A video is trending online. In it, a man mimicking lawyers with his funny wig and gown was heard reporting a case of theft, ostensibly to a judge: ”My Lord, they have stolen our mandate – but e be like say the thief na better thief”! He then reeled out the good deeds of the “thief” so far! He mentioned the student loan act and the sacking of the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele, among others. He then concluded: “E be like say I go leave am; the thief na better thief”! Something like that!
Without conceding, I am sure you know the “mandate” he was referring to and who the “thief” is! And my mind went straight to the Anambra State governorship election debacle of 19th April 2003 involving the Uba brothers, Dr. Chris Ngige and Okija shrine. Remember? How the Uba reportedly rigged the governorship election in favour of Ngige on the understanding that once he became the governor, he would hold the state’s cash cow down for the Uba to milk remorselessly. But how Ngige reneged on his own side of the “gentleman’s agreement” after the Uba had delivered on theirs! Despite being taken to the dreaded Okija shrine to swear an oath of allegiance, Ngige still found the heart to renege and dare the Uba to do their worst. Of course, the Uba did! They tried to sack Ngige as governor but failed; the court, however, eventually removed Ngige as governor on 14 March 2006.
The meat of the story is not the sack but the fact that people far and near regretted the sack! Can you imagine! Ngige had performed so well as the governor that many felt he should be allowed to continue – stolen mandate or no stolen mandate!
Between someone who won an election to the people’s acclamation, like Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, but went on to record a miserable performance in office, and someone like Ngige who won his own election in controversial circumstances but went on to put on a five-star performance in office, which is to be preferred? Again, this is not conceding that the last presidential election was stolen! Far from it!
And my mind again went straight to Nicollo Machiavelli, best known for his political treatise, The Prince. Many who know next-to-nothing about Machiavelli are familiar with his statement – “the end justifies the means”! And what is the end of government? According to James Madison (Federalist No. 51), “justice is the end (or goal) of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been, and ever will be pursued, until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit”. Jeremy Bentham says it is the pursuit “of the greatest happiness of the greatest number”.
Both philosophers are right and on both scores (of delivering justice and the dividends of democracy to the vast majority of Nigerians) will President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ultimately be judged, not by the cleanness or otherwise of his election, desirable as the former may be. For the umpteenth time, bear me witness that I concede nothing about the Saturday, 25th February 2023 presidential election. The antagonists are still in court!
Tinubu has hit the ground running; compare that to Buhari eight years ago who spent six months before he could form a government and who, when he eventually did, was a disappointment in his choice of men and women to work with. Even when he had a golden opportunity to make amends with his re-election in 2019, he failed to seize it. Fuel subsidy removal; liberalisation of electric power generation; harmonisation of the retirement age of senior judges; school loan; the sacking of Emefiele, and the boss of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa; and the collapsing of the parallel foreign exchange markets are some of the important decisions that Tinubu has wasted no time rolling out. His appointments so far have been more inclusive than Buhari’s. In that way he must have heard the cries of marginalisation of some areas of the country and Buhari’s crass nepotism in favour of his tribe, region and religion. I dare to say, then, that, so far, so good! It remains to be seen, however, how well the Tinubu appointees will perform in office. Are they square pegs in square holes? Time, as they say, will tell.
The President and his appointees must realise, however, that they do not have all the time in the world to turn things around. The deleterious effects of Tinubu’s twin economic policies of fuel subsidy removal and devaluation of the Naira via the merger of the foreign exchange markets, both of which have led to a whopping increase in the cost of goods and services without a corresponding rise in wages or the economic empowerment of the long-suffering Nigerian people, have, so far, been borne by the people with philosophical calmness and equanimity – but for how long?
It is time for the President to begin to roll out policies that will quickly revive the economy. Factories and industries must be revived to provide jobs. It is important to attract direct foreign investment; we must also attract industries that ran away to begin to return. Before the japa syndrome of youths and intellectuals was the japa of the industries. Policies to reverse both must be rolled out fast because time is of the essence. Tell Tinubu, the honeymoon he is enjoying now will not last forever. It will soon be over. That will not be that anyone hates him or that witches and wizards, unleashed by his enemies and or opponents are at work; but it is the nature of things everywhere. Nothing lasts for ever! If in doubt, ask Buhari and his cabals!
The situation must begin to look up and look good very soon, so that the same mouth that says Adegun (the crown sits pretty on the President’s head) today will not turn round tomorrow to say Adeogun (the crown does not fit)!
Feedback
Great Ife! Thank you for this piece. One: The Labour Party’s presidential candidate is Mr. Peter Gregory Obi, not Gringory. The Peter Gregory Obi supporters, millions of Nigerians like you, are called OBIdients, not Obi-idiots. Sir, you are writing for the whole world to read: why use derogatory words against your fellow countrymen and voters on the opposite side in this widely-circulated column? I know you, Great lfe, to be polished and capable in the use and employment of words. You don’t let your private angst against your neighbour show in the articles you write for the consumption of the world at large. l am OBIdient but l think l still remain your friend and brother (Great lfe!) but not Obi-idiot! – Chris Abugo
Sorry I disagree with you. There is no painless injection or a painless method of administering an injection. Tinubu was neither tactless nor arrogant. He simply took the bull by the horns. Any other method would have signified weakness of action and doubtful ability to maintain leadership. It’s the pursuit of niceties that aborted Jonathan’s attempt to remove the subsidy. In any case, no matter how we look at Tinubu’s method, it has worked, and that is all that matters. The end has justified the means! – Hon. Demola ijabiyi
I concur with your position; so I gladly shared yours with friends on other platforms. Some of them argued that Tinubu should be given more time before any criticism but I asked them: what are the political elites who plunged the country into its unfortunate economic conundrum sacrificing? What is Tinubu himself sacrificing? It is the average Nigerian that has always been sacrificing! Any sacrifice that will not take a toll on the political elites that have been living larger-than-life on our common patrimony will serve no useful purpose. They cannot continue to collect humongous salaries and still are calling on the poor people to make sacrifices – Oso Victor Gbolahan
Thank you for telling the truth to power! The article is damning and telling, indeed! I pray Tinubu’s media team and political foot soldiers do not label you a ‘Tinubu Hater’ because of your pungent/constructive criticism! A wise man should take your admonition/suggestions to heart and act wisely. This is a trying time in the political and economic history of our country. As they say on the streets of Lagos: Ilu le o… Times are hard and harsh! We need succour, not bashing, reproaching, arrogant and insensitive utterances. President Tinubu should covet more allies, not enemies. It is too early to be combative towards over eight million electorates who were magnanimous with their votes for President Tinubu during the last February presidential election. He should not repay good deeds with less gratefulness. As it is now, o ba ni, ko ti b’aje. His gaffe is still amenable. He should please retrace his steps. The buck stops on his table, not his political gladiators – Yacoob Abiodun
Why end your piece on the same wrong footing? Why the OBI-diot cliche? Tinubu, just like you, failed to realize that campaigns are over and that he is now the president. That explains the arrogance and rush to leave no one in doubt that there is a new sheriff in town, especially to Atiku, Obi and their followers. Honestly, if you are not biased, you ought to discuss in your next piece this phenomenon that has taken Nigerian politics to the next level: the OBIdients! – Dr. Okocha
Former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of the Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Bolawole writes the On the Lord’s Day column in the Sunday Tribune and the Treasurers column in the New Telegraph newspapers. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television. He can be reached on turnpot@gmail.com +234 807 552 5533
