Nothing is New and Nothing is Changing (Part 1 ) – By Tochukwu Ezukanma

Posted by admin Articles, Columnists, Goodluck Jonathan (2010-present), NNP Columnists, Presidency, Tochukwu Ezukanma Sunday, April 15th, 2012

By Tochukwu Ezukanma | Lagos, Nigeria | April 15, 2012 – Recently, a minor event took me down memory lane and I felt nostalgic to the point of tears. In that my nostalgic mood, a song from the past came to my mind. It was a song by Candi Staton. I do not remember the title of the song. However, the song sang about, “nothing is new and nothing is changing. All have been the same for memories”. As I snapped out of my nostalgia, I mused. Wow! What an apt summation of the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration?

His administration has not distinguished itself in any way from previous Nigerian governments. As such, it is marked by mediocrity and moral degeneration. On his own, the president does not cut the image of a leader, thoughtless of a transformational leader. He is not known for his brilliance, vision, powerful ego and personal magnetism. He is not an eloquence and versatile public speaker. Therefore, he cannot, like most successful leaders, stir and uplift the public with his speeches.

Interestingly, for his presidential campaign, Goodluck Jonathan cast himself as a transformational figure; he trumpeted his objective to transform Nigeria. Hoping to glean something new or innovative in the style and approach of this self-proclaimed reformer, I scrutinized the candidate and listened closely to his campaign speeches. There was nothing original or trail blazing, in either his message or proposed programs. His speeches were platitudes laced with trite promises on energy, education, health, etc.

Watching his campaigns, you are forced to wonder what is wrong with Nigerian politics and, by extension, the Nigerian society. The campaigns were fanfares – colorful, corybantic fashion shows replete with politicians in party uniforms and swaying to the sound of music. They looked more like socialites decked out in Ashuwebis for an Owambe party than politicians campaigning for the leadership of a country.

A typical People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential campaign involved series of speakers leading up to the presidential candidate. Every speech began with the speaker reeling out the titles of the important party members present at the venue of the event. It generally went: Your Excellency, the President, Your Excellency, the Vice President, Your Excellency, chairman of the party, Your Excellency, the President of the Senate, Your Excellency, and the Speaker of the House, Your Excellency, members of the Working Committee and Board of Trustees, Your Excellency, the State governors, etc.

Each speaker, including the presidential candidate, after recognizing this litany of party and government officials, had little time left for the actual speech. But what could have been expected from the candidate and his political party? After all, they lack both political ideology and explicit political objectives.

Instead of waving his hands as politicians and other celebrities do as they acknowledge cheers from supporters, he clinched his fist and punched the air, as he strode, rhythmically, to the sound of music, to the podium, to deliver his speech. That was different. Punching the air and swaying to the sound of music seemed more like the swagger of a soccer fan, reveling in the victory of his favorite soccer team, or the pre-fight showmanship of a boxer than the deportment of a presidential candidate at a campaign rally.

I wondered what punching the air meant or was to portray. It occurred to me that, may be, it was to indicate youthfulness and vivacity. In that case punching the air was good, even impressive because it was indicative of qualities that are new among the stock of recent Nigerian civilian presidents.

Even, if we accept that Olusegun Obasanjo is only as old as his younger cousin whose date of birth he appropriated, he can not pretend to be either youthful or exceptionally energetic. Umaru Yar’Adua, though not old, was weighed down by illness. He therefore could neither exude youth nor energy. So, a youthful and exuberant presidential candidate punching the air, with his clinched fists, was a refreshing departure from the past. While it seemed comical, it was noteworthy and reassuring. After all, youthfulness and not senility and liveliness and not moribundity are necessary weapons in the arsenal of a transformational leader.

Again, he said that, in the past, he had no shoe. But now, it is obvious that he has many pairs of shoes. That was poignant and encouraging. It encouraged my hope in him and revived my optimism in his promised transformation of Nigeria. I figured that having no shoe, in the past, but now having many pairs of shoes was transformational in itself. It was therefore reasonable to expect that the transformation his own life personified will invariably rub off on Nigeria with him as the president.

Which means that down the road into his presidency or, at the very worst, at the end of his 4 year term, Nigerians, in their glee, will be enthusing that, in the past, power supply was erratic but now it is consistent; we had terribly dangerous roads but now they are fixed up and are in good condition; the academic standards in our school, including the universities were despicable but now they are impeccable; lawlessness reigned supreme but now the rule of law is established; corruption was tearing the social fabric of the country but now, it has been reduced significantly to a manageable level; etc.

But then the characters that propped up his candidacy discouraged me. They are the old guards: Olusegun Obasanjos, Tony Annih and a bunch of terribly corrupt businessmen and financially dishonorable governors. They seemed disconcertingly reminiscent to the cabal that propped up Musa Yar’Adua and made it impossible for him to carry through most of his well intended programs. How can you reform the system whereas your political godfathers and sponsors are those who benefit from the chaos that is rending the country to pieces?

Well, I found solace in the Chris Ngige option. After all, did Chris Ngige not wriggle out of the stranglehold of his unscrupulous and rapacious godfathers? As Goodluck Jonathan has styled himself a transformer, I figured he should be able to, not only break loose of the hold of his godfathers, but also put them in their place as Chris Ngige, an earlier reformer, did.

Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria. maciln18@yahoo.com 0803 529 2908

Nothing is New and Nothing is Changing, Part 11

By Tochukwu Ezukanma

In the presidential election, Goodluck Jonathan scored a decisive victory. In an election that was certified fair and free by both local and international observers, he, in a field of four major and a series of other minor presidential candidates, won 58% of the popular vote.

