Goodluck Jonathan And The Expectations Of Nigerians

by

Festus Keyamo

Lecture delivered by Festus Keyamo on the occasion of the marking of Isaac Adaka Boro Day in Port-Harcourt on Sunday, May 15, 2011.

Permit me to wholeheartedly thank the organisers of this event for having considered me worthy enough to stand before you to say a few things to mark this day. It was only a few days ago that my friend and brother, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari informed me that I have been chosen to say some things on this occasion. He duly informed me that the topic would be “Goodluck Jonathan and the expectations of Nigerians”.

It is so apposite that today, being a day set aside to celebrate the life and times of Isaac Adaka Boro, we are discussing Goodluck Jonathan, the first person (whether military or civilian) from the South-South extraction to become President and Commander-In-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There is no gain-saying the fact that the central theme of the life and times of Isaac Adaka Boro was the struggle against the marginalisation and oppression of the minorities from the South-South region especially the Ijaw nation. He was prepared to live and die for that cause.

Coincidentally, it was the same time in history that Adaka Boro lived and died for his people that Martin Luther King also lived and died for his race in America . Curiously, it is now the same period in history that the dream of Martin Luther King to have one of his own (a black man) become the President of America on the principle of equality that he preached, that one of the dreams of Isaac Adaka Boro which is the emergence of an Ijaw man, (a minority) to become the President of Nigeria has also materialised.

It is because of this long wait for the presidency and long- suffering of the people of the South-South region that it has become almost impracticable for Jonathan to do any wrong in the eyes of some of our people from the South-South region. That is why it is so difficult to criticise your own brother or blood in public. People would normally expect you to make such matters a family affair. Hence, this topic given to me today is a difficult one from the point of sentiments, but an easy one from the stand point of truth and statistics. So my brothers here today must forgive me if I appear too hard on the side of truth and honesty in assessing Goodluck Jonathan.

The sentiments that preceded the emergence of Jonathan as President when a cabal that was beholden to the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua treated him so shabbily as Vice-president and tried to prevent him from wielding executive powers, coupled with his minority status that gives him the character of an underdog in a shark infested political environment, are the major twin reasons he has enjoyed some level of sympathetic support and consideration from political bystanders and even from normally critical sections of the country.

However, let me warn that this is where the danger lies, that is, if we treat the administration of Goodluck Jonathan with kid gloves because of these sentiments mentioned above and especially because he is one of us from the South-South region. I think it is enough of the holiday Jonathan has enjoyed from the critical section of the country. If we turn the blind eye and a deaf hear when we see evil and hear evil under the administration of Goodluck Jonathan, we shall have no moral basis to mount any crusade in future against bad governments if the heads of those governments happen to be from other parts of the country. There is also a danger of allowing a government rest on its oars if we do not put it on its toes. Therefore, this is a clarion call to all of us not to ethnicise corruption and bad government under the administration of Goodluck Jonathan. Because, really, shorn of these sentiments I mentioned earlier, Goodluck Jonathan is really not a breath of fresh air that he professes to be. He is same of the same. These are my reasons:

Goodluck Jonathan has been a top member of the PDP since the return to democracy in 1999. He was first Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State , and later Governor, then Vice-president, then Acting President and finally President. All these positions are some of the highest positions given to him by the ruling party since 1999. So Goodluck Jonathan cannot claim not to have been part of the rigging machine of the ruling party and mal-administration of the ruling party since 1999 till date. When it is convenient, they tell us that Goodluck Jonathan has a lot of experience that even that of Atiku Abubakar could not match his own, and when it is not convenient, he distances himself from other politicians and they tell us that he is a breath of fresh air. How fresh that air is, I don’t know. Yet, because he is one of us, we are told that we must accept him and tolerate him. We have no choice.

Two, if we are angry at Obasanjo for sending soldiers to kill hundreds of innocent lives in Odi and Benue State during his tenure under the guise of looking for some militants or miscreants, what can we say about Goodluck Jonathan who ordered soldiers to invade the Ijaw village of Ayakoromo in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State immediately he became President last year to kill, maim and burn the houses of innocent souls?. And even last week Thursday, May 12, 2011, Goodluck Jonathan again, ordered troops back to Ayakoromo village and in the guise of looking for John Togo, an acclaimed Militant, properties were again destroyed and innocent lives were lost. What a breath of fresh air indeed! Yet we are told that we must accept him and we must tolerate him because he is one of our own.

Three, if we accuse previous Government of condoning corruption, what has Goodluck Jonathan done about those high ranking public officers that have been accused and investigated for corruption and corrupt practices and yet Goodluck Jonathan have not done anything about them. For instance, I have openly accused the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko Inde, of forging all his Certificates to become the Comptroller-General of Customs, which accusations and claims have been confirmed by the Institutions concerned by their refusal to confirm that he attended them and obtained those degrees, yet Goodluck Jonathan has turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to this issue because the Comptroller-General of Customs is an in-law to the wife of his late boss, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. In fact, in order to appease Jonathan and to thank him for condoning him, the Comptroller-General of Customs recently commissioned a whole housing scheme in Abuja for Customs officers and named it after Goodluck Jonathan.

