BY REV FR GERALD NWAFOR
A titled man cannot go back to his vomit (Onye Nze ada-agbusia lachalukwa). The problem with this proverb is the subject and object subscription and appendage. We have down the ages ascribed to people who are hoi polloi the title of being ‘honorable.’ The fact that you won an election to represent a particular group of people does not make you honorable or a titled man. A titled man/honorable man should live above board and should be an example to copy. Some days ago, I watched the interview with the former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Mr. Emeka Anyaoku. You can see and feel the complete example and embodiment of what it means to be a noble, titled, and honorable man.
I hope the former president of Nigeria, His Excellency Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, will remain in this space of being honorable. I heard, and I saw his visit to the current president of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I do not place judgment on that since we are free to visit anyone at anytime; but the outcome of your visit may not be perceived as palatable by the public, looking at the trajectory of the current political space in Nigeria, where one man wants to cling on to power.
This article is not about rumor or scare tactics; it is about facts and reality. Goodluck Jonathan, I speak to you directly. Since APC came to power, they have not kept one promise to the people. Whatever they told you today is for political maneuvering and for you to connive and agree with them; if you do, it means that you do not have the good of the people at heart in the first place. Whatever you discuss with the current president, you should not join the 2027 presidential race. You should be advising the political opponents and participants to think about the good of the people and use their common sense to vote for the best candidate. For you to join the race at this moment in time is a clear miscalculation on your part and on the part of the general public who has held you in high esteem. You should be wise enough to know that APC will not keep any promise they make to you, but rather, with even the slightest understanding of reality, it is going to be a case of the popular Nigerian slang “USE AND DUMP.” The public who stood by you since 2014 would be utterly disappointed to see you participate in anything that would seem to help this government stay in power. I cannot advise you since you know more than most people because of your position, but I also believe that you can see and hear the cry and the heartbeat of the Nigerian people.
The Nigerian people have suffered for so long under the current president. He was the arrowhead that called your government clueless and was in the forefront to destabilize your government and rained abuse on you. In 2019, you tried to unseat this government by joining forces with the PDP to campaign for Atiku. I continue to ask you what has changed so that you will listen to this government?. Our people say that no one allows the same stick to pierce his eyes twice (Onye ma ife ada-ekwe ka ofu osisi dua nya na-anya ugbolo abuo). APC has used you once. I will say shame on them, but if you would allow them to use you again, I will say shame on you. I do not see a pathway between you and APC. The party has lied its way up to power, and for you to do anything to help them remain in power would be a disservice to the suffering people of Nigeria. Please maintain the noble height you have achieved by helping many African countries to conduct a credible election. Do not allow your earned honor to be thrown to the pigs because of greed. Anything that APC promised you cannot surpass the position you have held as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Do not buy into their lies and deceit. A party with 31 governors, the judiciary, the legislators, and the wealth of Nigeria under their belt, why do they need you? Look beyond whatever their mouth is saying, see them for who they are.
Shall I start giving examples of what they fought you for, and how they have done the same thing over and over again? When you were in power, the price of PMS (Primum moto spirit) was 87 Naira; today it’s 1,300 Naira. Should any fortune teller inform you that something is really wrong? I beg you with all the blood in me, please stay out of politics in 2027, or the good name you have made for yourself will evaporate in one swoop of a bad judgment. The party you will be joining is in disarray, which is the handiwork of the APC. So, which faction of the PDP will you be joining when your kinsman has succeeded in destroying the party.
Finally, we have seen the end of ADC and all the plots they have against Peter Obi. The proverb said that when a conman makes a basket of evil to capture the good man, the basket will capture the conman himself (Onye aghugho kpasia nkata okpudo onye aghugho). Whatever Atiku, Amaechi, Arigbesola, and David Mark planned to do to Peter Obi when they lured him to ADC will happen to them. They do not want Obi to have a platform where he can contest for the position of the president of Nigeria. We are keenly watching the political drama unfolding in the Nigerian space. Bala Gombe will not allow ADC to present any presidential candidate, and Amachi and Atiku can lick their wounds. If APC can buy all the governors of the southeast, both past and present, I am sure their bribery power is unlimited. When I see Senator Ngige and Governor Sullivan signing on your mandate, we stand, I realized that it is not easy to remain in a state of dignity for too long.
How can anyone in Nigeria today endorse what is going on in the political space? Inflation is in the range of 50%, the standard of living is at its lowest point, and the mortality rate is very high for both infants and adults. How can you tell me that with the level of insecurity in the country, someone is visiting the president negotiating on how to help him remain in power for another 4 years? Maybe I am missing something. Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, I would say that a word is enough for the wise. A stitch in time saves nine. Be the wiseman you are and do not allow yourself to be used to destroy the Nigeria you have helped to build since your time as deputy governor of Bayelsa to your days as president of Nigeria.
