This Is Officially Written by Dele Momodu Not Me
- I have been reading about the rising profile of our former
President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, and wish to state without
equivocation that no one should rule him out of the 2019 presidential
race. I first hinted this possibility about two months ago and wish to
reiterate that Nigerians should prepare for the shock that awaits us.
The story of Donald Trump should bring us back to our senses.
- Nothing is impossible. The second coming of Goodluck Jonathan may be
so far-fetched or even belong in those categories of impossibilities
but I wish to plead with our government and my fellow citizens not to
rule it out. As one of those who made our modest and humble
contributions to the coming of this Buhari government, I’m pleading with
trepidation.
- Jonathan’s popularity is rising not because of anything he has done
to atone the sins that must have led to his waterloo but as a result of
what our "Change Government" has failed or refused to do.
- The obsession of our government with going all out after Jonathan is
the main reason the Otuoke man is beginning to smell like roses after
the odoriferous position he landed himself last week. Only if our
government had succeeded in maintaining the economy it met, Nigerians
would have been ready to enter fire with Buhari. But there are just too
many unresolved problems and challenges. The excuses that Jonathan and
company left this peculiar mess behind has refused to fly. The groans
might not be loud enough to reverberate all the way to the Aso Rock
Presidential Villa, as of now, but trust me it may become deafening,
sooner than later. I do not care if men and women of power dismiss my
submission with a wave of the hand but they should mark my word, there
is a thickening conspiracy in the clouds. It would be a shame if we
inadvertently play into the hands of those hovering and ready to pounce
on Buhari.
- I read about “persecution complex” long ago and I understand how it
works. If you beat your own child so ruthlessly as if you want to kill
him, the tilt of public opinion would always go against you. Many would
wonder why you want to kill your own child. In our anger, let us pick
our fights. There is too much tension in the land. I would be delighted
if anyone could educate and convince me that Nigeria has gained much
more than we’ve lost to this war of attrition. If we haven’t, we may
need to retrace our steps urgently.
- The BBC reported on Friday how Jonathan caused a stir in Sokoto
State during his visit to the state to pay his respects to Ibrahim
Dasuki, the late former Sultan of Sokoto. According to the report,
Jonathan was received by a large crowd of admirers, some holding banners
bearing the words “Come Back Baba Jonathan”. The same voices that
chanted “Sai Baba” and “Jonathan Must Go” are now fiddling with the
tunes of the possibility of a Jonathan to stage a comeback. Here lies
the irony of political triumph and the paradox of high expectations.
- The euphoria and momentum that saw the exit of Jonathan and the
emergence of the Buhari change administration has since begun to wane
following the inability of the new government to hit the ground running
with the tenacity of a government in a hurry!
- There are many who believe that the poor management of the ensuing
economic recession didn’t help matters. Suddenly, Nigerians who had high
hopes and voted massively for change are now caught in a limbo between
confusion and uncertainty. As it stands today, the average Nigerian is
confronted with the reality of an economic recession they never planned
for; a situation they did not experience under the Jonathan
administration and under previous governments.
- Many of President Buhari’s supporters are worried that the humongous
goodwill that engineered the Buhari change mantra is now being
frittered away at the speed of light. The unfolding plot has now thrown
up former President Jonathan as a new protagonist in Nigeria’s theatre
of the absurd. For many of us who are ardent students of history, we
have since learnt that nothing is impossible in the game called
politics. Will history repeat itself again? Time is pregnant with
answers!
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