[size=14pt]North, PDP and 2011 presidential election [/size]
Written by Taiwo Adisa
Monday, 03 January 2011

Late Umaru Yar'Adua
Group Politics Editor, Taiwo Adisa, examines the push by some Northern political establishments to seize the presidency through the 2011 election.

THE bid to retain the political power of the country in the hands of northerners has remained constant on the agenda of northern political elite since the dawn of the current democratic dispensation. Though the June 12, 1993 election debacle slowed down that quest in the post General Sani Abacha administration, leading to the installation of President Olusegun Obasanjo as a civilian leader in 1999, the northern political class sees the development as a temporary setback. They were even said to have backed Obasanjo as president in 1999 with the belief that the former military head of state would yield power to a northerner at the slightest request.

While such an attitude, which tends to demean the intelligence of the other parts of the country is not a widespread view in the North, the vocal few who hold on to the feeling have never relented in the perpetual search for power, ostensibly in the name of the North.

Such thinking was identified at the base of the power struggle that characterised the latter part of the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. While Yar’Adua was ill and rendered incommunicado by his ailment, a section of his followers continued to tell the nation that the man was recuperating fast and was set to return to public life. The essence of the deceits was to continuously hold on to power, prevent the ascendancy of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as Acting President and then exercise presidential authority by proxy.

The fear among those who were afraid of the ascendancy of Jonathan as Acting President in line with constitutional provisions was deeply rooted in the ethnic configuration of power. They feared that Jonathan’s emergence as Acting President could eventually lead to his emergence as substantive president and the relocation of power to the South. So, notwithstanding the constitutional provisions that the sick president needed to transfer power to the Vice-President in acting capacity, Yar’Adua’s handlers politicised that provision and even got court judgments to domesticate the Vice-President as a lame duck Acting President.

The demise of Yar’Adua on May 6, 2010 and eventual inauguration of Jonathan as president ensured the change in calculations. It meant that power had returned to the South once again, three years after Obasanjo’s eight year rule. The generality of the North felt shortchanged that a man who should represent its interest in power supposedly for eight years had been succumbed to the power of death. It also meant that a reconfiguration of the power structure should ordinarily take place to accommodate the emerging realities.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which produced the president, however, failed to seize the bull by the horn, allowing the mooted tones to turn into loud voices. While many could not say it before May 6 that the real reason why some political actors were preventing Dr. Goodluck Jonathan from attaining the highest office even while it was obvious that President Yar’Adua was incapacitated was the fear of the North losing the slot, the voices started coming into the open immediately Jonathan got into office.

He faced the quick and recurrent question of whether he would contest in 2011 or not even before the expiration of the seven-day mourning period declared by the government for the late Yar’Adua.

Eventually, Jonathan faced the question and tackled it in September 2010, when he declared his candidature for the 2011 election. It was a big jolt for those scheming for the North. Though most of the actors appear to be working for personal gains, they easily couch the struggle as a northern agenda. The aspirants saw an opening for their agitation in the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party, which recognizes the zoning of political offices. The section indicates that the party shall ensure that political offices are rotated among all segments of the country in such a way that no particular segment would be left out of the government structure.

Four Northern aspirants including former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former National Security Adviser (NSA), General Aliyu Gusau and the Kwara State governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, pulled themselves together in search of a consensus candidate for the North. Under the umbrella of the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPFL), led by the former Finance Minister, Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, the aspirants believed that they could score the votes to defeat incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.

They also believed that the zoning policy of the PDP was sacrosanct and perhaps superior to the 1999 Constitution, which ultimately guides the conduct of political office. The constitution does not preclude any member of the polity from contesting election at anytime, even though it recognizes, in line with the federal character principle, that government positions must not be monopolised by a section of the country in a way that will perpetuate such section in office at the detriment of others.

In pursuant of their belief in zoning, the NPFL named Atiku Abubakar as its preferred candidate in November and asked the other three to step down for him. The trio also publicly agreed to back Atiku, thus began the titanic battle for the PDP ticket ahead of 2011 election.

[b]Notwithstanding the persistence of the zoning advocates on the PDP constitutional provision, there remain some unanswered questions relating to their quest. There is no reference to the fact that the PDP constitution zoned presidency to the North from 2007 to 2015 since such cannot be seen in any part of the books. There are also questions as to why the 2007 presidential primaries of the party was contested by candidates from North and South, whereas certain elements of the party continue to hold on to zoning. There are also questions as to why former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar would join the 2003 presidential race against his former boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo, if it was sancrosant then that the seat was zoned to the South. Again, there appears an omission on the part of the drafters of the PDP constitution to state categorically what a vice-president who takes over power from a late president would do in the face of a zoning arrangement.

