By Abubakar Sanusi

At times like this it is worth remembering the phrase popularized by TajuddeenAbdulrahim which I have borrowed for the title of today’s column. We have just gone through the most divisive election in our nation’s history.

Ethnicity, religion and money determined the outcome, along with control of the police. Fraudulent INEC staff and some naïve youth coppers played their part too. The rigging was massive, crude, cheeky and often violent. The PDP had a target to reach by hook or by crook. It was, after all, a ‘do or die’ affair, as BabaIyabo kept insisting. Now we can truly understand the significance of the “opinion polls” used to sensitize us to accept the inevitability of Jonathan’s landslide. Also, not a few so-called observers and NGO were bought to proclaim the election “free and fair”. The script was open for all to see. Some just refused to accept it was possible. Now we have the landslide or, as The Punchgleefully termed it, the “Jonathan Hurricane” I expected nothing less.

In a free and fair election Goodluck Jonathan may very well have still won. He had the spread, and there was no way the South-East or the South-South could have given MuhammaduBuhari 25 percent in any run-off. What was rather surprising was that the PDP wanted him to win in such a manner that they humiliate his opponents and show that even in the North they could get at least 25 percent anywhere they desire. CPC will now most likely go to court (for what it is worth) and put its’ fate in the hands of a less than credible judiciary. The PDP knew that the youth would probably burn a few places. But no matter what, they would get a chance to continue in power.

The unfortunate incidences in Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Hadejia, Zaria and elsewhere could have been forestall but for the greed of PDP stalwarts who, having collected billions, had to show something for it. But why not go for something credible? To win by a million votes or even less is still a win. I am ashamed and angered that for the next eight years I shall be governed again by the PDP based on a very fraudulent election. (Don’t let anyone tell you he is going after one term. The same arguments used to justify not challenging a sitting president would still be used, when the time comes)

But the character of Nigerian politics has been changed forever. We are now openly more divided along a religious and ethnic divide which shall come to haunt us in future. Corruption remains, the all-powerful party contractors and fixers are still in-charge and Jonathan has shown his other, truer side. He may very well succeed in fixing our electricity but at huge, unjustifiable costs. Next time around we may not just have 90 to 100 percent voter turnout in South-South, but we could very well have double the registered voters actually voting for PDP. But we shall, God willing, survive these next four or eight years.

Needless to say I did not vote for Jonathan because I believe Buhari would have made a better president. Even then, the recent spate of violence and arson in some parts of the north, understandable as it is, is tragic and unfortunate. I am, like a lot of people are, disgusted with the PDP’s habit or rigging and challenging those cheated to go to court. It smacks of arrogance and impunity. Still, it is imperative that this mayhem ends. We must all join hands to prevail on the Northern youth to stop. They should as an alternative, seize the opportunity offered by the betrayals and rigging by their rulers to ensure that they follow the Yoruba example. They should start ensuring that their preferred party captures their states so that next time around there will be no oppressor in power at that level who could steal their votes.

This is important not just to entrench democracy but to end our enslavement to a few politicians and their families. With or without Jonathan, Bello, Anenih or Tafida the northern states will survive. And Nigeria is bigger than all of us. Whoever is in power, the sun will rise tomorrow. Our people need water, schools, hospitals, roads, houses, food and jobs. These are mostly the responsibility of our local leaders. So, instead of lamenting and burning, let us organize to get those who are fond of stealing our money, and our votes, out of office. Killing them or burning their houses is wrong, illegal and un-Islamic and may even prove counter-productive. Those who steal our money or our votes should be dealt with through due process of law. Yes, some of us will feel cheated because our candidate did not lose fair and square but anger and violence are not the solution. Don’t get mad; get even.

I am not just advocating a change of governors or getting rid of the PDP. By all means keep those you think are doing a good job, not the blubber mouths tyrants who do not keep trusts nor have an idea of service. After that, insists that the new leaders perform honestly, creditably and justly. For far too long we have developed the “hakane, rankayadade” mentality (translation: Yes, your excellency). We must treat them as leaders not rulers, and make them accountable to us for all their promises. No need replacing one set of tyrants with another.

In addition, the significance of Abuja or the federal Government must be de-emphasized. We should focus on creating businesses for ourselves wherever we are. Government jobs and contracts are good for those who are lucky enough to get them. So are the permits, allocations and plots. The future however is local and green. We have the people and the land, let us start getting our priorities right and getting our affairs in order. Too much reliance on government makes the struggle for the presidency appear so important.

Finally, I hope those traditional rulers who wanted to push some candidates down our throats have learnt their lessons. They should simply wish those visiting them luck, pray for peace and maintain their neutrality.



http://dailytrust.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17285:dont-agonize-organize&catid=6:daily-columns&Itemid=6

This is my exact position on the whole issue.