The present Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Dimeji Bankole, has also been investigated by various security agencies for corruption, yet the President has prevented his trial for corruption because of political consideration. That is why when Bankole accepted his woeful defeat in my mother’s State, Ogun State , I said that is not the end of the matter. He must still account for all his misdeeds whilst in office. In shielding him from prosecution, Goodluck Jonathan has shown us that he is a breath of fresh air, indeed! Yet, we are told that we must accept him and we must tolerate him because he is one of our own.

Four, let us not forget also that Goodluck Jonathan cannot claim to be a fresh of breath air because the election that produced him as Vice President (which placed him in the pole position he was to become President at the death of President Yar’Adua) is still adjudged till tomorrow to be one of the worst elections the world has ever seen. Therefore, Goodluck Jonathan cannot claim to find himself where he is today without mentioning one of the greatest frauds ever perpetrated against the masses of this country. Yet when he became President finally through that fraudulent process, we were told we had to accept and tolerate him because he is one of us.

Five, one of the greatest conspiracies of silence we have witnessed of recent and one of the greatest lie we have been told is that the 2011 election that has produced Goodluck Jonathan as President was totally free, fair and credible. Whilst it is true that there was a slight improvement to that election conducted by Prof. Maurice Iwu in 2007, if you look strictly at the statistics, you will discover that fundamentally the little improvement was not commensurate with the N87billion we spent trying to restart the electoral process and is not worth the innocent lives that were needlessly lost in the post election violence. Let us look at some of the statistics:

In the 2003 Presidential election, the registered voters were 60,823,022. The purported voters’ turnout was 42,018,735 which represented 69.1% of the total voters. Meanwhile, PDP scored 24,456,140 which is 61.94% of the total votes cast. However, the 2003 election was adjudged to be heavily flawed and was condemned by both local and international observers.

In the 2007 Presidential election, the number of registered voters were 61,567,036 whilst the purported voters’ turnout was 58%. PDP scored 24,638,063 which was 69.60% of the total votes cast. That was the election we said was the worst in the history of Nigeria .

Now, in the 2011 Presidential election, the total number of registered voters was 73,528,040 and the purported voters’ turnout was nearly 54% which is just 4% less than that of 2007. And Goodluck Jonathan of PDP this time scored (or was allocated) 22,495,187 which is just less than two million of the votes Yar’Adua was given in 2007.

It is also laughable to come to terms with the percentage of votes the PDP secured in the South-South and the South-Eastern States . These are the figures:

1. In Anambra State, PDP scored 1,145,169 which is 98.96% of the total votes cast.

2. In Enugu State, PDP scored 802,144 which is 98.54% of the total votes cast.

3. In Akwa Ibom State, PDP scored 1,165,629 which is 94.58% of the total votes cast.

4. In Imo State, PDP scored 1,381,357 which is 97.98% of the total votes cast.

5. In Ebonyi State, PDP scored 480,592 which is 95.57% of the total votes cast.

6. In Bayelsa State, PDP scored 504,811 which is 99.63% of the total votes cast.

7. In Abia State, PDP scored 1,175,984 which is 98.96% of the total votes cast.

8. In Delta State, PDP scored 1,378,851 which is 98.59% of the total votes cast.

9. In Rivers State, PDP scored 1,817,762 which is 98.04% of the total votes cast.

In 2007, this was the same trend of unjustifiable figures that did not match normal voting patterns that discredited the election. What, then, is the fundamental difference between both elections? Yet we are told one was the worst and the other the freest and fairest. This is nothing but a joke.

Unfortunately, the international observers in their various reports avoided commenting elaborately on the collation process which was where the fraud actually took place. Paradoxically, almost all the reports of the international observers consistently mentioned the issue of underage voting, especially in the North. Yet they painted their report with beautiful, flowery language and declared it free, fair and credible. Here are some of those reports:

The National Democratic Institute, in its report of April 18, 2011, made the following report:

“The delegates noted the complicated and multi-tiered collation process that is vulnerable both to human error and malfeasance as tabulation proceeds from the polling unit to INEC headquarters. Despite efforts in this election to fast-track election returns, this process created added work for INEC officials and observers”.

Yet, after this observation, the NDI said the election was free, fair and credible. Pray, what can be credible about a result that was not properly collated and cannot be a true reflection of what was actually cast at the polling units?

The International Republican Institute had this to say:

“Among the issues to be covered in those will be: 1) revising recommendations of the Electoral Reform Committee which were not adopted by the National Assembly; 2) improving the voter list to ensure people are properly registered; 3) strengthening civic education so all Nigerians fully understand the nature of the election process and their role; 4) ensuring that the political parties evolve into constructive actors in the process, respecting democratic values in their internal behaviour and commitment to transparent election; 5) addressing the problem of underage voting; and 6) ensuring polling stations have a manageable number of registered voters”.

Again, if under-aged persons voted massively, how come they concluded that the election was free, fair and credible?