The failure to clearly state what happens when a president dies in office is today the Archilles’ heel of the acclaimed zoning war.

While the 1999 Constitution clearly states that a sitting vice-president would take office on the death of a president, the PDP constitution is silent on this scenario, which played out in May 2010. But zoning advocates have ignored the begging questions. They want bite to be given to their interpretation of the PDP constitution and they apparently slugged it out with the opposing views at the National Executive Committee meeting of the party in August 2010. At the meeting, however, the party resolved that it would adhere to the constitutional provision, giving an incumbent president the right to contest election with any other candidate.[/b]

That decision, which set the tone for the actions of the NPLF and emergence of Atiku and the choice of the zoning advocates cleared the route for Jonathan to slug it out with others. On the strength of the series of arguments on both sides of the zoning debate tension has been raised. Politicians are behaving as if one section of the country does not belong to the power caucus and that it is only by locating power in a region that zoning can be said to exist.

But while much of the blame lies with the politicians who are merely fanning personal embers in deperate bid to outwit their opponents from the power equation, the PDP, which continues to speak from both sides of the mouth on this issue should also share the blame. If the party has got its acts together, nothing stops it from redrawing the zoning policy in favour of the incumbent president if it feels that such an order should take precedent. The party can then proceed to amend its laws to firmly take care of future situations.

While the PDP has failed to take firm decisions as regards the arguments, it has allowed tempers to rise and festered a reminder of the divisive politics often readily played by some politicians.

[size=14pt]For instance, it emerged in some quarters recently that some of those who voted for the candidature of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as candidate of the NPFL did so because of the expectation that even though he could lose the presidential primaries, he could “fight tough and dirty.”

Those who claimed to be in the know said that while members of the NPFL were confronted with the choice of the former vice-president, they defended the choice by claiming that he is a man who will not necessarily apply the kind of caution some others would apply in search of the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).[/size]

It was learnt that series of inquiries followed the announcement of Atiku as the consensus presidential hopeful of the Adamu Ciroma-led NPFL by stakeholders from the North and that [size=14pt]those who volunteered information declared that one basic reason for the announcement of Atiku was that where General Ibrahim Babangida would not want to go beyond “certain boundaries” in pursuit of his ambition, Atiku could bypass any political boundary.

A source quoted one of the respondents as saying: “Babangida would have provided much vigour than Atiku to challenge President Goodluck Jonathan; but it is believed that Babangida would not want to bypass certain political boundaries,” further observing that the members feel that the region needs a man who could “fight tough and dirty” against the incumbent in the presidential race.

It is sad that some political actors would ascribe such dimensions to the presidential race, especially when those in question are highly regarded. But such is the gain of indecision of the PDP and perhaps the dynamics of political calculations of those concerned.[/size]

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/politics/15547-north-pdp-and-2011-presidential-election

For instance, it emerged in some quarters recently that some of those who voted for the candidature of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as candidate of the NPFL did so because of the expectation that even though he could lose the presidential primaries, he could “fight tough and dirty.”

In our brand new lingo, fighting tough and dirty means applying any means including bombing and terrorism. We need to know the boundaries of “fighting tough and dirty.”

Beaf:

In our brand new lingo, fighting tough and dirty means applying any means including bombing and terrorism. We need to know the boundaries of “fighting tough and dirty.”

Fighting tough and dirty simply means mudslinging those who mudsling you or swiftboating thos who swiftboat you. It has nothing to do with bombings and terrorism.

If you call IBB corrupt, he is more likely to respond with tact and diplomacy. If you call Atiku corrupt he will try to produce facts to disprove and possibly prove why you may be even more corrupt than he is. That is simply what the write-up means.

Grow up son.

tough and dirty is an English word so stop playing rhetoric s,however, pls be informed that the coming weeks will be tougher and dirtier as the pdp primaries draw near though the us has indicated interest in helping us escalate the possibly outcome of it and benefit heavily from it if they are not already smiling

Atiku, GEJ and PDP should tie rocks to their feet and jump head first into a lagoon.

yeah, don't think you can bring 'humble and inexperienced' to a gunfight

gej and his supporters are fools of the highest order going by what their mo on nl has been - smear all other candidates as incompetent thieves

this would make sense if gej was halfway competent, but the man is not

bunch of fools in glasshouses with armed with stones, while they provide atiku and co with bullets

even the weak attempts like the 'i was loyal to my boss' on fb have backfired in the wake of the wikileaks reports

gej was loyal to his boss, rather than to nigeria. he sat by idly on his ass while his boss' wire and cohorts were lifying oil.
'
just one example


since gej started the heat. he better stay in the kitchen

small wonder his supporters are running scared of debates. atiku will eat him up and spit him out

Whatever coloration you guys want to give mudslinging, the average discerning mind knows what these self serving folks from the north are up to, one begins to wonder the reason for the orgasmic urge by them to rule the country by all means?

