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The Real Third Term – How Iyabo will step into Baba's shoes By Nigerians In Diaspora Action Group (NIDAG)
It is high time Nigerians understood the actual 'third term' that Obasanjo's PDP is working on. The third term in the works is no longer the tenure elongation that can be achieved through the National Assembly or state of emergency as a result of any crisis.
This is because Obasanjo wants to be in the good books of the West and set some form of record especially after the failure of his leadership. By transferring power from a democratically 'elected' to another 'elected' government, Obasanjo will have set another record as this will be the first time this is done in Nigeria. This feat will earn him a good international job from Western Powers.
So what is the third term Obasanjo is working on?
To start with, the President made sure that he satisfied the yearnings of the North for power shift. As such, the North no longer has any complaints with regards to this. In doing this, however, he made sure that he personally 'selected' the PDP flagbearer. Candidates of more electoral value were ordered to step down for Yar'adua. PHCN assisted by cutting off light several times at the venue of the election. And as described by Obasanjo's former security adviser, General Aliyu Gusau, the election was a 'charade'.
So why would Obasanjo choose an electoral liability? Why should it be a governor whose former colleague in the Council of Sates could not recall any contribution made by him at the Council of State or Governors' meeting in four years (Segun Osoba, Daily Sun, 11th March 2007)? Why not IBB, General Gusau, Buba Marwa or other more sellable members of the PDP?
The point here is that medical record or life span was the most important point for consideration. Yar'adua qualified ahead of Makarfi because his health condition is worse. Both of them are known to have serious ill health but Yar'adua's is worse and hence he had to get the job. It is believed that Yar'adua does not have much time to live and may die within a short period after he is sworn in as the President. This was proved by the recent incident where he had to be rushed to Germany with rumours already making rounds that he had died. Is anyone surprised that the President was trying very hard to prove that Yar'adua is in good health? Obasanjo said that he knows all about Yar'adua's ailment but it disappeared since 2001 like a "miracle" (Daily Sun, 15th April 2007). What an explanation!
Or is anyone surprised that the PDP has failed to make Yar'adua's medical records public? The hospital was even ordered to keep quiet. In a sensitive and important issue as the leadership of a country of about 140 million people which is also Africa's most populous country and largest democracy, the medical records of Yaradua should be made public. The famous lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi urged the Presidency to publish the true state of health of Yar'adua so as not to throw the whole country into trauma, stressing that the health of the PDP presidential candidate is beyond the party and the Presdient (Daily Trust, March 19 2007).
So if President Yar'adua dies, what happens?
This brings us to the choice of Jonathan Goodluck as the running mate of Yar'adua. One would wonder, why were the likes of Peter Odili, Donald Duke, Victor Attah or James Ibori not considered? If the idea is to give the Vice Presidency to the Niger Delta, any of these politicians stands ahead of the unknown Goodluck. Any of them could have added more value to the PDP ticket. Odili, an Obasanjo boy and Tony Anenih's godson with a lot of resources, had a vibrant campaign machinery and is said to love his party more than his family. Donald Duke is a political strategist with expertise in public speaking . Victor Attah is a down to earth person with closeness to the people and reach across the nation.
The choice of Goodluck is because in the event of the death of Yar'adua, any of these politicians could be stubborn to Obasanjo. They have gone far in politics, have great following and know the game very well. They are too smooth for comfort. Obasanjo must have also learnt the lessons of Mallam Aminu Kano on Rimi, Peter Obi on Ngige as well as Lamidi Adedibu on Ladoja.
The main aim is to install a political non-entity that could easily be impeached by the Senate. As we all know, the Senate will have former PDP governors who have siphoned a lot of money from the treasury. The EFCC will continue to harass these 'Senators' until they finance the impeachment of Presdient Goodluck. This is the main reason why the names of these 'Senators in the making' had to be removed from the original EFCC list. Nigeria's most experienced Senator, Idris Ibrahim Kuta of PDP, has warned that the governors who are currently seeking elections into the senate will desecrate the sanctity of the Nation's upper legislative chambers if they are allowed to infiltrate it in the next political dispensation. Obviously, this warning will never be given an ear.
If Presdient Goodluck is impeached, who becomes President?
Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello!
Iyabo is being positioned for the Senate Presidency in the next dispensation as the post has to be occupied by a South-Westerner. In the pursuit of this objective, Fola Adeola, a great achiever of the Guaranty Trust Bank fame was scared out of contesting for the same senatorial constituency as Iyabo. Not only that, Iyabo's ANPP challenger had his name on the EFCC list. The Senate Presdient (Tell Magazine, 1st March 2007), the Senate Committee for the review of EFCC Act (Sunday Independent, 2nd March, 2007) and even Mallam Ribadu admitted that the EFCC list was doctored.
In preparation for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Iyabo attended Federal Executive Council meetings (Leadership, February 16 2007). Being the President's daughter certainly does not qualify her for such meetings. The revelation of Otunba Oyewole Fasawe that Iyabo benefited from the controversial MOFAS account is a pointer towards how the Iyabo Project is being funded.
Obasanjo will personally supervise the execution of this project. Working in connivance with INEC and the Inspector General of Police, the elections will be massively rigged. INEC will omit the name of the main opposition party ANPP on some ballot papers, people will be denied voting by non-delivery of materials and millions of voters will be disenfranchised. The IGP whose tenure was extended twice so as to expire after the elections, will continue to lock up main opposition figures in the name of security and guard PDP's rigging machinery.
Furthermore, as the Executive Chairman of the Board of Trustees of PDP after leaving office, Obasanjo will continue his strangle-hold on the party and ensure the successful implementation of this "do-or-die affair".
The implication of this 'third term' move is that any Northerner who thinks the Presidency is coming back to the North is wasting his time. In the same way, the South Southerners will not have a 'good taste' of the Vice Presdency. The South Westerners will have another bad representation. The South Easterners will have to wait for at least another sixteen years.
The willing tools for this motive are all those on the PDP train.
The question is: Will Nigeria have a President Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello?
April 21st will give an insight.
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