Ribadu’s roll in the mud

Opponents of the PDP think it political apostasy that the man who once terrorized the political plunderers of the PDP desperately turns to them for a shot at political office. Evidently the APC in Adamawa is in quandary and a house divided cannot win elections, yet some believe that it is better not to seek […]

Opponents of the PDP think it political apostasy that the man who once terrorized the political plunderers of the PDP desperately turns to them for a shot at political office. Evidently the APC in Adamawa is in quandary and a house divided cannot win elections, yet some believe that it is better not to seek political office if the only ladder to get there is the loathed PDP.
Are they right or wrong? A recap of how Ribadu rode into political prominence is expedient in seeking a genuine answer. His national claim to fame was in the discharge of his duty as EFCC chairman from a career in a police force that noted for venality. Is that enough to win him a ticket as president as he did shortly after his return from exile? Perhaps not. The landscape is filled with ex-this and that whose candles dim outside retirement.
Another question is what impact Ribadu had on politics as the EFCC chairman. There is a divisive answer to that question. Those at the receiving end see him as the attack-dog of the government of the time against perceived political enemies or opponents of the now infamous third term agenda. Others saw him as an anti-corruption czar who drilled the fear of prosecution into the minds of those whose souls were sold to the sleaze.  
One thing stood out for Ribadu; he prosecuted his job with uncommon indefatigability and dynamism though he appeared to be too much in your face where stealth was required. Happily, nobody has accused him of dishonesty. This attribute made his entry into politics a beacon of hope in an atmosphere polluted by men of questionable integrity and duplicitous intentions. A combination of factors ranging from the fallout of his tenure at EFCC and political inexperience frustrated his political ambition. In a politically conscious society, his relative political inexperience should have been the only minus for his candidacy. In our clime, it was not.
The presidency of any nation is too great to be tossed into the hands of political neophytes. Tested and tried political experience ought to be a required skill to lead Africa’s best nation. That it is not is a big question mark to our understanding of progressive politics. It is a critical factor responsible for the lacklustre performance of governance at all levels. The voter is yet to vote based on the antecedent or competence of the candidate. Rather, they vote based on parochial interests that has nothing to do with leadership capacity or performance.
It would have been appropriate to pop the question – what is the performance history of the incumbent president in his serendipitous rise through various political offices? An honest answer ought to determine how to evaluate his current performance and help assess his qualification for the 2015 race. Failure to vote on facts has given vent to irrelevant archival exhumations of an alleged pact with some elements within his party that he will only run a single term then cede political power to a section not based on merit.
To the electorate, there is no distinction between what the PDP stands for and where the APC differs from that standpoint. Yes, there appears to be marked differences in the style of governance of the political actors operating on the platform of both parties. Some have concrete proofs of their worth as governors but others have squandered the confidence by engaging in grand looting and deception. We cannot develop a durable political culture based on serendipity or parochial interests.
Having established these premises, the question ought to be how Ribadu, a last hour entrant into this race hopes to position himself to win this election. He clearly needs a mandate to test his hands at governance. In the current circumstances, it matters least where that mandate comes from. What matters is what he does with it, if given. If he performs creditably well, there is still enough charm and fuel left in the tank to leverage on that performance for higher political office. If he fails the test and or buries himself in sleaze grease, he would have interred with him hope for his generation and a betrayal of opportunity.
As voters, we ought to be worried that less than a year to the presidential election, neither the PDP nor the APC has presented the electorate with a candidate. This makes choice difficult. If we are to avoid last ditch political transvestites, here is a problem we should be addressing.