The African Union in its own report said as follows:

“Voting by under-age was one of persistent problems observed in the recently held elections. To address this, the Mission suggests that INEC, in conjunction with other relevant authorities, should put in place measures for proper screening and registration of prospective voters, in strict compliance with constitutional and legal requirements”.

Once again, the African Union also concluded that the election was free, fair and credible.

The Commonwealth Observer Group in its statement signed by its Chairman, his Excellency, Festus Mogae had this to say:

“There remain shortcomings with the voter registration, based on the number of people with voter cards but missing from the voter register. This needs to be urgently addressed.

There’s need to be stricter safeguards against underage voting, a phenomenon witnessed in parts of the country.”

Once again, it concluded that the election was free, fair and credible.

The European Union Election Observation Mission was the most honest in its report. It first complained about those unjustifiable figures from South-South and South-East when it wrote the following:

“Nevertheless, during voting, inconsistent implementation of procedures and attempts to influence voters were noted. Moreover, the INEC results coming from the States in South-South and South-East show percentages close to 100 percent…”

“While the shift from accreditation to voting was smooth and carried out in a timely manner, shortcomings were noted during voting. In 17 percent of the sampled polling units, attempts to influence voters were observed; in 26 percent there were instances of interference by party agents in the process and in 47 percent the secrecy of vote was not respected. General lack of organisation was noticed in 19 percent. These figures indicate deterioration since the National Assembly elections. The share of underage voting remained constant in both elections at 12 percent, while in a few cases serious malpractices, such as double voting and ballot snatching were observed.

The observed polling units closed on average around 16:00 hours, leaving time for the counting to be conducted during daylight. In a sixth of the observed polling units, the unused ballots were not properly accounted for and their number was not recorded. The copies of the results were in general distributed to all party agents and the official results were posted outside the polling unit in 87 percent of the cases, which is a remarkable improvement over the National Assembly elections (when the procedure had been followed in only 54 percent). Nevertheless, the results forms were packed in tamper-proof envelopes only in two-thirds of the observed polling units. In spite of some procedural deficiencies, counting was overall evaluated positively in 91 percent.

Arithmetic errors were noted in 70 percent of the visited ward collation centres and in 87 percent of the observed LGA collation centres. This demonstrated insufficient training of the Collation Officers. The results were posted outside the ward collation centres only in 49 percent, which is still a tangible improvement compared to the 9 April elections. However, at the LGA level results were posted outside only in 35 percent of the cases. This had a clear negative impact on the transparency of the election process. It is commendable that the final stage of the collation of the Presidential results and its announcement was broadcast live on NTA and AIT”.

Funny enough, unlike other observers, the European Union refrained from specifically concluding that the election was free, fair and credible.

From all we have seen above, it is obvious that the malpractices were not the exclusive preserve of the ruling party. Because of massive underage voting and some malpractices, many of the figures in the northern states credited to the CPC were indefensible and unjustifiable, just like many of the figures in the South-South and South-East region of the country credited to the PDP.

So, the scenario was that whilst manipulation was going on in the far North through underage voting, manipulation was also going on in the far South through manipulation of figures. The result only shows that the far South out-rigged the far North. That is why General Buhari and his CPC have absolutely no moral leverage to lead a campaign of civil disobedience and bloodshed in the North because they also did not come to equity with clean hands. It is also obvious that General Buhari, cannot, in his true conscience, claim to have won the Presidential election, because if he was so confident, he would not have embarked on those last minute efforts he made to form an alliance with the ACN and some other parties.

On the other hand, it is quite obvious that Jonathan got more popular and evenly-spread votes than Buhari because of the structures of the PDP in all parts of the country, but whether he won with the margin that was credited to him and whether he won outright on a first ballot is highly debatable. But we must accept Jonathan because we have no choice in our continuous search for an acceptable democratic system. The only thing we must resist and my conscience cannot accept is to call black “white” and to call white “black” all because we want to support our brother at all cost.

The sad thing about our situation is that those who are supposed to speak up and tell the President these home truths so that he can make adjustments and we can all make progress, are busy chasing him and his wife all over the country for appointments in the new government. Even the President had to run away from Aso Rock to Obudu Ranch recently, yet, the lobbyists chased him all the way to the mountains of Obudu.

So, one of the expectations of Nigerians concerning Goodluck Jonathan is that he will shun these sickening sycophants, political jobbers, shameless praise singers and bootlickers in picking a team that would work with him for the next four years.

Sadly, I have not heard Goodluck Jonathan say he would strive to continue to improve on the electoral system since the last election. In other words, it would appear that the President is content with the process that produced his recent victory at the polls and that is the standard he would want to continue. That is most unfortunate. Like his late boss and predecessor, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, he must admit that there were fundamental flaws in the process that produced him and he must seek to partner with everyone to continue to improve the process.

Nigerians also expect that in the next four years Goodluck Jonathan would stop sending troops to kill innocent persons in Ijaw villages or any other village for that matter. Instead of massive troops deployment to the villages, we want to see massive deployment of construction equipments to the villages. He should not do this just because he is from the South-South region. He should do this as a matter of equity and justice because even previous President before him agreed that there was need to pay special attention to the Niger-Delta region, even though they paid only lip-service to this commitment.

