by Tunde Fagbenle
But going through what has been published of the APC manifesto one gets the idea of some people merely putting together a long list of the myriad of what ails Nigeria and promising, sorry, saying their ‘intent’ (in the manner the itinerant medicine man peddles the good old APC medicine of yore)to cure it all; this would be done, that would be done. The mass of intendment has not been aggregated into any ideological framework, a guiding ethos.
I have not seen, talk less read, the 31-page manifesto of the All Progressives Congress (APC) launched with expected pomp during the past week and so my opinion is based on excerpts published in various media. The excerpts may not tell it all but, by and large, together with the media report on the manifesto, give a glimpse of the intendment of this new-kid-on-the-block party.
The online Dictionary.com definition of manifesto is “a public declaration of intent, policy, aims, etc, as issued by a political party, government, or movement.”
But going through what has been published of the APC manifesto one gets the idea of some people merely putting together a long list of the myriad of what ails Nigeria and promising, sorry, saying their ‘intent’ (in the manner the itinerant medicine man peddles the good old APC medicine of yore)to cure it all; this would be done, that would be done. The mass of intendment has not been aggregated into any ideological framework, a guiding ethos.
You will pardon the lewd analogy but one gets the feeling of a Casanova wanting to get a lady to bed at all costs and offering all sweet nothings that he knows she wants to hear – he would build her a house, buy her a car, fly her to the moon – knowing full well that all his earnings even in a lifetime could do no such things.
Elsewhere a political party’s manifesto is its “bible”, but not in Nigeria. They have generally meant nothing beyond the paper on which they are printed; hardly ever referred to by the party, and the party hardly ever held down to it by the public. Perhaps the most remembered of any meaningful party manifesto was that of ObafemiAwolowo’s Action Group way back in the 50s and 60s with the cardinal slogan of “Freedom for All, Life More Abundant.” It was a welfarist manifesto with a main thrust of “free education” for all.But those were the days of genuine parties for genuine governance. I doubt if anyone, even those in the PDP, could tell you in a nutshell what the PDP manifesto is all about today!
I have nothing against the APC, on the contrary it is a party in which I join millions of Nigerians in reposing hope. We have reached a point in Nigeria where it is anything but the ruling and ruining PDP. Unfortunately that should not be the basis for making a choice of party at an election, but that is where we have found ourselves.
To be sure forming a credible and masses-accepting political party is not a child’s play, as those who have ventured into it would tell you. It requires deep pockets; it requires commitment and sincerity of purpose; and above all, it requires youthful and visionary leadership. Unfortunately, the two leading faces on parade by the APC, namely General Buhari and Chief Bisi Akande, are not the faces to qualify as “youthful and visionary”! It is, therefore, necessary and urgent for them to yield places to those young and vibrant ones within the rank and file of the party. Gladly, they are there in good numbers and across ethnic divides.
But back to the APC manifesto.
Virtually all the media led with the core issue of electricity. The intractable problem of poor electricity supply has been the bane of our economic development. It is a recurring theme, with government after government promising to tackle it to no avail, yet with billions of naira going down the drain. APC seem to have it as its core objective in the manifesto, ‘promising’ to end power outage by generating 40,000MW of electricity within 8 years of being in government. To be honest, those thousands of megawatts, or whatever, are no more than a pie in the sky, an annoying one too remembering how Obasanjo flogged those figures, followed by Yar’Adua, and now Jonathan. In any case, Jonathan seems to have embarked (though with doubtful seriousness) on the line of action the APC proposes, namely, liberalising the monopoly of the Federal Government in the sector.
Another lead issue in the manifesto is “corruption”, that hydra-headed monster that has held the country by the jugular. The APC ‘promises’ to wage a “War Against Corruption” believing rightly that “none of (their) cardinal programmes will succeed if the current level of corruption and looting going on in the land” continues.
Again, we’ve heard it all before! Obasanjo swore against corruption, sending fears down the spine of everyone, sadly only to end up being himself the repository of all corruption and corrupt practices. But, here, the APC comes with bigger dose of credibility having a Buhari in its fold. Buhari is one person whose anti-corruption stance most Nigerians can swear by; but that is one person, and unfortunately not in a military government. What is more predictable, sooner than later, is the parting of ways between Buhari and the rest of the party when it is realised that Buhari’s ascetic holiness is antithetical to oiling the wheel of political business!
Most of the core intent of the APC, such as “to remove immunity from prosecution for elected officers in criminal cases,” “devolving powers, duties and responsibilities to states and local governments in order to entrench Federalism and the Federal Spirit,”and “to decentralise the police command,”would require constitutional amendments and having concomitant majority in most of the states and in the National Assembly. For that to happen, Nigerians must truly have had enough of the PDP and go all out to rout them massively.
Not done, the manifesto ‘promises’ to “construct 4,000 kilometres of “supper highways,” “revitalise the railway system…build 200 kilometres of standard railway lines annually,” carry out a thorough review of the education sector, allocating up to 10% of the country’s annual budget to the sector, and invest massively in the health sector!
Overall, the manifesto is a hotchpotch of fancy ideas to “please the ears,” broad in generality and without required sharpness of focus on what the country needs in answer to its nationality crises.
As intents go what the APC released as their manifesto isexceedingly ambitious. But it’s no crime to be ambitious, is it?
Re: Memories of childhood
Last weeks column with the above title generated huge positive responses from Nigerians, home and abroad. It led one to the conclusion that Nigerians in the main want Nigeria, but one that is beautiful, free-for-all and fair to all!
Sadly and strangely, I am yet to hear from anyone about the Okapu family of Afam, Patricia, etc, whether they are alive or not.
Here’s one reader searching for his Nigeria:
“Sir, your write-up of August 18 is quite thought provoking. Honestly I was moved to tears as I read through the piece. You really painted a picture of a Nigeria we deserve but do not have. Please we need to take back our country from these greedy politicians. I work in a commercial bank in Lagos and after reading this piece I’m moved to ask if there’s any organisation or movement that is working towards recreating Nigeria. I mean a movement that does not have any political connotation. I want to join/support such a group. Want to thank you once again. emenyke@yahoo.co.uk
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Read this article in the Punch newspapers
Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.
