“For forms of government let the fools contest, whatever is best administered is best governed.” – British political philosopher, Lord Acton
As the march towards general elections in 2015 draws nearer home in Nigeria, the political drums of wit, wisdom and war are beating high tempo and fast assuming a cacophonic crescendo, finding willing dancers amongst all the stakeholders in country.
Today, tongues are wagging as to who should become the next President in the Continent’s largest democracy. From the man on the street, beer-parlour and taxi-cubicle, farmers tilling the soil and nomads gracing their livestock; up to the eggheads in universities, public service, religious centres and political jobbers – the topic has been the same.
Should the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party continue despite his perceived short-comings and laxities, or would Nigerians vote for the Change being proclaimed by the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, APC? Here’s is the dilemma.
The ruling party, PDP, has taken the bull by the horns by limiting their candidature for the office of President to one person alone: Dr. Jonathan, the current president, being “begged” and TAN-ned to run “after performing so well.” In truth, reality lives in a landscape of ceasefire, crossfire and doubtful continuity. But will the APC grab this momentum for change with both hands?
Unlike the PDP, the idea of a consensus candidate may not after all suffice for the APC, which now parades a tripod of titanic gladiators. The Three Musketeers: Kano State Governor, Mallam Rabiu Musa Kwankanso; former Military Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, retired; and former civilian Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Meanwhile, there is a fourth columnist in race, media mogul Mr. Sam Ida-Isaiah of Leadership newspapers, who is still relatively invisible despite picking up a whopping N27.5M form with ease, unlike Buhari who went for a bank bail-out.
Of late, the mega political alliance of APC is becoming what some have called a “democratic house of commotion “. There has been a litany of accusations and counter accusations from the aspirants’ camps. And understandably, all the candidates are fielding justifications that would find them favour with the voters, especially the 6,000 likely party delegates. But must caution be in the winds? Currently the limits of defamation, denigration and, not in the least, disaffection are being stretched elastic. Well, one may want to say that ‘all is fair in war as it is in love’.
But let’s put sentiments apart and try to draw sense out of this whole political closet. Does ideal democratic practice rest on the plank of unopposed candidature or a consensus by a few over the greater majority? No, it doesn’t. Therefore, those arguing for no primaries in the APC are definitely not doing the Party of Change a world of favour. After all, the beauty of democracy is in people’s participation, freedom of association and expression of interest. This also correlates with the tenets of people’s power of process and platform.
Already, the firmament has been painted in the tar coat of misgivings, primordial emotions and utter misconceptions. Sadly, matters of religion, ethnicity, wealth and wherefrom have relegated core issues of good governance such as the economy, employment, wealth creation, security and unity, infrastructure, power and energy, health and education.
How many of the APC presidential aspirants can truly hold sway and stand his ground, firmly, on the altar of character, competence and capabilities – based on current global indexes for development. The Kwankanso Red Revolution is a pilot that may suit Kano fine but it is still an anathema to most parts of the country. And Buhari’s stoic and Spartan mien may not necessarily translate to administrative excellence; given his recent gaffes on N27.5m bank loan to buy presidential ticket and his alleged religiously polarising support for a Muslim-Muslim ticket, in today’s secular Nigeria. Never mind those who labelled him “a religious fanatic.”
Meanwhile, APC would expand the horizon of democracy in the land, if it could subject the aspirants to a trade test of discussion on issues that touch the hearts of the ordinary Nigerian. True leadership should be about pragmatic ideas, provable antecedents and enduring future culture.
I recently watched with relish how a youngman, Ola Fabiyi, projected Atiku on television, as the bedrock of democracy in Nigeria buttressing his points with the celebrated 21 landmark cases that have today enriched the law and people. He also told the world that the former Vee Pee is a wealth creator and job generator of repute. Not done, he upped Atiku as a policy developer and implementer who has copyright for the Niger Delta Ministry, etc.
Ideas rule the world. Imagine the Finance Minister and Coordinator of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, telling the world that trouble looms for petro-dollar Nigeria with the price of oil spiralling down the stairs in the global market.
After all, a great leader often emerges from the ashes of a national disaster that requires a collective courage to rise again. That is a desirable change. Hence, the APC should be receptive to the idea of having a long-lasting change, rather than a short-lived whirlwind that will blow no good to anyone.
The candidates should prove their mettle through rigorous internal party interrogation and supervision; to avoid a situation where the prized saddle of Nigeria’s presidency is wrongly handed over to yet another unprepared individual that will muddle our commonwealth and common conscience.
This is in line with the socio-political principle of British philosopher, Lord Acton who opined that: For forms of government, let the fools contest; whatever is best administered is best governed. It is therefore sensible to wear the cap on the head it fits, perfectly. For the presence of the word best, in lexicon, surely thrashes better as a misnomer.
Finally, it is only logical to reason that those who cannot create wealth may not be the best manager of wealth. And no true direct foreign investor would want to risk his or her hard-earned resources into the custody of a none-savvy and inexperienced political leader, one without modern economic know-how and global acceptability. Nigeria today needs help! And APC must prescribe the right human asset panacea, the desired change, for a nation that is hungry for socio-economic emancipation and political rejuvenation.
The writer, Alaba Yusuf, is a journalist and public commentator based in Abuja.
