By Dr. Osagie Obayuwana
Mr Chairman, the
first thing I wish to say is that the publication we have gathered here to
celebrate today is a unique contribution, deserving of a unique review.
Salihu’s “Monograph” as he calls it,
represents an audacious initiative by an active participant in an unfolding
phenomenon. It represents a distillation of challenges for attainment by those
opposed to PDP misrule, within a time frame; a three year period, guided by
history, the highest form of patriotism and pragmatism. While the book perhaps
may be described as reductionist, but therein lies its strength.
In the work, we
witness the author skilfully discuss what opposition politics should be like,
trimmed down to a union of Action Congress o Nigeria and Congress for
Progressive Change (ACN/CPC), facilitated by two persons-General Muhammadu
Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This notwithstanding, a look at the cover
of the book makes it evident that the writer has within view, the All Nigeria
People’s Party (ANPP), Labour Party (LP), All Progressive Groud Alliance (APGA)
and the Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA): indeed all change seeking persons
and groups in Nigeria. Thus, it is only upon a full consideration of the
content that one can appreciate that all others are not left out, except
perhaps the PDP and what it represents.
A unique review is
called for because the debate has already begun, thanks to the internet, Sahara
Reporters, Nigerian Village Square, Facebook, Twitter, blogs as well as several
newspapers. Reactions to the main proposition by Mr. Lukman are reproduced in
the book for wider consideration. Thus, our gathering today is no more than an
opportunity to expand the scope of participants, those to consider, critique
and enrich the process that has already caught on. Consequently, my review is
an attempt to summarise and bring out the highlights of the discussion so far.
Mr Chairman, I am
gladdened by the attendance at this launch, of many of the dramatis personae to
whom this book is directed. This speaks volumes about the aptness of the issues
raised by the author, the timeliness of same, and the responsiveness of many of
our leaders and compatriots. Upon my reading of the book, my curiosity was
aroused about the reaction of particular personalities mentioned by name. I
expect their formal reactions today, while I hope that Mr. Chairman would allow
this launch to be as participatory as possible, time permitting.
Manifesto
Mr. Chairman,
ordinarily, when we speak of a manifesto of an organisation, what readily comes
to mind is the name of the organisation, its aims and objectives, and a program
of action, within a time frame. In a different way, what the author has provided
is a guide for political action for opposition forces within the time frame of
2013 and 2015. What the author has done is to outline what must be done within
this time period and the envisaged gains. The author criticizes opposition
politics which has tended to be reactive and calls for pro-activeness. His call
is to all patriots to join in the march to Nigeria’s democratic revolution
using the instrumentality of the ballot box.
The Author
I ask for Mr.
Chairman’s permission to say a few things about the author, Mr. Salihu Mohammed
Lukman who we enjoyed the privilege of mentoring loosely in a teacher-student
relationship, and as comrades in the dark days of the struggle against military
dictatorship. In retrospect, I salute the wisdom of his peers who saw in him
what some of us as eaglet lecturers didn’t see then, when they elected him as
the President in the militant National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS)
in 1988/1989. Being the product of our Nigerian University experience, with all
the imperfections and challenges, it is a source of joy, faith and hope in the
inevitability of Nigeria’s redemption, considering that Salihu has turned out
to be a doggedly consistent fighter for democracy and progress in Nigeria. It
is true that we sometimes feel the disappointment of how many they are, those
of our younger comrades who seemingly have turned their backs on those concerns
we passionately shared with them, which the military dictators proclaimed we
were not paid to teach. Today, I am gladdened that Salihu Lukman is a policy
and development expert and has earned for himself a pride of place in the
scheme of things in Nigeria.
Salihu had always a
style that is disarming, flowing from his smile, his physique and soft- spoken
nature, but remains highly effective. Certainly not lacking in courage, he is
imbued with an extremely high sense of responsibility to the past, present and
future, and I agree with the commentator on the internet who upon reading the
manuscript of this book, most highly commended Salihu’s raw frankness. Somehow,
all these qualities have been brought to bear in the book before us today.
