2015: That Jonathan’s Ministers’ Mass Failure; By Abdull-Azeez Ahmed Kadir

The political landscape in Nigeria is fast changing and may not remain same again. The wind of change is blowing and blowing so fast that it is taking the wind out of the sail for many politically. They seem to have set sail without compass and getting ashore is fast becoming a nightmare; if the turbulence did not capsize their boat and end their political voyage midstream that is.

It is an interesting time for politicians in Nigeria. But most politicians are not finding it interesting at all. The tide seems taking them upstream. Rarely anyone swim against the tide and make it ashore

Few months back, if you had peeped through the magic ball and told some individuals that their political ambition hangs in the balance, as a result, they should maintain and try to sustain the comfort of their means of sustenance, they would have called you names.

And talking of calling of names, six names readily comes to mind; Labaran Maku, Nyesom Wike, Onyebuchi Chukwu, Emeka Wogu, Samuel Ortom, Darius Ishaku and Musliu Onanikoro with one of them, Maku standing out like a sore due to his infamous acts of naming callings. He succeeded in using any subtle abusive terms to describe whoever criticised the government of the day, no matter how highly placed the individual is.

When they all made their plans public to resign and go contest the gubernatorial positions of their various states, tongues wagged. Some even thought it was a mission accomplished. Some still saw them as anointed “candidates” only waiting to be crowned.

In fact, in the case of Onyebuchi, his state governor elder Martin Elechi stormed Aso Vila and pleaded with President Goodluck Jonathan to “release” the health Minister to go home and answer the call of his people to succeed him as the number one citizen of their state; Ebonyi.

Not only was Onyebuchi rejected by his “people” or at least the delegate of his party, the party of the Governor, the party of the President, but even the governor incumbent factor and watt was rejected by the same set of people for his ambition to retire from Government House, Abakiliki to the hallowed senate Chamber in Abuja.

As the fingers work on the key-pad, neither Chukwu nor Elechi has made any political tactical maneuver beyond avoiding their party’s (PDP) national convention where the endorsement of their principal as the presidential flag bearer was ratified. That, some said is enough protest by the duo to express their displeasure with the President and the national organ of the acclaimed largest political party in Africa.

But if Onyebuchi who allegedly left the health sector worst than he met it with even health workers on strike as he grease the palms of PDP delegates to pave the road for him to Abakaliki Government House is quiet, his former colleague in Defence for State was kicking and screaming in Lagos.

Obanikoro has transcended almost all the political parties that made impact in Lagos State between 1999 and now with the exception of the All Progressive Congress (APC). He was an ally of the movers and shakers of the social, political and economic scene of Lagos. He berthed at the PDP which sailed him to Ghana as High Commissioner and later Minister of State, Defence long after he served as Commissioner under Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

As Minister, Koro (bitter) as he is popularly addressed, always announced his presence by stomping on Lagosians using soldiers and his battery of security details while he was Defence Minister. Today he didn’t only lose the PDP gubernatorial ticket, he has gone to court to seek “justice” claiming the primary did not follow due process.

Olujimi Agbaje backed by Olabode George and other Lagos PDP bigwigs have taken Koro to the political waste bin. And to say this is a guy who promised to “recapture” Lagos State and beyond for President Goodluck Jonathan and his party. The umbrella has surely kiltted here.

Let us revisit the South East again after Ebonyi, and Lagos state in the South West; Abia State to be precise. Emeka Wogu was the immediate past Minister of Labour and Productivity. Like his colleagues above, he too resigned for the same purpose. And like them too, he lost the battle for the gubernatorial candidacy of his party in the state.

Wogu who earlier boasted of clinching the contest despite the rumour of Governor Theodore Orji anointing and endorsing the eventual winner; Okezi Ikpeazu. Wogu could not even poll a quarter of the whole votes cast.