Well said!

Jarus:

But the character of Nigerian politics has been changed forever. We are now openly more divided along a religious and ethnic divide which shall come to haunt us in future. Corruption remains, the all-powerful party contractors and fixers are still in-charge and Jonathan has shown his other, truer side. He may very well succeed in fixing our electricity but at huge, unjustifiable costs. Next time around we may not just have 90 to 100 percent voter turnout in South-South, but we could very well have double the registered voters actually voting for PDP. But we shall, God willing, survive these next four or eight years.

It was bk.babe who compared Nigeria to Animal Farm. He was very correct; I guess we have just completed the first two chapters. All hail President-elect Napoleon Goodluck Jonathan.

It is perhaps time to reread bk.babe's excellent post: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-616372.0.html

Ol boy, if the North can ever get itself organised, the SS and SE will get their wish of secession as they (the North) will discover that they do not need oil money to survive, they just need to make use of what they already have. This is a fantastic piece and the words there should be drummed into the hearts of the Northern people, I am just afraid that they might be fatalistic (does that word exist?) in their thinking and might make the mistake of the if we cant beat them, lets join them brigade by bringing forward a total disreputable individual that is acceptable to all of Nigerians for the presidency come 2019 ( I believe GEJ is going for a second term as well).

I agree with this 100% . Saturday , the youths should please do us afavour by voting out Yuguda, Shema, Yakowa, Nyako and the other looters.

Organization now is the key!

Lagosboy:

I agree with this 100% . Saturday , the youths should please do us afavour by voting out Yuguda, Shema, Yakowa, Nyako and the other looters.

Organization now is the key!

Now you are talking my brother !!! You are seeing the big picture . We should focus on the Guber elections coming up. Influential opposition Politicians should watch their utterances that can cause division. PDP Governors , except those delivering , should be voted out . let those who persevere with their PDP misrulers be the ones to enjoy any underdevelopment foisted on their State.

This is a timeless piece.
I will only comment further after tuesday the 26th.

just one point.
I see no reason in CPC going to court.
Buhari should just ignore the less than credible courts and join like minds in keeping this govt on its toes.
Like one of us said elsewhere, most Nigerians do not even know the level of harm PDP is inflicting on our present and future.
This govt needs to be put on its toes like never before.
We should be ready and willing to barricade and make our voices count at the NASS when the inevitable bazaar begins.

mbulela:

This is a timeless piece.
I will only comment further after tuesday the 26th.

Fantastic article from a very sophisticated mind . Who can argue , for example , with the excerpt below:

I am not just advocating a change of governors or getting rid of the PDP. By all means keep those you think are doing a good job, not the blubber mouths tyrants who do not keep trusts nor have an idea of service. After that, insists that the new leaders perform honestly, creditably and justly. For far too long we have developed the “hakane, rankayadade” mentality (translation: Yes, your excellency). We must treat them as leaders not rulers, and make them accountable to us for all their promises. No need replacing one set of tyrants with another.

In addition, the significance of Abuja or the federal Government must be de-emphasized. We should focus on creating businesses for ourselves wherever we are. Government jobs and contracts are good for those who are lucky enough to get them. So are the permits, allocations and plots. The future however is local and green. We have the people and the land, let us start getting our priorities right and getting our affairs in order. Too much reliance on government makes the struggle for the presidency appear so important.

Jarus:

By Abubakar Sanusi

At times like this it is worth remembering the phrase popularized by TajuddeenAbdulrahim which I have borrowed for the title of today’s column. We have just gone through the most divisive election in our nation’s history.

Ethnicity, religion and money determined the outcome, along with control of the police. Fraudulent INEC staff and some naïve youth coppers played their part too. The rigging was massive, crude, cheeky and often violent. The PDP had a target to reach by hook or by crook. It was, after all, a ‘do or die’ affair, as BabaIyabo kept insisting. Now we can truly understand the significance of the “opinion polls” used to sensitize us to accept the inevitability of Jonathan’s landslide. Also, not a few so-called observers and NGO were bought to proclaim the election “free and fair”. The script was open for all to see. Some just refused to accept it was possible. Now we have the landslide or, as The Punchgleefully termed it, the “Jonathan Hurricane” I expected nothing less.

In a free and fair election Goodluck Jonathan may very well have still won. He had the spread, and there was no way the South-East or the South-South could have given MuhammaduBuhari 25 percent in any run-off. What was rather surprising was that the PDP wanted him to win in such a manner that they humiliate his opponents and show that even in the North they could get at least 25 percent anywhere they desire. CPC will now most likely go to court (for what it is worth) and put its’ fate in the hands of a less than credible judiciary. The PDP knew that the youth would probably burn a few places. But no matter what, they would get a chance to continue in power.

