Vice President Goodluck Jonathan made his first national broadcast to the nation, Friday, amidst raging controversy over the propriety or otherwise of him stepping into the shoes of his boss and Nigeria's  President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who has been away on exile on account of his failing health.

LEADERSHIP SUNDAY reliably gathered that, but for the heightened disagreement on the issue of Yar’Adua handing over to Jonathan which appears to favour the vice president transmuting into acting president, some members of the Federal Executive Council, FEC and a cabal of the ruling PDP vehemently kicked against him making the broadcast .

According to them, such a broadcast would send the signal that the vice president could as well effectively take off full control of the realms of power. They also expressed fears that Jonathan being cerebral and circumspect could take advantage of the situation and gain more public sympathy. To them, making the broadcast would further expose the gravity of the absence of  President Yar Adua.

However, these antagonistic groups who are hell-bent on maintaining the status quo were swayed to submission after a careful consideration of the carnage in Jos and the likely consequence of looming anarchy which the persistent silence from the president or his vice portends on the nation. They feared that some ambitious young soldiers may see this as the most auspicious time to strike with a coup.

President Umaru Yar’ Adua unceremoniously abdicated his office and took admission in a Saudi Arabia hospital. Nigerians thought initially that it was one of those routines emergency trips to his doctors which usually took less than a couple  of days or at most one week. As a result Nigerians did not raise any eyebrow when it was discovered that the president did not hand over to his deputy when he left.

But when the president's stay abroad lingered longer than the run of his previous trips, Nigerians from all works of life became restive and started querying why the president did not follow the constitutional procedure of dutifully handing over to his immediate subordinate in line with his penchant on due process and rule of law. This is more so when there were crucial national issues which required the government to be on its toes.

The FEC holding brief for the president who has maintained sealed lips and refused to talk to the Nigerian media on the present condition of his health, but was not indisposed to opening up to the BBC, explained it in a way that the president was not aware that he would be compelled to stay longer than usual and so did not find it necessary to hand over to his vice.

However, as the days unfold and the return of the president becoming more uncertain the need to allow vice president Jonathan to begin to perform the duties of the president albeit in acting capacity became more imperative. Some of the factors which sent this home to the members of the FEC and PDP who have opposed the move were the avalanche of controversies which have dogged the country in the last couple of  months.

Fuel scarcity which has re-surfaced in our fuel stations called for the president to address the nation and give assurance that normalcy would return but the president was not there. The vice president still seething with opposition from within could also not react. The Abdulmutallab suicide bomb saga and its aftermath listing of the country as a terror country came up but the president was nowhere to be found and so could not speak on it. Although his minister of Justice Michael Aondoaaka, told Nigerians that the president had spoken on the matter but it was not reported in any foreign or local media.

The vice president all the time these were happening still could not take charge and call the nation to order. He preferred to be calm and watching the un-folding play-out between the pro and anti- Jonathan as acting president. But when the Jos crisis erupted, it took the nation by storm. Only two days into the crisis over 200 persons were declared killed while over 20,000 had been rendered homeless. Not able to stomach the country's gradual drift into lawlessness and anarchy, the government came to the conclusion that it was now obvious that the country could not afford to continue to wait for Yar’ Adua's return to address these pressing issues.

It was at that point that all the parties involved in the 'acting president' controversy decided that it was time for the vice president to take over the mantle of leadership. On the strength of this recent development the vice president was (Thursday) allowed to address the nation as if he were the president.

The speech by Acting President-in-waiting, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, was brief and to the point. He came on the screen of most Nigerians appearing like a no-nonsense man who was not out to embellish his words or coat them with those flowery expression which end up giving the people false hopes. He also did not indulge in invectives rather he called attention to the carnage which had taken the life of many residents of Jos and was threatening to set fire to the country pointing out that the country would not fold its arms and allow a group of miscreant and hoodlum to turn the country upside down.

Jonathan was obviously careful not to make any comments beyond the frame of reference the people who planned the speech gave. And so he restricted himself to the uprising in Jos. He, however, subtly chipped in that individuals must be made to pay for the crimes they committed and not letting the entire country suffer from one man's offence which was to many a veiled reference to the Mutallab's episode and the move by the US to make all Nigerians suffer for the young man's sin by branding every Nigerian a potential terrorist.

The vice president being watched from the screen appeared stern and in no mood for the pleasure of a little smile. One could have thought that he was bundled and forced on the sit from where he read the broadcast

There is no doubt that Goodluck Jonathan would be a man of his own mind and purpose when he eventually mounts the stable. All this time that controversy over his becoming acting president raged the man did not give away his true feeling or position on the matter. He did not want to appear to be ambitious neither did he want to present himself as another puppet waiting to get the orders and briefing to begin to do the bidding of the cabal allegedly remote controlling anyone who becomes the country's president.

It may not be known easily  the true intent of a man's heart and so it may be too presumptuous to begin to state categorically the type of president, Jonathan would become, especially given the experience, of Nigerians with ailing President Yar’Adua whom Nigerians reposed a lot of confidence when he assumed office only to be disappointed because the president did not disclose to Nigerians the true state of his health.

Jonathan may not have made his personal ambition known, but what has always worked for him is his luck at always being just there when his boss is about to leave office unceremoniously. It happened in the case of Alameisiagha, his former boss who was impeached and promptly sent to jail for fraud. Goodluck mounted the Bayelsa State government stable as governor and enjoyed a peaceful reign before he was providentially choosen to become the second in command of an ailing President Yar’Adua. Again the same scenario has presented itself albeit under a different circumstance. Anyhow, one looks at it Jonathan would become acting president and having served under a president who was literally never there, his activities of acting though unofficially for the president may have prepared him for effectively taking over and knowing what to do all eyes are certainly trailed on him.

Extract of that first speech read; "This is one crisis too many, and the federal government finds it most unacceptable, retrogressive and capable of further sundering the bonds of unity in our country, the country cannot afford these constant eruptions, and the government is determined to find a permanent solution to the Jos crisis.

I gave directive to all the security agents to bring every thing under control. What has happened is man's inhumanity to man. Such acts are sinful both in the eyes of God and man. We order the army to lead the security forces to take over the areas affected. The security has the capacity to contain the situation and   those found to have fanned the embers of the crisis would be arrested and speedily brought to book. The federal government will secure conviction of the culprits. We have the capacity to protect and defend the lives of all citizens irrespective of their religious ethnicity or political background the federal government is on top of the situation we will ensure the safety  and well-being of all citizens wherever they may be", he said.