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Presidential
Resignation; Elder Odion Ugbesia’s Governorship Soliloquize On Probing
Lucky Igbinedion; and Rotational Governorship
Dr. Sylvester
Omosun Fadal
California, USA
Moco_f@yahoo.com Oct 18, 2006
NATIONAL COMMENTARY
Our politicians may
never learn. They continue to ignore the criticality of the subject of
corruption.
On a national level
we have over the past few weeks seen the high intensity of
cross-dysfunctional conflict between the president and his deputy based on
their compromised actions and corruptive tendencies. OBJ’s entire
leadership gained initial credibility because of his fight against
corruption. Yet, in the midst of his purported drive to address the issue
of corruption, fueled by his quick, media-seeking disgrace of ministers
and elected officials for their actions, record is starting to indicate
that he was much more involved in the corruptive act he gallantly and
falsely appear to want to eradicate.
The world is
earnestly observing OBJ and Atiku. The mind boggling parochial approach
of the EFCC in conducting its investigation is to say the least abysmal
and being closely monitored. As we progress through this sad, ongoing
battle of integrity and corruption saga, it may be reasonable to apply an
inexplicable formula of having the president and his vice resign for the
development and growth of the nation and above all, to mitigate our
international level of embarrassment.
ELDER UGBESIA
In a system that
strives to eradicate corruption and erase the chromosomes of dishonesty
from the DNA of most past and present rulers of one of the most corrupt
nations in the world, it is premature for Elder Ugbesia to make a
statement that he would not investigate the actions of his predecessor if
he is elected into the government house. The alleged statement by Elder
Ugbesia does not bode well for him, his political godfather Tony Anenih
and for the presidency that is presumably trying to seek an end to the
high level of corruption prevalent in the society.
Elder Ugbesia!!! In
top-level positions held under the current government, he was not exactly
commended for his success but was ridiculed for his dreadful performance
and high level of corruption in his ministry.
THINKING DIFFERENTLY
Good leaders possess
some outstanding traits and perhaps one of the most important is the
ability to innovate and breed life into stale and old ideas all in efforts
to improve the lives of the populace they serve and to foster a legion of
positive programs for the communities within their jurisdictions. Elder
Ugbesia’s comment begs the question on his ability to lead a state that
has been broken in spirit and infrastructure over the past seven plus
years. His acclaimed statement is not reflective of a smart or brilliant
politician. The statement does not reflect a man with a mission to change
the state of affairs in Edo State but a stuck-in-a-rut reasoning of
alliances, and an attitude of disregard for the cries of the citizens.
EDO STATE PRISM OF PERFORMANCE
Elder Ugbesia is
seeking a key, challenging position to govern one of the most neglected
states in the republic of Nigeria. He needs to align his commentaries
with his improvement plans (if any) and developmental strategies. He may
as well need a public relations consultant to stop him from making
derelict comments that showcases his limited muscles of leadership
reasoning. His comments contrast the desires of the people of Edo State
and the purported efforts of the current president. Not only does Ugbesia
need a risk/public management consultant, he may have to get a highly
experienced political coach as it relates to gaining public support.
Elder Ugbesia needs
to outline his strategy for the state. He needs to detail his planned
parameters of operations to help turn the state around. He must outline
ways he would address the needs of the citizens and define his approaches
to resolving the remunerations of those that are being owed back pays
while the current governors builds mansions across the globe.
Elder Ugbesia is
under the radar screen of most Edo state indigenes. His performance as a
minister is noted as borderline abysmal. His performance fatigue is often
attributed to his limited prism of his intelligential boundaries. He
needs to prove the general opinions of most citizens otherwise through his
calculated statements, practical actions, strategic plans, and future task
that he hopes to achieve if he wins the mantle in Edo state. As mild as
his alleged statement may seem, it does not reflect a wise obligatory
mission from a man with his desire.
Edo State citizens
expect a transformational change because of the sentient creature that has
ruled the state over the past seven plus years. If Ugbesia chooses to
embrace forgiveness of corrupt individuals on philosophical grounds, it
may be a weak and unpopular idea at this time. If his comments were
motivated by his selfish political interest and to gain some support from
the incumbent governor that has sworn to fight an Ugbesia governorship
aspiration intensely in comparison to others, then it is a sad, pathetic
compromise and a complete mortgaging of his humanly conscience for his
selfish political appeasement. Edo state indigenes will resist such a
pre-positional integrity issue because it spells doom for the state.
ROTATIONAL GOVERNORSHIP
A few months ago, I
spoke on the issue of rotational presidency on various yahoo forums. At a
lesser level, several individuals have questioned the viability and wisdom
behind zoning the governorship position. In the vein that I have defended
the need for a South-South or South East presidency because of the
complexity of the Nigerian system and the subtle but yet powerful
isolationist view held by a core group of powerful and influential clique
within a region in the country, I also will defend the need for a
rotational governorship.
In replicating
statements that I have used in the past, it is important to note that on
the surface, the idea of rotational governorship by zones seem
anti-democratic, a violation of an effective polyandry system and
non-progressive. The logic doesn’t fit a country that is seeking to
achieve democratic goals. I am truly against the concept of appointing a
governor from one of the regions. My recommendation is not an appointment
process but a rotational but yet, democratic system.
The question is how
do you ensure a rotational but democratic process without literarily
giving it out as an appointment or an appeasement?
The number one goal
to selling a governorship aspirant or a product is packaging. Then the
issue of a broad-based support companioned with coalition with other
divergent party governorship members and their followers ultimately could
lead to a possible success. In a free and fair environment, an Edo North
governorship aspirant cannot win the race without the support of either
sides of the Edo state spectrum among others. The system/concept of
parties aligning their supporters behind a viable candidate of another
party is a common political strategy. It happens often.
The keys are
packaging and alignments. In other words, when I advocate for a
rotational system, I am not recommending a nomination process, I am not
seeking to please a specific region. For all I care, I don’t trust any
one to do an excellent job. Individuals are quick to compromising their
integrities on selfish grounds anyway. Based on the mechanism or lack
thereof that we have in place, I am simply seeking a system whereby a
qualified candidate from any one of these regions get selected, supported,
packaged and presented to the masses with a strong volitional support on
the parts of those that have over the years dictated the nuances of our
selection/election process. Ugbesia is a strong candidate as well as some
of the other contestants. At this point, no one knows who will emerge as
the next governor until after the primaries. But, my believe is, with an
excellent packaging system, tagged with the moderation of corruption that
somehow always, inadvertently gets imbedded into the process, the best
candidate will stand a great chance of winning.
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