Nigeria’s lawmakers confirm Namadi Sambo as VP via controversial voice vote

Special to USAfricaonline.com and CLASSmagazine, Houston

USAfrica, May 18, 2010: The Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives have confirmed Nigeria’s new vice president, former Governor of Kaduna State Namadi Sambo via a voice vote. This method was used to avoid any controversies or raising of contentious allegations.

While the Senate had a relatively non-rowdy session, the confirmation process was raucous and rowdy at the House of Representatives.

USAfricaonline.com correspondent in Abuja reports that when the House sought to use the voice vote approach, many expressed their displeasure at the method and kept screaming negative words into microphones to delay Sambo’s affirmation.

Earlier, some radical Muslim activists and groups expressed their opposition to the Muslim professional Sambo leaving of the office of Governor to open the consequent and first, historic door for his christian deputy Patrick Yakowa to become the governor of Kaduna state.

President Goodluck Jonathan nominated Namadi, an architect,  to the National Assembly on May 14th, 2010. Jonathan took over as president after the death of elected President Umaru Yar’Adua on May 5th, 2010. See related, USAfrica exclusive insights/ commentaries.

http://www.usafricaonline.com/jonathan-firstdecision-chido2010/

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Nigeria’s good luck President faces history with first, critical decision.

By CHIDO NWANGWU, Publisher of USAfrica,USAfricaonline.com and CLASSmagazine, Houston

http://www.usafricaonline.com/jonathan-firstdecision-chido2010/

USAfrica, May 11, 2010: I believe that Goodluck Jonathan’s decision and pick of a new Vice President, unelected, will propel or imperil, considerably, his equally unelected, new presidency.

In a few hours, he will move from strings of remarkable good luck events to the nitty gritty of presidential governance. In fact, Jonathan’s first, critical and most important decision as President will happen in a few hours.

The news items and speculation over who will join the new President of Nigeria as vice President continue to fill the airwaves, online and print media.

Certain regional, religion-related and geo-ethnic considerations of Nigeria will go into Jonathan’s decision on his deputy. This single decision will reveal, largely, whether we should expect his possible run as Presidential candidate in 2011.

It will also give a hint: will Jonathan decide not to run in 2011 and seek to tackle power supply,

elections/voting and corruption issues, head on and with good results, he may well be the greatest and most popular president of Nigeria since its political independence in 1960.

Regardless, Jonathan may well seek the two; run for president in 2011 and aggressively take a transformative agenda. But the question is: can he; will the PDP allow him, or can he remake the PDP in his own style and methods? Will be become another Obasanjo, specifically, in terms of controlling the PDP and its mechanisms of nomination?

Having been disappointed many, many times, Nigerians are hopeful, realistically….

There are projections which assert that a safe anchor will be the choice of the current Secretary to the Nigerian government Ahmed Yayale, a northern Muslim and technocrat; others suggest the pick of  former Governors Kwankwaso or Ahmed Markafi.

(Update: Kaduna Governor Namadi Sambo turned up on May 12, 2010 as favored by other Governors as the VP pick).

Another prominent nominee is from the clan of Nigeria’s former president (1979-1983) and the deputy Governor of Sokoto, Mukhtar Shagari. He recently served as a federal minister. A business chieftain and former minister in the 1970s Alhaji Bamangar Tukur is said to be high on the list.

Yet some insiders at the presidency informed USAfricaonline.com that President Jonathan is likely to surprise Nigerians with his pick. There are Nigerians, British and American policy types who make the case for Nuhu Ribadu, the former head of the anti-corruption agency EFCC. He is also being considered for the controversial but critical role of chairman of the elections agency INEC.  Ribadu as VP will be a shot and warning to the corrupt political class that it is no longer “business as usual” — although many criticized him for allowing former President Obasanjo to use the EFCC, at some point, selectively, to prosecute Obasanjo’s antagonists.

There is an active, triangular pressure point for the pick of VP: the presidency and players within and outside: including former President Obasanjo/his supporters; the antagonist of Obasanjo led by the chairman of the presidential advisory council retired Gen. Theophilus Danjuma. The second front reflects the interests of the strife-ridden secretariat of the PDP governors/senators  who argue they should have a say in the pick of VP. The critical third angle is populated by “northern Nigerian politicians.” This includes some key players in the remnants of the “Kaduna mafia” and the Arewa Forum. The northern angle also show a conflict between the old brigade and the new breed, progressives who seek change of guards, now. Former military president/dictator retired Gen. Ibrahim Babangida controversially dismissed the younger, new breed activists/leaders as not ready and equipped to take the mantle of leadership. Remarkably, Babangida’s political opponent, Obasanjo’s former deputy Atiku Abubakar has jumped into the camp of Babangida in dismissing the younger generation.

At this point, I can only ask: Will the young Jonathan prove Babangida right or prove Babangida and Atiku wrong by showing with results that younger Nigerians are capable of moving Nigeria forward.

These are interesting times, again, in Nigeria.

• Chido Nwangwu, Founder of USAfrica, and first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper published on the internet USAfricaonline.com, The Black Business Journal, CLASSmagazine, PhotoWorks.TV, AchebeBooks.com, Nigeria360, USAfricaTV and several blogs, assessed by The New York TImes as the most influential multimedia networks for Africans and Americans. He served on the editorial board of the Daily Times of Nigeria in Lagos and worked for the Nigerian Television Authority (news) in the 1980s; publicity committee of the Holocaust Museum, Houston; recipient of an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree in May 2009; adviser on Africa to Houston’s former Mayor Dr. Lee Brown. Chido appears as an analyst on CNN, VOA, SABC, CBSNews, ABCNews, FOXNews, NBCNews, etc. Chido@USAfricaonline.com wireless: 832-45-CHIDO (24436)