02 Jun 2007 |
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Yar'Adua: The Twist In The Tale No one should be under the illusion that all is well and that Nigerians have been confronted with a perfect fait accompli with the inauguration of former Governor of Katsina State, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua as President of the Federal Republic on May 29. The major problem that the new government would have to deal with is that of legitimacy. President Yar'Adua carries a special burden: the general knowledge that he is the product of a tainted election, and that he is the principal beneficiary of a do-or-die process. It is common and accepted knowledge that Nigeria's April elections were flawed and problematic. The Yar'Adua government must set out by acknowledging this fact, beyond earlier promises, vague promises, by the President that he will embark on electoral reforms. There are cases already being heard by the election petition tribunals, with strong expectations that the tribunals and indeed the courts will help to resolve the question of legitimacy. But the determination of the petitions would still take a while especially as there are no clearly stipulated dates for the end of the process. Even if President Yar'Adua believes that he has a strong case and that the courts will uphold his election, he cannot afford to wait before addressing the political challenges arising from the manner of his emergence. He will be well advised to consider setting up a Government of National Unity, by this we mean a government that is inclusive, in form of its departure from the winner-takes-it-all approach that is often adopted by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party. This Government of National Unity, for want of a better term, should not be one of those phantom gestures at inclusiveness in which a few faces from the opposition are used to decorate the Federal Cabinet. Rather, it must be the product of negotiations and consultations with the opposition and other vested interests, and the formulation of a consensus on what needs to be done to address the incubus of flawed elections and move the country forward. A Federal Cabinet that reflects the arrogant triumphalism of the days immediately after the elections among the ranks of the PDP elite is not advisable. It can only fan the embers of instability, and create much distraction for the government. The international community, which has been unenthusiastic about the new government, would also have to be reassured that the new President is serious about electoral reform and creating a strong basis for dialogue and rapprochement. President Yar'Adua has been invited to attend the G8 summit holding this week. That should not be mistaken for international acceptance. When and if the crisis of legitimacy is resolved, or the foundation for its resolution is laid, the Nigerian people will be watching the new government closely. Early signals are important. Starting with the kind of appointments that are made, the Yar'Adua government will begin to write its own history. Last week, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe was appointed Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). Sai Baba as he is otherwise known, has been shown in the papers smiling from one end of the mouth to the other. His appointment is curious, I doubt if anyone is impressed by it. Baba Kingibe, before settling down to office, would have to explain his role in the June 12 debacle: how he, who was Chief MKO Abiola's running mate in the 1993 Presidential election, found it so convenient to jump ship when the moment came and he was required to stand on the side of principles. In making other appointments, the new man in Aso Villa should avoid persons whose own political baggage could create additional problems of perception for the government, or such untidy situation as in the appointment of a successor to former Inspector-General of Police, Sunday Ehindero. DIG Ogbonnaya Onovo was originally named as Acting Inspector General of Police, then three days later, DIG Mike Okiro was asked to take over from Onovo: such display of indecision is pathetic. It has also been reported that he is planning to set up a Presidential Advisory Council comprising all former Presidents and Heads of State. What on earth does he want to do with such a Council? Former Presidents are already members of the Council of State. If he needs their inputs, on any matter, he can contact them directly. Setting up additional bureaucracy easily stands in the way of performance. President Yar'Adua should come up with a team that projects energy and dynamism, competence and accomplishments, not nepotism, not political patronage, not weakness, not the recycling of jaded elements. If he does, then Nigerians may assume that he is willing and ready to work, in spite of the controversy about his mandate and legitimacy. One or two early populist gestures may also be helpful: reverse the arbitrary increase in Value Added Tax and pump price of petroleum products; negotiate with ASUU and get the universities re-opened. Then, do something as quickly as possible about the problem of electricity supply. How he does this should be one of the first major tests for his administration. The danger that the Yar'Adua government faces however, is that of ad-hocism, and this may arise from the absence of a well-articulated, a priori strategy of governance. President Yar'Adua articulated his vision of leadership and Nigeria episodically during the campaigns and in his inauguration day speech, he had offered a little more exposition, but de-constructed, his understanding of his assignment is encapsulated in a series of familiar catch-phrases. He needs to come up with a well-outlined Contract with the people of