₦airaland Forum

Politics
In the midst of the ensuing battle for the soul of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP , is the unfolding rancour in the North over the eligibility of President Goodluck Jonathan for another term in office.
BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, POLITICAL EDITOR
CHIEFTAIN of the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, Professor Ango Abdullahi was trenchant in dubbing President Goodluck Jonathan a good student of former President Olusegun Obasanjo especially on matters concerning agreements in a recent radio interview. Speaking on a Liberty Radio, Kaduna interview, the emerging champion of a northern presidency, however, failed to buttress his argument with the facts of the alleged agreement that has been the subject of much controversy.
“When Obasanjo wanted an extension of tenure for a second term under the zoning arrangement, he had to come to an extended caucus of the PDP. I remember how people opposed the idea. The late Abubakar Rimi was one of them and he was supported by about three others that Obasanjo should not be given an extension and that the Presidency should come to the North for four years before going back to the South,” he said of the PDP caucus where the then president was adopted for a second term in late 2002.
Continuing, Abdullahi said:“Eventually, about 37 people out of the about 41 present voted for the extension for Obasanjo to have a second term. Now coming to why we should not trust people who renege on promises, Obasanjo was the first to deny that there was a zoning that brought him to power. He did that and kept doing it and it is most likely it was from him that they learnt what they are doing because he was instrumental to Jonathan becoming Vice President.
“So, Jonathan must be Obasanjo’s student on matters of zoning because he himself kept saying, when we were arguing that Jonathan rightly became the President of the country when Yar’Adua died, this is what the constitution allows’ and in fact insisted on it and nobody begrudged that.”
Atiku …and the rebel governors
Prof. Abdullahi’s assertions nonetheless, a cross section of Northern leaders have come out to differ with him on the eligibility or otherwise of the incumbent president running for another term in 2015. The internal debate within the North has raised speculations of a possible irreversible split in the once formidable political hegemony in the North.
Among those who have differed with Ango Abdulahi on the issue are former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Alhaji Mohammed Abba-Gana; former president of the Senate, Senator Ameh Ebute; Dr. Jalili Tafawa Balewa, a son of the country’s first and only prime minister, Alhaji Tafewa Balewa; Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, PDP, Taraba; Gen. Lawrence Onoja among others. The division in the North is reinforced by the support the president is equally having in some sections of the South-his support base in that section of the country.
Asserting that the North as a body is not against the president running for another term of office, Abba-Gana in an interview with newsmen in Lagos said: “It is not true. The North is not against President Jonathan because there are several well respected northern leaders the media may not know who are supporting him.”
Remarkably, the Jonathan 2015 project is also helping to further sharpen the divide in the once united North. While elements from the core North like Prof. Abdullahi have been sharp in demanding the return of the presidency to the North, a sub-set of the North representing mostly the Christian non-Hausa-Fulanis has been largely unmindful in the emerging debate. Indeed, some from that section otherwise dubbed as the northern minority have come forward to plead for a second term for Dr. Jonathan.
Many of the leaders from that section of the country have also affirmed that Prof. Abdullahi does not speak for them. “There is a misconception. The North of the sixties when Sarduana was alive is no longer the same today,” Gen. Onoja, who served as governor of Katsina and Plateau States during the military dictatorships said.
“Let me correct that misconception, I am from Middle Belt which is a geographical reality today. I am an active member of Congress for Equality and Change which is a non political association. I am also a member of Middle Belt Forum. So, if you say I am from the North, and you are referring to the old North yes, I am from the North, but now, the Middle Belt is a geographical reality and I am a member of the Middle Belt. I am not from the core North,” he added.
Senator Ebute who is from Benue State and was president of the Senate in 1993 at the time Gen. Sani Abacha usurped the powers of the fledgling Third Republic democratic institutions was even more cutting, saying:
“My advice to them is that they should wait until President Goodluck Jonathan completes his second term since by divine providence; the zoning has automatically fallen on the South-South. God zoned the presidency to the South- South.”
Continuing, he said: “The North whose definition I am not too sure includes the Middle Belt, should wait until the person whom God has given the presidency completes his tenure and as soon as he completes his second term one can now argue that the turn should now come to the North.”
Jonathan: Battle ready?
In a seeming indication of the internal political battle that would arise in the North in the future when the presidency eventually returns to that section of the country, Ebute chipped in, “and that North should include all the zones in the North, not only the North-West. We have other zones in the North, but some people are now arguing or defining North as if it means only the North-West.”
That point was also reiterated by Senator Bwacha thus: “These are individual opinions. But irrespective of whatever anybody is saying, I am a Northerner and I can tell you the preponderance of opinions, that an average Northern minority wants Jonathan to continue in 2015. If those Northerners, who were saying Mr. President cannot continue, like Ango Abdullahi are expressing our opinions, I wouldn’t be saying something different.”
Dr. Abduljhalil Tafawa-Balewa from the core north in Bauchi State asked of his own inclinations towards a second term for Dr. Jonathan said: “You can count on me. I will vote for him. There has never been any Nigerian President since independence until now, that has done so well in appointing women who constitute half of our population to (positions) in ministries and embassies across the world. Terrorism as many people don’t seem to notice often takes a long time before it is calmed down.”
Stride of comments
Senator Ebute finally dismisses assertions that the stride of comments from Prof. Abdullahi is representative of the whole north. He said: “I am not a member of the Arewa Consultative Forum or Northern Elders’ Forum, whether he is speaking for the members of the Arewa Consultative Forum or Arewa Elders Forum it is left for Ango Abdullahi.”
“I don’t know anything that is happening in those organizations but I assure you that apart from the members of the Arewa Consultative Forum and Northern Elder’s Forum there are millions of other Northerners that believe in the administration of Goodluck Jonathan. So when one person representing a few people being funded by the governors and holding press conferences virtually every day is putting up his own ideas, you cannot say that the ideas are the thoughts of everybody within the North.”
“So I don’t know whether Ango Abdullahi is speaking on behalf of the people he has been speaking for. I am not in the position to say that.

