presidency (4)

Buhari: The Pastor Bakare vice presidency

The Pastor Bakare vice presidency

Abimbola Adelakun

The touted choice of Pastor Tunde Bakare as the running mate of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is a smart one even though it shows some pandering to ethnic and religious sentiments. For a man like Buhari, who has been labelled as a Sharia fundamentalist, choosing a pastor and an activist - a relatively younger one for that matter - as his deputy is all he needs to dispel the vicious image.


The Pastor Bakare vice presidency


Not just that, I see the Buhari/Bakare ticket as a repetition of history. During the first coming of Buhari, it was widely believed his non-smiling deputy, Gen. Tunde (another Tunde!) Idiagbon, was the real power behind the throne. Buhari might just be choosing another man, who will do the real job of cleaning Nigeria's murk, while he does what he has been wanting for years: wield executive power. Bakare is fiery, brilliant and understands the issues that afflict our nation. He will be a great boost to Buhari's candidacy whose ambition to be Nigeria's civilian president has been defeated twice.

So, should Pastor Bakare run?All eyes are on him and he says his are on God. Personally, I feel the idea of waiting on God to decide whether to run or not should be completely overhauled. In Nigeria, this is a too familiar line and, has been used in dishonest circumstances by politicians and military rulers.

Another Pastor, Chris Okotie of the FRESH Party, insists his candidature is God-sponsored even though he has repeatedly failed in his 'divine' quest for the presidency.

President Goodluck Jonathan didn't pretend he was waiting on God but implied he would think about it. While doing so, all manner of voices came and impersonated God's. Today, Jonathan is running as president. Nobody in Nigeria, who has ever waited on God, has ever turned down the opportunity to run for a juicy position. For somebody like Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar, who made it clear, very early in his administration, that he was not going to be listening for God's voice and he would hand over to a democratically elected president, 'God' (or his human agents) never erected hoadings or start several associations to whisper 'Run, Son, run' to him. From my experience, once you begin to toy with the desire, God's voice will come saying what you want to hear and the voice of the people becomes the voice of God.
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For Bakare, the questions are legion: So, is that what the Save Nigeria Group and all the activism are all about? Did he become an activist in order to gain political advantage? Is his trenchant denouncement of all the previous and incumbent administrations, self-serving or done in the interest of the public good? The stories of $50,000 by President Jonathan's men will no longer seem like that of a honest man but one who simply wanted to put down a rival.

For somebody who has been a consistent critic of politicians, his new position is no longer that of a critic but a competitor.

There is also the issue of whether Nigerians will trust a critic as a leader. The last time a critic like late Gani Fawehinmi became a politician, for all his goodness of heart and contributions to the Nigeria of our dreams, Nigerians still didn't vote for him en masse. The same Nigerians whose right he fought for on many fronts, was imprisoned several times for and, frightfully, died as a consequence of his prison sufferings didn't think he could be their leader. Come election time that year, more Nigerians, like a woman, who craves an abusive lover, voted for people who had brutalised and plundered their economy.

As an aside, this idea of a Christian/Muslim ticket for political office should be de-emphasised. Anybody, regardless of his religious persuasion or lack of it, should be able to aspire to political leadership without having to pretend to belong to Christianity or Islam. Most leaders, who have come in the name of God, built churches and mosques in the state house have turned out to be largely frauds.

I have heard argument in some quarters that Pastors should not be involved in politics. People, who tow this line of reasoning only say so because they have not been involved in church politics. From my experience, I can say their politicking is as full of intrigue as that of Peoples Democratic Party and Action Congress of Nigeria, if not more sordid. When the leaders of national religious bodies are to be elected, the way they sometimes go about it makes one wonder if God would be given a chance to present His candidate at all. There have been instances when succession crises in churches have been taken to court even though the Bible expressly forbids this.

I followed the Christian Association of Nigerian Presidential election last year and I could not get over the intrigues that attended the process of choosing the leader.

If Bakare wants to take a chance of taking the politics into a more heterogeneous arena, good luck to him as long as he can do it and remain Pastor Bakare.

There are two things that are likely to happen if Bakare should say 'yes, I do' to Buhari: one, they might run and win. Whether Buhari tries or not to run a second term, Bakare might want to be president from that point.

