LEADERSHIP CRISIS - NIGERIA
Friday, February 26, 2010 at 2:54am

I have read various comments by many friends,during the past two days or so, all reacting in one way or the other on the sudden return of President Yar'Aduah to Nigeria after almost 100 days in Saudi Arabia where he had been said to be receiving medical treatment.

I have always wished the President well and indeed joined most Nigerians in prayers for his speedy recovery. Some three weeks ago or so, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan was proclaimed Acting President by the Senate. There are those, who, perhaps rightly, considered the process by the Senate as flawed but there are others too, who who would rather ignore the breaches, arguing that the deed saved the Country from stalemate and embarrassment.

To deal with the present turn of events at the highest leadership level in Nigeria it is my considered view that we need to put things in proper perspective. It is unfortunate where we find ourselves today but our Country was plunged into crisis deliberately by the actions of the former President, General Olusegun Obasanjo, who could not bear his failure to secure a Life Presidency.

His quest for a third term as a stepping stone to Life Presidency was aborted by the efforts of a few courageous Nigerians. He had no time left to plot and execute any other evil plan that would guarantee him an elongation of his tenure, so he decided to muddy the waters. Being a man insatiable for power, he proceeded to create a structure for indirect rule for Nigeria with himself to preside over it. He unilaterally altered the Constitution of The PDP Party in a manner to ensure that only he would qualify for the post of Chairman Board of Trustees with powers to control the President. He then had to choose a Candidate whom he thought would fit the plan.

The choice of Yar'Adua and Goodluck Jonathan to succeed him was so crudely organized but made possible by a sham election in April 2007,an election which has been acknowledged as the worst rigged election in the Country's history. Obasanjo was fully aware of the health condition of the candidate who as Governor of Katsina State spent several extended periods abroad for treatment. That is why most people consider his feeble and dishonest attempt recently to distance himself from President Yar'Aduah is an unfortunate betrayal of the man.

It is common knowledge how Obasanjo systematically made nonsense of the structure of the PDP. For instance all the National Chairmen of the Party after the first chairman Chief Solomon Lar of 1999 were not democratically elected but were merely handpicked. Any one who dared to challenge the man was simply removed. Similarly, candidates put up by the pdp for elections across the country were mostly handpicked but were made to "win" through the massive deployment of official machinery and a corrupted INEC. In fact INEC became constructed as a tool in General Obasanjo's hands. The April 2007 elections has been recorded as the worst ever in the history of Nigeria. At his swearing in, President Yar'Aduah acknowledged that the election which brought him to power was flawed and he promised Electoral Reforms. The candidate selection process and the sham elections did not only produce a weak Presidency but it also produced an extremely weak National Assembly. How can anyone expect the National Assembly to indict an INEC that rigged them into the Assembly? That seems to be the dilemma!
A swine cannot give birth to a lion! To sort out Nigeria we have to return to the trenches and to first principles.The people of Nigeria must take their own destiny in their own hands, undertake to elect their own representatives at all levels on the basis of one man one vote. Fundamental to this is the guarantee of Free and Fair elections. Electoral Reform is now extremely urgent. Without the Reform Elections in 2011 would be even more disastrous! If the Senate can amend section149etc of the Constitution within 2 weeks it can certainly undertake to Reform the Electoral process before the next elections.