Iran is a good nation

Nigeria judiciary is dead

Jonathan don kolo finish,anyway First to comment

The presidency has picked holes in the rumors making the rounds that the sack of nine Ministers by President Goodluck Jonathan had political undertones.

Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak explained that the decision to unseat the ministers was far from being connected with the current crises rocking the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Speaking while inaugurating a 44 member Elders Committee, Gulak at the behest of the Goodluck Support Group (GSG) stated that the unity of the country remained paramount over and above parochial interest of persons or group of individuals in the polity.
According to him: "This is the decision of Mr. President. It is his constitutional power to hire and fire. The ministers were working for Mr. President and it has nothing to do with the PDP misunderstanding and disagreement. I believed that ministers who were relieved of their appointments had already contributed their own quota.
Apparently referring to members of the "New PDP" faction, Gulak who is the national coordinator of the GSG noted that the PDP-led administration would not be intimidated with the presence of any viable opposition political party.
Charging members of the committee to work assiduously to keep both the PDP and the country at peace, he said: "There are some few people who believe that power must always belong to them and who believe you and me cannot lead this country. But we know that in this country, it is God that decides what he wants. No human being is a partner to God.
Anybody who tries to assert himself above where God has put us in Nigeria's political development is only dealing with himself.
Power belongs to God.
Reacting, former Deputy Senate President, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu who was one of the Elders assured that with the constitution of the elders committee, the PDP now enmeshed in internal crises would reenact its potency ahead of the 2015 poll.
Among members of the 44 elders committee were former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, Sheik Dan Zangar, Rev Yusuf Turaki, Bishop Thomas Okpor, Maj Gen Patrick Aziza (rtd), Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, Bishop C.N William, Sheik Dahiru Bauchi, Prof Jibril Aminu, Gen Yakubu Usman (rtd), Gen Haladu Hananiya (rtd), Prof Jerry Gana, Dr Olusegun Agagu, Dr Okwesileze Nwodo, Senator Tunde Ogbeha, Chibudom Nwuche, Saidu Umaru Kumo, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, Chief Solomon Lar, Alhaji Abba Dabo, Lili Gabari, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, Bode Olajumoke, Prof Jibril Aminu, Senator Umar Hambagda, Alha Musa Liman, Aisha Aliyu Zamfara, Aisha Alhassan, Sam Ode, Senator Ayoola Agboola, Patricia Etteh, Dr Eze Kano and Alhaji Danlkadi Maidugu.

In what is an unprecedented move, the Vatican has opened the door to the possibility of Catholic priests being allowed to marry.
For centuries Catholic Church tradition has required celibacy from priests. The Canon Law of the church states, “Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, and therefore are bound to celibacy, which is a special gift of God by which sacred ministers can adhere more easily to Christ with an undivided heart and are able to dedicate themselves more freely to the service of God and humanity.”
However,News Expresson Thursday reported that Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the incoming Number Two leader in the Catholic Church when be becomes secretary of state next month, had declared that priestly vow of celibacy derived from an age-old rule but was not Catholic dogma.
“It’s not a dogma of the Church and it can be discussed because it’s an ecclesiastical tradition,” Archbishop Parolin told El Universal in Venezuela, where he is completing his term as Papal Nuncio.
This has been interpreted to mean that the church under reformist-minded Pope Francis I would welcome married priesthood if most Catholics so desire.
The number of priests has been declining steadily partly because of the rule on celibacy. In the United States alone, about 30,000 priests have left because they wanted to pursue a relationship.
“I think it would be an enormously welcome conversation,” Thomas Groome, a professor of theology at Boston College, USA, told interviewers. “I think Catholics, certainly American Catholics, but Catholics of the world, have been waiting for this conversation.”
Groome said that the idea of complete celibacy among the clergy only started to become standard practice in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries.
He added, “As far as we can tell from the Gospels, all of the apostles were married, with the possible exception of John.”

