It
is yet another season of political power play. Each government comes
with its version, but they are all the same. They seek power, but
without the deep conviction of how to utilise it for the transformation
of society. At the end of the day, they leave citizens stranded. Nigeria
is stranded.
When Nigerians demanded democratic rule
after years of military encroachment, there was a justifiable urgency to
have power transferred by all means. There was, however, no serious
debate on how to utilise the enormous powers and resources. Too much was
left in the hands of the political parties and their sponsors. Too much
was left in the hands of the president and the hangers-on.
Today, it is a shame that Nigerians have
resorted to street protests, in order to command a hearing from those
they have enthroned. Those who begged for votes yesterday and promised
heaven on earth are now locked in the same power play they accused
others of. Voters who thought they saw Change in 2015 are now blaming
their blurry sights. They were sold gbanjo. Even for the elected, it has
become a game of survival. There is now a difference among those in the
inner chambers and those in the periphery. We saw it the other time.
Forget photo tricks.
I was worried, that after it became
manifest that President Buhari needed more than the original 10-day
medical break he asked for, the next thing to surface in the social
media was that some people had asked the Acting Vice President, Yemi
Osinbajo to resign. Some of the stories were that Osinbajo needed
prayers because some people have mounted pressure on him to resign.
Resign for what? What prayers for a man whose office is well protected
by the Constitution? He is physically fit as fiddle, and has not
offended the relevant sections of the laws. In terms of competence and
character, he exhibits ample supply of the two. Yet, they say some
northern governors and other powerful interests were holding meetings to
demand that Osinbajo resigns. It didn’t make sense to me, that the one
who is physically fit was being pressured to resign, while his
principal, President Buhari, who has health challenges, was not
pressured to resign. I dismissed it.
It didn’t make sense that anybody would
think of asking an Acting president to resign just like that. What
replacement were they going to recommend, when President Buhari has
already transferred power to his former vice, via the letter transmitted
to the National Assembly on Thursday January 18; were they going to
create a power vacuum in the Presidency?
The social media sustained that cloudy
state of affairs for nearly one week, until one State House
Correspondent summoned courage, last Monday, to ask if the Acting
president was under any pressure to resign. “I’m Not Under Pressure To
Resign. I was voted for by the people of this nation- myself and Mr.
President- and so the people of this nation have not asked us to
resign,” he declared with an unassuming smile.
That seemed to put that matter to rest,
and put to shame those faceless rumour mongers. But watchers of
political events, who tend to look beyond the immediate, are not amused.
They are quick to draw a corollary between unfolding state of affairs
in Aso Rock with what played out in the days, when President Umaru
Yar’Adua presented with serious health challenges in 2010. Yar’Adua’s
health issues were shrouded in secrecy, to the extent that he travelled
abroad in February 2010 without transmitting to the NASS the letter that
was to transfer power to vice president Goodluck Jonathan, in line with
Section 145 of the Constitution.
That breach or more politely, act of
indiscretion, because Yar’Adua was every inch a gentleman to underwrite
any mischief, became a major source of contention between those in the
then Federal Executive Council (FEC), who thought Jonathan should be
invested with acting powers, and power mongers in Yar’Adua’s kitchen
cabinet, who thought otherwise. The latter group’s major worry was that
in the event that Yar’Adua failed to come back, as it indeed turned out,
the powers of the Presidency would constitutionally remain with
Jonathan in line with Section 146. It wasn’t that they did not know what
the Constitution recommended. They were just unable to relate with that
reality, because in their mentality, the Presidency had gone up north
for eight years and Jonathan is not from the north.
It took the intervention of the Senate,
ably led by David Mark to step Nigeria down from the volatile intrigues,
to recommend the Doctrine of Necessity, which conferred on Jonathan
acting status. Yar’Adua was unable to return to office and throughout
that period the country was a hotbed of power play. It took time for
Jonathan to stabilise the polity and before you know it, 2011 elections
were underway. Technically, the period 2007 to 2011 was dedicated by the
PDP to sort out its issues of whether or not rotational clause in its
constitution allows Jonathan to inherit the remaining months Yar’Adua
left behind.
That is one of the troubles with
Nigeria. The Yar’Adua Presidency was procured under the PDP, of which
Jonathan was nominated and elected as vice president. It was a joint
ticket, supposedly belonging to one family. But when it became clear
that Yar’Adua was no longer fit for the job, some PDP members from the
north could not imagine why Jonathan should inherit their property.
The theory of threats and pressure being
mounted on Osinbajo to resign are likely sourced from what played out
in the PDP. Osinbajo was nominated by their party to be vice president.
Buhari agreed to it and they were jointly presented for the 2015
presidential election. They campaigned together and shared the same
vision for the country.
What Nigerians expect is that the APC
would be at least one step ahead of where the PDP left off. Before the
elections, there were insinuations that candidate Buhari was no longer
as fit as fiddle. Age had taken a toll on his stamina and he showed
exhaustion and fatigue during the campaigns. But because he was the best
and only candidate to send PDP out of power, all the telltale signs
that would have warranted double-checks on the part of APC were totally
ignored. Those who dared to offer warnings were routinely abused and
denounced.
It is even worse that the government is
climbing into mid-term without much to show. This is the year for
serious work for the Presidency and Nigerians are tired of stories. They
want a Presidency that is vibrant and clear on issues. Nigerians want
an economy that is working, with a clear roadmap on electricity, health,
manufacturing, fixing of roads, providing internal security and
generally making life comfortable for the people. This government has
not come near 20 percent of its promises and people’s expectations.
The APC is going to come under more
pressure, as this episode plays out. The President will return in good
shape to continue with his mandate. But it goes beyond him. There are
variables man cannot take for granted, so long as we remain humans.
Every second from now will exert more pressure on the President’s
energies. He should do the little he can and delegate. He should not
allow power mongers to stampede him into matters that age and mental
fitness have taken out of his reach. He should disown 2019 and begin to
groom a candidate for his party. That will douse the tension that has
soaked APC, waiting just for anything inflammable to consume it. If he
does not do that, his inaction will invariably unleash on the polity a
rat race for 2019. The race will be fierce in the APC and it will
distract governance a good deal.
As Buhari returns, he should rebrand and
endeavour to work to leave behind more enduring legacies. The ferreting
of hidden loots by the EFCC is a great art. Nigeria needs such art to
transform from present abnormality into a country with a sure future.
Buhari cannot afford to leave Nigeria worse than he met it!
Alabi Williams wrote this article for Guardian, where it was first published.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
0 comments:
Post a Comment