2011: GENERAL OLUSEGUN OBASANJO’S ADOPTION OF PRESIDENT JONATHAN GOODLUCK AND HIS ‘OPERATION TOTALITY’ STANCE IS A DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST NIGERIANS FOR TRUNCATING HIS LIFE PRESIDENCY PROJECT – TURAKI VANGUARD

By Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze

It is on record, that on the 21st August, 2010 while playing host to Chief Theodore Orji the Abia State Governor at his Oke-Mosan Ogun State country home, General Olusegun Obasanjo the former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and current Chairman of BOT of PDP urged the governor to mobilize every machinery in the state to ensure President Goodluck Jonathan's victory on the 2011 election in a move he declared as “Operation Totality”.

Subsequently on the 28th of August, 2010 General Olusegun Obasanjo once again wielded undue influence in Ibadan to get the support of the Governors of South West geo-political zone of Nigeria to endorse and adopt President Goodluck Jonathan as the party's Presidential flag bearer at the 2010 polls. Much as we encourage every Nigerian to feel free to support any candidate of their choice, we would like to shed light on what we regard as the sheer shallowness of the communiqué issued by the Obasanjo led PDP Leaders from the South West.

There declaration that they would unanimously support Jonathan if he chooses to run is by all intent misleading since it serves to encourage Mr President to go against the constitution of the party with particular regard to the zoning principle. Although irked by these sad developments spearheaded by General Obasanjo, we are however not in the least bit surprised that he would resort to such underhand undemocratic tactics since it is more or else a reprisal of the 'do or die politics' he spearheaded in 2007 –after his failed attempt at a third tenure- in a move that succeeded in foisting an inept leadership fraught with all kinds of problems on the Nation.

This kind of outright show of banditry capable of thwarting any hopes of a credible election come 2011, is totally unacceptable. Coming especially, from the former Head of State, who from his antecedents has benefitted tremendously from the Nigerian Project makes it doubly tragic. For someone who was a direct beneficiary of the zoning principle, one would think that the former president would be at the forefront to advocate that it be upheld. It would therefore not be amiss to concur that this declaration is more or else payback to the Nation for thwarting his ambition to extend his tenure. We are happy to note that Jonathan is too intelligent to be fooled by such a declaration as we expect him not to go against the party's constitution that brought him to power over the issue of zoning.

With the failure of his life presidency project he wants to once again impose an unwilling an unprepared President on Nigerians as he did in 2007 but this time around after studying him very well and knowing his plots we wish to formally inform him that those who truncated his life presidency project like the Turaki Vanguard that collaborated with other good Nigerians to save Nigerians from his misfortune presence are still very much around to stop his latest plot if he fails to repent.

We give Kudos and commend some of the Speakers in the so called South West declaration who had courage to speak their mind even in the presence of the General. Personalities like Governor Oyinlola of Osun state and Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun state. The outright condemnation of the southwest endorsement charade without due consultation with the stakeholders in the zone by the former deputy Governor Azeem Gbolarumi should be applauded too.

Meanwhile, although we have read the comments credited to Vice President Sambo, that IBB and Atiku are passionate about the zoning of the presidency to the North by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because of their personal interest and aspirations we wish to state here that Sambo may have been misquoted because we know that he knows that Atiku has proven to be an exemplary nationalist who has sacrificed personal political gains at various times in the difference to National interest. It is on record that in 1993, he voluntarily conceded to the late Chief MKO Abiola at the Jos Convention of SDP for the general interest of the country. 1998 saw him join forces with other patriotic Nigerians like Chief Alex Ekwueme in the G34 to form the PDP with the objective of charting a course of true democracy to the Nation following the dark years of military dictatorship. in whose people that joined the party from APP then are now debating if to grant him waiver or not to join the party he contributed so much to form and sustain. Atiku as the elected governor of Adamawa State in 1999 rallied wide spread support for the candidature of Obasanjo as President and the events leading up to the Presidential primaries for the 2003 elections when he chose not to yield to pressure to run against Obasanjo at the behest of certain state governors are on their own acts worthy of mention.

In all of these, our fervent belief is that Nigerians have come to realize the need for credible and responsible leadership and would resist all attempts to foist leaders on them in the coming election. We would however advice that in the light of the electoral reforms which we hope would be implemented ahead of the elections, we urge all Nigerians of legal age to go out enmasse to register to vote when the registration exercise commences, this would ensure that we do the needful on the day we cast our ballots.

Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze
National Director, Directorate of Media & Public Affairs of Turaki Vanguard

01-09-10