Scientists form Oregon Health and Science University developed a vaccine that may be able to fight HIV.
Their new study suggests that a vaccine for the monkey equivalent of HIV appears to eradicate the virus.
Research published in the journal Naturehas shown that vaccinated monkeys can eradicate equivalent of HIV infection, which is called Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) and is 100 times more deadly then HIV, from their bodies.
Infected monkeys usually die within two years but in nine of the 16 inoculated monkey the virus did not take hold thanks to the vaccine.
Rhesus macaque monkeys were firstly vaccinated and then exposed them to SIV. The researchers found that at first the infection began to establish and spread, but then the monkeys' bodies started to respond, searching out and destroying all signs of the virus. The nine monkey that successfully responded to the vaccine were still clear of infection between one-and-a-half and three years later.
The researchers now want to use a similar approach to test a vaccine for HIV in humans.
Prof Louis Picker, from the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute at Oregon Health and Science University, said:
"It's always tough to claim eradication - there could always be a cell which we didn't analyse that has the virus in it. But for the most part, with very stringent criteria... there was no virus left in the body of these monkeys."

Travelling on any of Nigeria’s treacherous roads can be compared to the biblical walk through the valley of the shadow of death. But a similar experience on the famished road called the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway presents a chilling scenario. On the day I found myself on the dreadful road, my heart never left my mouth; my blood pressure was at an all-time high. Throughout the journey, I was on the edge of my seat; heart pounding. I said the Lord’s Prayer countless times. At a point, it appeared I would not arrive at my destination. It was scary.
I had never been that scared in my entire life. I had never looked forward to travelling on the expressway. For one, its infamy for making life brief, short and brutish has always filled me with dread. But the Ibadan trip penultimate week was unavoidable. It was an official trip where I was billed to attend a three-day seminar. I did not look forward to it. Ever since Nigerian roads became a one-way ticket to death and destruction, travelling, which used to be my favourite past time, had since become my nightmare. To underscore my fear, I had rejected many invitations from family and friends to attend social events that require me using the road. It is either I feign illness or politely decline.
This, I know, has earned me disapproval from disgruntled friends and families. But what can I do? Reading the news of gruesome accidents on the expressway is horrific enough, now having to travel on it is something I cannot even contemplate. Once, I had been on the verge of travelling for a convocation. On the day I was to be picked for the journey, I disappeared from the house. I switched off all my phones to avoid any contact. Such is my fear for being on that road. But it had never been like this. I remember in the late 1990s when I had to travel on the road as a university student. At the time, the deterioration of our roads had begun to set in. But it was not this bad. Then, we would travel even at night to attend parties and still arrive Lagos or Ibadan in one piece. The Benin-Ore road was also an experience one looked forward to.
The road was smooth. Potholes were rare. Accidents were also few. The accidents that occurred then were due to the recklessness of the drivers on the fleet of transport companies. But as they say, that was in the good old days. Now, due to neglect by successive governments, the roads are in a bad shape. In spite of billions of naira budgeted for road construction and rehabilitation in the last 14 years, the roads are still death traps. Many Nigerian roads have claimed more lives than HIV/AIDS. It has often been said that Nigerian roads are some of the worst in the world. I consider that to be an understatement. Once, I had to sleep on the Benin-Ore Expressway for three days. An entire stretch had suffered too much damage. Broken down trucks created major obstacles with scores of passengers stranded. Of course, we were left at the mercy of armed robbers.
On this particular journey, I saw a woman give birth to a baby. An elderly woman gave up the ghost. It was hell on earth. And to think this happened when the Federal Government had earmarked billions of naira to fix the roads during former President Obasanjo government left a sour taste in the mouth.
Now, back to my recent Lagos-Ibadan trip. As the day approached, I steeled myself for the journey. Even though I am not the religious type, I suddenly became a prayer warrior. Who wouldn’t? I would wake up to pray. I “covered the driver, car, and the road with the blood of Jesus”! When faced with a potentially dangerous situation of travelling on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, I suddenly intensified my personal relationship with Baba God. We set out on the journey and were soon on the road. I quickly did another round of prayer. But it was not long before my heart began to pound again. The reason for my anxiety was obvious. Right from the Berger end of Lagos, you could feel the car vibrating due to the undulating texture of the road. As we journeyed along, the car rocked violently. The entire stretch of the road was dangerously uneven, large potholes were visible ahead. It was like a journey through a rock-strewn terrain. At one point, the road dissolved into a mesh of mud and craters. At the Mowe-Ibafo area, the monstrous heavy duty trucks parked along the road created a major traffic snarl. They added to travellers’ woes.
As we progressed, heavy duty vehicles driven recklessly were a constant threat. The danger they pose to other road users is the main reason why travelling on that road is the most dangerous experience anyone can undertake. The journey gets scarier as we approached the Lagos-Abeokuta bypass. Even the large billboard of President Goodluck Jonathan smiling down at scared passengers did not provide the needed succour. The billboard was installed when the president signalled the construction of the road. But on the day of my journey, there was no sign that the contractors had moved to site. On the Ibadan axis, the reason why the expressway had attained its notoriety began to manifest. The potholes seemed to multiply so rapidly that it became impossible to avoid them. At a point were almost run off the road by a container laden truck. Then ahead of us we saw the same vehicle lurch straight into the bush as if possessed by a malevolent spirit. We were thankful it didn’t drag us with it. On both sides of the road, it was common sight to see overturned trucks; their content spilt.
At Ogere, a trailer stop over, trucks were parked on both sides of the road. They left a narrow stretch for oncoming vehicles. As we approached Ibadan, what I had dreaded happened. A passenger’s bus that had manoeuvred to avoid a large pothole rammed us from the back causing a major damage to the rear of our vehicle, but we did not stop. It was said to be too dangerous to do so. I looked back to see the bus in a ditch with passengers scrambling to get out. Then, at the former toll gate leading to Ibadan, a passenger bus crashed into a stationary truck killing 12 passengers and fatally injuring others. There were cries and wailing as the dead and the injured were evacuated. The remaining journey to Ibadan was uneventful. My thoughts were soon taken over by its peculiar politics and the grandeur of its unending brown roof that inspired J.P. Clark’s eponymous poem about the ancient city. The seminar done, I embarked on a return journey that was even more dangerous than the first. The torrential rainfall filled the potholes making the journey riskier. Visibility was poor. I arrived home on the third day lucky to be alive.
Which brings me to ask: What has happened to the road contract award celebrated by the Peoples Democratic Party on the road as one of the evidence of President Jonathan’s transformation agenda? Has the celebration time not ended to allow for the commencement of work as envisaged?

