Of Partisanship And Political Participation By Babatunde Rosanwo

In my private and public spaces, I
have been an advocate of political
participation by those who so desire,
as well as civic engagement by all
levels of the population. The
engagement and participation of
young Nigerians in our political arena
today is however not devoid of
intrigues and disclaimers. It is
unfortunately not far-fetched from the
picture of politics that our fathers
have painted for us – that politics is
a dirty game which is reserved for the
‘devils’ or to put it mildly, the “dregs
of the society”, forgetting to add that
we all as a nation have to endure the
outcome of the processes which
throw up such characters, whatever it
may be. We are yet to find an
alternative country which we can call
a Nigeria of our own.
There are more than enough
literatures, which have severally
examined the failure of the best
citizens in the society, including
those loosely described as
technocrats, to be a part of the
political process or work for the
government. In building our nation
however, we must strive to create a
healthy balance between criticisms
and our ability to put our best foot
forward in ensuring that our best men
and women are at the vanguard of
the change we so earnestly desire.
If Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in 1999
had been swayed or deterred by the
negativity attached to the political
terrain, he would not today walk in
these shoes of highest honour as the
President of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.
My observations over the years show
that the collective amnesia that
seems to rob our country of
pragmatic thinking encourages an
atmosphere for propaganda that is
not backed by facts or careful
unbiased research. More than often,
young people at the fore front of
leadership in Nigeria attempt to
present themselves as nonpartisan
and by extension, saints who
irrespective of their actions or
inactions should be absolved of any
culpability of the development
challenges that had befallen us as
nation. How did we get to this point
where it has become the order of the
day to hide ones political leanings
and engagements just so as to look
politically correct on paper? I
admittedly have no respect for
Nigerians who I know are actively
involved in politics one way or the
other, yet claim to be nonpartisan.
This set of young people try to be
politically correct, but the
disconcerting result is that they
swing back and forth whilst
unassuming and more ignorant
citizens swallow their pretensions
hook line and sinker.
The priority of any business
enterprise or organisation, and its
board of directors, is to make as large
a profit as possible, financial or
otherwise; it is not a welfare agency.
Likewise political parties, politicians
and their associates – the priority is
to win elections and retain positions
of power and influence. Political
parties are by no means charity
organisations; they are primarily
driven by the quest for power and
control. It is what they do with this
power (if attained) that subsequently
goes on to define who they truly are
and what their agendas are without
the glare of campaign lights. To wit,
there is absolutely nothing wrong
with having an agenda – everyone
including politicians, associates,
interest groups, young people and
even the voters have an agenda.
Even the so-called independents have
one; they hold on their votes and
swing it in any direction they please
to influence the final outcome of
elections. What is cynical however is
the hypocritical attempt of some to
take up the roles of saints as a form
of smart play.
I grew up thumbing through my
father’s library collection which
included books covering pre
independence and early Nigerian
history. Quite at an early age, I had
read through all of them and was
debating Nigerian politics and history
with my father. My interests have
always centred on the particular roles
any individual played in the history of
Nigeria and the emergence of our
democracy. By way of what we learnt
in social studies classes, we all knew
the historical landmarks and their
outcome, but we were not taught
about the specific actions of the many
individuals involved in the process.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons I
find it funny when the likes of Femi
Fani-Kayode and Akinloyes, attempt
to rewrite history by painting their
own fathers as saints. They remind
me of efforts by the Belgians to
rewrite history as regards the crimes
against humanity committed by King
Leopold II in the Congo.
When Reuben Abati wrote his piece
titled ‘The Hypocrisy of Yesterday’s
Men’ which made reference to
political office holders in the last
decade, asides the personal efforts to
tarnish the names of his master’s
political antagonists, I saw it as a
piece to reckon with by examining it
from another angle. Take for
example- President Olusegun
Obasanjo, his third term bid and his
subsequent chess-like moves that led
to the installation of the late
President Musa Yaradua as his
successor, resulted in one of the
worst leadership fiascos that Nigeria
has ever experienced. This same man
who opposed the June 12 elections
cannot be absolved of the 1979
mathematical redefinition of what
two-thirds of 19 states meant; it was
quite obvious that all efforts were
geared towards installing Shehu
Shagari as President. The similarities
between the Shagari and Jonathan
regimes are nothing but outright
corruption – the Augustus Meredith
Adisa Akinloye champagne and the
abuse of export licenses back then is
in tandem with the fuel subsidy crisis
of this present regime.
The only difference is that there
would not be a military coup; this
democracy must outlive our profligate
politicians and their associates.
Since 1999, the pattern has been the
same for most politicians, crossing
from one side of the divide to the
other. The political system to a large
extent allows this and the citizens
have not differed at the polls on
matters such as this.
But my focus is now more on the
younger generation and their political
engagements; I cringe in dismay at
the way we unapologetically exhibit
memory loss on who did what in the
last decade or over the last 3 years.
Building up to the 2011 general
elections, the Yar;Adua era was an
eye opener for a lot of young people.
From the protests to the general
elections and up until the
#occupyNigeria episode, it is rather
amazing that all these have happened
in the span of 3 years but somehow
they do not seem to carry an
overriding influence in 2013. Are
young Nigerians so forgiving or so
forgetful, and in so short a time?
