By Mahmud Jega
http://www.dailytrust.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3038:why-was-this-man-smiling&catid=6:daily-columns&Itemid=6

During the American presidential race of 1992, Time magazine featured a large double-page colour picture of President George Bush Senior at a campaign rally, with his outsize Texas cowboy hat [not unlike the trademark Niger Delta hat currently gaining popularity here]. He was very happy, it seemed, for he was laughing heartily and gesticulating cheerfully to a group of supporters. Yet at that very moment the American economy was nose-diving, the euphoria of the first Gulf War had dissipated and Bush was facing an uphill re-election battle. The picture’s caption, splashed across the page, was “Why is this man smiling?”

Watching last Saturday’s huge political spectacle at Abuja’s Eagle Square on television, I was also impressed by the ecstatic dancers, the wildly cheering “supporters,” the many music bands, some great Nollywood and Kannywood actors, the giant balloons, and the tens of thousands of other men and women who danced and sang and laughed and cheered. In the midst of it was President Goodluck Jonathan who at one point beamed broadly and waved cheerfully. At that point I thought, “Why is this man smiling?”

Now, in this Nigeria, I will like people at all times to be fair. Three days earlier, when General Ibrahim Babangida staged a spectacular ceremony of his own to gun for the same PDP ticket and also had many thousands of people in attendance and many ecstatic dance and music groups, some newspapers and political websites said IBB had “rented a crowd.” There is no agency in Nigeria right now that forces political candidates to disclose the amount of money they spent in a campaign event, but it is reasonable to believe that President Jonathan outspent General Babangida in staging his declaration event. Why hasn’t any website as yet used the “r” word to describe last Saturday’s event? In this Nigeria, how does anyone measure the altruism of men and women who turn up at campaign rallies?

There must be some people in Nigeria who were genuinely happy that President Goodluck Jonathan was seeking election in his own right in 2011. Apart from those who stand to personally benefit from a Jonathan presidency, the most apparent such group would be Niger Delta patriots and activists who feel genuinely happy that a son of the oil-producing area is sitting atop the oil soaked Federal treasury.

Beyond that, what’s the cause of all the excitement? The man at the centre of the event, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, is not an electrifying politician. Even though Jonathan’s stage performance is better than Obasanjo’s and Yar’adua’s combined, he is not a dazzling orator. More substantively, he is not a politician with a grand vision of rule; he has no enviable record in office; and he is allied to the most distrusted man in Nigerian politics, namely Chief Obasanjo. In order to run for the PDP ticket, Jonathan had to surreptitiously upturn a cardinal rule of Nigerian politics, which is zoning; he has upset Igbo presidential calculations; he has antagonised most of the state governors; and he has surrounded himself with many unsavoury AGIP men. So what was the excitement all about?

The most solid reason for the massive turnout last Saturday, including the turn out by many men who were known to be very unhappy with Dr. Jonathan, was that he is the incumbent President, one with massive patronage facilities at his disposal and also with the facility [EFCC and ICPC] for political punishment and the increasing inclination to use it.

Sitting at the centre of the spectacle at Eagles Square, President Jonathan often smiled broadly and waved cheerfully, but at many other moments he looked tense and bewildered. I didn’t blame him. There must be many things that crossed his mind that afternoon to make for a tense feeling.

Where, for example, was the man who started it all, Chief Obasanjo? Many Nigerians believe that Jonathan’s presidency was the culmination of an artful Obasanjo plot by which he handed over power to a Northerner in 2007 but programmed it to return to the South within a few years. [I know that this amounts to ascribing God’s powers to Obasanjo, but that’s what many people are saying]. At least, it was public knowledge that Obasanjo openly campaigned to accelerate a sick Yar’adua’s departure from the presidency last January in order to make way for Jonathan, and was the first to publicly urge the new president to overthrow power rotation and seek the PDP ticket. So why was he not at Eagle Square last Saturday?

Maybe Obasanjo’s absence was reminiscent of President George Bush’s absence from the 2008 Republican Party convention that anointed Senator John McCain; Bush was asked to stay away due to his 28% job approval rating. Obasanjo’s approval rating is close to zero, so who would invite him to a declaration?

