Date Published: 02/18/10

Abati’s Victory Exuberance By Onyechi Anyadike

Every victory deserves celebration. The celebration is naturally spontaneous and most times uncontrollable, especially when the victory does not come easy or when it takes a very long and tedious journey for it to be achieved. One particular occasion where Nigerians often display its many spectacular forms of celebrations is during a national football match. When we win, especially winning a final match that brings in a trophy, we forget our ethnic differences and mutual suspicious and hug ourselves, with some even being choked almost to passing out; we order drinks for complete strangers to celebrate our common patriotism; together we rationalize every noticeable failing on the part of the referee and his assistants that are to our advantage and point out and emphasize those minor decisions that are to the advantage of the losing side, and in unison we commend the players, the coach and especially, the government of the day with praise songs and go gaga with victory songs and dances. Nigerians know how to celebrate.

The tensions and exchanges of verbal and written missiles of words and legal interpretations that followed the failure of a very sick President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to send a letter of leave to the National Assembly before travelling overseas to take care of his health, which would have constitutionally empowered his Vice to act in his absence, was like a war. It lasted for nearly three months. And because the proper action and popular opinion was that the President ought to have constitutionally empowered his Vice to act in his absence, majority of Nigerians, the media especially, fought for the Vice to be so empowered. It lasted for whole 78 days. And the victory dance began.

As in our character, we have been displaying different forms of celebrations; few of them very calm and controlled, most of them full of overzealousness and exuberance, especially on the pages of newspapers and on TV and radio: experts providing analyses, selecting heroes of the struggle for praises, and they harangue its perceived opponents; everybody proferring solutions that would drive a final nail on the coffin of the conquest; and with most keen observers and calm celebrants wondering if some of these celebrations will not lead to a complication of the victory and its aftermath. Those celebrants whose calm disposition has made them celebrate with measured dance steps so as not to cause injury to self and collective sadness to the celebration, must have been getting shock treatment from some forms of celebrations so far displayed. It is believed such people must have also noticed that of The Guardian columnist, Reuben Abati, in his article of Friday, February 12, 2010 titled ‘Dissecting the Jonathan Presidency’.

The article began as an understandable form of victory dance until the ajasco steps started in the thirteenth paragraph where Abati wrote:

‘Did anyone take special notice of the fact that the same day Goodluck Jonathan was declared Acting President by the National Assembly, the first official visitors he received were the American Ambassador and a special message from President Barrack Obama and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton? He also met with some stakeholders, including Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ojo Maduekwe, and note this: former President Ibrahim Babangida. Who are the other stakeholders that the Americans met?’

Abati went further in the same paragraph to insinuate the inappropriateness of the American officials meeting Maduekwe and Babangida. Pray, if a visiting Assistant Secretary of State does not meet with his counterpart in the host country after seeing the President (Acting or not), who is he supposed to meet? And does it take being a politician to recognize the colossal status of Babangida as the most prominent and influential elder statesman in Nigeria presently? It is no doubt that President Obama recognized this and therefore deemed it necessary to send a message to Babangida. One can only wonder if that would have been Abati’s response if the message was for former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Abati’s open-secret principal and the cause of the whole katakata in the first place. What Abati seems not to understand is that the whole world is following events as they unfold in Nigeria!

One would have thought one false dance step would be enough for Abati; but no, he went further in the eighteenth paragraph:

‘As far as the Nigerian people are concerned, Goodluck Jonathan should be allowed to finish the remaining 18 months.’

One, I honestly do not know who mandated Abati to speak on behalf of ‘the Nigerian people’. And two, why should the Vice be allowed to finish the remaining 18 months? For an answer to that, let us see Abati’s following sentences in the same paragraph:

‘For more than two years, the country has been in a lull. The people want real dynamism. They are hoping that Jonathan will be able to do that.’

Pray, what is the matter with this guy? I am of the strong opinion that some columnists in Nigeria are taking undue advantage of their privileged position to attack our sensibilities. So, would Abati have been mouthing such an irritant if Yar’Adua had not fallen sick? Of course, not. Therefore, if the man suddenly returns tomorrow, he should not be allowed to complete his tenure because ‘the country has been in a lull’. Was he not elected for four years, foul elections or not?

In justifying the redeployment of Michael Aondoakaa, Abati continued his ojuju dance steps in the following paragraph:

‘That wasn’t good enough. Jonathan should have dissolved the entire cabinet and announce new ministers immediately. Nigerians need a new beginning.’

I have no wish to repeat myself. Could somebody, please ask the question on my behalf: What is the matter with this guy? According to a newspaper report, Acting President Jonathan actually wanted to sack Aondoakaa, but Senate President David Mark had to prevail on him and counselled on redeployment instead, because doing so in less than twenty-four hours after his mounting the saddle of the Presidency would send the wrong signals. Another report said the PDP, the ruling party, was taken unawares by the redeployment. As at the time of writing this article, there was report that the leadership of the PDP would be meeting with Jonathan for the first time since he mounted the saddle, and one of the items that was alleged to be on the agenda was the redeployment and a possible cabinet reshuffle.

While the sudden redeployment of a minister in a few hours after being empowered, causing the reshuffling of three ministerial portfolios, took the polity by storm, here is Abati suggesting the dissolution of the entire cabinet and immediate announcement of ministers in less than twenty-four hours!

Please try not to laugh, though this guy could be funny. Has Jonathan been selecting a team before? If no, where was he to get that bulk of ministers in less than twenty-four hours? And was Jonathan to appoint ministers from among Nigerians or imported ministers from overseas? What Jonathan needs is a show of quality leadership and the Ministers will take cue. Overhauling the cabinet, immediately or much after, is more to dispense favours and less to achieve set goals!

In the last sentence of the paragraph, Abati concluded the spurring of Jonathan into action with the regular media catchphrase: ‘What is Jonathan still waiting for?’

They have started again! Those were the exact words in the media when Chief Ernest Shonekan was in power: ‘What is Abacha still waiting for?’ It is on record that Chief M.K.O. Abiola was one of those who also urged late General Sani Abacha to take over, with all of them thinking they could set self-interest agenda for the dark-goggled General. We all know where those calls led us. Some Nigerians are noted for desperately promoting selfish interests above that of national interests without taking into consideration the implications of their desperation.

Before the PDP Presidential Primary in 2003, it was believed that Obasanjo practically had to beg his Vice, Atiku Abubakar, to support his ambition before Obasanjo could pick the party ticket. Some of Obasanjo’s aides, supporters and consultants, including Abati, felt very uncomfortable. It is on record that Abati was one of those who had asked in his column: ‘Uncle Sege, what are you still waiting for?’ And the man took the message: rigging his party into power in his South-West Zone in 2003 to establish a political base and eventually dismantling Atiku’s political structure. And they cheered him on. By 2006, the man had not only taken charge by hook or crook, as they had urged, the man had overtaken charge. It practically took the whole nation to wrestle a constitutional third term from his grasp!

Some columnists are celebrated for promoting their selfish interests as being born out of patriotism. Acting President Goodluck Jonathan will need more luck to save himself from people like Abati, because after the victory dance is all over and Jonathan had based his actions on suggestions and advice from such exuberance like that in Abati’s article, and their selfish interests achieved, the people who had urged him on will be the same who will use his actions to judge his tenure in office for posterity.