Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Tinubu Speaks On Botched ACN/CPC Merger, Cautions Buhari Against Blackmail

"These are some of the reasons why most of the highly and academically educated do not, most of the time, become the best leaders in the real work; the best economist (professors), the best business graduates do not translate their high academic achievements to business leadership and success; and the most disciplined and honest military leader might not necessary accomplish long-lasting leadership.  Asiwaju Bola Tinubu may not possess great academic qualifications; but his flexibility, agility, pragmatism, give-take; win-win mentality accomplishes more in the real world we live."

i don't see why popularity translates into higher value.
i certainly don't understand the anti-intellectualism that says something like "common sense" is better than knowledge or education.
the prevalence of above views strike me as responsible for the support to populism in its worst senses politically. by what measure is the truth of the above statements evaluated? whose measure? and above all, at what cost?
ken



On 4/18/11 2:51 AM, EUGENE NWOSU wrote:

On the meeting between the ACN and President Goodluck Jonathan?
"If President Jonathan will invite the leadership of the ACN to even have a discussion on collaboration, he has done well. It means he has shown the desire to win the election. But what has Buhari done? Has he ever willingly contacted the leadership of ACN privately? Until we were rallied by some leaders who wanted us to form the alliance, Buhari never took a single proactive step. I do not believe a man running to be the President of Nigeria and not Emir of Katsina should have the needed flexibility. To be a good leader, you have to be flexible and accommodating." … Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

 

Compatriots,

 

Inflexibility is one of the major failures in leadership.  General Mohammed Buhari's alter-ego, self-centeredness, myopic thinking, and the attitude of holier-than-though is now evident in the entire scenario.  As honourable, committed, sincere and patriotic as his intentions; the negative-aspect of his character and outlook outweigh and overshadowed the positives: these non-productive attitude which are his major draw-back  are self-righteousness, piousness, superiority complex, sanctimonious, priggish, strait-laced, prudish, prim, moralistic, narrow-minded, goody-goody, and starchy behaviour. These are some of the reasons why most of the highly and academically educated do not, most of the time, become the best leaders in the real work; the best economist (professors), the best business graduates do not translate their high academic achievements to business leadership and success; and the most disciplined and honest military leader might not necessary accomplish long-lasting leadership.  Asiwaju Bola Tinubu may not possess great academic qualifications; but his flexibility, agility, pragmatism, give-take; win-win mentality accomplishes more in the real world we live.

With best wishes, always

Positively

Eugene Nwosu‍

Tel: +353 (0)87 7635 734

www.strategicbookpublishing.com/OptimalEdge.html

www.optimaledge.net

Emails: eugenenwosu201@hotmail.com; eugenenwosu@gmail.com; info@optimaledge.net; Eugene@optimaledge.net;

         

Optimal Edge

14 Castle Farm Woods

Shankill

Co Dublin

Ireland

Tel: +353 (0)87 7635 734

www.strategicbookpublishing.com/OptimalEdge.html

www.optimaledge.net

 

