Your
Excellency, I write to you today with a heavy heart. The reason should be
obvious. I was one of those latter day converts to Buharism, a political
philosophy that believes in the reincarnation of former leaders in the days of
tribulation. You were never the first man to resurrect from retirement and near
political oblivion.
General
Olusegun Obasanjo bounced back from prison to Aso Rock Villa. In nearby Benin
Republic, former military dictator and strongman, Mathieu Kerekou who had
served as maximum ruler for about 17 incredible years, came back to defeat
incumbent President , Nicephore Soglo in a 1990 election.
He
led his country for another ten years and almost got another five-year term but
for the age barrier that disqualified him. It is normal for Africans to run
towards the wise elders of the village when trouble comes knocking. That is one
of the major reasons Nigerians in their millions voted with their feet and
thumbs to elect you President. Many of those who supported you did so for
several other reasons and you must understand that they were mainly not members
of your political party, APC.
So,
apart from your age, they backed you because they believed in your impeccable pedigree
as an incorruptible and honourable man, a strict disciplinarian, a Scrooge who
would not fritter away our meagre resources, a scourge of rogues and prodigal
sons, a metamorphosed tyrant now a born-again democrat, and so on and so forth.
Nigerians ardently placed their hopes in you and fervently prayed you won’t
disappoint them. This is the principal reason I have decided to send you this
desperate memo today before some despicable politicians tarnish your
hard-earned reputation and truncate this beautiful chance again.
Sir,
let me say right away that the goodwill garnered during your campaigns and the
jubilation that heralded your recent victory are fast fading and you need to,
as a matter of urgency, convince the people of Nigeria that you’re now ready to
hit the ground running. They are not going to listen to excuses since you had
30 years after quitting the high office to onerously prepare for the job again.
For them it is immaterial that you met an empty treasury or that you are mostly
surrounded by selfish, corruptive influences and impostors.
As
I mentioned in my earlier epistles to you, Nigerians have become totally
impatient and what they expect of you is tantamount to performing the miracle
of turning water into wine or raising Lazarus from the dead. You cannot afford
to waste any second before displaying the sterner stuff you’re reputed to be
made of.
I
had encouraged you not to be afraid of taking charge of the Party that brought
you to power or tackling the politicians that claimed to have helped you in the
process. I had imagined that you know the ways of our politicians by now and
thought you knew how to handle them. I had told you matter-of-factly that you
may have to step on some powerful toes in order to achieve anything tangible. The
worst that may likely happen is for people to say and accuse you of dictatorial
proclivity which won’t be new in your lexicon or to be threatened with
impeachment and all-what-not. But trust me, no evil shall befall you for as
long as you carry the people along in your crusade and do not pander to the
whims and caprices of members of the privilegentsia.
There
is no doubt that the present imbroglio in your Party is as a result of your
lukewarm attitude to Party issues thinking you could merely concentrate on
nation-building while others deal with political intrigues. However, it is not
always as simple as that. As you can now see, you don’t seem to be on the same
page with your Party. While you were busy agonising over the myriad of problems
besetting Nigeria, many of your presumed disciples were busy fighting over
positions and control of power the way babies squabble over lollipops. They
have studiously forgotten the change mantra and the huge expectations that made
the electorate to troop out in droves and cast their votes for you and the
Party.
The
moment you became the President-elect, you should have readied your manacles
for all would-be trouble makers. You should have sent out a powerful message to
those politicians who may wish to act above the law. But the moment you
appeared ready to abdicate some of your leadership responsibilities to them,
the obvious lacuna gave them the needed impetus to take charge and cut you
adrift. Your political advisers, if any, should have prepared you for the
offensive. There is no way you are going to fight and survive the battle ahead
if the political class see you as a man they can easily bully. You cannot sit
on the fence.
Whilst
your decision not to interfere in the affairs of another arm of Government, the
legislature, is commendable and indeed your constitutional duty, you must make
it clear to your Party that the same non-interference must apply to them.
Our
people may have voted for your Party but they also voted for the individuals
that the Party entrusted its mandate to including you. Just as there is a limit
to how the Party can control you in the exercise of your executive functions
and those you choose to assist you in the fulfilment of those functions, so
also must you tell the Party chieftains that there is a limit as to how much
the leadership structure and duties of the legislative arm can be controlled.
If you are ambiguous about this, then you are inviting your Party leadership to
write a letter to you categorically stating not only those you must appoint as
your Ministers and Special Advisers but also those that you must not work with
under any guise. I am sure you would not tolerate that. In the same vein you
must not tolerate Party interference in the legislature. Change has come,
please imbibe it!