Two, they might lose. The very things that stand as Buhari's advantage are also his disadvantages. He is older (68 and by 2015, will be 72) and he has been trying too hard to be president. In Nigeria, those who desire to be president never seem to make it. As the instances of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, MKO Abiola and lately, Atiku Abubakar have shown us, it takes much more than ambition and good intention to make the presidency. Conversely, those who appeared initially reluctant like Olusegun Obasanjo, Yar'Adua and Jonathan went farther.

Another minus for Buhari is that he was a dictator who was able to achieve some discipline during his first coming because he ruled by military fiat. In a democracy, can he repress people the same way to get them disciplined? I doubt it. He has been out of leadership for 25 years and that is a long time in the life of a nation. But will Pastor Bakare's no-nonsense image boost all the areas in which Buhari's candidature flags? The next 10 weeks will tell.

One good thing is this: Bakare's personality will boost the political arena that is currently flat. Thank God for Atiku, the PDP primaries would not have been worth watching the way Sarah Jibril ended up as a metaphor of one woman one vote. With Pastor Bakare's emergence, the bar will go higher and maybe the other candidates, who have concluded that the presidency is a done deal, might even get more creative and finally begin to talk about issues. In that case, I think Bakare should not just go for VP-ship. It might not be worth the amount of effort he would be putting in the campaign simply to light it up. In fact, if he would be criticised for turning activism to political advantage, he should go all the way and not short change himself by accepting to be a VP. He should go for the presidency instead.
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IBB "bribes" Journalists

Five months ago, a friend of mine, who edits a national daily, sent me a text message agreeing substantially with my column, ‘The Punch and the rest of us’, except the generalised conclusion that “all (journalists) have sinned and fallen short of the glory of the profession”. There are still some journalists, he submits, who toe the narrow path of integrity. Of course I knew where he was coming from, but I also knew the context in which I had made that statement.

I revisit that statement in light of the stories spewing out of the political beat, specifically on the race for the 2011 presidential elections and how it affects the integrity of news.

As part of the effort to sell his candidature for the presidency, former military president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) invited as many as 40 journalists to his Minna home on August 14 for an interview. I have heard questions asked about why he should invite journalists to his home instead of a public place if he didn’t have an ulterior motive, and why he should offer monetary gifts to the journalists in the name of paying for their transportation.

One news medium, which has championed this opposition in the open, is the online agency, Sahara Reporters. According to SR each of the journalists received N10 million for heeding Babangida’s call on his presidential ambition. That is N400 million just for one night’s interview from an aspirant yet to win his party’s nomination if it were true. But it was not. When some of the journalists complained about the fictional sum, SR changed the story on August 19, saying it was just “a paltry N250, 000 each”. Rather than admit its initial error SR simply said, “our accountants have told us that going by the number of 40 journalists in attendance, we are still around the same ballpark of N10 million”. So much for credible reporting!

Three days later, SR followed up with ‘IBB and his Rogue Journalists’, accusing the journalists of roguery and professional misconduct; roguery, because they collected money from two sources—their employers who presumably authorised and funded the trip and their news source, IBB; misconduct because it is unethical for them to demand/receive gratification from news sources for their services.

And on August 23 in ‘IBB Nocturnal Press Parley: Punch fires Editorial board Chairman’, SR stayed on top of the story by reporting that Adebolu Arowolo, editorial board chairman of the Punch, had lost his job for going on that trip without his management’s approval..

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The last few weeks have been a nightmare for President Obama, in a summer of discontent in the United States which has deeply unsettled the ruling liberal elites, so much so that even the Left has begun to turn against the White House. While the anti-establishment Tea Party movement has gained significant ground and is now a rising and powerful political force to be reckoned with, many of the president’s own supporters as well as independents are rapidly losing faith in Barack Obama, with open warfare breaking out between the White House and the left-wing of the Democratic Party. While conservatism in America grows stronger by the day, the forces of liberalism are growing increasingly weaker and divided.

Against this backdrop, the president’s approval ratings have been sliding dramatically all summer, with the latest Rasmussen Daily Presidential Tracking Poll of US voters dropping to minus 22 points, the lowest point so far for Barack Obama since taking office. While just 24 per cent of American voters strongly approve of the president’s job performance, almost twice that number, 46 per cent, strongly disapprove. According to Rasmussen, 65 per cent of voters believe the United States is going down the wrong track, including 70 per cent of independents.

