OPINION
By Ofio ‘Lojuayegbe
As the quest to find a suitable replacement for the abysmal presidency of General Bubu hots up, it may be necessary to highlight the qualities that are or aren’t needed in a Nigerian president. There are about thirty two individuals, going by recent developments, from the two dominant political parties that have indicated interest to become the next president of Nigeria; about fifteen from the broomers and seventeen from those who found themselves under the umbrella and there are more waiting in the wings to make their intentions known. But what stuff really should a president be made of, especially the type that wants to govern over 200 million people from diverse backgrounds, ethnic, religious, cultural, language, etc?
While some aspirants might be seen as serious contenders going by their track records, the strength of their character, and their political trajectories or antecedents. Many of these aspirants have lived most of their adult lives in the full glare of the public, having held one political position or the other over the years. A few have come under serious scrutiny of many Nigerians and they have returned the verdict of ‘bad presidential materials on them even before their parties give their own appraisals. Our case study is the enfant terrible of them all; Yee-sum Weak-ay!
He has the good fortune of governing a state with stupendous oil and gas wealth and the second or third largest IGR in the country. His notoriety preceeds him as he suffers no fools gladly and he takes no prisoners as he fights glovesless all the time. When a former militant warlord pooh-poohed his declaration to run for president and asked a rhetorical question “Look at him, does he look like a president? Will Nigerians want a president like that?” , Kubo must have been speaking the minds of many Nigerians. Apart from the fact that Weak-ay is goofs on the bounce, his conduct in public domain has left little to be desired.
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In his first term as governor his major preoccupation for almost half of the tenure was the constant attacks, some of them below the belt and distasteful, of his predecessor. At some point he asked the federal government to get Timi arrested and a panel set up by him declared his former boss guilty of malfeasance even without any pronouncement of such by a law court.
Talk of being the prosecutor, jury and judge in your own case. That’s classic Weak-ay. There have been instances where he took governance to pre-stone age levels. A shining example was the gangster manner in which his convoy intercepted that of his predecessor, a serving minister of Fmthe Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the street of PH with armed guards of the two ‘excellencies’ restraining themselves from igniting a bloodbath. It was no surprise when Timi described his successor with the following words “That child who sits there as governor is confused, he doesn’t know what to do…”
His antics have elevated motorpark politics to a whole new dark level. Give him any stage, this political brute with clownish inclination, is ready to play to the gallery at all times. Be it at a burial where people solemnly bow to pay their last respect to the departed, or at a church thanksgiving that he often turn to platforms for launching political missiles in the direction of his perceived adversaries both high and low.
This governor possibly have the fattest beef anyone can imagine against his erstwhile political boss and benefactor, both of whom are now jostling to succeed the lacklustre general in Aso Villa. His unenviable arsenal of ‘diss tracks’ against his political enemies will make any American hip hop artist green with envy. Weak-ay in a fit of political rage and lack of candour recently directed insults at a deputy governor; “It’s very unfortunate for our party, a deputy governor is wearing khaki, look at it, I’ve never seen a thing like this in my life … who is his father?”
He sees himself as the Bogeyman of PDP who takes the role of whipping any recalcitrant party member into line regardless of their status. He reminds one of the fabled Okonkwo in Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’, an inherently weak man who in order to mask his weakness becomes irrationally valiant by beheading a boy that calls him father.
Weak-ay single handedly fought the former Chairman of his party to a standstill, instigating court cases until the man was ignominously booted out of the door. If stakes in a political party are measured on the basis of turning your State to a vending machine or ATM for party activities, governors from deep pockets States like Lagos, Kano, and Rivers will always call the shots in their political parties. But there are other electoral values to be considered before ascribing positions to political gladiators.
Whilst it is incontrovertible that in the entire South-South and South-East, Rivers State has the highest number of voters as records of past elections show. But votes from Rivers and the entire South-South and Southeast can be eclipsed by votes from three core northern States of Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Bornu. Weak-ay from his utterances and actions cannot be said to be well liked by the majority of the voting core north and less likely across the South. As part of his effort at image laundering amongst voters in the core North, this presidential aspirant was possibly trying to win the hearts of those that their hearts are probably stoned against his ambition, when he suddenly appeared to console with the buddy governor in Sokoto. How else does one explain the donation of half a billion to a State government in the North when there are issues begging for funds in your State, including workers pension and environmental degradation.
He might think his most efficacious weapon is the constant direct attacks on the incumbent president and the ruling party, but lo, the ideological romance between this president and his followers isn’t completely sour yet, and these multitudes definitely are a huge factor going by their numerical strength and significance. Regardless of how abysmal the performance of President Buhari, there is no politician alive today that commands the kind of following that he does. It is left to be seen if Weak-ay can command that kiind of cult-hero following, even in his home State, that the president enjoys in many parts of the North.
The conservative Northern political elites cannot imagine a rancorous personality such as Weak-ay being sold to folks as the potential next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Politics and Religion are still intertwined in virtually all the core Northern States. Mosques and other religious or islamic centres are ready platforms for propagating political ideologies, patronage and for promoting candidates. In one of his gaffes, this presidential aspirant had argued publicly that his State is a “Christian” State. A statement like that from a governor who has presidential ambition in a multi religious Country like Nigeria, is tantamount to killing your ambition ab initio.
For all it is worth anyone who takes Weak-ay’s presidential ambition seriously is possibly trying to humour the man. The man has made too many enemies for his inordinate presidential ambition to have any chance at success. If he goes ahead on this journey he can be rest assured the virtual daggers that have long been drawn from supposed friends and foes alike to kill his political career beyond PH will become visible to his naked eyes.
Ofio ‘Lojuayegbe, a public commentator and political analyst, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
