JOHN DARA: NIGERIA’S OBAMA?
COMMENTARY ARCHIVES, 16 Jan 2010
The Peoples Democratic Party, Nigeria’s ruling party, since the transition from military dictatorship to civilian manipulation, which prides itself as the largest party in Africa boasted on 1 October 2009, the 49th independence day anniversary, that the party will rule Nigeria uninterrupted for the next 60 years. That boast was three months ago. Since then, President Yar’adua has remained invisible for approximately have of the time.
The speculation which most Nigerians believe is that he is sick and is on admission in a Saudi Arabian hospital being attended to by German doctors. Nigerians knew before he was imposed on them or rather before they allowed themselves to be dictated to that candidate Yar’adua was physically unfit to rule. Lacking the eloquence to convince most people of average intelligence from the rostrum, and frail in body (including admission to a German hospital during the electioneering campaign), much of his campaigning for the presidency was done on his behalf by his sponsors.
What Nigerians were and are still not sure about for more than 50 days as at press time is his were about and his medical condition. Those who surround him say that he is receiving medical attention in Saudi Arabia and that he will soon be well enough to return to the country to carry on his job. The problem is that those who claim they know where he is and how well(sick) he is lack credibility, hence the ordinary men and women on the street see them as a pack of liars. One other thing Nigerians know is that Mr. President did not hand over power to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to act in his absence
One theory is that he is in hiding. The other which I believe is a combination of 10% inability (lack of vision, ineptitude, and ill heath) to cope with the demands of the high office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and 90% of a design by perpetrators of inequality, enemies of development, corrupt politicians and hangers on in the corridor of power. These are the people who want him out of the country for as long as possible so that they can commit as much of illegality until he returns (if he is well enough to return to his table). At least no one has directed them to return unspent money by (31 December 2010) from their allocations due to late passage of the 2009 budget by the National Assembly, which most likely would have happened had Yar’adua been in office. Similarly, keeping him out of view beyond December 2009, would help to minimise the embarrassment and lack of explanation for the failed promise to increase wattage of electricity supply by 10,000 by 2010, the lengthening queues in petrol stations all across the country despite the fat that Nigeria is a major producer of crude oil.
It is against this background that the declaration John Dara on 1st January 2010 to run the 2011 presidential race came as a gust. The declaration came at a private presentation of the new National Transformation Party which describes itself as the preferred political vehicle for patriots who abhor corruption and mediocrity. (The official launching of the party is schedule for 15 January 2010). It is “the beginning of a democratic revolution that Nigerians have been yearning for” he declared. According to the party’s spokesman, Nigerians and friends of Nigeria have been talking about the country’s potential. It is now time to realise the potential, more so since October 2009 to October 2010 constitutes Nigeria’s Year of Jubilee (a Biblical parlance). Since there is all the future to observe the party unfold, whereas we do not have all the future to watch John Dara, this piece is an invitation to look at this man from the onset.
Tongues are wagging expectedly as to whether John Dara could be Nigeria’s Obama. Indeed, there are some similarities between the two. First of all, he is little known nationally let alone internationally. This is not to say that he is new to politics. In fact, he has been a campaign manager for as many as six gubernatorial and Presidential candidates in the past, was a member of the 2005 National Political Reform Conference, has been an adviser to Governor Otedola of Lagos State, and the Minister of Defence 1999-2003, in addition to serving in the leadership or organising capacity in many political associations.
He is 55, so he is young – or old – depending on the angle from which one assesses 55; but the Nigerian political class has no problem referring to him as ‘that young man’. Compared to some of the other prospective contestants still in their closets, he is young like Obama. He is a successful business man, and a candidate for the Ph.D. degree in media arts at the University of Abuja.
He is a Yoruba, from Kwara State, with a presence in Lagos. As a Yoruba, he is linguistically and culturally from the Southwest. Politically, however, the colonial arbitrary internal partitioning made him a northerner, but political realignment makes him a son of the Middle Belt. In a situation where one comes from matters so much, he does not stand a chance but he has declared that all those considerations amount to irrelevance and indeed the locus of transformation if Nigeria must move forward. So, he shares the notion of change with Obama.
Furthermore, Dara is convinced that his greatest backers will arise from the grassroots, and that their meagre donations will build up exponentially for his race. The idea that the power of organised commoners avails much is not new; however its practical demonstration recently by Obama has fired hope in Dara that it is worth trying for the emancipation of a failed state. Dara believes it is the route to travel. Perhaps his greatest asset so far is the fact that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are not after him and he does not look like somebody expecting a visit from them or an invitation for a chat with them.
But there are major differences between Dara and Obama. For example, Obama had a platform from which to launch his campaign; Dara on the other hand has to invent a party to begin with. The Presidential election is expected to hold April 2011 but there are indications that the National Assembly where the PDP has a controlling majority may move the date forward thereby making it all the more difficult for new parties to organise properly before they compete. Secondly, Obama had a literate electorate and by and large one language group to interact with. On the other hand, Dara faces an electorate with a considerable regional disparity when it comes to literacy and as many as 350 languages with geographical identification to face; therefore there is a lot of translation to accomplish with the complication of loss of fidelity of message in the process. Dara however believes that he can “make it happen”. He is a man to watch in the months to come.
Rev. Olufemi Oluniyi, Ph.D., Executive Director, Centre for Values and Social Change, Lagos, Nigeria.
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 16 Jan 2010.
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