It is a new day for Nigeria and its’ young democracy, it is a new day not because of the defeat of the proposed Third Term agenda, but because of the fact that the Nigerian Constitution worked as it was supposed to work and also the fact that the distinguished Senators and distinguished Members of the House, for once answered a call to national duty and national interest. This piece is not about the correctness of the process, albeit the Third Term agenda, nor is it to castigate the people that are pro or against such an agenda. The bottom line is that the Executive branch, Legislative branch and other concerned parties can always influence or introduce legislation if they have the power to do so and in turn, the legislature had a duty to review, study and debate such legislation, and after it all, come to a resolution that is to the best interest of the Nigerian Nation.

The fact is, that President Olusegun Obasanjo had done credibly well for Nigeria. He had led with passion and had made a lot of bold moves and initiatives that at times were very unpopular, but also that were good for the Nigerian Nation. He had also made some mistakes, but it is equally a good thing to point out some of those successes because I believe that without the acknowledgement of such successes, we as a nation cannot advance to the next starting point. In the Debt Relief Effort, this regime succeeded in reintegrating Nigeria into the International Global Financial Market. Communication was also a well-deserved sector that he posted some tangible results on. Foreign Policy, to me was one of President Obasnjo’s strongest accomplishments and not to mention his ability to attract “Foreign Direct Investment” that has in so many ways helped in alleviating and controlling inflation.

The good news today is that Nigeria can now focus its’ attention on tangible issues post third term agenda that had unfortunately consumed the polite and the national debate. What other way to accomplish that other than to identify all the possible Presidential Candidates with a look at what their respective articulated agendas are as against that which are the perceived needs of Nigerian Nation and try to measure it up. The question then becomes, “Who will that person be that can lead Nigeria and continue from where President Obasanjo will leave off”. The debate over the role of institutions in economic development has become dangerously simplified. The vague concept of “institutions” has become almost tautologically, the intermediate target for all efforts to improve an economy. If an economy is malfunctioning, the reasoning goes, something must be wrong with its institution. Who then is qualified to lead Nigeria into the Global Economy, and also that will have an understanding that the world is interconnected both economically, geo-politically, and diplomatically and that means that it is no longer business as usual, but a leader that is resilient, passionate and with a love for Nigeria and an ability to be that face that is credible, diligent, equitable and a visionary that understands the world affairs and how one relates to another based on interconnectedness.

The face of that leader must be one that abhors the temptation to incur additional national debt. He must be one that understands that those who preached Globalization couldn’t tell the difference between ethics and morality. Ethics is the measurement of public good. Morality is the weapon of religious and social righteousness. Political and economic ideologies often decline into religious-style morality toward the end. But Globalization had shoved ethics to the side from the beginning and insisted upon curious sort of moral righteousness that included maximum trade, unrestricted self - interest, and governments alone respecting their debts. These notions were curiously paired with something often called family values, as well as an Old Testament view of good and evil. It somehow followed that if countries were in financial trouble, they were moral transgressors. They had to discipline themselves. Wear shirts. Embrace denial and fasting. This was the crucifixion theory of economics: you had to be killed economically just like Nigeria had been killed, and socially in order to be reborn clean and healthy. For a quarter of a century, under the severe hand of The International Monetary Fund, according to Saul (2004) in his article, The Collapse of Globalism: “the moralizing and emotionally charged approach has been presented as a form of cool, detached utilitarianism. Those who applied the theory seemed to fail the basic philosophical test of functioning intelligence and ethics—the ability to imagine the other”. The IMF and the World Bank simply insisted, as developing world debt continued to rise on a roller coaster of instability, that those people must learn to act in a more predictable manner. Which brings to mind rather an aged priest insisting that young men should take cold showers and exercise more. Bottom line, Nigeria needs a leader that understands that the Bretton Woods twin institutions are there for the developed nations and big corporations at the expense of the developing nations, emerging economies and in particular Africa (Nigeria) and as such, must do all in its power not to revert back to the 1980s’ and 1990s’ financial crisis that Nigeria found itself in. 