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crisis has continued to generate tension as members the South-South Consolidated Forum (SCF) have warned that they would shed the last drop of their blood to resist the North’s plan to rubbish President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency.
The group stated unequivocally that it had become apparent that what was happening in the country was a grand design by a group of self-centered and ethnic bigots of northern extraction to truncate the present administration under the guise of championing for good governance which they failed to offer the nation in the past.
Speaking in Calabar yesterday, the National President of the socio-cultural group, Chief Dick Harry, said the activities of the set of political class was threatening the corporate existence of the nation and wondered why a section of the country should think it was its birthright to decide who got what and when.
Harry sai: “It is our position to let the whole world to know that this present political saga rocking the PDP is being masterminded by some unscrupulous, highly ambitious old politicians from the North who before now, came out opening in a public policy statement to say that they will make the government of President Jonathan ungovernable.
“It is the inability of the Nigeria to take action over this threat on our national peace and unity that laid the foundation for the Boko Haram insurgence, leading to the breach of peace in most part of the northern states yet, we did not learn.
“The majority of South-South will strongly resist any attempt by anybody or group to truncate and rubbish the good governance of President Jonathan just for their selfish interest. We will shed our blood to defend his presidency. Therefore, those Nigerians who know the perpetrators of these evils, whose ambition is to cause division in this country and throw us into another civil war, had better advise them to sheathe their swords,” he stated.

Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson reveals the methods and mentality that saw him win 28 major trophies in 26 years in charge.
The Old Trafford legend allowed professors from Harvard Business School to carry out a case study on his methods during his last season and explains what made him a winner.
In a wide-ranging interview published in full in the Harvard Business Review, Sir Alex explained that his first move upon joining the Red Devils was to establish his famed focus on youth.
"From the moment I got to Manchester United, I thought of only one thing: building a football club. I wanted to build right from the bottom," he began.
"I knew that a focus on youth would fit the club's history and my earlier coaching experience told me that winning with young players could be done and that I was good at working with them. So I had the confidence and conviction that, if United was going to mean anything again, rebuilding the youth structure was crucial. You could say it was brave but fortune favours the brave.
"At some clubs, you need only to lose three games in a row and you're fired. In today's football world, with a new breed of directors and owners, I am not sure any club would have the patience to wait for a manager to build a team over a four-year period.
"Winning a game is only a short-term gain - you can lose the next game. Building a club brings stability and consistency.
"Although I was always trying to disprove it, I believe that the cycle of a successful team lasts maybe four years and then some change is needed. So we tried to visualise the team three or four years ahead and make decisions accordingly.
"Because I was at United for such a long time, I could afford to plan ahead - no one expected me to go anywhere. I was very fortunate in that respect.
"Everything we did was about maintaining the standards we had set as a football club - this applied to all my team building and all my team preparation, motivational talks, and tactical talks.
"I had to lift players' expectations. They should never give in. I said that to them all the time: 'If you give in once, you'll give in twice.' And the work ethic and energy I had seemed to spread throughout the club.
"Superstars with egos are not the problem some people may think. They need to be winners because that massages their egos, so they will do what it takes to win. I used to see [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [David] Beckham, [Ryan] Giggs, [Paul] Scholes and others out there practicing for hours.
"If the day came that the manager of Manchester United was controlled by the players - in other words, if the players decided how the training should be, what days they should have off, what the discipline should be and what the tactics should be - then Manchester United would not be the Manchester United we know.
"Before I came to United, I told myself I wasn't going to allow anyone to be stronger than I was. Your personality has to be bigger than theirs. That is vital.

