(ON)GOING CONCERNS: Choosing the next president

By Tolu Ogunlesi

February 23, 2011 01:03AM

Former Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd recently told the Financial Times: “I believe in politics for the two questions it asks of us. One is: ‘What do you stand for and why?’ And the second is: ‘Do you know what you are talking about?”

These are excellent questions to carry over into the Nigerian situation.

Think of Nuhu Ribadu. What comes to mind is a man who came into public reckoning on the strength of his fearlessness, and determination to rid Nigeria of financial crime. Think Fola Adeola and Pat Utomi, and their impressive resumes speak for them, evidence of a consistently-manifested genius for visionary thinking, and for the management of people and resources. Tunde Bakare brings “conviction”, “fearlessness” and “integrity” to mind.

I think of Dele Momodu and of a certain drive and eclectic ambition; a man who, once he sets his eyes on a goal, will work to make it happen. Muhamadu Buhari evokes frugality and (to borrow from Wole Soyinka) “dis’plin” – qualities sorely needed in a country ravaged by lawlessness and recklessness.

Now think of Goodluck Jonathan, and what comes to mind? Perhaps it’s time to confess my confusion. Has Mr. President done a great job of letting us know what exactly he stands for, and to what extent he knows what he’s talking about. I honestly can’t say for sure.

Maybe it’s simply a personality issue. Mr. Jonathan does seem to be an introvert, which in itself is not a bad thing. But I fear that he is not doing a good enough job of asserting himself in the office he occupies. (Now, sadly, this is one of those lines that I fear someone in one of the anti-Jonathan camps will seize and proclaim on Facebook, for campaign purposes).

Nigeria’s challenges demand presidents with a certain verve, an awareness both of the intimidating challenges they face, and the intimidating power they wield to bring transformation.

Ribadu, Buhari, Bakare, Adeola, Utomi, Momodu have all clearly demonstrated that verve, that ambition, in one way or the other, even if it has sometimes played out in flawed ways. I suspect that there are quite a number of Nigerians frustrated by President Jonathan’s ten months thus far in office – for one who came to the presidential palace by way of a most unusual path, as an ‘outsider’ in a system dominated by complicated tribal and cabal ties, there is too much same-old-same-old in this presidency.

Come April we will know if he’ll get a second chance or not. What is most important for now is for him to realise that, unlike in 2007, or 2003, Nigerians now have the kinds of alternatives we’ve dreamed about for long.

I think Nigerians deserve to celebrate the fact that in theory Nigeria has perhaps never had it this good in terms of choice of presidential palace material. That Nuhu Ribadu, Fola Adeola, Tunde Bakare, Dele Momodu, and even Mr. Jonathan himself (in the face of the tribal challenge by the so-called ‘Northern Elite’) can seriously aspire to be President or Vice President, is a sign of how far we’ve come from, say, 1998, when Sani Abacha was the only man “whom the cap fit.”

I think – or should that be ‘hope’ – events of this election season, that have thrown up this impressive array of candidates – constitute strong evidence that Nigerians are ready to sing ‘Nunc Dimittis’ to our long-cherished tradition of ‘anything goes’ in our political space. Everyone who remembers how an ailing, uninterested Yar’Adua was arrogantly foisted upon us in 2007 ought to weep again and again for this country.

It appears (alas for now one can only say ‘appears’) to be dawning on Nigerians that there is a connection between the ‘quality’ of those who roll around town in lengthy, noisy convoys, and the ‘quality’ of life lived in the country.

For too long, our matches have been played by ball boys, whilst the ‘first eleven’ remain seated on the bench, watching helplessly, sometimes even cheerleading. Now, hopefully, a revolution beckons.

But I still have one fear: that after the dust has settled, and April’s spoils of victory have been shared, everyone who is not a winner will immediately go to sleep beneath a “Wake me up in 2015” banner.

Surely no country that is serious about its destiny treats its politics like a ‘Leap Year’. In sensible countries, every day counts. Politicians are judged not by the last-minute promises they manufacture, but by how they have conducted themselves, in and out of power, since the last elections. In Nigeria however, politicians – winners and losers alike – go to sleep as soon as election results are out.

In the event that the Ribadus and Adeolas and Bakares and Shekaraus and Momodus and Utomis do not win come April, I do not expect them to return to “personal life.” And if they do, Nigerians should not take them seriously next time. Ribadu for example has a strong youth movement that should seek, whether its candidate wins or not, to blossom into a force as significant in Nigeria as the Tea Party is in America.

Hopefully no one thinks it’s too early to start talking about 2015.

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