Jonathan may have been worried too about the quality, rather than the quantity, of the men and women at the rally. Although one newspaper said “the cream of Nigerian politicians” was there, some alleged that “the scum” of Nigerian politics was more like it. Some of the most recognisable faces were the great old AGIPs. The biggest Northern politicians stayed well away. And many of the men who were the first to fight Jonathan’s pitched political battles earlier this year, namely Senator Ken Nnamani, Alhaji Aminu Masari and Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, have since defected from his camp and were not at Eagle Square.

Probably the most unsettling phenomenon at Eagle Square was the many tongue-in-cheek, neither-here-nor-there, werewolf, evasive, word-scrambler speeches delivered by many of the PDP governors “in support” of the Jonathan aspiration. The Northern governors, majority of whom had earlier voted for zoning [i.e. to stop Jonathan], three of whom had attended General Babangida’s declaration three days earlier, and several of whom refused to wear the Jonathan hat over their flowing gowns, were most visible in this regard. Governors Sule Lamido, Danjuma Goje, Babangida Aliyu, Aliyu Wamakko, Saidu Dakingari, Mamuda Shinkafi and Murtala Nyako all evaded the issue at hand and made evasive speeches, while Southern Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan and Rotimi Amaechi danced around the stage to obscure their stance.

Dr. Jonathan’s speech at the event, described by one newspaper as the best in his political career, said something about the speeches in his career. He listed several achievements of his eight-month-old regime, some of them interesting, others unappealing to say the least. He also made some promises for the next term, none of them very stirring.

President Jonathan however learnt a big lesson from Obasanjo’s disastrous 2002 declaration to seek re-election. Days to that event, Obasanjo’s men had removed all references to an Obasanjo/Atiku ticket; they later restored it, but that was what sowed the seeds of an epic political enmity that still poisons the landscape today. President Jonathan however declared there and then that Vice President Namadi Sambo is his running mate, thus ending newspaper speculations that the VP could be dropped.

Although the president nipped that one in the bud, he shied away from addressing the issue of whether he will serve one term or two terms. In order to neutralise the issue of his age and to reinforce the power rotation idea, IBB had said on Wednesday that he would serve a single four-year term. A similar pledge from Jonathan could have chinked the armour of Northern resistance to his aspiration, but he made no such pledge.

Superintending at a gala event but with enough political worries to kill a horse, I could not but wonder, why was this man smiling?

well said sir.

@jarus
i no fit visit daily trust, my computer lists it as an attack site o

as per article:
so the fact that jonathan didn't make inspiring promises(like 6000MW, constant electricity in 6months etc) is now important abi? personally i dont think there's any candidate better than jonathan so far. . .if it was 2015 i would have voted for ribadu, but as far as i'm concerned the guy is letting all the praise singing get to him.

Jonathan get's my vote simply because i can see he's trying to solve the power problem and i fear another person could come and set us back 4 years. . .he's simply the safest option!

It is also worth noting that both Bush Snr and Johnathan share many things apart from a cowboy cap traditional clothing , their first names that start with the letter G, and their being presidents: They are both from oil producing states on the southern tip of their countries.

@Netotse,
I have always held the belief that all of us cannot have same opinions. And I always respect dissenting views. In fact, if convincing enough, I don't hesitate to swallow my pride and openly declare my shift in view.
So you are very, very free to support GEJ.

I personally just feel Ribadu or Buhari will make a better president. Corruption is a great malady that has eaten deep into our fabric, and I believe, if fought head-on, many other things will fall in place. GEJ doesn't appear to have the ball, to use Nairalanders' common word, to fight corruption. I expect Buhari and Ribadu to do better here.

Two, Buhari is the only consistently principled top political personality in Nigeria today. While others have believed that if you can't beat them, join them, he has consistently gave the ruling party opposition, while the Kalus, Atikus of this world are eating their vomit, moving in and out of rotten PDP.

Furthermore, Buhari is one politician that has clear-cut political and economic ideology of the lot: SLS, writing in 2002, wrote extensively on Buhari's economic ideology:http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/guest-articles/buharism-economic-theory-and-political-economy.html

I also made a case for Buhari-Fashola candidacy here:  http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/opinion/11202-a-case-for-buhari-fashola-candidacy

@jarus
Now that your ideal ribadu is saying that he does not care if his sponsorship comes from corrupt politicians, tell me how he will fight them after using their money to get in?

