If North had oil , there wouldn’ t be Nigeria –Nanaghan

Nanaghan is an activist and
commentator on political issues. He said
President Goodluck Jonathan has been
unfairly criticised because he is from the
minority , insisting that Nigeria needs to
be restructured . He also spoke on other
various critical national issues.
POLITICS EDITOR, Daniel Kanu , was at
the briefing and captured his views .
Excerpt
Would you subscribe to the insinuations
in certain quarters that the present crisis
in the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) is
all about 2015 and President Goodluck
Jonathan ’s second term ambition ?
That the present crisis in the PDP is all
about 2015 and President Goodluck
Jonathan ’s second term ambition is not
an insinuation but an utmost reality .
You remember that the North even
accused Jonathan of usurping North ’s
opportunity when President Musa
Yar ’Adua died on April 5 , 2010 . From
day one , the North never wanted or
expected Jonathan to be President . This
is because the founding fathers of
Nigeria crafted this nation under the
permanent hegemony of a triple entente .
It was fashioned on an understanding
between the three major tribes of Hausa ,
Igbo and Yoruba to monopolise the
governance of this great and naturally
endowed nation . This WAZOBIA
barricade , which was an unwritten
aspect of the Nigerian constitution ,
excluded any other ethnic group from
being president of this country .
But after the 1967 - 1970 Nigerian Civil
War , a new balance of power pact
emerged . It became very difficult for
Igbo , which was the third pie of the
political chart , to be trusted with the
nation ’s plum job by the new Hausa -
Yoruba alliance, especially the Hausa .
The Nigerian ruling class , especially the
North did not mind the 2007 - 2011
arrangement as long as the head of that
ticket came from the North . But
President Umar Musa Yar ’Adua’s death
changed everything .
The North , especially , could not bear the
fact that a Nigerian from one of the
smallest communities , from one of the
smallest local government Areas , from
Nigeria ’ s smallest and least populated
state could one day stand up and be
counted as one of Nigeria ’s Presidents .
This is the zenith of contempt,
marginalisation and oppression, which
the ruling class has subjected the
Nigerian minorities to .
Since the constitution allows Jonathan a
second term as president , nothing can
stop him exercising his fundamental
human right as a Nigerian citizen .
Whichever way reconciliation goes , do
you think the PDP will ever remain the
same?
Let us even look at the reconciliation of
the PDP crisis . If you look at the conflict
resolution team , that is the Elders ’
forum , it is a queer combination of those
who still want to govern this country
directly or indirectly. For instance, if the
PDP crumbles , IBB would be excited with
any formula that can throw him up as a
potential president. Some are in the
negotiating team to eke out some juicy
deals and agreements from President
Goodluck Jonathan.
Apart from Chief Tony Anenih and former
President Olusegun Obasanjo, who are
the former and present BOT ( Board of
Trustees ) chairmen , I do not have
confidence in the elders ’ forum .
Nigerians must never ignore Obasanjo ’s
pivotal role in the enthronement of
Jonathan . One day, Obasanjo, in his
usual candour, will shock Nigerians on
how he schemed and planned the
realisation of a South- South President in
a country that holds so much aversion
and hatred for its minorities.
Those who do not love the former
President should learn to accommodate
him .
However , I have a very strong belief that
the PDP , which was founded in 1998
with very impeccable conflict resolution
devices in its constitution will bounce
back again . This is not the first time
PDP would be involved in intra - party
conflict but none had reached such
critical level .
Political parties all over the world face
these life- threatening problems and
some of them survive while others don ’t .
The American Democratic Party has had
life - threatening problems several times
but they have survived all of them
today . And today , it is one of the
greatest and best organised parties in
the world .
Finally , my prayer is for the PDP to get
its acts right as we do not yet have a
viable political party that can unseat the
PDP . Most of the opposition parties are
groups of people whose main aim is to
unseat President Jonathan because of
his minority status .
But the very high tower of indiscipline
built by the founding fathers of the PDP
crumbled on 6 June 2011 when the
party could not suspend or at least mete
out minimal punishment to the current
Speaker who emerged that day . That
day sounded a death knell for PDP as
the new Speaker defied the might of his
party to emerge Speaker with massive
support from opposition party leaders
and governors who were at the House
gallery with vital “logistics ” to go round
all those who voted for the new Speaker
with an emphatic 252 votes to 90 in a
house then dominated by PDP with a
whopping 204 members.
That singular incident destroyed the
fabric of discipline that held the party
together . The Amaechi saga and the
rebellious five Northern governors is a
follow - up to the issues of June 2011 .
The PDP has become so soft that you
can feel the texture with your fingers . No
party survives without intra - party
discipline . My prayer is for PDP to
survive so that Jonathan can serve his
second term out .
In your opinion , do you think that with
the indices on the ground , President
Jonathan deserves a second term ?
