by Ugo Okeke
Veneer: A thin surface layer, as of finely grained wood, glued to a base of inferior material. (thefreedictionary.com)
In the 80s, my mum had a cupboard in her room that was finished in a glossy, bright blue veneer. It was the centrepiece of her room where she locked away her jewellery and many other priced possessions. After years of use, natural wear, aided by restless hands like my own and I suspect those of some of my other siblings; the veneer had chipped off in several large sections to reveal dried remnants of adhesive and the plain wood beneath.
As it begins to increasingly look like President Jonathan may have run out of the one thing that has brought him this far – Goodluck; and that we just might get a new government come May 29, I feel it is necessary to begin to examine the nature of change we may end up with, since it may be somewhat different from the version being advertised.
In the ranks of the younger people who are actively working for the Buhari/Osinbajo campaign, the sentiment is rife that folks are merely rising to the occasion to rescue the future of this country from the claws of a gang of “rascals and idiots”; to borrow the words of David Ndii who wrote here about the Kenyan guild of the gang. The often-repeated idea is that they can hardly wait to get back to their ‘normal’ lives after putting the country in the capable hands of this duo. I believe this is a very dangerous idea!
It is a very dangerous idea to presume that in the sort of system that we run, all that we require is a honest Buhari. Should he win the election, there is no question that the person of General Buhari can significantly shape the direction of government, with wider overall positive implications for society as a whole. It is however being recklessly presumptuous to assume that this is going to happen as a matter of course. The reality is that whatever inch of ground by which we hope to expand the space for good governance; it must be won from entrenched interests for whom it is unnatural to yield.
While the APC has hinged its campaign on a mantra of change, away from the klieglights on the campaign trail, actions of influential members of the party and even the institutions it leads raise a number of issues about which we must be concerned.
For example, how seriously are we expected to take the message for change being pushed by the APC when only this week, we read in the news of how APC legislators in Lagos state are in the process of passing a bill that puts the weight of law behind what in simple terms is a brazen grab for the commonwealth of Lagosians by a privileged few. Not only does the entire spirit of the law reek of the abuse of privilege, but it also highlights the glaring inconsistencies between the campaign messaging of the party and some of its manifest governance policies.
The draft bill for instance provides that Lagos taxpayers will have to pick the bill for providing their former governors a home in Lagos as well as another in Abuja. For a party that is supposedly pro-decentralization, the logical question would be why does the man who lives on an often-flooded street in Shomolu have to pay for Fashola to in addition to a house in maybe Ikoyi, have another one in Maitama?
Just like Jonathan’s transformation hot air, the gap between APC’s rhetoric and ethic can be worryingly wide. For instance, @BudgITng/@Seunonigbinde has consistently taken a dim view of the refusal of a leading light of the APC, Governor Fashola to open up the finances of Lagos state to more scrutiny. Of course the issue sticks out like a chronically sore thumb – what business has a ‘progressive’ party got with hiding information that belongs to the public?
In light of these ethical challenges within the party, it has to be admitted that the character quotient of the persons who wield influence within the party is a critical factor for what manner of change we can expect post May 29, in the event of an APC win.
On what rationale is the hope founded that an Amaechi who has allegedly shut down the judiciary in his state will suddenly become a born-again apostle of proper devolution of powers? Or that a Tinubu who deems Senator Oluremi Tinubu (her being his wife is just an inconvenient coincidence) a better representative of Lagosians in the senate than Senator Olorunimbe Mamora, would suddenly become an uncompromising champion of merit?
It is my belief that those who like to think of APC as fundamentally different from PDP only do so because they fail to realize that were it not for a small matter with the EFCC; someone like Femi Fani Kayode, might today have been flying around with Buhari, lampooning the administration he currently serves.
Of course there are those who may take @BuhariFacts too literally and believe that his very mien will convert even the died in the wool criminal. On the balance of being right and being naïve, I’d say their naiveté tilts the scale. Think about it, Yaradua appointed Ibori’s pick as Attorney General of the federation. Without doubt the persons and circumstances are quite different, but the point is, it isn’t as easy as you may imagine to rely this much on people to get into office and just kick them out on the street after inauguration.
This by no means suggests that there aren’t decent people in the APC. Oh there certainly are. Given that we cannot realistically expect public officers to be without blemish, there are many well-meaning people within the ranks of the party – perhaps even some of those mentioned earlier. The point being made is that, the message of change relies too much on the glossy veneer of Buhari’s character while largely ignoring the rot in the wood beneath.
The redeeming reality is perhaps the large number of hitherto non-partisan and largely younger people who have been energized and mobilized by this campaign; in particular, those who have assumed important positions of responsibility within the core of the campaign. There are possibilities for real change if these people perish the thought that their work is done if on 28th March they get Buhari elected.
No. You can’t go back to your ‘normal’ lives. The reason you got involved in the first place is because what you call your normal life is just an euphemism for describing the tragic reality of everyday existence in a country that is really a very sick joke. There is a real chance to effect a redistribution of power by ensuring the emergence of a new crop of leaders. This has the potential to whittle down the influence of the entrenched interests and give us a decent shot at real change.
Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that given the current economic situation, we face a season of real turmoil should we get a new party in power. It is a fact that in such situations; people tend to go with the familiar and certain. This confers considerable advantage on the entrenched interests and raises the bar against those who wish to come in and bring real change. It will be difficult.
In the end, it is perhaps impractical to think we can keep these tainted characters entirely out of government. What is realistic is to ensure that many more untainted people get in as to sufficiently dilute the contagion and reduce its potency.
In the end, may Nigerian win.
————————
