Preparation for the 2019 General elections is in high gears. This fact is especially reflected in the website of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which has a countdown stating that the election has 379 days, 17 hours, 10 mins to go, as at yesterday, February 1, 2018. More specifically, INEC has given February 16 and March 2, 2019 for the presidential and governorship elections. I have issues with the timetable, but that is a matter for another day. The presidential election is of paramount importance as it determines how the political parties would fare in the other offices being vied for. Once a particular party wins the presidential election, the bandwagon effect always swing the eventual outcome and performance of the contending parties in favour of the party that had already won the presidency. But as stated earlier, this is a matter for another day.
As Nigerians warm up towards the election, there had been issues in the polity about the appropriateness of incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari to seek for a second term in view of the administration’s (poor) performance in office. On a daily basis, opposition to President Buhari’s second term bid had continued to grow. Before former President Obasanjo’s letter to the president not to put himself forward, there had been other prominent Nigerians who had equally urged the president to shun the unrealistic praise singers and acolytes who have not been able to correctly read the mood of Nigerians who had grown tired of the administration. One of the surprising figures of opposition to President Buhari’s second term bid, is fiery overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare who said the president should forget the 2019 election but instead focus on restructuring the country in line with the agitation of many Nigerians. The pastor took it further that he would contest for the presidency. Bakare’s statement is surprising especially in view of his relationship with President Buhari.
He was the president’s running mate in the 2011 presidential election. His statement thus signals the loss of confidence in the administration and especially in the way the president had been running the country. Another opposition figure to President Buhari’s continued stay in office is Catholic Rev Father Ejike Mbaka. Mbaka, director of Adoration Ministry in Enugu, had consistently voiced his opposition to the continued stay in office of former President Goodluck Jonathan in the build up to the 2015 elections and had encouraged his members not to vote the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He had thrown his weight behind candidate Buhari in 2015. After the President’s inauguration, Father Mbaka visited Buhari in Aso rock.
But it is a different story today, in his new year message, Mbaka said, “As I was waiting on the Lord, I’m asked to advise you, don’t come out for second tenure; after this, retire peacefully.” “Come back to yourself or you will cry by the time you will be sent out of office. Those who are encouraging you to come out and run again want to disgrace you shamefully and publicly.”
But of major concern is the fact that even if President Buhari decided to heed the warning of his erstwhile supporters and decided not to contest, the candidate that Nigeria requires today has not manifested. The only serious candidate who had signified interest in the office of President is former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku. Many Nigerians see him as highly qualified. He is detribalized; he has the experience and has built bridges of friendship across the country. The only minus is his age. Today, Nigerians are clamouring for a young, vibrant, articulate and cerebral candidate. Atiku does not fill the bill of what Nigerians want today. His age is a minus. Indeed, the words of human rights lawyer, Femi Falana comes readily to mind here when he opined that it would be a monumental tragedy if Buhari and Atiku are the only two candidates for the 2019 elections. Nigeria cannot afford that again. This is a rescue mission, to take the country back and set it on the path of development.
The present administration got into office on a false premise. The whole country, especially the youths and social media nerds were swept up in the storm of change like angry, uneducated mob. They never interrogated the purveyors and promoters of change. They were swept up by the frenzy of change. Some of them were not born when President Buhari was a military Head of State, but they listened and swallowed the straw house that was built around candidate Buhari. Now the house has collapsed. Buhari has shown all his supporters his true colour as a nepotic, clannish leader who is uneducated in the nuances of governing a complex and multi-ethnic country like Nigeria. In the words of former President Obasanjo under Buhari, “national interest was being sacrificed on the altar of nepotic interest”. According to the former president, the president’s poor understanding of the dynamics of internal politics has led to, “wittingly or unwittingly making the nation more divided and inequality has widened and become more pronounced. It also has effect on general national security”. Though, many have raised highbrow about the writer, saying his tenure did not fare better, but Obasanjo’s verdict should not be ignored as it reflects the mood of the country
Thus, the idea of the likes of Donald Duke, Olisa Agbakoba, Pat Utomi coming together to form a political group is good, but it is by far not the solution to the myriad of problems besetting the Nigerian nation. The Nigerian Intervention Movement (NIM) is good coupled with the Coalition for Nigerian Movement floated by the former president. Its relevance would be enhanced by providing a platform that would give opportunity to Nigerians with the quality that is required to govern a 21st century country, but who would not have had the opportunity because of the present structure of political party system in the country. Here, I am not referring to the presidency alone. Apart from that, the would- be candidate aspiring for the topmost office must be prepared and seen to be prepared for the office.
There must be clear cut vision which must be interrogated. It goes beyond promising to do certain things to move the country forward, the how and why should be clearly stated. The philosophy behind an idea must be clearly stated. It is not about some technocrats sitting in a room and coming up with programmes and shoving it down the throat of the candidate. If it is not the candidate that owns the idea or commissioned the idea, it would not work. That is what we have today. The programmes and party manifestoes must first and foremost reflect the candidate. It must be part of his vision.
There must be a clear cut blue print that would touch on all areas of development. During the second republic, parties like the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) stood for something. Some of us could also identify with the programmes and manifestoes of the parties. The UPN had its four cardinal programmes while NPN had Green revolution as its agricultural policy, among others. The parties stood for this and the candidates bought into it. To move forward and get the Nigeria of our dream, this should be encouraged. It should also be the basis to judge the parties and the candidates.