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DAVE UMAHI: A sleazy endorsement

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….2019 - A boring dance

By Joseph Edgar…
I just woke up to this proclamation. I have been in sleepy Uyo for some time now at a secondary School reunion where we have been pencilled down to meet with the governor, Udom Emmanuel. In expectation of a prime statement from His Excellency, I have been delaying putting out anything hoping that fall out of that meeting would provide enough material for my next submission.

As I survey the various online platforms for my daily fix of news, I stumble on this proclamation which in my sleepy eyes can best be termed as infantile and hollow, not wanting to sound antagonistic.

Engineer Dave Umahi, the oft silent governor of dour Ebonyi State, in the euphoria of an expected visit to his state by the President has come out with a statement that literary endorses the President for a second term despite the fact that they both belong to different parties and that his own party is also gearing up to throw a contender that would most likely vie for the same position.

Read also: The monkey business they call governance

This statement throws up two things – the sycophantic nature of our politics and the non-existence of an ideological bedrock guiding political decisions. What we see is a fluid flow of players and policies guided by nothing but short term materialistic gains usually for the benefit of the actor and not for the greeter good.

As I write, I am baffled at my level of lethargy regarding this position and my non surprise at such a childish and prudish statement which is so wrong at all levels. Not that I have anything against a second term for President Buhari. In fact, upon a cursory survey of potential candidates, I would jump into the ring and immediately run to Buhari’s corner and cower there.

But that said, one would have expected a much more principled position and strong logic backing this position. Like I have said, I remained untouched and almost frozen from my low expectation because what we have as political players are mercenaries who lack the depth and conviction to lead a renaissance.

Let us look at the statement. He has said that the only reason why he would be supporting a second term is simply because the President is on his first term and as such is entitled to a second term because just like him, he too would be wishing himself a second term and as such cannot wish the President otherwise. For this reason our Governor, who is a political leader has endorsed a candidate who is not in his party and whose policies on critical elements of our socio economic development he has not bothered to x-ray in reaching his decision.

As we say on the streets, ‘na wa’’. This is so wrong at all levels and begets bile by all well-read and deep watchers of our politics. Governor Umahi did not base his soliloquy on any concrete analysis, not the President’s performance on the Economy, Health, Infrastructure; not even on how the President’s performance has positively impacted his state but simply because he has wished himself that, and as such the Buhari must also wish himself a second term.

So this is how we would be regaled from the soap box with the very cogent justification for a second term with the ‘’eurakaistic’’ proclamation while running semi naked from his bath room in his Ebonyi Government House that he has found a solution to the upcoming 2019 wahala – a Buhari second term for the simple fact that he has wished it and not based on any concrete achievement. Once again, Na Wa for Umahi. I hail o, bros.

 

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0 Comments

  1. seyi jelili

    November 10, 2017 at 10:39 am

    Nigeria politics lacks ideology ,no definition or clear cut policies or what they intend doing for the electorates, Nigeria, I dey hail o, we just dey sail

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