The leaders of the People’s Democratic Party seems to have reached a consensus that the zoning/power rotation agreement should be dumped. As expected, political jingoists have all jumped on the bandwagon. Anti-power rotation now seems to be flavour of the month in the PDP. Those who told us seven months ago that there’s no vacancy in Aso Rock, have suddenly become the arrowheads of the anti-rotation campaign.
Even members of the cabal who held sway during Yar’Adua’s administration, engaging in all manners of public deception and manipulation in order to hold on to power have also now become Apostles of anti-zoning.
It’s common knowledge that Nigerian masses have been so impoverished to the point that they now care less about the ethnic origin of their leaders. The underdevelopment has reached a point that, if the Constitution permits a foreigner to be President, and the masses can be guaranteed good quality of life, they will be more than happy to have him/her as President. The man on the street just wants to see food on the table. All he wants is decent healthcare, employment, good quality education and infrastructure.
And it’s for these obvious reasons that anti-zoning has become a ‘populist’ idea. Unlike in the past, the political elites have realised that ethnic sentiments seems not to wash with the citizenry. The benefactors of the so-called power rotation even find it difficult to convince that man on the street, because it has offered him no value whatsoever. So the only option available is for them to join the bandwagon and spread the anti-rotation propaganda. They know fully well that , it’s what the public wants to hear.
But in all of this, we need to ask ourselves if all these Apostles and Evangelist of anti-rotation are really acting in the public interest. They may be telling us what we want to hear, but does that mean they have our interest at heart?
Supporters of anti-rotation in the PDP fall broadly into two categories. There are those who want to use Goodluck Jonathan to rule the nation by proxy. They failed with Umaru Yar’Adua, because he wasn’t a stooge they expected him to be. A Goodluck Jonathan presidency therefore presents another opportunity for them to form their own ‘cabal’. These are ‘politically expired’ individuals who see Goodluck Jonathan presidency as the only way to become politically relevant once again. For them, it’s a ‘third term’ by proxy, as they can continue to rule the nation from Otta farm.
The second group are those who have been subconsciously coerced into anti-rotation bandwagon. Left to them alone, they would rather keep rotating power. Members of this group have had their hands soiled in all manners of corrupt activities. They know their case files are still within reach of anti-corruption agencies. And with the return of the likes of Nuhu Ribadu, it’s in their own interest that they ‘fall in line’. Any show of dissent means their files will be dusted up very quickly. A case in point is the ongoing prosecution of the former PDP Chairman, Vincent Ogbulafor.
And it’s only for this reason that the likes of Senator Jubril Aminu, who is currently facing investigation on his alleged role in the Siemens bribery scandal, can support anti-rotation. It is also the reason why ‘criminals’ like, former Attorney-General of the Federation, can say ‘zoning’ is unconstitutional.
Some may argue that power rotation is a PDP policy, so why waste precious time discussing an issue that has no place in our constitution. The truth is, we cannot afford to be oblivious to the fact that PDP remains the only dominant party in Nigeria’s polity. Like it or loathe it, it remains the only political party with a structure to win a presidential election. And whilst we may not all be card carrying members of PDP, any decision made by the party will inevitably have a huge impact on the nation’s political landscape.
It’s now very obvious that Apostles of anti-rotation in the PDP are not doing the masses any favour. They are doing do so only to pave way for a Goodluck Jonathan presidency. They see a Goodluck Jonathan presidency as an opportunity to perpetuate themselves in power and exert their political influence.
I have no issues with PDP’s plan to dump its rotation policy. However, any attempt to jettison the rotation policy must be done properly. As I noted in my last post, the rotation policy is more than a gentleman’s agreement as it is enshrined in the PDP constitution. It’s only when the PDP expunge Section 7(2)C from the party constitution that we will know that it is really serious about dumping power rotation. Until then, any attempt to disregard the policy in order to pave way for a supposed ‘anointed’ candidate come 2011, will only sweep the issue under the carpet.
And unless the nation graduates from its current one-party political system to a level where we have formidable opposition parties, the issue of power rotation will remain with us for a long time. The attempt to sweep the matter under the carpet will only complicate things further in the future.
