The Action Congress of Nigeria has described the decision to name the Maitama District Extension in Abuja after President Goodluck Jonathan as a ‘poisoned chalice’ which the President must immediately refuse to drink from.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said while Jonathan may not have been the one behind the decision, it is incumbent on him to exhibit a sense of decency and modesty, which many have attributed to him, by rejecting it.
The party said: “A President who has been described by his erudite spokesman as ‘thoughtful’, ‘highly experienced’, and ‘scholarly’ is definitely not expected to allow himself to be hoodwinked into accepting such an offer of having anything named after him while still in office.
“In the first instance, none of President Jonathan’s predecessors, including the man who initiated the Abuja idea, the late Gen. Murtala Mohammed, and the man who finally moved the capital city from Lagos to Abuja, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, has a district named after him, whether in or out of office.
“Secondly, it is the height of immodesty for a sitting President to agree to any decision to name a street, a monument or a district after him, even when he may not have been the one who initiated the idea. This probably explains why ‘District Six’ in Cape Town, South Africa, was not changed to ‘Mandela’s District’ when he (Mandela) was in office, or why the Manhanttan area of New York has not been named after US President Barack Obama.
“Back home in Nigeria, we have no scintilla of doubt that Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos will reject any offer to name the Victoria Island Extension after him while in office.
“President Jonathan should know that whoever is behind the idea to name the Maitama District Extension in Abuja after him is not doing so for altruistic reasons, and he should not fall for such a cheap idea that amounts to self glorification. When he leaves office, and on the basis of the legacy he is perceived to have left behind, his successor will decide – and Nigerians will acclaim – which street or monument should be named after him.
“Until then, Mr. President, please concentrate your energy on how you can deliver the dividends of democracy to our long-suffering people, who have waited in vain since 1999 – under successive PDP administrations – for the goodies that come with this much-acclaimed system of government.”
The party warned that if the President allows the hero-worshippers behind the district-naming idea to have their way, he should remember that there is always the ignominy that goes with having such actions reviewed and reversed in future.