2011: Plot to Outwit North Thickens- Why OBJ, Masari, Others Want Jonathan To Remain In Power By All Means.
- War Chest Mobilized to Disunite Arewa Campaign
By MERCY OCHEJE
At last speculations that certain political interests had been perfecting plans with a view to making sure that the ruling party's powersharing formula which favours the North come the 2011 presidential poll is ditched, are now virtually confirmed. From the hitherto covert moves being made by some of the Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) power brokers to ensure that President Goodluck Jonathan retains his post next year in spite of the PDP zoning arrangement, those behind the plot have upped the ante, making overt moves that emphasis their intention to go ahead by all means.
Two of their strongest indications yet were dropped in the space of only a few days by former president Olusegun Obasanjo and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Masari. The first to let the cat out of the bag was Masari, who publicly declared that he saw nothing wrong in the idea of letting Jonathan run for re-election next year. Coming at a time when it was rumored that Jonathan's camp had recruited the ex-Speaker as one of the arrow heads of their campaign, Masari's comments were pregnant with meaning.
On his part, Obasanjo was charactenstically blunt. He was quoted by some national dailies penultimate weekend as declaring that Jonathan must run next year due to need for “continuity”. According to the ex-president who, incidentally, is the chairman of PDP's Board of Trustees, it was no longer okay for Jonathan to remain undecided over the issue. Rather, Obasanjo wants the president to throw his hat into the ring immediately.
As blunt as Obasanjo's declaration was, it did not come as a surprise to many keen watchers of unfolding political developments. This is on account of the fact that even as far back as the period when Jonathan was still struggling to find his feet as Acting President, Obasanjo had been reportedly scheming for him to not only become sustentative president in the event of the then President Yar'Adua's exit, but to run for president in 2011.
“He (Obasanjo) felt that having allowed the North to rule by virtue of Yar'Adua's period in power, the PDP power rotation arrangement had effectively been fulfilled”, a member of the ruling party's Board of Trustees who asked not to be named told DESERT HERALD in Abuja. “The main thrust of his argument is that power shift does not necessarily mean a two-term deal, citing as an example the attempt by Atiku Abubakar (who was then his vice president) and other northerners to stop him (Obasanjo) from winning a second term. He feels that since Yar'Adua has already ruled for at least three years the North has no moral right to insist on clinging to power.”
We gathered that no sooner did Jonathan take over as substantive president following Yar'Adua's death after a protracted ailment, than Obasanjo started to persuade him to run for next year's presidential race. “When he noticed from Jonathan's body language and equivocal statements that the president was not convinced of the workability of Obasanjo's preposition, he (OBJ) told him to leave everything for him; that he would see to the success of the project, as the called it,” the source disclosed.
At about the same time the Ota-based former was said to have moved quickly to rally the support of members of PDP's BOT (Board of Trustees) to Jonathan's side. We gathered that it was in the process of doing so that it dawned on them that Vincent Ogbulafor the party's then chairman, was not all that comfortable with the pro-Jonathan scheme. “From the point onward he (Ogbulafor) in particular became a marked man, leading eventually to his exit,” he added. “They felt that with Ogbulafor out of the way, the rest would be relatively easy for them more so as the BOT is virtually in Obasanjo's pocket.”
It was further learnt that in line with their inordination ambition, OBJ and the pro-Jonathan camp quickly reached out to a host of influential Nigerians from different parts of the nation apparently to “wet the ground” for Jonathan. In this respect they were said to have recruited three prominent South Westerners, two Niger Deltans and a south easterner to help penetrate the north in general and leaders of the Afrewa Consultative Forum as well as other pro-north groups in the region in particular, with billions of naira said to have been reserved for this campaign.
According to insiders, Masari is not the only prominent Northerner who has so far fallen for the pro-Jonathan group's charm offensive. A former Head of State, an erstwhile presidential aspirant during the SPD and NRC era and some retired Generals are believed top be among the Alist Northerners who have either agreed to, or have actually started to do the group's bidding.
“In exchange for supporting the president's re-election bid, they are assuring us that the North will be supported in 2015,” a source close to Arewa Consultative Forum disclosed. “In essence Jonathan would run in 2011 only and his present tenure would be regarded as a first term of sorts, meaning that by 2015 he would be dermal to have served for two terms, thus paving the way for the North to reclaim power.”
Even at that arrangement are reportedly being made to checkmate northern presidential aspirants, who, they believe, may still flex muscles, notably former military ruler Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd). According to the insider, “their plan is to ensure that if any such aspirants failed to see reason and step down for Jonathan, he would be given the well known 'Ogbulafor treatment' sooner or later”. This is plainly a reference to the way the then PDP chairman was hounded from office using a corruption case that had been almost forgotten.
“They plan to use former EFCC Chairman Nuhu Ribadu and one or two other to nail IBB and other so-called stubborn aspirants,” another source claimed. Whatever way one looks at it, the looming political battles look as intriguing as they promise to be electrifying.
|
|
|
Who's Online
We have 8 guests online
|