Who is that leader that will emerge to lead Nigeria that will understand that the ability of diseases to cut off economic development may seem surprising to some but reflects a lack of understanding of how diseases can affect economic performance. Example of this will be the impact of Malaria, AIDS and Polio in Nigeria and how it impacts the work force hence productivity and also the SARS out break in Hong Kong and how it could be measured not only by the number of deaths so attributed to the disease and also the severe disruption in travel to and from Asia. Such a leader with such understanding will then have it in his agenda to bolster the Health Care System; Improve on Education; Reintroduce a credible and working Emergency Response System; Establish (note: “Establish” and not commission) a National Environmental Agency that will deal with national disasters such as the Oil Spillage Issue, Foreign Corporate Dumping and the likes of Julius Berger and Pfizer issues that we witnessed in Nigeria recently.

In quest for such a leader, Nigerians must play its’ part in recognizing that person with a plan on how to deal with the rest of the world. According to Friedman (2005), in his article, It’s Flat a World, After All, he tries to make some comparison between the adopted policies of India in terms of out sourcing and that of China. In terms of Globalization and the world’s interconnectedness, India chose to not only become a hub for outsourced services in the IT and Technological industries, but also India relied on the development of its infrastructure in order to also develop its own industries as well. This was accomplished in part because to some extent, India had practiced democracy and opened its market through education and favorable government programs that attracted FDI and Foreign Corporations, they also provided a conducive business environment (reduced government taxes, enhanced workforce, reconstituted infrastructure etc) over the years where as, China have had the socialist approach that in a way practiced a selective protectionist system by imposing excessive and unnecessary tariffs and taxation and also its failure to invest on the advancement of its infrastructure). None the less, China that had over the years lost majority of its manpower because they relied on western education is now through its efforts in improving its education sector attracting students from all over the world to China for education, and with that comes innovation and a boom in the professional workforce that is now helping China to remain competitive both in Technology, and its manpower sector. Can the next Nigerian leader see the need to further open up the Nigerian market on a selective basis and at the same time protect the local industries based on also a democratic approach. Can he/she understand the need to implement Treaties that will promote local industries and not make Nigeria a dumping ground for substandard goods, technologies et al. What about setting up a team of experts that will draft, and the Congress adopt, as a resolution a “workable and usable Specifications” that will govern all government contracts, from the basic infrastructure like construction of Roads to Health Care, Oil and Gas industry and Rail Road (Standardization).

Part of President Obasanjo’s successes has been in Financial Crime Control, Corruption et al, which Mallam Ribadhu currently chairs. In as much as there had been criticisms levied against that department, it also worth recognizing that there are also some posted positive results. There is then a need to understand that the next President will not only keep and maintain that department, but also to improve on the accomplishments with an understanding that the next new Five Wars of Globalization are: (Illegal Trade in Drugs, Arms Trade, Intellectual Property Issue, Immigration Control, and Money Laundering.) In one form or another, governments have been fighting these wars for centuries and loosing them. Indeed, thanks to the changes spurred by globalization over the last decade, their losing streak had become even more pronounced. To be sure, nation-states have benefited from the information revolution, stronger political and economic linkages, and the shrinking importance of geographic distance. Unfortunately, criminal networks have also benefited even more. Never fettered by the niceties of sovereignty, they are now increasingly free of geographic constraints. Will that new President understand the implications of all these Wars if left unattended to and will he/she have the wherewithal to fight these wars?  

Of all the Presidential Candidates that have so far made their intentions known to the Nigerian voters, only Governor Orji Kalu has made an effort to even present a manifesto to the Nigerian public. In his piece, even when this article is not about analyzing that, he tried to cover a lot of areas of interest, but we as the voters will be better served when other candidates see the need for such debate by presenting their respective manifestos and then we can compare ideas and decide on who had a better idea and vision. General Ibrahim Babangida, I can only access from his past performance, which in many ways was very deficient as in his introduction and implementation of Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) as a precondition to lending. The circumstances under which the military regime of Babangida was conditioned to embrace SAP economic restructuring apart from the desire to please the international financial institutions was also because thanks to General Babangida and General Buhari, Nigeria had been afflicted by a devastating economic crises, manifested in declining revenues, a heavy debt burden of about $20 billion dollars as at then, and the generalized crisis of production and the rapidly declining purchasing power of the incomes of the Nigerian workers due to inflation and general decline in the production of goods and services in the Nigerian economy. According to Onyeonoru (2003) the IMF viewed the economic crisis in Nigeria as a product of structural distortions, primarily as a result of overvalued exchange rates, import regulation, huge public sector expenditure, poor investment management and low returns on capital, high wage structure and low productivity labor, import substitution industrialization and bad environmental policies, over extended, inefficient and unproductive public enterprise, and apparent nepotistic and discriminatory credit policies against the private sector. The argument here is that continually degenerating economic imbalances between the forces of aggregate demand and aggregate supply led to serious deficits in the balance of payments, high rates of inflation and huge growth of foreign and domestic debts, not to mention the human rights issues. It is very obvious then that these two leaders were grossly deficient in international politic, economy, and are in no position based on their past performances to ever lead Nigeria again. The major question then is, given all of these proven results from General Banbagida and General Buhari, one then will wonder what they are expecting from the Nigerian voters other than an outright rejection.

