A post-Buhari Nigeria

Also published in Daily Trust

Though it’s perhaps too early to be obsessed with post-Buhari political scenario in Nigeria especially considering the probability of him seeking reelection in 2019 when his current tenure expires, and in fact the probability of him getting reelected then hence serving his maximum two terms in office, yet considering how time flies so fast, it is indeed high time that Nigerians began thinking of his potential successor in 2019 or 2023, as the case may be.

Though Nigerians are sharply divided in their assessments of his performance so far, and despite his real or perceived shortcomings in terms of competence, he must be succeeded by not only a more competent successor, but equally uncorrupted also, for the country to sustain the rare glimmer of light it’s beginning to see at the end of the tunnel in spite of the huge challenges that still bedevil it.

In any case, no fair-minded Nigerian can deny the fact that President Buhari is indeed leaving behind some important legacies that must be sustained and institutionalized over time for the country to achieve real and sustainable transformation. For instance, with the implementation of the Treasury Single Account system (TSA), he has been able to considerably reduce the hitherto pervasive and flagrant plundering of public resources being systematically perpetrated in all government ministries, departments and agencies, with blatant impunity. Admittedly, though, the significance of this achievement is perhaps largely overshadowed by the current agonizing economic hardship in the country, which is partly due to the inherent systemic opacity in the public accounting system that has facilitated all forms of financial fraud over the decades, and partly due the current global economic crisis, of course without necessarily absolving the current administration, yet the TSA remains, and will indeed remain, indispensable for this administration and indeed any future administration to turn the country’s economy around.

Therefore, to avert a relapse in this regard and his other equally important accomplishments, Nigeria needs someone with equally undisputed reputation of moral integrity who is also more competent in development-oriented statecraft, to not only maintain and improve what President Buhari has been able to accomplish, but also carry through his reforms while adopting better and more effective polices to bring about accelerated sustainable economic recovery and development in the country.

However, I am not oblivious of the enormous challenges that any socio-political initiative aimed at achieving this end will definitely face. The beneficiaries of the status quo particularly the powerful vested interests in the country would definitely resist it. Interestingly, these vested interests aren’t obscure after all, instead, they are actually the very corrupt and powerful politicians that control the political parties in the country, including the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), for that matter. They are still powerful and rich enough to capitalize on people’s greediness to induce them financially. They will still seek to manipulate and exploit people’s inexcusable gullibility and manipulate ethno-religious and regional prejudices to get their accomplices into various elective political offices including the presidency.

To avert the return of this scenario, the few patriotic and uncorrupted politicians in all the political parties in the country should organize themselves into strong lobby and pressure groups in their respective parties, to push for fair and transparent internal electoral processes within the parties that would ensure the emergence of candidates with adequate moral qualities and competence, not only for the presidency, but for the other elective positions as well.

Meanwhile the so-called “SAK” voting pattern that encourages blanket voting for candidates from a particular political party should be vigorously discouraged, for it simply enables many incompetent and corrupt political opportunists to win elections at the expense of credible and competent candidates from other parties. Charismatic and credible politicians and other public figures who command public respect should desist from taking advantage of their popularity to endorse politicians with questionable moral integrity, for it’s simply a betrayal of trust. 

There should also be effective coordination with some reputable non-partisan civil society organizations in the country to promote the culture of non-partisan voting pattern among Nigerian electorate by encouraging them to see beyond their respective political parties when they vote, and to only consider moral and professional qualities of candidates instead of the political parties they represent. They should likewise mobilize grassroots support for suitable candidates from all parties during elections.

This policy should be adopted as part of a deliberate and comprehensive long-term strategy to ensure and maintain uninterrupted succession between tenures of uncorrupted and competent presidents, governors and other political office holders, because the country is obviously too messy to be turned around in one or two tenures.  This is absolutely imperative because Nigeria can’t afford to relapse, because should it relapse (God forbid), there might not be similar socio-political circumstances favourable enough to pursue, achieve and maintain real change in the foreseeable future.