At the PDP special national convention
in Abuja on Saturday, August 31 , 2013 ,
President Jonathan said: “Critics never
want to acknowledge” his
achievements . And truly this is the crux
of the matter . Those who have sworn to
make governance impossible for
Jonathan have also planned to make life
impossible for Nigerians when they take
over power in 2019 .
What is your reaction to allegations that
the Federal Government ordered 53
gold - plated iphones at N649 million to
celebrate Nigeria ’s 53 years anniversary
and also that the government bought
1 , 000 computers at a cost of N 1 billion?
I read the news about the 53 gold -
plated phones in the newspapers but I
did not believe it because it was not in
the President ’s character to be so
wasteful and extravagant . I was,
therefore , vindicated when Gold & Co . ,
the purported company the Federal
Government made the order from denied
the story . You see , this is the epitome of
opposition blackmail .
President Jonathan is a man the
opposition is wasting resources in
prayer houses so he could falter ? But
can anyone fight against God ?
Do you think the All Progressives
Congress ( APC) will offer Nigerians the
desired credible alternative come 2015 ?
My answer to this question is a
categorical no . For me , the APC is not a
political party even though it has been
registered as one.
The APC, like the former CAN , is not built
on a solid foundation.
What is your reaction to the threats by
Mujaheedeen Asari - Dokubo and his
Niger Delta people that should Jonathan
fail to secure second term , Nigerian
streets will flow with blood?
It is grossly unfair that Asari - Dokubo’s
statement is being isolated to demonise
him .
A former military President from the
North made the following statement just
last year , on May 14 , 2012 , to be
precise. He said: “If what happened in
2011 should happen again in 2015 , by
the grace of Allah , the monkey and the
baboon would be soaked in blood . ” This
very strong language by a former
Nigerian President was a follow up to his
statement immediately after the April
2011 , Presidential election in which he
charged the Northern youths to defend
their votes . Three days after , the
President of Arewa Youth Forum, one
Abdulkareem Tijani, blasted the monkey
and baboon speech thus : “By the
statement he made before the election in
2011 , he precipitated the violence ( Boko
Haram ) that followed the 2011
presidential elections and till now Nigeria
has not recovered from same. ” Till date,
this former President has not been
arrested and prosecuted and neither has
he been reprimanded or even cautioned .
Nigerians will not also forget in a hurry
the Nigerian lawmaker from the North
who said the best way to preserve the
Niger Delta oil wealth is to kill all Niger
Deltans so the Federal Government
could have free access to the nation ’s
oil wealth .
Did spokespersons of Northern Elders
Forum not threaten to make Nigeria
ungovernable for Jonathan if he won the
PDP primaries of January 13 , 2011 and
eventually won the presidential election
that followed in April 2011 .
Mujaheedeen Asari Dokubo has spoken
for the group of militants he leads in the
Niger Delta. Dokubo’s speech exposes
the frustration of a man about to be
denied his inalienable fundamental
human rights. Surely , the constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria
guarantees President Goodluck
Jonathan a second term as president
but the Northern governors believe that
it is their own fundamental right to rule
this country because of their born - to -
rule mentality that has been prenatally
ingrained in them by their forefathers.
There should be a level playing field for
all Nigerians.
If it is not possible to live together let us
discuss our peaceful departure via the
much - dreaded national conference .
The truth is that if those mighty rocks in
the North were filled with oil, the North
would have long seceded from the
Federal Republic of Nigeria .
Looking at the performances our
governments so far, do you think
Nigerians have really got the dividends
of democracy in the present
dispensation ?
Let me start by confessing my aversion
to the massive accumulation of wealth
by our governors. With this wealth that
rightly belongs to the people , they buy
private jets and have enough money to
further their presidential ambitions . For
instance , nearly all the Northern
governors have presidential ambition
and nearly all the Southern governors
have vice presidential ambition.
The state governors must have a
mechanism of being checked to curb
excessive corruption and diversion of
state funds with impunity .
While I agree that the percolation of the
dividends of democracy takes due
process to get to the last strata of
society, our governors have not done
well enough except perhaps Edo and
Ondo states that have governors with
above average public performance
assessment .
What is your reaction to the political
logjam in Taraba State ? Isn ’t this a
replica of the late Umaru Yar ’ Adua saga
of 2010 ?
Why should there be a logjam in Taraba
State when the constitution is so clear
on the matter . Just follow the
recommendations and the so - called
logjam will evaporate. Governor
Danbaba Suntai should be asked to step
down as he is medically unfit ; Section
189 sub - sections 1 - 5 of the
constitution is very clear . The Speaker
of the Taraba State House of Assembly
should constitute a medical board of five
medical practitioners including the
governor ’ s personal physician . If they
find him unfit , the Speaker will publish
same in the state governments gazette
and the governor will cease to be
governor .