While some Syrians inside the country welcome the idea of military intervention, many are critical of what they say has been indifference to their plight for the last two-and-a-half years.
Abdul Majid's face is a testament to the random brutality of the Syrian war.
The 14-month-old had been playing in the corridor of his home when a bomb from a government fighter jet smashed into the building. That he is alive at all is no small miracle.
His cheeks are bruised and scarred from the shrapnel, his eyes bloodshot. The boy's mother and sister were also injured in the attack.
Fourteen people are believed to have been killed in a series of strikes by government forces on his hometown of Taftanaz on 5 September.
The boy's father Abu Abdu is angry, not just at President Bashar al-Assad and his military forces, but also at what he sees as the indifference of the outside world to what is happening in Syria.
If America decides to put its plans to attack on hold, which is looking increasingly likely, it will only make that anger worse, highlighting fundamental differences between the view on the ground and that in Western capitals.
Homes ripped apart
A house damaged by aerial bombardment Signs of residents' lives before the attack can be found amid the destruction
The case for intervention made by America and others has focused on the issue of chemical weapons.
But for many Syrians opposed to the government, the issue is not how people are being killed but the fact that so many continue to die each day.
"Why is there silence?" Abu Abdu asks. "Is it because we're Muslims? Is our blood cheaper than yours?"
Like many Syrians he has lost faith that anyone will help. "You've seen the destruction, the chemical attacks, the shelling. What did anyone do?"
The man's brother showed us around what remains of the home in Taftanaz.
Flowery dresses still hang in the wardrobe; plates are stacked neatly on the shelves.
Everything is coated in a thick layer of dust from the blast that ripped open one side of the house and brought other floors crashing down.
He says families caught up in the spiralling violence have been trying to escape.
"When we thought things were improving we decided to come back home. But we didn't expect this. Now we will leave the village again for a few days but we'll have to come back. Where else should we go?"
Fourteen-month-old Abdul Majid was wounded by a bomb from a jet
Rebel fighters have used the village as a base in the past and the government has repeatedly attacked it. But invariably it has been civilians who have been killed.
We followed a young media activist on his motorbike as he weaved through the rubble and ruins of Taftanaz.
Ibrahim has recorded each attack on his village but he suspects that the possibility of US air strikes provoked the latest salvo from the government.
"Before this strike they'd shell us with missiles and artillery, for no reason, there are only civilians here," he says.
"But in the last few days it just got heavier. I think it's because of American statements about strikes on Syria and the regime wants to prove it's still strong and won't surrender."
Opportunity for rebels
Events on the ground in Syria have consistently outpaced the international debate about what to do in Syria.
Up in the rocky hills of Jabel Al-Zawiyeh in the north of the country, the fight between the army and the rebels is undiminished by the prospect of outside intervention.
Artillery shells crash into ancient villages, sending thick dirty plumes of smoke into the air.
The crackle of gunfire echoes across the valley as opposition fighters and the army struggle for control of a key piece of turf.
But while the army may fear the possibility of US-led air strikes, its opponents see an opportunity.
Abu Mohammed, a commander with Ahrar al-Sham, one of the largest rebel groups in the north, says he wants the West to attack President Assad.
"Wherever they strike, we will strike. In fact we're already doing this but it will make our mission easier and quicker."
Those in towns like Taftanaz have given up hope of protection from regime strikes
If those threatened strikes do not now happen it could fuel resentment and marginalise more moderate groups ready to engage with the West.
There are fears that other radical groups like The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - which is allied with al-Qaeda - will also try to use any US-led intervention to their advantage.
For now many of them have gone into hiding, fearing their old enemy America will target them too.
But their growing presence is a mark of how radicalised this war has become and how complex any solution has become.
Syrians have starkly different views on their future and the role, if any, for the outside world.
One thing most do agree on though is the need to end the bloodshed.
Many of those in the north whose lives have been forever altered by this war desperately want help from the outside world.
But after two-and-a-half years of war and appalling suffering, they have given up hope it will ever come.