The pattern of votes that were actually counted during the last election and the riot that greeted the victory of Jonathan in the far North reveal that this country is still a highly-fractured country and there is urgent need for him to extend a hand of love and fellowship to those areas where people were killed and maimed because of his victory at the polls. But he must bring the actual culprits to book. He must not deny the North of the massive development it urgently needs because of the post election violence and he must not deny tested and capable hands in the far North of key appointments into his government because of those incidents.

What Nigeria needs urgently is a total recreation and rebirth. Nigeria urgently needs one particular infrastructure that is inevitable when you are creating a new environment. In the book of Genesis, Chapter 1, verse 1-3, we read:

“(1) In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth

(2) And the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

(3) And God said: Let there be light; and there was light”

Like in the beginning, Nigeria is now without form and void and darkness is upon the face of the Nation. There is no power supply.

And so just like in the Bible since Nigerians expect a new Nigeria under Goodluck Jonathan, they expect Goodluck Jonathan to make the pronouncement, followed by action, “Let there be light”, and then, we should have light!

Thank you and God bless you.

FESTUS KEYAMO, ESQ.

Seeking To Establish The Truth Of The 2011 Presidential Election.

By ABUBAKAR MALAMI, SAN

Being a text of Press Conference Delivered by the National Legal Adviser of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) on Monday, 9th May 2011 to herald the party’s filing of its petition before the Presidential Election Tribunal Sitting in Abuja.

Good Afternoon, Gentlemen of the Press: As some of you may be aware, our great party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), filed its petition before the Presidential Elections Tribunal sitting at the Federal Court of Appeal Abuja, challenging the results of the Presidential elections as announced by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega. The election petition was filed yesterday, being the 9th day of April, 2011 and this Press Conference is called to explain the import of CPC’s action.

But first, let us again on behalf of all members and sympathizers of our great party, extend our heart-felt sympathy and condolences to the families of those who lost their lives or property as a result of the violence that occasioned the elections. This includes all those affected before, during and after the polls.

We would like to seize this opportunity to reiterate that our party is composed of responsible and discipline members who do not in any way subscribe to the perpetration of any evil much less of encouraging any.

Our national history has however taught us that the determination to win elections by incumbents by any means has always given birth to spontaneous reactions in the form of break down of law and order.

We recall the anger of the people of the Western Region in 1965 and the people of Ondo state in 1983 against the use of federal might to dislodge opposition governments in the South west in favour of the ruling parties at the federal level with concocted results. The people spontaneously rose against these barbaric actions of the government. Police stations and houses of prominent NNA and NPN supporters were burnt and many people killed. In the case of Ondo state, the judicial decision that ceded Ondo back to the UPN came within the context of citizens’ determined effort to protect their votes. We are all living witnesses that the nation’s democracy suffered irreparably as a result.

To us in the CPC, it is our belief that the break down of law and order that ensued after the declaration of President Goodluck Jonathan as the President-elect on the basis of concocted results was the bye product of the determination to win elections by incumbents by any means which has always characterized such actions by historical antecedence.

It is our contention that the declaration of false results assembled in places other than the polling Unit in the instant Presidential Election is another reminder that the political class ruling and ruining Nigeria is not ready to allow electoral reform work. Let us be reminded that already, this present PDP federal Government has rejected the recommendation from the Electoral Reform Committee it set up that the new Independent National Electoral Committee should be appointed through an independent process anchored in the National Judicial Council.

The Justice Uwais Committee had recommended that to transform INEC from a partisan, pro-president-of-the-day lackey to a professional and independent body, the President should lose the prerogative of appointing the Chairperson, National Commissioners and Resident State Electoral Commissioners of the Commission. The National Judicial Council was to take over that responsibility with citizens as nominations are to be made and considered by the public. But without any cogent justification at all, the government rejected it. In fact, at the end of the day, the entire process of the electoral reform was jettisoned by the same government. What the nation ended up with is the unilateral appointment of an INEC Chairman whose integrity was eulogized more on his past views than actions. I am sure patriotic Nigerians will agree with us that the final processes and outcome of the 2011 general elections are nothing any near to what our campaigns for true Electoral Reforms expected in enthroning for Nigeria

free, fair and credible elections.

We cannot therefore sit by and allow these electoral misdemeanours wreaking the very foundation of our country’s stability, prosperity and unity to continue unchecked forever. Since independence, the major political problem of our country has been that of elections. Transiting from one government to the other through the ballot box had always been the most difficult aspect of the nation’s democratic experiment. In fact, on the two occasions the military took over the reins of power from civilian regimes, in 1966 and 1983, election malpractices were sighted as justification. Yet, till date, we do not seem to have learned our lessons. With every election, including the last Presidential Election, the electorates continue to lose confidence in the ability of the ballot box to express their will. This is a dangerous trend that must not be allowed to continue, lest we find our country sleepwalking into a disaster that we may not come out of.

