Why Igbos May Dump Jonathan In 2015

When the English novelist and political writer, George Orwell, famously wrote in his satirical novel, Animal Farm, that all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others, he must have had Nigeria in mind apart from the regime of
Joseph Stalin of the former Soviet Union.

In Nigeria today where a particular tribe will defecate and go scot free, other tribes will dare not urinate there not to talk of defecating, else heaven will fall. This particular tribe believes they owe Nigeria, and can do whatever they like.

Now, we all know that Nigeria still plays tribal and ethnic politics – yes! Let’s not pretend, that’s the reality; it’s even enshrined in the constitution with the euphemism ‘Federal Character’ – gosh! So no one should view this write up from a tribal perspective.

So it is a common knowledge that the incumbent President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ), derives his support base from the South South and the South East geo-political zones. In short, in the 2011 presidential election, apart from the South South zone where the President came from, the South East zone (mainly Igbos) gave Jonathan almost 100% support on total vote cast.

However, it is either Mr. Jonathan has taken for granted this support or that the age-old conspiracy in the Nigeria political scene that Igbos opinion doesn’t matter still prevails. Before you start attacking me with GEJ’s cordial relationship with Ndigbo, using the construction, for the first time, of an international airport in the Southeast by his administration as an example (which is okay), let me bring you down the memory lane of an unnecessary, unprecedented sacks and termination of appointments of Igbo appointees by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

In January 2011, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, an Igbo man, was relieved of his job as the national Chairman of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Though Nwodo’s sack was as a result of fallout of a local power play between him (Nwodo) and his state governor, Sullivan Chime, it was gathered that Mr. Jonathan forced him to resign.

But the controversy here is that after the resignation, Igbos asked Jonathan to support another South easterner to the office since the office was zoned to them. But surprisingly a northerner, nay Hausa/Fulani man, in the person of Alhaji Bello Haliru Mohammed acted as chairman a little while and handed over to another Hausa/Fulani man, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, in an acting capacity, before handing over to their elected chairman, Alhaji Bamangar Tukur, also a Hausa/Fulani man.

Ironically, when Nwodo resigned due to a controversy, Jonathan told the nation that he (Nwodo) is still a respected member of PDP, but when Tukur resigned due to another controversy, Jonathan announced that Tukur will be giving another assignment tougher (juicer, better) than the national Chairman of PDP. Still Tukur will be replaced by another northerner because the Chairmanship position has been zoned to them.

Similarly, on the 28th of August 2012, a bewildered nation woke up to hear that one of its most outstanding ministers and the most performing cabinet member of Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Prof Barth Nnaji, have resigned. Whatever prompted that forceful resignation is still a subject of controversy. Though Nnaji was replaced by another Enugu indigene, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, but the ease with which GEJ relieves Igbo’s of their appointment is worrisome. And the nation is still groaning over Nnaji’s sack.

Again on the 15th of January, 2013, Mrs Rose Uzodinma, a former Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, was forcefully retired over what they described as lopsided appointment of people of a particular zone into immigration. While I do not condone Uzodinma’s alleged offence, I dare say that what she did was not new in the Nigeria’s military and para-military recruitment. Infact, the same thing, I believe, was going on in the Custom, Prisons, Civil defence, etc, at the same time, why must Uzodinma case be different? Is it because she’s an Igbo?

Anyway let’s continue. In August 2013, life once again came into a depressed nation when it was announced that Prof. Chukwuma Soludo joined the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) party. The general acceptability of Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), spread like wild fire with people seen jubilating openly. Igbos were happy because they see APGA as an Igbo party and Soludo as the best candidate to contest in the 2013 Anambra gubernatorial election. Soludo, who was a candidate of PDP in the previous Anambra governorship election, was of the opinion that his supporters urged him to dumped PDP because they viewed the party (PDP) as highly corrupt and inconsistent with his (Soludo’s) ideaology and character.

Unfortunately, the once ignited hope began to dash when exactly one week to the APGA screening exercise, an intelligence report revealed that an operation ‘Stop Soludo By All Means’ was going on…not at the APGA headquarters, but at the PDP headquarters. Isn’t that ridiculous? Anyway the current APGA is seen as an appendage of PDP, and the gist was that President Jonathan wasn’t comfortable with Soludo’s candidacy. According to him, Prof. Soludo may likely win if allowed to contest, and he (Jonathan) wasn’t sure an independent mind like Soludo will in turn support him for a re-election in 2015. Well, all that happened is now history.

On 17th October 2013, Chief Festus Odimegwu, a first class graduate of Industrial Chemistry, and former Managing Director of Nigeria Breweries was forced to resigned as the Chairman of National Population Commission (NPC) over his controversial statement that genuine census has never taken place in Nigeria: it has always been tilted to favour a particular region (the born-to-rule region). Of course, this is an open secret. But Jonathan forced him to resign, possibly to appease the anger of the said region over the statement.

Ironically, the current Central Bank of Nigeria’s governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has vomited more terrible things and made statements inimical to the security of the country and the administration of Goodluck Jonathan, yet Mr. President has not gotten the balls to fire him. Why? Because he’s a prince of the born-to-rule region?

The greatest irony of it all is that the leader and factional Chairman of the defunct new PDP (formed by the G7 governors), Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, was the Chairman of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), even at the heat of the crises he engineered. Many will never believe that a man so vehemently opposed to President Jonathan's re-election in the party, will still be heading a parastatal under Jonathan's government at such a time. Isn't that hillarious? Well, it’s only 2 months ago, on 13th November, that he was pressured to resign. An Igbo man would have gotten an immediate resignation.

Finally, on the 16th of January, 2014, all the service chiefs in Nigeria were promptly retired and replaced except the Chief of Air Staff, who was promoted to the office of Chief of Defence Staff. All other regions were represented in the new appointments, except the Igbo, who were replaced with a Niger Deltan, as the Chief of Army Staff.

Let this be known: I am still a supporter of a southern President, but politics is a game of interest, it will be fool-hardy for anyone to think that the President can downplay the South eastern region, and still have the confidence to win the 2015 election. The earlier the anomaly is being corrected, the better.

Nnamani Chikezie, a Political Affairs Analyst, writes from Abuja, Nigeria.