Your hardline buhari concentrated almost all the PTF (petroleum trust fund) projects in the north in his 4-year reign as PTF boss. Tell me what you call that if it is not corruption? He used his position which was meant for national good to appeal to the talakawas in the north to set the tone for the emergence of his political machinery at the expense of other parts of the country. Or was the fund NTF(NORTHERN TRUST FUND)?

komando7:

It is also worth noting that both Bush Snr and Johnathan share many things apart from a cowboy cap traditional clothing , their first names that start with the letter G, and their being presidents: They are both from oil producing states on the southern tip of their countries.

Wow! This dude be smoking some crazy potent Meth!

netotse:


Jonathan get's my vote simply because i can see he's trying to solve the power problem and i fear another person could come and set us back 4 years. . .he's simply the safest option!

a little too premature imho - remember the seven point agenda and the emergency in the power sector that did not materialize? for me this just comes out as more of the same - election year promises

Jarus:

@Netotse,
I have always held the belief that all of us cannot have same opinions. And I always respect dissenting views. In fact, if convincing enough, I don't hesitate to swallow my pride and openly declare my shift in view.
So you are very, very free to support GEJ.

I personally just feel Ribadu or Buhari will make a better president. Corruption is a great malady that has eaten deep into our fabric, and I believe, if fought head-on, many other things will fall in place. GEJ doesn't appear to have the ball, to use Nairalanders' common word, to fight corruption. I expect Buhari and Ribadu to do better here.

Two, Buhari is the only consistently principled top political personality in Nigeria today. While others have believed that if you can't beat them, join them, he has consistently gave the ruling party opposition, while the Kalus, Atikus of this world are eating their vomit, moving in and out of rotten PDP.

Furthermore, Buhari is one politician that has clear-cut political and economic ideology of the lot: SLS, writing in 2002, wrote extensively on Buhari's economic ideology:

I also made a case for Buhari-Fashola candidacy here:  http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/opinion/11202-a-case-for-buhari-fashola-candidacy

Ribadu doesn't have what it takes yet. . .all he has is the EFCC experience, ruling nigeria is much more than fighting corruption, if it's corruption he want's to fight then the presidency is not the place to fight it. What the president does is provide the political will to do so. . .being president involves a hell of a lot of 'give and take', i dont think Ribadu has reached the stage where he's mature enough to handle being the president of a country like nigeria, the civil service alone would give him enough trouble not to mention the power brokers, Ribadu is still too immature. It's sad though cos just by reading his interviews you can tell the guy is passionate about nigeria.

As for buhari, from the way the guy was talking on the NVS interview, i wasn't impressed, the guy wasn't answering the important questions, im just dey dance up and down the place sha. . .

From all inclinations Jonathan isn't the leader Nigeria needs but then neither are all the other candidates we have on board.

oyb:

a little too premature imho - remember the seven point agenda and the emergency in the power sector that did not materialize? for me this just comes out as more of the same - election year promises

right from the moment Yar Adua(RIP) appointed Fatima balaraba(RIP)(a french graduate even to PG level) as the minister of power i knew he wasn't going to do sh*t, he merely put the power sector reforms on hold and started jumping around. Jonathan's roadmap is merely a continuation of OBJ's power sector reforms(so it's OBJ that'll be giving y'all light in a sense ) Jonathan's plan is what the power sector needs.

Jarus:

@Netotse,
I have always held the belief that all of us cannot have same opinions. And I always respect dissenting views. In fact, if convincing enough, I don't hesitate to swallow my pride and openly declare my shift in view.
So you are very, very free to support GEJ.

I personally just feel Ribadu or Buhari will make a better president. Corruption is a great malady that has eaten deep into our fabric, and I believe, if fought head-on, many other things will fall in place. GEJ doesn't appear to have the ball, to use Nairalanders' common word, to fight corruption. I expect Buhari and Ribadu to do better here.

Two, Buhari is the only consistently principled top political personality in Nigeria today. While others have believed that if you can't beat them, join them, he has consistently gave the ruling party opposition, while the Kalus, Atikus of this world are eating their vomit, moving in and out of rotten PDP.