In
essence it is incumbent on you to deal with the issues arising from tensions
created by party supremacy, parliamentary democracy and above all
constitutionality. There is a delicate balance to be struck between these
competing interests though constitutionality must eventually prevail. However,
even constitutionality is subordinated to national interest, because that is
the most important interest of all.
Your
Party has a lot to learn from the tragedy which was invited upon itself by
advertence of the former ruling Party, PDP. As a mark of respect to your status
and office, your Party should have adopted your instinct and temperament
immediately you conceded that the elections of principal officers at the
National Assembly were “somewhat constitutional.” Even if internally aggrieved,
like mortals may invariably be, your Party hierarchy should not have washed
their dirty linen in public knowing the full implications of the backlash that
might splash and smear your collective image. APC should have done what PDP
failed to do when Governor Rotimi Amaechi won the Chairmanship of the Nigeria
Governors’ Forum by instantly recognising the leadership of the National
Assembly while seeking ways to ameliorate the unfortunate saga. No reasonable
parent would voluntarily kill a recalcitrant child. There is always another
opportunity for penitence and atonement.
I
expected the crisis to escalate once the warring factions stuck arrogantly to
their positions and neither was ready to bulge. Had APC accepted its fate with equanimity,
I’m certain this peculiar mess would have been exterminated. Had Saraki and
Dogara shown magnanimity in victory some of the truculent malice expressed by
certain leaders may have also been mellowed.
Say
what you will, the PDP had its fair dose of political migraine and
rambunctiousness but it accepted certain realities and moved on. The ones they
failed to accept led to their cataclysmic fall. The mutually destructive
suspicion in APC should have been nipped in the bud for your sake. The burden
you currently carry is heavier than an elephant and I don’t think you need or
deserve this kind of nuisance distraction. The leadership of the National
Assembly should also calm down by reaching out to their angry Party chieftains.
There is nothing to gain in fighting a perennial war. Once upon a time, they
were all friends and members of the same family. It is never too late to
embrace peace and reunite. Now that we know what the bone of contention is, no
one should be victimised for belonging to whatever factions that exist.
I
have read endless arguments for and against the pugilists in APC and my candid
advice is that you need to appoint your cabinet and aides now. The sooner you
assemble and send forth your foot-soldiers the better for our polity to begin
the healing process. Right now our nation appears to be rudderless and
floundering and this should not be the case. What is left for you to do is to
quickly bring all the gladiators together and see how you can apply some balm
on frayed nerves. The Federal Government has humongous largesse to disburse so
it should not be too difficult to appease the juggernauts. When that is sorted,
you should draw your own plans and let your people know your roadmap. Your job
would be much easier if you surround yourself with people who can look at you
straight in the eye and say the truth no matter how bitter. Most of our leaders
failed because they fell victims of sweet-talking scammers.
It
is very essential that your Party sees and embrace you as their father and not
the other way round. Whether you like it or not, and whether others in your
Party want to accept it or not, you are the de facto national leader of your
Party. You are the President and Commander in Chief of our country. Yes, you
ARE the capo di tutti capi. You therefore cannot be subservient to any other
person. You must immediately take upon this role and assume that mantle. Please
feel free to lay down the law and if occasion demands, enforce our law. That is
what leaders do. Ambivalence or hesitancy will simply not do! You have the next
four years minus one month and time is ticking away dutifully.
Equally
important is the fact that you are more of a social crusader than a politician
and your Party ought to note this fact and understand that it can’t be business
as usual. Your Party leveraged on your uncommon reputation to gain POWER. Sir,
you can’t afford to evaporate such stupendous equity just like that. You have
demonstrated enough tolerance but the time has come to repudiate our propensity
for rascality.
The
task ahead is so gargantuan and it would require all hands to be on deck. At
the risk of sounding like a broken record, I reiterate that the first priority,
apart from national security, should be how to reduce the atrocious costs of
running government in Nigeria. Until you achieve that sir, the Muhammed Alis of
Nigeria will never stop their boxing tournaments in parliaments and elsewhere.
The fight is for cash and not for any selfless services. Many won’t bother to
contest if they think it is not lucrative. I don’t know how you plan to do this
but it has to be done somehow and thankfully there are many methods that you
can deploy. I’m glad you hope to retrieve some of the stolen billions. You need
some serious cash, Sir. The challenges ahead would dissipate if you can raise
the finances needed to tackle them.
I
trust that God has deliberately raised you up at this time as a veritable
example to mankind that being honest is not a crime and we have a lot to learn
and cheer from your miraculous victory. May God help you to carry this cross successfully
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