BUHARI: Does he deserve an automatic ticket?

By Joseph Edgar…

Now, very little things confuse me when it comes to Nigeria’s politics. I pride myself of an astonishing clarity when it comes to issues, policies and people that dominate our political sphere. But this issue of an automatic ticket for our President or even a second term has begun to throw a confusing haze into my mind.

The question that has been brought to the fore by none other than the Imo State Governor, Okorocha, has been the issue of an automatic ticket for the President within the party and by extension a possible run for a second term by President Buhari . The APC henchman, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, has immediately come out to counter that position claiming that the President should not be given an automatic ticket.

These are the type of issues I like to debate and not engage in by writing. I believe that writing an article about this issue would be very limiting as there are so many angles you can look at it from, especially economic, political, social justice, moral, and timing. This would also include federal balancing, performance, personality, religion and so on. So you can see my dilemma as I get my excitement muted by the limitation afforded me in a two page article.

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Well, since I have to write, let me take it from the angle of corruption, tight fiscal spending and discipline. I have decided to take it from these three angles because of where we are coming from viz a viz the last administration and our proclivity to errant and loose behaviour inimical to the economy as a people.

Buhari got to power on the platform of a sincere hatred for corruption. He promised to fight it with candid resolve and we believed him. He promised to block leakages in government spending and rid the nation of corrupt officials. This he has possibly tried and I must say better than we expected or by any recent government we can now see that it is no longer business as usual. Although he has had some major glitches in his armour by people very close to him who have gotten themselves tied up with very disgraceful scandals which have made the President look so helpless and almost like a hypocrite – preaching one thing and practising the other, he has still tried not to allow these things soil him personally.

He has come out from every scandal involving his closest allys almost personally unscathed with his anti corruption stance still intact and this is why I just may be rooting for him.

We have come from a free for all stealing binge to a controlled stealing structure, where only the very few are still engaged in this nefarious activity. We did not expect to eradicate corruption totally but the present state it is at this point is almost bearable and can be managed.

The tightening of these holes and blocking of the leakages is beginning to show in international investor confidence in our economy. We are seeing various bond offers being oversubscribed, the sovereign wealth fund swelling up, inflation being contained, the GDP doubling and our coming out of a crippling recession. All these could be ascribed to a resurgent oil price and not any deliberate government policy, but you see the truth is that the money is not being squandered. They are being spent in a controlled and structured manner unlike in the recent past.

Although the economy is very far from where it should be and we still have challenges especially with infrastructure, health and the rest, it could have been worse if we did not bless ourselves with the rigidity Buhari has brought to play.

So when you take a cursory look at the possible contenders for the position both within the party and without, you cringe with fear. The possible strong contenders really have nothing to offer but the reversal of these tiny gains we have achieved with this government. What you will see when you look outside of Buhari is the revving of the revolving door by players who have been in the system from ages getting ready to come and do what they know best- pillage and plough from our collective wealth.

The sad thing here is that, those who are dynamic and who can sustain the tempo will either not be allowed to come in or they themselves will not throw in their hat, hence we would be left with the dinosaurs who have continued to desecrate our collective wealth.

When they talk of coming to serve, all they are looking at is the growing external reserve, the expanding Sovereign Wealth Fund, the increasing oil receipts so that they can go back and destroy those structures of collective wealth.

So for me, as far as the eye can see I do not see any credible candidate that has the discipline and nationalistic sense of purpose within the firmament that can take Buhari’s place. The ones I am seeing are not coming out and if they do, they would be immediately sabotaged so they respect themselves and stand clear.

It is in this regard, and against my democratic credentials, that I support whole heartedly an automatic ticket for President Buhari and a possible second term. This position is predicated upon a non declaration by young, dynamic and idealistic candidates who do not belong to the cesspit of corruption that has held us in perpetual bondage. Till then, my vote is for President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

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