In praise of politics

As the two protagonists crisscross the length and breadth of Nigeria asking for acceptance and the people’s votes, the implied message they are relaying, as it is done everywhere participatory government obtains, is that the people are supreme. This point needs to be underscored, particularly in Nigeria’s experience where rulers, including elected ones have the […]

As the two protagonists crisscross the length and breadth of Nigeria asking for acceptance and the people’s votes, the implied message they are relaying, as it is done everywhere participatory government obtains, is that the people are supreme. This point needs to be underscored, particularly in Nigeria’s experience where rulers, including elected ones have the tendency to forget that they are holding on to their positions at the behest of the people. And that a ruler who whiles away his time in power doing little or nothing, or who wielded the big stick too much, might find it hard going at the next election time.  
The campaigns have been nothing if not an examination of the stewardship of Goodluck Jonathan in these 6 years that he has been in the saddle, and his less than spirited way of explaining himself and record to an increasingly sceptical national audience.  He has been cast as inept, bungling and generally not totally in control of the situation which he is expected to dominate. Muhammadu Buhari, on his part now knows that in popular imagination he has become, rightly or wrongly, synonymous with rigidity and highhandedness. It is the image the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sought to paint and impress on Nigerians, hoping it would do the magic for them come February 14.
 What the campaigns have achieved so far is that they have beamed a  searchlight on the candidates as it has not been done before. For the uncritical onlooker the whole brickbat of mudslinging, slur casting and veiled character assassinations, could all seem so titillating and entertaining. But beyond that they have had a more enduring value and it is that governing Nigeria demands that one must have unparalleled wisdom and understanding of the issues at play as well as the presence of mind to remain and act above board and be unblemished both in deed and in character. Those who come with too much skeletons in their cupboards would be called upon to explain, as Buhari is being asked to do for some of his earlier actions taken some 3 decades ago, including imposition of long jail terms, enactment of retroactive edicts and laws and recourse to death penalty for offences not so spelt out in the statute book.
Conversely, blatant refusal to act in the face of glaring acts of malfeasance on the part of Goodluck Jonathan’s appointees for which he has been labelled as weak, tacitly make him complicit in corruption. GEJ has also been criticised for not being willing to take actions that require decisiveness. For example, had he applied the treatment of Odi and Zaki Biam to the Boko Haram at the onset of the insurrection, the insurgency would not have become so virulent and destructive.
Thus, the campaigns, warts and all, have helped to lay down in a roundabout way the intrinsic leadership qualities Nigeria requires from its aspiring rulers and this is being done through the rough and tumble of the brickbat of partisan politicking. In earlier times the cardinal yardstick for victory at the polls had been primordial considerations of ethnicity and the like; thankfully these have been replaced by considerations such as the candidates’ accomplishments and abilities — latent and demonstrated. GEJ could well win, but if he loses, it will not be because he is an Ijaw man, as his folks would want us to believe, but because under his watch Nigeria suffered a terrible diminution in reputation for allowing a rag tag band of insurgents full sway for upwards of 5 years. GMB is riding the crest of popular anger against GEJ and the All Progressives Congress (APC) is in buoyant mood, but if the general loses, it certainly would have a lot to do with the lurid and gory image the PDP has given him and not because he is a Katsina man.
Ultimately however, it is the people’s choice. They must choose one of these men as president and they will be doing so knowing full well the strengths of each as well as their terrible failures. As has been made clear, aspirants must measure up to a level of intellectual, moral and ethical standard. And it behoves all Nigerians to abide by and accept that collective decision.  There can be no denying that there is a certain beauty in the process that enables us to make such a choice. The process is far from flawless but we should be contented by the fact that it has yielded the desired result. The flaws in the process, such as they are, would be corrected in the years ahead.
Meanwhile, people who have been bitten by the political bug, ambitious enough to aspire to become presidents of Nigeria now know what exactly it entails and what to expect. Not only must they be ready to open that secret cupboard to the glare of all, they must also be prepared for probing searches into the inner recesses of their lives which they would have preferred closed to others. That can no longer be so, because GMB’s tussle with GEJ in 2015 for the position has made it so.  
Does all this amount to a deepening of our democracy? I think so, particularly when the outcome of the impending elections is generally accepted without any rancour.
 
Drumbeats of war
It simply boggles the mind that President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP machine have not thought it worthwhile to denounce the sabre rattling and war mongering being orchestrated by Niger Delta militants. At a meeting held in the Government House, Yenogua, former militants that included Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, Victor Ben Ebikabowei and Government Ekpudomenowei noted that Niger Delta would not accept any outcome in the February election except one that favours the president, in other words he must be re-elected whether the votes say so or not. They told the gathering at the Yenogua Government House that they would re-commence act of militancy if the outcome is contrary to their expectation.
Their verbiage is nothing but a declaration of war and the security agencies should need no prompting to do their duty. Having made good through militancy, the least that is expected of these men is to enjoy their new status as super rich men and let Nigeria be. They should be told that threatening brimstone and fire over the prospect of one candidate in the forthcoming election is not a good way to help the candidate. In fact their outburst might jolly well work against him.
Nigeria is doing its utmost to build a culture of peaceful transfer of power and it is the duty of men of goodwill to help the process grow. Goodluck Jonathan and his party should let their voices be heard in condemnation of the war drums beating in the Niger Delta.