The author is a
member of the Strategy Committee of the ACN and according to him, the contents
of the book is the outcome of discussions and deliberations at the meetings of
the said Committee. He owned up that his
views documented in the book were enriched by other members of the Committee.
In the days of strict, iron-fist party discipline, the issues raised in this
publication could only have been confined to the membership of the Committee,
or perhaps, presented in a dossier to the party leadership. I am glad they were
not simply that. Salihu confessed that he found a co-conspirator in
distinguished Senator Babafemi Ojudu who offered to facilitate the production
of this publication for wider consideration, in confirmation of the truth that
you can take Ojudu to the Senate, but you cannot take the journalistic instinct
away from him.
Whatever anti-party infractions
Salihu’s disclosure may represent is made up for, given his confession in the
acknowledgment page that having failed to win election as a Senator
representing Kaduna North District, there are sympathizers who told him that he
had no chance, even in the future, of becoming a Senator unless he decamps from
ACN to the CPC. This he refused to do. He opted to bring the ACN, his party and
CPC together, and he marshalled the case in this book like an experienced
advocate, to deserve an acquittal. Seriously, Mr. Chairman, I think Salihu
deserves the opportunity to serve his people - the Nigerian people whether as a
Senator, would be a different kettle of fish. Someone who read his work on the
internet said she would vote for Salihu as President!
Crossroads Again
In his foreword
titled, ‘the Imperatives of Politics of Change in Nigeria’ the ever pleasant, amiable
but firm Dr. Olukayode Fayemi, His Excellency the Governor of Ekiti State,
reminded us all of the crossroads we once had to contend with in 1998 relative
to the Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar Transition Program. Following the death of Gen.
Sani Abacha, and shortly thereafter, Chief M. K. O Abiola, some of those who
were in the trenches together, saw open doors, and insisted on walking right through
them to public office. Others were undecided and hesitant, while a third group
refused outrightly, aiming at upholding higher ideals.
The result is what
Dr. Fayemi called ‘Democracy without Democrats’. Three to four years later,
guided by experience, for more of our people who now wished to enjoy their
democratic right to be voted for and participate in electoral contest, they had
to wage battles against the PDP conspiracy, all the way to the Supreme Court of
Nigeria, which paved the way for the registration of the NCP, PRP, MDJ, NAP,
DA, the Labour Party, and a host of others. At this time, as Jonny Just Come
(JJC) or Johnny Just Drop (JJD), we had to contend not only with the
unapologetically monstrous PDP, we had to duel with our fellow combatants
against military dictators of yesteryears. Chief Gani Fawehinmi ran for Presidency,
several others myself inclusive ran for various offices. Even the newly
registered parties fielded candidates against each other for the same office,
much to the delight of the PDP, which never to take chances, rigged massively. The result was predictable.
Today, we are faced
with yet another crossroad. We are called upon by the Author to voluntarily
partake in the process of emergence of a new Pro-People Party, embodying the
fusion of the most functional of existing political parties. The important
dimension this time is the voluntary nature of the union of social democrats as
distinguished from the military-imposed fiat the SDP of yesteryears
represented. As Dr. Fayemi characterised it, the call contained in Salihu’s
book is a wake-up call to all patriotic Nigerians on what needs to be done to
return Nigeria to the path of democratic development.
The Book
The book in earnest
commences with a picturesque description of the all too familiar peculiarity we
find ourselves in our dear country. It talks about the dominant politics devoid
of clear cut ideologies and edifying values which inevitably results only in
contests of personalities in the promotion of primordial sentiments to attain
the selfish goals of such personalities. Religious, ethnic and regional leaders
hold sway, tending to lead to discord and national fragmentation at levels
never before witnessed. All this in the face of unemployment rate as high as
24%, poverty rate over 70%, illiteracy rate not too far behind, side by side with
an over 800% increase in Federal government spending between 2000 and 2012 with
not much to show for it. He concludes that the legacy of the PDP which has been
in control of the Federal Government and most of the states for the past 13
years is that of incompetence, treachery
to national aspirations, deliberate poor management, wholesale graft.
