I don’t see APC, PDP or any other party getting automatic support from Nigerians in 2027 —Bulama, ex-APC scribe

From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

Waziri Bulama, an architect, is a man who has traversed every field of human endeavour. He is a Fellow Nigerian Institute of Architects, former National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and member of the ruling party’s National Advisory Council.

Speaking to Sunday Sun in Abuja, Bulama, in his assessment of the performance of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s first year anniversary, claimed that his economic policy has been very harsh for Nigerians.

The Kanuri, Borno-born politician dismissed the speculations in many quarters that the North is planning to revolt against Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election with their votes, stressing, however, that the poll will be tough for APC.

The APC-led Federal Government is one year in office, what is your assessment of the current administration?

I am impressed by the posture of President Bola Tinubu, who from day one, said he knows what the job of the president entails. He also stressed that he campaigned for the job. We know he was not co-opted; he prepared himself for it over the years. He said he is prepared to take responsibility for governing this country; and that he will not lament and ask for sympathy, but the understanding of Nigerians. These are deeply reassuring statements and very different approaches to leadership in this country. What we know from the history of leadership in Nigeria is that most of our leaders were drafted to that position. Therefore, most of them were reluctant leaders, not committed to making tough decisions. Their decision-making is tardy and half-hearted. They are mostly not bold enough to hold others to account. That was the feature of most leaders up to former President Muhammadu Buhari’s era. If you look at the way Buhari managed leadership, he was more of a statesman than a leader, leading from the front. He was like guiding rather than taking responsibility for most actions. This is one of the most visible features identifiable in one year of Tinubu’s tenure and the kind of leadership he is bringing to this country. There are remarkable decisions very profoundly taken, especially in managing the economy, necessary to rescue the economy from grinding to a halt. These include the three major decisions of removal of fuel subsidy, the merger of currency exchange rate, and increase in electricity tariffs. They are major decisions that are necessary to prevent the collapse of the economy. The resultant effects of these decisions have also been very profound, and far-reaching with large implications and impacts on the cost of living. The prices of goods and services in the country have increased astronomically, three, and fourfold. This has made Nigerians find it difficult to survive, feed and transport themselves. The truth is that the last year has been a very difficult period for most Nigerians because of the astronomically high price of goods and services. But the important thing is the determination of the leaders to hold themselves to account and their pledge to respond to the emerging problems that they either inherited or triggered by reforms taken and their preparedness to address this issue. These are the remarkable things that one can notice in the past year of this administration.

As one of those very critical of the PDP, will you say that Nigerians are better off, administratively and economically, nine years under the APC government?

One may not boldly say that Nigerians are better off economically in the true sense of it, but there are a multiplicity of factors that are responsible for the economic problems we are facing in the country. However, in terms of gains of democracy and quality of leadership, there is a greater responsibility for accountability under the APC than under the PDP. I said this because the PDP inherited government from the military and its leadership style was largely driven by the power and authority associated with the military, especially in the Olusegun Obasanjo era where major decisions were often taken from the top and implemented; where the party members and citizens had very little input in decision making. Under the PDP elections were not free, fair, and transparent as it is today. That kind of leadership has given way to the climate today under the APC, where leaders as well as citizens know that there is greater respect for the rule of law. For instance, when the PDP was in power, it was known for impunity and authoritarian tendencies. The election management system improved greatly under the APC. Even as a ruling party, APC never really encouraged the use of the apparatus of the state directly like INEC, the security agencies to help or empower any candidate of its own party. It did not influence the judiciary to give judgment in favour of the ruling party. These are fundamental differences between the APC and the PDP leadership. In the area of economy, many factors have contributed to stalling progress. Such factors like rapid population increase, weak industrial production, and weak farming because of insecurity in the rural areas; the COVID-19 pandemic; the Ukraine war, and others. The economic condition of Nigerians has not improved to the expectation of many, but in terms of quality of leadership, transparency, and accountability, things have improved considerably in Nigeria under the APC.

