Unsavoury Presidential Outburst
Being the first Nigerian President to hold a PhD, Nigerians were excited about the coming to office of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. For quite some time, we have had leaders with limited academic qualifications at the helm in the country. This explained Nigerians’ excitement at the emergence of Jonathanas president. Indeed, Nigerians were unanimous in their support for Jonathan in the wake of the politics associated with the sickness of his late principal, Umaru Yar’Adua. Perhaps, they did this with the belief that, at last the nation was on the verge of having a decent president who will be a pride to all. No one wants a president who will openly declare that an election is a ‘do or die affair’. Nobody wants a president who will call journalists and others with different views and opinions unprintable names. In short, Nigerians were tired of leaders who use foul and un-cultured languages. So, with the coming of Jonathan, it was good bye to the old order and welcome to a new order. At least, so we thought!
However, recent development in the polity has proved that educational attainment has nothing to do with good conduct or good character. What the Yorubas call ‘Omoluabi’ (a thoroughbred) has equally been proven to have nothing to do with education. It is more a product of family and personal upbringing.
What the president recently said at Ibadan, on the occasion of the flag off of his presidential campaign in the SouthWest, is to say the least ‘unpresidential’, unsavoury, unimaginable and shocking. According to the president: “ the SouthWest is too important to be left in the hands of ‘rascals’. Hence we (his party) must take it over from them (the opposition). He continued: “The ruling party must take over Lagos. We must also take over Osun and Ekiti states.†Those that watched the event on television could not believe their ears when the president referred to the leadership of the governments in Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Lagos as ‘rascals’. Other English words with similar meanings to the word ‘rascal’ are rogue, criminal, scoundrel, lay-about among others.
Aside referring to the opposition leaders in the SouthWest as rascals, President Jonathan used of the word ‘must’ in reiterating his party’s resolve to take over the SouthWest with emphasis on Lagos represents a recourse into the politics of ‘do-or-die’ which we thought had died with the old order. Please don’t get me wrong, the president has the right to want his party to form the government in all states of the federation. It is a legitimate right. But when the president of a country that has not been able to handle security issues in Abuja, Jos, Bauchi, Borno, among others, sees the taking over of other states as a must then we believe that the polity is moving along a dangerous path. The word ‘must’ implies by all means, legal or illegal. It connotes desperation!
It is hard to believe that Dr. Jonathan would use such a foul language on fellow politicians whose only ‘crime’ is belonging to another party. How can a fine gentleman as Dr. Kayode Fayemi who holds a PhD degree in war study be referred to as a rascal? A man who had faithfully served several United Nations agencies in different capacities across the globe. A man who braved all odds to fight for the entrenchment of democracy in the country at the risk of his life. A man who has no criminal record by all standard. A gentle man to the core with impeccable character. How do you refer to such a man as a rascal?
How do you refer to someone as Engineer Rauf Aregbesola as a rascal? A devoted Muslim who resorted to the judiciary for the recovery of his stolen mandate. Rascals don’t go to courts! They don’t believe in courts. Rather they take the law in their own hands. But Rauf for over three and a half years, patiently waited on the court to retrieve his mandate. And yet he is a rascal? Dr. Mimiko on his part is a fine medical practitioner, a former SSG and commissioner in Ondo State, a former minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a gentle and refined politician with solid grassroots support. What has he done to warrant being referred to as a rascal? Of course, he is not a member of the ruling party which the president wants every Nigerian to belong.
Now, who should refer to Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, one of the brightest hopes of a new Nigeria, a rascal? A man who became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) at the age of 39? A man who in such a short period has transformed Lagos into a leading mega city. A man who rid Oshodi and other flash points in the state of criminals and rascals. A man who transforms the Lagos economy. A man who has no criminal records. A darling of Lagosians, urbane, civil and very refined gentleman. In other lands, where sanity prevails, Fashola should be preparing to occupy Aso Rock to translate what he has done in Lagos on a wider platform. But, we are in Nigeria where heroes are villains and vice versa.
Nigerians know who the real rascals are. They are those who have not been able to rehabilitate Benin-Ore, Lagos-Ibadan and other federal roads in the country after over 12 years in power. They are those who have not been able to turn around the refineries to perform at optimal capacity. They are those who had ensured that most companies in Nigeria relocate to neighbouring Ghana. They are those who have not been able to creatively proffer solutions to the myriad of challenges bedevilling Nigeria. They are those who make Nigerians to suffer in the midst of plenty.
The president is the father of the nation. He must be seen to be fair to all in all that he does. He must be above board. This is the only way we can achieve peace and stability in the polity. This is the path of honour.
•Tayo Ogunbiyi sent this piece from Ministry of Information, Alausa, Ikeja.
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