By Adeolu Oyebode
My President,
THAT
YOU MAY NOT BE THE LAST PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA;
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.
Introduction:
Permit
me to share this heartfelt letter via this medium and for general
public consumption. The challenge of giving & confirming the
certainty of you receiving it via courier services and the bureaucracies
in government has also given me a serious concern, that is why I have
taken it upon myself to share it in the public and also send it across
to your email and emails of those who are very close to your dear self,
to be sure that you receive it (the contents of the letter if not in
entirety but those that may suit the carriers of the message to share
with you). Mr President, I will be modest in all my letters but with all
sense of patriotism, truth and precise situation of things as it is.
Not minding our political ideological differences, my choice of sharing
these thoughts with you is because you are my President and one that
will love to complete his constitutional tenure and leave the saddle
unscathed, considering your humble background and your service to the
good people of Nigeria for six (6) uninterrupted years as President of
the country.
Basis: The
burden of this epistle is to ensure that you do all things possible
that YOU ARE NOT THE LAST PRESIDENT of the FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.
Issues:
- ON THE POSTPONED 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS AND THE POLITICS THEREIN.
a. Unlike
some youth of this great Nation, who would rather prefer to join the
wagon of demeaning our collective value as Nigerians, I took pains to
digest the reasons why the electoral body, INEC, took a decision to
shift the general elections by six (6) weeks from 14th and 28th February 2015 to 28th March and 11th
April 2015. Although it is evidently clear that there are
inconsistencies in the earlier positions of the INEC
before/just-immediately after the Council of State meeting on the need
to shift the elections hanging on security (A position clearly regarded
as political and an in-house strategy of the Presidency/PDP by the
oppositions and the general public), when compared with a status
report published by Vanguard. The report which cited sources revealed
that training manuals for ad hoc staffs were not ready, presiding
officers are also yet to be trained, 700,000 ad hoc staff not recruited
yet, PVCs still being printed abroad, RECs yet to print Voter Register,
Printers for Register still in Abuja, No full complement of ballot
boxes, Fake printing ink sent to states from headquarters rejected, Many
states yet to get balance of Card Readers.
b. It is a statement of fact that
this is a sharp contradiction to the position of INEC in expression of
her readiness for the general election as presented in the Council of
State Meeting which was said to have an applause for positive
preparedness ahead of the election, except for the uncollected Permanent
Voter’s Card and the security advise/letter of Col. Dasuki, the
National Security Adviser.
In quoting the words of the INEC Chairman after the CoS meeting:
“The
summary of my presentation to the National Council of State meeting is
that, for matters under its control, INEC is substantially ready for the
general elections as scheduled, despite discernible challenges being
encountered with some of its processes like the collection of Permanent
Voter Cards by registered members of the public”
“In addition, INEC
has been doing everything it can to facilitate the collection of the
PVCs by registered members of the public. As at 5th February 2015, the
total number of PVCs collected was 45, 829, 808, representing 66.58% of
the total number of registered voters.”
“In the delivery and
deployment of electoral materials, INEC is also at a comfort level in
its readiness for the general elections as scheduled. The commission’s
preparations are not yet perfect or fully accomplished. But our level of
preparedness, despite a few challenges, is sufficient to conduct free,
fair and credible elections as scheduled on February 14th and February
28th. Compared with 2011 when, within a short time, we conducted general
elections that were universally adjudged free, fair and credible and
the best in Nigeria’s recent electoral history, our processes are today
better refined, more robust and therefore capable of delivering even
better elections.”
“Other variables equally
crucial for successful conduct of the 2015 general elections that are
outside the control of INEC” had prompted the deferment of the general
election. One important
variable is security for the elections. While the commission has a very
good working relationship with all security agencies, especially on the
platform of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election
Security (ICCES) since its inception in 2010, it has become pertinent
for it to seriously consider the security advisory presented to it by
the security and intelligence services,”.
