Shared with PublI Stood by President Jonathan Eleven Years Ago, while Making a Case for the Formation of a New Progressive Political Party.
Culled from "Game Change: The Uncertainty of Sovereign National Conference (SNC) and A Case for Progressive Option." By Barr Alex Ehi Aidaghese, March 16, 2012.
Ordinarily, President Jonathan, or a PDP Presidential candidate for that matter, would be the last President I would be rooting for. And the reason for that is quite obvious. I am a progressive Democrat. Be that as it may, I resent in its entirety the "bring down syndrome" and the pernicious verbiage relentlessly heaped at the person of the President by some of our critics and the blatant subversion of our constitutional democracy by family and friends of the late President Yar'Adua throughout his illness and immediately thereafter.
Our Constitution is not ambiguous concerning the succession process when there is a vacancy in the office of the President. Despite that understanding, some people were hell-bent on running Vice President Jonathan out of town, similar to what the right-wing of the Republican Party did to President Bill Clinton when he newly arrived in Washington D.C. in 1993. There is a distinction to be made between constructive criticism of the President's policies vis-a-vis willfully lampooning the person of the President because he is not privileged enough or in the image of your likeness.
I am a progressive thinker, and I define my view of political power by the extent to which we can use the power to serve the needs of the electorates, which is in sharp contrast to the conservative ideological bent of President Jonathan and his political party, PDP.
Nevertheless, I still hold the presidency or the office of the President in the highest esteem. Any President, no matter the political party, region, or tribe, is my President, our President. My disagreement with President Jonathan or with PDP is not personal, it is simply ideological and philosophical.
That said, I am not ideologically rigid or philosophically uncompromising. I espouse pragmatism and am very willing to embrace informed and positive changes when I feel it in any administration, no matter who is in charge. Right now, it is still politics as usual.
I do not doubt in my mind that a progressive administration - specifically at the national level, devoid of ethnic or religious coloration - is our best hope given the level of discontent of the governance and the apparent disconnect between the governed and successive governments since independence. Until we have a genuine leader who espouses financial discipline, transparency, and accountability in the management of our wealth, we cannot make tomorrow better than today.
Given the fact that the present administration has not exhibited any modicum of rebellion against the status quo in terms of ideas and war against corruption, the earlier progressives of all shapes and stripes unite around a bold agenda and unseat the power clique the better for the nation at large. And that, my friends, is the surest route to emancipating the Nigerian man in us.
Therefore, this paper is more of a progressive re-positioning narrative, making a case for:
(1) The need for southern progressives and northern mavericks and intellectuals to unite and rebel against greed and feudal principles to avert imminent class warfare,
(2) Given the seemingly fragile state of our sovereignty, the idea of SNC (Sovereign National Conference), though well intended, should not be a take-it-or-leave-it option, because there are too many uncertainties surrounding its happening within a definite period,
(3) That progressives and mavericks - with a uniform political and socioeconomic agenda nationwide - stand a better chance at uniting this country and arresting the ills that facilitate religious intolerance, greed, corruption, and political assassinations,
And (4) that the ruling class - from north to south and east to west - is the cause of the hatred in our political system and the not-so-latent demand for secession. Therefore, defeating them in a democratic setting is a moral imperative.
There are no existing core political beliefs, ideological or theoretical fundamental frameworks that subsequent administration - whether at the state or national level - can tap into on assumption of office.
I stand to be corrected, PDP, ACN, Labor, and CPC do not have any ascertainable or easily understood policy or manifesto that one could readily relate to or attribute to the brainchild of any of the top brass of the parties - be it on education; be it on health care; be it on how to manage our federal system and making it more efficient; or be it on the real economy to create more jobs and improve public service.
Once bitten, twice shy. It’s time the real progressives start the drive to take power at the center. Critical time calls for critical measures and desperate time calls for desperate measures by discerning minds. There is the imperative need, therefore, for a concerted alternative to the PDP, not strictly in terms of personality, but with respect to policies and programs.
THE END
Culled from "Game Change: The Uncertainty of Sovereign National Conference (SNC) and A Case for Progressive Option." By Barr Alex Ehi Aidaghese, published on his Blog on March 16, 2012.
I wrote this essay prior to the formation of APC, and if you have been wondering how the foundation for the formation of APC was laid or began, now you know.
Why am I republishing this except today? Simple: As a Lawyer, distorting facts or law to defeat or impugn the integrity of your adversaries or highly placed individuals to gain popularity or the favor of your candidate is the height of commercialization of intellect and integrity. Truth is inviolate. And objectivity is sacrosanct. That explains why I am still standing, untouchable.
Congratulating President Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as I did in my previous essay is not uncharacteristic of me. Ideas don't lie. They are self-sustaining. I stood by President Jonathan at the moment of peril, even when I had nothing to gain. It was in the same essay where I stood for the office of the President, being occupied by President Jonathan, that I developed the strategies and tactics for the birth of a strong opposition party. Good or bad, I'm glad APC was born, and we have an alternative now. It is now left for President Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his emerging team to define, through their bold policies and programs, what APC is about, what it stands for, and why it is different from PDP or Labour. Nigeria is worth saving, and we can't miss this moment.
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