Please permit me to use the President’s own Polling Unit to illustrate the level of electoral fraud perpetrated in the election as we saw it. Osazi Playground Polling Unit has a total number of 908 registered voters. On the 16th of April election, only 424 voters turned out to cast their votes, with 413 voting for the President while 11 ballots were invalidated. This represents a total of 47% voter turnout in that unit. However, for the rest of Bayelsa state, the total voters’ turnout as recorded by INEC was 87% with a total of 96% voting the President. One would have expected that if there was going to be a massive voter turnout, no other place would have surpassed the President’s own unit. Because this unit comprises his close and distant relatives – his parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, cousins, nephews, childhood friends, etc. But surprisingly, not half of these came out to vote their own, yet the rest of Bayelsa and the South-south turned out over 90% to vote “their son”. The truth is that the President did not want anything to cause problem in his ballot box which would have embarrassed him politically. So that box was guarded against any malpractice and so what came out of the box was actually what transpired; but the rest of Bayelsa and others can do as they pleased. This is electoral fraud personified!

As lessons of history has taught us, in the life of a society or nation, there will come a time when a group of people must have to stand up and point out when the leadership is destroying the nation; explain why things are going wrongly; demonstrate how things can be done rightly; and work towards making a clear difference. The time is now and the people are you and us! It is for this reason that we in the CPC have decided to challenge these alleged concocted results of the Presidential Elections at the Tribunal.

Because of our experience in the processes of election cases in tribunals, we have learned that election petitions for the most part in the past failed to gain ground in our tribunals mainly because of paucity of evidence to proof cases. This, therefore, left us with no other option than to seek scientific ways, means and methods as the best and most effective platform to proof our case; hence our adoption and employment of Forensic/Biometric system of evidence.

The fact that there are no two people with the same fingerprint, every fingerprint can therefore be scientifically verified basically through the following preliminary basics of the technical Biometrics/Forensics methods which details will be made available by the experts:-

1. Since during the Voter-registration exercise, all the ten fingerprints of all voters were captured and stored in INEC’s Standard Data Bank, it is certain that every voter must have used a finger to vote in the election. This then makes it possible to authenticate and verify every print on every ballot. This is the importance and central reason for this novel registration exercise. This case will therefore depend mainly on the authentication and verification of the fingerprints on the disputed ballot papers cast;

2. An electromechanical optical scan device with automatic tabulation called a “mark-sensing” system will be used; in this case the mark is the fingerprint;

3. We expect INEC to produce the Ballot Papers voted upon with the fingerprint organized on the basis of their Polling Units, Wards, Local Govt. Area and State and delivered for processing. These will be processed on Polling Unit basis, which means that the scanners will take an image of each ballot paper, store the image in the appropriate location corresponding to its Polling Unit, Wards, LGA and State;

4. When all images of ballot papers for a Polling Unit are taken, a processing program containing the agreed upon sorting parameters will read the party name which has a fingerprint, then extract the fingerprint and store;

5. The following processes is then expected to take place within the records of each Polling Unit:-

a. Compare all fingerprints with each other to detect all repetitive fingerprints.

b. Count all repetitive fingerprints.

c. Deduct the repeated fingerprints from the count for that Polling Unit.

d. Present a table of results showing non-repeated and repeated votes.

e. Compare all fingerprints processed with the already registered and stored fingerprints of that Unit for any discrepancy, and

f. Count the total number of discrepancy, if any.

6. This process will be repeated for each Polling Unit.

Permit me to say that there are 2 key factors which will affect the time within which this work will be completed and they are:

a. The speed at which our legal team completes the process in the Tribunal

leading to the order of the release of the source data and documents (Voter

registration records, Stored fingerprints, Ballot Papers,etc.) by INEC.

b. The physical condition of the ballot papers. The condition in which the ballot papers are received will determine if they need preparation or they will go straight into the scanners. On this second score, we urge INEC and we will plead to the Tribunal to order the Commission to guarantee the safety and good condition of all the elections materials. In fact, we will prefer the materials to be safe-kept in the vaults of the Central Bank.

On the technical aspect of the process, we can confidently say that with the level of modern day technology, it won’t take long to conclude this procedure and establish the truth of the election. At the most, we can estimate between 50 – 65 days to be able to get all voters register authenticated, all disputed ballot papers examined, any other electoral document assessed, all findings compiled and submitted to the court, and return of all source data and documents to INEC. Our firm has participated in 300 electoral processes in 19 countries with more than 500 million voters tallied for government, private and multilateral organizations.

To the CPC, this use of Forensic/Biometric system based on INEC’s capturing of all the 10 fingers of every voter is a novel idea that can help solve forever the challenges of multiple voting and outright concoction of results; two critical issues in our electoral malpractices. Our present case in the tribunal is thus aimed at establishing the truth and preventing future elections malpractices in our country’s democratic experiment.

On this score, therefore, we call on each and every Nigerian to be supportive of our action; because this is NOT a case of trying to get for General Mohammadu Buhari the presidency of Nigeria, nor is it a case to deny same to President Goodluck Jonathan. Neither is it a case of fighting over the leadership of the country (as far as we are concerned whosoever is the leader does not matter so long as the processes creating the leadership is genuine). Rather this case, as we already said, is about establishing and ascertaining the truth for the country. It is on record that the nation expended at least N108 billion to conduct the elections. It is therefore worthwhile to establish the truth of the elections.

