The elections are now over and a
winner declared and sworn in. That winner has barely spent two months in office
but certain indicators are already becoming apparent. The previous attempts by
President Buhari at attaining power through democratic means had been
unsuccessful because the new president had been subject to accusations of
tribalistic, autocratic and sectarianism impulses and (quite frankly)
incompetence in the discharge of his powers whilst head of state of Nigeria in
the mid 1980’s....
Within two months of his
re-election, certain indicators are becoming clear. A very clear tribalistic
impulse is slowly rearing its ugly head and can be clearly discerned through
the nature of his appointments. He has made close to 17 so far. 14 of which
have come from the Northern part of Nigeria and 4 from the southern part of
Nigeria. The method used to make the
appointments have varied. What is clear is that the end result is the same.
Where a Northerner is second in command, then natural progression is used to
replace the incumbent with the next in command. Where a Northerner is far from
the next in command then the selected person is appointed by reference to
“examinations” or over the head of 25 or more generals that are senior to that
lucky candidate. Looking at the indicators so far, one can safely assume that
the most important and strategic appointments to be made by a government headed
by this current President in the near future will be consistent with his mode
of behaviour in his past as head of state and his present as President.
Nigerians should brace themselves for a highly tribalistic sectarian government
in the early stages of evolution.
What was clear is that Buhari of
the 1980’s (and in the prime of his life) was an autocratic dictator. What is becoming obvious is that the new
President is comfortable being the sole minister in charge of all ministries in
the country and (due to the recent sacking of the board of most government
parastatals) the sole administrator of most government parastatals. With all due respect of the current
president, he was never the brightest bulb in the room in his prime and is even
less likely to have an incisive knowledge of complex areas outside of defense
matters. The impact of his slow,
deliberate, cumbersome and highly centralized management style is that very few
things will get done in Nigeria in the foreseeable future. As most parastatals
now cease to have boards of directors, many deals that require board approval
will be put indefinitely on hold. Very few companies will enter into deals with
a company that ceases to have a board even if a permanent secretary is given
“power” by the president to give approval in the stead of a board. Corporate
transactions do not work in this way and no company with a competent advisers
will advise it to enter into any deals with a corporate entity (parastatal or
not) who is devoid of a functional board.
Recently, we watched the
harassment of the former NSA. This is a throw back to the harassment of the
late Chief Awolowo by soldiers under Buhari’s former non descript rule as head
of state. It appears that the erstwhile dictator is behaving true to type.
Retrogressive governments start
with incremental steps. The indicators so far shown by this new president,
shows clearly that the accusations of tribalism and autocratic impulses are
indeed accurate. One can then surmise
(by virtue of his past and present actions) that once fully shown the
limitations of his power within a democratic environment, he will most likely
revert to his natural autocratic and treasonable impulses of using the coercive
powers of state to undermine and subvert our existing democracy.
The PDP has a critical role to
play here. It must act to keep the spot light on the anti democratic impulses
of this new President. It must also ensure full support for and backing to the
current senate President. Nigerians are yet to appreciate how lucky it is that
Saraki became Senate President despite his alleged personal character flaws. A
Lawan as senate President would have rendered the senate a rubber stamp. The
senate under Saraki will have to pay due regard to the wishes of the middle
belt and southern dominated PDP. Saraki is therefore likely at some point to
act as a restraining impulse on President Buhari’s tribalistic and dictatorial
tendencies.
President Buhari was elected
because of the flaws in former President Jonathan and not for his “qualities”
of leadership. President Buhari is confirming the fears of most educated
Nigerians when faced by the ridiculous choice between two terribly incompetent
choices. I hope Nigerians do not end up
regretting its choice sooner than later.
Dele.Awogbeoba@gmail.com
Culled: Sahara Reporters
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