President Muhammadu Buhari has said Nigeria is his problem. Buhari said this at a dinner to welcome him to Kano on Wednesday night. “Nigeria is my problem,’’ he said. “I…
Read MoreFormer Minister of External Affairs, Bolaji Akinyemi has said the only person who can solve Nigeria's problem right now is President Muhammadu Buhari. In an interview with Vanguard, Akinyemi said…
Read Moreby Azeez Adeniyi Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said he has no issues with Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi. Jonathan disclosed this in a book titled, ‘Against the Run of…
Read MoreThe Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has labelled President Muhammadu Buhari as the “major problem of Nigeria.” Fayose made the remark in a statement on Sunday signed by his media aide, Lere…
Read MoreThe National Chairman of a faction within the Peoples Democratic Party, Ali Modu Sheriff, on Friday, said the leadership crisis currently rocking the former ruling party might extend into 2019 which…
Read MoreThe Wall Street Journal has published an article, that scathingly asserts that President Muhammadu Buhari is responsible for all of Nigeria's problems. President Buhari was accused of hipocrisy and double…
Read MoreEmir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has advised the country's leaders to embrace 'basic common sense' and reduce the astronomical cost of governance. The former Central Bank Governor said the…
Read Moreby Simon Kolawole
Politics should never start and end with intrigues. We thought it was a PDP problem but we know better by now. Our problems require urgent solutions.
You are hereby pardoned if you think the paramount purpose of politics is to win power. You are further forgiven for thinking that those all-night and all-day meetings, cross-carpeting and defections, media wars and hot air, plotting and scheming are what politics is all about. You probably came to that conclusion after observing Nigerian politicians for years. Our politicians are very skilled in political intrigues. They can go to any length to win elections. They can go on prayer and “dry fast” for one full year just to gain power. The problem, though, is that they often forget the real purpose of political power as soon as they get it. Their lives are built around elections and intrigues. All my life, I have never witnessed the sort of intense politicking I have seen in Nigeria in the last three years. The original location was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where former President Goodluck Jonathan’s quest for a second term sparked off a series of events that would eventually consume him and his party. He took control of his party’s machinery to make his re-nomination a cakewalk, and this led to the exit of five governors, dozens of senators and scores of reps who moved to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) was split into two as pro-Jonathan and anti-Jonathan forces went to war. Many Nigerians thought it was a battle between those who wanted Nigeria to progress and those who wanted it to regress. They framed it as a battle between the “good boys” and the “bad boys”, the “democrats” and the “autocrats”. In an article I wrote on June 2, 2013, titled “Fellow Nigerians, It Is All Politics!”, I did warn that all the intrigues were not about democracy and development. I said it was not about boreholes and potholes or medicines and maternal mortality. It was not about trade and tourism. I remember suggesting that if Jonathan dropped his re-election ambition, calm would instantly return to the PDP. I insisted it was a battle of politicians not a battle of principles. I have not seen anything to make me change my mind. The only piece of architecture I can see in the ruin is the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari. Indeed, Buhari is a sweet-smelling deodorant for the stinking, self-centred Nigerian political class. But the trademark stench is gradually on the way back with all its pungency. In less than two weeks after the inauguration of the APC-led government, the all-night and all-day meetings, cross-carpeting and media wars, plotting and scheming are back in full force. Again, I regret to report that it is not about boreholes and potholes or medicines and maternal mortality or trade and tourism. So it goes. The election of Bukola Saraki as senate president in a very Tambuwalic fashion, complete with the victory of Yakubu Dogara as speaker of the House of Representatives, may just be the beginning of another poisoned politicking — this time under Buhari’s government. The APC leaders who felt injured by the rebellion of Saraki and Dogara may seek to get them removed. We may, in no time, be confronted with another unstable National Assembly where politicking would form the main legislative agenda. Nigerians could be presented with a body that spends more time resolving crises and less time on passing critical bills for national development. May I please remind our new leaders that time is running out? Nigerians did not vote them into power because they wanted to be watching political drama. They see that in abundance on DStv. To be sure, intrigues are part and parcel of politics anywhere in the world. I have no intention to dispute that. What I seek to dispute is the notion that politics starts and ends with intrigues. Intrigues of who gets what. Intrigues of which camp is superior to the other. Intrigues of media wars. Many Nigerians are so caught up in these intrigues that they too seem to have forgotten that there are other reasons for which the APC was voted into power. May I distract the attention of the politicians by suggesting a few things they can consider? As I write, banks are no longer lending to the economy. They are unsure of what the new economic environment will