As a child, one grew up to behold the name of Mallam Adamu Ciroma. I was told that he was sometime in the past, the governor of the country’s apex bank, the Central Bank (CBN). I was told because I was not born then though I am now in my thirties. It is also recorded against the elder statesman’s name as a former chief executive of New Nigeria, which never really can be termed a successful news media in spite of huge government investments. In my history and political science books, I also encountered Mallam Adamu Ciroma as one of the leaders of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN). In fact, Richard Joseph, in his account of the fall of the Second Republic, stated that Ciroma was a leading presidential aspirant in the NPN until President Shehu Shagari was selected as the party’s consensus presidential candidate in 1979. Maybe this is the source of Ciroma’s belief in consensus candidacy!

He is a down to earth man who has been very agile and always ready to call a spade a spade and an axe an axe. In recent time when some kleptomaniac politicians decided to jettison the issue of zoning presidency at the detriment of the north and for reason best known to them, Adamu Ciroma stood up and vehemently refused to join the bandwagon device, because he strongly believes that the turn of the north to vie for the presidency cannot and should not be swept under the carpet for whatever selfish and primordial reason.

The quest for consensus among four Northern Presidential aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is approaching its terminus.  In a matter of a few days from now, the outcome of the painstaking exercise will be announced to the public.

The political strength and weaknesses of the aspirants must have been rigorously considered in the bid to deal with the issue that has become imperative in the northern effort to wrest presidential power from the south in the 2011 general elections.

Henry Okah further disclosed that this denial of his was to be used as part of the President’s strategy to pin the terror attack on prominent personalities from the Northern part of Nigeria – where the bulk of the opposition to his, (Jonathan’s), 2011 presidential nomination bid emanates. No one in his right senses will ever believe this very outrageous claim of Henry Okah. To link a sitting President, who is the nation’s overall security boss, with terrorist adventure, (as Henry Okah sought to do in that Al-Jazeera interview), is simply preposterous and an outrage.