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You would notice the gradual animation of the political space by the candidates of the major political parties as the time inches for the official flag-off of the 2023 presidential campaigns. If you liken their desperate movements and lightning consultations to a rat race, you may not be wrong. They are literally on heat, indeed, in panic mode. Desperation captures it better.
In such a situation, the past is quickly remedied and everything in the present thrown in, as long as the desired impacts are created or results attained. This explains why the presidential candidates have been virtually on the road or dispatching their proxies, building bridges and forging alliances, no matter how fleeting or ad hoc.
Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, are not relenting on this. Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, is also reaching out to individuals and groups he considers important to his aspiration. But Atiku and Tinubu are more frantic. And it is understandable. This may be their last outing for the contest, considering the factors of age, health and strenuous demands for the post.
For Atiku, who has featured at primaries or main contests in all the elections since 2003 when he ran on the ticket of the then Action Congress (AC), the stakes are high for 2023. Recall that he once cried for the office. It really means much to him hence he has been running around, reaching out to aggrieved members of his party, asking for forgiveness in whatever way he must have offended them, to ensure that none rocks the boat.
Tinubu is more particular in not leaving anything to chance. Even before picking his party’s ticket, he made open declaration for his desire for the office, saying that it was his life ambition and that it was his turn to become President. He has done follow-up visits to that effect, the most intriguing being his courtesy calls on former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan, Olusegun Obasanjo and General Ibrahim Babangida.
For the APC standard-bearer, nothing is too much to be sacrificed to win the presidency, even if it means returning to vomits. His visits to Jonathan and Obasanjo confirmed the extent of his desperation for the job. It is true that, in politics, especially in this part of the world, there is no permanent friend or enemy. Every relationship is fleeting, except interest. That is how best to situate the unusual rapprochement from Tinubu to people he had done battle with in the past. Throughout their years in office (1999-2007) when Obasanjo was President and Tinubu was Lagos State governor, they were at opposite ends. Even after office, they hardly agreed on issues. At every turn, Tinubu threw broadsides at Obasanjo, to which the latter responded in appropriate terms.
In a similar way, Tinubu had taken on Jonathan, describing him in unflattering terms. At a time in the formation of the APC in 2014 and the build-up to the 2015 presidential election in which Jonathan was going for a second term, Tinubu and his supporters made it a mantra to dismiss him as clueless and, in some instances, likened him to a drunken sailor. Today, the former Lagos governor is reaching out to the old foes, seeking their understanding for his presidential quest. Some say he is pragmatic. Others argue that he is merely being hypocritical. Both suggestions are in order.
There is nothing wrong in the candidates reaching out to critical stakeholders in a serious matter as running for the presidency. In politics, it is called consultation; it is allowed. But to what extent do the moves impact on Nigeria and Nigerians? That is the fundamental question and why the desperation by the candidates should matter to us. Any move or action that is not directed at addressing the challenges in the land but rather aims at satiating personal interest should not be allowed to fly.
I watched some young men arguing vigorously the other day on who among the candidates deserved their votes. They spoke on their frustration with the leadership in the land, their future, which looks bleak, the ravaging unemployment, the rising tide of insecurity and the deplorable state of the economy and infrastructure. They did not seem to be bothered by the trivial considerations of religion and ethnicity. That is the way to go.
Considering the piteous state Nigeria has found herself in, conversations on the 2023 presidency should centre on antecedents of the candidates, their capabilities and preparations for the office. There is no room or reason for any person to lay claim to the presidency on the basis of right or in fulfillment of an ambition. The office is not a prize to be won but a job to be done.
Nigeria is currently on all fours, truth be told. Karl Meier, former West African correspondent of The Independent of London, could not have chosen a better title for his book on Nigeria, “This House Has Fallen”. What is needed is a leader with the vision and verve to bring it back.
But if we allow history to be our guide, there is nohow we can discuss Nigeria in its present comatose state without recalling the ignominious role of some of those presently angling for the presidency. One way or the other, they contributed in enthroning the current lethargic leadership in the land that has set us back more than 30 years.
Chinua Achebe, in “The Trouble With Nigeria”, was right that “the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely the failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example, which are the hallmarks of true leadership”.
Daren Acemoglu and James Robinson, authors of the encompassing book, “Why Nations Fail”, argue with profound insight that the most common reasons why nations fail is because of parasitic political and economic classes. Nigeria has had this extractive elite over the years. For them, what matters is what they derive from the system, not what they add to it.
The day we get it right in the leadership recruitment process, Nigeria’s problems would be hugely solved. As Obi recently remarked, “It can only take one visionary leaders and disruptive thinker for Nigeria to be put back on the right trajectory”. This is the time to halt the slide.