Taraba State is another theatre of the absurd where the former Minister of State, Niger Delta Darius Ishaku had to pull every stunt to ensure the primary did not hold when and as at scheduled for the fear of loosing out like his colleagues above. The circumstance of his later emergence, like many candidates across the country remains an issue of legal tussle. But the fact is, Darius would not have picked the ticket in a free and fair contest.

In River State, Nyesom Wike bulldozed his way through, after hijacking the whole party structure allegedly in collusion with some Abuja based big wigs. And like Darius, his candidacy remains an issue of legal battle with other aspirants on the platform kicking and ganging up against his candidacy.

Even at that, one clear fact is, if the incumbent Governor of the state; Chibuike Amaechi had remained in the party, Wike would not have come close to smelling the nectar of PDP gubernatorial flower in Rivers.

The most alarming and by all standard most amusing was the loss of the former Minister of Information; Mr Labaran Maku.

Before tendering his resignation to run the race, Maku made many believed he was the anointed aspirant from ward level up to Abuja. Maku spared no one in his tongue lashing of the critics of Goodluck Jonathan and the administration. He acted like a bull in a China-ware shop. At the primaries, Maku could not poll even 200 votes and was beaten by little known Muhammed Yusuf Agabi who polled more than 2000 votes.

One would have thought Maku went into the race with a federal might and big financial war chest, but the people rejected Maku so abysmally that the poor guy went mute not knowing what hit him. And to say this is the same Maku who, with loud voice, promised to win the North Central for Goodluck Jonathan with landslide votes. What a dream you may say.

The last of the bunch and by far the smartest and most lucky if you like, is Samuel Ortom the former Minister State, of Industry, Trade and Investment. Like other of his former colleagues, Ortom was schemed out of the race by his Governor; Suswan.

But unlike others who seem stuck under the umbrella, Ortom like those politicians once described as nomadic Fulani by Labaran Maku due to their defection from one political party to another, has moved to the opposition APC and is offered the gubernatorial ticket with little or no stress.

Ortom will now face PDP candidate Terhemen Tarzor; the Speaker of the State House of Assembly who was anointed by Governor Gabriel Suswan in the general election.

Current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Bala Muhammed Abdulkadir would have suffered similar fate if he followed thorugh his initial plan to resign and contest for the gubernatorial race of Bauchi State. He was save the disgrace by the last minute decision not to run.

Considering the humbling of big wigs such as former Head of Service of the Federation Yayale Ahmed and former Secretary to Bauchi State Government Alhaji Nadada by little known Muhammed Awwal Jatau who clinched the party ticket by a large margin of votes, Bala would have been history by now.

What readily comes to mind was the assurances many aides of President Goodluck Jonathan gave especially during the last Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) rallies nationwide. The aides, especially the Ministers promised to deliver their states wholesome to the President in the general elections.

Considering the mass failure of these Ministers, can President Jonathan bank on the political strengths of his aides to mobilise the people in their various states for his re-election bids? As they say up north, if someone promise you a garment, check the one he is wearing.

It will be good to conclude this piece with President Jonathan’s quote while announcing the Ministers’ intent to quit the cabinet during their last Federal Executive council (FEC) meeting; “…I want to make it very clear that as of this morning, about seven members of council may leave, and I use the word ‘may’ because you don’t conclude anything in politics. So, seven of us may not be here next Wednesday if their plans continue. But we may not say they are not with us until they write to us through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation…If they change their plans, they will continue to be with us but after receiving the letters and they change their minds, it will be too late. So, if they have to change their minds, they have to change their minds before sending the letter to the SGF…”

Of cause you don’t conclude anything in politics. But for some of these Ministers, it is actually too late and their mass failures may be a sign of things to come in 2015 especially in the face of the nationwide whirl storm swirling the umbrella.

Abdull-Azeez is an editorial staff of New Nigerian Newspapers (NNN) and can be reached through

e-mail; azeeznews@yaho.com
Twitter; @azeeznews

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