If the status quo remains, Goodluck Jonathan will more than likely succeed in remaining in power beyond 2011. And unless the opposition gets its acts together, there’s the high likelihood he will rule for two terms until 2019 (except he does a Yar’Adua). But with Section 7(2)C still enshrined in the party constitution, the question is, what will happen after 2019?
Showing posts with label Power Rotation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Power Rotation. Show all posts
Monday, June 7, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
On PDP, Power Rotation and Federal Character
Power rotation or call it ‘zoning’ has become a very topical issue in Nigeria’s polity. The view held by some political elites is it that, ‘rotation’ is the only way to maintain political balance in a nation like Nigeria that is divided along religious and ethnic lines.
This same view was shared by the US Under-secretary of State, Johnnie Carson, when he said recently that “the United States supported the rotation principle as a guarantor of stability in Nigeria, a country of 140 million split between the Muslim north and predominantly Christian south”.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remains the only party in Nigeria whose party constitution supports power rotation/zoning. Section 7(2)C of the PDP constitution states:
This confirms that the PDP power rotation policy is more than just a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ as we’ve been made to believe by “AGIP” (Any Government In Power) political sycophants.
But in spite of the PDP constitutional provisions, many within the party believe that the power rotation policy has outlived its usefulness, and that it should be jettisoned altogether. Considering that these calls are coming at a time when a non-Northerner is occupying the seat of power sounds quite suspicious. In the current prevailing circumstances, the sincerity of the anti-rotation supporters within PDP will always remain questionable. I will say that the jury is still out on whether such calls are been made in the public interest or just serve the personal benefit of President Goodluck Jonathan, to remain in power beyond 2011.
It beggars belief that same political jobbers and sycophants calling for the abolition of rotation policy, after they themselves have been a major beneficiary, are same people scouting for the next Party Chairman from a particular region of the country. So why haven’t they declared that anyone can run for the post of PDP Chairmanship instead of ‘zoning’ it to the Southeast. If zoning is bad for the presidency, then why is it good for political party offices?
The hypocrisy in the PDP was further exposed by the recent announcement that Ogun state 2011 Governorship slot has been zoned to Yewa/Awori. This decision according to the party officials is in the spirit of “equity, justice and fairness”. So on one hand, we have some National Party leaders saying the power rotation should be dumped to pave way for Goodluck Jonathan, but on the other hand, we have a state chapter of the party announcing that it has zoned its Governorship slot to a particular ethnic tribe. Again, this begs the question, if zoning is not good enough for the Presidential slot, why must it be forced down the throat of state party supporters?
For how long will these Papas Deceiving Pickin continue? A Yoruba proverb says “eniyan meji ko ni padanu iro”. Which literally means, “two people cannot fall victims of lie or deceit”. Whilst the ‘deceived’ could be genuinely’ ignorant, the ‘deceiver’ definitely knows what he/she is doing.
Social and political commentators argue daily that power rotation is unconstitutional, and should not be taken seriously as it only binds members of the PDP. But that statement is not entirely true. Whilst the constitution may not be explicit on power rotation, it clearly supports the principle of federal character. Section 14(3) of 1999 constitution states
For me, there’s no fundamental difference between Section 7(2)C of the PDP Constitution and Section 14(3) of the 1999 constitution. Whether you call it power rotation, zoning, federal character principle, are all aimed at the same purpose. The single purpose, as we are made to believe, is to prevent the predominance of a particular ethnic group or tribe in political office.
Whether such a provision/clause is good or bad is a different argument altogether. In my opinion, Section 14(3) is one of the fundamental errors of 1999 constitution. Any legislation or policy that aims to restrict political office to a tribe, religion or sex only breeds mediocrity. There’s enough evidence to show that rotation, zoning, federal character principle or whatever name you call it, has contributed immensely to the paucity of development in the country. No region in Nigeria has benefitted from zoning or federal character principle. For example, Ex-Pres. Obasanjo ruled the nation for almost 10 years both as civilian and military Head of State. But I don’t think Abeokuta is any better developed than Benin.
Yes we hue and cry about how bad power rotation is. We say it’s PDP policy and no one else. We say people should be free to seek elective office irrespective of tribe or religion. But the reality is, the political landscape and machineries of government are guided by medieval and retrogressive constitutional provisions, which in fact transcends individual party policies.
