MIKE ODIEGWU chronicles the events that threw up President Goodluck Jonathan and writes that even from his home state, Bayelsa, the expectations are high When he nurtured the electoral process that ushered in the Fourth Republic in 1999, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd) might not have dreamed of this day. The ex-general perceived by many people as one of the heroes of Nigerian democracy was believed to be uncertain of what would eventually become the future of the shaky process that produced Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo (retd) as the president of the country.
His fears about the democratic future was reportedly heightened following the controversial re-election of Obasanjo in 2003 and the third term imbroglio that later held sway in the polity. He would have been disappointed that no sanity was introduced into the electoral process in 2007 as Obasanjo conducted what later was known as the worst election in the country. So, it was with mixed feelings that Abubakar watched previous inaugurations on May 29.
But for the first time since then, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan who went through an electoral process described by both foreign and local observers as free, fair and credible is being sworn in. He went through the most tiresome and widest electioneering, selling his manifesto to the people. Unlike the late President Umaru Yar’Adua who during his inauguration regretted the electoral process that produced his presidency, Jonathan will X-ray the just concluded elections with pride and make projections for a more reformed process in 2015.
So, today, event followers believe that Abdulsalami is privileged to have been alive to witness the birth of a new Nigeria made possible by a paradigm shift in the nation’s political psyche. In fact, the Jonathan inauguration has opened a new chapter in the nation’s political history with an indelible statement that, henceforth, merit should always determine who gets what, when and how. It has nailed ethnic and religious sentiment to the coffin and buried the concept of minorities in a bottomless pit. It has also rekindled hope and belief of Nigerians, especially the youngsters that the country was not after all destined to collapse.
Today will also remind Nigerians of the tortuous journey of making Jonathan a president. Analysts will also today reflect on how a few members of a cabal held the country to ransom during the sick days of the late Yar’Adua’s administration. Jonathan who remained calm in the face of all the intrigues, and scheming that gave Nigeria a bad international image, survived through the invocation of the doctrine of necessity by the National Assembly. It was a strange principle that elevated Jonathan from the status of vice-president to a president.
That was the first scene of many battles that trailed the Jonathan’s presidency. Afterwards, came the arguments on the controversial power sharing formula within his party, the Peoples Democratic Party. When the debate finally collapsed like a pack of cards, its proponents began to fan the embers of religion and ethnicity. However, Jonathan in his quiet mien pulled through, survived all the maneuverings and emerged the party’s standard-bearer after a tensed primary election.
Having survived many political uncertainties, the Chairman of the New Nigeria Initiative, Chief Dikivue Ikiogha, said today would mark a transition from the old way of leadership from the new style of governance. The day, he said, had opened a new chapter for the country to sing a new song of unity, tolerance, political rebirth and economic transformation, adding that Jonathan’s presidency came with great expectation.
He said, “It is a day that Nigeria is going to witness a rebirth. It is going to be a dawn with hope and great expectation. We have been crying for leadership in the past and we have got through a free and fair election. It was the fairest election so far in this country and the leader has emerged. He emerged with great expectation from the people and I hope that he will not disappoint the country.”
He insisted that today was significant because it had rewritten the political history of the country, noting that hitherto nobody would have believed that someone from the South-South geo-political zone would be inaugurated as the president. By physical indications, he said, one would have thought that it would take the next 60 years to produce a South-South presidency for the country.
Ikiogha added, “Why we were projecting 60 years to come, God had it at a very short time to surprise the nation. So what God has just done is a miracle judging from all physical indications. God even did it at the best time. That is why everybody needs to respect God because God’s way of doing things is quite different from the way we look at things.”
Relishing the significance of today, the Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr. Nestor Binabo, said for the first time Nigerians had witnessed the inauguration of a president that emerged from a credible, free and fair election. He said Jonathan would be responsive to the needs of the electorate. He also said that the inauguration of Jonathan had shown that the country was not founded on a tripod of North, West and East.
However, he noted, “As a Bayelsan, we never thought that one day in Nigeria, somebody from the minority will become the president of this country. We feel now that we are also Nigerians. It is a pointer to everybody in Nigeria that no matter where you come from, one day you could also become the president of this country; that your background will not be a barrier.”
To the state Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, Mr. Stanley Damabide, the inauguration signifies consolidation of democracy and attainment of another milestone in the country. He noted that with the inauguration, Nigeria had given the Niger Delta a sense of belonging, adding that the neglected region had suddenly become the pride of the nation.
He said, “For us, our joy level is high. Apart from the fact that one of our own is now the president, it is going to make us feel that some of our complaints of injustice have, to some extent, been addressed. The situation is that since one of our own has the final say in everything affecting Nigeria, our destiny is in our hands. I have also cautioned that we should not expect Mr. President to act as if he is from our state alone.
“There has to be a balancing. All other states and regions need to be put into consideration in the cause of his governance. We should not expect that because we have the president, every other part of the country should be excluded. He is the president of all. But for us, it is a golden moment.
“It is also a challenging call. Challenging in the sense that if this presidency fails, the question will be asked, we gave you an opportunity; what did you do when you had it? We must not only celebrate the fact that we have the president; we must also be ready to support this presidency to succeed in all spheres.”
By all indications, political pundits believe that the future of Jonathan’s presidency and its positive impact in all sectors of the economy will determine the essence of today’s inauguration. It will decide whether Jonathan is the expected messiah or whether Nigerians should continue to seek another.