I recently came across the leadership
series being written by Chude
Jidenowo which threw me into fits of
laughter. The first picture it called to
mind was that of Arthur Francis
Nzeribe – the affluent Oguta
politician and elite of his generation
who got a scholarship from the
Nigerian Ports Authority in 1958 to
study Marine Engineering in England.
By 1960, Nzeribe the entrepreneur
sold life insurance in Britain and later
moved to Ghana to work for Kwame
Nkurumah. He soon after bought his
first Rolls Royce. This was a man
whose company reported an annual
turnover of 70 million pounds by
1979. With a reputation of selling
weapons to all warring sides across
several African countries, he spent
N12M to win a senatorial seat in
1983. Beyond this introduction of
Francis Nzeribe, what struck me
about him was his open support for
Ibrahim Babangida through the
ridiculous Association for Better
Nigeria (ABN) in 1993 when the
country was yearning for a
democratic regime. Yet by the turn of
the decade, the same Nzeribe would
become a senator – the collective
amnesia was firmly in place.
An article that caught my attention
from Chude Jidenowo’s New
Leadership Series was the article
titled “What exactly happened to the
Nuhu Ribadu we fell in love with?” I
quote an excerpt from it:
“He was inviting myself and another
of the persons gathered to work for
that campaign – no doubt giddy in
the excitement that young people
would automatically root for the man.
I said no to that offer as with other
such offers; because I had no interest
at the time in politics or public
service. But even if I had been open
to the possibility, I would still have
said no. Because I immediately knew
that Ribadu the Politician was a very,
very bad idea.”
Reading this came as a surprise to
me and I once again saw the same
elements I have described earlier
manifesting in another young person
who is trying to be conservative with
the truth in a bid to be seen as an
independent. I have so much respect
for individuals who stand by their
actions and openly declare their
interests but not for those who try to
rewrite history especially when it is
plain to see to even the blind. I have
no doubt that Ribadu reached out to
various youth and youth groups to
work alongside him on his
presidential ambition. While I opted
for Buhari, some of my very good
friends and associates campaigned
for Ribadu. There is no law in Nigeria
that forbids us from openly
supporting any presidential candidate
and this amongst others, helped
ensure that the friendship between my
friends and I remained unbroken
despite our supporting different
candidates at the general elections.
That Chude Jidenowo claims he
rejected the offer based on the fact
that he had no interest at that time in
politics or public service is far from
the truth. It was about choices,
President Goodluck Jonathan was the
choice. He and his organisation were
actively involved in the presidential
campaigns of President Goodluck
Jonathan. Coupled with some active
young people, they facilitated the
infamous Lagos Youth lunch with the
President in 2011 where money was
shared openly under the guise of
transport fare. The unsolved puzzle
at that moment was: how did Chude
Jidenowo of “Future Projects” who
claimed to be non-partisan, not
interested in politics when Ribadu’s
friends came calling, active on the
board of the Enough is Enough
Coalition (A nonpartisan platform)
and also part of the “What About US”
campaign when the same President
Jonathan failed to honour a youth
debate pre-2011 general elections,
turn out to be the facilitator of lunch
with President Jonathan. Can it be
like I presume that their individual
paid services from the 2011 President
Goodluck campaigns facilitated their
choice as conveyors of the “youth
lunch”? If Mr Jidenowo does regret
his association with the Goodluck
Jonathan bid, then he must come
clear about it as his leadership series
does allude variously to indict the
competence of his friend, Mr
Jonathan.
In the Ribadu piece, Chude wrote:
“Mr. Ribadu returned to Nigeria in
February 2012 after a hiatus to do
what he knows best – find criminal
activity and expose it through the
Petroleum Revenue Task Force (of
which he is still chairman), despite
the objections of fans and critics
alike. This was a perfect fit for him
and a match for his abilities; expect
for one crucial fact he shouldn’t have
missed: he didn’t have a principal
whose agenda was clear. Even more,
he didn’t have the power to enforce.”
The principal referred to in the quote
above is no one but President
Goodluck Jonathan. Other articles in
the leadership series contain subtle
messages of lamentations of
Jonathan’s leadership style that can
only be fished out if one can read
between the lines. Chude Jidenowo
demonstrated a poor understanding
of the Ribadu for president and the
person of Ribadu in the piece which
can easily be associated with political
naivety.
The likes of Ohima Amaize, despite
his new found love for PDP, are rather
of a more concise personality who
can be trusted to openly demonstrate
where their leanings sway. They do
not claim to be nonpartisan with the
hope of being able to switch sides
conveniently for the sake of political
benefits.
I have never been a card carrying
member of any political party but will
continue to openly work with any
political party I share interests with.
We must not frown upon participation
in the polity by any means; I am more
interested in a Nigeria where we the
citizens will reward politicians at the
polls for their performance in office.
The opposition parties must not take
for granted the desire of the people to
vote the ruling party out of office.
Should they tow the same line as the
current ruling party by selecting
candidates who are not able to take
the interests of the citizens into
account nor deliver, I will advocate for
the youth to vote neither for the ruling
party nor the opposition.
There are no men without a history
but our ability to glean useful
information from the decisions they
have made provides some of the
answers we seek.