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Yar’Adua’s World
By Fred Igbeare
The man is said to be dull and uninspiring. His controversial election as PDP presidential candidate was almost marred by a partial blackout. The loss of electricity at the PDP convention symbolizes the party’s level of success in ruling Nigeria, and raises a curious question. How can someone like Gov. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who lacks an electrifying presence solve Nigeria’s myriad problems, a principal part of which is the lack of constant electricity?
Those who are opposed to a Yar'Adua presidency in Nigeria would do so for these reasons:
- It is not the turn of the North—someone from the South-South or South-East should be president.
- Because the South-East has been denied the presidency, separatism in that region could increase with the possibility of another civil war.
- Yar’Adua is not charismatic.
- He is Obasanjo’s lackey, fulfilling the president’s post-third-term ambition to rule by proxy.
- He is an establishment candidate who will not do much to help the masses—they are dying from Obasanjo’s economic reforms.
- He looks weak like former President Shehu Shagari who didn’t resist a military coup to defend Nigeria’s budding, if imperfect, democracy.
- His health is failing and he may not be able to cope with the strains of governing a wahala-filled country like Nigeria.
- He may be keen on imposing Sharia law on the whole country, which is probably one of the quickest ways to provoke a religious civil war in Nigeria.
- He is a leftist politician; you thought OBJ was a despot, wait until this one shows his true colors!
Those who are in support of a Yar’Adua presidency in Nigeria would do so for these reasons:
- It is the turn of the North now because of the agreement between PDP leaders to have power return up North, which would then be returned back South after Yar’Adua’s tenure.
- He picked a South-South candidate, Jonathan Goodluck, for Vice-President, which can help reduce or even eliminate the Niger-Delta militants’ war on the Nigerian economy.
- Having a son of the South-South as his deputy may be an added disincentive to a military coup—the army could then have to contend with the added burden of an escalated Niger-Delta conflict.
- He is his own man, and nobody’s minion—he even took a path different politically from his own father.
- He may not be charismatic but he has somehow been able to convince the people of Katsina State to re-elect him governor twice! Besides, Adolf Hitler was charismatic—see what damage he did to Germany!
- He has great personal integrity and is the only one said to have publicly declared his assets.
- He will continue the war against corruption and the Obasanjo economic reforms.
- Given his performance in Katsina, he will neither squander the country’s oil wealth, nor deplete its rich foreign exchange reserves.
- He is unlikely to allow a repeat of the debilitating OBJ vs Atiku showdown which has been very disruptive to the polity.
- He is educated, and even holds a master’s degree—those Nigerians who have long complained about being ruled by less educated men can now sigh in relief!
Governor Yar’Adua sure has many hurdles ahead of him in his presidential quest. The highest hurdle seems to be the perception that he is Obasanjo’s ‘boy’. Ironically, the Obasanjo endorsement may be the biggest factor in his favor. The bottom-line is that Nigeria’s electoral process has not matured enough to truly reflect the will of the people. The government in power still has the overriding capacity to doctor the results of the electoral process.
Even then, candidates put forth by the opposition parties still have a chance to pull off a huge surprise! With General M. Buhari in ANPP, Vice-President A. Abubakar in AC and Professor P. Utomi in ADC, the presidential race can be anything but boring. Yet, if the disorganized state of the opposing parties is anything to go by, we might as well get used to the idea of a President Yar’Adua come 2007. A lot though can still happen before election day 2007 and afterwards.
Meantime, here are some friendly suggestions for the PDP presidential candidate to help him win over the hearts of his opponents:
- Get a private tutor to improve your public speaking abilities—you need to be better able to colorfully project your ideas, personality and integrity to a wider audience. There is no shame in doing this—there are many brilliant people who could use some help in public speaking.
- Be specific on how you would solve the power supply problem in Nigeria—it is a national disgrace to have that problem replayed before the whole world at the PDP convention.
- Focus on quality education for all—every Nigerian who desires education should be able to get one up to post-secondary level: at the universities or professional/technical schools. Raising the educational level of all Nigerians is the best guarantee for a more politically astute populace and adequately equipped labor force to develop the country.
- Please be very clear on how you will ensure that no Nigerian is lacking in basic necessities: food, shelter, water, and safety. There is much to be said and done here, too big for this short piece. This is one place where you could develop your own power-base and show you are a true friend of the helpless masses. Every government seems to have failed hopelessly in providing these necessities.
- Come up with a workable health care agenda—if at all possible now you could require that all government officials, including yourself, be barred from going abroad for medical care. Life-threatening exceptions do apply of course. This radical health policy may compel a more dedicated push to improve the health delivery system in Nigeria.
- Establish boldly how you will promote the rule of law, enhance the separation of powers, and, especially, obey court decisions. We need to know how you will protect the rights of every Nigerian, even the smallest ones, and for instance, prevent a new build-up of Awaiting Trial Prisoners.
Don’t take anything for granted, Governor! Don’t rest on the PDP’s rigging abilities! You may have to contend with more aggressive opposition at the general elections from the other parties and from those defecting from the PDP. If you play your cards right, you may yet be able to convince an overwhelming number of your opponents to come over to your side. This is your chance to win the hearts of all Nigerians and change how the country is governed for the better.
(fredlintaz@yahoo.com)
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Posted by Robot| 21.12.2006 17:00