By Dan Onwukwe
Do you know why Bola Tinubu is always pushing the envelope on presidential powers and ignoring calls to end pervasive hardship in the country?
By Dan Onwukwe
It was a horrifying three-month tale of the bizarre and torment in a custody reserved for criminals. It was like nothing they had experienced in their lifetime, sometimes without food for three days and no sunlight.
By Dan Onwukwe
Nigeria is very much looking like a horror movie that many people troop in to watch in a cinema. Every passing day, news about the country, and the conduct of government, its officials and some of its key institutions, could break the human spirit. This is because, things that are considered abominable and utterly wicked have become the ‘new normal’ in the country.
A friend of mine called me last weekend from Canada. His voice was shaking. I thought he has lost someone. But it was a different kind of news. I asked him what has gone wrong. He said everything: “Even from afar there’s darkness at the edge of Nigeria”, he said, as his voice began to tremble. He added ,”if the Nigeria Police could arraign scores of hungry-protesting kids for alleged treason, the government must have lost its soul, and the leadership gone astray”. He ended the call with this cryptic comment, “this is how autocrats begin”.
By Dan Onwukwe
No matter the clouds of controversy that trailed how he won the Feb 25, 2023 presidential election, one year has passed since Bola Tinubu was sworn in as Nigeria’s President. But the manner in which he has governed the country in the last one year still generates intense public debate. The following questions remain top of public discourse: Is Nigeria better now than Tinubu met it?
Are the lives and livelihood of the citizens better or worse now than before Tinubu came to power? And how will history judge him and the policies he has implemented in the last one year ? Of course, opinions differ, but the general consensus is that history will not be kind to most of the policies that he initiated unless he changes course. On that score, it’s not unkind to say that his administration still carries more baggage than an ocean liner.
By Dan Onwukwe
Often
missing from debates on why a governing party after years or decades in
power suddenly failed to win majority seats in parliament or lost outrightly.
History of politics offers an array of arguments why this happens in many
democracies. It’s about not learning the lessons in power, the hard way.
*Tinubu and
Ramaphosa
Learning
the lessons the hard way begins when that gripping listlessness sets in, when
political power begins to slip away from a governing party. The endgame begins
the very moment the party leadership feels over-confident, and those who
surround the President feel their man has got enough power, and don’t need
anybody anymore.
By Dan Onwukwe
Can the news get any uglier for President Bola Tinubu than it is already? It’s not yet half-time, but as Tinubu, wherever he is in Paris, France right now, he may be pondering anxiously where his government has taken Nigerians in just eight months of his presidency, an office he so desperately wanted, and got in most unquestionable fashion. He must also be thinking how much harder it is being the President of Nigeria.
Truth is, there’s big trouble everywhere. Even in Abuja, his official residence, insecurity has squeezed everyone to a corner. Kidnappers are daily on the prowl, taking their victims at ease, and demanding hefty ransom. First Lady, Remi Tinubu had recently suggested intense, fervent prayers as the answer to the problem of terrorism in the land.
By Dan Onwukwe
When things go wrong in a country, it’s fair to ask: why? Why are things steadily getting worse rather than better since Bola Tinubu was sworn in as President of Nigeria a little more than 8 months ago?
By Dan Onwukwe
Very so often, news about Nigeria and its leaders, is profoundly concerning. Worrisome. Whenever Tinubu presidency is over, I suggest that it should be taught as history lesson in schools – on how not to govern a country on the basis of propaganda and tapestry of lies. Governance is a serious, honest, human enterprise. It should not be the opposite. Amid a blizzard of shocking revelations of bizarre profligacy in less than seven months in power, it shows some clear, but disturbing issues about power and leadership in Nigeria. First, nothing that happens to a country that is not like their leaders.
*Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, Akpabio, Mrs Akpabio and others during Akpabio 61st birthday celebrations
Secondly, power is like a bikini: it reveals more than it can hide. In other words, what leaders do when they are trying to get power is not necessarily what they do after they have it. This is Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress revealed. It’s an unravelling story that will perhaps get worse with the passage of time. This is a government of contradiction.
By Dan Onwukwe
Nothing is normal any more in Nigeria. In both scale and scope, the ominous signs are everywhere for any discerning mind to see. The message is simple: What leaders do while they are trying to get political power is not necessarily what they do after they have it. That, in itself, is lesson in power. Whatever former President Muhammadu Buhari made worse for Nigeria and its citizens, Tinubu presidency is striving to make breathtakingly much worse in scope.