The recent attempt by Atiku and a group of governors to break up the ruling PDP have raised questions on the ability of President Jonathan to deliver himself from self seeking aides and sycophants. One of the greatest tragedies of Jonathan presidency is the array of prayer warriors, boot-lickers, praise singers and all categories of servile groups angling for his presidential attention.
The event of last Saturdays mini convention where a sitting president of Africa’s greatest nation was abandoned by all but three of his 27 PDP party governors, Yuguda , Akpabio and Dakingari, calls to question the human management capacity of the incumbent. All the governors who tricked him into dragging PDP on the path of self destruct abandoned him on the day of trouble. Some of them I heard were secretly making supportive phone calls to the group of seven Governors who walked out on him during the convention and pledged their allegiance to the new move.
Having closely monitored the intrigues before, during and after the ill-fated mini convention from both sides of the camp; Jonathan and G-7 Governors, I was personally rattled by the ease at which presidential strategists allowed the Commander-in-Chief walk into opposition trap. Hints of what would become of the congress came after the Obuah-led PDP faction in Rivers state, in an attempt to prevent an Amechi loyalist and Former Deputy National Chairman, Sam Jaja from re-election, suspended him and 15 commissioners from the party few days to the election.
In a similar development, the PDP South West zonal leaders begged Jonathan to allow zonal congress before the mini convention but Tukur told them that a court had suspended the congress and insisted that PDP must obey the court order implying that there would be no congress in the South West PDP before the mini convention. The disappointed party men interpreted it as another move aimed at frustrating former National Secretary and Obasanjo’s loyalist, Olagunsoye Oyinlola from resuming his position as National Secretary, despite solicitations from the elders of PDP in the zone. In protest their supporters linked up with the rebel governors.
The case of Olisa Metuh and Kema Chikwe former National Publicity Secretary and National Women Leader who wanted to opt for their adoption by zonal caucus of PDP rather than election, created another ill feelings within the PDP days to the convention. Another case of Abubakar Mustapha former National Organizing Secretary and Vice President Sambo’s candidate whom stakeholders in the North Central Zone wanted replaced by Sidi Ibrahim Bamali was another sore point.
On the other hand, the group of seven governors had planned to continue with their plot to control some offices within PDP NWC despite the knowledge that the Tukur leadership is foreclosing their candidates. They believed that the scenario when 19 governors voted for Amechi during the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) elections will re-enact. To the best of my knowledge, their plot was to earn a surprise victory at the congress; hence they mobilized finances for their favored candidates to reach out to all delegates. However, immediately the presidential horse trading and introduction of ‘anointed’ delegates list started, they knew their plans will fail.
Obasanjo, Babangida, Tambuwal, notified of the plot by the trio of Anenih, Tukur and Jonathan to ensure total victory for their supporters, decided to respect their elder statesmanship by shunning the convention. Jerry Gana, Senator Ndoma Egba and Senator Ike Ekweremmadu did not do enough to reassure the governors and aggrieved party men that there would be a level playing field. Gana’s theory of using 2012 delegates list of earlier convention was rejected, Ndoma Egba postponed the date of screening of aspirants, creating mounting suspicion. Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremmadu wanted Metuh and Chikwe returned at all costs, hence he insisted that vacant positions must be reserved for states where the former officers came from- a move which did not go down well with PDP stakeholders in the South East including Governor Sullivan Chime, Hon Emeka Ihedioha, and Senator Ken Nnamani. They wanted other aspirants like Chyna Iwuanyanwu, Okey Muo Aroh among others to contest alongside Metuh. President Jonathan who earlier rejected the adoption of Metuh and Chikwe, accepted hours to the convention. All these pockets of dissent helped in swelling the morale base of the opposition.
When I got wind of the Jonathan approved list of candidates for the election, tagged ‘Unity List’ hours before the election, I remarked jokingly that this list will put PDP on fire. Indeed it fired PDP to Armageddon. What I expected the president to do was to both provide a level playing ground for the election and afterwards parley with the elected officials, or pick some key positions and give to the opposition. I was told that Jonathan actually mooted the idea but Anenih, Tukur, Akpabio,Secondus, Gana, Ekweremmadu, Dickson were among those who vehemently rejected the idea of any concession for the opposition. I told an excitedJonathan strategist who was so sure that they have muscled out what he termed the ‘Atiku-Obasanjo-Babangida-7 Governors gang up’ that there would be a great disgrace at Eagle Square-and he assured that there is no shaking in PDP, until the mother of all shaking took place.
These empty headed PDP strategists and kitchen cabinet did not factor in that lots of powerful persons within the party are already fed up with the arbitrary manner the affairs is being run. They are only waiting for opportunity within the system to vent their anger against Anenih, Tukur, Jonathan and the mini convention provided the opportunity. Some PDP chieftains who told me that they are in support of the Atiku moves but cannot canvass it openly now for political reasons. This is real problem for PDP, hidden enemies waiting for the right time to abandon the party.
President Jonathan has all the state resources to bull doze his way with PDP, the only problem with this option is that Obasanjo, Atiku, Babangida, Uba and some others can match presidential finances if they so desire. Jonathan can also use security agents to intimidate others into controlling the PDP but the experience of militancy in Nigeria has shown that the armed forces do not have monopoly of violent intimidation. There are stockpiles of arms in the hands of criminals and it only takes a politician with brawn and funds to turn them into weapons of warfare.
The Way Out
Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan must as a matter of urgency distance himself from all these boot lickers, sycophants, praise singers and those who gave him false impression about the successes of his presidency. He must shun those who goaded him to open war fronts on many sides all in an effort to win the 2015 presidential election .He should maintain dignified neutrality and parley personally with elected party chieftains to win them over his side.
The issue of dropping his presidential ambition as demanded by the G-7 governors is not acceptable. Jonathan has the right to contest in 2015 and nobody should stifle his ambitons, He should also not muzzle the presidential ambitions of Amechi, Lamido, Atiku, Aliyu or whosoever in PDP, Let the PDP primaries from authentic delegates list determine the flagbearer. The type of presidential interference which frustrated Soludo and Andy Uba in Anambra State Chapters of APGA and PDP is not good for democracy and may not be tolerated by these governors in their respective states.
The use of arbitrary means in tackling dissenting opinions within the party should stop. Those who know Jonathan personally have affirmed that he is an amiable and diplomatic personality, but once those all knowing hawks surrounds him ,he suddenly realigns to strange advices.
Jonathan and PDP handlers should allow fairness to reign in their party. . Above all the oozing stench of sycophants and praise singers who constantly blind Jonathan’s eyes to realities on the ground is his greatest Achilles hills and can break up the party and I know that many Nigerians would celebrate the breakup of PDP.
Obinna Akukwe
profetobinna2@yahoo.com

