Follow Us on Google
We are, perhaps all too familiar with this phrase, and have a pretty good idea what it means, “Be careful what you wish for, because you might get it”. It’s a mirror we need to see our true selves – not always pleasant, but often necessary. But what happens when you have got what you wish for, is one ringing warning to leaders who aspire to higher offices. Indeed, understanding power, and how to use it, can bring out the best or the worst in every elected President. That’s why lessons in power is vital for any leader, and indeed, all public office holders. It determines success or failure. According to historians, no one can successfully lead who does not first acquire power, and no leader can be great who does not know how to use power for the greater good of his country and the citizens.
However, the problem is that the combination of the two skills is rare. That means that not every leader knows how to use these skills. The question is: when does a president know that some of the decisions he makes amount to a big risk that comes with dizzying consequences? It is because, every presidency is defined in part, by the daunting tasks that confront it. And the kind of legacy a president intends to bequeath is a function of how he handles the challenges before him. But he must bear in mind that governance is a human enterprise. It’s a trust a president holds on behalf of the people. It’s not an entitlement. Sometimes, when things begin to go wrong for a president, it starts with a warning foretold, and advice unheeded.
With a little over two months into Tinubu presidency, it’s beginning to look obvious what power does to a leader : it reveals. When a leader thinks he has got enough power, and feels he doesn’t need anybody anymore, he abandons the compass that brought him to office. He wouldn’t let the poor to breathe. It’s not unkind to say at this point that President Tinubu sees the office as a coveted prize that has been won, not a duty to be done. That’s what that phrase, ‘Be careful what you wish for’, remains a constant reminder to every elected leader.
All of this comes down to that famous quote by Spanish-born American philosopher George Santayana, that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. This aphorism has been repeated by countless teachers to the effect that history guides us, especially leaders, to understand how events in the past can help them to avoid mistakes so that they do not run the risk of repeating them. Nigeria’s history is full with useful lessons that should guide our leaders. But they rather prefer the short road that leads regrets, if not destruction. If care is not taken, Tinubu is about to go down that road.
For two consecutive weeks in this column, I have made copious reference to Rehoboam, King Solomon’s son. It’s not for nothing. As recorded in (1Kings 12:14), Rehoboam was mean, hard-headed leader. He ill-advisedly adopted harsh economic policies that divided Israel of his time, down the middle. He took the advice of the ‘elders’, against the wishes of the people. ‘Elders’ in this context mean those around a leader, who tell him what he likes to hear. Rehoboam’s infamous quote remains a lesson for those in power. It’s also about bad leadership. Rehoboam said, “My father made your yoke heavy, I will make it heavier. My father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions”. There’s a painful, surreal connection between Tinubu and his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari. For 8 years, Buhari choked Nigerians with anti-people policies. In just two months of his presidency , Tinubu has suffocated Nigerians so hard that breathing has become too hard for the poor. Today, the rich are poking fun at the poor. It’s not unkind to say that poor Nigerians are now in Tinubu’s ‘prison’. And you ask: what offence did poor Nigerians commit to deserve this overdose of anti-people policies by our leaders? I don’t know the answer. Buhari left office with fuel pump price at N198/litre. In less than two months, Tinubu’s administration has increased fuel pump price to over N600/litre.
That’s not to say that Buhari was not a disaster. But a greater catastrophic implosion seems in the offing. What has the National Assembly done in respect of the fuel hike? They welcomed it as mark of a ‘courageous president’. These are the “yesmen”, the sychophants deceiving the President. After all, he has ‘gifted’ them a hefty N70bn from the $800m World Bank facility to “support the working conditions of the new members”, while the 12 million poor Nigerians are being offered a laughable N8,000 palliative each month for six months. Whatever review the presidency eventually comes up with, the palliatives are ridiculous. This translates to N53 per day.
This is worst than Rehoboam’s wickedness. How was the social register arrived at? When, and where did government collate these poor Nigerians? It was fake. The National Economic Council(NEC) has confirmed it. Tinubu should be circumspect. He should avoid repeating the mistakes of former military President Ibrahim Babangida. By unifying the exchange rate, Tinubu failed to realise that market forces are not neutral. A single market rate is determined by a well-thought out demand-supply mix. Today, the naira is ‘floating’. It has become like the Zimbabwean currency during the regime of Robert Mugabe. In the same vein, fuel subsidy was removed without proper policy formulation. There was no wide consultations.
As Tinubu admitted during his interaction with Nigerian residents in France, the removal of subsidy was not contained in his written inaugural address. It was a quirk of the moment to please some people and hurt the poor. That’s where we are today – extreme hardship, never seen even in war times. As the title of this column reads, Tinubu should beware of ‘dogs’…and people’ around him. This is an expression to be on guard, especially now that familiar faces have appeared on the Ministerial list. It’s a specific warning that Apostle Paul gave to the Philippian church (Philippians 3:2, Matthew 10:17).
Apostle Paul was referring to the aggressive scavengers and thieves, devouring whatever food they could find. They are deceivers, always on the prowl, looking for their own interests. They are not part of the people. They are only seeking to take whatever they can get from the government. These are the people you see around the corridors of power in Aso Rock. They are the ‘dogs’, ‘evil doers’. Apostle Paul also called them the “Judaizers”(Titus 1:10). With this kind of people around the President, who says our politics is not a farce to follow. Some of the anti-poor decisions taken by this administration in such a short time, are capable of undoing the Tinubu presidency if he does not tack back to the centre. That is where majority of Nigerians are.
Many workers are going to work due to high transport fares resulting from the hike in fuel pump price. Businesses are shutting down, with attendant job losses. Inflation rate for the month of June is 22.79 percent, the highest in years, driving food prices across the country. Today’s Nigeria has become like a class struggle, taxing the poor to subsidize the rich. What remains is for Nigerians to start fighting themselves on the streets. Having a larger end has always been important for political leaders. Their quest for power is to bend people to their will. No real agenda other than dominate others. It’s all about power for power sake, not power to accomplish real goals that will better the welfare of the people.
From what we have seen of some Tinubu’s so-called reforms, he has behaved much like a fox. He’s going for the jugular of perceived political foes.
He should retreat and focus on addressing the challenges that confront the country. Nigeria is in dire crisis. It will be recalled that on May 25, few days to his inauguration, Tinubu told Nigerians that he knew the extent of the tasks ahead. “I won’t fail Nigerians”, he said. He promised significant improvement in the economy, education, health, security and power supply. Now, he’s asking Nigerians to ‘persevere more’. But the people’s patience is growing thin. It was all part of his campaign theme of ‘Renewed Hope’. No glimmer of hope yet. It may be early days though to judge, nonetheless, he has not delivered on any of these promises. Are you better off now than you were two months ago? Things have gotten worse, not better. The message is clear: this President should be watched carefully. He should beware. The clouds are getting full of rain.
