JONATHAN IS NO LONGER A HERO

 Its really sad i couldn't reach out to my psychologist friend in good time before writing this piece.I had hoped to upgrade my layman status by getting a detailed explanation on the 'Sub-Emotions' that arose from a 'Parent' Emotion;Joy which was experienced by a majority of Nigerians after General Muhammadu Buhari was declared winner of the March Presidential Election.Especially the part where a lot of people were joyous to the extent of feeling sympathy towards someone they set out against after achieving their aim.
A lot of Nigerians (including yours truly) labelled President Jonathan a hero for overseeing a free and fair election and for conceding defeat.I can't be authoritative in the least but with a clearer head now,I think we were just happy to see him leave and nothing more.
We had grown tired of hearing tales of having the best economy in Africa and being shown impressive figures without a commensurate betterment in the life of the average Nigerian.We were tired of watching people steal huge sums of our money and going scotfree.
Perhaps there is an explanation for our acclaiming him a hero only when we were certain we had shown him the exit.
However,we shouldn't be too hard on ourselves, perhaps a lot of thoughts embedded in our psyche led to that conclusion.He didn't join the PDP Governors who vehemently opposed the Card Reader and the war against the Boko Haram Insurgency had started to yield the desired results for the very first time.
But I will tell you what a hero would have done.A hero would address the nation himself in detail on the non-payment of salaries in some states and the fuel scarcity plaguing us at the moment.

Some time in March this year, Okonjo Iweala, the finance and co-ordinating Minister of the Economy told us the Fuel scarcity was more down to Pipeline Vandalism and logistics than non-payment of Marketers and made us believe the 'little' problems they had with them were almost resolved.
The marketers are said to be owed over N200 Billion and with no respite in sight,a hero would not only tell us how he intends to tackle this problem but how we got here in the first place directly.If not for anything but for the fact that the only plausible explanation given till date is one by the APC Spokesman,Lai Mohammed who claimed the Jonathan administration had looted the $12 billion domestic gas fund and that is why it can't pay the Marketers.
Even if a hero doesn't suddenly start telling the truth overnight,he would at least ensure he bows out with his head held high by going the extra-mile to alleviate our sufferings or at least show he cares.
The President-Elect has reportedly met with the marketers to try and reach an amicable resolution and quite honestly I feel for General Muhammadu Buhari.He is assuming Office when the Nation is in its worst state in years.With a budget that isn't his,the least the outgoing administration could do is hand him its handover notes in good time to enable him hit the ground running but No.He won't receive them till May 28th;a day before he is sworn-in.
It would take some time to study those voluminous notes and map out first steps as decisive as the present unfavourable climate would permit.Late submission no doubt amounts to another spanner in the works.
The remarkable last minute dislodgement and crippling of the Boko Haram insurgents was the tiny shred holding Jonathan's 'Hero' status together and with the recent spate of bombings and capture of Marte by Boko Haram in the dying seconds of his administration,it has since given way.
We will all bid him farewell come May 29th 2015 but I don't think anyone would truly mean it if they refer to him as a hero.

PDP & APC :LIFE AFTER 'CHANGE'

"Because things are the way they are,things will not stay the way they are"-Bertolt Bretcht

Even the most efficient of anemometers would find it hard to place the exact speed at which the winds of change have blown across our great nation.Just two Saturdays ago,a party that has ruled us for 16 years and prided itself as the only true 'National Party' was banished with applause for its matured concession of defeat as its only farewell gift.On second thought, I would call it a storm.A storm too strong for an umbrella. 
Nigerians have finally gotten the change they have been yearning for and it came in the form of the APC.
This 'Change' has charted new courses for our two most prominent parties-The APC and The PDP.When a majority of all other parties worthy of mention formed the APC on the 6th of February 2013 in a bid to end the PDP's (Mis)rule,not a few people predicted a break-up before the elections because of the ego packed in the average Nigerian Politician.

It held on remarkably well and grew in leaps and bounds even after the Influx of the nPDP members armed not only with their own egos but also with GMGs (Ghana must Gos) and the party has now earned the fruits of its labour.
Due credit must go to its leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for his role.A lot of people admire his tenacity and never waivering commitment to the deal reportedly brokered during its formation-GMB for the Presidential ticket and he to man the affairs of the party.No mean feat considering the calibre of gentlemen that threw their hats into the presidential race and the ones in the DNA of the Party Structure.Having reached its goal of grabbing the centre,a greater task lies ahead and that is running the party after success.
A thorough review of GMB's political career will prove he doesn't dabble into party affairs if he can avoid it.It didn't come as a suprise to many when he distanced himself from the Current Senate Presidency and House Speakership imbroglio.With the many alliances,adoptions and renouncements going on,you wouldn't want to be Asiwaju right now.
He is saddled with the onerous task of overseeing a Party portraying itself as capable of developing cracks in the shortest possible time and a President-Elect who seems to have a 'Do Not Disturb' tag on his door knob.GMB has always been his own man and doesn't quite strike you as one who would concede easily to what doesn't sit well with him to allow peace reign.He has already fired a warning shot by turning down a ministerial list reportedly sent by the APC Governors.
The very same attributes the APC composed songs about could very well turn out to be what will haunt its members.With a leader who seems more concerned about his duty to the Nigerian people than the Concept of the 'Ideal Party Man', and one cautious about throwing his weight around in key party affairs in the typical fashion of the Nigerian political heavyweight, it would take the very best leadership skills to keep the troops united and happy.

In the great words of Winston Churchill-"The problems of Victory are more agreeable than those of defeat but they are no less difficult".Welcome to the real world APC,Change is indeed here.
The PDP on the other hand was always going to find it rough coping with its new status; the Watch dog or Opposition in Common terms.The finger-pointing and blame-trading was expected but the absurdity and intensity accompanying them is what wasn't.We wake up to hear that GEJ has demanded that all unused campaign funds be returned to the party's coffers one day and that there is evidence of the NWC of the party disbursing those funds among themselves the next.Then the most outrageous of them all; Fayose alleging the Party Chairman sold the party out to the APC.
The President seems frustrated behind the scenes and the Party Chairman seems the chosen scapegoat.
The PDP certainly hasn't been handling defeat well.However,GEJ must understand his last actions as Party leader have far-reaching consequences.The fact that he still can't convince the party to make him BOT chairman is a pointer to that fact.
Adamu Muazu is unpopular with the PDP faithful at the moment and looks set for the exit with Liyel Imoke,the out-going Cross-Rivers State Governor being touted as his likely successor.With GEJ's BOT aspiration as good as shot down,whole sale changes to the way the party is run is expected.
Quite a number of prominent members have come out to say that much.
By my calculation,the South West should produce the next party Chairman but Imoke is most favoured in the event of a Mu'azu exit; a pointer to the fact that the new major players in the party; the South-East and South-South will make that status count.
The two chairmen who have served under GEJ spent more time keeping him happy than overseeing the affairs of the party with one managing to cause them irreparable damage.Whether or not the party appreciates the importance of appointing a 'Mobilizer' remains to be seen; One capable of ensuring no one gets disgruntled by the implications of the shift in power base for starters.
Its a good thing there hasn't been massive defection to the APC in their ranks, at least not yet.
The winds of change have blown,leaving a few things upturned in both parties in its wake.Things are not the same.