In effect this is a puny response to Professor Moses Ochonu's little profundity, and big grammar here . I could do a lot worse. The only man I fear in this forum is Biko Agozino
One treads softly because Hon. Moses Ochonu has more or less been knighted as Ogba Falola's crown prince. Crown prince of Nigerian historians and in this instance we are in the midst of what are very much contemporary events that will be regarded as Nigerian history less than twenty-four hours later. His "Renaissance" kingship or (who knows what will happen before the dust settles) even Machiavellian Princeship may come as early as tomorrow. In the Civilisation series that I'm following, someone observed that Historians can be very individualistic. But neither such kingship or princehood/ princeship or the title emperor ( federal level) or eventual "His Imperial Majesty" of a dozen or more PhDs (like Papa Doc) and one hundred exotic languages including Hausa poetry will confer on he or him anything near Papal infallibility or Messiahship . (You know they refused Jesus too, they said, "You're not Him"(The Almighty).
So here goes and I'm doing my best to avoid a frontal collision with any historic authority/ personality or holy trinity:
The subject is politics. It's the tussle for power. Na wah oh. Pow-ah !
The subject: Under the microscope (and he ain't no microbe): Hon. Aminu Tambuwal.
He was honourable and trusted enough to be made speaker (O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost their reason"?)
You want to make Goodluck Jonathan the victim....poor Goodluck Jonathan, that we should feel sorry for him. There are those who feel sorrier for the parents of the kidnapped Chibok girls and all those who grieve each time Boko Haram strikes again...
About these we can agree: Ex-Brigadier General David Mark is an honourable man. Doyin Okupe the Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs who would like to criminalize anyone who insults his president, he is an honourable man, and needless to say so is Rivers' man the pilgrim father President Goodluck Jonathan who has prayed on the banks of the Jordan River more than any other Nigerian president has ever done. He too is an honourable man. So are they all, all honourable men. Even the confirmed looters (they know who they are) some of them have the formal, ritual honorary title "Hon" appended in front of their names in the old colonial master fashion, they too are honourable men. Everybody in Nigeria, without exception, is an honourable man. And then there is Dame Judith and all the honourable women. Indeed in the British House of Lord's no matter how much you may hate his guts, it's customary etiquette that when addressing him directly or even talking about him behind his back but within the precincts of the house, to refer to even your arch parliamentary or political enemy as " My Honourable friend". It's standard parliamentary procedure. Ethics. Courtly decorum. They are Honourable Men.
It's politics and the tussle for power in this matrix of extenuating circumstances and these circumstances do not absolve any of the main players of the required shrewdness/cunning/ even going for the jugular to make progress in the political jungle that is the arena for action. Boko Haram knows what action is as they Rambo in the North East. Once upon a time so did Crocodile Dundee Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo paddling his war canoe in the marshes and by the oil pipelines of the South East Nigeria Delta.
Goodluck Jonathan has been more astute at sending the Police to lock all the gates to the National Assembly than in sending the Police & military to arrest the real people's enemy, the Boko Haram. There can be no disagreement about such a public perception.
Professor Ochonu says that "any legislator who changes parties for reasons other than those outlined should relinquish her/his seat."
Question: What are the reasons outlined?
One of them is (g) being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected:
Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored
There's so much talk about "the spirit" of these laws. Surely it was not to prevent such a glaring division within the ruling party? (Look at the history of coalitions in Israeli politics the past twenty years - look at the formation and demise of Sharon's Kadima ...)
An astute politician moves purposefully, and this purposefulness/ integrity of purpose can be impugned as dishonesty, but surely comrade, Hon. Tambuwal was not breaking the law was he? Or would you like to press charges? We may not know what is in the depths of Hon Aminu Tambuwal's heart but this much is clear: He would like to terminate Goodluck Jonathan's period at the helm of Nigeria's ship of state when the nation goes to the polls on 14th February 2015. It seems that former president Obasanjo would also like to see Goodluck Jonathan's demise through the ballot box.
The scenario, but not the complete picture:
Goodluck Jonathan was the sole candidate and unopposed is elected PDP's flag bearer to continue to lead the Naija nation. Not everybody in his party falls in love with the idea and some leave the party.
Goodluck wants to declare an extension of the state of emergency in the three Northern states where Boko Haram has been most active so far. And should Boko Haram activities expand into new territory, we are to assume that with such a precedent to go by, Dr. Jonathan would go on declaring and extending states of emergency as he deems necessary. The opposition cries foul - that it is by such crookery that the President wants to "disenfranchise" the people. In order to declare & extend this state of emergency the House must convene and The Police "the police who were merely following orders" want to prevent the Hon Speaker Aminu Tambuwal from presiding over such a meeting. Where do we go from here?
Having said all of the above, I'm sure that if I had been living in Rivers State these past four years, I would probably be seeing things very differently.
Still sincerely being Cornelius,
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