Ghosts of 29 May
By Sonala Olumhense

What are we to make of Nigeria's first anniversary under Mr. Umaru Yar'Adua?

Nigeria is sick, as is symbolized by the health of the President himself, who coughed throughout his television interview on Thursday.

The President admitted his health problems. "I am human. I can fall sick. I can die tomorrow. I can die next month. I can live to be 90..."

I hope the President leads a long life. But he also seemed to be speaking about Nigeria, which is alive, but ailing and failing. As the President sits in power, the irony is that he can do something about Nigeria he cannot do about his health: guarantee that it moves forward.

I am sure the President has an army of doctors larger than the PDP Board of Directors. The problem is that, in principle, the President is the only doctor Nigeria has.

As that doctor, he has no alternative to doing much better than in his first year. Let me put that another way: for a man who recognizes he can die "tomorrow" or "next month", the doctor ought to be staying awake, working through the lunch hour and staying by his patient's bedside.

In this light, it is difficult to accept, for instance, that the much-trumpeted emergency he promised in the power sector when he campaigned for office is something that must wait for an enabling law. This is wrong: if circumstances or nature visits its wrath on a people, you do not wait for a piece of paper in order to respond.

That was what Nigerians understood Mr. Yar'Adua to have been saying when he sought office. We expected him to declare the state of emergency, and then fight for its legal backing. His explanation that he is waiting for "national consensus" and a legal permit of sorts is an intolerable excuse. The presidential system of government rests on the division of powers, but not on the executive waiting in line to be served in the manner of students at a lunch counter. If it takes two years to plan an emergency, how long will it take to implement it?

The problem with excuses is that Nigerian leaders often find it a convenient umbrella under which to hide everything, from incompetence to indolence. I have to hope that Mr. Yar'Adua is different. On his seeming apathy to corruption, he pointed out he has ordered the prosecution of officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration who led the government into debts of about N80bn.

I have no doubt that this is an important decision, but it is like saying Nigerian roads are improving because the President has had the road from Aso Rock to Transcorp Hilton paved. What Nigerians really want to know is what is happening to roads all over the country that are claiming lives and hurting the economy.

Nigerians want to know is why there are so many VIP crooks that cannot seem to find their way to jail. Why are there so many former Governors and Managing Directors and Permanent Secretaries and Directors all over the place with multi-billion Naira questions hanging over them who are still dancing in night clubs?

In one word, then, Mr. Yar'Adua must ask himself what he must do to cross the credibility bridge, which he has now reached. He told his interviewers he is interested in building institutions, not personalities, and that discretionary powers and authority are at the root of corruption in Nigeria.

I fully agree. The devil is, however, in the details. What if an institution, the presidency for instance, is deployed as a hiding place? It is the safest place in the world to hide, and Nigerians have pointed out people who are finding Yar'Adua's presidency a wonderful place to hide in the open.

To fully develop his concept of institution-building, he should now let Nigerians know how he intends to respond to the challenge of those who are taking advantage of his presidency and use of his discretionary presidential powers.

Still, the President is right about the need for "a solid foundation and effect reforms to transform (Nigeria) into an industrial giant." But again, he must be wary of policy inertia and excuses. A solid foundation is when you grab the plant and yank it out as far as can be reached. When you play with the neighbors while the tree becomes an oak, it is too late.

The kind of foundation that Nigeria needs is exactly what Yar'Adua says his predecessor spent eight years developing. That means that between them-since Yar'Adua says Olusegun Obasanjo "did his best"- they have invested nine years on this foundation business. If this is correct, we ought to be moving forward, going somewhere.

Since this is an anniversary story, I would hate to be misunderstood: Before our eyes, Obasanjo squandered the eight years he took from this country. He served himself and his cronies. If anyone ever were guilty of abusing discretionary authority, his name is Obasanjo. He is still hanging on to his Transcorp shares, for instance, which is one of the worst example of official incest one can find. He had no respect for the rule of law; he breached due process for himself, his farms or friends; his elections were illegally financed, as Ndidi Okereke-Onyuike, the Transcorp chairman who organized Corporate Nigeria to raise billions of Naira for Obasanjo's election in 2003, knows full well.

My point: Yar'Adua would do well not to celebrate Obasanjo too early. He has said that there would be no wholesale probe of Obasanjo, and I am glad to take note of that. It is going to be interesting to see how courageous Mr. Yar'Adua is going to be in his construction of a "solid foundation" in such treacherous terrain.

One of Obasanjo's key achievements was in building a new class of civilian super-rich that is distinct from the military generals who used to simply convert state budgets into personal wealth. Not curiously, some of the new rich are now among Obasanjo's closest friends. Given Nigeria's bloated petroleum earnings and that money-laundering has become very hazardous abroad, a lot of money is actually available for domestic investment in Mr. Yar'Adua's first term. He can be very creative in opening up the economic space for Nigerians at large, and creating amazing new opportunities.

In the end, what Nigeria needs is a leader who will change the thinking of Nigerians about their country. Mr. Yar'Adua can be such a man if he avoids creating a minefield of high expectations alongside double standards. He has had one year to think about everything, and there is now only one thing to do: get up from his seat. Soon, we will be celebrating his second year in office; nobody wants to hear about how contemplative and well-intentioned he is. And he must remember, always, that he is on the clock.

Finally, I thank God for my best 29th of May in a decade. I drank a can of Star Beer I have had in custody for a long time. Any mention of Obasanjo was either in anger, or in passing. Ahhhhhhhh!!!

sonala.olumhense@gmail.com

Robot  Villager

# 1 Ghosts of 29 May By Son...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 01.06.2008 07:19

akuluouno  Villager

# 2 A very good essay almost marred by the very few recourses to Obasanjophobia. I would suggest that members of UMYA think-tank, if they read newspapers should make a cutting of this article and paste it in the very important folder. I have always argued that the problem with Nigerian officials is the cankerworm of power without responsibility. They want power with all the paraphnelia of office some of which are the envy of their colleagues in more civilised cllimes and usually border on the dubious. I think that some of the issues the author cited are axiomatic of the deep thought processes needed to move the nation forward if I may use that cliche. Enough of platitiudes and more of planned action to deliver the dividends of democracy before Nigeria muddles that noble concept of governance invented for man by the Greeks.:evil::evil::evil::evil: Posted by akuluouno| 01.06.2008 08:58

dem  Villager

# 3 An excellent article. Must be one hell of a foundation that is still being laid 9 years on. YD must get a move on - if he has got the capability and capacity - please Posted by dem| 03.06.2008 06:36