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I had breakfast
with President Goodluck Jonathan on the 1st of October: No, not my
contrived one hour with the president a couple of months ago, and no;
it was not a private breakfast. It was in the company of many other
Nigerians invited to the occasion by the President and Commander in
Chief to mark Nigeria’s 50th Independence Anniversary.

Afterwards, we
moved to the venue of the president’s Independence Day speech,
broadcast live to the nation. After the speech, he interacted with us
before leaving for the Eagle Square. President Jonathan came across as
essentially decent, but I am dismayed by his cooks. Not Aso Villa’s
chefs but the political cooks stoking up the bonfire of his
presidential ambition.

President Jonathan,
like other people in power has many friends. And that, precisely is my
concern. It is not the number of friends, but their ulterior motives
and pedigrees that worry me. The president I sat with spoke to the
whole nation, but in the aftermath of the bomb blasts was saying “I am
from the Niger Delta…I know my people….” Is that to say that the
rest of us are not his people?

Nigeria is a
complex country. Managing the country requires composure, maturity and
tremendous self-restraint. My apprehension is that the many cooks in
the president’s kitchen (cabal once again?) have little appreciation of
the nuances needed to knead Nigeria. While it may be said that the late
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua assembled a highly provincial team from
Katsina State lacking a national outlook, President Jonathan on the
other hand has an outwardly national team without a nationalist
mind-set.

A look at some of the president’s major supporters may be worthwhile.

Vice President
Namadi Sambo was hardly a brilliant choice. That the Jonathan campaign
team had to deny reports insinuating that Sambo would not be the
president’s running mate speaks volumes. It is debatable if Sambo can
deliver Kaduna State to the ticket because he was forcefully imposed as
governor in 2007. Not much has changed.

Just when you think
things cannot get any worse…. This column gave Turai Yar’Adua
scorching criticism for what was perceived as undue influence in
matters of state. We now have a new benchmark. Mrs. Patience Jonathan
is not the wife of a local government chairman. So what business does
she have engaging in populist and ill-advised activity like sharing out
bags of rice to people? It is an indication of how bad things are in
Nigeria that three people reportedly lost their lives at the
scene…for a bag of rice.

Jonathan’s option
of director general of his presidential campaign team is another
curious decision. Senator Dalhatu Sarki Tafida, the septuagenarian High
Commissioner to the United Kingdom played a very prominent role in
former president Obasanjo’s life presidency bid. He was so unpopular at
the time that he dared not visit Zaria, his hometown without an escort
of mobile policemen.

Tafida was forced
out of the Senate and compensated with an ambassadorial posting. In
free and fair elections, it is inconceivable that he will win his ward.
Deep down in his heart, Tafida probably does not believe that President
Jonathan would win. It is difficult to see how this man will energise
and engage the critical base for the campaign team.

The speed with
which Mohammed Abba Aji transferred support from the Yar’Adua to the
Jonathan camp should have made the president suspicious. As Yar’Adua’s
link with the National Assembly, Aji botched communication between the
Presidency and the National Assembly. We still do not know if there
ever was a letter from Yar’Adua to the Senate. Unfortunately, this man
not only kept his job, but also has become an integral part of
Jonathan’s team. What is his strategic and political value? With his
fortunes tied to Jonathan remaining in office, can this man be trusted
to give logical, selfless counsel?

In the final
analysis, it is clear that the many cooks in the president’s kitchen
are folks who can only concoct political poison. Olusegun Obasanjo;
Jerry Gana; Ibrahim Mantu; Jonathan Zwingina; Samaila Sambawa; Edwin
Clark; Hassan Adamu; Shehu Malami; Solomon Lar; Barnabas Gemade;
Bamanga Tukur; Tony Anenih – from a progressive viewpoint, the list is
odious.

Most of these cooks are bitter old men who have nothing to
contribute to the Nigeria of our dreams. Others are failed politicians
and businessmen seeking to feather their nests. They have nothing to
lose. Their only hope for relevance is continuing to muddle the
political environment in Nigeria and thriving in the resulting chaos.
Too many cooks….