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The RealClearPolitics average of polls now has President Obama at over 50 per cent disapproval, a remarkably high figure for a president just 18 months into his first term. Strikingly, the latest USA Today/Gallup survey has the President on just 41 per cent approval, with 53 per cent disapproving.

Related link: The Obama presidency increasingly resembles a modern-day Ancien Régime

There are an array of reasons behind the stunning decline and political fall of President Obama, chief among them fears over the current state of the US economy, with widespread concern over high levels of unemployment, the unstable housing market, and above all the towering budget deficit. Americans are increasingly rejecting President Obama’s big government solutions to America’s economic woes, which many fear will lead to the United States sharing the same fate as Greece.

Growing disillusionment with the Obama administration’s handling of the economy as well as health care and immigration has gone hand in hand with mounting unhappiness with the President’s aloof and imperial style of leadership, and a growing perception that he is out of touch with ordinary Americans, especially at a time of significant economic pain. Barack Obama’s striking absence of natural leadership ability (and blatant lack of experience) has played a big part in undermining his credibility with the US public, with his lacklustre handling of the Gulf oil spill coming under particularly intense fire.

On the national security and foreign policy front, President Obama has not fared any better. His leadership on the war in Afghanistan has been confused and at times lacking in conviction, and seemingly dictated by domestic political priorities rather than military and strategic goals. His overall foreign policy has been an appalling mess, with his flawed strategy of engagement of hostile regimes spectacularly backfiring. And as for the War on Terror, his administration has not even acknowledged it is fighting one.

Can it get any worse for President Obama? Undoubtedly yes. Here are 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in serious trouble, and why its prospects are unlikely to improve between now and the November mid-terms.

1. The Obama presidency is out of touch with the American people

In a previous post I noted how the Obama presidency increasingly resembles a modern-day Ancien Régime, extravagant, decaying and out of touch with ordinary Americans. The First Lady’s ill-conceived trip to Spain at a time of widespread economic hardship was symbolic of a White House that barely gives a second thought to public opinion on many issues, and frequently projects a distinctly elitist image. The “let them eat cake” approach didn’t play well over two centuries ago, and it won’t succeed today.

2. Most Americans don’t have confidence in the president’s leadership

This deficit of trust in Obama’s leadership is central to his decline. According to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, “nearly six in ten voters say they lack faith in the president to make the right decisions for the country”, and two thirds “say they are disillusioned with or angry about the way the federal government is working.” The poll showed that a staggering 58 per cent of Americans say they do not have confidence in the president’s decision-making, with just 42 per cent saying they do.

3. Obama fails to inspire

In contrast to the soaring rhetoric of his 2004 Convention speech in Boston which succeeded in impressing millions of television viewers at the time, America is no longer inspired by Barack Obama’s flat, monotonous and often dull presidential speeches and statements delivered via teleprompter. From his extraordinarily uninspiring Afghanistan speech at West Point to his flat State of the Union address, President Obama has failed to touch the heart of America. Even Jimmy Carter was more moving.

4. The United States is drowning in debt

The Congressional Budget Office Long-Term Budget Outlook offers a frightening picture of the scale of America’s national debt. Under its alternative fiscal scenario, the CBO projects that US debt could rise to 87 percent of GDP by 2020, 109 percent by 2025, and 185 percent in 2035. While much of Europe, led by Britain and Germany, are aggressively cutting their deficits, the Obama administration is actively growing America’s debt, and has no plan in place to avert a looming Greek-style financial crisis.

5. Obama’s Big Government message is falling flat

The relentless emphasis on bailouts and stimulus spending has done little to spur economic growth or create jobs, but has greatly advanced the power of the federal government in America. This is not an approach that is proving popular with the American public, and even most European governments have long ditched this tax and spend approach to saving their own economies.

6. Obama’s support for socialised health care is a huge political mistake

In an extraordinary act of political Harakiri, President Obama leant his full support to the hugely controversial, unpopular and divisive health care reform bill, with a monstrous price tag of $940 billion, whose repeal is now supported by 55 per cent of likely US voters. As I wrote at the time of its passing, the legislation is “a great leap forward by the United States towards a European-style vision of universal health care, which will only lead to soaring costs, higher taxes, and a surge in red tape for small businesses. This reckless legislation dramatically expands the power of the state over the lives of individuals, and could not be further from the vision of America’s founding fathers.”