My inference herewith is that the shift was fairly reasonable if on
the basis of the uncollected voter’s card which could lead to
disenfranchisement of large chunk of the electorates at the poll, but it
still amounted to higher political undertone and the post-play of
rationalizing the need to shift on INEC unpreparedness as stated in 3
above. Your Excellency Mr. President, will thus agree with me that
assuming you aren’t a principal player in this game, you will agree that
it (the shift) was highly political to favour a political dynasty. But
whether it is for you, from you, or at the mercy of your camp, on
whatever reason, let that date not change, or else we may encounter a
political crisis beyond anyone’s imagination against the labour of our
heroes past-The May 29 Handover Date Must Stand.
2. THE UNENDING CHALLENGE ON GENERAL MUHAMMADU BUHARI’S CERTIFICATE:
a. I make bold to say without mincing words that the effort to
challenge the academic qualifications of the candidate of the APC is not
an issue, it is as good as bringing to disrepute the integrity of our
Nigerian Army and the service of the late combatant soldiers of past;
every effort to continue in this search is aimed at ploughing Nigeria
into crisis, in case another Justice Sowemimo’s black-market injunction
is gotten from any of the Federal High Courts- ‘A Political Trial’. This
letter isn’t to bring disrepute into the noble judiciary; it is in the
view of historians of past that the Judiciary voluntarily wrecked the
First Republic in a treatise which requires a scholarly expatiation. I
hope that same do not occur in the Fourth Republic.
I
strongly advise that Your Excellency Mr. President via the Presidency,
do not interfere on whatsoever ground in the judicial process, as a
respecter of the rule of law, so that we will all be proud that we have a
Nation called The Federal Republic of NIGERIA, and you were once a
President, not the LAST President.
3. NIGERIA WILL BE HISTORY IF YOU DON’T WIN
Some
divisive words situating Nigeria as a nation that will not last more
than 2015 from prominent Nigerians, linkable to you, if you don’t return
as the President, is as good as been said by you, Mr. President. This
is why it is so expedient, with due respect Mr. President that you
renounce that these are not from you, not in your interest and direct
the Attorney General of the Federation to charge them for Treason and
Felony. The threats from the militants in your geo-political region
cannot be taken likely. We still have it afresh in our memoir of the
botched secession of Nigeria because of power tussle, we still have it
afresh in our memoir what led to the collapse of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd
Republics and we cannot afford this to happen in our lifetime. Mr.
President, it is a statement of fact that you are aware of all of this
either through petitions, newspapers, social media and also via
different platforms, but you remained unfair to Nigerians with your
silence on this! It is as good as they were all speaking on your behalf.
This is a threat to the Nation; it is challenge on our federation!!
4. ON THE ALLEGED PROPOSED SACK OF PROF. JEGA, THE INEC CHAIRMAN
a. Once
again, the good people of Nigeria will lose the sheer confidence on
elections that they are enjoying presently under your leadership. The
people have mixed feelings already about the shift in the poll date, any
attempted attempt to sack Prof. Jega, or send him on leave before the
scheduled election is a clear signal that despite the fact that he was
pressurized to shift the date, the presidency sacked him because he
wouldn’t compromise standard and rig elections for you and your party-It
is as simple as that!
b. Even if Prof. Jega should be sent on three (3) months terminal leave, which will be on 8th April 2015. He must have to conduct the last elections (Gubernatorial and House of Assembly) fixed for 11th
April 2015. I advise that the rumour of Prof. Femi Mimiko to replace
the erudite Electoral umpire should be kept in the dustbin of
irrelevance permanently (or after the May 29 Presidential Inauguration),
or the presidency deliberately set the nation ablaze.
5. I
write to join my voice with men of goodwill who have spoken to you in
private and public on the 2015 election and other issues associated with
it. I make bold to say that this is in the interest of the Nigerian
youth and people at large.
Thank you.
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