President Obama's mother had to swallow her pride and applied for food stamp to upbring him due that they were not rich, Buhari told the 2011 presidential debate panelist and audience.
President Obama's mother had to swallow her pride and applied for food stamp to upbring him due that they were not rich, Buhari told the 2011 presidential debate panelist and audience.
Buhari knitted his personal life and political career to resemble Obama's own - narrating to the participants that like Obama, he Buhari, was not born with silver spoon in his mouth. He egotised a bit, stating that he did not only study military but political strategy as well. Every smart politician love to walk and talk like other very successful politicians somewhere around the world. No one tries to copy a failed or tainted politician. Buhari saw Al Gore distanced himself from Bill Clinton during his presidential campaign, due to Clinton's sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky. McCain dissed George Bush plenty as per his Iraqi war taint. Buhari looked at Jonathan Goodluck where he's seated and told him pointblank that he's a loser for identifying with ex-president Obasanjo who's the most corrupt politician in Nigeria. Buhari is sure that if the voters see Obasanjo in Jonathan's campaign trail in 2011, they'd be highly irritated and therefore, vote Mr. Goodluck asunder from Aso Rock. Conclusively, the ex-soldier begged Nigerians to vote for him that as humble beginner from modest background he knows how the masses feel and would make sure he put Nigerians above special interests of the rich and foreign profiteers. The 'poor-family theory' worked in Obama's favour in wining the US election whether It'd work for Buhari, is left to be seen. Put alongside Hilary Clinton and McCain, Obama is a low-born, one of the factors which made him win. Even after Buhari left the podium and sat in his reserved seat, he kept wondering why some politicians in Nigeria are reckoning and tying their 2011 election campaign with failed California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who has raced his state to the bottom in the negative. Only in Nigeria do politicians during campaign, identify with corrupt, failed and morally bankrupt politicians, Buhari soliloquized inwardly.
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A poll was quickly conducted between Ribadu and Jonathan Goodluck, 90 percent of people present voted for Ribadu while only five percent polled for Jonathan. There was one dissent who refused to vote, berating the moderator cum poll master for polling between the two candidates who're yet to say-so either to vie or not. What if Jonathan Goodluck and Ribadu refused to vie, would it mean that all these efforts are lost? Asked the electrical engineering student from Ekpoma university. The moderator silenced him by implying that Nigerian politicians are well-known for their character to live by false modesty; cockily deceiving everyone else even themselves. The term 'Maradona' donated to Nigerian political literature by ex-president Babaginda has come to stay put in our political historic. Bearing in mind that there is no political debate or campaign without polling. The moderator has decided from now on, to start the rest of the political debates with what, in political science parlance, he calls not staggered, but "scattered vote." It means a system where he'd conduct poll for two of the candidates on each debate day, and on the last day, an across the board poll would be conducted among all would-be presidential candidates for 2011 election in one stretch.
The moderator was kind enough to let the new entrant presidential aspirant, governor Shekarau to debate as second after Buhari. Shekarau freelanced on to the podium unaided, there now, he gazed up with stark reality as if wanting to touch the sky-God barehanded. Still looking up, he proclaimed that only Allah could make any one president in 2011, not human beings. He was short of words as he was actually unprepared to be commander-in-chief of the Nigerian State. After his diminutive debate, the audience were allowed to ask him questions. A ghetto man from Ajegunle in Lagos who came to the presidential debate by charitable sponsorship, asked Mr. Shekarau to explain his stance, whether the Sharia law superimposed on the Nigerian constitution; in view of the reasons proffered by pro-Sharia Muslims exonerating senator Yerima marrying kid-girl of age thirteen. Carefree Muslims are of the view that the Nigerian Statue book or Constitution is not superior to Sharai court system. A grave indication that Nigerians are not united under one Article of Faith or manifest destiny. Despite singsongs from the Obasanjo and Jonathan camp to the opposite, each time they chose to egotise themselves. Awaiting-president view that only God has the omnipotence to give victory to participants in democratic elections and lead the leader otherwise he'd achieve nothing, angered a lot of participants with plural view to all issues. A diasporian journalist had asked intending-president Shekarau whether he'd leave everything to God, supposing a hostile neighbour attacks Nigeria under his watch as commander-in-Chief. The author of the question told presidential hopeful that the former US Secretary of state Madeleine Albright had written in one of her books 'The Mighty And The Almighty' that countries and leaders who look unto God for protection and leadership, risk not doing anything if they were attacked by belligerence nation. In answering the question, the governor just rambled some few distasteful rant and incoherent ignorance. True, Shekarau is only versed in Muslim theocracy. He has shortcomings in anything European more so democracy, the rights of women and girl-child.
President Jonathan Goodluck was ushered in to the presidential debate podium by the moderator to make his case. Still smarting from being stranded in Uganda when his plane got bad. And unsettled by the earlier poll where Ribadu floored Jonathan with a landslide win of 95-5 percent apartness, our president despite hit the road running with the smartness that only people from Niger Delta are gifted with. From his deft move, you could see that our president has tall height like president Obama, an advantage that could endear female voters in Nigeria to cast their votes for Jonathan.The fact that he's mobilising the women via the Women Ministry might likewise work in his advantage vote-wise. Downplaying the mock vote where Ribadu won him flat, Jonathan said that he's not a president who cares about sidekick of roadside opinion poll, that the end shall tell when Mr. Attahiru Jega finally announces the original result from INEC headquarter in 2011. Thenceforward, with an insincere and forged charisma, he begged the audience to vote for him because unlike before, he is going to run a small and smart government. There was need to save money for Nigeria, he intoned. Jonathan promised that he'd distance his friends from statecraft and the privileges he enjoys as president. Jonathan had read that president Obama once sought from a friend his most outstanding advice, and his friend advised him to: "leave your friends at home." "Arkansas friends killed Bill Clinton and Georgia friends killed Jimmy Carter," Obama friend concluded. There was need not to mix and mingle his friends in Aso Rock, turning it into a whore house. Recently, Aso Rock has been turned into a place where all sorts of unimaginable carnality are trafficked. Idle politicians, officeholders gatecrash inside as they wish, Obasanjo and Bonkole not exempted. Even birthdays for higher-ups are organised in the presidency nowadays. Jonathan has learnt his lessons and he's ready to do amends, he told the presidential debate audience. "Make everybody stay for iem house - not Aso Rock, when jungle mature everybody go answer iem papa name." Jonathan ended his speech with broken English, a language that is made popular by his Niger Delta people.
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The aftermath of president Jonathan's speech brought the 2011 presidential debate to an end. The moderator had to stop it because it was rush-hour time in Abuja. It was the ritual of go-slow vehicles jamming traffic, a situation that kidnappers have capitalised to kidnap citizens by the churns. Let me tell you all that presidential aspirant Chris Okotie would open the next debate appointment. We're hopeful that more would-be presidents would get into the race as 2011 gets closer. Then, this debate would get messier like never before. Yes, we want to see them debate, campaign, challenge one another, throw mud at one themselves, do due diligence on others, spy upon and wash their co-contenders dirty linen in the public. That's how it is done in the USA and other First World countries that we copy their democracies and way of civilisation.
This writer will inform you about all the debates that our presidents in-waiting would engage serially. Thank you!
Sunday Njokede writes from The European Union
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