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Danjuma backs Ribadu
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Joseph Jibueze 29/10/2010 01:37:00
image Ribadu

I recommend Nuhu Ribadu to you. He will fight corruption to a standstill. People must be held accountable. If not, they will get away with murder literally – Danjuma

The taciturn general broke his silence last night on next year’s general elections and his kind of man to lead the country.

Former Defence Minister Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd.) endorsed the presidential aspiration of former boss of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

Gen. Danjuma described the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) presidential aspirant as the only one among the numerous aspirants for the top job capable of fighting corruption which he identified as the nation’s main problem.

“Corruption has assumed an oceanic proportion in Nigeria”, he said, warning that it might consume the nation if left unchecked.

Danjuma, who is the chair of the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) spoke yesterday at a Business lecture series organised by the Lagos Country Club. The topic of his lecture is “The Nigeria of my dream”.

He said: ’The impunity with which perpetrators get away with corruption is a cause for concern.

“I recommend Nuhu Ribadu to us. He will fight corruption to a standstill. People must be held accountable. If not, they will get away with murder literally.

“If there is no restitution after persecution, we are sweeping the probe under the carpet because there is corruption of oceanic proportion in Nigeria.’’

The former Chief of Army Staff identified lack of transformational leadership as the greatest challenge facing this country.

Declaring that all that is needed to take Nigeria to the Promised Land is the emergence of a leader determined to set things right, Danjuma expressed regret that Nigeria had been unlucky with the kind of leaders it has had since independence.

He said: “One right man at the top can make all the difference in the life of a nation. Our country has so far been unlucky.’’

He lamented the nation’s economic backwardness despite the abundance of natural and human resources.

Danjuma wondered why Nigeria does not refine oil, a situation that has affected her economic fortunes negatively.

He said, ‘’we have added no value to the crude oil we sell to the world in crude form’’.

He said Nigeria would not develop economically without self reliance.

Danjuma bemoaned the inability of Nigerians to hold their leaders accountable.

‘’The average Nigerian is docile. They are very forgiving of those in authority. People don’t ask questions. Maybe it is because of poverty,’’ he stated.

He flayed criticisms of the 1999 constitution, saying it was not fair to reject the constitution simply because it was produced by the military.

He said the military created states which legally exist today.

‘’We cannot accept democratic rule while rejecting the fundamental laws upon which it is founded,’’ he argued.

He however said the constitution “requires radical reconstruction’’.

On insecurity, the former Chief of Army Staff said ‘the machinery of law enforcement is weak. Failure to punish crimes is responsible for the escalation of violent crimes in Nigeria.’’

He gave an insight into the regime of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying he failed.

He said: ‘’I strongly believed that Obasanjo was going to deliver but he failed.

“For instance, people who came to serve two terms decided to change their minds and go for a third term.‘’

Danjuma said the Obasanjo he knew in the Army was not the same person that came out of prison and became President.

‘’I was in the cabinet and I saw a totally different man. On so many occasions when memos were bought, we would be called upon to rubberstamp them because he had already given anticipatory approval.’’

He described the presidential system of government especially the legislature as very expensive and the least productive.

Danjuma however lauded the judiciary and the media for being virile in saving the nation’s democracy.

Wow, these are the words of wisdom, and I hope that the country listens. If Danjuma says that the leadership in the country has failed, and that a good leader would make a heck of a difference, I think that we should listen to him and heed his warning. Danjuma knows Nigeria inside out, because he has played a part in the political development of this country for the past 46 years. To those who do not know, Lt. Danjuma was the one who led the soldiers who killed Ironsi and Fajuyi in the second 1966 coup which brought Gowon to power, and he has remained in Government since them, except for the few interruptions of civilian rule.

I had no horse in this race, but I was leaning heavily towards Goodluck Jonathan and PDP, until Oceanic Bank/Cecilia Ibru saga. That made up my mind for me. I cannot in all conscience continue to support PDP when the plunder of the country is taking place unabated right under their noses. The subsequent revelations of OBJ's corruption and abuse of power by Prof Naiwu Osahon was shocking to me. PDP and his people have treated Nigeria as their private ATM to be plundered as they wish. The Progressives in Nigeria should bury their differences, shun tribalism, ethinicity, and sectional interests and rally behind one person to deliver Nigeria from this quagmire. The Goodluck Jonathan story is good, and he has been lucky, but this is not time for good and romantic story. Our dear beloved country with all its resources is sinking, and we the citizenry need to act now.

Buhari is a good choice from what I hear (my brother Rotimi, is an avid supporter), but he has had his chance, and he allowed sectional and religious interests (remember the OIC saga?) to derail his agenda. It is time to give someone else a chance. It is time for Nuhu Ribadu. The battle to wrest power from the cabal holding Nigeria in stranglehold will be tough, and that is why Progressives cannot afford to split their votes. We must rally behind somebody, and I think that person should be Nuhu Ribadu.

If you are a true Progressive, and you love this country, and you want us to be delivered from this mess, you will support whoever is most competent to run the affairs of the country at all Levels: Presidency, States and Local Governments, irrespective of their tribal or ethnic origin. Nigeria should come first and foremost. As long as we continue to engage in sectional and parochial politics, there will never be progress in the country.

You might argue that Ribadu does not have a big enough structure to dismantle the PDP, and he is therefore unelectable. I disagree. Power belongs to the people. INEC has promised a fair election, and I hold them to their promise. If we have a fair election, and we rally round Ribadu and give him a tailwind, he will be swept into office like Barak Obama. When Obama declared for the Presidency, he had less than 1% chance of being President, according to the opinion polls in the US. However as people listened to him more and more, it was obvious that he was the best choice to lead the country after the mess left by President Bush and the Republicans. The people of the dear country America, my other country in addition to Nigeria, buried its racial prejudice to support a worthy candidate to deliver their country from sinking. I canvassed on foot for votes for Barak Obama in the small towns in suburban Pennsylvania, together with other volunteers, 95% ofd whom were white. We set aside racial differences to support a worthy cause. That is what progressive people do. Now is the time for Nigerians to do the same. IT IS TIME TO TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK; IT IS TIME FOR NUHU RIBADU.


Emmanuel O. Fashakin, M.D.; Esq.:-)
Attorney at Law & President/ Medical Director,
Alpha-K Family Medical Practice, P.C.
79-35 153rd Street, Flushing, NY 11367,USA
Tel: (718) 591-1600; Fax: (718) 591-0265
web address: www.alphak.org
alternative e-mail: mdfash2@gmail.com
Mobile phones: +1-347-217-6175; +1-267-907-3127

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." 1 Cor 2:13

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