I know that it is a matter of political strategy at a crucial time that the old man was either told or forced to shut his mouth. Reason being that as the elections appear, the seeming senile position and utterances that were coming out of the mouth of this very old man could earn Goodluck Jonathan some tremendous bad luck.
I am sure that in the event that Goodluck smuggles himself back to the villa in May, Edwin Clark may equally resurface with his minority brand of politics which sees every other person as an enemy to be dealt with. Now that he was shut up for the reason of politics and elections, another shocker to him and maybe all others who a few months ago doubted the population configuration of this country is the manner of votes as registered in different parts of the country.
I wish the old man and others like him from even the North who sees politics as not a game of engagement but frivolities and trivialities are now firmly facing the realities on the face by the release of the provisional voter register a little over a week ago. I hope they are in tune with the reality that in democracy, the majority will have its way while the minority will have its say.
The simple logic is that those who are in the majority have more stakes in a plural democracy by virtue of sheer superiority in numbers. If things go wrong, they are the worst victims so it is automatic that when things are good they should equally have the lion share of the benefit in proportion to their numbers.
The votes in my state, Kaduna, are more than those from Bayelsa, Cross River and Akwa Ibom State put together. The votes from the trio of Kano, Kaduna and Katsina states are by far more than the entire votes of the South South states put together. The votes from my geo-political zone, the North West is over three million more than the entire votes from the South South and South East.
The votes from the South West are over 14 million and just about two million short of the votes from the South South and South East combined. The stake in the political system cannot be the same and equal. That is why the contraption of zoning became an integral part of the PDP and which probably gave it the relative edge in the last three elections in the country.
Now that that arrangement has been discontinued, what is clear is that numbers will have to count especially at this time when the political brinkmanship of those who are beneficiaries of simple political arrangement has failed. Zoning should go and what we must do from these vetoing powers of the North East, West and North West as well North Central is to vote out disagreement.
In the last few days, I had several people including Senator Abba Aji, my older brother and an astute ‘friend of Democracy’ say he was against Jonathan’s visit to Adamu Ciroma. Solomon Lar, the chief of Middle Belt politics also seem to share that view, but I can never join issue with my father. If Jonathan will not visit Ciroma, then, consider him a fatal casualty when the ballot is cast in April, straight and simple.
No matter what anybody may say about Ciroma, he represents a tendency that is very popular amongst the most populous voters in the country. What Ciroma says represents my views as a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science from Nigeria’s most reputable University. What Ciroma says represents the views and aspirations of the Mai shayi along the streets of Northern Nigeria so anyone who cares to disregard what he is saying is on his own and risks the possibilities of a fatal electoral defeat in April.
Where is Chief Edwin Clark? The elder from Delta State who has assumed very dangerous dimension by his inflammatory statements on the North and how fire will burn over Nigeria if we decide to reject Goodluck Jonathan who under a western plural democracy hails from a state that has the lowest number of voters amongst the 36 states of the federation and the federal capital territory?
Yes, it is possible to have Goodluck Jonathan as president but that must be through the will of millions of other Nigerians. I keep saying that it is impossible to have democracy subsist in an atmosphere where the minority desires to lord it over the majority. It is not possible and can only lead to violence and instability.
If Jonathan desires to win elections, he mustn’t listen to the ranting of people like Sule Lamido or Jerry Gana or anybody for that matter who underestimates the level of anger in the manner the PDP zoning arrangement was messed up by the political elites of the current government. The poor management of the situation in my view speaks volume about the weak political stand of the president and his men.
The argument those anti democratic forces who want to reduce the essence of numbers in plural societies by clinging to electoral malpractices as the way to leadership ascendency is that those who are more in numbers are not united and as such cannot win elections. Yes, they may be near the truth because of the level of poverty in the society and apathy which often lead to careless attitudes.
The situation may not be the same this time around and those who are used to taking people for a ride may find the worst shocks awaiting them as the April elections hold. I hope Nigerians will show more interest than they did during the voter registration exercise. It is also hoped that those security agencies who were accused of partisanship and contributed to rigging will mind more about Nigeria than any individual or group of politically hungry elites.
I think the noises from people like Chief Clark on the necessities or otherwise of voting Jonathan in April as determining factor of national peace and survival is merely empty threat from desperate political hangers-on and will not matter if we choose to dump Jonathan for better and more credible candidates.
The strategy by Clark and others like him in the South South region especially leaves much to be desired. I can understand the desperation on the part of the average Niger Delta person to have one of their own elected as president, not just because the nation’s oil is produced in their area but because of the demand of the country’s fragile federalism.
The agitations mustn’t take such a desperate scenario in view of many factors, among which are number of voters and the position of the candidate’s place of origin within the federal texture. All the noise about doing away with tribalism, regionalism and religion is balderdash because that is precisely what Jonathan and his kinsmen used as campaign identities.
I have more stakes in the Nigerian project than both Jonathan and his fellows because the local government where I am casting my vote and where I live is almost the voter size of the whole Bayelsa State. Yes, Kaduna North Local Government Area has over 400,000 votes, a few less than what the whole votes in the president’s state are.
In federal politics, consensus building is critical and necessary for any group, especially those in the minority to survive and enjoy political opportunities at the center. Nigeria is no exception. Where is Edwin Clark? Can he speak his talk now before we go to the polls in April? God save Nigeria and its peoples.
