APC: Teething pains (II)

But there will be an even more serious repercussion on the political scene and on the future of the polity if, in the event of an APC victory at the centre and in the states, people wake up to discover that it is the same, old, sad story again. People will lose faith and apathy […]

But there will be an even more serious repercussion on the political scene and on the future of the polity if, in the event of an APC victory at the centre and in the states, people wake up to discover that it is the same, old, sad story again. People will lose faith and apathy and despondency take over—and a political levee will have collapsed and the collected waters of their frustrations will almost certainly boil over and turn into a revolutionary current capable of consuming those who will have already brought out their knives to cut the cake.
First, the party needs to take a look at some of the teething problems that may rob it of cohesiveness and be sources for internal squabbles. There is the issue of the tug-of-war going on between joiners and originators of the new party. This has already led to frayed nerves on the very first day of the party’s outing and is expected to continue and may get dirtier as the real jostling begins for influence, for posts and for resources begin in the next several weeks. But, for the moment, is the prospect of using or misusing the state power of incumbency of the Johnny-Just-Come executives a more attractive proposition to the party than preserving the pre-eminence of pioneering First-Come-First-Servers? And when they finally come in and settle and the others come in from the cold, who is going to dilute who? The answer to this will determine where real or even imagined power ultimately lies.
Another teething problem that promises to bring bad blood and lead to even more frayed nerves in APC may be the issue of the People’s Democratic Party fifth columnists within the party. With some in the leadership of one of the three joining parties suspected of being more PDP than the ruling party, it will be surprising if it doesn’t. It will be surprising if the PDP has not placed or is not thinking of placing its agents there. And as more are recruited and deployed to service and as the stakes become higher, fears of the possibility of internal sabotage may lead to infighting that makes board room squabbles erupt into street warfare. It will require the greatest of political negotiating skills to keep the tabs on this.
As it gets over these likely crises, it must never lose sight of the fact that it is here to unseat a sitting president. And if political actors from across the nation, even if they are only actuated by pure personal interest, get together as they have in the APC, and with the goodwill of a majority of the people of this country, they should be able to remove the ruling party from office; and if they fail to unseat Jonathan, whatever stratagem he uses to stay put, we must conclude that the country doesn’t deserve any better
But however this unfolding political drama ends, for the people the question remains whether they will see good governance at its end. But freedom, democracy or the good governance that is supposed to issue from it have never been given to any people; they have to fight for it. By force, if necessary, as often is. From kings and queens, in bloody revolutions. From colonialists, on the battlefield or, drawn out from there onto the negotiating table. From corrupt, dictatorial or incompetent leaders, on the streets of cities or at the polling booths of democracy. In whatever epoch and from whomever it is being wrested, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
Why is this an impossible price to pay in Nigeria? Why is Nigeria, a country blessed with talents, always left at the mercy of untalented, visionless geeks? Shouldn’t there be a limit to the price of playing politics with the future of this nation? Shouldn’t it be true for us that politics is too important to be left to the politicians for the absolute majority of whom greed is the only watchword? Has not the time come for us to sit back and take a hard look again at the objective of politics?
There are just too many questions looking for answers: but in our rush to put last things first and wrongly even at that, the answers may never be found. And APC’s teething pains may become the bane of Nigeria’s politics. For instance, what should guide the philosophy behind our idea of political party formation? Is a party formed merely to capture power or must it have as sense of what to do with it afterwards?
What should be the qualification for leadership—of the country and of a state within it? Is age alone a reliable, meaningful and sensible guide? Or ought it to be predicated on intelligence, on achievement, on competence at work, on public service experience, on oratorical skills, on the elaboration of vision? Or should it be all of these? And what is the best preparation for it?
And the powers of the presidency, what does the nation do about it? At the moment, in terms of what he can do and get away with, the president of Nigeria is probably the most powerful leader in the world. All of Africa’s despots come into his presence with bare heads, hats suitably doffed in acknowledgement of their eternal inferiority.
What is zoning supposed to mean? What is the value of turn-by-turn democracy if it is not predicated on competence? And if Jonathan is the inescapable result of zoning, isn’t it about time this nation discarded the practice? Hasn’t it already thrown us into the vortex of the nexus of incompetence and absolute cluelessness, not as a wrong pejorative epithet applied by zonal detractors, but as an accurate description of what South-South provincialism has made of the presidency? And what an even worse affair another zone may make it as nepotism and ethnic character replace federal character which, in the very recent past, they used to deride as a purveyor of demerit. Isn’t it about time we did away with the spoils system that has been voraciously gnawing at the few instances of merit remaining in the nation?
Nigerians must begin to insist on playing it as it should be: and politics is only at its best when it is anchored on a foundation of service and the public good, and played with the hand of probity and accountability; and the best leaders are those who make life better, more meaningful and easy for the most. We should settle for nothing less and hold our leaders to that standard.
And it is here that we always fail. Just consider this: On Monday, in what the Nigerian army said was a predawn attack on Maiduguri in which the Air Force base and some Nigerian army locations were targeted, suspected terrorist incapacitated three decommissioned military aircraft and two helicopters. In the attacked 24 of the insurgents were killed and apparently no soldier was killed in an attack that took them unawares. That our soldiers and security agencies could be taken so unawares that an attack of this magnitude could be launched with such devastating consequences for the morale of troops, for the security and law and order situations and for Nigeria’s economy was indeed a tragedy that needed the declaration of a day of mourning.
A leader’s idea of people’s welfare is perhaps best expressed by his natural reaction to a national tragedy. And even in Nigeria, where tragedy has become the commonplace norm, there should be limits to which carelessness may be exercised. If President Jonathan were on an important tour of duty outside the country, such as addressing the UN General Assembly—if he wouldn’t be too sick to attend—he should have promptly interrupted his speech in the middle and flown back home. But when the outrage happened, the president was in Nigeria. He didn’t call and emergency meeting of the National Security Council; he didn’t fire the service chiefs; he didn’t address the nation on the issue. He just boarded the presidential jet and flew out of the country to attend a meeting on peace and security in Paris! At a time when it was so glaringly missing at home.
The most basic of the functions of a government is to provide a secure environment for its citizens and whoever happens to be within its borders. When it fails in this, there is no hope or chance that it can win in any other. And it is no excuse to say that the insecurity is caused by Northern politicians; it doesn’t matter who it is caused by, insecurity is supposed to be stamped out by any government worth its name. And this shouldn’t take forever. Or should it?
A so-called old saying had this to say about this nation: ‘Nigeria is a place where the best is impossible but where the worst never happens.’ We must now ask whether with the coming of the APC, the country is embarked on the road towards its best possible future, or whether we are indeed already witnessing the worst happening.