DAYS preceding that of the declaration, the tempo of activities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) climaxed, as consultations, preparations and advance plans heightened. It was noticeable that the city was going to be overtaken by human and vehicular traffic in a matter of days.
It was observed that many who attended the event kept calling their contacts in Abuja, asking for assistance to secure hotel reservations to avoid a last-minute rush and possible disappointment. On the eve of the declaration day, when Sunday Tribune went round prominent hotels in Abuja, it was gathered that all the available hotel rooms had been booked. Some of the hotels visited included Transcorp Hotel, Bolingo Hotels and Towers, 1st Forty, Sheraton, Agura Hotel, Bayelsa State Guest House and Sigma Apartment.
One of the visitors who spoke with Sunday Tribune at Sigma Apartment, Wuse, lamented that she had already wasted a lot of money on taxi, moving round hotels to secure accommodation, to no avail. She said that due to the high-level of mobilisation of the people from Bayelsa State and other states in the South South, it was apparent that many people from the state and the zone were going to attend the event.
As situation stood regarding the shortage of hotel rooms, they were to face some level of frustration. Also on the eve of the declaration day, a number of President Goodluck Jonathan’s loyalists who thronged Abuja had to sleep at the Eagle Square venue; in the open and under cold weather.
An emergency security meeting was equally held between the heads of the Army, Navy, State Security Services, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Bala Mohammed to assess the state of security ahead the declaration and fine-tune other strategies to ensure that there was no security breach.
State of Affairs On The Declaration Day
The venue was already overtaken by people and activities as early as 8:30 a.m. Part of the early callers included traders, comprising sellers of Jonathan’s branded shirts and caps. They literary invaded the venue to make brisk business. Nature also smiled on the event with a very clement weather. Of course, the Eagle Square was filled beyond capacity with an overflow.
Traffic officers had a herculean task maintaining flow of traffic and introduced various diversions to aid easy movement, prompting many people to trek kilometres to the venue. As expected, posters of the president sponsored by politicians, including governors interested in contesting various offices in 2011, flooded the venue and adorned strategic positions in the nation’s capital.
Many taxis and other private vehicles were conspicuously painted with “Breath of Fresh Air”, with the picture of the president strategically inserted. To maintain adequate security around the venue, combined team of the army, police, civil defence with the police dogs were at hand. Police also added boost to the security as it deployed surveillance helicopter which continuously hovered around the venue to monitor the situation.
There was an unusual site around the venue of a man without clothes on, but wrapped in black leather and lying face down while the event lasted, showing that there could be more to the event than the physical. In all, the human tsunami that hit the venue, no doubt, presented a precursor to what to expect in coming weeks when the primaries of the PDP and the actual campaigns would eventually kick-off. Be that as it may, many factors contributed to the success recorded by the declaration.
The Governors’ Connection
One of the factors that contributed to the success of the declaration of President Jonathan included the desire by some of the PDP governors to vie for second term. The affected governors, apart from those of Niger, Dr. Aliyu Babangida; Zamfara, Alhaji Mamudu Shinkafi and Adamawa, Alhaji Murtala Nyako, had shunned the previous declarations by the former head of state, Ibrahim Babangida and the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar.
The states’ helmsmen wanted to be noticed at all cost so as not to put their loyalty to the ambition of the president in doubt. That also informed why they heavily mobilised their supporters to Abuja.
The Zonal Contribution
The fact that the declaration by President Jonathan was the very first time that a serving president from the South South extraction was seeking election contributed to the huge mobilisation of people of the zone to attend the event. The presence of most of the repentant militants was noticeable.
The staunch support of political leaders of the zone, to Jonathan’s ambition added to the success greatly. Apart from that, the South-South zone had taken a bold decision earlier to demonstrate unprecedented support to the president through their attendance so as not to give the impression which could be capitalised upon by the northern elements unfavourably disposed to the candidature of Jothanan, following the retention of the zonal arrangement of the PDP.
Jonathan’s qualities
There is no gainsaying the fact that the qualities of Jonathan added colour to the event. His mobilisation skills, especially during the days when he campaigned for the office of governor of Bayelsa State before he was picked by the late President Musa Yar’Adua also played great role.
From the humble service as deputy governor, governor, vice president and presently president of the country, Jonathan has, no doubt, endeared himself to many. His wife, Patience who is seen in various quarters as a great mobiliser, on her own, must have added some support that resulted in the large crowd pulled by the declaration ceremony. As it stands, the goodwill which Jonathan wielded prior to his emergence as president was yet to wane despite the efforts in the recent time to discredit his ability to unite the country and move it forward.
Age factor
Jonathan is seen in many quarters as a symbol of change and an aspirant that could represent the interest of the youths of the nation. Ranging from IBB to Atiku, Jonathan remains a paradigm shift from the old order where retired military leaders and old-same politicians were recycled, in the eyes of his loyalists. That factor must have pulled the youths who decided to stage an open solidarity.
PDP’s character
Historically, PDP is known for displaying unflinching support for the leader of the party who has an interest to continue in office, especially if the coast is clear. It is obvious that the executive of the party would do everything possible to ensure a successful outing for the leader in the declaration and campaigns. No officer would prefer to be seen as disloyal. In such ceremonies, the party had siezed every opportunity to further showcase it as the leading political party in the continent.
The International Community Connection
It is a known fact that the international community was watching to see whether Jonathan would be able to conduct a free and fair poll in 2011. Ability to do so with his joining the race is also being monitored. However, the success or otherwise of his declaration was viewed as a step in assessing what would be the turn of the event in coming weeks as the build-up to the polls approaches. This, the president and his foot soldiers have kept sacrosanct and do not want to stage a first flop.
The Pre-Declaration Prayer Session
Jonathan remains the first aspirant to the presidency in 2011 who organised an open prayer session to seek God’s approval, prior to his declaration day. The desire to seek divine direction must have provided some level of result and contributed greatly to the eventual success of the day.
With the eventual declaration, all is now set for the president to participate in the forthcoming primaries and possibly in the 2011 presidential poll. How far Jonathan can go, however, remains a matter which time will definitely tell.
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