AN Ijaw opinion leader and legal luminary, Dr. Clarkson Aribogha, has said that it is politically injurious to the Southern region for former President Olusegun Obasanjo to suggest that President Muhammadu Buhari should forget the 2019 Presidential Election, as heeding the call will definitely pave way for the North to elongate its hold on power for another eight years after the end of Buhari’s four years.
Dr. Aribogha, in an interview, argued that if another northerner took the place of Buhari in 2019, as implied in Obasanjo’s broadly publicized letter, northerner would want to rule till 2027, thereby giving the north a third tenure in a possible power equation to the disadvantage of the south.
He declared: “We have internal arrangement concerning the south and northern part of Nigeria. When I say the south, it can be the south-west, south-east or south-south because we have rotational presidency arrangement. Now, it is the turn of the north that has produced the president in person of Buhari, who is currently representing the north.”
“By constitutional empowerment, the north has the right for a second tenure. My fear for the future is the impending conflict between the north and south, but if Buhari is replaced and another northerner comes on board, it will cause some problems because it will elongate the tenure of the north than the south because the next person coming after Buhari will surely go for second tenure.”
“By so doing, the north will have third tenure to the disadvantage of the south. So, Chief Obasanjo has not touched that area. I really want him to address that area because of the confusion that will trail the replacement of Buhari in 2019,” he added
Arigbogha asserted: “However, I am pleading that Nigerians should allow Buhari to complete the two tenures for the north, thereafter; the pendulum will shift to the south. No doubt, this will bring about peace in our democratic system in order to avoid crisis in the nearest future.”
“I will describe that letter to the current President by Chief Obasanjo as a personal opinion and that is how it stands. I wish to also label it as an advice to President Buhari. Obasanjo is one of those former Presidents and Head of State that had ruled this country.
Danger of dropping Buhari
He said that those in the south, who want Buhari out in 2019, erroneously calculated that they would undo the north, not knowing that “if Buhari is dropped, it is another northerner that is coming to replace him. Indeed, the north is not losing anything; my argument is that there should be equal representation for both north and south that one side should not spend more time than the other. Hence, I am saying that Buhari should be allowed to complete the north’s second tenure because if Buhari is replaced, any other person coming will elongate the tenure of the north.
“I do not think that the rotational presidency we are doing now is based on the six geo-political zones. The fact is that we have northern and southern part of Nigeria, so, my argument is that the presidency should rotate between the north and south,” he added.
Insecurity caused by security agencies, not Buhari
Speaking on security in the country, Aribogha said: “I want to say that security is not a one man business. For instance, the deadly Boko Haram struck when Chief Obasanjo was the president. It is a pity that he could not solve that problem before he left office and thereafter Dr. Goodluck Jonathan came on board. I can say without fear or favour that Dr. Jonathan fought gallantly against insecurity before he was pushed out. Now, the pendulum has shifted to Buhari, who I believe has been trying to fight these ills of corruption and insecurity. I tell you that it is not Buhari alone that will fight insecurity, rather, it concerns all and sundry.”
According to him, “Buhari has tried in all ramifications, except in the recent massacre of defenseless persons in Benue state where he has not really taken drastic effort to address. He should really address the incessant killings of innocent persons by herdsmen. It is a known fact that no single person can solve this problem because it is within us and outside us. In fact, internal enemies are the worse.”
“For instance, Buahri cannot be blamed for our border that is porous. If I may ask, how did the herdsmen cross our border with AK 47? Is it an instruction from Buhari to security personnel to allow the herders to come into the country? Buhari alone should not be blamed; rather, every security personnel should be held responsible for allowing herders to come to our country illegally.
“Dropping of arms by helicopter in the forest in the north is not only dangerous, but will continue to cause disaffection in the country. I am afraid that Boko Haram and her allies will one day come into the country with jet fighters to start killing our people. In fact, that is the level the worrisome situation is going now,” he asserted.
Arigbogha said: “I can blame both religious and regional factors as part of the problem militating against insecurity. Another deadly thing is political factor and favoritism that are militating against insecurity in this country. A lot of other factors contribute to the ills we are presently experiencing.”