For the PDP, in the
face of the above, the dominant political discussion still revolves around
whose turn it is to produce the next President, come 2015. The clamour is most
vociferous between the North and the East, while the South-South insists on
continuing. The author recognises this situation as presenting a yawning gap
that the opposition political parties must fill, putting forward alternative
models that will give the opposition parties a distinct identity and promote a
clear choice for the electorate.
Opposition Parties
The author’s
definition of opposition parties embraces those parties, beside the PDP which
have Governors and Members in the National Assembly and State Houses of
Assembly. These are the ACN, CPC, ANPP, Labour Party, APGA and PPA. Of these,
the ACN holds the leading position with six state Governors and 90 members of
the National Assembly.
The author questions
how well these parties separately are playing the classical role of opposition
parties, and singled out the ACN and the CPC as closer to it; even then he
criticises that these are more of reactions than a ‘systemic agenda-setting
strategy’.
Challenges
Perhaps, the most
striking feature of the book is the piercing analysis and frank critique of
what exists today as opposition parties. He lays bare their challenges.
Conceding that
particularly for the ACN, there has been occasional reactive interventions at
the national level, for all the opposition parties, there is a weak
administrative system, particularly at state, local government and ward levels
where there is lack of communication, synergy and competent drivers. Thus, it
is not surprising that at state and local government levels, there is a near
complete absence of policy engagement. He touches more on the challenge facing
the two dominant opposition parties, which holds true for all the others, in
the author’s famous letters to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
reproduced in full in the book.
While the ACN Governors
may be seen to have started to break new grounds (in infrastructure, education,
health and monthly welfare payments to the elderly), it is not so clear whether
this is pursuant to strict party guidance or just a display of individual
commitment. For the CPC, there is a serving Governor in Nassarawa State, Senators,
House of Representatives members and many members of the Houses of Assembly of various
states. Given the status of the national
leader, General Muhamadu Buhari, in the views of the author, Nassarawa state
ought to be a model and a source of inspiration to all Nigerians but this he
says is clearly not the case.
He queries the extent
to which the legislators of the ACN, CPC, Labour Party, APGA in the National
Assembly are guided by their parties, how regularly the engagement is between those
members and their party leadership and wonders whether they vote as a bloc.
Coming to party
leadership, he queries whether those who emerge as leaders of the various
opposition parties at all levels can be said to be free of the PDP orientation
of greed, lust for money and power. He challenges their core value system and
their level of competence and wonders whether they possess an outlook that is
national and whether indeed they follow and share the ideals of their National
leaders. In his view, this cannot be divorced from what he perceives generally
as poor internal party administration. For the leading opposition parties and
all the others, he raises the issue of accountability, probity, absence of budgeting
and audit of party accounts as areas where indiscipline and impunity ought not
to be countenanced, as seems to be the case now.
Another important
area touched upon has to do with party supremacy or party regulation of the
conduct of members holding positions in government. Now, it is generally a case
of the tail wagging the dog. Members who occupy public office at different
levels especially in the executive arm of Government tend to be leaders of the
party which he says is traceable to the contribution of such public office
holders to party coffers. He thereafter insists that party leaders should lead
and to be able to do this, party leaders should have an independent means of
livelihood and not professional politicians who rely solely on government
patronage.
Finally, he talks
about the imperative of party leaders first and foremost being democrats,
imbued with the spirit of promoting internal democracy within the party, who
must subject themselves to transparency, fairness and justice in the conduct of
all aspects of party life, up to and including the process of selection of
candidates for elective as well as appointive positions.