I know that it is a matter of political strategy at a crucial time that the old man was either told or forced to shut his mouth. Reason being that as the elections appear, the seeming senile position and utterances that were coming out of the mouth of this very old man could earn Goodluck Jonathan some tremendous bad luck.
I am sure that in the event that Goodluck smuggles himself back to the villa in May, Edwin Clark may equally resurface with his minority brand of politics which sees every other person as an enemy to be dealt with. Now that he was shut up for the reason of politics and elections, another shocker to him and maybe all others who a few months ago doubted the population configuration of this country is the manner of votes as registered in different parts of the country.
I wish the old man and others like him from even the North who sees politics as not a game of engagement but frivolities and trivialities are now firmly facing the realities on the face by the release of the provisional voter register a little over a week ago. I hope they are in tune with the reality that in democracy, the majority will have its way while the minority will have its say.
The simple logic is that those who are in the majority have more stakes in a plural democracy by virtue of sheer superiority in numbers. If things go wrong, they are the worst victims so it is automatic that when things are good they should equally have the lion share of the benefit in proportion to their numbers.
The votes in my state, Kaduna, are more than those from Bayelsa, Cross River and Akwa Ibom State put together. The votes from the trio of Kano, Kaduna and Katsina states are by far more than the entire votes of the South South states put together. The votes from my geo-political zone, the North West is over three million more than the entire votes from the South South and South East.
The votes from the South West are over 14 million and just about two million short of the votes from the South South and South East combined. The stake in the political system cannot be the same and equal. That is why the contraption of zoning became an integral part of the PDP and which probably gave it the relative edge in the last three elections in the country.
Now that that arrangement has been discontinued, what is clear is that numbers will have to count especially at this time when the political brinkmanship of those who are beneficiaries of simple political arrangement has failed. Zoning should go and what we must do from these vetoing powers of the North East, West and North West as well North Central is to vote out disagreement.
In the last few days, I had several people including Senator Abba Aji, my older brother and an astute ‘friend of Democracy’ say he was against Jonathan’s visit to Adamu Ciroma. Solomon Lar, the chief of Middle Belt politics also seem to share that view, but I can never join issue with my father. If Jonathan will not visit Ciroma, then, consider him a fatal casualty when the ballot is cast in April, straight and simple.
No matter what anybody may say about Ciroma, he represents a tendency that is very popular amongst the most populous voters in the country. What Ciroma says represents my views as a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science from Nigeria’s most reputable University. What Ciroma says represents the views and aspirations of the Mai shayi along the streets of Northern Nigeria so anyone who cares to disregard what he is saying is on his own and risks the possibilities of a fatal electoral defeat in April.
Where is Chief Edwin Clark? The elder from Delta State who has assumed very dangerous dimension by his inflammatory statements on the North and how fire will burn over Nigeria if we decide to reject Goodluck Jonathan who under a western plural democracy hails from a state that has the lowest number of voters amongst the 36 states of the federation and the federal capital territory?
Yes, it is possible to have Goodluck Jonathan as president but that must be through the will of millions of other Nigerians. I keep saying that it is impossible to have democracy subsist in an atmosphere where the minority desires to lord it over the majority. It is not possible and can only lead to violence and instability.
If Jonathan desires to win elections, he mustn’t listen to the ranting of people like Sule Lamido or Jerry Gana or anybody for that matter who underestimates the level of anger in the manner the PDP zoning arrangement was messed up by the political elites of the current government. The poor management of the situation in my view speaks volume about the weak political stand of the president and his men.
The argument those anti democratic forces who want to reduce the essence of numbers in plural societies by clinging to electoral malpractices as the way to leadership ascendency is that those who are more in numbers are not united and as such cannot win elections. Yes, they may be near the truth because of the level of poverty in the society and apathy which often lead to careless attitudes.
The situation may not be the same this time around and those who are used to taking people for a ride may find the worst shocks awaiting them as the April elections hold. I hope Nigerians will show more interest than they did during the voter registration exercise. It is also hoped that those security agencies who were accused of partisanship and contributed to rigging will mind more about Nigeria than any individual or group of politically hungry elites.
I think the noises from people like Chief Clark on the necessities or otherwise of voting Jonathan in April as determining factor of national peace and survival is merely empty threat from desperate political hangers-on and will not matter if we choose to dump Jonathan for better and more credible candidates.
The strategy by Clark and others like him in the South South region especially leaves much to be desired. I can understand the desperation on the part of the average Niger Delta person to have one of their own elected as president, not just because the nation’s oil is produced in their area but because of the demand of the country’s fragile federalism.
The agitations mustn’t take such a desperate scenario in view of many factors, among which are number of voters and the position of the candidate’s place of origin within the federal texture. All the noise about doing away with tribalism, regionalism and religion is balderdash because that is precisely what Jonathan and his kinsmen used as campaign identities.
I have more stakes in the Nigerian project than both Jonathan and his fellows because the local government where I am casting my vote and where I live is almost the voter size of the whole Bayelsa State. Yes, Kaduna North Local Government Area has over 400,000 votes, a few less than what the whole votes in the president’s state are.
In federal politics, consensus building is critical and necessary for any group, especially those in the minority to survive and enjoy political opportunities at the center. Nigeria is no exception. Where is Edwin Clark? Can he speak his talk now before we go to the polls in April? God save Nigeria and its peoples.
