Amir
Abdulazeez
Ordinarily, we shouldn’t be talking of 2019 as we are only in 2016, but since talking about it appears to be what many Nigerians like, it isn’t completely out of place if we dedicate some paragraphs to it. However, we must accept the fact that by allowing 2019 to dominate our political discussions this early, we have subconsciously abandoned our duty of monitoring those currently calling the shots as well as the obligation of holding them accountable for as long as they remain in office. Meanwhile, how have we faired with the instruments our constitution gave us to checkmate our leaders without necessarily waiting for elections? For instance, how many legislators we accuse of wrongdoing have we recalled?
While we look forward to 2019, we must remember that it is still largely the amount of money you have that mainly determines your success in primary elections; people win elections without any manifesto; party officials at virtually all levels are not elected but selected; godfathers are still the movers and shakers of politics; majority of Nigerians are still largely politically ignorant without any effective mechanism for voter education in place for the foreseeable future; election offenders and fraudsters are still not punished; local government elections are still a sham; there is no level playing ground for non-incumbents against incumbents; our courts are largely seen not to be doing justice to electoral disputes; our electoral laws are still at the mercy of senators who are more partisan than patriotic; a theoretically independent electoral commission and so many other unaddressed issues.
Despite all these, we must acknowledge the fact that our political system have recorded some progress especially between 2007 to 2015, but it is still largely not what it supposed to be for obvious reasons.
The defeat of PDP for instance represents a massive triumph for democracy not because those who collectively replaced them were very much significantly better, but because it signifies the dismantling of a monstrous cabal that was hell-bent on holding Nigeria ransom for only-God-knows when. The current crisis and lack of cohesion in the APC is a big plus and blessing in disguise for ordinary Nigerians because it may mean that the party will find it difficult to have the strength and energy to develop into a PDP-like cabal. Already some cracks in the APC are appearing to be beyond redemption. While, we advocate for strong and durable political parties in Nigeria, we abhor a situation where they become too strong to be answerable to Nigerians.
There is this talk that secret preparations have reached advanced stage towards coming up with a third alternative party to APC and PDP by early to mid-2017. It is rumoured that the new party will be driven by aggrieved bigwigs from PDP and APC. This is very laughable to say the least. So, Nigerians should wait for politically aggrieved politicians with myopic partisan interests to lead the way in 2019? Anyway, they can always count on the gullibility of Nigerians, which is so much that a mere change of alphabets in a political party can make them pardon individuals who were and still are the major architects of their predicaments.
Those eagerly waiting for 2019 to replace President Buhari as the ultimate solution to our current problems, have the right to do so, but must broadly understand that our problem is far beyond that. Personally, after 18 months at the helm, I may have given up on Buhari becoming Nigeria’s version of Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania or Kwame Nkurumah of Ghana who unlike Buhari were able to unite their countrymen, but I still back him do very well before the end of his tenure, especially if he makes the necessary adjustments which are not beyond his ability. While I pray and hope, he does well, I also wish he initiate bold reforms that will sanitize party democracy in Nigeria and to organize in 2019, a more credible election than the one that brought him to power; and he shouldn’t be a candidate in it. Not seeking re-election in 2019 will consolidate the good legacy we hope he will build by the end of his tenure and will help him to peacefully retire amidst old age.
Abdulazeez wrote this piece from Abuja.