To this end, this is a case for the nation and should completely transcend party affiliation and regional considerations. The case should be taken by all Nigerians in the spirit of no victor no vanquished as propagated by the

President and as a responsive search for the truth for our country. Nigerians from all walks of life must not only be united but also must be seen united in establishing for our country this basic truth on an issue that has plagued and wrecked incalculable damage to our unity and development since independence. We, as Nigerians, must build a national consensus on this noble intention.

If at the end of this case, the truth is undeniably established and it is found out that the allegations of the said electoral frauds were true, then the blame of the post-elections violence should be squarely put on the perpetrators of the fraud – for they are the real cause of the violence, which will then be the natural principle of cause and effect. And if it is established that the PDP got its votes as announced authentically, then our Presidential Candidate will lead us to the Villa to formally congratulate the President and his deputy to the advancement of democracy, unity and stability of Nigeria. Truth is, however, sacrosanct and it must be allowed to prevail.

Thank you for your kind attention.

ABUBAKAR MALAMI, SAN.

National Legal Adviser

Electricity, Myth or Reality - Letter to the President.

Mr. President, I would like to thank you for the updates you provide on you Facebook wall. I have major concerns with the power issue in Nigeria. I am sure every other well meaning Nigerian has this same problem. It is a shame that at 50 years, in the year 2010, as the 6th largest producer of crude, that we still talk about issues of power.

We are aware that this has been a result of decay and lack of concern from all previous administrations of this country. As the Head of Government and the Minister of Power, it will be fair for us to transfer our frustrations to you.

While power is just one of the many issues we have facing us today, (Education, Healthcare and Agriculture are also of serious concern) the importance of this cannot be overemphasized. Power is the backbone of any modern society.

One question we all ask is, can PHCN be any different from Nigeria Airways, NITEL, NNPC and the rest of the other state own institutions? Trying so hard and putting so much into PHCN, might just be as bad as trying to generate electricity from a broken dam. I doubt very much if anything will come out of PHCN. It is time that we stop deceiving ourselves and wasting the time of the people. Every sector of the economy is riddled with such lack of care or concern. There is never any improvement or advancement in most if not all sectors.

Does the government have any genuine plan for the private sector to come into all aspects of power? Generation, Transmission and Distribution. Should government be involved in this business, or should it just regulate the playing field? It tried this with NITEL and MTEL, all of which eventually went under. Too many people make too much money from state owned institutions that the thought of this stream of cash drying up will not be tolerated at all costs. Not to talk of the fact that finical crimes go largely unpunished.

COAL
Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in the world today. Nigeria's coal reserves are large, over 2 billion metric tonnes, of which 650 million tonnes are proven. Our low-sulphur coal has been of interest to the international communities. I strongly believe that we need to explore the option of utilizing this large coal deposit for power generation. If we do not, I wonder what we intend to do with all this coal.

I am aware that carbon dioxide emissions from coal usage are slightly more than those from petroleum and about double the amount from natural gas, but this does not in any way mean we should look away from coal. The USA still produces 50% of its electricity from coal and I am sure advancement in technology will give us a way of making the emissions less toxic.

Nigeria is not ready for gas. There have have too much talk and no positive outcome in the use of gas for power generation. While we continue to sort out the issues surrounding gas, who says we cannot exploit coal.

Our dependence on oil and gas has been a major issue to our nation. It has crippled a lot of other sectors, Agriculture and other natural resources especially. We continuously have refused to learn and we have not moved forward in anyway visible. Too many committees have been set up with no results. The next 5 years may not even see any visible change at the rate we are going.

Everyone comes in advising government to do this and that. What the citizens want to see is light at the flick of a switch and he/she wants this 24 hours of the day and all year round.

Is this something we will ever see? Do we need to employ magicians before we can have electricity, or do we have to just get some other country to come do it for us since it is clear we are not ready to work.

Mr. President, I want to believe that you will keep to you words and promise that you will deal with the issue of electricity, but I can assure you that it is a difficult battle and would require everything you have got. We have sunk so far into this abyss that the talk of steady power is just a mirage. There is no way we can advance as a country without electricity. No one will want to invest in a society as this, small businesses cannot grow, people cannot live comfortably at home, local manufactures cannot compete against foreign cheaper products.

It is either all or nothing.

In death we look for sympathy!

Well, nature has finally decided for us. It seems we are never able to make or take any decisions. Nigeria is a country and must not be held to ransom by a group of people who hide behind the illness of another while trying to blackmail Nigerians by playing on their sentiments.

All these would have ended well if it was handled properly in the beginning. All the lies about the man climbing stairs, playing with children, running the treadmill have all come to the open.

Sentiments, is the game they have been playing. Now in death they look for sympathy.

RIP Umaru, for in time all must come to an end.

It is where we go after here that really matters and not what we enjoy here.

All those who have lied, deceived, threatened us during the period of uncertainty must be brought to book.