By Dan Onwukwe
Every passing day, reports about Nigeria and its political leaders, have become astonishingly revolting. It draws tears. While the economy is on a cliffhanger, the rate of poverty in the country is frighteningly rising. With poor Nigerians facing extremely difficult times, and most parents unable to afford to pay their children’s school fees, another class of Nigerians seem to be living in a completely different world, behaving like overfed, drunken sailors, living in denial, oblivious of the raging storms. And while the government has continued in its borrowing binge, cost of governance is soaring. It’s all about breathing down the necks of the poor to take care of the rich at the expense of the already lean public treasury.
Never
in my adult life have I seen this class of freewheeling, impudent,
profligate, reckless, selfish, self-serving politicians to whom shame has
become a passé. To borrow the words of former minister, Dr Oby
Ezekwesili, who last week described our federal lawmakers as an ‘incorrigible
bunch of lawbreakers who rigged themselves into office, and felt entitled to an
indulgent life funded by the miserable public treasury’. The truth is, nobody
who steals political power uses it to benefit people. That’s the heart of
Ezekwesili’s message. Moreover, if corruption were a disqualifying
offence, almost all politicians in Nigeria would be out of work, and perhaps
half of them would have been in jail. But this is Nigeria. What a country!
It
raises pertinent questions: Who can save Nigeria from this desperate, selfish
politicians? Is Nigeria jinxed on the leadership index? Why is our present
class of politicians far worse than the previous ones? Is our leadership
recruitment process to blame? Why is it that what works in other democracies
don’t work in Nigeria? How did we come to this sorry state, where nothing works
and our lawmakers have become more of freewheelers and rent-seekers than
lawmakers. For want of a fitting description, with little exception, most
of our present politicians have become open sores to the country? Frankly, any
of these questions you attempt to answer, leads inexorably to another, more
troubling ones. Who did this to us? Is Nigeria cursed, or are we the
cause? We need some reminders, one of which is that, nothing
happens to a country that is not a reflection of the character and temperament
of the politicians in that country.
This
is in line with the saying that every country is its own laboratory of
democracy. Look around: It’s not hard to gauge the mood of Nigerians
since Bola Tinubu was declared President by the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) on that unforgettable wee hours of Wednesday morning, March
1, 2023. Nigeria’s skylines have been painted in worst colours. They are
colours of despair, pain, disillusionment and profound frustrations never seen
since the present democratic dispensation, 24 years ago. If you have
observed closely, you possibly have noticed what could be called the emergence
of blood -and- thunder politicians who believe only in “their way- or -the
highway” kind of politics.
These
are a bunch of politicians, who are in politics purely for personal
aggrandisement, to enrich themselves at public expense. They have little
tolerance for prudence, transparency and accountability. They have no real
agenda other than to dominate other people. The pain of the poor has become
their luxury. And you ask: Why do the worst set of people rise to power in some
countries? That was the question posed by Brian Paul Klass, a young
American scientist and author of the Corruptible, and co-author of, How to
Rig an Election. Look at the idiocy that is happening at both chambers of the
National Assembly. Their riotous habits remain unchanged, even when the
citizens they claim to represent groan under the terrible burden of hunger and
misery unleashed by the Tinubu administration.
The
danger signal to the present reckless behaviour of the federal lawmakers
began so early after the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly. According
to Business Day Report of June 27, barely one week after Godswill
Akpabio was inaugurated as President of the Senate, his security aides were
seen riding expensive, exotic power bikes as part of his convoy. All over
Abuja, the convoys of politicians have become obscene spectacle in a country
where over 133 million Nigerians are multidimensionality poor.
Few days ago, the lid was blown open of the purchase of 360 Prado Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) for all the members of the House of Representatives at cost estimated at N57.6bn or N130 million each. Some reports put the cost of each of the SUV at N160 million each. The House spokesperson, Akin Rotimi tried to fool Nigerians when he said that the amount was a “bit exaggerated”. He admitted that the SUVs will be distributed to the legislators, but “not for personal use”. Did you hear that?
That was a remarkably
ineffectual job, a briefcase of excuses of rebutting a collosal waste of public
money. Fudging facts has never been in short supply with Nigerian
politicians. Who says our politics and politicians are not a fun to follow?
This is happening at a time when our universities, hospitals are grossly
underfunded, and our roads have become deathtraps, insecurity still squeezing
everybody to a corner, and organised labour asking for salary increase amid
soaring cost of living as a result of rising inflation, unemployment and
general decline in standard of living index. And government stonewalling to
grant the request of workers.
