Have you wondered why many people want to be leaders, but very few are leaders in the true sense of it, that is, using power for great purposes? It indeed troubles the mind when you look at the surreal similarities in the style of some leaders who ran aground in the office they so desperately wanted and got it. Often, such leaders started their political career as liberators, advocates for the rule of law and defenders of the poor. But give them power, in no distance time, they become the oppressors of the same downtrodden they claim to champion their cause and values. In 15 months of Tinubu in the saddle, it’s safe to say that sometimes, what leaders say while they are trying to get power is not necessarily what they do after they have it. Eventually, such leaders become the nemesis of their own downfall. And you ask: what are the explanations for this sudden turn of events?
One reason for this is that succeeding in leadership at the highest level should not be for the highest bidder, neither should it be something to be relied on rules of thumb and “it’s my turn” mentality that paralyzes once the goal has been achieved. A successful presidency, for instance, is much more about organisation, adequate preparation, vision and values than just being driven by fancy of ambition to become the President of one’s own country by whatever means possible. Simply put, to be successful at the highest political office also requires absolute clarity at what you want to do at any given time, and an extraordinary adaptability on the issues that present themselves and a knack for managing complex, high-stakes situations . Such is the situation that Nigeria is currently confronted with, but is lacking the leadership qualities to make better things happen and prevent worse things from happening. Thinking about the larger end, which entails caring about the people above self, is equally crucial. These skills are what a president who is worth answering the name needs to prevail in a climate of intense economic uncertainty.
I have gone to this length because, in the past 15 months since Bola Tinubu became President of Nigeria, looking at the way he veered off from his promises, and began governing like Hamas that uses brutality and intimidation to maintain power, requires a classic study by researchers. I have been searching for why the once, self-acclaimed defender of the poor and a frontline critic of previous governments’ anti-people policies, has turned out to be the private enemy number one of poor Nigerians. What is unraveling before us under Tinubu presidency is a classic Mugabe style and pattern of governance. Even last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that is part of the present economic hardship in the country, did advise Tinubu to protect the poor from the present fuel price hike. But, is he listening? I find a disturbing similarity between former President of Zimbabwe, late Comrade Robert Mugabe and the style of governance of President Tinubu. The similarity tears through like a knife. Recall that Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years, first as Prime Minister(1980-1987), and as President, from 1987 until 2017 when he was ousted from power by his own armed forces. But before then, Mugabe was feted as an African liberator hero and champion of racial reconciliation. His drive for power was initially inseparable from what he wanted power for – to accomplish real goals that will benefit the country and its 12 million people. At the time he was being celebrated, the then president of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, during the independence anniversary in Harare, advised Mugabe, “you have inherited a jewel in Africa, (please), don’t tarnish it”. Years later, not only did Mugabe tarnish the jewel he inherited, he became power-obsessed and a tyrant who implemented policies that divided and crushed the people who elected him.
As years rolled by, Mugabe became notorious for dealing ruthlessly to any challenge to his power. He barricaded himself behind the phalanx of bodyguards that operates like a mini-secret service. The currency of the country was no longer worth more than a warm spit, equivalent to a tissue paper in value. That was how a country that once held so much promise became a nation on a slippery slope to dictatorship. Flip the chapter of Nigeria. In recent weeks, many concerned Nigerians, including the leader of the Oodua People’s Congress(OPC), Iba Gani Adams, and former governor of Jigawa state, Sule Lamido, to mention only few, have tried to draw unedifying comparison of what is happening in the country today with the style of governance of some discredited African leaders such as Mugabe and Mobutu Sese Seku of former Zaire, now DR Congo.
While I don’t think Tinubu has reached the ignominious level of Mobutu, as one Nasir Aminu wrote last week, it’s important to keep a close watch on the President. Some critics have tried to draw parallels with the recent #EndbadGovernance protest in Nigeria and what happened in Zimbabwe under Mugabe’s tyranny, especially when in 2002, two food riots erupted in the cities of Harare and Bulawayo. Like the August protest in Nigeria, in which some of the protesters were clamped into detention and only granted bail last week with a hefty sum of N10m each, in both incidents in Zimbabwe, Mugabe’s “war veterans” and youth militia that he created as a thuggish group to bolster his rule through intimidation and violence, clashed with the police over who would control the sale of scarce staple foods like maize and rice.
This militia group was emboldened to act with impunity. But as his regime was coming to an end, Mugabe found it difficult to rein them in. Confined to the remaining years of his authoritarian rule between Singapore where he was receiving medical treatment and his sprawling “Blue Roof” mansion in Harare, Mugabe could only observe from afar the political stage where he once strode tall. As he was careening towards the end of his life, with his mental and physical health waning fast, Zimbabwe’s economy started to implode. The GDP had declined by over 20 percent in 3 years. As it’s always with tyrants at the end of the road, Mugabe began to find fewer people to trust as he tried to smooth a path to succession for his wife, Grace, four decades his junior. His critics used to call her, “Gucci Grace”. It was for her reputed fondness for luxury shopping.
By this time, the end was near, a painful chapter in the history of Zimbabwe, a country, according to Reuters news agency, in which “a dictator who became old, surrounded his country to a gang of thieves around his wife”. What a sad end for a man who began so well and admired as a liberator for his people from white supremacy rule. Mugabe died in Singapore, aged 95. It’s a lesson for modern presidents on how not to govern a country. Recall, last month, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the economy of Nigeria, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, noted painfully, at the conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) that the nation’s GDP growth rate has been in a steady decline for some years now. Like in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, shortage of fuel and hike in food prices and medicines are now out of the reach of most Nigerians. Some Nigerians are beginning to scavenge for necessities to survive. Many industries have shut down. Motorists spent hours on end in queues to buy petrol.
Yet, the President and family members have been globe-trotting at taxpayers money. A report by Saturday Punch, Sept 14, claimed that N701 million was spent on the First Lady, Remi Tinubu in three months on foreign trips. This is happening at a time many Nigerians cannot afford a decent meal. I thought the first lady bragged months ago that the family would not need the wealth of Nigeria to survive. Things are getting to intolerable, unacceptable line in the country. The patience of the people is growing thin. Ponder over what you have read regarding the beginning and end of Mugabe. What does all the stories about Mugabe tell us, especially our leaders? History never forgets. It’s the preserver of actions, good and bad. The lessons of yesterday could serve as a guide for tomorrow, and those who forget history are bound to repeat it.
As it was in Zimbabwe, the present administration is providing little or no solutions to the myriad of problems facing the country. The york is getting heavier for the people to carry. The government looks confused, stubbornly stuck with the ruinous exchange rate that has seen the naira depreciate to unprecedented level that has enriched a handful of cronies and impoverished the country. All things considered, it’s not unkind to say that the administration of President Tinubu has made millions of Nigerians to feel small and feel alone. Nigeria needs a new generation of leadership that is optimistic about what we can do together, a president who can work for all, not putting himself, family members and business associates first. We need a leadership who will listen to the people and understand their concerns. For now, Nigeria is yet to get it right on leadership.