Other issues relative
to party administration raised by the author include popular participation and
democracy in the affairs of the party which he says must not be compromised. He
insists that professionalism must be brought into the management of the party
and in this regard, he recommends the engagement of financial experts to ensure
prudence and accountability in the spending of party resources, and
communication experts in the selling of its ideals.
All parties have
policy commitments which she says should be clearly understood and shared by
all members of the party and should be the reference point and basis for contestation
for power at all levels. The above issues he argues need to be animated beyond
the cycle of elections, they should constitute the core of the party’s reorganization
and re orientation agenda.
The Role of
Individuals in History
To the fainthearted,
it would appear that the task is too gargantuan to be embarked upon and won, or
that perhaps, Nigeria does not have in abundance, angels that are cocooned in
some discreet location, who have overcome the above named challenges who at
this time could be summoned to perform the magic; and this is the most
interesting aspect of the book.
The author defines
this challenge first and foremost as the task that the two leading lights of
the two dominant opposition parties - Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Bola
Ahmed Tinubu, leading the rest of us, must champion. Two Generals who have
distinguished themselves in various battles and who have in fact become
national assets. To the author, history beckons on both of them to spearhead
the process of the fusion of their followers. To lead by example in the bridge
building imperative between the North and the South-West in particular, both of
whom must jointly reach out to the East and the South-South. It is their task he
argues, to confront all their followers with the challenges observed above, to
let them know that at this time, they must either shape up or ship out. Buhari
and Tinubu must hold the whip and become the conscience of the nation, it is,
he maintains, part of their bounding duty, to recruit the best hands available
to achieve this historical task.
With remarkable
logic, he argues that following our recent history, cynicism has set in so
deeply in our national fabric, and selflessness and commitment are very much in
short supply. The author’s position is
that if both Buhari and Tinubu are to retain their ambition to vie for the
Presidency of Nigeria, they would have deprived themselves of the free hand to
discharge this historical obligation without being accused of unbridled
ambition.
The argument is that,
while it is true that the 2 eminently qualified titians posses the
constitutional right to vie for the Presidency of Nigeria, it would be an
unprecedented lesson in sacrifice for them to voluntarily forgo this in the
national interest. The more important
assignment he maintains is for them both to sanitise the vehicle for national
redemption (the party ACN, + CPC +++) and make it distinctively different; that
both are eminently capable of identifying in the best Presidential candidate to
confront PDP with in 2015. He expresses
the confidence that they both have the charisma to unite all Nigerians for a
new Nigeria, from now on to 2015 and beyond.
Given this premise,
when asked “what is in this for you?” both of them should be able to
contentedly say “Redemption of Nigeria, for all Nigerians”. Beyond yet another
failed attempt at the Presidency, embracing this historic obligation the Author
says would place both of them in the pantheon of the greatest of our national
heroes, in glowing tribute to the labours of our heroes past.
Immediate tasks
Among the urgent
tasks identified by the author is
1. The
imperative of mobilizing mass organisations in the country
2. Translate
the popularity of the CPC into membership of the party.
3. Translate
the membership of professionals in the ACN into a working partnership with
professional groups.
4. Consult
and partner with the NLC, TUC and Civil Society groups.
5. Identify
specific interest groups in the country to partner with
6. Formulate
and adopt a women and youth mobilization program.
Doing the above will in
addition to leading to advances in fund raising and political education, it
would put an end to passivity and docility of credible Nigerians and increase
the size of the pool from which credible candidates may be selected.
Query
One has to wonder,
whether some of the allegedly immediate tasks above do not suggest a continuing
parallel development of the parties as opposed to immediate steps being taken
to iron out the modalities for the fusion of the ACN and CPC, such that it is
the new formation that would carry out these urgent tasks?
Cynics are bound to
remind us that Mokwugo Okoye once wrote a famous letter to Zik but it is our
hope that the lessons learnt from that experience would enure for the benefit
of the realization of the Nigeria of our dream this time.
