Mr. President since the inauguration of your presidency, I have been very slow to cast negative judgment on it. This is not because of any semblance of achievement on the part of your administration since I have not seen any, but on my cherished principle of in ‘dubium non agere’ when in doubt do not act. But my precaution like crumbling pack of cards gave way to angst, when I read the famous interview given by you to the Guardian Newspaper. When you were asked a question on your continuous alliance with former governors nay past criminals you said “It is not about them being close to my government. Not my government. It is between me and them, the ex-governors.
You see, these former governors are my colleagues. We had worked together for eight years. Because I am the President, I cannot just jettison people I know. I am always very careful to separate my personal relationship with people from my state duties.” Mr. President from this statement, you made us to understand that while holding the office of the presidency, you are free to fraternize with whomever on the strength of your gospel of dual categorization of life into private and official.
Unfortunately, Mr. President we want to tell you No. Your argument may be possible for private establishments and not for the office of the presidency. This is because of the fact that principle of governance argues against your avowed position as history has always shown. You cannot be our president and still regard yourself as a private person. The one president of America Bill Clinton was nearly sent packing by American congress in 1998 because of his improper acts with Monica Lewinsky. Yet, this affair was not part of his official work as American president. In fact, your answer has gone to confirm my ever held fear that the ship of our state is in the hand of an amateur rather than a captain. The fate of Nigeria can be summarized by what Søren Kierkegaard said in his diary that “the boat (of our nation) is in the hands of a cook on board and the captain's megaphone is no longer transmitting the route but what we shall be eating tomorrow". With the foregoing, I can never hope for a safe birth of the ship of our nation that is in the hand of a cook rather than a captain. My prayer is that we all do not get drowned before the expiration of your lack luster presidency.
A question why I am alarmed is not only from the perspective of your being corrupted by these your friends but on the fact that you seem even not to know what it takes to be a president. The basic requirement of knowing the simple decorum that is needed for anyone holding a public office. That once elected into such office as a president, you cease from being a private person until the expiration of the office since the fate of the whole people is in your hands and their life is mixed with yours and therefore, everything you do affects their life. And in the light of this, your argument of separating your private life from your presidency manifests absolute lack of intelligence otherwise let tell me, why you would be protected with State apparatus even when you attend your daughters weddings that is your family affair?
The fact is that your lack-of-will to separate yourself from the hands of these criminals is not simply because they were your colleagues but that you are eternally held hostage by the billions of our stolen naira they doled out to foist you on us. You and your party are tied to the apron of these hooligans in view of the past and upcoming 2011 elections. Your party P D P is infested with corruption and cannot but be close to corrupt people. She needs people of this hue to remain relevant especially for the coming 2011 election. They must be around to enable her bare her fang of electoral robbery in 2011 since she can never hope to achieve any electoral feat in any free and fair election. At least, the recent bare-faced election robbery in Ekiti is a testimony to this. This may also explain the reason why when the election malfeasance came to a crossroad in Ekiti, it was again the likes of James Ibori, Maurice Iwu, Andooaka and Bankole who came for consultation to resolve the debacle as it was reported.
Your case with Nigeria on corruption I can paraphrase with the statement of Leo Tolstoy that as a president, you are sitting on Nigeria’s shoulder chocking her and making her to carry you, yet assuring her that you will do everything possible to ease off her burden and lessen her yoke, except getting off her shoulder. You are purportedly fighting corruption yet surrounding yourself with corrupt people; what a contradiction! There is no way you can do anything meaningful against corruption which is the major contributor of Nigeria’s underdevelopment until you flush out from your circle the leaches that have been sucking the life of the Nation blood. In Ghana for example, even though Jerry Rawlings may not be a saint, Ghana is where she is today because of how Rawlings routed the corrupt officials of the then Ghanaian government in 1979 and 1981starting from Colonel Ignatius K. Acheampong the president. The wheel of Nigeria’s progress can only speed up when the clog of James Ibori, Andooaka and their likes are removed. Please President Yar’ a dua for the sake of posterity spare us the agony of their presence from your cabinet. A stitch in time saves nine. God bless Nigeria.
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