Like 'Aduke' would always let Nigerians know in 'The Masquerade' television drama of years gone by, "NEPA or no NEPA, Aduke is on." So Icheoku says 'defeating Boko Haram or no defeating Boko Haram' and 'writing new Constitution or no writing new Constitution', the election should and must go, because with or without 'President Jonathan, Nigeria will go on and survive.
Icheoku bemoans that Nigerians have heard this line of argument before where an incumbent president or head of state thinks that he is the panacea for all Nigeria's problem and without him, Nigeria will just evaporate? As a result, they start devising all manners of ruse to hoodwink Nigerians into allowing them to elongate their tenure in office. From Ibrahim Babangida's never ending transition to political governance to Olusegun Obasanjo's third term agenda to the now Jonathan's alleged plans to use the issue of security and constitution writing to further delay a referendum on his style of governance? Icheoku says Nigerians will similarly reject this latest Jonathan's ploy as they did in the past with other former sit-tight seeking leaders.
Icheoku hereby, therefore, categorically rejects any attempt to defer or postpone or even delay the forthcoming Elections 2015 including the presidency. It would amount to the highest travesty which would be resisted by Nigerians in the loudest and most consequential manner. Nigerians would not stand nor tolerate any version of a third term agenda or for anyone including President Jonathan to surreptitiously hold on to power without due process of an election. If President Jonathan feels that he has delivered enough democracy dividends to Nigerians to warrant his reelection, he should have nothing to fear standing for an election to enable Nigerians decide his grades on this question accordingly.
Icheoku maintains that Boko Haram insecurity problem is Nigerians' general business and not something uniquely personal to only President Jonathan. As a result, whosoever becomes the next president of Nigeria would dutifully continue the fight to free Nigerians of this scourge, so President Jonathan does not need to remain in office for the prosecution of the war against Boko Haram to continue or to successfully conclude. The war against insurgency in Nigeria started long before President Jonathan was sworn in and would, if need be, linger on long after President Jonathan completes his tenure. President Obasanjo was prosecuting the war against Niger Delta terrorists before President Umaru Yar'Adua came in to finally work out a deal with those river-rine terrorists. Similarly President Umaru Yar'Adua did not ask not to die because he has to first finish the war on Boko Haram?
Icheoku says what if President Jonathan suddenly drops off from the face of the earth or the dreaded Ebola magically arrests him or something nasty happens to him, does it mean that Nigeria will fold up because the "Messiah Jonathan" is no more? Before him there were presidents and heads of states and long after him there will still be a retinue of presidents and leaders of Nigeria. As the popular saying among the military goes, 'soldier come, soldier go but the barracks remains open.' Icheoku says since Nigeria will not peter out in the absence of Jonathan, no reason whatsoever, therefore, justifies or should be tolerated for not holding the forthcoming election 2015 as and when due. Nigerians will not accept any attempt to truncate their democracy by acts of selfish individuals capable of inciting the polity or force the boots of the khaki boys back out again.
President Jonathan is not Nigeria nor is Nigeria President Jonathan; he is merely a president, doing his time and it is a constitutionally mandated limited time. If Boko Haram was his priority, he would have long time ago made it so and put all needed resources to get the mission accomplished before now? If writing a new constitution was a priority of his government, he would have inaugurated the Constitutional Conference long time ago in his six year term and by now their recommendations including writing a new constitution would have since been 'mission accomplished' too. So these clever by half plots would not sell nor would they be bought by Nigerians as reason enough why the 2015 election would not hold as scheduled.
Icheoku says the Constitutional Conference was a Nigerians' affair, carried out by Nigerians and not President Jonathan's personal matter. Therefore their recommendations are that of Nigerians and any future Nigerian president is duty bound and obligated to follow it through. Icheoku therefore admonishes President Jonathan and his kitchen cabinet to beware and to jettison any idea whatsoever geared at aborting the forthcoming 2015 elections.
No president ever finishes or completes all his stated goals while in office, the reason governance is a continuum as the next government almost always builds on the preceding government. Whatever is left by an outgoing government would be completed by the incoming government; therefore President Jonathan must not and should not fly this ominous kite of an apparent illegal tenure elongation through the back channel by reason of "fighting Boko Haram" or "writing a new constitution?"
Icheoku warns that an attempt by the Jonathan's government to doubt Nigerians absolute resolve to vote their conscience come 2015, will result in possibly having no Nigeria left to use such a new constitution. The good news for President Jonathan however is that as things currently stands, the APC has no viable presidential candidate to pose any real threat to Jonathan's victory come 2015. Icheoku repeats, unequivocally and without mincing words, that both Abubakar Atiku and Muhammadu Buhari are politically too damaged to constitute any serious challenge to President Jonathan's reelection victory in 2015. Icheoku concludes that Election 2015 must go on and as scheduled, with the ONLY acceptable exception being the skies over Nigeria tumbling down and completely annihilating and obliterating the entity called Nigeria! Icheoku says to hell with any form of tenure elongation, in ELECTION 2015, we trust!
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