2019: Hope, optimism and fresh opportunities
President Buhari’s 2020 New Year letter to Nigerians started out by saying that “today marks a new decade. It is a time of hope, optimism and fresh possibilities”. Unfortunately its narrow scope made it difficult to inspire hope and optimism and once again exposed the limitations of his speech writers. Once again the opportunity was […]
President Buhari’s 2020 New Year letter to Nigerians started out by saying that “today marks a new decade. It is a time of hope, optimism and fresh possibilities”. Unfortunately its narrow scope made it difficult to inspire hope and optimism and once again exposed the limitations of his speech writers. Once again the opportunity was lost for the President’s speech writers to portray him as a man with an instinctive feel for the people who could stir the soul of the nation and arrest the attention of the rest of the world. Two factors stand out clearly in the letter.
Firstly, at no time was any reference made to the All Progressives Congress (APC) Party under whose platform the President contested and won election elections, the document was replete with the word “I” rather than “my Party” or “my Administration”. This is hardly surprising because every Nigerian leader without exception has regarded themselves as being the central figure in a story of their own design, rather than being the bit player in an extended story of the nation’s development which they really are. Secondly, the letter said that “elections are the cornerstone of democracy”, confirming that Nigerian leaders understand democracy as being the mere conduct of elections rather than the entrenchment of equality of opportunity and equality before the law as well as observation of basic human rights.
The letter referred to building on the foundations this government has laid on security, diversification of the economy and tackling the curse of corruption. The president’s speech writers are either unaware or living in denial of the fact that these foundations are shaky as the security situation is getting progressively worse, the economy is still very much dependent on oil, and corruption remains unabated with new revelations of ongoing high-level corruption becoming an almost daily affair. Although President Buhari’s presentations are usually devoid of significant sound bites, significantly his 2020 letter contained a promise not to try and manipulate the Constitution to seek a third term in office in 2023. However some Nigerians are skeptical because he was previously on record in 2011 as saying that he would only serve one term of office if ever elected.
Also of significance is the fact that the letter said that this administration would now respect the rule of law. There is little doubt that they have fallen short in this respect having been characterized by different acts of human rights violations and failure to obey court orders. Basically what Nigerians have learnt over the last four years is that they are free to exercise their voice only if it is in support of government! A political party which came to power on a mantra of change must accept that meaningful positive change can never come about in a barren controlled atmosphere.
As far as the economy is concerned there is a lot of confusion as regards the role of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council of “respected and independent thinkers”. Many commentators think that the council should advise the Finance Minister or Central Bank Governor rather than a President who has limited knowledge of the subject matter. The irrefutable truth is that 80% of Nigerians live below the line and urgent remedial action is required. Living below the “poverty line” means not being able to live in decent homes, or afford decent health care, or afford to eat more than one nutritious meal per day. Due to this pervasive poverty many Nigerians including children live on the streets. On 29th December 2019 Mohammed Bello Mustapha presented a paper on the state of the nation at the Garba Gadi Foundation Lecture.
This was two days before President Buhari delivered his letter to Nigerians in New Year’s Day. The two documents were markedly different. Bello Mustapha pointed out many ills of Nigerian society which the President’s letter didn’t address. He complained about party politics in Nigeria being high-jacked and ordinary Nigerians completely blocked from participation in the political process by the monetization of the process for seeking political offices. He concluded that because becoming a party candidate is a cash and carry affair there is little hope that truly compassionate and people oriented leaders will ever emerge from the process. Bello also highlighted the fact that the 1999 Constitution (otherwise referred to as the Military Decree for Civilian Administration) hinders development.
He pointed out that even though the document started out with the words “we the people” it removed all powers from the people and handed them to the Executive at State and Federal levels. Bello correctly surmised that the biggest challenge to the nation isn’t a case of North versus South, nor Christian versus Muslim, but rather a case of fighting poverty. He warned that time is running out for the nation to urgently address and find a solution to the ravaging menace and “rampaging evil” of street children in the North. He described the estimated 11 million street children in the North as a “disaster waiting to happen” and “a time bomb waiting to explode” constituting a population which would make them the 7th largest country in Africa!
The whole area of human capital development was glossed over by the President. The fact remains as Bello pointed out that many of those from the North in high places today attended good public schools and were educated with little or no expense to their parents. These people now preside over a system that alienates and discriminates against the majority of their own people who occupy the lower social classes. As many great leaders have proved, soaring speeches can have a galvanizing effect on a nation. Going into his fifth year of office it’s now clear that our President loves his speech writers despite their evident flaws and there will be no great speeches or letters to inspire hope or optimism before he leaves office in 2023.