The unfortunate incidences in Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Hadejia, Zaria and elsewhere could have been forestall but for the greed of PDP stalwarts who, having collected billions, had to show something for it. But why not go for something credible? To win by a million votes or even less is still a win. I am ashamed and angered that for the next eight years I shall be governed again by the PDP based on a very fraudulent election. (Don’t let anyone tell you he is going after one term. The same arguments used to justify not challenging a sitting president would still be used, when the time comes)

But the character of Nigerian politics has been changed forever. We are now openly more divided along a religious and ethnic divide which shall come to haunt us in future. Corruption remains, the all-powerful party contractors and fixers are still in-charge and Jonathan has shown his other, truer side. He may very well succeed in fixing our electricity but at huge, unjustifiable costs. Next time around we may not just have 90 to 100 percent voter turnout in South-South, but we could very well have double the registered voters actually voting for PDP. But we shall, God willing, survive these next four or eight years.

Needless to say I did not vote for Jonathan because I believe Buhari would have made a better president. Even then, the recent spate of violence and arson in some parts of the north, understandable as it is, is tragic and unfortunate. I am, like a lot of people are, disgusted with the PDP’s habit or rigging and challenging those cheated to go to court. It smacks of arrogance and impunity. Still, it is imperative that this mayhem ends. We must all join hands to prevail on the Northern youth to stop. They should as an alternative, seize the opportunity offered by the betrayals and rigging by their rulers to ensure that they follow the Yoruba example. They should start ensuring that their preferred party captures their states so that next time around there will be no oppressor in power at that level who could steal their votes.

This is important not just to entrench democracy but to end our enslavement to a few politicians and their families. With or without Jonathan, Bello, Anenih or Tafida the northern states will survive. And Nigeria is bigger than all of us. Whoever is in power, the sun will rise tomorrow. Our people need water, schools, hospitals, roads, houses, food and jobs. These are mostly the responsibility of our local leaders. So, instead of lamenting and burning, let us organize to get those who are fond of stealing our money, and our votes, out of office. Killing them or burning their houses is wrong, illegal and un-Islamic and may even prove counter-productive. Those who steal our money or our votes should be dealt with through due process of law. Yes, some of us will feel cheated because our candidate did not lose fair and square but anger and violence are not the solution. Don’t get mad; get even.

I am not just advocating a change of governors or getting rid of the PDP. By all means keep those you think are doing a good job, not the blubber mouths tyrants who do not keep trusts nor have an idea of service. After that, insists that the new leaders perform honestly, creditably and justly. For far too long we have developed the “hakane, rankayadade” mentality (translation: Yes, your excellency). We must treat them as leaders not rulers, and make them accountable to us for all their promises. No need replacing one set of tyrants with another.

In addition, the significance of Abuja or the federal Government must be de-emphasized. We should focus on creating businesses for ourselves wherever we are. Government jobs and contracts are good for those who are lucky enough to get them. So are the permits, allocations and plots. The future however is local and green. We have the people and the land, let us start getting our priorities right and getting our affairs in order. Too much reliance on government makes the struggle for the presidency appear so important.

Finally, I hope those traditional rulers who wanted to push some candidates down our throats have learnt their lessons. They should simply wish those visiting them luck, pray for peace and maintain their neutrality.



http://dailytrust.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17285:dont-agonize-organize&catid=6:daily-columns&Itemid=6

A+

As confirmed by the article - the fastest and surest way to decapitate pdp is by going after the foot soldiers ( governors) destroy the legs ( governors) and head will surely come rolling. South West region political model should be used as case study for any other region in Nigeria that wishes to liberate itself from the claws of death (pdp)

Trash! Had it been Buhari or Ribadu had won, would the writer be writing this or writing congratulatory messages while telling the S/Southerners to take heart?
Northerners should be grateful that they are Nigerians.

Crude Oil:

Trash! Had it been Buhari or Ribadu had won, would the writer be writing this or writing congratulatory messages while telling the S/Southerners to take heart?
Northerners should be grateful that they are Nigerians.

If Buhari or Ribadu had won, there probably would be no carnage in the north now, to warrant the agony.

We probably would have been writing about the agonizing Niger militants and non-militants now, who, based on their pre-election threat,had promised to unleash terror if their son did not win.

^^ there goes my point. The writer is writng this article out of self-pity and self-consolation. He should shut up.

Crude Oil:

^^ there goes my point. The writer is writng this article out of self-pity and self-consolation. He should shut up.

No, I see him as counselling his kinsmen on better ways to get things in order, other than violence.

He wouldn't be advising his kinsmen, if one of his kinsmen had won the presidential election.