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Jonathan is a very weak man, influenced by his wife – Tom David-West

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Former Petroleum Minister, Professor Tam David-West, has reacted to the ongoing political crisis in Rivers state.

According to him, Governor Rotimi Amaechi is being “unnecessarily molested”

Commenting on the rift between Ameachi and his former aide, Nyeson Wike, David-West, who spoke in an interview with TheNEWS said, “One of his greatest enemies, Nyesom Wike, Minister of State for Education, was his chief of staff and they were very close until few months ago when he went to Abuja. This same chief of staff used to congratulate me whenever he reads my article about Amaechi. What is the reason for their disagreement?

“Their first disagreement was that the chief of staff wants to be Governor after Amaechi and Amaechi said that will not be right because they are from the same ethnic group, Ikwerre. He said the state can’t have Ikwerre Governor for eight years and be succeeded by an Ikwerre person. He feels that is unfair to other ethnic groups in the state.

“So, he is insisting that the governorship has to go to the riverine people. But Amaechi has been vindicated because Wike declared two weeks ago that he wants to be a Governor. Amaechi’s opposition forced Wike into opting to go to the Senate. But Amaechi said that his next ambition is to become a Senator. Wike is finding it difficult to deal with being stopped first from becoming Governor, and then Senator. The last time I visited Amaechi, I told him that if he is doing well, I will say it and if not, I will say it. I can do that because I don’t want anything from him. Amaechi is suffering injustice.

The former Minister described as a lie, the speculation that Ameachi’s ordeal resulted from his ambition to become the nation’s vice-president.

When asked if the misunderstanding between Amaechi and Wike was of interest to President Goodluck Jonathan, he retorted that “Patience, the President’s wife, hates Amaechi.”

“I hate the word Your Excellency. Which Excellency? Have you ever heard Barack Obama’s wife being addressed as Her Excellency? Or David Cameron’s? he asked.

“We forget that the place of the first lady is completely unconstitutional and irrelevant. I am happy the National Assembly stopped the N4b allocation proposed by the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory for the construction of a building for African First Ladies Mission.

He said the President’s wife wants an Okrika man to be Governor after Amaechi.

“Unfortunately for Patience, she is not restrained at all. She can say anything and do anything without inhibition. Mrs. Jonathan once embarrassed Amaechi at a public function in Okrika. That was uncivilised. I think without further delay, Patience should be humbled enough to publicly tender an unreserved apology for that attitude because being a president’s wife doesn’t give her the licence to be rude. Who will take what Patience did?

“That shows how impatient she is and that shows you how much Amaechi has absorbed. She humiliates him every time. Jonathan caused it because he can’t say no to whatever his wife says. He is a very weak husband and he is a very weak president. Whatever she says must happen. Whenever she goes out with her husband, she stays in front and the husband stays behind her. Nigeria should not take this and the earlier we rose to say this nonsense must stop, the better.

“Wives have a lot of influence on their husbands. Most of the things Jonathan is doing are very wrong. President Jonathan is so obstructive. If she is good, she should be able to talk to her husband not to do things that are not good and always remind him that they should leave good legacies behind. Abdulsalami Abubakar’s wife advised her husband well. She went to the university and law school. But this is a lady that ended in high school.

The Professor further argued that Mrs. Jonathan has a degree.

“As far as my record shows, I don’t attach any degree to her, but if I am wrong, please, Reuben Abati, publish it and let me be educated. As far as I know, she did some secretarial studies or something. There is no record that says that Mrs. Jonathan is a graduate. I am saying that the excesses of Mrs. Jonathan can’t be a positive platform for her husband to be a president. In fact, in any other country, if you are unable to restrain your wife’s excesses, you are impeached and you go back to your village and stay.
Lamenting the recent visit of the First Lady to Port Harcourt, the academic cum social critic said “I was there. I witnessed it. I arrived the same day. Fortunately, I left the airport before they closed the road, but I saw the crowd gathering. It was a very obscene show of arrogance of power. As soon as I checked into my hotel, the sirens came. Even Amaechi couldn’t come out of the Government House. Where did she get the money to build that big house she just built? There was a heavy security and the neighbours were complaining. When I was leaving the airport, I counted at least 20 security cars. One of the policemen said: ‘Professor, hurry up before the super human comes.”

On Jonathan’s desire to seek re-election, he admitted that the President has the right to contest.

“According to the constitution, he has the right to contest, with some caveat. All the noise of continuing and completing Yar’Adua’s tenure are all academic, they are all just expression to justify what he wants to do. Does he deserve another term? My answer is that he doesn’t deserve it. Jonathan is not showing enough gratitude to Nigerians. If he ruled as a president after Yar’Adua and after that contested again and won, now ruling, he doesn’t have the moral right to contest again. Pragmatically, he is asking for third term.

“The other moral aspect, which people are glossing over, is the agreement with the North that he is going to serve only one term? Governor Aliyu Babangida of Niger State is a responsible man, highly educated and knowledgeable. He said Jonathan promised to go for only one term and it was on that basis that the North supported him. I believe him.

“Those asking for documents are talking nonsense. Jonathan is used to lies. He has lied before concerning rotational presidency. When they say that it is contained in PDP constitution that presidency is rotational between the North and the South, Jonathan openly said that there is nothing like that in the PDP constitution. He was corrected by Ebenezer Babatope. Babatope is a great friend of mine, but his activities in PDP are so repulsive to me. Babatope said Jonathan is equal to Awolowo plus Zik plus Sadauna and I said he is talking nonsense. Awolowo made Babatope. Awolowo sent Babatope to study Law in London. His statement is not only disrespectful to Awolowo, but also heresy. Jonathan signed that constitution that says that presidency is rotational. A president that told such a big lie should be impeached.