Tinubu Speaks On Botched ACN/CPC Merger, Cautions Buhari Against Blackmail

Self-righteous, pious, smug, superior, sanctimonious, priggish, strait-laced, prudish, prim, moralistic, narrow-minded, goody-goody, strict, starchy
Suppleness, litheness, agility, elasticity, limberness, plasticity, give-take
LAGOS, April 16, (THEWILL) – Former Lagos State Governor and leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has cautioned the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari on making derogatory comments over the failure of the ACN and the CPC to reach a working alliance ahead of the Presidential election which held today nationwide.
Bola Tinubu spoke during a question and answer session with journalists after his accreditation to vote in the election in Alausa, Lagos.
On why the alliance failed?
The story is not different from what the National Chairman said last week. It is very unfortunate that the two serious national parties could not solve the problem earlier than now. We have been at it for quite some time now. You all are aware of the National Democratic Movement, which Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was a member before he moved back to the People's Democratic Party (PDP). The movement was left with Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa, General Muhammadu Buhari and us. From that moment on, it would have been a good opportunity to form an alliance. It is not about individual. It is about the need to form a strong structure.
So what transpired?
At that time, there was no Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). What we had was The Buhari Organisation (TBO). Suddenly, CPC was registered. To me, at that stage, instead of a merger to form a unified platform, they started talking about alliance. Alliance in a presidential system has never worked. You need to form a common platform with a common manifesto to be able to work together and be able to educate the people on the difference between the common platform and the constituting parties.
When the merger plan did not work, they dragged us back. I will not blame any person. But Buhari, as a leader who is highly experienced, and has been a statesman and contested election twice and has complained of rigging and irregularities in court for a long time challenging the process, he should have seen that it is not wise to bring CPC in at the time we were rooting for a merger. But we still respected him and wanted to continue with the merger plan, but he said he wanted an alliance. So, the merger was suspended.
However, if you want alliance, instead of a merger, you must be ready to negotiate, give, take and make sacrifices. But it is unfortunate that we are so self-centred and selfish to the extent that it beclouds our patriotic sense. They do not want to give, but want take. We suspended the alliance talk till after the National Assembly election, the result of which showed that Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has better strength and better spread than CPC. So, we should be the leader in the alliance.
But they want to keep the presidential candidate as well as the running mate, in an alliance where we should be the leading pack. Now, the alliance is not strong enough to produce the senate president, neither can it produce the House of Representative Speaker, so what are we going to get in return? I am ready to sacrifice my two legs to be amputated, but you are not even ready to sacrifice your index finger. They were offering us cabinet positions which you can change your mind tomorrow and sack at will.
When did the ACN back up then, was it after the offer of cabinet positions?
We were still ready to go along with the plan in the interest of the country. But we later discovered that while we were negotiating the alliance, they are also speaking with the Save Nigeria Group (SNG), to which they have conceded the slot of Vice Presidency. We accepted him, but asked him to surrender the vice presidential slot. If we do not have that, our platform, which we have laboured so hard to build, will be in danger.
So we proposed a merger which will be implemented after the election. We could not afford to jettison our symbol because it is the symbol of economy, especially for the poor. But we were ready for a joint logo that will show the broom on one side and Buhari's pen on another side as a new logo for the future. The negotiation went to that extent. Yet, they refused to commit to that plan. At that point, it became clear that they are only after using us to win election, without having any regard for our platform. We decided at that point to cancel all suggestions and look at things holistically.
Why did the ACN not push for a candidate from the younger generation?
We actually did because globally, younger people are taking over governance. They are producing better results, even the very conservative Russia is shifting ground for the younger generation. Our candidate is younger than others. Ribadu is a lawyer and an institutional man. He built Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which became a deterrent to widespread irregularity, from the scratch. When Ribadu was at EFCC, Buhari was one of the principal advisers of EFCC. Both of them have a long family history when Ribadu's father was a parliamentarian. So, he could have become our national hero and our own Mandela, by supporting Ribadu.   
So, may be, the election will throw up a run off. Then we can resume the alliance talk. But I got a text from Chief Bisi Akande this morning that "General Buhari on Voice of America radio today said that ACN has already sealed a deal with the PDP for some cabinet post and Speaker of House of Representatives." That is false, if it is true that Buhari said so. It is blackmail. I do not expect somebody of his calibre to make such statement. We are going to remain committed to our manifesto.
On the meeting between the ACN and President Goodluck Jonathan?
If President Jonathan will invite the leadership of the ACN to even have a discussion on collaboration, he has done well. It means he has shown the desire to win the election. But what has Buhari done? Has he ever willingly contacted the leadership of ACN privately? Until we were rallied by some leaders who wanted us to form the alliance, Buhari never took a single proactive step. I do not believe a man running to be the President of Nigeria and not Emir of Katsina should have the needed flexibility. To be a good leader, you have to be flexible and accommodating.
On Nuhu Ribadu's readiness to drop out for Buhari
In fact, in all honesty, Ribadu was even willing to step down when we consulted him. He was ready to make the huge sacrifice. But the other party remained unbendable. I have never being a part of federal government even though, the democracy we enjoy today is a product of our struggle in National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). I did not take advantage of it when former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is my kinsman, was in power. Or are you going to say he did not invite me? He invited me several times. He even set a booby trap in 2003. I bypassed it and defuse that trap.  
Was CPC formed to frustrate the merger of progressives by fifth columnists?
Let us finish the bleeding before the careful analysis and post-mortem of the failure of the alliance will be done. But a leader must be able to identify great opportunities and sit on it, hold on tight. No one can mislead me easily because I examine facts, figure, and factors before taking decision. So, irrespective of how many columnists, why will a leader see that opportunity and not seize it? I think is a question of the quality of leadership ability.
Tell us details of your meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan?
He sought for my audience in Lagos not in Abuja. As somebody, I knew when he was a Deputy Governor, I have to respect him. The meeting was in Lagos. I told him that I have been in this position for years. During the military era, General Ibrahim Babangida took me as a younger brother and was very close to my family. Despite that, I did not change my position. When our democracy was aborted, I had a choice to go back to my profession. I chose to stay with the people, and struggle for democracy. I went into exile. I do not have to do that if not that my commitment to democracy is very firm. I told him that PDP has failed us for 12 years and I have 101 reasons not to join them. I said, "Mr. President, I respect you but I am not going to work with you. I have a party that I am leading and I am not looking for anything." I do not need a presidential jet. I have been in presidential jet three times since the return of democracy. I boarded presidential jet twice with Alhaji Abubakar Atiku en route Umrah. The third time was with President Umaru Yar'Adua. We met at Kaduna. We flew together to Abuja. If they are sure I flew in presidential jet to see Jonathan, let them produce the manifest of that flight. It is amazing that blackmail thrives more than the truth in this country. There are so many misleading stories that could easily be verified but surprisingly ended up being believed.
On the election proper
This election has its own form and next week's governorship will have its own form too. That is when this low turnout will turn to massive turnout. All politics is local. We are all going to massively vote for Governor Raji Fashola.