Most of them have lost out in the scheme of things since Obj was installed and Yardua was just in the process of "reactivating" them before he unfortunatley kicked the bucket. People seem to be myopic in this country in the way these aboki's are accomodated all the time, can we realistically tell ourselves that the north would have still been part of this contraption called nigeria if about 80% this country's mainstay is domiciled up there?

The time is apt for a soverign confrence otherwise this cycle of mediocrity, mutual suspision and conspiracy theories will forever bedevil this failed state.

well typical beaf smh

I think people keep over looking that fact that Atiku is a wnated man in the US for serious money laundering and fraud charges. I cannot understand how any one can take him seriously. In my opinion he remains a fraud, cheat, and thief. And he must go and clear his name before he is allowed to run.

This PDP is an unbelievable party, Known theieve are allowed to run for public offices while that masses look on, some evern knowingly back then. I will continue to say it, Nigerians remains the reason why we have bad leaders

sochan:

I think people keep over looking that fact that Atiku is a wnated man in the US for serious money laundering and fraud charges. I cannot understand how any one can take him seriously. In my opinion he remains a fraud, cheat, and thief. And he must go and clear his name before he is allowed to run.

This PDP is an unbelievable party, Known theieve are allowed to run for public offices while that masses look on, some evern knowingly back then. I will continue to say it, Nigerians remains the reason why we have bad leaders

yeah yeah atiku is wanted in the us says team gej.

the fbi must be even moe useless than efcc then - why have they not issued a warrant for his arrest?

I think people keep over looking that fact that Atiku is a wnated man in the US for serious money laundering and fraud charges. I cannot understand how any one can take him seriously. In my opinion he remains a fraud, cheat, and thief. And he must go and clear his name before he is allowed to run.

This PDP is an unbelievable party, Known theieve are allowed to run for public offices while that masses look on, some evern knowingly back then. I will continue to say it, Nigerians remains the reason why we have bad leaders

That's the truth, my brother.

Atiku is like a football spectator who scores every goal that the player in the field misses. Talk is cheap. Atiku has been tested and he failed. Those clamouring for Atiku here are just apostles of "the north must rule". We are not fools not to know this.

Gabage comming from a tribalized newspaper TRIBUNE. This is one of the reason why the NATION have over taken TRIBUNE as the most objective newspaper in nigeria

Quote from holydante:
Whatever coloration you guys want to give mudslinging, the average discerning mind knows what these self serving folks from the north are up to, one begins to wonder the reason for the glorious urge by them to rule the country by all means?

Most of them have lost out in the scheme of things since Obj was installed and Yardua was just in the process of "reactivating" them before he unfortunatley kicked the bucket. People seem to be myopic in this country in the way these aboki's are accomodated all the time, can we realistically tell ourselves that the north would have still been part of this contraption called nigeria if about  80% this country's mainstay is domiciled up there?

The time is apt for a soverign confrence otherwise this cycle of mediocrity, mutual suspision and conspiracy theories will forever bedevil this failed state.

The "abokis" ain't going nowhere unless the southerners, say so. If you can muster 2/3 majority in the National and states houses of assemblies and say go the "abokis", why not. If you cannot keep your trap shut.
The last time I checked, it was gej that kicked away SNC.

@Oyb,

Sorry, but am I to understand that you would rather be represented by Atiku, than more credible candidate.

Please answer this question, how did Atiku make his money. Please be very clear about it. It is good practice for us to discuss openly those who we want to represent us. How did and ex-customs officer make so much money? Let us learn how to ask simple basic questions about everyone who is looking to go into politics.

Atiku is not an eminent scholar, he is not an intelligent successful businessman, neither is he from a wealthy family. So I am in my right to question, and I mean seriously question his source of income, that will inform me on when I choose who to lead us?

'Fighting dirty', u guys misinterprete it to suit ur camp, IT MEANS DOING WHAT is CALLED 'AN EYE SAW'.

oyb:

yeah yeah atiku is wanted in the us says team gej.

the fbi must be even moe useless than efcc then - why have they not issued a warrant for his arrest?

sochan:

@Oyb,

Sorry, but am I to understand that you would rather be represented by Atiku, than more credible candidate.

Please answer this question, how did Atiku make his money. Please be very clear about it. It is good practice for us to discuss openly those who we want to represent us. How did and ex-customs officer make so much money? Let us learn how to ask simple basic questions about everyone who is looking to go into politics.

Atiku is not an eminent scholar, he is not an intelligent successful businessman, neither is he from a wealthy family. So I am in my right to question, and I mean seriously question his source of income, that will inform me on when I choose who to lead us?

At least in my own opinion, he is more credible than GEJ.