Furthermore, Buhari is one politician that has clear-cut political and economic ideology of the lot: SLS, writing in 2002, wrote extensively on Buhari's economic ideology:

I also made a case for Buhari-Fashola candidacy here: http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/opinion/11202-a-case-for-buhari-fashola-candidacy

My brother, I am not sure Ribadu is contesting any election. He is a pseudo-candidate and a tool acting out the script spelt out to him by OBJ[FG]. Go and check how and the timing of his re-entrance into the country after his awol.

If only Buhari has the logistics, we would have seen the most interesting political battle of our time. However, I am still hoping that he will re-energise his campaign.

janus05:


My brother, I am not sure Ribadu is contesting any election. He is a pseudo-candidate and a tool acting out the script spelt out to him by OBJ[FG]. Go and check how and the timing of his re-entrance into the country after his awol.

If only Buhari has the logistics, we would have seen the most interesting political battle of our time. However, I am still hoping that he will re-energise his campaign.

Ribadu has declared today. I saw his advert inside The Nation newspaper of today under AC banner.

@jarus
Now that your ideal ribadu is saying that he does not care if his sponsorship comes from corrupt politicians, tell me how he will fight them after using their money to get in?

Your hardline buhari concentrated almost all the PTF (petroleum trust fund) projects in the north in his 4-year reign as PTF boss. Tell me what you call that if it is not corruption? He used his position which was meant for national good to appeal to the talakawas in the north to set the tone for the emergence of his political machinery at the expense of other parts of the country. Or was the fund NTF(NORTHERN TRUST FUND)?

Nice article . . . I do hope the writer has one leg out of Nigeria cause boys fit yari cause of this ooo!!! lol

Mahmud Jega(Daily trust columnist) is the brother of Attahiru Jega(Inec Chairman)

is that a question or a statement?

One of the best articles I've read from Daily Trust. Truly rich.
Interesting paragraph:

Probably the most unsettling phenomenon at Eagle Square was the many tongue-in-cheek, neither-here-nor-there, werewolf, evasive, word-scrambler speeches delivered by many of the PDP governors “in support” of the Jonathan aspiration. [/b]The Northern governors, majority of whom had earlier voted for zoning [i.e. to stop Jonathan], three of whom had attended General Babangida’s declaration three days earlier, and several of whom refused to wear the Jonathan hat over their flowing gowns, were most visible in this regard. [b]Governors Sule Lamido, Danjuma Goje, Babangida Aliyu, Aliyu Wamakko, Saidu Dakingari, Mamuda Shinkafi and Murtala Nyako all evaded the issue at hand and made evasive speeches, while Southern Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan and Rotimi Amaechi danced around the stage to obscure their stance.

I'm laughing heartily.

Jarus:

By Mahmud Jega
http://www.dailytrust.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3038:why-was-this-man-smiling&catid=6:daily-columns&Itemid=6

and he is allied to the most distrusted man in Nigerian politics, namely Chief Obasanjo. In order to run for the PDP ticket, Jonathan had to surreptitiously upturn a cardinal rule of Nigerian politics, which is zoning; he has upset Igbo presidential calculations; he has antagonised most of the state governors; and he has surrounded himself with many unsavoury AGIP men. So what was the excitement all about?

Irrespective of my view on Jonathan which is well noted on this site, i wish to vehemently refute the bold part shown above.
Zoning is no cardial rule of Nigerian politics.
It is a device created by the thieving elite as an attempt to ensure that the loot goes round.
The common man is unconcerned where his president comes from.What we care about is a man that would arrest our steep decline and perpetual lack of direction as a country.
What we care for is a president who will not only have a plan but have the will to execute the plan.
What we care for are intelligent men and women who will address corruption in its totality and lead by example.
What we care for is a man that will surround himself with men who love this country and have something tangible to contribute to its development without being naive of the danger of the barbarians that have held us hostage for almost 60 years.
Most Nigerians do not care where that man or woman comes from.

Jarus:

@Netotse,
I have always held the belief that all of us cannot have same opinions. And I always respect dissenting views. In fact, if convincing enough, I don't hesitate to swallow my pride and openly declare my shift in view.
So you are very, very free to support GEJ.

