SYLVA HARAM
Timipre Sylva, the embattled governor of Bayelsa State had, along with his other counterparts in the South-South region “delivered” his state so comprehensively as to render the figures too outlandish to believe in some cases. In Governor Sylva’s Bayelsa state for instance, which has a total population of 1.7 million and about 591,000 registered voters, […]
Timipre Sylva, the embattled governor of Bayelsa State had, along with his other counterparts in the South-South region “delivered” his state so comprehensively as to render the figures too outlandish to believe in some cases. In Governor Sylva’s Bayelsa state for instance, which has a total population of 1.7 million and about 591,000 registered voters, Mr. Jonathan scored 504,000 votes out of the 506,000 people that voted in the presidential election. Several other outrageous results popped up all over the country, in some cases even the number of votes casted being higher than the number of registered voters!
But thanks to Professor Attahiru Jega’s Independent National Election Commission (INEC) which blandly accepted and legitimized those farcical figures and rammed them down our throats as authentic, Mr. Jonathan became president and so the world did not have to come to an end. But now, in spite of himself, it is governor Sylva’s world, at least in political terms, that is about to come to an abrupt end.
There are more than a dozen reasons why every sensible Nigerian should pay more than cursory attention to the unfolding political shenanigans in Bayelsa state. The first reason of course is the obvious; the president of Nigeria is from Bayelsa state, it is also the fourth largest oil producing state after Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Delta. But more importantly is that the political drama unfolding in Bayelsa state will definitely help to settle the question of Jonathan’s fabled innocence and purity of intent. Second it will also shade very useful light on the ongoing in-house reform embarked upon by the judiciary.
First the Jonathan persona. From his days as deputy governor to DSP Alamieseigha, through former president Umaru Yar’adua illness crisis, so much has been said about President Jonathan’s gentle disposition and unqualified loyalty to whoever is lucky (or unfortunate) to have him as a second in command. The theories and speculations check out with the facts on the ground up to a point. Until his disjointed, incoherent speech trying to rationalize his candidacy in the 2011 presidential contest, Jonathan had cut the picture of a quiet, dignified, inoffensive gentleman that was in sharp contrast to the political turmoil subsisting all around him.
Even after the 2011 presidential elections that gave him a disputed victory, many Nigerians still clung to their idealized image of Mr. Jonathan, insisting that he was a captive of a powerful, ruthless power-grabbing clique over which he could do nothing; that on his own, he probably wouldn’t even have insisted on contesting let alone brazenly rig the election in his favour in the way it was done. His subsequent slow start, frequent gaffes and unimpressive grasp of the basic issues of governance are seen by many as the manifestations of his inexperience and innate goodness which render him vulnerable to the booby-trap of the cynical manipulators that surround him.
But with the unfolding events in the president’s home state of Bayelsa, and the increasing desire of Mr. Sylva to go for broke by confronting the president and his foot soldiers in the state, the stage is set for the entire country now to read the president in his native Ijaw language, devoid of the excuses and the cover that religion and ethnicity have given him before now. Jonathan’s adversary is not the ‘hated, power hungry northern oligarchy’, but a brother from his native Ijawland who gave him almost 100 per cent of the votes from the state when he needed them. The country now has a good chance to know whether the president is a vindictive, dictatorial opportunist about to reveal himself; an irredeemable puppet at the mercy of devious masters; or a cross between both. The starting point in understanding what or who the president is with regards to the Bayelsa crisis is to ask what crime governor Sylva had committed to make him Haram (Arabic for unlawful) as the president’s party, the PDP, flag bearer for next February’s governorship election in the state. There was this allegation that Sylva had threatened to kill the president, an allegation that Sylva had denied; but if this allegation has any credibility, surely the man ought to have been arrested by now? To threaten to kill a president is a treasonable offence and only in Nigeria can it be used so flippantly. There must be something Sylva has done or is not doing that has pitched him against the president. And the more he is pushed to the wall, the greater the possibility for the rest of us to know what it is. It would certainly be interesting to know what is so important about Sylva’s candidacy that with all the problems the president has to contend with, he has to go picking a needless fight in his backyard.
The discovery would be useful to the country in many ways; for the North it would give an insight into Mr. Jonathan’s likely behavior in 2015. This is the morale: if he could do this to Sylva who had helped him to become president, what would he not do to those that opposed him? Already many analysts in the North dismiss Mr. Jonathan’s 2015 promises as empty and risky to believe; how the Bayelsa problem shapes out will certainly provide important yardstick for measuring the president.
And then there is the inevitable involvement of the judiciary. Governor Sylva has managed to secure an injunction from an Abuja High Court which stops the PDP from conducting the primaries. Will the PDP respect the court order, trample on it; or find a way to circumvent it? Last Thursday many influential national dailies reported on their front page that Sylva had secured a court injunction stopping the PDP from conducting the primaries; the next day the same dailies reported the PDP as saying that it would defy the court order on the strength of Section 87 (10) of the Electoral Act. Although this is for the lawyers to sort out, it doesn’t make sense that there is anything in the Nigerian constitution in which a competent court may not intervene. Sylva was reporting an infraction in the way and manner he was barred from contesting for the primaries; surely he has a right to seek redress in the courts?