look like. The implications are not only going to be immediate but long-term. The lacuna created by lack of access to funds by businesses will further hurt an economy already reeling in high levels of unemployment and cash crunch. People are losing their jobs. The economy urgently needs first-aid treatment before we can even discuss a major surgical operation. I would have thought this should generate more passion than senate presidency. Pardon my naivety. Poor me, I thought Buhari would have met with the bank chiefs by now, assuring them of his direction and encouraging them to come out of their shells. Confidence management could be another name for economic management. We are reading various reports in the media that are often contradictory on what Buhari has up his sleeves. For those who intend to invest in the economy or take major business decisions, the year 2015 has been too unfriendly and unhelpful. Everything about us has been elections, elections, elections and elections. It seems we live for elections. Everything is elections. Nothing else matters. Another distraction I want to suggest is on the state of fuel supply. As things stand, we don’t even know where we are headed. Are we going to continue the subsidy regime? If not, are we deregulating? How long can we sustain this hand-to-mouth fuel supply with all the uncertainties and queues that come with it? Will outstanding subsidy claims be verified and cleared or are we going to be in this perpetual state of guessing and second-guessing? Whatever policy direction is chosen by Buhari will have implications. If he retains subsidy, there will be issues. If he doesn’t, there will be issues. But he needs to quickly communicate his intentions to the marketers. As APC battles with its contradictions and ego wars, they need to pause and think of the dire consequences of failing to face the business of governance. I long for the time when our politicians (from all parties) will redistribute their energies and allocate less to political intrigues. Imagine the distance politicians have travelled in the struggle for power in the last three years. Imagine all the criss-crossing around the country. Imagine the meetings upon meetings. Imagine the resources devoted to campaigns from LGA to LGA and from state to state. If only 10% of these can be devoted to a development agenda, Nigeria would be a far better place by now! The APC summoned several emergency meetings over the National Assembly leadership elections. Can you imagine the positive outcome if similar emergency meetings are summoned to address the power crisis? Can you imagine what could happen if all the emotions poured into the battle for political power in the general election were instead applied to addressing infant and maternal mortality? Can you imagine our politicians devoting days and nights to plotting how to tackle poverty rather than plotting to share National Assembly positions among their cronies and associates? I bet you: Singapore would be like a ghetto beside Nigeria. Unfortunately, our politicians still don’t get it. They still think the purpose of power is intrigues. They carry on as if they were given a mandate to embark on pure politicking and corner all the goodies to themselves. The purpose of political power, I dare propose, should be development. The purpose is to lead the society in the direction of progress.by Saatah Nubari The problem with Nigeria is not its leaders as is widely hypocritically stated. What is the trouble with Nigeria? The late Chinua Achebe gave his answer to…
Read Moreby Ife Adebayo We need many more champions of good governance; we need many more Nigerians that can move this nation forward, people that will pick up a cause and…
Read Moreby Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani But the Nigerian just has to kick up a tornado whenever he is perceived unpalatably. Some years ago, a British filmmaker discovered an exotic site…
Read Moreby Jerome Samson In the face of this quagmire, we can only identify one root cause of our national woes. Tribalism! We (Nigerians) are a cacophony of tribal singers! In…
Read Moreby Theophilus Ilevbare The present administration has embarrassingly failed to realise that the root cause of the present wave of terrorism ravaging the north east is the result of decades…
Read Moreby Demola Rewaju With his speech while announcing Tukur’s resignation, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has proven himself as a dependable political ally. He stuck with Tukur until it was painfully obvious…
Read Moreby Tutu Akinlabi Children of stars who choose to follow in their parents' footsteps usually have a tough task ahead of them. On the one hand, they are often forced…
Read Moreby Oge Okonkwo A 38-year-old woman, Bose Bello has sought the dissolution of her marriage before an Ejigbo Customary Court in Lagos State. Mrs. Bello asked the court to grant…
Read Moreby Sanjib Saha If you have been with a person for quite a long time then there is no problem breaking up with your girlfriend over the phone. But before…
Read Moreby Varun Swasthi She's sexy and she knows it. And the world will leave no leaf unturned to make her realize so, especially when she's around you. 1. Become Possessive…
Read Moreby Reno Omokri That, my people, is the problem with Nigeria. President Goodluck Jonathan and the leadership he offers to Nigeria is not our problem. As a matter of fact…
Read Moreby 'Jola Sotubo Two herbalists in Osun State have been remanded in prison on the orders of a Magistrate Court in Osogbo, the state capital, for allegedly defrauding their client…
Read Moreby Rachel Ogbu Chibudom Nwuche (Photo: Punch) "Our people want Presidency, not Vice-Presidency. We are going to appeal to Nigerians to support his (Jonathan) ambition. We shall move round the…
Read More