Nigeria. I insist that beyond the catch-phrases: continuity, electoral reforms, Niger Delta, zero tolerance for corruption, respect for the rule of law (we heard these same phrases in 1999!), nobody knows in real terms what the new President stands for. It is not enough to say that he will be a servant leader (that in fact is what every leader is/should be), and it is not enough to talk about restoration. What kind of President does he want to be? He says he will not be jack-of all-trades; that's fine but the way to avoid that pitfall is to define the priorities clearly, very early in the day. In Nigeria, the usual fashion is for persons to seek elective offices first, win the election, and then when they get into office they begin to dream up what they intend to do with the new responsibility. That should not be the case with the office of the President even if the present occupier of the office was drafted for the job, and thrown into the campaigns before he could find time to reflect on what had happened to him. Nonetheless, President Yar'Adua intends to address the Niger Delta crisis with dispatch. From tomorrow, a Niger Delta summit will begin in Abuja, to be attended by stakeholders and experts, local and international who will come up with an action plan for addressing the crisis in the Delta. This is a good signal. The Niger Delta question is a matter of urgent national importance. But the problem is not one of lack of knowledge about what the issues are. Those issues have been over-defined and over-analysed: poverty, environmental degradation, derivation, good governance, human rights, oil companies-host communities relations, the politics of oil, equity, justice, citizenship etc. The missing link over the years has been the political will to deal with the problem and insist on far-reaching transformation. And this is not just about the Niger Delta alone: the issues at stake in the Delta also apply to other parts of the Nigerian state, in dealing with the Niger Delta, government would necessarily chance upon the larger Nigerian question, and would President Yar'Adua be willing to embark on that which is necessary: the political restructuring of Nigeria as a true federal state? It is reported that the President is looking for help from the international community to find solutions to the Niger Delta crisis. Vice President Jonathan Goodluck has been dispatched to the United States to seek the help of experts at the Consensus Building Institute. One caveat: whatever solutions that are being sought are here, not overseas. It is strange that anyone will talk about international experts on the Niger Delta question. I dare say that there is no place like the Niger Delta anywhere in the world. Conflict resolution is a universal subject yes, but the challenge of the Niger Delta does not lie in imported solutions. What is needed is the political will to place a greater accent on the dignity of the human person in Nigeria, as well as respect for citizenship rights. We have had too many talk shops in this country ending as mere talk shops. President Yar'Adua is looking for an action plan on the Niger Delta. He will get it. He wants expert opinion. He will get it too. But it is what he does with the action plan that will be more important, and how well his government manages to create a sense of ownership, at all levels, of that action plan. There is nothing any foreign expert can do about that ownership value, it has to come from within. What kind of President does Yar'Adua want to be? The Obasanjo administration spent eight years on the painting of big pictures, definition of frameworks, and the articulation of issues. But it failed to move from that point to service delivery on many fronts. This is the level at which the new administration at the centre should intervene. For Nigerians, democracy is optical. The people remember and appreciate what they can see and feel. They are interested in abstract concepts, only to the extent that those abstractions translate into measurable outcomes. This is why for eight years, Nigerians kept asking for democracy dividends. They are bound to make the same demands now even more urgently. They have listened to admonitions that they should be patient. They are at a point now where they are bound to insist that they have been patient enough. They want good roads, they want regular supply of electricity, they want to enjoy the security of lives and property; they want good schools for their children; they want government to show more interest in their welfare; they want jobs for college graduates; they want access to potable water and quality healthcare. In each of these areas, President Yar'Adua is inheriting a state of emergency. If all he does in the next four years is to make himself an "infrastructure-President" , and he is able to transform the people's lives, he is likely to do a lot better than his predecessor. But the task ahead is not for Yar'Adua alone. There are urgent matters of legislation that the National Assembly (Class of 2007) would have to deal with. Unfortunately, this promises to be a relatively inexperienced Assembly, with more than 80 per cent of the members coming to the legislature for the first time. The Houses of Assembly in the states also need to be monitored to ensure that they do not sell out to the state Governors. The states must become centres of real productivity not the rent collection units that they have been. The judiciary has been very active and has emerged truly as the last hope of the common man. Its tradition of activism and fearlessness must be sustained. The job of civil society is not done yet; it has just begun. The future indeed rests largely on the continuing vigilance of Nigeria's civil society.
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