The journey since 1999 has recorded many under-achievements; Nigerians deserve much better yields, writes MONDAY PHILIPS EKPE
But for former President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to move Democracy Day to June 12, May 29 would still have been the official date. Thankfully, however, it remains a landmark that separates the nation’s military adventure in politics from this present republic and the longest in its history. Nineteen ninety-nine ushered in a transition with a special package: an ex-military head of state went through democratic processes and became the one to lay the requisite foundations. Quite significantly, the same man, General Olusegun Obasanjo, it was who in 1979 handed over the baton to the only president produced by the Second Republic, the late Alhaji Shehu Shagari.
Sadly, for some strange reasons, since the inception of this republic, no government, in the estimation of many Nigerians, has out-performed its predecessors. Imagine, for instance, with all the biting hardships under Buhari only two years ago, many Nigerians now look back longingly. Admonitions to be patient with President Bola Tinubu as he engages in what he sees as vital surgeries for a brighter tomorrow are dead to the ear mainly because people neither see sacrifices made by the government and its agents nor the practicality and fruition of the policies.
This downward movement in the country’s socio-economic wellbeing has left many citizens in the realm of nostalgia. Economists and statisticians of various persuasions may come up with data to indicate otherwise but issues of welfare and safety are not always captured through graphs and tables. Most Nigerians are on the streets, figuratively. Not in cosy rooms where charts are displayed and analysed. Elitist analyses often ignore the actual variables that the lower and disappearing middle classes grapple with daily. How many policy makers truly understand that tens of millions of our people can’t even afford paracetamol to treat headache or a simple meal of ‘eba’ without meat? It is to the shame of successive regimes that over two and half decades since khaki and jackboots were replaced with ‘agbada’, many people are deeply concerned about their base, visceral needs. And no one should blame them for defining the value of the representative governance they now have using mundane, rudimantary outcomes as parameters.
Why should anyone be condemned to disillusionment in the midst abundant but squandered opportunities? Our political leaders and the ruled must squarely face this poser head-on. In the eye of the public, the former are largely perceived to be made up of those who are too incompetent, greedy and short-sighted to be beneficial to their constituencies and country. As for the latter, the lingering tragedy is compounded by their docility, having been sufficiently weighed down by the twin lethal conditions of hunger and poverty.
Today, President Tinubu stands tall and is in a unique vantage position like none of his predecessors. Reason: More than at any other time, the institutions mandated to keep him in check are at their weakest. And the downtrodden who are allowed by law to, at least, protest are now very downtrodden indeed. He’s probably not to blame but he reaps the benefits or burdens of this anomaly all the same. Let’s hope the president is handling the psychology of the moment well. Being one of Nigeria’s most experienced living politicians, that shouldn’t be a problem. But because people do have their limitations, he probably needs reminders about the sensibilities and propensities he’s dealing with.
It isn’t new that persons who claim to pursue power for the purpose of rendering services sometimes do so for selfish reasons. That means stated altruistic objectives are often a façade for myopic motives. Midway into his presidency, Tinubu is being hailed even by unexpected individuals and groups as the greatest thing to happen to the country in the current dispensation. But there’s de javu here. The late former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had more than two years to the end of his term and was battling for his health when some jobbers started campaigning for a second term for him. Buhari’s time witnessed something similar. While the country prayed for its president’s healing and endured his frequent foreign medical trips, agitations for his second coming began in earnest. The usual chorus is for the incumbent to be given the chance to continue with the good works (whatever they may be) started during the first term.
Tinubu may also wish to be reminded that as loathed (vigorously so promoted by the Nigerian media) as the late General Sani Abacha was, he once had a pet project to be transmuted to a democratically-elected leader. Five political parties that existed in those precarious days – namely United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP), Congress for National Consensus (CNC), Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM), Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN) and National Centre Party of Nigeria (NCPN) – adopted him as their sole candidate for the presidential election. While it’s convenient to attribute their action to the atmosphere of fear which characterised the era, that would be half-truth.
Frankly, the weight and disillusionment of the truncated June 12, 1993 poll were beginning to take their toll on most politically active Nigerians, including those who had vowed to actualise the then undeclared mandate. What ensued was the battle for survival on various fronts. The time had come to eat with the devil, many of them might have reasoned. After all, the cake wasn’t Abacha’s! Many who had sung the common refrain at the time – “on June 12 we stand!” – jumped on the contraption that was designed to civilianise the dark-goggled general and perpetuate his stay in the Villa. The music had to go on, no matter the tunes. Many members of the political class threw caution to the wind and simply decided to push ahead with their own lives.
Abacha who wasn’t credited with much organisational ingenuity or personal charm had willing foot soldiers all over the country to galvanise his ambition. He really didn’t need special qualities as his number one seat was enough to overwhelm his compatriots, many of whom were more at home with selfish, narrow interests. He was so comfortable in his plan and the theatrics around it that the only thing that stopped him from coasting to victory was death. True, people fought against him vehemently but never to a standstill as those who parade themselves as owners of the actualisation struggle would want everybody to believe.
The point here is that one doesn’t have to be a loved, superstar president or any other high-ranking political officer for that matter to command hordes of praise singers and other hangers-on. So, Tinubu would do well to ponder over these and not be flattered by the rash of approvals coming his way from various quarters. This country needs a non-partisan, pragmatic and more purposeful attention urgently. Out of the 26 years of this republic, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) was in the saddle at the centre for 16 years and the All Progressives Congress (APC) has just finished its own 10 years.
As it obtains in other spheres, we really should be discussing the dividends that have accrued under the conservatives versus those of the progressives but that would be sterile as both PDP and APC do not, in practical terms, represent these globally recognised political divides. Different strides of varying degrees have been attained under the five presidents who have run Nigeria in the present democratic cycle, no doubt. But popular frustrations keep rising, unfortunately. One legacy the president should prioritise is to ensure that Nigerians do not have to openly curse the day General Abdulsalami Abubakar handed power to Obasanjo.
Dr Ekpe is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board
