Day Akume hit Jonathan below the belt
It was a solemn occasion meant to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of one of Africa’s brightest leaders, the late Gen. Murtala Ramat Mohammed, who was murdered in
It was a solemn occasion meant to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of one of Africa's brightest leaders, the late Gen. Murtala Ramat Mohammed, who was murdered in a bloody coup led by Lt. Col. Bukar Suka Dimka.
Gathered at the venue were prominent African leaders, including Ghanaian President, John Dramani Mahama; former President Olusegun Obasanjo; former President Goodluck Jonathan, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to mention a few.
Discussions at the venue had centred on African leadership, and those present had taken turns to discuss the dynamic example provided by the late Gen. Mohammed in the six-month period he held sway as Head of State.
Of particular concern, however, was the failure of successive African leaders to provide Mohammed's kind of leadership for their citizens. So, when it was his time to speak, it was vintage Jonathan, then 67-year-old, who got up to deliver his antidote to Africa's leadership crisis, arguing vehemently that the way out of the quagmire was to ensure that Africa is led by leaders whose age is not more than 70.
Leaders below the age bracket, he argued, were guaranteed to be more dynamic than others above it. Unknown to him, he had just handed the Akume, the oil with which he would be roasted.
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So, when it was his turn to speak, the SGF got up with his usually graceful mien and began to extol Mohammed's leadership qualities. And while the audience was captivated by his imaginatively packaged and arrestingly delivered speech, Akume dropped a bombshell that hit Jonathan right below the belt.
He began on a note of agreement that African leaders could, indeed, draw serious inspiration from Mohammed's leadership style. Then he delivered the sucker punch: "Because of Murtala, they say younger people are better. But we had a president who was not 70 when he became president, and there was a serious challenge: hundreds of students were abducted from a secondary school.
“But even when security reports indicated where the abducted students were, the government of the day lived in denial. So, when great action was needed, the government was indecisive.
“All we were hearing was 'There is God o'. That was not a question of age; it was a question of capacity."
Pin-drop silence fell on the audience as Akume's words sank in like dry Harmattan air. But he proceeded by adding that now, under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, actions are prompt, kidnapped people are rescued, decisions are taken, and people can tell the difference between then and now.
Obasanjo wriggled in his seat in obvious discomfiture as Akume delivered his punches. And when the time came for group photographs, Jonathan reportedly nudged Akume and jokingly told the SGF that his punch hit him below the belt.
