As part of his whistle stop campaign visits to Yoruba monarchs to drum up support for his second (third?) term ambition, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has been to many palaces across Yoruba land than ordinarily he would have loved to, no thanks to the massive shift of Yoruba support in favour of his main challenger in the March 28, presidential election, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) of the All Progressives Congress.
Jonathan has been sweating for quite some time now over how to retain the votes from the south west that ensured he secured the presidency in 2011. Four years ago, Yoruba in a near overwhelming support, gave their votes to Jonathan to consign Buhari, then of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), now merged with other opposition parties to from APC, to yet another defeat in his quest to rule Nigeria again, as a democratically elected president.
Four year on, the Yoruba have changed their minds preferring instead to pitch their tent with Buhari, a decision, if fully implemented on March 28, that will most certainly end Jonathan’s tenancy in the presidential villa in Abuja.
Expectedly, the president is worried and has been running from pillar to post to convince the people of the south west not to abandon him. Various hate programmes have been aired on Jonathan/PDP friendly radio and television stations to demonise Buhari before Yoruba, while some publishers have equally lent their pages to publishing smear advert campaigns to bring down the former Head of State and APC presidential flag bearer before the right thinking people of Yoruba land.
To achieve his aim, the president has enlisted the support of some renegade Yoruba sons and daughters to paint Buhari black and deceive their people to vote him for a second term. Since out of every 12 there must be a Judas as the saying goes, Yoruba are not worried about such renegades as they will get their punishment at the appropriate time. In Yoruba land, if all sins can and are indeed forgivable, nobody forgives treachery. Traitors are traitors, and are punished even down to their 4th generation. Let us leave that for now.
If the Yoruba are not worried about these ‘ordinary’ sons and daughters now attempting to sell their people to Jonathan, they are certainly worried that some of their traditional rulers, their revered Obas (Kabiyesi, Alase, ekeji Orisa) are being enlisted into this Jonathan for second term campaign. Obas are not ordinary mortals in Yoruba land. They are treated as next to the gods who must be obeyed. As fathers to all their subjects, most of whom hold diverse religious and political views, they are not supposed to be partisan or biased against any religious or political interest. But when Obas now begin to dabble into the political arena, their actions and utterances will definitely divide their people and that is dangerous for that society.
Those who advised President Jonathan to be jumping from one Yoruba palace to another are trying to cause trouble in Yoruba land. Just as the president’s numerous visits to different churches in recent times to promote himself as a candidate of the Christians is divisive and could further strain the delicate Christians/Muslims relationship in certain parts of the country, so also is his provocative visits to Yoruba Obas to seek their support for his re-election bid.
One or two of these Kabiyesis have taken positions against the interest of the Yoruba people in the past which led to serious crisis in the land. Inducing them with money and using state resources to force them into joining the Jonathan for second term bandwagon is pushing them into a loggerhead with their people, and this could have serious repercussion. Yoruba support for their Obas and leaders is total, but provided the Oba/leader does not go against their interest. It is total but reciprocal.
I don’t have anything against the president selling himself to the people and canvassing for their support for another term. That is the way it is done in a democracy. But going to the symbol of the people, like the traditional rulers to seek their partisan support is dangerous and divisive. It could lead to a serious crisis and erode people’s confidence in the traditional institution.
This was aptly stated at the palace of the paramount ruler of the Ijebu, the Awujale of Ijebu land, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, Ogbagba II, last week in Ijebu Ode when Jonathan visited. The highly revered Yoruba monarch told the president not to expect any Oba in Ijebu or any part of Yoruba land to campaign for him. Any monarch that does that in Yoruba land, Oba Adetona told him is looking for trouble. And that is the truth.
If any of the Obas had promised Jonathan the votes of his people, he is just deceiving the president. As the situation stands in Yoruba land today regarding the March 28, 2015 presidential election, the Yoruba have made up their mind on the person they are supporting and one thousand and one Kabiyesis cannot change that.
It would be better for the president to heed the advice of the Awujale of Ijebu land to take his campaign to the people and not the palace of their traditional rulers. Obas don’t vote and their views/directives would only be followed by their people provided they tally with the interest of their people. Whether the Yoruba are sufficiently satisfied with Jonathan’s performance as to give him another term on March 28, is not for their Obas to decide or direct.
As I’ve stated repeatedly on this page, Jonathan cannot claim to have done anything exclusively for the Yoruba to warrant their queuing behind on March 28. When the people did four years ago, he didn’t go to their Oba, and their monarch did not force or direct them to do so. He made some promises which have not been fulfilled. Going to the palace to beg is not just a waste of time but a demeaning of the presidency.
The British would be having their election this year and I am sure none of the party leaders would go to the Queen to seek her support. If we say we are practicing democracy, let us do it the way it is done in enlightened societies. If it were to be in the good old days of absolute monarchy in Yoruba land, the Kabiyesis would have dismissed Jonathan’s government for incompetence instead him seeking their support. This is what I expect those Obas to have told the president and we must salute the Awujale for being bold and courageous to tell Jonathan the truth. KAAAABIYESI O.
NATION
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