Tell me, is Bill Gates from a wealthy family? Or is Atiku not a successful businessman?

Ok, let me ask you this. Is GEJ a successful businessman, or is he a successful lecturer? Either way, how did he amass his millions?

For you information, you might want to read this my post here: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-578094.32.html#msg7450721

@ oyb, they will drink, drink, drink, drink,, and it will pain u 4ever, na their oil money

Another diversionary tactic by the number 1 NL political jobber. You've come up with another controversial post. I'm glad you've met your match as usual and you'll be silenced here again. I wonder what payrole level you are on in team GEJ's ban of olodos!

@Akainzo,

It is laughable for you to bring Mr Gates into this, but to answer your question, Atiku is not a successful businessman, he is a corrupt politician, a big thief in my opinion, that might go for GEJ for all I know, but I stll maintain that we are the problem in this phucking country, when the likes of you see nothing wrong in Atiku, that tells me exactly who you are, and why you are no different from Atiku.

If Atiku is so successfuly, what are his business ventures?

sochan:

@Akainzo,

It is laughable for you to bring Mr Gates into this, but to answer your question, Atiku is not a successful businessman, he is a corrupt politician, a big thief in my opinion, that might go for GEJ for all I know, but I stll maintain that we are the problem in this phucking country, when the likes of you see nothing wrong in Atiku, that tells me exactly who you are, and why you are no different from Atiku.

If Atiku is so successfuly, what are his business ventures?

Ignorance is surely a big disease. Intels owned by Atiku is perhaps the most successful indigenous oil firm in Nigeria. Intels is into O&G (Oil & Gas) logistics etc.

Read thru the link below and come back here better informed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6292141.stm

Since when being a fighter has become a bad behavior?

@9ijaman, quoting from your source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6292141.stm

His oil services company Intels Nigeria Limited operates in Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe.

In his most explicit comment yet on the source of his wealth, Mr Abubakar says, in a newly published biography, that he became wealthy "through wise investments, hard work and sheer luck of being at the right place at the right time."
But the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which has probed Mr Abubakar's handling of the Petroleum Development Trust Fund (PTDF), does not believe him.

Why are Atiku's investments always outside Nigeria when he claims to love Nigeria so much? (Remember he is transfering his investments in US to Saudi Arabia to avoid US anti-graft agency searchlight).

Can a man who hides his investments overseas because he looted our treasury and doesn't want Nigerians to know be trusted?

Gayigaskia:

Since when being a fighter has become a bad behavior?

. . . Are u sure u are not a member of boko haram?

I dont like Atiku cos he is ruthless.I'm not a fan of GEJ but i prefer him to atiku any day. Shun do or die politics

Gayigaskia:

Since when being a fighter has become a bad behavior?

When they begin using bombs on innocent people and when they employ Boko Haram to burn babies.

@9aijaman,

Stop being funny. Where did an ex-customs man get that sort of money to aquire that sort of investment? How much was his salary? People like you are quite prepared to look the other way when a terrible wrong is being commited, and thus become part and parcel of the corruption problem in Nigeria.

Nigerians should be asking Atiku where he got his money from. if he was in the UK, US or anywhere sensible, he would have been in jail a long time ago

sochan:

@9aijaman,

Stop being funny. Where did an ex-customs man get that sort of money to aquire that sort of investment? How much was his salary? People like you are quite prepared to look the other way when a terrible wrong is being commited, and thus become part and parcel of the corruption problem in Nigeria.

Nigerians should be asking Atiku where he got his money from. if he was in the UK, US or anywhere sensible, he would have been in jail a long time ago

. . .Especially one who was dismissed from the service for corruption.

sochan:

@9aijaman,

Stop being funny. Where did an ex-customs man get that sort of money to aquire that sort of investment? How much was his salary? People like you are quite prepared to look the other way when a terrible wrong is being commited, and thus become part and parcel of the corruption problem in Nigeria.

Nigerians should be asking Atiku where he got his money from. if he was in the UK, US or anywhere sensible, he would have been in jail a long time ago

Sochan, you are quite funny. Tell me where an ex-lecturer acquired his millions from. At least Atiku can boast of companies, tell me GEJ's companies that he has millions and his wife that has no registered business is worth over a billion! Pray tell me.

9aijaman pointed you to at least one source of his money and what someone has a problem with is that he is diversified. So as an oil servicing company he should not do business in other oil producing countries? You guys are jokers or high on something.

Beaf:

. . .Especially one who was dismissed from the service for corruption.

Stop peddling lies. I have challenged you to prove that he was dismissed and not that he was retired. Or is that you do not know the difference between the two?

^
There is a court case against Atiku right now with part of the evidence being his sack from Customs for unreal levels of corruption. Dude, take your "evidence" to that court.
I de laf oooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!