With what you are seeing in the APC, do you think Nigerians can voluntarily vote for your party in 2027?

I don’t see any party, the APC, the PDP, or any other one getting automatic support or unconditional support from Nigerians. For instance, the kind of complacency we see in all the parties, especially in the APC and the PDP, is not going to help them. As a founding leader and member of APC, I find it extremely disturbing that we are not doing enough in internal study and introspection to interrogate and review the performance of the party in elections and its performances since its formation in 2013. The 2027 election will demand a great deal of effort on the part of the APC, as the ruling party, to sustain the confidence of Nigerians. I am saying this because the 2023 elections, upon a cursory review, showed that the most remarkable feature of the elections was big voter apathy. Out of 94 million registered voters, only 24 million Nigerians came out to vote, representing only 26 per cent. This is very low by all standards and ordinarily, all the leaders within the democratic space and the parties ought to have really shown concern over what was responsible for that. A general election in a multi-party presidential system of government is like a referendum on the democratic system itself. If people refuse to vote, it means that they are not enthused to support the system. They have no confidence in the system. Secondly, all the parties took a very huge reduction or shrinkage in the support they got in the previous presidential election. For instance, that huge apathy was reflected in the fortunes of the results the parties got. The APC, for instance, got 16 million votes in the 2019 presidential elections, but got only nine million votes in the 2023 presidential election. Similarly, the presidential candidate of the PDP got 12 million votes in the 2019 election, but it got barely eight million in the 2023 presidential election. The political class ought to really show concern about why this happened. Part of our primary duty in politics is not just to be in power and run government, but to promote the democratic system, to ensure that a fair system, just one that promotes prosperity and development exists in the country. Leadership goes beyond holding power and providing boreholes, bikes, schools, or health centres. The primary duty is to promote a system that engenders trust, positive values, and respect for institutions of state, unity, and love of our nation. If the system is not supported by citizens, we should be worried. We should not take it for granted that the 2027 election will just be a walk into the park. We should not think people will just vote for us without working for it. The democratic system itself, right now is in recession in Nigeria. That is why some people are calling for an outright substitution with the parliamentary system. That they could even have the audacity to talk about substituting the presidential with the parliamentary system confirms the anxiety. It is disgusting that some people are openly comparing our democratic government with the dictatorial system of governments in our chequered history. These are statements that the political class should try by all means to interrogate to ensure that kind of debate does not exist. Let me also add that the political class would have noted that Nigeria has spent 25 years under democratic rule by May this year. This is a remarkable achievement, credit to our resilience as a nation; regardless of the grotesque flaws we see every day. This democratic system has allowed ordinary Nigerians, irrespective of the imperfections of the system, to elect leaders to run the government. We ought to have noted this period, and embark on a serious review and introspection to know what we have achieved in these 25 years, what failings, challenges, and constraints exist; to adjust this system and make sure it does better for our country. If the system succeeds, we all succeed. Where the system does not operate optimally, no person, business, or group will succeed and thrive.

As an elder statesman, do the rifts in Rivers and Kaduna, between the incumbent governors and their predecessors worry you?