All
of this is happening as the salaries and perks of political office holders are
on the rise and constantly under review. As of 2018, Sen. Shehu Sani revealed
that a senator was paid N13.5 million per month as salary, and N750,000 as
‘running cost’ every month. According to recent estimates, the 48 ministers
appointed by President Tinubu will cost the country a hefty N8.6bn in four
years as emoluments. This is coming when the Tinubu administration is set to
borrow a fresh $1.5 billion from the World Bank to support the 2024 budget.
Recall that the Debt Management Office DMO had cautioned against further
borrowing. At this profligate rate, it’s too early to know whether there will
be anything left in the treasury in the next four years.
Right
now, those who should know say that Nigeria’s financial balance sheet looks
grim like a limited liability company under receivership. Bankruptcy is
imminent. Why not, when over 96 percent of revenue is spent on debt servicing,
yet our lawmakers are living a life of obscene revelry in a sinking Titanic.
Never in recent memory has Nigeria drifted off so dangerously in every index of
human measurements as it is now. The lose of confidence in government and
politicians is at all-time high. It’s destroying the social, economic and
political fabric of the country. The future is bleak, yet the political
leadership is unperturbed.
Make no mistakes about it: what the APC administration has made of Nigeria and Nigerians in the last 8 years(and counting), is unimaginable. It is like a virus that has infested all facets of our lives. As already said, it’s an open sore, an existential threat that strikes at the very heart and soul of our national will to coexist as one nation in diversity. The facts are there. Whatever APC inherited from the PDP in 2015, it has virtually destroyed all. What Buhari made worse, Tinubu has made worst in just five months as President. Take a few samplers: In 2015, the Naira exchanged at N200/$1. As of last weekend, it was N1,100/$.
Our foreign reserves was $35.25bn in May, 2015, today, it is less than $23trn. National debt profile was N18.89trn in 2015, today, it is more than N87trn. In 2015, inflation rate was 13 percent, today it’s 26.7 percent, representing 18- year high, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). A litre of fuel was N95 in 2015, today, it’s over N630 depending on the location. A bag of 50kg of Rice was sold at N8,000, today, it’s over N48,000. The question is: Are you better off today than you were in 2015?
This is what Robert Allan Caro, a renowned American journalist and author of many biographies of U.S. political figures wrote about the likes of Nigerian politicians: “What leaders do while they are trying to get power is not necessarily what they do after they have it”.
It’s all about the complexity of ambition, and the delusional forgetfulness by some politicians that, in the end, power is transient. As Lord Acton said, ‘power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely’. What does that tell us? Certainly, there will be life after politics. Is what Tinubu doing now what he said when he was campaigning for the office of the President?
Where is the “Renewed Hope” that he promised? Hope has given way to pessimism. Is he paying attention to the cry of Nigerians over worsening hunger in the land? I have read Caro’s observation many times, and situating it to the context of Nigerian politicians, especially the ones strutting the political stage now, the message sinks in. One sad reality is that, to paraphrase Caro, without a vision beyond their own advancement, leaders are almost paralyzed once the goal of acquiring power has been achieved.
*Onwukwe is a commentator on public issues
By Dan Onwukwe
This is where our leaders miss it all: A President does not shape a new and personal vision of his country. He collects it from the scattered hopes of the citizens, past and present. This has guided nations that practice democracy every step of the way. It sustains every elected President. However, the question is: why is it that what has guided other democratic nations, and has sustained their democracies failed in Nigeria, and instead, has produced politics of hate and personal interest?
The answer partly can be found in the fact that every nation is its own laboratory of democracy. As French political philosopher , Tocqueville said, “democratic men are more apt to complete a number of undertakings in rapidity than to raise lasting monuments of their achievements…; they go after success rather fame”.
By Dan Onwukwe
Every election campaign has its cadence and rhythm, style and sparkle that sets it apart from previous ones. Similarly, it throws up unique individuals that have strength of character and conviction that the rest of us look up, especially in turbulent times. In all sincerity, looking back at the February 25 Presidential election, Mr Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, is an exemplar, a role model for anyone still searching for a solid philosophy that should guide and drive his ambition in life. It’s even more so for our new generation of politicians, the youth, in particular.
It’s not for nothing that when Obi declared his ambition to contest for the presidency, the country was aglitter. The youths who have been yearning for new ways of doing things, became very excited. Peter Obi, it seems, woke them up from slumber.
By Dan Onwukwe
The pay and perks of political office holders in the country are back on the spotlight. This time, more damning and sickening. It’s raising dark clouds as ever. Right now, the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, is behind the astonishing, wicked and mindless proposal. Behind the veil, lies a tangle web of conspiracy.