Kuwaitis have called for stringent action against a family in Yemen after their eight-year-old daughter died of internal injuries on the first night of her arranged marriage to a man more than five times her age.
Rawan died in city of Hardh in the Governorate of Hajjah in northwestern Yemen, Kuwaiti daily Al Watan reported on Sunday, quoting Yemeni media.
She is believed to have suffered a tear to her private parts and severe bleeding.
Yemeni activists urged the local police to arrest the “beastly groom” and the girl’s family and transfer them to a court where justice would be served and the case would be used to help put an end to the practice of marrying very young girls in the impoverished country, the daily said.
In Kuwait, bloggers offered their prayers for the “bride”, but lashed out at the “groom”, saying that he was a beast who should be severely punished.
Angry Man, a blogger, posted that the man was “an animal who deserved to be punished severely for his crime.”
“All those who supported such a crime should also be punished,” he said.
Under the moniker “Sad”, another blogger said that everybody should have realised that Rawan was too young to get married.
“Her family and her groom could have waited for some time before having this marriage,” Sad said. “It was not fair at all and the marriage should not have happened even if some tribes believe that it is a good custom.”
Bu Omar said that he was disturbed by the death report.
“Rawan’s family members are not humans. They do not deserve to have children,” he said

Former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has backed Mesut Ozil to enjoy life at his old club, feeling the added space in the Premier League will suit the German down to the ground.
Arsenal agreed a deal worth some £42.5m to sign Ozil from Real Madrid on transfer deadline day, smashing their previous record purchase, which had been Andriy Arshavin's move to the club from Zenit in 2009 for £15m.
Fabregas, who swapped Arsenal to return to boyhood club Barcelona in 2011, believes that the move is tailor made for Ozil and he will love life in England.
"I think he will really fit at Arsenal", Fabregas was quoted as saying by Spanish daily"He is going to enjoy the Premier League.
"The league has a lot more space and he is a player who when he has space kills you.
"This has already been seen at Real Madrid, he has a brilliant pass on him and I think he will really enjoy the Premier League."
All eyes are now on Arsenal and Ozil to see whether the Germany international will make his debut in the Gunners' weekend clash against Sunderland.

The General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, has refused to recognise the controversial videos of a 'prophetess' and others who claimed to have died, gone to heaven and came back to narrate their extra-terrestrial experience.
In the controversial videos being sold all over Nigeria, two women and a boy claimed they died, went to heaven and came back to narrate what they said God showed them.
One of such CDs is that of a Sierra Leonean woman, simply called Sister Linda Ngaujah. Linda said she died and was shown happenings in heaven and hell and that many of the members of a large church on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway are on their way to hell and that the founder of a leading church in Lagos should repent as he allegedly acquired his powers from the devil, saying that a Bishop of another large congregation and his members are not even recognised in heaven.
The 'prophetess' added that women who used rubber and wool to plait their hair will go to hell as it is a sin and that the only way for people to be prepared for heaven is to go back to the old Deeper Life Bible Church's method of dressing.
The video CDs released by Linda is causing serious controversy in the church of God as some women in Deeper Life, who plait rubber hair have vowed never to do so again as they want to get to heaven.
Some female worshippers have even shaved their hair in one Christian Assembly in Ikorodu, saying that they don't want to have anything to do with attachment as they want to get to heaven.
Another person who claimed to have gone to heaven said she saw the late wife of Kumuyi, Biodun, in heaven and narrated her encounter there.
Other CDs were released by Margaret Amure from Church of God Mission, who also claimed to have gone to heaven and another 10-year old boy from Edo, named Samuel.
P.M.NEWS Nigeria reports that on Sunday during the church service, Pastor Kumuyireacted to this development warned members of his church not to have anything to do with such CDs as these are the last days where many people would come up with different things to deceive the church of God.
Pastor Kumuyi urged members of the church not to waste their money on such CDs, saying that the church should not rely on purported CDs of people who claimed to have gone to heaven to come back to produce CDs to sell to people narrating their encounter.
He referred to Linda's CD which said people need to dress like Deeper Life to get to heaven, saying that "if you dress like Deeper Life without salvation and sanctification, will you get to heaven? These are the last days."
The man of God emphasized that dressing like Deeper Life would not take anybody to heaven but that righteousness and holiness of heart are the keys to getting to the kingdom of God and warned members to desist from watching such CDs.
Pastor Kumuyi further said that one of the people who claimed to have gone to heaven said they saw Mummy Kumuyi in the kingdom of God, saying that he did not need such CD to know that his wife was in heaven and that the word of God has told us the criteria for getting to His kingdom.
According to him, such people were merely deceiving the people, saying that when Apostle Paul was translated to heaven and came back, he did not produce CDs about what he saw in heaven and began to sell them.
"When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus did not go about telling people that this was what he saw in heaven. We should rest on the word of God to tell us what we need to know about heaven and how to get there. How do you know that they have actually gone to heaven? These are the last days. Don't waste your money on buying these CDs," he stated.