The GEJ Fairy Presidency for Nigeria

By Eugene Ndubuisi Nwosu

Saturday, 12 March 2011

Politics is a game of numbers and people make up those numbers.  In politics and as in life, generally, people make most tangible things happen, the rest are just abstract.  One of the major strengths in winning in any group and or organisational activity is strong team work.  Strong, effective and efficient team derives its momentum and winning edge from high level trusts and the speed of trusts within the group.  Each member of the team lowering their (his/her) ego to bear minimum to allow his/her true humane qualities and unique potentials (creative abilities) to become manifest for the overall benefit of the group.

Nigeria's incumbent President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is most likely to win the April 2011 Presidential context for the following obvious reasons: 

1)   The other contenders have woefully disappointed.  These people do not care enough about Nigeria.  They are so much into their ego, self-aggrandisement; building themselves up just to collect the title of Presidential Aspirant under sweet and sensational (also ran) party names. If they truly cared about how to solve Nigeria's monumental socio-economic problems they would have stepped out of their egotistical (not so) comfort-zone, look beyond their noses, stop being myopic, acknowledge and appreciate the fact that the entity Nigeria is under the shackles of monstrous and peculiar ethno-religious divide.  Several tribes, languages and different religions divide us. We can harness and unite that which divides us (tribe and tongue) under the presidential system which we now practices only with two strong political parties competing for the chance to serve the people. 

Election into any office in a presidential system operates under "the winner takes it all" rule. There are no vote transfers or proportional representation as in parliamentary system.  The lack of foresight, unwillingness or inflexibility on the part of these political actors has allowed the behemoth, the huge political animal (PDP) to have their way; and so it shall be for the next four years or more (o.k... perish the thought).  That other political actors in Nigeria (so-called opposition parties) have not, since 2003, been able to come-together and put up a strong political party capable of defeating the PDP is regrettable.  Too much power in the hands of one person is never good.  Too much power in the hands of a huge political party is not good; and too long in-charge of governance is equally not the best.  A democratic change after, at least, two terms in power invigorates change and a panacea for accountability and progressive leadership; because 'absolute power corrupts.'

PDP is made up of a lot of great and well-meaning Nigerian leaders; a lot of them are in that party because they love to play from the centre, they do not wish to be on the side line, and because there is no other viable alternative.  I bet that if the Babangida's two-party system (by fiat) could find a way to creep back into our electoral law or into the constitution (by democratic referendum); there would be massive paradigm shift and system shift – a wholesome rearrangement of the iceberg of Nigeria's political fellowship and thrust will follow.

