OpinionOPINION: AS JONATHAN AWAITS CORONATION...

OPINION: AS JONATHAN AWAITS CORONATION…

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On December 6, 2014, the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), will hold its presidential primary to choose its flag bearer in the 2015 general elections. From all indications, especially against the background of the widespread endorsements that the leader of the party, President Goodluck Jonathan, is garnering from all strata of the party, the December primary is going to be a different kind of presidential primary.

Yes, it is going to be a coronation, so to speak, especially against the background of his endorsement by the highest policy making organ of the PDP, the National Executive Council (NEC). On that day, the ruling party will show how much it has advanced the course of liberal democracy in our land by toeing the line of universal best practices and electing the incumbent President as its sole candidate in the 2015 presidential election for a well deserved second term in office.

When some notable and knowledgeable Nigerians like the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, mooted the idea of the Party giving the President an offer of right of first refusal in the matter of the candidature for the 2015 president election, those who did not understand full well the workings and the theoretical underpinnings of presidential democracy attempted to clobber the old man; some even called him names.

But today, Anenih, who perhaps, has the uncanny ability to see far ahead of his peers and traducers is more than vindicated. From all the broad spectrums of the PDP, there is an unprecedented endorsement of the Nigerian President for a second term in office. The PDP Governors Forum, the powerful group of all the governors elected under the party’s umbrella, has unanimously and unambiguously spoken and endorsed Jonathan as the PDP presidential candidate for the 2015 election. Its vice chairman, who is also the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, has not minced any word in declaring that “there is no vacancy in Aso Villa.”

It is interesting to note that Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State who had hitherto shown interest in challenging the president has come around; and, like a loyal party man and trustworthy leader, he is now on the same page with his colleagues on the endorsement of Jonathan for a second term in office. Such is the vehemence and conviction of the PDP governors in their endorsement of Jonathan for the 2015 presidential election.

Even before the governors, the PDP Caucus in the House of Representatives as well as the Senate ably led by Senator David Mark had earlier declared Jonathan as their preferred candidate of the party in next year’s presidential election. Given the famous rivalry that characterises the relationship between the executive and the legislature, it speaks of the imperative of Jonathan’s second term for the entire PDP legislators to endorse the president for another term in office.

Lest we forget, although the candidature of President Jonathan ought to be an entirely PDP affair, the popularity of the project has almost drawn for it partisanship across the political parties. To be sure, the Labour Party had earlier declared that it would adopt Jonathan as its presidential candidate in 2015. The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) had also endorsed the President for a second term in office and we have not mentioned the several other registered opposition parties rooting for the reelection of the President.

The endorsement of President Jonathan for a second term in office has also taken a non-partisan dimension with different trade unions, pressure groups and regional political blocs sensationally backing the President for another in office. The irrepressible National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the people of the North Central zone, the good people of the Southeast, Southwest and South-south zones came out in their numbers to show their support for the Jonathan 2015 project at the recent Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) zonal rallies.

The popular support for Jonathan to seek a second term in office is tantamount to the earlier canvassed automatic ticket by Anenih over a year ago. Automatic ticket for an incumbent president interested in a second term in office is not in any way undemocratic. In fact, in advanced democracies, it serves to galvanize the unity of the party as it goes into a general election. Presidential primaries, no matter how fair they might be, carry the potential threats of factionalisation and can be rancorous. Which party wants to go into an election with factions and rancour?

Again subjecting a sitting president eligible for a second term in office to a competitive primary is another way of passing a vote of no confidence in the leader of the party. Moreover, it also amounts to passing up the advantages that the power of incumbency gives to the ruling power. This explains why in the United States, no ruling party in its wisdom has ever, in the modern time, denied a sitting President the constitutional right to seek a second term in office. Apart from the advantage of continuity in terms of policies and projects for development, a second term for the president comes with a powerful centripetal force that draws party men and women closer for the service of country.

Those rooting for a competitive primary involving the president fall into the fallacy of the need for a level play field for every aspirant. The truth is that as long as a sitting president is involved, there cannot be any field to play let alone a level one. So from whichever angle it is viewed, organising a primary for anybody with President Jonathan or any other sitting president for that matter is a bloody waste of time, energy and resources for there can only be one outcome. If you are in any doubt, ask Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the respected Dr. Alex Ekwueme – all former vice presidents

That said, the PDP in line with its Constitution has thrown the race for its 2015 presidential ticket open to all qualified party members. But if the Chairman of the PDP BoT, the governors, legislators, state parties and the zonal leaders who are going to be the delegates at the primaries have already endorsed Jonathan, then who is going to run against him? Just as Anenih had advised over a year ago, the PDP is going for the coronation of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on December 6, this year, as its presidential candidate in the 2015 general elections. And this is something the PDP can be proud of!

Written by Abba Adakole.
abbaadakole@gmail.com

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