I personally just feel Ribadu or Buhari will make a better president. Corruption is a great malady that has eaten deep into our fabric, and I believe, if fought head-on, many other things will fall in place. GEJ doesn't appear to have the ball, to use Nairalanders' common word, to fight corruption. I expect Buhari and Ribadu to do better here.

Two, Buhari is the only consistently principled top political personality in Nigeria today. While others have believed that if you can't beat them, join them, he has consistently gave the ruling party opposition, while the Kalus, Atikus of this world are eating their vomit, moving in and out of rotten PDP.

Furthermore, Buhari is one politician that has clear-cut political and economic ideology of the lot: SLS, writing in 2002, wrote extensively on Buhari's economic ideology:

I also made a case for Buhari-Fashola candidacy here: http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/opinion/11202-a-case-for-buhari-fashola-candidacy

Ribadu has begun to believe his own hype.
While i do not discount his little experience, i think more is needed to govern this country.
However, if Jonathan can rule(without any sterling experience), so can he.
However, i feel 2011 might be too early for him.
It would not be too bad if he got involved in government and build a more concrete platform.
2015 might be better for him.

Irrespective of the general misgivings about Buhari, i think he is the only one out of the lot who has the will (but i doubt he has the plan).
However, i don't think he will win.
He does not have the financial capacity needed to counter the negative publicity that awaits him or to mount the expensive campaign needed to win.
I don't want to waste my vote, so who do i vote for?

mbulela:

Irrespective of my view on Jonathan which is well noted on this site, i wish to vehemently refute the bold part shown above.
Zoning is no cardial rule of Nigerian politics.
It is a device created by the thieving elite as an attempt to ensure that the loot goes round.
The common man is unconcerned where his president comes from.What we care about is a man that would arrest our steep decline and perpetual lack of direction as a country.
What we care for is a president who will not only have a plan but have the will to execute the plan.
What we care for are intelligent men and women who will address corruption in its totality and lead by example.
What we care for is a man that will surround himself with men who love this country and have something tangible to contribute to its development without being naive of the danger of the barbarians that have held us hostage for almost 60 years.
Most Nigerians do not care where that man or woman comes from.

I beg to disagree here, my oga. As you know, I'm a mid-way person, not a dyed-in-the-wool critic. Conservative radicalism is my political ideology.
The reality we are shying away from in Nigeria is that given our very heterogenous and mutually-competing society, zoning may be inevitable.
Get me right, I believe having the best man for the job, irrespective of his region, is the best for any society, but I'm not sure that can happen now -or even in the foreseeable future- given our very complex society.

In advanced democracies, this may not be an issue, but at this stage of Nigeria's democracy, we may not be able to shy away from this reality. I personally don't see anything wrong in moulding our democracy to take care of our peculiar complexity.

Zoning is an unwritten part of Nigeria's system.
Two examples:
1, In 1999, all the parties(APP & PDP) fielded South-Westerners as presidential candidates for the simple reason that it was obvious that it was teh turn of somebody from SW then. Everybody impliedly agrees.

2, As we prepare for 2011, no Yoruba person is showing interest in presidency(except Dele Momodu), for the obvious reason that everybody agrees that Obj has spent our term and it is the turn of other region. Subtly, we are all agreeing that there should be rotation.
This said, I only pointed out the above to show that Mahmud is correct to state that zoning is a cardinal, though unwritten, principle in Nigeria's politics, my anti-GEJ stance doesn't stem from the issue of zoning. In fact, guys like Pat Utomi and Donald Duke are better presidential materials than GEJ, and they are not from the North.

mbulela:

I don't want to waste my vote, so who do i vote for?

Same dilemma here. But I'll rather waste my vote for Buhari or Ribadu than vote PDP. My campaign now is OPERATION FLUSH OUT PDP

@jarus

I have asked you questions pertaining to your choice candidate and you seem to be ignoring it.

Kindly explain why you said pat utomi is better than GEJ? Is it about patito's gang? what has he managed that has not crumbled. please be straight forward here.

I have said it before and i will repeat, Buhari remains good as a northern president and not  a nigerian president of northern extraction(note the difference). His days as PTF helsman speak volumes to watchers like us from the south.