It is such medieval constitutional provision that has given political parties like the PDP, the audacity to adopt a rotational policy. And until we expunge such provisions from our constitution, changes in presidential power base would only mean very little in reality.
This same view was shared by the US Under-secretary of State, Johnnie Carson, when he said recently that “the United States supported the rotation principle as a guarantor of stability in Nigeria, a country of 140 million split between the Muslim north and predominantly Christian south”.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remains the only party in Nigeria whose party constitution supports power rotation/zoning. Section 7(2)C of the PDP constitution states:
“In pursuance of the principle of equity, justice and fairness, the party shall adhere to the policy of rotation and zoning of party and public elective offices and it shall be enforced by the appropriate executive committee at all levels”.
This confirms that the PDP power rotation policy is more than just a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ as we’ve been made to believe by “AGIP” (Any Government In Power) political sycophants.
But in spite of the PDP constitutional provisions, many within the party believe that the power rotation policy has outlived its usefulness, and that it should be jettisoned altogether. Considering that these calls are coming at a time when a non-Northerner is occupying the seat of power sounds quite suspicious. In the current prevailing circumstances, the sincerity of the anti-rotation supporters within PDP will always remain questionable. I will say that the jury is still out on whether such calls are been made in the public interest or just serve the personal benefit of President Goodluck Jonathan, to remain in power beyond 2011.
It beggars belief that same political jobbers and sycophants calling for the abolition of rotation policy, after they themselves have been a major beneficiary, are same people scouting for the next Party Chairman from a particular region of the country. So why haven’t they declared that anyone can run for the post of PDP Chairmanship instead of ‘zoning’ it to the Southeast. If zoning is bad for the presidency, then why is it good for political party offices?
The hypocrisy in the PDP was further exposed by the recent announcement that Ogun state 2011 Governorship slot has been zoned to Yewa/Awori. This decision according to the party officials is in the spirit of “equity, justice and fairness”. So on one hand, we have some National Party leaders saying the power rotation should be dumped to pave way for Goodluck Jonathan, but on the other hand, we have a state chapter of the party announcing that it has zoned its Governorship slot to a particular ethnic tribe. Again, this begs the question, if zoning is not good enough for the Presidential slot, why must it be forced down the throat of state party supporters?
For how long will these Papas Deceiving Pickin continue? A Yoruba proverb says “eniyan meji ko ni padanu iro”. Which literally means, “two people cannot fall victims of lie or deceit”. Whilst the ‘deceived’ could be genuinely’ ignorant, the ‘deceiver’ definitely knows what he/she is doing.
Social and political commentators argue daily that power rotation is unconstitutional, and should not be taken seriously as it only binds members of the PDP. But that statement is not entirely true. Whilst the constitution may not be explicit on power rotation, it clearly supports the principle of federal character. Section 14(3) of 1999 constitution states
“The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies”.
For me, there’s no fundamental difference between Section 7(2)C of the PDP Constitution and Section 14(3) of the 1999 constitution. Whether you call it power rotation, zoning, federal character principle, are all aimed at the same purpose. The single purpose, as we are made to believe, is to prevent the predominance of a particular ethnic group or tribe in political office.
Whether such a provision/clause is good or bad is a different argument altogether. In my opinion, Section 14(3) is one of the fundamental errors of 1999 constitution. Any legislation or policy that aims to restrict political office to a tribe, religion or sex only breeds mediocrity. There’s enough evidence to show that rotation, zoning, federal character principle or whatever name you call it, has contributed immensely to the paucity of development in the country. No region in Nigeria has benefitted from zoning or federal character principle. For example, Ex-Pres. Obasanjo ruled the nation for almost 10 years both as civilian and military Head of State. But I don’t think Abeokuta is any better developed than Benin.
Yes we hue and cry about how bad power rotation is. We say it’s PDP policy and no one else. We say people should be free to seek elective office irrespective of tribe or religion. But the reality is, the political landscape and machineries of government are guided by medieval and retrogressive constitutional provisions, which in fact transcends individual party policies.
It is such medieval constitutional provision that has given political parties like the PDP, the audacity to adopt a rotational policy. And until we expunge such provisions from our constitution, changes in presidential power base would only mean very little in reality.
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