Fathers and sons in the APC

The two views reflect a concern whose resolution might prove contentious in the battle ahead against the PDP. One view championed by Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, a former federal permanent secretary, now an APC stalwart in Kaduna State, published in last week’s edition of this journal, more or less urged the old guard in APC […]

The two views reflect a concern whose resolution might prove contentious in the battle ahead against the PDP.
One view championed by Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, a former federal permanent secretary, now an APC stalwart in Kaduna State, published in last week’s edition of this journal, more or less urged the old guard in APC to yield and willingly concede ground to the younger men and women in the party. Beneath the ambivalence in his views, no one is fooled about his preferred group. “The APC,” he said “needs to define the kind of leaders it wants in the context of what Nigeria is today,” and quickly added that “it won’t do justice if you are asking Buhari not to run…”  He spoke about “Nigeria needing a new lease of life” and “feeling that the nation needs to give a new set of people opportunity to offer their leadership services.” All these and the fact that he called for “a paradigm shift ” in the APC, a phrase attributed to him on the cover of that edition of the paper betrayed Dr Hakeem Baba Ahmed’s thinly and barely disguised quest to consign the so called oldies of the APC to the back seat.  
The other view, opposite to Dr. Hakeem’s came from Brigadier-general Lawal Jafar Isa, a former military governor of Kaduna State (1993—1996), now an aspirant to the governor’s post in Kano State, published in an earlier edition, virtually and unapologetically asked the rank and file of the party to adopt General Muhammadu Buhari as the flag bearer. Though he stopped short of calling for a proclamation, but one gets the sense that he would not mind at all if that were to be the case. The general being in his 70s is firmly in the older people’s group. By inference therefore Lawal Isa has cast his lot for that group.   
Implied in these two positions is the never -ending battle for supremacy between the two generations in all spheres of life. It is eternally enacted in the young seeking to take over from the old, sometimes peacefully but other times forcefully with bone chilling violence as in patricide and regicide, for example. Since ours is a democracy, I have no doubt that the intention of the young Turks in APC waiting on the wings to take over is peaceful!
Since Dr. Hakeem did not explain what he meant by the “context of what Nigeria is today “ for which the young are best prepared to handle, and his interviewers did not press him to explain, we are left with guessing his meaning.  To be sure, Nigeria of the 1980s can simply not be compared with what it is in 2014. As time has passed, issues have grown in complexity and intricacy, demanding rigour, energy and a demonstration of cutting -edge knowledge, as well as a capacity to assiduous work to execute them. Clearly the older generation, who have been around for many years are disadvantaged on this score. Even if they could boast of as much knowledge as the young ones, they are less likely to have the same level of energy and capacity for work, with their shoulders at the till for hours on end. Yet governing a polity, any polity at all, whether it is tiny Guinea Bissau or behemoth Nigeria, demands the necessary staying power to withstand the enervating nature of the work.
This fact may well explain why many countries these days put younger men and women in power to rule over them. Bill Clinton, now well into the 60s became president in his early 40s, and a highpoint of his tenure was successfully wiping out the huge deficits he had inherited, and replacing it with the biggest surplus ever recorded, as well as putting many jobless Americans to work. Of course, that is a good case for the empowerment of the young, but this sadly is deflated by the fact that George W. Bush, another relatively young man who replaced Bill Clinton, virtually ran America aground, piling up huge deficit in a senseless war in Iraq that bankrupted America. So much then for young men in power!
So, if the young men have energy and staying power as has been argued, the older ones can also lay claim to experience, wisdom and decorum- the last two are usually sorely lacking in the young ones. Examples of these are George W. Bush’s Iraq war, Bill Clinton’s woman problem and the dangerous war mongering and brinkmanship of Kim Jong –un, the North Korean leader.
But in the specific case of the All Progressives Party (APC) it will be extremely presumptuous of the younger generation to demand that the older ones take a back seat. First, in the “context of Nigeria today,” where policies and programmes based on ideological preference are in retreat, it is personality that has become the vote winner. What fighting chance does an unknown young man presidential candidate on the ticket of the APC have in beating Goodluck Jonathan who has spent already 8 years on the corridors of power, 4 of them at the helms governing the polity? GEJ has become not only a household name but has also stayed so long now that an updated history of Nigeria may have included accounts of his tenure for students to learn in the schools.
On account of this therefore, it is difficult to believe that a fresh face young Turk in the APC, no matter the number of his PHDs, would be able to match, let alone beat GEJ at the presidential polls, even with his “abysmal performance” as claimed by Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed. An unknown APC candidate pitted against a “non –performing” but a highly visible and an ubiquitous GEJ may push people to cast votes on the basis of the devil we know being better than an unknown person, no matter the latter’s good intentions.
For now, therefore, the APC must put to good use the well known and experienced personalities in its midst. Some of them are old, yes but still command the respect and huge following up and down the country that if well managed could translate into electoral capital for the APC. In addition, one or two of them retain that quality of effusive likability owing to their incorruptible lifestyles that have enchanted and pulled people to them in droves, an invaluable asset that is thrown away only at APC’s peril.
As I see it, the APC has no choice but to put one of its old guard, I daresay a reputable one at that, at the helms as the flag bearer for the contest to wrestle power from the PDP, with the express understanding that he would serve a term only. It means the fellow would play a role similar to that of late Madiba in South Africa or better still, Plato’s philosopher-king to secure victory for the party, set the tone for the regeneration and revitalisation of Nigeria-morally, ethically and materially. This would entail setting a high standard of performance and decorum in governance with the younger generation charged to effect the envisaged change. At the end of the term the person would now step down for a well groomed, so- called young person adjudged to have acquitted him or herself well enough to continue with the high standard of public morality sets