Ribadu did well in EFCC ,but has a very dangerous temperament for  an office as high as the  president of this country. Besides, as important as the anti-corruption war is, it does not cover all our very critical calls as a nation. Besides he has said he does not care about the integrity of his backers as the money they will donate will not be for his personal use. This in my view is discounts his major selling point. Now tell me if he will still have the will to prosecute some of these known thieves if he gets voted in?

Kindly explain why you said pat utomi is better than GEJ? Is it about patito's gang? what has he managed that has not crumbled. please be straight forward here.

He is not tied to any OBJ, can take independent decisions, more assertive

I have said it before and i will repeat, Buhari remains good as a northern president and not a nigerian president of northern extraction(note the difference). His days as PTF helsman speak volumes to watchers like us from the south.

What did he do? People say more of PTF projects are directed to the north. I will like to have specific comparison of how those projects were distributed.

Ribadu did well in EFCC ,but has a very dangerous temperament for an office as high as the president of this country. Besides, as important as the anti-corruption war is, it does not cover all our very critical calls as a nation. Besides he has said he does not care about the integrity of his backers as the money they will donate will not be for his personal use. This in my view is discounts his major selling point. Now tell me if he will still have the will to prosecute some of these known thieves if he gets voted in

I believe he should. He has shown passion for the progress of this country more than anybody. If Tinubu sponsors him, there is absolutely no problem with that. There is virtually no single political personality that doesn't have a tainted record. Should he now say because of that he doesnt want to associate with any party/politician?The Tinubus of this world are still better than the GEJ backers. At least, we saw his works in Lagos, even if he embezzled too.

@na_so

The PTF awarded contracts in the south, the only problem was those the contracts were awarded to people who chopped the money, one of the PTF contracts was the dualization of the Ibadan - Ilesha road, that was a 120Km road awarded by the PTF to RCC. The man who really ran the PTF was a Benin man, why did he not influence more projects towards the south. I believe the PH - Enugu expressway was also meant to be upgraded then, but, the guy given the contracts did not do a good job.

@Jarus,

Pat Utomi is a nonentity jare, he should continue to host the Patito's gang, he will influence more people that way. We need people like Fashola who know how to build consensus and work under difficult circumstances to be the President of Nigeria in a couple of years.

hercules07:

@na_so

The PTF awarded contracts in the south, the only problem was those the contracts were awarded to people who chopped the money, one of the PTF contracts was the dualization of the Ibadan - Ilesha road, that was a 120Km road awarded by the PTF to RCC. The man who really ran the PTF was a Benin man, why did he not influence more projects towards the south. I believe the PH - Enugu expressway was also meant to be upgraded then, but, the guy given the contracts did not do a good job.

abi o. because the man that headed PTF was Hausa, people failed to see all that.

Jarus:

abi o. because the man that headed PTF was Hausa, people failed to see all that.

Buhari is Fulani.

There is no problem with Hausa people at all. It is their overlords that are the problem.
The people giving Nigeria two week ultimatums before unleashing untold mayhem (because they are losing control of PDP) are not Hausa; they are Fulani. The most vociferous proponents of zoning today are not Hausa, they are Fulani. The people that have ruled Nigeria most are not Hausa, they are Fulani. The people threatening to tear the country apart today, out of a very primitive level of tribalism are not Hausa, they are Fulani.

Beaf:

Buhari is Fulani.

i knew that for sure, just used 'hausa' in that statement to mean 'northerner' as is commonly, though erroneoulsy used. (hausa, ibo, yoruba).

hercules07

@na_so

The PTF awarded contracts in the south, the only problem was those the contracts were awarded to people who chopped the money, one of the PTF contracts was the dualization of the Ibadan - Ilesha road, that was a 120Km road awarded by the PTF to RCC. The man who really ran the PTF wa'ss a Benin man, why did he not influence more projects towards the south. I believe the PH - Enugu expressway was also meant to be upgraded then, but, the guy given the contracts did not do a good job.

