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 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.
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