That Jonathan in the Delta race

By Ekanpou Enewaredideke

Over the years it is a certitude no casuistry can dispel or mangle that to everyone different worlds open up, complete in their varied compositions and vibratory frequencies. In every world that springs up through man’s tireless endeavours to secure a space for comfortable living on earth, there dwells a kingship or headship. In my own world I am the creator imbued with the power to emanate or bring into existence a world that fits into the ideological, philosophical, cultural, theological and political compositions of Jonathan now that Delta Ijaws have unambiguously declared to occupy the Delta State gubernatorial seat in 2023. By this collective stand the Delta Ijaws have drawn on the inspiring development theory of King Izonebi named ‘Delta-Ijawism’ – a development theory propounded to inspire the Ijaws to take a shot at the Delta State governorship space with political marksmanship.

Delta Ijaws recently congregated politically in Warri at a meeting convened by Chief Broderick Bozimo,the one-time Minister of Police Affairs. Right there at BB HOTELS AND SUITES in Warri on 22 May 2021 in Warri, the Delta Ijaws retrospectively looked at the politics of Delta from the cradle of its creation and democratic journeys till now – democratic journeys that rotationally saw Urhobo, Itsekiri and Ika men differently seated at the Delta State Governorship seat. The revelation from their retrospective journey,as intelligently anchored by Prof. Okaba the President of Ijaw National Congress,Chief Broderick Bozimo and many other prominent Ijaw people, was that the Ijaws had devotedly worked for all the ethnic groups in Delta in the production of the Delta State governorship at different times. Viewed either through the prism of Senatorial districts or ethnic nationalities, using political trigonometry, the Ijaws were satisfied that by the supreme voice of Justice, equity and fairness, it was indeed their turn to produce the 2023 governor of Delta State.

On the resolve that the Delta State governorship in 2023 should be the Ijaws, the space was declared open for any Ijaw man with corresponding capacity to walk on the gubernatorial path. This is where I must differ from the Delta Ijaws because it is a questionable proposition.The Delta State governorship should not be thrown open to every Ijaw man in Delta State – except that Ijaw man is congenitally and physiologically endowed with the DNA of ‘Jonathanism’.

Everybody knows that there are many Jonathans in Nigeria. However, the Jonathan I have in mind is the Jonathan who never ambitions anything but only have the tide tide and tidy up everything for him. Jonathan was that Jonathan who rose from deputy governor to the governor of Bayelsa. That same Jonathan, like the proverbial butterfly or freshwater flying fish (akodemakode fish), rose from vice-president to the president of Nigeria and ruled comparatively well without distracting pathological political ambition – even when he had all the paraphernalia to electorally dismantle everything in his favour in 2015.

The admirable ease in Jonathan’s progression from one level of performance achievement to another in his political voyage was guaranteed by the fact that his life is that of the image of a legendary peace-advocate who had no political enemies to fight and eliminate; to transform Nigeria in all spheres without the distraction of political vindictiveness and vendetta was his preoccupation. That Jonathan succeeded in his political voyage and transformational dream made possible by his ability to engage all ethnic groups meaningfully was only discovered by Nigerians after his disengagement from power – a discovery many people see as regrettably belated!

The Ijaw man that aspires to become a governor in Delta State in 2023 must have the compositions of former President Goodluck Jonathan in full: He or she must not begrudge people their successes; he must not have a list of political enemies and politicians to frustrate and retire; he must not see himself as the only person with the birthright to become the most successful man in Ijaw; he must be one who does not ambition to frustrate targeted personalities but desires younger ones to grow rapidly even above himself; he must not incubate a desire to retard the growth of others in appointive and contractual matters; he must be an ambassador of peace with a legendary humility and demonstrable intellectual competence; he must be one whose family and political life shows that he has a passion for infrastructural growth and human capital development; he must not be somebody with a verified propensity for underdevelopment of his fellows in contractual and appointive matters; he must not be a pathological promoter of tribalism, nepotism, favouritism, parochialism, megalomania, ‘Eniyekeyeism’ and ‘Emenekemenism’.

The fear of God and the ability to engage the Urhobo nationality and other ethnic groups meaningfully and persuade them to see the equity in consensually yielding the governorship to the Ijaws must be among the distinguishing qualities of any Ijaw man who aspires to rule Delta State in 2023 because we do not want as governor a man who is arrogant, selfish, nepotistic, vindictive, surly, enmity-loving, individualistic, traitorous, narcissistic, tribalistic and unacessible, and above all, who sees himself as the only Ijaw son anointed from the day of creation to become the governor of Delta State when all the feelers clearly point to Delta-Ijaw governorship in 2023. The Ijaw man whose evilly incubated political pathology is to play anti-Ijaw politics because he is not eventually chosen as the consensus candidate of Ijaw people can never rule Delta State in 2023 when the time comes like a full tide. And for such traitorous Ijaw person – as embodied in the speech of the National President of Ijaw National Congress – an embrace with dust carrying six feet would be the karma of such traitors.

A benevolent breeze has begun an enchanting dance.From the enchanting dance,there are very clear indicators that only that humble and altruistic Ijaw man – intellectually formidable and ideologically well positioned – known for his ambassadorial advocacy for peace, and oratorically virile, skillful and seductive, cosmopolitan in interaction and outlook with the congenitally infected virus of approachability; a man who has no compiled list of enemies to dismantle in demonstration of long incubated political vindictiveness; a radiantly philanthropic, compassionate, sincere, firm and focused man uncontrollably sensitive to the rhythm of the masses, carrying all the compositions of former President Goodluck Jonathan with a single-minded vision to transform all parts of Delta state, is the only Ijaw man who should be democratically supported to become the governor of Delta State in 2023, not that Ijaw man notorious for nepotism, selfishness, tribalism, snobbishness, self-centredness, vindictiveness, insensitivity, megalomania, self-aggrandizement, grandstanding, enmity-incubation, unforgiveness, misanthropy and ‘tortoism’ in behavioural pigmentation and daily interactions with people.

And interestingly, as validated by available statistics, we are likely to find that ‘Jonathanised’ Ijaw man among these personalities: Barrister Kingsley Burutu Otuaro, Honourable Braduce Angozi, Honourable Godday Orubebe and Senator J.E Manager who have been musically projected and proclaimed by King Alfred Izonebi as the likely Ijaw-born governorship candidates in the 2023 Delta State gubernatorial race if the voters are ever granted the sight of the starboard and larboard of their already rigged ships waiting to be launched for equilibrium-gathering sail across the waters of the delta in Delta State after the rigged ship must have been consensually ‘Haan-Izoned’.

Enewaredideke, Writes from Akparemogbene,Delta State.