Bros abeg let this your excuse not show up again.
Buhari's condition for accepting the PTF offer against popular expectation was that Abacha was not going to interfere in its running. PTF was a government within Abacha's govt. If Buhari as a leader gives contracts in Benin or PH to an indegene,then the indegene can just pocket the money and our no-nonsense anti corruption general says "ok since the project was meant for your people you can keep the money it is your peopel that will suffer",is that how it is done? That is what i call gross imcompetence on buhari's part.

The problem is that even in the official AWARD of contracts showed gross lopsidedness to the detriment of the southern part of the country  that lays the golden egg:

The truth is that Buhari ran a clearly lopsided organisation with its plethora of consultants concentrated in the northern parts of the country. This issue of disparity in project execution was one of the reasons critics of the Fund kicked against it. The imbalance in PTF distribution of projects and award of contracts is so glaring when one views the North-West Zone against other zones. The South-Eastern Zone is worst hit by the lopsidedness of the Fund in projects selection and execution.

For example, contracts awarded by PTF in the six zones as at December 1998 revealed that the zone made up of Jigawa, Kaduna Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara state grabed the lion share of all the four projects. Road rehabilitation 27.42 per cent, Education sector (NHERP) 34.82 per cent, Education sector (HEMPP) 30.64 per cent. Health sector 55.37 per cent, Food supply 60.54 per cent. This is against zone , made up of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo State, having 5.34 per cent, 4.04 per cent, 10.57 per cent, 6.53 per cent, 4.02 per cent, respectively.


Also Zone VI, made up of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo Rivers, state had 8.07 per cent 19.48 per cent, 13.77 per cent 13.26 per cent 5.57 per cent in same order. Even zone I made up of the six western state Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo Osun and Oyo States did not fare better when compared with the zones in the northern states. The injustice of PTF in the case of Lagos is particularly more disturbing, when it is considered that Lagos is the economic nerve centre of the country.


http://1and1.thisdayonline.com/archive/2002/03/10/20020310cov02.html

Jarus:

abi o. because the man that headed PTF was Hausa, people failed to see all that.

Jarus you don fall my hand big time. So when your man Buhari becomes president , ones he gives a contract to an indegene for the good of a community,if the man likes he should execute the contract , after all it is his people that will suffer. Is that it? PTF was a parallel govt within the govt of our maximum ruler Abacha .

Now as touching the statitics of the award of contracts which you asked for, i have posted it above and i will repeat again

The truth is that Buhari ran a clearly lopsided organisation with its plethora of consultants concentrated in the northern parts of the country. [b]This issue of disparity in project execution was one of the reasons critics of the Fund kicked against it. The imbalance in PTF distribution of projects and award of contracts is so glaring when one views the North-West Zone against other zones. The South-Eastern Zone is worst hit by the lopsidedness of the Fund in projects selection and execution.

For example, contracts awarded by PTF in the six zones as at December 1998 revealed that the zone made up of Jigawa, Kaduna Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara state grabed the lion share of all the four projects. Road rehabilitation 27.42 per cent, Education sector (NHERP) 34.82 per cent, Education sector (HEMPP) 30.64 per cent. Health sector 55.37 per cent, Food supply 60.54 per cent. This is against zone , made up of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo State, having 5.34 per cent, 4.04 per cent, 10.57 per cent, 6.53 per cent, 4.02 per cent, respectively.


Also Zone VI, made up of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo Rivers, state had 8.07 per cent 19.48 per cent, 13.77 per cent 13.26 per cent 5.57 per cent in same order. Even zone I made up of the six western state Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo Osun and Oyo States did not fare better when compared with the zones in the northern states. The injustice of PTF in the case of Lagos is particularly more disturbing, when it is considered that Lagos is the economic nerve centre of the country.[/b]

http://1and1.thisdayonline.com/archive/2002/03/10/20020310cov02.html

@na_so,

Let us agree that he was lopsided with the road rehabilitation contracts (Buhari and the Executive Secretary), can you break down the Health and Education sector for us. The reason for this is to find out the Federal facilities in those zones versus the other zones before the contracts were given out, hell, can we have the same for road rehabilitation?

@na_so

Also can we have the amounts spent per zones? Percentages can be funny.

Na_so, that was a really brilliant quote. That Buhari of a man has no place in modern Nigeria, he is part of the old brigade that has wrecked this country. We need them out for good.