7. Obama’s handling of the Gulf oil spill has been weak-kneed and indecisive

While much of the spilled oil in the Gulf has now been thankfully cleared up, the political damage for the White House will be long-lasting. Instead of showing real leadership on the matter by acing decisively and drawing upon offers of international support, the Obama administration settled on a more convenient strategy of relentlessly bashing an Anglo-American company while largely sitting on its hands. Significantly, a poll of Louisiana voters gave George W. Bush higher marks for his handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with 62 percent disapproving of Obama’s performance on the Gulf oil spill.

8. US foreign policy is an embarrassing mess under the Obama administration

It is hard to think of a single foreign policy success for the Obama administration, but there have been plenty of missteps which have weakened American global power as well as the standing of the United States. The surrender to Moscow on Third Site missile defence, the failure to aggressively stand up to Iran’s nuclear programme, the decision to side with ousted Marxists in Honduras, the slap in the face for Great Britain over the Falklands, have all contributed to the image of a US administration completely out of its depth in international affairs. The Obama administration’s high risk strategy of appeasing America’s enemies while kicking traditional US allies has only succeeded in weakening the United States while strengthening her adversaries.

9. President Obama is muddled and confused on national security

From the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the War on Terror, President Obama’s leadership has often been muddled and confused. On Afghanistan he rightly sent tens of thousands of additional troops to the battlefield. At the same time however he bizarrely announced a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces beginning in July 2011, handing the initiative to the Taliban. On Iraq he has announced an end to combat operations and the withdrawal of all but 50,000 troops despite a recent upsurge in terrorist violence and political instability, and without the Iraqi military and police ready to take over. In addition he has ditched the concept of a War on Terror, replacing it with an Overseas Contingency Operation, hardly the right message to send in the midst of a long-war against Al-Qaeda...

10. Obama doesn’t believe in American greatness

Barack Obama has made it clear that he doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism, and has made apologising for his country into an art form. In a speech to the United Nations last September he stated that “no one nation can or should try to dominate another nation. No world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will succeed. No balance of power among nations will hold.” It is difficult to see how a US president who holds these views and does not even accept America’s greatness in history can actually lead the world’s only superpower with force and conviction.

There is a distinctly Titanic-like feel to the Obama presidency and it’s not hard to see why. The most left-wing president in modern American history has tried to force a highly interventionist, government-driven agenda that runs counter to the principles of free enterprise, individual freedom, and limited government that have made the United States the greatest power in the world, and the freest nation on earth.

This, combined with weak leadership both at home and abroad against the backdrop of tremendous economic uncertainty in an increasingly dangerous world, has contributed to a spectacular political collapse for a president once thought to be invincible. America at its core remains a deeply conservative nation, which cherishes its traditions and founding principles. President Obama is increasingly out of step with the American people, by advancing policies that undermine the United States as a global power, while undercutting America’s deep-seated love for freedom.

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Quoting renown Physicist, Albert Eistein, who said ”it amounts to insanity to keep doing the same thing and expect different result”, el-Rufai told THISDAY in an e-mail interview yesterday that zoning has failed the country in the past and that there is no reason why it should be foisted on Nigerians again.

He said if the arrangement has not given Nigeria the best leadership and yet we still want to continue with it, "the logical conclusion is that we do not desire the best leadership and are satisfied with mediocrity."

He added: "My opinion is that popularity with the electorate in a free and fair election should be the sole basis for winning elective positions and merit should likewise be the sole basis for appointive positions."

He said it is imperative for the Acting President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure the full implementation of the report of the Justice Muhammadu Uwais' committee on electoral reform, warning that without the reforms, the country will witness the same mess it has seen in past elections.

The former minister said Nigeria has to mature in democracy, adding that the best way to achieve this will be to leave the assessment entirely to Nigerians who will appraise the aspirants with their votes.

On the choice of leaders to look for in making decisions at future polls, the former minister said Nigerians should look at the aspirants' past records.

"How can a person change his character in old age? If when an aspirant was in the prime of his life he was a failure at leadership, a champion of corruption and a setback to Nigeria, how would you expect a different result later in life? So my advice to Nigerians is to look at their past. By their past shall you know them," he added.

ElRufai denied reports in some quarters that he had offered himself to work with Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, saying what he said was he was willing to support the Acting President to run in 2011 "if he can show that he has the capacity to make the changes that Nigeria needs."

He added: "My preoccupation is to advance the cause of good governance and democracy in Nigeria without sitting behind a desk in a government office."

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