Post – Poll Nigeria: The Tough Path for Buhari 2019 – 2023

By Fr Livinus Onogwu…

Political temperature is settling in Nigeria after the hotly contested presidential election which albeit marked with logistical issues has given Buhari of the APC another term at the helm of affairs in Africa’s largest economy and populous nation.

“There is no perfect election anywhere in the world” is now the political theology of perfecting imperfections. Although there are alleged tampering with the process in favour of the ruling APC using state resources to influence voters, there may not be sufficient grounds to nullify the election as was the case in Kenya. Settled as such, a tough path awaits Buhari’s second term.

The logistical problems and attempts at manipulating the process to tilt result towards one end show that electoral process is less than transparent thus calling on all stakeholders especially the electoral commission (INEC) to migrate from its analogue management considering the magnitude of work and materials involved in elections in the huge country.

Having won the mandate of majority of voters, Buhari can settle down to really work hard not only to turn the fortunes of the nation around but to redeem his sickly and slow first term. Buhari’s plate is packed and he needs to scrutinise those to bring on board as he prepares to start his second and final term. Like Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, the legacy of this second term is crucial for the future of Nigeria, the future of APC as a political platform, and the place of Buhari in the annals of Nigerian democratic history. In a sense, a second term gives Buhari another chance to define himself in clear terms.

Poor economic performance, unemployment, high inflation, insecurity, infrastructure decay, poverty, poor public power supply and many others are all crying for urgent attention. While the utter focus on the fight against corruption is commendable, a unilateral focus on fighting corruption without development attention to other sectors inadvertently creates rooms for further corruption to breed.

Hopefully, Buhari must have learnt some vital democratic lessons from the outgoing first term. This is an important component that will make or mar the second term. Coming from a military background, Buhari has shown in the first term that constitutional provisions can be ignored and employed at will and when it suits situation and interest of those in power. In his drive to block abuse of democratic principles, buhari tends to be rather autocratic. His sense of the rule of law needs to be purified. Some of the serious abuses and rape of the constitution, incompetence and excuses in the first term will not be tolerated in the second term.

Read also: Welcoming ‘Next Level’ With Trepidation

Political appointments as reward for political loyalty and patronage rather than competence or expertise is a beautiful temptation to watch in this second term. There is a federal character principle which stipulates geographical distribution of positions but buhari in the first term did not take this into consideration as his appointment was largely lopsided.

It is imperative to highlight the loud silence of those who did not vote as well as those who voted for PDP. The 11 million plus who voted for PDP badly needed a change having suffered tough times under Buhari for the past four years. There is only 4 million difference between PDP and APC. In effect, there is a great desire for change and continuity in equal measure. The number calling for change says a lot about all that is wrong.

Buhari has a daunting task of not only uniting the politically sharply divided nation but also meeting the aspirations of the over 11 millions who at the ballot expressed dissatisfaction with his first term and frankly wanted him back to Kastina. Concerning those who did not vote at all (about 57 million eligible voters), their apolitical posture goes to say that they have no trust in either Buhari of the APC or Atiku of the PDP. The difference between them is the same. The over 70 candidates who vied for the presidency also shows rising agitation that seeks to offer Nigerians a new leadership experience away from the same old people-same old story philosophy that has for long defined the country’s democratic life.

The saying that uneasy lies the head that wears the crown is very true in the leadership of Nigeria and would be real for Buhari in this second term. As Buhari continues as president, Nigerians are anxiously watching and waiting: would it be business as usual? Would Nigerians be pleasantly surprised by a positive change in the game? Would APC truly take Nigeria to the much publicised “next level”? Many questions are loading and time will rightly answer them. However he leads the country into the coming years, Nigerians know that he will not in his wildest, dream of going beyond 2023.

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