Setting A New Order For 2015 As the 2015 presidential elections draw close in Nigeria, I continue to ponder on the definition of democracy, particularly when there are no critical considerations of the relevant variables. Without self- discipline, Nigeria has proved it that democracy is the government of the greedy, by the greedy and the people for the greedy. No wonder your tax record is a major book the press jumps at, as soon as you buy election nomination forms in developed nations. Liberalism and democracy remain a disaster in mufti without self-discipline. This brings me to the keen electoral campaigns going on between the former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) and the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan as they contest in the general elections. The pleasures of campaigns disguised in the robes of agenda setting, propaganda, antecedents and political strategy, is gathering so strongly that it could again becloud logic, truth and reason. First, it is commendable to say that the fast improving electoral processes we have in Nigeria today must be attributed to Jonathan. As far as I am concerned, Jonathan is the living president I have seen in Nigeria that will allow a court of law to remove his party members who perpetrated electoral fraud. That would not have happened 10 years ago. The second truth is that the media grew so confident during Jonathan’s tenure, even sometimes to his disadvantage. Sometimes, I wonder if Buhari would allow this freedom of expression should he win in the coming polls, considering his leadership records. Thirdly, fundamental human rights were less abused during Jonathan’s period compared to what we had in recent times. Yet, two things were critical for Jonathan in the last four years: The proactive plan should have been to fix electric power supply in the country, while the other was to react sharply and early to the Boko Haram insurgency in North-East Nigeria. In both situations, Jonathan responded, but not productively. The problems either grew worse or remained unchanged. He also ignored all allegations of corruption. Of all the allegations of corruption made in the last three years, that which shocked me was the one made by the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, about the missing $20bn. Jonathan has refused to tell us the signatories to these mentioned accounts, where the funds were moved or the men behind the crime curtains, even when investigating such would have needed no rocket science. On the other hand, several issues of the past continue to hunt Buhari; the wanton disrespect for fundamental human rights, his hatred for the freedom of information during his time as Head of State and his disrespect for the rule of law. He could not recall clearly that military laws surpass human rights only in the barracks. Buhari threw all critical caution to the wind to punish civilians without due process. His story today teaches us to learn how to close the doors correctly as young men when you have to leave, as you may have reasons to return. While Jonathan is too slow, Buhari was quite proactive and reactive at the same time (is that more Nigerian?). While Jonathan stuck to the law in handling issues like the state of emergency in Yobe, Sanusi’s sack etc., Buhari, then, went ahead to imprison musical legend and activist, Fela Anikulapo- Kuti, amongst others, without any recourse to the rule of law. While Jonathan permitted the Freedom of Information bill to fly, even to his own detriment, I doubt if Buhari would have done the same, with the memories of the harrowing experiences of incarcerated journalists like Tunde Thompson on my mind. While Senator Bola Tinubu continues to rise and soar during Jonathan’s time, I keep asking if Tinubu could achieve all these with a Buhari serving as an opposing Peoples Democratic Party president. I am sure he would have been calmed down in Gashua prisons now. While Jonathan kept looking for lies to stick to the rule of law, Buhari is known to be a major abuser of the rule of law. I also hate to hear Buhari say that Jonathan has grown corruption to its peak in Nigeria. Several of Buhari’s kinsmen in the military and outside the army have stolen billions in the past without Buhari talking about it. I think it is high time we differentiated between propaganda and campaign. But, people improve! Former President Olusegun Obasanjo also committed several human rights abuses in this country and disrespected the rule of law. Yet, he came back to speak against some of these acts. I know he didn’t change absolutely, but he improved. I think Buhari will too, but with an advantage. Anyone that will institutionalise democracy must be disciplined himself. To achieve that, anyone that knows he has a weakness of disrespect for the rule of law will be wise to keep a professor of law as his deputy. Anyone who knows he is alleged to have sentiments of religious extremism and bigotry will be wise to keep a pastor close to himself for balance. If I know I do not talk so effortlessly, I will rather keep an erudite speaker and motivator around me for naked grooming than disgrace myself in that interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. Each time I remember that interview, I scream (please, where is Babatunde Raji Fashola or Donald Duke? Where is intelligence?). If I know that my wife is not eloquent or polished, will I not send her to the best finishing schools before flagging a first lady’s office, rather than allowing her to embarrass everyone and start another hybrid of Cosby show? Nigeria will never survive with clueless leaders. Nigerians have taken corruption to the next stage. Gone are the days of over-the-counter corruption and Ghana-must-go thefts. The corruption today is institutionalised from bid rigging, inflated pricing, to unconfirmed project completions and legal official embezzlements without any project audit. A question was asked by Dr. Shamushideen Usman’s during one of the National Economic Summit Group meetings some years back when he asked, “Why does it cost three times more to construct a road in Nigeria than in Ghana?” You may tell me you need electricity to start more companies and create employment, but electricity should not be the reason why road construction should be three times more expensive. For now, no political party in Nigeria is ready to answer this question sincerely. What we need now is a sanitiser to set a new order. Abundant creativity, genius and human capacity abound in every corner of this nation, but we need a selfless leader to channel that blessed course. We need someone who will understand democracy with a deep grasp of the rule of law. We need someone who is disciplined in his personal life. We need someone who is the head of his home. We need a disciplinarian. Having sent our kids to the best of schools, we need to create an atmosphere back home where our kids do not need to embezzle funds to succeed. The zeal and the inner strength to vote a disciplined leader into power (as well as to help him remain same) or vote him out rests strongly on the inside of you and me. But, that power to achieve it is right on your thumb. Please, vote intelligently.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 07:32:43 +0000
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