The Ijaw leader said he was not surprised that some northerners and southerners were accusing Buhari of nepotism, submitting: “The people accusing him are those who did not benefit from his government.”
Avengers should think of something better
He cautioned the Niger Delta Avengers and other militants in the region threatening to resume bombing of oil installations that destruction was not the solution to the problem, adding, “We are not at war and if you are destroying oil pipelines, you are destroying your environment.”
“Destroying oil pipelines or ecosystem does not in any way affect the federal government; rather it is the riverine people that will be affected because it will affect their source of livelihood. Presently, it is difficult to fish or see crayfish due to the perennial destruction of pipelines. Even, people in the riverine area come to buy fish and crayfish outside their areas.
“My candid advice is that they should go for dialogue, not vandalizing oil pipeline. We are talking of environmental devastation and time will come, the system will change, survival will be a problem because when the primary occupation is gone, where do you expect your people to go. Frankly speaking, bursting of pipeline is self-destruction. Honestly, the Avengers should find a better alternative by asking the government to fulfill their promise to the region.
AGF misread the law
“The passage of the Nigerian Maritime University, Okerenkoko bill into law by the House of Representatives is a welcome development. However, if this cheery development has been achieved, I do not see why the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, will upturn the law. His duty is to implement the law or laws already made. He is the lawyer to the federal government. So, he is not to create law, but to implement the law already made. What he is trying to do now is to misinterpret the law in a wrong way.
“Above all, his action is so suspicious and unprecedented, in the sense that from the nation’s Independence till date, no federal Attorney-General has carried out such youthful mission, pre-supposing he is either their lawyer or Attorney-General of the youth. In Nigeria, when someone develops interest on a particular issue so much, Nigerians will suspect you.
“He has not carried out any other action in any part of the country, why he is so neck deep on reversing Okerenkoko to Okerenghigho. I do tell people that if court judgment is fairly done, both parties will know that the judgment is fair. And if it is not done well, it will not stand the test of time.
“I always tell people that wrong judgment can create crisis in the future and people may kill themselves because of that judgment. This is because both the spirit of human being and that of God will surely be against the biased judge. So, those in office to pass judgment should do it with the fear of God. There will not be problem if a judgment is well delivered, but a biased judgment will create problem for the people and this is one of them, as the Attorney-General is trying to do in the case of Okerenkoko being changed to Okerenghigho.
“For instance, the original name of Ode-Itsekiri you are hearing is Ogbe-Ijoh; I remember there is a place called Okrotomu, an Ijaw name which is the senior quarter at Ode-Itsekiri and the name is still there till date,” he asserted.
Itsekiri is Ijaw name
Aribogha said: “When you talk of Big Warri, if I may ask, how did the Itsekiri come about that name? The so- called big Warri is founded by Ijaw and Itsekiri grandfather, Ginuwa came from Bini (Benin-City) to settle there. The name Itsekiri is Ijaw name interpreted as Seikiri, a dancing ground. They should bear their real name Ginuwa, which their father that migrated from Benin gave them.”
“Now we are talking of name changing, so, Itsekiri should also change their name to Ginuwa. History is a living thing; if you abuse it you have abused yourself and generations unborn. We have social and economic history. In fact, there is no profession without history. But those who want to upturn history always regret their action in the end.
“I regard their (Itsekiri) action as jealousy. In life, if you do not want your neighbor to progress, it will also affect you because you cannot progress without your neighbor. The rich men in the world make their wealth through people and you cannot be rich without human beings. The things of this world are that when you pray for your neighbor, you too will also receive prayer.
“Secondly, they are always antagonistic when their neighbor is making head way or progressing. I recall vividly how they were seriously against the creation of Delta state, but they enjoyed the state more than any other tribe in the state. Their son, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan was a governor,” he asserted.
Abomination
His words: “The way out is that the status-quo should remain. I mean Okerenkoko should remain Okerenkoko and not Okerenghigho. It is an abomination to give someone a name that is not his name. The university is for all Nigerians, not for Ijaw or Niger-Delta alone.” (Saturday Vanguard)