Our federal arrangement stands on three structures of federal, state, and local governments. Most of the attention of the elite is on the federal structure. But, the arrangement at the state, and local governments; how they are managed, how leaders emerge to manage them, and the relationship between leaders, both old and new, are the fundamental questions or issues that we need to interrogate thoroughly. The situation at the state and local government levels is appallingly devoid of genuine democracy. Under a democratic system, there ought to be a system that should manage the relationship between former and new governors and the governors and local government elected leaders. Most of the leaders at that level are not produced democratically. That is why in many states, the outgoing governors manipulate the entire system, short-change everybody in the state, because of the weak democratic processes to produce successors they feel would work based on their dictates. If eventually these new governors assume authority and see the powers of the office of governor with many sycophants around them who want to benefit from the governor’s new power, they come into conflict, especially when the governors start acting on the authority of that office. This conflict exists in every state in the country. It is only the extent to which it is managed that the public sees. There is no state where there is no conflict between the former and the new governor. The democratic systems and processes in those states are not transparent, clear, and legitimate. There is little genuine adherence to due processes and rule of law. There is conflict virtually everywhere at all the sub-national levels. Lack of evidence of democracy and good governance is resulting in more problems for this country. There is deepening poverty, crime, lawlessness, unemployment, and lack of productivity. Focus on governance and services that will help these communities at the local government levels is virtually non-existent. The powers of the local governments have been appropriated by the state governors. The local government chairmen are just appointees and most of them are not given the resources allocated directly by the Federal Government to operate and serve the people. The role, responsibility, and functions of the civil service have been completely eroded. Most civil service structures in the states don’t have adequately trained personnel as they used to have. They are not empowered to carry out their jobs, and most of these secretariats are virtually empty. Other functional structures like the judiciary and State Assembly have also been weakened. Almost all the political leaders in all the 36 states of the federation are culpable. It is not a matter of one state, one zone, or a matter of party affiliation, the entire system and leadership are culpable in this. That is why I am calling for introspection, self-appraisal, and review of the entire democratic system, especially this year as we clocked 25 years in democracy. We need to nurture our democratic system to its full strength, as a system of government that serves this country optimally. Until political leaders abide by the oath of allegiance they took during their inauguration, we will continue to be walking into crisis. We are virtually losing control of this country due to lawlessness, and crime.

Are Nigerian politicians insensitive to the suffering of citizens?

I share the sentiments that the political class is insensitive to the suffering of Nigerians. In a recent event where professionals gathered to review President Tinubu’s one year in office, what came out of most of the submissions was that government or elected persons are not communicating well with the citizens and that policies are generated without the input of critical stakeholders. So, to that extent, if citizens feel that the elected leaders are detached from them as a result of this faulty procedure in the exercise of authority, then you cannot fault that claim. This has deepened political and economic alienation in the country under this dispensation.

What is your biggest fear for the future of Nigeria?

Frankly, I will say that Nigeria has stagnated, remained unstable, and unproductive for years now. This comes with serious consequences because they have produced more unemployment, crimes, and waste. Yes, with the way we are going, I won’t say that Nigeria will descend into a lawless country like Congo, Sudan, Somalia, or Chad, but some of the state’s failures are evident, according to many more informed analysts. There is a lack of regard for the rule of law, starting from the leaders all the way down to the citizens. Lack of understanding of the depth of demands of leadership and seriousness that Nigeria is contending with by many leaders makes me worried. Frankly, we have problems, but there are strong hopes for redemption and revival. I feel concerned over the shortages we see in terms of water, electricity supply, meaningful engagements for young people to make a living; and difficulties in terms of means of survival like food, accommodation, and some basic necessities. I am worried about our inability to address those challenges properly and appropriately.

How empty or serious are the threats from the North that they won’t vote for President Tinubu in 2027?

This kind of statement must have come from some vested political interests, not a coherent northern position. This is not a politically relevant position because voting is influenced by many factors like the impact of the policies of the government. This, however, is experienced by all Nigerians across all the zones and regions, not the North alone. It is also not true that the North is marginalised under this Tinubu government. Anybody claiming that marginalisation of the North in terms of projects, appointments, or allocation of resources under this Tinubu-led government, must be unreasonable and cannot convince the North. Moreover, the relevant platforms to mobilise the North to vote, which are the political parties, have a strong presence in the North. Interestingly, the North is adequately represented in the APC government at the federal level by the Vice President, Speaker House of Representatives, and Deputy Senate President, among others. So, in terms of representation, and equitable distribution of resources, the North has no reason to complain. There is no reasonable threat as far as Asiwaju’s candidacy or vote for the APC is concerned. The real threat is national and can only come from the dysfunctional democracy we are practicing that is creating voter apathy across the country, not just in the North alone.