Has politics really dashed hopes in Nigeria?

Title:                                    Politics as Dashed Hopes in Nigeria Author:                              Dr. Auwalu Anwar Publisher:                        Safari Books Limited, Ibadan First Published:           2019 Pages:                                614 Reviewer:                         Ozibo Ozibo “Politics is too important to be left to the politicians,” says Charles de Gaulle, a French statesman who resisted Nazi Germany in World War II, […]

Title:                                    Politics as Dashed Hopes in Nigeria
Author:                              Dr. Auwalu Anwar
Publisher:                        Safari Books Limited, Ibadan
First Published:           2019
Pages:                                614
Reviewer:                         Ozibo Ozibo

“Politics is too important to be left to the politicians,” says Charles de Gaulle, a French statesman who resisted Nazi Germany in World War II, and chaired the French Republic between 1944 and 1946.

In Nigeria, politics, leadership and good governance, is a veritable tripod that has always engaged the attention of politicians, lawyers, journalists, economists, political scientists, historians, among others.

It is, perhaps, against this background of complex, multilateral interests that Dr. Auwalu Anwar, a social/intellectual historian, political scientist and politician, serves a book that is as instructive as it is somewhat novel.

Dr. Anwar’s book, ‘Politics as Dashed Hopes in Nigeria’, is an engaging narrative of how internal democracy, or lack of it within political parties, could have direct, positive or negative impact, on credible elections and democratic governance in a country.

In 22 chapters, the author distils a historical reconstruction of Nigeria’s political developments, alongside his own personal experiences of politics within the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in his native Kano State in the 2011 general elections.

As a key participant observer, the author highlights the challenges of a faulty electoral system, governance and leadership in a democratic Nigeria, using Kano as a case study.

Aside lack of internal democracy within political parties, Auwalu identifies greed, betrayal, treachery, godfatherism, money politics, weak institutions, and manipulation of the electoral process, as serious shortcomings that have rendered Nigerian politics as ‘dashed hopes’, to the detriment of the electorates.

Unfortunately, these problems still constitute impediments to good governance and quality leadership in Nigeria. “Rigging is, regrettably, considered as part of democratic culture in conducting elections in Nigeria” (P. 458).

The author traces the evolution of party politics in colonial Nigeria, which was sadly along ethno-regional lines, with little or no ideologies, and thus sowed the seed of regionalism in the psyche of politically conscious Nigerians.

“It was to be perhaps the central tragedy of recent Nigerian history that parties developed on a basis of region, instead of ideology, because only an ideologically based party had any real hope of an appeal, which was nationwide,” the author quotes Elizabeth Isichei’s A History of Nigeria, 1983.

He cites the examples of the regional parties, namely the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) by Herbert Macaulay in 1923; the National Youth Movement (NYM) by Ernest Ikoli in 1941; the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) led by Macauley and Nnamdi Azikiwe (1944); the Action Group (AG) by Obafemi Awolowo (1951); and the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) by Ahmadu Bello (1951).

But the big questions of the narrative remain: How was the CPC formed? What was responsible for the party’s woeful performance in Kano in the 2011 general election? How did the CPC merged with other parties to form the All Progressives Congress (APC)? Why do Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Buba Galadima and President Muhammadu Buhari loom large in this political permutation?

The author devotes chapters 6 to 20 exclusively to providing answers to these big questions, backing his arguments with copious ‘historical facts,’ and personal knowledge.

As the author argues, “Contrary to popular assumptions, the CPC did not suddenly come into existence for political convenience or lack of sufficient time…“The belief in the bogey of time constraint…was a celebrated excuse that largely masked the inadequacies of its leadership at all levels.”

He believes the failure of the “divided house” called CPC, especially in Kano, was simply the result of lack of cohesion and synergy between the leadership and key stakeholders, internal crisis, and imposition of candidates, since “a kingdom can endure with unbelief, but never with injustice” (Usman Dan Fodio).

The book also examines the intra-party conflagration that consumed the CPC as a party “despite all attempts at reconciliation by the Renewal Committee chaired by Nasir El-Rufai, which was by far the most ambitious and controversial.”

In chapter 18, the author discusses the metamorphosis of the leading opposition parties namely, the CPC, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) into the All Progressives Congress (APC) on whose platform President Muhammadu Buhari emerged in 2015.

Acknowledging the role played by Buba Galadima in the emergence of APC “to challenge the suffocating and repugnant grip of the PDP on the nation,” the author describes him as “an extrovert (if not noisy), combative and sometimes uncouth in his style and approach to political activity and engagement.”

In chapter 19, Auwalu assesses President Buhari’s persona, politics and style of governance, especially his capability to deliver on “his three campaign promises to arrest insecurity, create employment and fight corruption.”

The author contends that, in any case, “defeating PDP and demolishing Boko Haram have been the greatest achievements of the Buhari Presidency so far” (page 463).

The book, however, raises the question of whether Buhari’s persona and followership automatically translates to a political force and rallying point for his followers?

Auwalu submits that Buhari’s followership was very unique in the sense that it was restricted to him as a person; and that it was not transferrable.

“The loyalty and commitment of the vast and enthusiastic followership is, and has always been to Buhari the man as opposed to Buhati the idea, philosophy and legacy.” (p. 414-415). “His followers had perceived and celebrated him as a ‘super human being’ who could make no mistakes.”

In conclusion, the author argues that, “One consistent fact that characterised Buhari’s life and career as an administrator and a politician was that he was, indeed, an extremely lucky person to have escaped proper public scrutiny. His glaring shortcomings were either rationalized or attributed to his colleagues, associates or subordinates.”

Nevertheless, the book is limited in scope: it is clearly “northern-centric” and many questions remain unanswered; these limitations are perhaps due to the author’s target audience as well as what he sets out to achieve.

But given its vast contents, Dr. Auwalu’s Politics as Dashed Hopes in Nigeria comes across as a veritable work to read, particularly for those who have lost the true meaning and functional values of Nigeria’s political history. It also helps us to understand why Nigeria remains where it is today.

However, for those dreaming of a ‘kinder and gentler politics,’ the book exposes the harsh truth, which is that it is unlikely to happen soon, until certain reforms are put in place.

In any case, the book stimulates us to think.  It tells us that, politically speaking, things are not always what they seem, or what we want them to be.

But since “Nigeria is currently in the process of recreating either a Mandela or Mugabe out of Buhari,” only time will tell.

Till then, politics in Nigeria will probably remain a dashed hope. Dr. Auwalu Anwar says so!