By Dele Momodu

As I write this piece, Nigeria is still without a functioning President. The regularity of our President’s disappearing acts reminds me of Ola Rotimi’s play, Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again. In this case, it is our country that has actually gone a bit neurotic. Or how can one explain the fact that some Nigerians are afraid of discussing the state of our President’s health, and by extension the state of our dear nation, as if it’s some sort of heresy. Since our President became invisible to radar detection, no one has been able to explain why a critically-ill President would continue to keep the keys of Aso Rock in far-away Saudi Arabia.

Our ever-loyal Vice President has been left in a state of stupor. I watched him on television the other day, as he struggled to act the part of a man in control of nothing. Some visitors were in his residence to pay homage to him during the Eid kabir festival. He was dressed in an all white outfit with a white cap to match. Gone was his traditional Niger Delta cap.

We did not know in what capacity he received the Moslems; as an Acting President, or what? I saw a man with a heavy burden on his shoulder. Here was someone who was supposed to be a co-pilot but unfortunately was saddled with the task of operating only on cruise control. He’s never been allowed to use his initiative or skills. It must be very frustrating.

Meanwhile, our nation continues to haemorrhage away. Everyone is calling for prayers, as if we’ve not been praying and fasting enough. The situation should never be this bad.

Everything has gone quiet in the seat of power. Nothing is moving. But everyone has been involved in one permutation or the other, from the sublime to the supine. In all of this, we don’t know what tomorrow holds for our beleaguered country.

I had cause to call my dear brother, Simon Kolawole, last Sunday. I had just read his article as usual, and was worried that his main message could have been missed by casual readers.

I was particularly concerned about the issue of rotation or zoning, or whatever it is called. Why should anyone debate what happens if the President does not recover soon from his illness? The answer should be as clear as pure water.

The Constitution of Nigeria states very clearly that the Vice President must take over power. It is not negotiable.

Rotation or zoning cannot apply here. Rotation or zoning are not recognised by our law. That was the first question I asked Simon Kolawole when he returned my call: Is rotation of the Presidency enshrined in our Constitution? We both agreed the answer is No.

There should be no debate about who should even be in charge right now. But ours is a nation of hypocrites where everyone pretends to love whoever is in power. No one is asking the Vice President to steer the wheel of State in full throttle.

Even if it has been said that no one pressurised him into resigning, we are still very worried that after all we went through during the June 12, 1993, presidential election debacle, some Nigerians can still dream of annulling the verdict of our Constitution.

The Yar ‘Adua family would sooner or later see the true colours and character of these politicians who are saying there is no vacancy in Aso Rock. We’ve seen it all before. It is all about cash and power. It is never about service to the people. It is never about loving the President. They would soon shift their allegiance to someone else, without any qualms.

I always wonder how they do it. Their present excuse is how the North would like to complete its term, whatever that means. No one is telling us under what section of our Constitution this has been written.

They have conveniently forgotten that when General Murtala Mohammed was murdered on the street of Lagos, the man who took over was the one and only Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo. Beyond that, for the purposes of history, it must be noted that Obasanjo handed over to President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, a teacher from Sokoto. When Shagari was booted out of office, the man who took the baton of power was no other than Generals Mohammadu Buhari and Babatunde Idiagbon, who were both Northerners.

They were soon booted out by General Ibrahim Babangida, a Northerner. When Babangida stepped aside in 1993, he handed over power to a weak government that was led by Chief Ernest Degunle Shonekan, who was soon kicked out by General Sani Abacha, a Northerner. When Sani Abacha suddenly died, under mysterious circumstances, it was General Abdusalami Abubakar who took over, a Northerner.

No Igbo man, or Niger Delta man, was ever considered for the number one slot. What rotation are we talking about under this lopsided arrangement? I have no problem with a Northerner or Southerner ruling perpetually if Nigerians have something positive to gain from it. We should all be happy that one day an Igboman or Niger Delta man would govern this great country.

