medley of reasons that include the mood of the generality of the masses of the region, the spontaneous reaction of some youths after the results of the 2011 presidential elections started trickling in, and the perceived suspicion that has trailed the handling of the Boko Haram insurgents, among others, have made some politicians to publicly support the candidacy of Jonathan, while in private adopting a different body language. The development, according to some people that LEADERSHIP Sunday spoke to in some northern states, is to look good in the eyes of Jonathan, and proceed to act contrary to his candidacy. In Niger State, the mood of politicians toward the candidacy of Jonathan is that of uncertainty. Whereas LEADERSHIP Sunday’s findings revealed that some PDP chieftains in the state, especially those in government, would want to watch the body language of the leadership of the party first because they believed that the Jonathan government has some unfulfilled promises to the state, others are of the view that the President should be supported. It was however observed that the body language of some top politicians in the state, like the incumbent Governor Babangida Aliyu, of recent is tilting towards supporting Jonathan because of the adoption of the President as the sole candidate of the PDP. While LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that the former governor of Niger State, Engineer Abdukadir Kure, who still commands some political followership in the state, has never hidden his support for Jonathan towards the 2015 general elections, a close political associate of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and a chieftain of PDP in the state, Alhaji Nma Kolo, said public support for Jonathan shouldn’t be a yardstick for assessing the true feelings of the masses. “In Niger State, if you go to the people and want to campaign for Jonathan, you must be ready to tell them why HYPPADEC has not taken off, why the dredging of River Niger has not been completed, as well as Suleija- Minna road,” he said, adding that “Hence, you see many people holding back.” The fact remains that in Jigawa State in 2011, Jonathan was not the favourable presidential candidate to the majority of the people in the state. But the state Governor Sule Lamido was able to convince them to vote for Jonathan with the promise of executing some developmental projects in the state. They eventually voted and scored him the average votes needed from the state. According to some people that LEADERSHIP Sunday spoke to, the alleged unfulfilled promises of the President to the people of the state made the state one of the few where public officers are ready to publicly state their position regarding the President’s candidacy. But in a statement released by the state deputy governor, barely 24 hours after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) north- west zone had endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential flag-bearer, Governor Lamido rejected the endorsement and described it as unaccepted. Lamido also described the endorsement as an unwholesome action that did not represent the collective opinion of the party members in the zone. Part of the statement read: “The endorsement of Jonathan as the party’s presidential flag-bearer is wrong, and we hereby disassociate the government and people of Jigawa State from such. “We in Jigawa were not part of the decision taken by the PDP to endorse President Goodluck Jonathan as its President in 2015, and this has clearly embarrassed us as PDP members as well as people of the state. “We would not be blindfolded into such agreement, in spite of our unprecedented support to our great party, the PDP, and its leadership. However, the endorsement of Jonathan as the 2015 flag-bearer was done without our consent and we would not support it. “The PDP government of Jigawa had in 2011 supported President Jonathan’s bid which has caused the people to castigate us by way of calling us names. However, the President and the federal government have not in any way redeemed their campaign promises to the people of the state for which we see no reason whatsoever to support him again,” the governor declared. In Kano, with Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso defecting to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), he has also shifted his support for the President’s re-election campaign and has not hidden it. However, other politicians in the state do not seem fully ready to clearly state their position in the President’s aspiration. Because it is still fresh in the minds of the political class belonging to the PDP and those who deserted Gen Muhammad Buhari in the 2011 presidential election, the terror and agony they went through when young mobs attacked them, it is not surprising that many PDP scribes in the state were not seen in the last TAN rally in Kano. In Kaduna State, the game of double standard, as being played by many politicians and groups, is not any different. Prior to the 2011 presidential election, many groups speaking for the north were almost unanimous in the choice of a northern presidency to complete the northern mandate of the late President Musa Yar’Adua, but shortly after President Goodluck Jonathan was declared winner, the music changed, as many of the groups that were hitherto against him changed their songs. The apex northern umbrellas, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) were firm in their choice of a northern presidency, but their firmness, though still alive, is now with a crack due to the emergence of another group of elders from among them now drumming support for President Jonathan’s re-election. This group, known as the Northern Elders Council (NEC) under the leadership of elder- statesman Tanko Yakassai and some notable northern political heavyweights, has said severally that they would do whatever it takes to return President Jonathan back to Aso Rock come 2015. Their positions for and against the re-election of the President are not the subject matter per se, but the way a number of such politicians and groups crucify President Jonathan in the open and secretly reassure him of their loyalty, while others publicly declare their support for him while adopting a different body language in private. It is also worrisome to know that there are some groups that are presently bargaining for the highest bidder regardless of the political party and whoever is contesting any position. For such groups, they declare their loyalty under a group name for President Jonathan, and declare against him under another group’s or association’s name. In Sokoto State, the people of the seat of the caliphate have expressed divergent views on President Jonathan’s candidacy. But it is instructive to know that some of their body languages are suspect, because some only say whatever would be of interest to them. A cleric, who spoke to LEADERSHIP Sunday on condition of anonymity, however said the President does not deserve any elective position in Nigeria, because most people of the state are not comfortable with the President’s tenure. On his part, the state treasurer of the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), Alhaji Bello Basakwacee, opined that nothing is stopping the President from winning, because the opposition has not organised its house to win the 2015 presidential election.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 11:03:22 +0000
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