Anyhow, it is the court now which authority is being challenged by the PDP; how it reacts will in a similar manner indicate whether the judiciary is serious about its ongoing efforts to restore its battered image or, as some die-hard cynics suspect, it is just window dressing and no more.
Finally there is the long term effect; if Sylva is schemed out, as he might well be given the forces against him, would he melt quietly into the crowd, or would the president have succeeded in creating yet another flash point in a nation saturated with deadly flash points scattered everywhere?
.
But thanks to Professor Attahiru Jega’s Independent National Election Commission (INEC) which blandly accepted and legitimized those farcical figures and rammed them down our throats as authentic, Mr. Jonathan became president and so the world did not have to come to an end. But now, in spite of himself, it is governor Sylva’s world, at least in political terms, that is about to come to an abrupt end.
There are more than a dozen reasons why every sensible Nigerian should pay more than cursory attention to the unfolding political shenanigans in Bayelsa state. The first reason of course is the obvious; the president of Nigeria is from Bayelsa state, it is also the fourth largest oil producing state after Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Delta. But more importantly is that the political drama unfolding in Bayelsa state will definitely help to settle the question of Jonathan’s fabled innocence and purity of intent. Second it will also shade very useful light on the ongoing in-house reform embarked upon by the judiciary.
First the Jonathan persona. From his days as deputy governor to DSP Alamieseigha, through former president Umaru Yar’adua illness crisis, so much has been said about President Jonathan’s gentle disposition and unqualified loyalty to whoever is lucky (or unfortunate) to have him as a second in command. The theories and speculations check out with the facts on the ground up to a point. Until his disjointed, incoherent speech trying to rationalize his candidacy in the 2011 presidential contest, Jonathan had cut the picture of a quiet, dignified, inoffensive gentleman that was in sharp contrast to the political turmoil subsisting all around him.
Even after the 2011 presidential elections that gave him a disputed victory, many Nigerians still clung to their idealized image of Mr. Jonathan, insisting that he was a captive of a powerful, ruthless power-grabbing clique over which he could do nothing; that on his own, he probably wouldn’t even have insisted on contesting let alone brazenly rig the election in his favour in the way it was done. His subsequent slow start, frequent gaffes and unimpressive grasp of the basic issues of governance are seen by many as the manifestations of his inexperience and innate goodness which render him vulnerable to the booby-trap of the cynical manipulators that surround him.
But with the unfolding events in the president’s home state of Bayelsa, and the increasing desire of Mr. Sylva to go for broke by confronting the president and his foot soldiers in the state, the stage is set for the entire country now to read the president in his native Ijaw language, devoid of the excuses and the cover that religion and ethnicity have given him before now. Jonathan’s adversary is not the ‘hated, power hungry northern oligarchy’, but a brother from his native Ijawland who gave him almost 100 per cent of the votes from the state when he needed them. The country now has a good chance to know whether the president is a vindictive, dictatorial opportunist about to reveal himself; an irredeemable puppet at the mercy of devious masters; or a cross between both. The starting point in understanding what or who the president is with regards to the Bayelsa crisis is to ask what crime governor Sylva had committed to make him Haram (Arabic for unlawful) as the president’s party, the PDP, flag bearer for next February’s governorship election in the state. There was this allegation that Sylva had threatened to kill the president, an allegation that Sylva had denied; but if this allegation has any credibility, surely the man ought to have been arrested by now? To threaten to kill a president is a treasonable offence and only in Nigeria can it be used so flippantly. There must be something Sylva has done or is not doing that has pitched him against the president. And the more he is pushed to the wall, the greater the possibility for the rest of us to know what it is. It would certainly be interesting to know what is so important about Sylva’s candidacy that with all the problems the president has to contend with, he has to go picking a needless fight in his backyard.
The discovery would be useful to the country in many ways; for the North it would give an insight into Mr. Jonathan’s likely behavior in 2015. This is the morale: if he could do this to Sylva who had helped him to become president, what would he not do to those that opposed him? Already many analysts in the North dismiss Mr. Jonathan’s 2015 promises as empty and risky to believe; how the Bayelsa problem shapes out will certainly provide important yardstick for measuring the president.
And then there is the inevitable involvement of the judiciary. Governor Sylva has managed to secure an injunction from an Abuja High Court which stops the PDP from conducting the primaries. Will the PDP respect the court order, trample on it; or find a way to circumvent it? Last Thursday many influential national dailies reported on their front page that Sylva had secured a court injunction stopping the PDP from conducting the primaries; the next day the same dailies reported the PDP as saying that it would defy the court order on the strength of Section 87 (10) of the Electoral Act. Although this is for the lawyers to sort out, it doesn’t make sense that there is anything in the Nigerian constitution in which a competent court may not intervene. Sylva was reporting an infraction in the way and manner he was barred from contesting for the primaries; surely he has a right to seek redress in the courts?
Anyhow, it is the court now which authority is being challenged by the PDP; how it reacts will in a similar manner indicate whether the judiciary is serious about its ongoing efforts to restore its battered image or, as some die-hard cynics suspect, it is just window dressing and no more.
Finally there is the long term effect; if Sylva is schemed out, as he might well be given the forces against him, would he melt quietly into the crowd, or would the president have succeeded in creating yet another flash point in a nation saturated with deadly flash points scattered everywhere?
.