By Dan Onwukwe
To be sure, the jury has been out since on the performance of Muhammadu Buhari as President. It is in the natural course of things for an outgoing government to appraise its performance in office and score itself ‘excellent’ . In this part of the world, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to see an administration close to the exit door, up against the wall, to accept, even in the face of overwhelming evidence, that it has underperformed.
But truth is constant. It does not fudge facts or define truth downwards. Truth does not exaggerate or oversimplify matters. It simply hits the bull’s-eye. Truth says it as it is. Truth holds those who play fast -and- loose with the facts in derision, in utter contempt. The problem with all the President’s men is that they view admitting the truth as a sign of weakness. In the last one month, most of the President’s men, and even the President himself, have been strutting the stage, thumbing their chests over the his accomplishments. Nothing wrong with that. But what are the facts on ground?
By Dan Onwukwe
First, a confession: The above headline is not original to me. It’s that of a young American political scientist, Brian Paul Klass. Brian is a contributing editor at The Atlantic, America’s flagship monthly magazine. He is the author of Corruptible: Who Gets Power and how it Changes Us. He’s the co-author of How to Rig an Election. His research interests include: Authoritarianism , Democracy, US politics, Political violence, and more.
Lessons in power will continue to elicit intellectual conversation. It’s not for nothing. It’s so because what leaders do while they are trying to get power is not necessarily, to borrow the words of historian Robert A. Caro, “what they do after they have it”. It’s, therefore, not unkind to say that it has been the misfortune of Nigeria to watch worse people rise to power and use that power to bend people to their will and impoverish the citizens.
By Dan Onwukwe
You needed to have been at the Boundary market, Ajegunle, Lagos state, last weekend. There were tears of joy when the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, went to campaign there. It was part of his open campaign in selected markets across the country. Remember he has always told us that he is trader.
It wasn’t the chant of his name, “Obi, Obi, Obi number One”… that touched the hearts of the enthusiastic crowd at the Ajegunle market. It was, indeed the crowd of excited women with their kids jostling like that woman with the issue of blood in the scriptures who desperately wanted to touch only the hem of the garment of Jesus Christ and be healed. (Matthew 9:20-21, KJV). Obi obliged them, carrying one baby after the other. It’s the audacity of hope, amid despair.
By Dan Onwukwe
Like a broken family whose members would prefer to destroy their father’s inheritance rather than share it, shame has become a passé to the managers of the Presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress and that of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar. As the Feb 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections draw feverishly near, the desperation in the camps of these two presidential candidates seems to have reached a new low.
With the many gaffes and seeming lack of tact by Tinubu on the campaign hustings, a sense of ennui has set in. His desperate efforts to be the next President of Nigeria appear to be bogging down. But he keeps blowing hot. As respected columnist Sonala Olumhense wrote in the SUNDAY PUNCH of January 29, if there’s one political party that ought not to be on the ballot in the February/March elections, it’s the ruling APC.
By Dan Onwukwe
Nigeria is at a critical juncture. And we may need a few reminders in the closing stages of these electioneering campaigns. One of these reminders is that, nothing happens to any country that is not a reflection of the character and temperament of the politicians in that country. This is in sync with the saying that every country is its own laboratory of democracy.
If you have observed keenly since the end of party primaries, you possibly have noticed what I call the emergence of blood -and- thunder politicians who believe only in “my way- or -the highway” kind of politics. For lack of a better word, they belong to what is called “seat-of-the-pant” politicians. These are men with little tolerance for tedium. They have no real agenda than to dominate other people. They bully free press, and threaten the media. They have temperamental cove and wear their hearts on their sleeves. They are autocrats in civilian camouflage.
By Dan Onwukwe
It is not too late to begin to ask these questions: How does democracy protect itself against a ruling party that has almost ruined the country and destroyed lives and livelihoods of those it was elected to provide for their security and welfare and, yet is asking for their mandate for another tenure? Does that political party deserve your vote?
*Buhari, Tinubu and Adamu
Are you better off today than you were seven and a half years ago? Should you allow the same snake bite you twice? These questions should not be ducked. They are not rhetorical questions. At a time like this, what we need is truth simply spoken. That is why the forthcoming elections, beginning with the Presidential poll, are of critical importance.
By Dan Onwukwe
Every election has a story. So is every person who offers himself or herself to high public office such as the presidency. It’s not for nothing. The presidency is the hardest job anybody can give his brain. The enormous responsibilities placed on the shoulder of a President are so huge that the occupant of the office should have a sound mind, among other attributes. His health status should not be a matter of conjectures.