Vice President Atiku, I can not so far adequately access considering the fact that he is the Vice President and had not so far been responsible for any decision making, also of interest in his case is his “face” (image). Will that be credible enough, will the international community trust Vice President Atiku especially when he is so linked and embedded in all this borderline criminality and attendant accusations. Will the fact that he used to be a customs officer with minimal government pay ($30,000 per annum) make any difference especially when one factors in how much money he is worth today. On the same note, will Nigerians find it offensive that General Babangida and General Buhari are Billionaires even during and after their tenure as Presidents of Nigeria in an era when the economy is bad and on a military salary of barely $50,000 per annum. Where did all that money come from? Will the next face and President of Nigeria be transparent enough and open up all his books, on financial dealings, academic accomplishments, work history etc. that will date back to the last Twenty (25) years for interested Nigerians to study? 

In conclusion, the next Nigerian leader should understand that, the theoretical assumption that globalization promotes democracy is based on the fact that the former engenders economic development and promotes democracy. Free market economy, which is the backbone of globalization, usually leads to economic growth and development that increases the size of the middle class, promotes education, and consequently reduces income inequality, thereby leading to democratization. Globalization also makes necessary demand for international business activities, which need peaceful trading environment. Nigeria needs a new face, a young leader with a vision, who is fearless, driven, charismatic, and has the ability to deliver on all fronts, and above all a true Nigerian.

Cecil Ibegbu

United States - cibegbu@yahoo.com

Robot  Villager

# 1 It is a new day for Nigeria and its’ young democracy, it is a new day not because...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 24.05.2006 19:33

sam671@msn.com

# 2 This is a very good article to say the list. My only concern is that your target audience, who is very sophisticated and highly knowledgeable about world affairs and global economy, does not reside in Nigeria. You have to believe that democracy works in Nigeria; hence your articulated points on the Nigerian National Assemblies and the third term agenda. If what happened in Anambra State, where Governor Peter Obi was robbed of his election and nobody was screaming "bloody murder", is anything to go by, then it is a prelude to what you can expect to happen in future elections. The integrity of all elections in Nigeria would always be in question. How can you expect individuals whose mindset is winning at all cost, pay attention to your article? Their concept of leadership is “power to themselves�. Does that not explain why some of those who had ruled Nigeria in the past and failed, still believe they can give it another shot? It is all about the power to control others and nothing to do with helping revitalize the economic condition of the people. You know “money talks�. A few of your target audience, who may reside in Nigeria and who may understand your point of view, would be blindsided by the local polity and greed, therefore would not bother. Nevertheless, it was a great piece of article. Barry Posted by sam671@msn.com| 24.05.2006 23:18

otito  Villager

# 3 God bless you my brother, As stated by the first commentator, It is very unfortunate that our people would not pay much attention to such issues as you have discussed here, why? - "DEAD CONSCIENCE" The best thing we can do (even urgently so) at this point in time is to present the facts that are stated in this article in the simplest form possible to the layman on the street (In Nigeria especially) in a way that he is compelled to use what he has learnt to realise the value of his vote and thus be ready to fight tooth and nail for it even if it cost him his life.. This is very much left to African in diaspora who can (to some extent) see what is going on out here to inform the people (Immediate friends and family, even your village) of these facts We also have to continue to pray that God will revive our consciences so that we will be able to fight for a better tomorrow even if we may not live to see it but our children can. I hope the so called "AFRICAN ELITE" can see the writing on the wall and read the small prints of globalisation as they are as much up for the chop as the ordinary African who is made to suffer. "THE CANE THE HUSBAND USED FOR THE FIRST WIFE, HE HASN'T BY ANY MEANS CHUCKED IN THE BIN; RATHER HE HAS KEPT IT SAFELY FOR WHEN THE PRETTY NEW WIFE WILL HAVE A NEED FOR IT" Anyway God is in perfect control. OTITO Posted by otito| 25.05.2006 11:01