A word for the Dukists.

It was inevitable that Duke would not win the PDP nomination. First of all, it was all too good to be true. And when it appears to be so, it invariably is. But Dukists need not despair, worse things could have happened - Babangida could have sought the PDP's nomination. This would have given him a head start, except he's now in a less favourable position should he seek another party's ticket. Best of all though, it means I don't have to go into exile!

If rumours that Duke rejected outright an offer of running mate are true, then he has acted rashly and egotistically. There is the saying about the Labour party in the UK, that they don't actually like being in power because it means they have responsiblities. They'd rather carp on righteously from the sidelines and remain in opposition. But, any politician who claims to care about his people knows that one can only do things with power. Making noise without power, just makes you a... erm... journalist.

What Donald Duke needs is to sign a Granita Pact, or at least one that's worth the paper napkin it's not written on. Granita is of course the name of the restaurant where Messieurs Gordon Brown and Tony Blair apparently signed a deal where Brown lets Blair become Labour leader, in return for substantial power. So Blair became the face of the 'Third Way', and Brown wielded the chequebook as Chancellor. Duke should tell Yar'Adua that he can offer him the South's support come election time. The only problem is the warped reality that Odili is possibly the only person who could deliver the South.

There's the worry in the Yar'Adua camp that a bombastic running mate shouldn't be appointed - of the Odili kind. But, given Yar'Adua's natural "taciturn", "dour", demeanour (just some of the words used to decribe him), it seem inevitable that even a shrinking violet would outshine him. Another key point is his dodgy kidney. If Yar'Adua ends up a sick president, his veep would need to be more prominent in being the face of the presidency and the government.

For Duke to still be in the reckoning when the PDP nomination becomes vacant again, he better start horse-trading. Just my not so humble opinion.

A tale of two Donalds

So as one Donald (Rumsfeld) leaves office, another Donald (Duke) seeks high office. One garbles his words, the other appears to have a mastery of language. One leaves with his legacy in tatters, as bodybags sellers do a brisk business in Baghdad and the Pentagon. The other, begins with an almost suspiciously untarnished reputation: a teacher's pet among Nigerian governors.

Donald Rumsfeld (pictured, right) has become a major scalp of the hiding the Republicans received in the US midterm elections. (Imagine the state of affairs when winning the Senate by one is seen as a landslide - thanks to I'll miss Rummy, but not for Abu Ghraib, Iraqi reconstruction, or extraordinary rendition, but for his way with words. His "known knowns" speech is singularly the greatest ever piece of political obfuscation, intended or otherwise:

There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know.

Journalists love this kind of politician, someone who brings light to their lives outside the drudgery of policy reports and select committee meetings. Which is another reason Bush and Prescott are so loved. Since we'll no longer hear Rumsfeldian wisdom from the Pentagon, I'll be visiting several websites to have my fill of, "The Wise Words of Donald Rumsfeld". Broadcasting House has a juicy archive built up over several shows, or I might even buy what is essentially "Donald Rumsfeld: the Opera", a collection of songs based on the "poetry of Rummy".

As for Donald Duke (pictured, right), he has blog (thanks to Jeremy and Chxta). I sense a Howard Dean style inspired diaspora intelligentsia support for him. Internet donations, the man to change the status quo, the how-can-he-lose candidate. This is Nigeria, of course he can lose. Firstly, he needs the support of the PDP gangsters to secure their nomination, an almost impossible task if he wishes to remain untainted. The PDP nomination will be an indication of where we are as a nation. Are we progressives, or retrogressives? Nominating General Babangida is a no-no, and I'll keep my exile promise if he becomes President.

People have already started to ask hard questions on his blog, most crucially - specifics. Politicians are emperors of the vague, seeking to govern on a solid platform of emptiness. It's solid, but there's nothing in it. Sometimes, along comes a politician with an idea, halleluyah. So let's hear about what Mr Duke has in store for Nigeria. I'm already excited about next year.