I have lost count of the number of candidates who have obtained the expression of interest form and nomination in all the political parties. This will go down in history as electoral season with the highest number of presidential candidates from the popular candidates to the new and unknown, including women aspirants.
As more candidates come out, the whole exercise seem to have been turned to a circus show with everybody coming out to show his or her magical skills. Despite the huge amount placed on the procurement of the form especially by the ruling APC.
What do these candidates have to offer? As a keen observer of the system, one can say majority have practically nothing to offer. Some are in for the sake of it, some to maintain political relevance and some as a bargaining tool for future political appointments.
One would wonder why so many candidates are jostling to be president at this crucial time in the history of the country when practically everything needs fixing in the life of the country. From economy to security and to societal cohesion.
Most of our parties lack clear cut ideologies so also are most of the candidates. You can hardly pin them down to an idea. Most are in the race for class preservation while others are in to claim ethnic right to the post. A lot of the candidates have not talked about issues, they are only concern with mundane matters devoid of substance. One has his video going viral saying because his name is now popular in Nigeria to the extent that you don’t need a dictionary to check for the name, then he should be given the ticket of his party. While others were laughing, you could see the embarrassment on the faces of the party elders.
In developed democracies, parties are driven by ideologies and when it is time for election, discourses often erupt based on the ideology of the parties in contention and how much the candidates exemplifies such ideology, regrettably, Nigeria politics has degenerated over the years that we no longer discuss any ideology when it comes to politics. Some will tell you that it is the candidate that matter. So, how do we assess the candidate when there is no clear cut ideology.
Some days back, former education Minister, Obiageli Ezekwesile took a swipe at the CBN governor when the news broke that he has joined the race or about to join. She urged him not to embarrass the country. He should rather concentrate on fixing our monetary policy or resign to face his new found vocation in politics. The Same goes for many of the serving ministers who have all refused to resign. One wonders what is happening in those ministries where the ministers are busy jetting around the country to meet delegates to canvass for votes. In the education ministry where we are grappling with the crisis of Academic staff union of universities ( ASU) the junior minister is running for presidency. The minister of labour, saddled with the responsibilities of ensuring industrial harmony, has thrown his hat in the ring not minding the crisis at hand. He is the one leading the government negotiating team with ASU. How do we expect ASU to shift ground when they see how our politicians are throwing millions around in the name of getting nomination forms.
So, who will put Nigeria on a path of growth? It is in the cacophony of what one would like to refer to as the season of anomie that one man actually stand out. Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This man has a unique feature among all contestants. Though he is not insulated against the decadence on our body politics in terms of ideology but he is not parading experience as most candidates are saying, for experience is actually different from achievements, he is parading achievements, solid legacies, as evident in his work at building a modern Lagos.
Asiwaju’s ideology could be likened to the heroes of South East Asian politics such as Lee Kwan Yee and Deng Xiaoping who see recent nation states evolve as they grow on the human development index (HDI) level and attempt to meet the sustainable development targets. This he exemplifies when he declared during his 2019 colloqum, “work for the people that the people may work for themselves’ He campaigned against the increment in VAT when the Buhari administration proposed it as he noted that this will further erode the purchasing power of the ordinary man, rather he advocated for widening the tax net. Tax the rich and generate more money for the government.
If we examine his ideas of the economy, then you will realize that you need a President like him who can debate the state of the economy with his Minister of finance and not someone who will be lost when it come to micro and macro economic policies. This regime has borrowed a lot no thanks to the two recessions that we faced as a country, without a President who can diversify the economy and make more money , the country may be heading to the rocks.
With all the problems facing us as country why do we have so many Presidential aspirants. We still have our constitution to grapple with. Our 1999 constitution has been pronounced defective and up till now the national assembly has not been able to conclude on its assignment of constitutional amendments. Such issues as devolution of powers, state police , resource control are all burning national issues. This prompted elder stàteman and SAN, Chief Afe Babalola , to propose a government of national unity to avail us the time to untangle this knotty issue of the constitution. This will amount to a call to anarchy in a country already bleeding. What will be the modality of choosing the government. What we need is a man with strong political courage and goodwill across board to accomplish all these. That man is Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He is a bridge builder with large political goodwill to solve our myriad of problems. He has prepared for this. We should not once again entrust our future to those who have not invested in finding solutions to our problems. He also has the record of assembling fire brands to actualise his vision. Voi popupale voi dei.
Raji is Director, Tinubu Youth Support Organisation (TYSO), Abuja Chapter. 08023360536.