As for the clerics that went visiting and praying, what was the outcome of all their prayers? Some of them even threatened us on national TV, saying there would be repercussions if we dared to touch that sit. Have our clerics all forgotten so soon that nothing in this life will go with us when we leave this world?

So help us God.

Why IBB will not run in 2011 and why I will not vote for him.

There is so much drama in the political realm here in our dear Nigeria. IBB has again declared that he wants to run for president come 2011. I strongly believe that what he is doing presently is testing the waters. All IBB seeks is relevance; anytime there is a presidential race (2003, 2007 and now 2011), he always makes sure he is the topic of discussion.

IBB will never run in opposition, and it most unlikely that he will ever get the PDP presidential ticket. Why would anyone endorse IBB? To whose advantage would it be? IBB will not and cannot afford to gamble with this; he will only run if he is the candidate of the ruling party.

IBB has never been able to defend the annulment of the June 12 election; he has always come out to say the election was the fairest in the country, yet he refused to hand over to Abiola. While I am no fan of MKO (rest his soul), this was an abuse of a process that he will forever have to live with. The reason is simple, he was cajoled by a certain cabal not to hand over to a MKO.

This was also the beginning of the ethnic and religious divide in Nigeria. Remember Kingibe ran alongside MKO. Both candidates were muslims and no one in Nigeria cared about this. What we wanted was to have a democratic government in place and send the khaki boys out. Now you can't have a presidential election without having president and vice president coming from different religions.

We must accept the truth that this ethnic and religious divide is getting wider and the Yar'adua situation has only made it worse.

This is the simple truth and the only reason why IBB did not hand over to MKO. We are always afraid to speak about issues especially when they cut across the ethnic and religious divide. If we continue to do this, we will never find a solution.

IBB is making so much noise because so far we do not have a credible opposition. Yes we all don't want IBB, but then who do we want?

It is important that there is someone Nigerians can vote for and who will be accepted by us all. This is important to stop people like IBB from dancing in the sun.

IBB has still not been forgiven by Nigerians, he stole our money, destroyed the civil service, crippled the police, and stripped the military of all professionalism.

He did all these to protect his ass, but he still had to run away (step aside as he called it) in 1993.

No one can fight the power of the people.

We should find a way to send all thieves and looters to jail instead of allowing them to walk freely polluting our society with their evil and corrupt practices.

IBB ruled for such a long time and failed. Failure is inexcusable in leadership. He has no business coming back.

One major drawback we have is that we do not believe in the electoral process and as such we never register or vote at elections. We spend out time making so much noise on blog sites and leave voting to the area boys and bus drivers. Voting is is duty we must all perform.

Come 2011, all Nigerians of voting age must be involved in choosing our next president. Even if we fail, let us fail trying.

Is our President AWOL?

I am no expert at law but I find the current political situation in Nigeria very funny and interesting. It is obvious that a lot of different camps with various interests are at play here. One thing is certain in all this, and that is the interest of the ordinary Nigerian citizen is not of interest.

Between the President's kitchen cabinet and the pro-Yar'adua Ministers there has been a large display of sycophancy and insincerity. Over the period the President has been away, all sorts of lies have been told. So much that they have run of lies just as we have run out of interest in their fairy tales.

It is no surprise that almost every Nigerian now can recite parts of the constitution. We must commend them for helping to improve our understanding of the constitution.

Section 144 of the constitution reads as follows;

144. (1) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office, if -

(a) by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all the members of the executive council of the Federation it is declared that the President or Vice-President is incapable of discharging the functions of his office; and

(b) the declaration is verified, after such medical examination as may be necessary, by a medical panel established under subsection (4) of this section in its report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(2) Where the medical panel certifies in the report that in its opinion the President or Vice-President is suffering from such infirmity of body or mind as renders him permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office, a notice thereof signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation.

(3) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office as from the date of publication of the notice of the medical report pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.

(4) the medical panel to which this section relates shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, and shall comprise five medical practitioners in Nigeria:-

(a) one of whom shall be the personal physician of the holder of the office concerned; and

(b) four other medical practitioners who have, in the opinion of the President of the Senate, attained a high degree of eminence in the field of medicine relative to the nature of the examination to be conducted in accordance with the foregoing provisions.

(5) In this section, the reference to "executive council of the Federation" is a reference to the body of Ministers of the Government of the Federation, howsoever called, established by the President and charged with such responsibilities for the functions of government as the President may direct.

The Federal Executive Council came out to pass a declaration that the President is capable of discharging the functions of his office. This is clearly not what the constitution is asking of the Ministers.

It is a different issue if they had come out to say the did not get a two-thirds majority to pass a declaration declaring him as incapable to to discharge his functions. There is no where in the constitution where it says the Ministers should declare the President fit.

Section 145 and 146 read

145. Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.

146. (1) The Vice-President shall hold the office of President if the office of President becomes vacant by reason of death or resignation, impeachment, permanent incapacity or the removal of the President from office for any other reason in accordance with section 143 of this Constitution.

Now this is the part I find most interesting. Since the President did not inform the Senate of his whereabouts and he has been out of office for quite some time, it will be okay for us assume the President is AWOL.

