TDIf there is one thing the 2015 presidential election must have taught us,it is that we mustn’t be too absolved in changing a government we are dissatisfied with to carefully scrutinize the option before us.
Most Nigerians felt they deserved better than Goodluck Jonathan and didn’t pay much attention to the concerns raised about his opponent, the late Muhammadu Buhari. It is no secret that Buhari’s administration is today widely acknowledged as the worst government in the history of this nation.
While a lot of us may not have been old enough to see for ourselves the leader Buhari was when he governed in 1984 as a head of state, 1999-2007 which is of more recent memory helped form the basis upon which judgment was passed on Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Simply put, he is the father of modern-day Lagos.
That he doesn’t live up to expectations as President of Nigeria doesn’t mean people would kill themselves for choosing him.
The antecedents displayed before us were quite enticing but just like Jonathan in 2014, a vast majority of Nigerians today are unhappy with his administration and feel they deserve better. This is where we must thread with caution.
The main problem Nigerians have with Tinubu is the hardship occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal but to start with, the candidates that ran against Tinubu in 2023 promised to remove fuel subsidy and deploy the finances to better use.
They may criticize other things he may or may not have done but only a hypocrite would harass Tinubu today for removing subsidy and anyone who thinks life will instantly get rosy after its removal without some sacrifices on our part doesn’t even know what they are saying and should never be President.
Personally, the problem I have with that policy is not that it is a bad idea; it is that enough has not been done to cushion its effect on the average Nigerian.3000 gas-powered buses were promised to the 36 states, but nothing has been done in that regard.
Secondly, such policies go best with strict price-control measures especially pertaining to essential commodities, but Tinubu and his people didn’t do much as far as that is concerned and thirdly, it’s hard to explain why fuel refined in this country is just N100 cheaper than imported fuel.
Dangote’s refinery is privately owned but a purposeful administration will by any means; whether by drowning it in taxes or by making it impossible to export or import petroleum, force it to make the price of its products reasonable for the betterment of Nigerian lives.
That having been said, recent happenings in the ADC which is more or less a coalition of the foremost opposition figures in the country leave a lot to be desired.
There have been concerns that the coalition was championed by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and anyone coming in to vie for its Presidential ticket would face a hard time.
The departure of Peter Obi and Engr Rabiu Kwankwaso to the NDC days ago lends credence to that. I for one have said before that in the absence of a consensus opposition candidate then the best move would be for strong candidates to form early alliances so that they can merge their support base.
Obi and Kwankwaso were the first to do so and that may not have sat well with the powers that be in the ADC. We again need to remember 2015 and not just accept anyone shoved down our throats.
Atiku may have had a bigger and better platform in the PDP to run in 2023 but on a level playing ground, is he a better sell to Nigerians than Kwankwaso/Obi?
I understand it makes much political sense to exploit the dissatisfaction with the Tinubu administration by presenting a candidate from the north which is the largest voter base in the country. Only a southern president who has been outstanding can depend on northern support for a 2nd term.
If not, the lure of voting someone from their region is always too strong to resist and as far as that goes, Kwankwaso is from the North West (core north) comprising what is fondly referred to as the ‘Kardashian states’ (Kano, Kaduna and Katsina) and he is starring alongside the most marketable politician from the South East currently.
Just like Tinubu, Kwankwaso’s track record as Kano governor speaks loudly for him. As a matter of fact, the reason why a lot of people from the North chose Tinubu ahead of him was only because the presidency needed to move South for the sake of national unity.
I have told people severally that the only politician I would pick Atiku over is the late Muhammadu Buhari and that is the Buhari that had given us the worst 4 years ever and not the one of 2015.
If anyone thinks Nigerians are too blinded by their unhappiness with Tinubu to weigh what is before us, then they better think again.
When President Tinubu whom the ADC now wants to oust conceived the idea of the merger that became the APC and set about unifying interests, he did not insist that he would be the presidential candidate of the new party.
As a matter of fact, he guaranteed another man the ticket because he was better positioned as a northerner. Tinubu is today reaping from that unselfish deed.
Atiku may have been the force behind the ADC after being bullied out of the PDP by Nyesom Wike but that should not automatically mean he gets the party’s ticket or that he is the best the party has to offer.
We traded a Rolls Royce for a Keke Marwa in 2015. Nigerians mustn’t allow anyone exploit their displeasure with an incumbent president to get ahead in life.
We need to be as sure as humanly possible that whatever candidate we choose is a better option than what we currently have.
Umar Sa’ad Hassan is based in Kano; Twitter-@Alaye_100; Email-uhassan077@gmail.com.