Reactions, Comments,
Debates and Discussions on the Social Media
In this section, I
simply itemize the more notable of reactions to the Author’s proposals
1. It
is possible to get PDP out.
2. All
problems will not disappear if we kick PDP out.
3. There
must be sincerity.
4. Ideas
can be generated, personalities groomed.
5. The
NEPU example of selflessness is necessary, payment of membership fees gives
ownership; the disconnect between the party and the people must be addressed.
6. Trust
is indispensable, it can be consciously built.
7. More
action than talking.
8. Socialism
is the way to go.
9. The
Manifesto? Healthcare, Education, Infrastructure, Security
10.
Build viable structures, then mobilize.
11.
Creativity, perseverance.
12.
Anti-corruption, good governance are
values shared by all Naigerians.
13.
Show how you are different.
14.
With no nonsense honest leadership,
all else will fall in place
15.
There has to be a message, an
alternative set of values, to mobilize with.
16.
Education, Health, Housing for all.
17.
All of Nigeria belongs to all
Nigerians.
18.
Coalesce around ideas, not
personalities.
19.
Elect and appoint those committed to
the ideals/values.
20.
The process must be all inclusive,
ANPP, LP,APGA
21.
Meritocracy, welfarism and national
rebirth.
22.
The Manifesto? Actualisation of
Chapter II of the Constitution (Social Welfarism),the moral and political
purpose of the Nigerian state; the soul of progressive politics today,
consistent with the philosophy of Zik, Awo, Aminu Kano; the basis for
engagement.
23.
Since 1999 PDP has failed, 3 terms of
failed promises; time for change.
24.
Organize, mobilize, energize.
25.
Identify common goals and aspirations, pursue
them (Chapter II of 1999 Constitution)
26.
Teach accountability and responsibility,
role of government, peoples’ responsibility, promote cooperation between the
People and Government to advance country, protect and provide for citizens, define
what a just order is.
27.
It is not just possible but inevitable
28.
Keep the issues alive until they become
unstoppable.
29.
Participatory change.
30.
Time is of the essence.
31.
Put a knowledgeable and dedicated core
of organizers in place to generate and engineer the movement as their only assignment.
32.
Articulate properly, a plan of change
in governance, domestic, economic, social as well as international policy, well
informed and realistic development strategy, national reconstruction plan.
33.
Formulate a Strategy for civil
motivation and open participation.
34.
Ideology? The good of the many must be
chosen over the interest of the few.
35.
No impunity, no godfatherism, no
nepotism, no corruption.
36.
This is already a project- PROJECT
NIGERIA, Nigeria for Nigerians, Home and Abroad.
Conclusion
Mr. Chairman, the
charge we must bear in mind can be found in the fall that in this book the Author
traced the history of alliances and attempts to merge in 1979 as well as in
1983, which did not succeed, just like the feeble attempt in 2003,2007 and
2011.He admonishes that we must avoid a repeat of this sad history and that it
would be a tragedy to have the PDP continue to govern Nigeria or for the next
60 years as they have boasted. A union
of opposition forces is a must this time.
I end this review by
referring to an article by Snooper of the Nation Newspaper of 25/11/2012, where
he affirmed in his inimitable style, that another Nigeria is possible. He
reminded us that Murtala Mohammed first transformed himself before seeking to
transform the nation. The Professor says that there can be no transformative
agenda without first self-transformation. He reminded us that Murtala Mohammed,
from being a tribalist in uniform, ethnic irredentist, war scoundrel and a bank
robber, transformed himself into an illustrious and iconic military leader.
“There are times with all its faults and dangerous fault lines, it is a great
honour to be a Nigerian. Nigeria a great nation, waiting for great leaders. Do
we have to wait till the end of time for that? What is your answer? E be like
say this small boy Salihu wan send him papa dem message o! Is it your wish that
Salihu’s proposal be adopted for implementation? What is your answer? Any dissents?
Congratulations
Nigerians, Happy Birthday Salihu!!.
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