2)   The stratum of people and personalities who make up the PDP, just like any large family, is normal.  Every strong organisation must make room for diversity; and be flexible and able to accommodate those distinctive differences.  Thus, PDP is a conglomerate – party of the 'good', 'bad', and 'ugly' of Nigeria.  I politics, as in the game of soccer and other team sport, no team or club should pretend or assume the "holier than they" attitude and formation.   There should be no permanent enemies; rather inter-relational ties should be forged anchored on tolerance and compromises. 

3)  President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan possesses impeccable qualification and experience for the office for which he is seeking to return to.  His resume is far reputable and exudes much higher impetus and trust than the rest of the contenders.

4)   President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan's background is more suited to resolving Nigeria's present and imminent albatross – the Niger Delta troubles.  The Niger-Delta quandary can only be fully-resolved with this opportunity.  Oil and the common-wealth it generates are a major pixie, brownie, hobgoblin to Nigeria. I think it is by divine providence that GEJ, a true son of Ijaw-land, the mainstay of Nigeria's elf (oil) that is happening and being validated to give to the Niger Delta nation the all-important emotional restitution they have been yawning for – just as President Obasanjo's tenure was used to wipe the slate and burry June 12 encumbrances; and President Yaradua's (though short) tenure provided some restitution for the patriotisms of Musa Yaradua and his tragic loss to his family. The restitution which I have written about here is not necessarily material reparation; rather the emotional satisfaction that equity, fairness and justice has prevailed.  The indigenes of Niger Delta know that all the extra-monetary allocation that Nigeria poured into the area in the last three decades have been swallowed by the corrupt leaders in the Niger Delta who where supposed to utilize same for the development of Niger Delta.  Just as President Obasanjo served the entire Nigeria nation as one; and specifically and specially not develop the Yoruba-land, or better the lot of the Abiola family more; we expect President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to be fair and just to all. 

5)   President Goodluck Jonathan is equally reputed for possessing amiable character that is very much needed in a democratic dispensation to manage and lead a heavily diverse and complex society as Nigeria.

6)   I have great respect and regard for General Buhari's sincerity, persistence and commitment.  But he hasn't got strong enough team.  He shot down any chances he would have had when he exhibited arbitrary and undemocratic tendencies by his choice of running mate, Tunde Bakare.  Just as he showed no sensitivity to the core perception and feelings of the generality of ethno-religious divide by choosing Idiagbon (fellow-Muslim and Northerner) during his short-lived military regime.  I would have thought that that some harsh lesson was learned; but not. Imagine the impetus and high quality credibility that Prof. Pat Utomi could have added to Buhari.  Imagine the huge converts of youths and professional elite that could have converted, joined and supported the Buhari/Utomi campaign.

 

7)   Nuhu Ribadu has not got the experience and political clout.  He is a no-brainer and no-runner for me.

Whichever way it might go, GEJ's PDP wins; be it with fewer states and slim majority in the two legislative houses. 

I am optimistic and strongly believe, that in no distance future, Nigerians will have just two strong political parties competing for votes and the chance to serve with honour and dignity – effectively and efficiently for progressive and better Nigeria. 

2015 and the Igbo clamour

I would not lose any sleep on such notion and time-line.  I am from the meritocracy school of thought - a social-democratic system that gives opportunities and advantages to people on the basis of their abilities and achievements.  I believe that when the time is right, and if a president from one of the South Eastern States is needed to hold the brief and manage affairs as President, for the benefit of Nigeria, divine nature's providence will bring about the dynamics that can make it happen.  Democratic leadership is fluid and a never ending upward journey; thus I will not put a time-line on when anyone from any ethnic group in Nigeria should assume the exalted position of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

It shall be well with Nigeria. 

With best wishes, always

Positively

Eugene Nwosu‍

Tel: +353 (0)87 7635 734

www.strategicbookpublishing.com/OptimalEdge.html

www.optimaledge.net

Emails: eugenenwosu201@hotmail.com; eugenenwosu@gmail.com; info@optimaledge.net; Eugene@optimaledge.net; eugenenwosu@yahoo.com

         

Optimal Edge

14 Castle Farm Woods

Shankill

Co Dublin

Ireland

Tel: +353 (0)87 7635 734

www.strategicbookpublishing.com/OptimalEdge.html

www.optimaledge.net

 

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