His ability to organize a free and fair elections reinforced my optimism in the possibly of his pulling through an Ngige-styled coup de tat. After all, it must have taken his repudiation of the modus operandi of his political godfathers, who are notorious electoral fraudsters, to organize a fair and free election. Secondly, to effect his reform policies, in defiance of the interests of his political godfathers (who benefit from the chaos that is ruining the country), he needs the moral authority and political legitimacy that only a free and fair election can bestow.

Paradoxically, even with his incontrovertible victory at the poll, he sought to form a Government of National Unity. Goodness me! What for? He had an unassailable mandate of the people. In addition, his political party, PDP has a solid majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives. What then could have been the object of his planned formation of a unity government? Was it an unyielding resolve to replicate the past because nothing is new and nothing is to change?

Government of National Unity is a throw-up from the past. Shehu Shagari and his National Party of Nigeria (NPN) sought a Government of National Unity and formed one with the Nnamdi Azikiwe led Nigerian People’s Party (NPP). The Obafemi Awolowo led political party, Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) refused to join. Olusegun Obasanjo did not form a government of national unity but, if he had appointed Bola Ige, a member of the opposition party, Alliance for Democracy (AD), a minister in his government, he must have wanted a semblance of it. In addition, President Umaru Yar’Adua formed a Government of National Unity.

That Goodluck Jonathan, in anyway, considered the formation of a government of national unity was bewildering. With an unquestionable mandate, why did he consider the formation of a government of national unity? It is because he lacks both political philosophy and ideals. With no political cause to champion, his administration is to be a four year jamboree of muddling through, and the more the number of political parties engaged in the muddle, the merrier.

Disturbingly, the newly elected transformer did not immediately rise to the urgency of dealing with the pressing challenges of the country. For one thing, it took him far too long to form a government. Secondly, many individuals appointed to his government did not reflect the best and the brightest. Some are actually corrupt and underperforming carry-overs from previous administrations. If he is a reformer, why is his administration studded with carry-overs from a previous administration known for its reactionary and retrogressive traits? Answer: nothing is new and nothing is changing.

As in the past, the list of ministerial nominees was sent to the senate for screening without the specific portfolio of each nominee. To screen ministerial nominees without knowing the exact ministries they are to head imperils their stringent assessment. How can you accurately vet a ministerial appointee without determining the specific relevance of his knowledge, expertise, experience, interests and passion to the demands of administering a particular ministry?

Then, it was the turn of the Nigerian Senate to perform. Initially, on receiving the list of the appointees, the senate, that bastion of legislative mediocrity, seemed fired up by a new enthusiasm to do things right. It refused to screen them unless they are assigned to specific ministries. Nigerians were impressed because that minor but significant change in the stance of the senate seemed to indicate an invigoration of the senate.

Sadly, the senate relapsed to its old ways. It agreed to screen the ministers without their designated portfolios. As in the past, the whole exercise was perfunctory. It lacked rigor. The senators’ questions were not as pointed and/or as probing, as the situation demanded. For an institution that has repeatedly proved its lack of a wide vocabulary base, especially, when it comes to scrutinizing government appointees, it, as usual, limited its lexicon to “take a bow” and “those in favor say yay and those against say nay”. The Senate President readily asked every one of the nominees to take a bow and asked his senatorial colleagues to say yay and nay. Not surprisingly, except one that had problems with his home state PDP stalwarts, all the nominees were confirmed.

Like his political godfather, Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan wanted to tinker with the Nigerian constitution. Betraying a total lack of political discretion, his first concern in office was with fiddling with the Nigerian constitution. Obasanjo wanted the constitution amended so as to allow the president to serve a third term. Goodluck Jonathan wanted the constitution amended so that the president will be limited to an elongated one term of seven years.

The Obasanjo administration removed the subsidy on petrol and the Jonathan administration did the same. Paradoxically, despite his utter lack of political delicacies, Olusegun Obasanjo showed more sensitive, than Goodluck Jonathan, to the attendant economic burden of the removal of the subsidy on the Nigerian masses. For one thing, he did it in phases. On the other hand, Goodluck Jonathan’s approach was autocratic and tactless. He did it with a military-like fiat. He did it in a swoop; and over night, the price of petrol more than double.

President Goodluck Jonathan is not a political reformer or transformer. He is a loyal tool of his political godfathers. His political godfathers constitute a cabal, a cabal that benefit from the Nigerian chaos and corruption. Therefore, they cannot countenance any reformation of the Nigerian system; they can only reinforce the status quo – a status quo entrenched in corruption, lawlessness, arrogance of power, aggressiveness of wealth, theft of public funds, economic strangulation of the masses, etc.

Therefore, it is most likely that at the end of Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, nothing about the Nigeria society would have improved, thoughtless of being transformed. And then, Nigerians, in their rue, will be lamenting that power supply remains erratic, roads and infrastructure decrepit, academic standards in the schools and universities disgraceful, lawlessness pervasive, corruption entrenched, stealing from the national coffers rampant etc. This is because, as for the Goodluck Jonathan presidency, nothing is new and nothing is changing.

Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

maciln18@yahoo.com

0803 529 2908wp_posts

Short URL: https://newnigerianpolitics.com/?p=20120

Posted by admin on Apr 15 2012. Filed under Articles, Columnists, Goodluck Jonathan (2010-present), NNP Columnists, Presidency, Tochukwu Ezukanma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry