GROUP CAUTIONS JONATHAN ON 2011
A socio-political group called Goodluck Nigeria 2011,' has called on the president to take whatever decision his heart dictates on the issue, rather than pandering to sectional sentiments being expressed by the various stakeholders in the country. In like manner, the group, which expressed readiness to work for his success at the polls, if he eventually decided to run for the exalted position, counseled him against the choice of a retired military officer as his campaign coordinator as being speculated to avoid failure at the end of the day.
The group, in a release signed by its President and Secretary, Dotun Ayinla and Seun Okanlawon respectively, disclosed that sources close to some of those canvassing for Jonathan's candidacy in the presidential race in 2011 had been making case for the former military administrator of Lagos State, Buba Marwa, to head the yet-to-be formed campaign organization, saying such would be counter-productive.
It noted that the announcement of the retired army general as the director-general of the campaign organization would have been made but for the fact that the president had not yet made public his intention to run for the number one seat in the country and said it would have been a faulty step that might eventually cost him the ticket.
The group recalled that considering that such a sensitive position was held in the past for both Olusegun Obasanjo and the late Umaru Musa Yar' Adua by no other indefatigable and astute politicians like Chiefs Tony Anenih in 2003 and Bode George in 2007, a political minor like Buba Marwa 'is the least qualified person for the position now.'
As a retired military officer, the credentials of Marwa, the group noted were not in doubt as a successful military officer, who no doubt brought into Lagos State responsive governance in his own little way and as dictated by the mood of the nation then, but that the task ahead as regards the headship of campaign organization of President Jonathan required more than military tactics and as such outweighed his capability.
Aside the fact that the same Marwa could not make any significant impact with his own presidential campaign in 2007 which ended as one of the worst political experiments in the history of Nigeria's presidential race, the general feeling in the country, according to the group, 'is that the idea of recycling military officers should be de-emphasized,' recalling that Obasanjo's military background killed all known democratic norms, principles and practice.
The group equally alleged that it was the same Obasanjo who was said to be rooting for Marwa as the head of Jonathan for President Campaign Organization, a step described as the former president's ambition of having somebody who would be taking orders from him, stressing that such would not augur well for the Jonathan 2011 project.
For the ambition to sail through, the group urged President Jonathan to have a rethink on the choice of who would head the campaign organization and maintained that such a sensitive organisation should be held by a veteran in the game.