Abdullahi M. Gulloma
The waiting is over at long last. After what appeared like countless months of speculations and suspense, the proverbial cat is out of the bag. In a ceremony that was as colourful as a carnival, President Goodluck Jonathan threw his hat into the ring of the forth-coming presidential election.
Held at the Eagle Square in Abuja, the long-awaited presidential declaration ceremony was in a manner of speaking, quintessential. From the mammoth crowd to the stylishly decorated venue to the clock-wise precision which characterizes programme’s organization, the unmistakable impression of a well–choreographed show held sway.
Mind you, the Eagle Square has witnessed not a few such top graded events in recent times, including declarations for the presidential race by General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd). But as some of those present at the event didn’t hesitate to declare, this particular event brimmed with the hallmarks of a typical showpiece.
Now, let’s dwell on the programme itself. Out stepped President Goodluck Jonathan to bare his heart to his compatriots on the February 2015 presidential contest. “After seeking the face of God, in quiet reflection with my family, and having listened to the call of our people nationwide to run , I Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan have accepted to represent myself, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, for re-election as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the 2015 general elections,” he declared.
The ovation that accompanied this eagerly-awaited remark is better imagined than told. Chieftains of the governing party and the president’s legion of die-hard supporters alike erupted in frenzied jubilation. Their unbridled excitement is, needless to say, not “suspended animation” for so long. Recall that for nearly two years now, Jonathan and his legal team have been battling sundry political opponents in the law courts; opponents who appeared hell bent on stopping him from contesting the forthcoming poll.
Their argument, interestingly, has nothing to do with issues such as incompetence, poor or non-qualification, or the like. Their opposition is also not based on grounds such as ill-health, judicial indictment or any such thing. Rather, their reason for wanting to halt the president’s re-election bid isanchored on the grounds that having completed the tail part of ex-president Umaru Musa Yar’adua’s tenure, Jonathan is allegedly ineligible to participate in the next election.
Aside from that, speculations had been rife to the effect that the president was ‘reluctant’ to join the contest supposedly because he was ‘afraid.’ But as the man in the centre of that lingering political firework unambiguously declared on Tuesday, his major consideration pertained to the face of God, reflection with family and “the call of our people nationwide.”
Having apparently received positive signals from the Almighty, his family, and the generality of the people, the president did the needful by throwing his hat into the ring. Not only that, he told the gathering that he is doing so with a noble mission and vision.
According to him, just as his administration rose to the challenge of the Ebola epidemic and didn’t relent until the rampaging virus was checkmated beyond expectations (so much so that even global outfits such as the World Health Organisation were falling over themselves to laud the government) he would go the extra mile in the next couple of years if given the people’s mandate come 2015.
Recalling that he has established 150 almajiri schools and 14 new federal universities within barely a few years, as well as eliminating the scourge of fuel scarcity, the president added that “I am convinced that I have served my pact with Nigerians and it’s now time to look into the future.” Although so much has been done in the past three and half years, plenty remains to be done in order to take Nigeria to the Promised Land. With the support (and of course vote) of the people, he will do accordingly.
Among those who said “Amen” to that were ex-Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili; former Minister of Information, Jerry Gana; and PDP Chieftain and erstwhile NPA boss, Bode George, among others. The trio, who represented their respective zones at the presidential declaration, stated that their people were solidly behind Jonathan’s aspiration.
In the same vein, the chairman of the presidential declaration committee, Dr Bello Halliru, and ex-Governor of Sokoto state, Attahiru Bafara, re-echoed their people’s support for the man of the moment. Not to be left out were the PDP state governors, federal legislators and a host of others who stood up to be counted on the side of the president.
Morning, it is said, tells the day. And if the massive support and outpouring of good will on parade at Eagles Square on Tuesday was anything to go by, the omens are obviously bright for the president’s re-election bid.