Azuh Amatus: Jega, please save Governors’ Forum!

 
I’d initially wanted to comment on the raging war between Nollywood practitioners and President Goodluck Jonathan over the recent appointment of a marine engineer as the substantive chairman of Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC).
The once cordial relationship between Mr. President and his darling Nollywood practitioners became strained, soured and still very shaky with that misplaced appointment of an engineer to head Nollywood’s apex body.
But I had to quickly change my mind having monitored closely the shenanigans currently playing out at the exalted forum of our elected governors.
Of course, it’s no longer news that our elected governors are at present fighting dirty and roforofo over the outcome of their recently held election. What is perhaps news is the fact that such national disgrace could only happen in Nigeria.
It’s quite sad, shocking and shameful that 35 out of the 36 governors of the federal republic of Nigeria could not sit and conduct a simple election to determine who will lead them.
Again, is it not ironical that ‘democratically elected’ governors could not elect one of their Excellencies, to help pilot their affairs for the next two years?
Such Nollywood drama could only take place in Nigeria, where those who are supposed to be our leaders, always play politics with virtually everything, including our national patrimony.
As a way of resolving this monumental national disgrace, I want to advice the already divided Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), to immediately invite and engage the services of Prof. Attahiru Jega, the INEC boss, to assist them in the conduct of another fresh election.
The Jega option becomes imperative since our governors have proven beyond every reasonable doubt that they could not conduct a simple election among themselves.
Sincerely, the coming of Jega and his team at INEC, will help our warring governors determine who their authentic leader is between embattled Rotimi Amaechi and reticent Jonah Jang of Rivers and Plateau States, respectively. In fact, the suspension of Amaechi from the extended PDP family might even make the coast clearer for Jang ahead of the next election to be conducted by Jega.
But if at the end of the day, Jega and his team could not conduct a free and fair election that will ultimately usher in a genuine winner. Then, we will now call on President Goodluck Jonathan to use his constitutional powers to declare a state of emergency in NGF.
Unlike Adamama, Borno and Yobe where Mr. President did not remove the governors of the affected states and did not also suspend democratic institutions, he should ‘sack’ the warring governors, collapse their offices and appoint a Sole Administrator for NGF, until peace is restored.
Jokes Apart, the mess coming out of the Governors Forum election is uncalled for and smacks of irresponsible leadership.
Must every election in Nigeria be settled in law courts, even those involving social clubs and charity organizations?
Nigerians deserve an unreserved apology from these governors who rubbished, disgraced and denigrated their respective states by washing their dirty linens in public with reckless abandon.
The big question begging for answer from many Nigerians is what the big deal is in conducting a simple, free and fair election among 35 state governors?
If these respected leaders cannot conduct a simple election among themselves, it then means Nigeria is in a big trouble ahead of 2015. God will surely save us. Did I hear your loud Amen?
And the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), captured it succinctly in a recent press statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed:
“If an election involving only 35 governors can generate so much controversy and threaten to overheat the polity, what will happen when millions of Nigerians vote in 2015?” ACN queried.
Also sounding a note of warning at a recent book launch, the national chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, insisted that the inglorious Governors Forum crisis is tearing Nigeria apart.
Here are Umeh’s exact words: “Today, we can see that the country is overheated, with so much distraction. If we are not talking about security challenges, we are talking about the Governors Forum. There is nothing like Governors Forum in our constitution. We have 36 governors in Nigeria and every day we are inundated with activities of 36 men. They are tearing the country apart. It shouldn’t be like that. I think the President is paying too much attention to governors.”
How can our great but battered and plundered nation move forward when those who are supposed to be at the driver’s seat as leaders, are already fighting over an office that is not recognized by the laws of the land? Which way Nigeria? In a country where nothing works, especially social amenities, our leaders are busy disgracing themselves and the entire nation.
Instead of wasting unnecessary energy and time fighting over who leads them, our governors should think of ways of helping to improve the very poor security in their respective states, provide good roads, tackle unemployment, build and equip hospitals as well as revamp and rescue decaying infrastructure. Enough of this national embarrassment.
The book of Proverbs 11:14, made it clear that: “Without wise leadership, a nation falls, with many counselors, there is safety.”



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