Jonathan Can’t Win Free, Fair, Transparent Election – Musa Balarabe Musa was governor of old Kaduna State. He is one of few Nigerians who take special interest on what concerns ordinary peoples (the Talakawa). In this interview with EMMA MADUABUCHI, Assistant Politics Editor, he sees selfish interests and sectionalism as the bane of Nigerian politics. What is your reaction to the ongoing cold war between the leadership of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and Northern Elders Council (NEC)? Well, first it means they cannot unite over their nation. That is the only explanation to what is going on. Now, their aims and objective is supposed to be to protect the interest of the North in the context of ‘one Nigeria,’ but now they are not united. How can they deliver that? What is the way forward? What it means now is that it is up to those people they claim to represent to decide who to side with. The issue is clear that Tanko Yakassai and his group support Jonathan for 2015 presidential election, while the others on the side of the ACF are opposed to it. So it means that the North is divided over Jonathan’s objective of contesting for the 2015 Presidential election. That is, the North is not united, because these groups claiming to represent the North are not sincere with their positions. Some accuse the Jonathan’s administration of using divide and rule against the North. Do you agree? Everyone who has his objective of ruling the suffering populace, and who has not performed in office, will look for a way out. Dividing the rank of the people is one way that it can be done. So, since the North appears to be against him, the only way open for him to become President, as he has not performed, is to try and divide the North for his own interest in the 2015 election. The thing is this, Jonathan has a problem- he cannot win free, fair and transparent election in Nigeria because he has not performed, even if he is supported by each section of the North. He has failed so completely that he cannot win free, fair and transparent election that is why he is using his incumbency factor to divide the people. So, his present objective is how to divide the North to be able to win the 2015 election. But whether he is capable of dividing the North is another thing. That is why he has to try to divide the North. He knows that if the North is united and is against his ambition, he cannot win the 2015 election. It is the same thing if the South; the South-east is against the North, or the South-west, or the South-south are united against any other section. So he does not want the zones united, and will not want the country united. This is quite clear, and this is why he has now to try and divide the country. Now he has been able to disunite the country, this is quite clear. Why are people of integrity like you not coming forward to unite the North? Our task is to unite Nigeria, and not any section of the country. But if the North is united, Nigeria will be united? Yes, but that is if the North is divided on principle, that is where the problem will arise. But if the North is not divided on principle; if the division is personal or on sectionalism and self-interest that is when what we must remove are the sectionalism and selfish interest. It means that the country is not really divided, but is being manipulated to look as if it is divided. How do you think these two groups should reconcile their differences so that the North and the country can move forward? My word for them is that their country is dying gradually, and if they do not pursue objective for the unity and development of Nigeria, the nation Nigeria is dying as a result of the decision they are taking. Let us assume that the North has grievances, why can’t these be resolved in the context of one Nigeria? This type of people who are fighting in the North are the same type of people who are fighting in any other section of Nigeria. The real challenge is for those who are following these people with sentiments and emotions. Those of them in South-south region for example, who are supporting Jonathan on emotion, can they tell us what they have obtained because Jonathan is from their area that others have not obtained? Jonathan is working; Jonathan is doing the right thing, I must vote for him… We have to tell ourselves the truth, these people who constitute the leadership of the country have to be examined apart from the area they are coming from. Unless we do that we will all be used by political office holders who have nothing to offer us. So, why can’t the North unite on principle? That is the question. Dailay Independent.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 15:27:10 +0000
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