Yes we all know he is in hospital, but remember that the Senate does not know this officially. I would deem this fit to be labeled as violation or breach of the provisions of the Constitution under which the President can be impeached.

As the Council of Ministers meet tomorrow, we await to hear what the outcome of the meeting will be following the drama that happened in last weeks meeting.

PDP being the ruling party has the majority in the National Assembly and we do not know for certain how they plan to go with the whole saga. This can only go on for so long. Something will eventually have to give way. They are only delaying what cannot be stopped.

Our Nation, Our Constitution, Our President

Let me start by listing a section from our constitution.

Section 1(2) states; The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any persons or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

It is not news that Nigerians have been asking questions about the true health condition of our president. Since November 23, 2009 when the Federal Government announced that the President will be traveling to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, there have been conflicting stories about the state of his health.

There have been conflicting stories as well as as speculations on the state of the presidents health. The cloak of secrecy thrown around the president's condition has clearly thrown our government into chaos.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) is also paralysed with the Ministers of Information, Foreign Affairs and Justice all singing different songs. Nobody has been able to give Nigerians an authentic and true position on the state of affairs.

With the turn of events it is most unlikely the Mr. president will be returning to the 'throne' in Abuja. Obviously the ruling PDP is scrambling to look for a suitable Vice President, since the current VP, Goodluck Jonathan would definitely become president if Yar'adua fails to return to office. It is also not news that PDP is looking for someone who will also run for Office of President come the next presidential elections in 2011.

One major question still remains unanswered; why didn't the president hand over to the vice president when he was going for treatment? We have heard all sorts of responses to this question, but nothing suffices for me but to think that it is greed and selfishness that made the president and his team do otherwise.

What does the constitution say about transferring Presidential Powers?

Section 145. Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.

This doesn't seem to be a mandatory function but more of an obligatory one. This section can be argued in so many ways. However, if our president was to be concerned with the welfare of the nation and its peoples he would understand that the honorable thing to have done was to write the Senate asking that powers be transferred temporarily to the Vice President pending his return.

Also lets take a look at what the Oath of Office of President says:

Oath of Office of President

I, .............. do solemnly swear/affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I will discharge my duties to the best of my ability, faithfully and in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the law, and always in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity, well-being and prosperity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will strive to preserve the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy contained in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions; that I will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will abide by the Code of Conduct contained in the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that in all circumstances, I will do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will; that I will not directly or indirectly communication or reveal to any person any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as President; and that I will devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of Nigeria. So help me God.

Has our President in anyway kept to this by his actions? My answer is no. He has clearly allowed his personal interest to influence his official conduct. He as also not devoted himself to the service and well-being of the people of Nigeria.

Rather they have run this country like it is a monarchy. While we do not wish the president ill, he, his family and cohorts need to understand that the office of President is bigger than any one person. He needs to respect and preserve the integrity of that office and not allow his selfishness cloud his judgement.

It is sad and very unfortunate that we have continuously had leaders who have no passion for the well-being of our people. The sycophants around us have not made this any better. Nigerians clearly live in an illusion and are nowhere close to reality. We never speak the truth and we believe whatever lies (no matter how silly) we are told by those in authority. We do not question authority.

We do not realise that in a democracy the leadership is there to serve the people. Yar'adu is our servant and not a King. He is answerable to us and we demand and have a right to know everything about him, his heath and well-being until the day he ceases to be president.

The position of President is also a voluntary one and comes with a lot of work. It is not a holiday or a jamboree, so no one going into office should complain about how difficult it is to rule. You can very well resign at any point in time.

We have also wondered why the president has not been removed from office. The Section of the Constitution that addresses this states that:

144. (1) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office, if -

(a) by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all the members of the executive council of the Federation it is declared that the President or Vice-President is incapable of discharging the functions of his office; and

(b) the declaration is verified, after such medical examination as may be necessary, by a medical panel established under subsection (4) of this section in its report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(2) Where the medical panel certifies in the report that in its opinion the President or Vice-President is suffering from such infirmity of body or mind as renders him permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office, a notice thereof signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation.

(3) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office as from the date of publication of the notice of the medical report pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.

(4) the medical panel to which this section relates shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, and shall comprise five medical practitioners in Nigeria:-

(a) one of whom shall be the personal physician of the holder of the office concerned; and

(b) four other medical practitioners who have, in the opinion of the President of the Senate, attained a high degree of eminence in the field of medicine relative to the nature of the examination to be conducted in accordance with the foregoing provisions.

(5) In this section, the reference to "executive council of the Federation" is a reference to the body of Ministers of the Government of the Federation, howsoever called, established by the President and charged with such responsibilities for the functions of government as the President may direct.

We have also wondered why the president has not been removed from office. The questions is can the Ministers appointed by the president vote him out of office? We lack the discipline and integrity to carry out such. The Ministers cannot even speak on the issue. They seem to be waiting for a miracle to happen. Well I am sure in a nation as 'prayerful' as Nigeria some miracle will surely happen.

As events unfold, we all await to see where they take us.

Like our pledge says, So help us God.