As for me and my house, it does not matter who governs Nigeria. What we need are responsible human beings who can move us forward. We must put an end to the primordial sentiments that keep us down. Only the profiteers continue to insist on rotation and zoning. Without it, they’ll be like fish out of water.

What have we benefitted from zoning and rotation? Nothing really if we examine it. The city of Kano has produced two Heads of State, Generals Murtala Mohammed and Sani Abacha. Has Kano transformed into a Dubai or Doha? Minna has produced two Presidents, Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abubakar.

Has Minna become a Honolulu or Hong kong? Abeokuta has produced General Obasanjo and Chief Shonekan, and a President-in-waiting, Chief Moshood Abiola. Has it turned Abeokuta into a Sun City or Shanghai? Why do people really worry about where the President and other men of power come from? Even when our kinsmen get to power, they often forget those who voted or rigged them into power. Educated Nigerians most times turn into stark illiterates on account of ethnic sentiments. I always wonder why we are ready to sacrifice the progress of Nigeria for the sake of zoning and rotation.

All patriotic Nigerians must rise up and fight against this collective stupidity. We must insist on merit and merit only. We need energetic and forward-looking leaders, and they abound here. The problem is we have not been bold enough to stand together and challenge the status quo. Our leaders too have been too timid about changing anything because they were products of the useless system.

I’m sure there is a reason and purpose for the Constitutional challenges we are about to experience with Yar ‘Adua’s absence from Abuja. Nigeria is not likely to remain the same after we would have sorted ourselves out one way or the other. The health of one man has become the only issue on all lips. We have virtually forgotten our many woes. The Federal Government has abdicated its responsibilities to Nigerians. Last week, I drove from Port Harcourt to Yenagoa. I could not believe how bad the road was. The experience finally convinced me that PDP cannot redeem Nigeria, if after ten years no city has benefitted anything from its rule. It is such a shame.

All Federal roads have packed up. The airports are ugly and disgraceful. The ruling government has demonstrated a total lack of vision and ambition. This is evident in every aspect of our daily life. How can any government ignore the Benin-Ore, and Lagos-Ibadan roads? Ibadan-Ife road has become a death trap. Ile-Ife Akure road has failed. Akure-Abuja road is shameful. All roads in Nigeria are practically useless. What has zoning got to do with anything?

There are incompetent people everywhere, and they are the ones we tend to recycle. Why can’t we begin to zone power to great people? I won’t mind a Katsina man ruling for as long as it takes if he’s very good. I’ll support a man from Ibesikpo in Akwa-Ibom, if I’m convinced he can do the job of rescuing Nigerians from poverty, hunger, joblessness, unemployment, diseases, and general backwardness. That is how it is in the game of football. We care less where our strikers come from when we are playing the game of soccer. The most important thing is for our team to keep scoring. I always wonder why we haven’t learnt any useful lessons from the game of football.

And talking of football, the World Cup draws took place last night in South Africa. I have had to delay this piece to be able to reflect on the mood at the epochal event. There are lessons for Nigeria. Did you see Jacob and Joseph, I mean Zuma and Blatter, as they walked proudly onto the world stage? Did you notice the charisma of both world leaders? Did you realise there were no overzealous security aides and sycophants falling over themselves in front or behind the South African President? The man was at peace with the world and I was so touched by what I saw. The event ran smoothly. Everyone wore serious looks. We did not see big men and women disturbing the peace of other people. They did not fight for seats not allocated to them. There was no Federal character in the choice of music and musicians. The venue of the event was spectacular. There is not a venue to host such an event anywhere in Nigeria. The event was executed with clinical precision.

The level of preparation in South Africa is awesome. Most cities are wearing new and heavenly looks. The infrastructure has been upgraded. We have not read that contractors ran away with the monies meant for the development of a whole nation. There are Nigerians who can make things happen. They can even do better. But it won’t happen, until we begin to allow our best brains to function without all the nonsense about zoning and rotation.

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