all participants in the Village Square, the following should be more than self-evident:

1: Decorum is in the eye of the beholder: It makes no sense trying to propound a unified theory of global decency to anybody, more especially in cyberspace. It is a futile exercise imposing behavioural expectations in virtual reality.

2: Now that we are about to witness the end of a boring, old, and grossly over-abused era of ego wars, and similar narcissistic games Nigeria’s visionless political elite normally play, let us begin to force all players in Nigeria’s political space to strictly adhere to addressing pressing national issues about the sustainable collective survival of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, rather than discussing trivialities, personalities, and budgets.

Hopefully, such benchmarks of measurable expectations would better quantify and assess the measure of political effectiveness, problem-solving capacity, maturity, initiative, soundness of judgment, reliability, personal integrity, and dedication to duty of the individual politician in the in-coming era of post-Obsanjo politics in Nigeria.

Thank GOD!

Muchas gracias.

Don Juan Carlos ABRAXAS (III).

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Could this be the new and improved Abraxas speaking?

G

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Gwobezentashi,

Expected your response as a careful survey of your pieces (often temperate) had indicated a consistent threadline and inkling that was of an almost conclusive position. First some clarification - An interpretation of a racial slant from the examples in the piece is misplaced and was clearly not the intent. The examples were illustrations of misnomars from the era of our political misadventure prior to 1999 and given the participant distribution then the probability of a pick from the more dominant pool was more likely (should also note that there was the example of Bola Ige and Power). Besides we have examples of stellar personalities of Northern extraction - Col Umar, El Rufai etc, "best hands" (picked from Atiku's declaration) whose performace we have commended elsewhere.

That said, the issues raised need to be addressed, the thrust of which is this - Can Atiku with his 8 yrs in office be trusted by a wary electorate to the extent that they would commit the saddle of governance to him? Can he reach tall enough, by facts, tact or verve to overcome the wall of the current perception society has? Even if these perceptions are not true, perceptions are reality to the perceiver. Without this hurdle cleared away, every statement, every declaration, would be scrutinised for the extraneous meanings inbetween, underneath and round about. This is also a hurdle "the prince of the Niger" would have to wrangle with.

Much as OBJ may have been derided, he had this "trust capital" that enabled him, even in the face of difficult crises (such as the fuel increase after the 2003 election), to push forward with his intent that ultimately delivered results (and a trust he unfortunately wants to squander with his 3rd term ambition).

As the scenes unfolds, there would definitely be twists and turns, and one can eerily hope that the ensuing tussle should pull the 3 titans down (one good that can come out of the 3rd term bid) so that the nation, can take her "step of faith" unfettered into her future.

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Abraxas,

Saw your contribution after posting. Impressive!!

O.

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@Don juan Carlos,

Don juan Carlos(iii)...... we hail thee, you probably dont realise..but your past style of writing has given you a fanbase on this site.....if u really change i personally would miss your style of writing(the bold characters)..and the unique perspective from which you dissect articles on this site(not blindly like some peeps)......
Generally we are all learning from each other apart from "asslickers" who dont seem to have a conscience.
Well i hope your change means even bolder text, more contributions and more ideas from a revolutionary perspective..... i am with you(unless of course u go eat your own vomit(i.e u change to an asslicker))......
Who knows i might just name my first son DON JUan CARLOS ABRAXAS (iv) The Great :)

If u change for the worse i go thief your name for this forum oooo..then plagiarise your style of writing.....

i.e BYE FOR NOW FOLKS

Muchas GRACIAS
Don Carlos JUan SEbastian Abra(wetin)

*just kidding of course there can only be one you.....