PDP, that party that flatters itself as the biggest party in Africa is strapped to the death bed. It is hit with a serious ailment. It is ravaged by schism and implosion from within to the extent that the falcon cannot hear the falconer. Things have fallen apart for the party and mere anarchy and internal conflagration eats deep into the sinews of the party. For a start, the PDP had been adept in managing the greed of the Nigerian politician. Not that the art itself is rocket science but with huge resources to play with, with no real commitment to delivering the much abused democratic dividends, the PDP had reached to the elephantine greed that fires Nigerian politics and had leveraged on such fantastic power containment template to meld the many fractures and tempests that have wracked the party since formation. To the extent that the leaders of the party have come to believe that theirs is an impregnable forte, there has been a dangerous relegation of governance to meet the insatiable needs and interests of party chieftains, fixers, space fillers and hangers on. Nigeria has been the worst for the brand of politics PDP plays and every sector in the country is reeking from such diversion of resources to satiate the acerbic whims and caprices in the PDP.
From all possible indices , the umbrella which had rather excelled in shielding Nigeria from positive impacts of democracy is torn into shreds. The bevy of unethical and immoral Nigerians that have always converged under that rickety umbrella are in a free fight. PDP is set on an irreversible path of self destruction. It is presently being assailed by pangs of self immolation and unlike before, it is not blaming the opposition for its sordid fate. Selfishness and egotistic considerations are the factors that rule their present fight, as well as the legions of internal wars the party had been passing through since inception. Aiming to get the juicier chunk of the very pie that PDP had been cornering and employing as tool for mass pauperization remains the firing pin of the present battles the PDP is enmeshed in. The dirty and illicit interests of individual members, cabals and groups within the PDP had been the recurrent issue in the many wars the PDP had been fighting as well as the do and die manner with which it approaches the quest for power in Nigeria. Nigerians have been praying for the demise of this evil behemoth and from all indications, God has hearkened to their prayers this time around.
In the past, doomsday prophecies about PDP’s predictable implosion have not really materialized. The reason is not for want of sufficient grounds to rest a possible disintegration of the party but that the party had always been handy in handing out illicit entrapment to keep its internal discontents in check. This has negatively affected governance delivery as critical resources that would have bettered the worsening lots of Nigerians were deployed to settle the grumbling fat nabobs in PDP. It did not take any effort to notice the huge gash such misapplication of resources inflicted on the entire nation as the nation’s fate worsened while that of PDP members and chieftains blossomed. Our roads deteriorated as death traps, our schools got interred in rot, our hospitals became sprawling mortuaries, complete darkness spread over the land, youth unemployment become so dire that PhD holders scrambled for driver’s jobs, insecurity and dread chased all Nigerians to fortified bunkers and to their graves, corruption and vice triumphed. Life became one smooth enterprise in savagery, brutishness and misery.
PDP had been immodest in flattering itself as the biggest party in Africa but it knows that there is no love lost between it and majority of Nigerians. It knows very well that if Nigerians were allowed to vote in a free and fair election, it would have long become history. Much of its strength is artificial, derived from sexing up electoral results procured with awful deployment of brute tactics and engaging in deadly gerrymandering to corner every electoral victory in sight. It knows that Nigerians hate it with a passion yet it will not shy from boasting at every given occasion that it is a destination of choice for grudging Nigerians. Curiously, a party that had been in power for fourteen uninterrupted years had been finding it difficult articulating the sparkling credentials it had wrought with power because there is no real achievement and success story to tell. The PDP had been shy of predicating its insatiable quest for newer power on its performance in power. Rather, it had been a mish mash of bravura, propaganda and attempts to intimidate the people with its so called strength.
So, it was just natural that the present tempest ravaging the PDP will happen. It was just natural that one day, the same medications of greed and intimidation with which the PDP had been guarding its flanks will fail and when this happens, the disparate tendencies that converged in the party as a nest for meeting their base desires will go their different ways. It is just natural that the many contradictions and indecent flaps in PDP will seek out the party and rip it to the seams so as to free Nigerians from its vice grip. That is what is happening at present as the party and its members battle with their lives to contain the present wave of fictionalization, insurrection and widespread schism. It is only that the traditional palliatives are not working now and a splinter faction has divided the battle within the PDP such that sides have been taken and the prologue for a long and enervating internal war is being written now.
Nigerians have prayed and longed for this moment when its main troubler will come to harm. The brewing crisis in the PDP is good and healthy for Nigeria, for Nigerians and for the concept of democracy which had suffered great devaluation in the hands of the PDP for the past fourteen years. In the ensuing battle within the PDP lies the last hope for the fading concept of democracy in Nigeria. Truth is that democracy had been taken to ridiculous low since 1999 and it is just hanging by the whiskers. In the gathering storm in PDP lies the hope for the recovery of the huge mileage the locusts have devoured from our national life these past fourteen years. In the sure-footed balkanization of the PDP that is trending now lies the hope that Nigerians can pull off something from this democracy that had been so banally abused.
So let no one, ruled by the greater interest of the Nigerian nation, pray for the survival of the PDP. I know that the buccaneers and shibboleths that have milked Nigeria for the past fourteen years through the PDP are dreading the fate that befalls them should their house of commotion crumble, as it is going at present. But Nigerians will be well rewarded should this umbrella which had assured Nigeria of continued decay, rot and degradation come to ruins soon and very soon. Nigerians will have its elections freed from the crucible it had been sentenced to these past fifteen years if the PDP dies. The progressive decay and rot that had hit our infrastructures will be arrested if PDP dies. The litany of woes and contradictions that have visited our country with the PDP governance will reverse if PDP dies. So let no one shed any tears for the PDP. It has lived its full life. It had exhausted its bests for the country in fourteen years of woeful and disastrous leadership. Nigeria does not need it again so it has to go up in smokes for Nigeria to start the process of recovery. Let PDP die for Nigeria to make any meaningful progressive stride!