NIGERIANS AND SYMPATHY: TIME TO THINK OUT OF THE BOX (1) BY: COMRADE IDRIS ALAO (OBSERVATION) In the past, Nigerians had refused to think themselves. We had on many occasions allowed the politicians to do the thinking for us. We had accepted all ‘poli-tricks’ that came our way and acted hook, line and sinker. We have been deceived. The Politicians had always used the instrumentality of sympathy to trick the Nigerian populace since the return of democracy. In 1999, the former president Olusegun Obasanjo was chosen as the presidential aspirant by the PDP to appease the aggrieved Yoruba nation over the annulment of June 12, 1993 elections won by Bashorun MKO Abiola. Nigerians voted OBJ en masse without deep thinking save for the consideration of his ordeal in incarceration by the military junta of Late Sanni Abacha – sympathy. The same trend continues in 2007 when the Late President Umar Musa Yaradu’a was chosen by OBJ to succeed him in office despite his critical health condition as this manifested during his presidential campaign at Abeokuta when OBJ put up a call to him (Yaradu’a) while he was away on medical trip to confirm to the audience at the rally that he was alive. He said; ‘Umoru, Nigerians say you don die”. Upon his return from that trip, the unsuspecting Nigerians voted him – sympathy. He however gave up the ghost on account of illness in May, 2010 (May God grants him paradise). Under normal circumstances, the PDP ought to have made Yaradu’a’s health condition an issue and consider another candidate for the reason that he has always gone for medical check-ups every six month while he was the governor of Katsina state between 1999- 2007. Then in 2011 the sympathy notion waxed stronger. The first minority president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan won the hearts of many Nigerians for obvious reasons. In 2010, He didn’t hasten to act as the president despite all indications to favour his ascendancy as acting president. In fact, he was side-lined all through the return of his former boss, Late Yaradu’a, from the latter’s medical trip till his death. Thus, Nigerians protested that he be allowed in acting capacity due to chronic illness of Yaradu’a. Jonathan is the first Ph.D graduate president and he possessed high profile political credentials. He rose through the ranks of Deputy-governor, Acting-governor and Governor, all in Bayelsa state from 1999 to 2007 and then from 2007 to 2011; he was the Vice-president, Acting-president, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and ECOWAS president. Age was also in his favour as he was 53 in 2010. To be continued! #Watchout_for_the_next_episode #The_Comrade_has_spoken
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 12:22:51 +0000