By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa
That time has finally come when the biggest question in our political life will be asked and answered. Who succeeds Buhari? It is the million dollar question that everyone is trying so hard to answer. It should not have been this difficult but for the nature of the President, who is for ‘everybody and for nobody’. He seemed to have outsmarted us all, as if we were all caught unawares about the issue of his successor. The body language did not give him out so clearly, this time around, thus making the task of unraveling the man/woman to succeed the President to be an arduous task, even for the politicians.
The two dominant parties, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the All Progressives Congress, APC are both in deep quandary in determining their presidential candidates. Governors from the Southern part of the country are insisting on zoning, in line with clear provisions of the constitution of the parties and that of Nigeria. Their counterparts from the North have indicated their preference for a level playing field for all candidates to be given the fair opportunity of aspiring to the highest office in the land. The race is more intense in the APC, not for any special reason other than the fact that it is the ruling party that produced the current President.
There is absolutely no reason for the PDP to seek to jettison its own constitution to favour any particular candidate. Article 7 of the Constitution of the PDP provides as follows:
“7. (1) The Party shall have a manifesto which, subject to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, shall be implemented by all organs of the party and governments elected under its platform.
(2) The Party shall strive to –
(b) promote federalism and an equitable revenue sharing formula.
(3) The Party shall pursue these aims and objectives –
(c) adhering to the policy of the rotation and zoning of Party and Public elective offices in pursuance of the principle of equity, justice and fairness.”
The above provisions are very clear and unambiguous. It is not open to the leaders of the PDP to seek to maneuver their ways out of the constitution of the party. As light follows day, the presidential candidate of the PDP must come from the South. So far, I have not seen any serious contender for that post, save His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi. Extending the theory of zoning to its logical conclusion, the PDP should narrow down its choice for the 2023 presidential ticket to the South-East zone for many reasons. Since the party was founded, that zone has demonstrated uncommon faithfulness in loyalty, support and voting. There is no other way to reward the Igbos other than for PDP to concede its ticket to that zone. To do otherwise would be totally uncharitable and immoral. Why Peter Obi? By available records, he has served as head of Fidelity Bank, where he distinguished himself without blemish. He served meritoriously as governor of Anambra State for eight years and he has no pending issues with his administration, as at the time of writing this piece. Many accounts have surfaced of his frugality, his commitment to the common good and his love for transparency and accountability. To my mind, he can easily be trusted with the affairs of Nigeria and I fear no challenge on this point at all.
Comrade Omoyele Sowore is another viable contender for the office of the President, under the platform of African Action Congress, which he co-founded and has nurtured. Many have asked about the experience of Sowore to lead a complex nation like Nigeria. Believe it or not, University of Lagos or indeed any other university in that class, represents the totality of Nigeria. The Students’ Union of the old generation universities, is akin to the government of Nigeria, consisting mainly of the Executive Council, the Students’ Representative Council and the Judicial Council, all functioning together but performing independent roles as leaders of the students. I have been there and I can say very boldly that anyone who has led a complex institution such as the University of Lagos can lead Nigeria. What is more, Sowore has run Sahara Reporters successfully for so many years, creating a new regime in news reporting, daring the status quo and going where no one else dared to tread. He has by his sheer acts of courage redefined the concept of investigative journalism and has truly brought to bear the provisions of section 22 of the Constitution by holding the government accountable to the people. His RevolutionNow struggles have incurred upon him the wrath of the powers that be, for which he has paid heavily in constant arrests, trumped-up charges and severe persecutions, all of which he has weathered with so much courage and a sense of purpose. I consider Sowore as a serious contender for the presidency in 2023. What is needed is for all revolutionaries, all our comrades, the labour and civil society coalition, students, activists, market women/men and all lovers of freedom to team up together to support Sowore to defeat the enemies of Nigeria, for once.
Some people look up to the APC to produce the next president after Buhari purely because of the incumbency factor, nothing more. If we go by the records of its (non) performance, the party does not deserve the vote of any reasonable person. It has taken the nation backwards in many respects, it has no quantum of integrity, it could not defend its manifesto to the people of Nigeria when it mattered most and it has led us on a roller coaster trip of empty promises, monstrous propaganda and media manipulations. It succeeded wonderfully as the opposition party but failed woefully as the ruling party when it was entrusted with power. Unlike the PDP however, the APC has already zoned its presidential ticket to the South, which ordinarily should be a commendable idea but for the latent mines planted along that tricky route.
Undoubtedly, the leading contenders for the APC ticket as of today are His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, His Excellency Professor Yemi Osinbajo and His Excellency Mr. Rotimi Amaechi. Take it or leave it, Tinubu has written his name in gold in the annals of the political history of Nigeria. I say this based purely on my own knowledge and experiences, of and concerning him. Lagos State as of today, has become the model for other States of the Federation, in terms of planning, infrastructure and development. It could not have been the product of guesswork or lazy administration.
When he took over the reins of power in 1998, Tinubu committed himself to a master plan, for which he set up a strong team which traveled all over the world to understudy major cities in order to recreate a new Lagos. Yes, that master plan has been hijacked and bastardized by self interest in some ways, but the idea remains the best that has emerged from any politician after the Action Group regime of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Tinubu then invested in men and women, all of whom he partnered with for the implementation of the Lagos Master Plan. Those men would later spread their tentacles to Osun, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, Kwara and even far away Ghana and the Gambia. So if we should talk about experience, surely Tinubu should be rated as one of the best materials for the presidency in 2023. I can say a lot more about the positive influence of Tinubu on our national polity but this is not the forum or time. I have had cause to disagree with a good number of his policies based purely on my conviction and principles, but this will not detract from the laudable vision that he outlined for Lagos when he came on board. Be that as it may, we cannot overrate an individual above the Constitution.
It may be that Tinubu has contributed immensely towards the political fortunes of His Excellency the Vice-President, the latter who has been his personal counsel, his official Attorney-General as Governor and one of the brains behind the several legal exploits that Tinubu has accomplished in his checkered political career. Now I have read so much on social media on why Tinubu should and why Tinubu should not declare for the presidency in 2023. I personally believe he should not and I will tell you why. The Vice-President is so far the greatest product of Tinubu’s political school, which is yet to produce the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, being the only position that has not been attained by that group.
If it is correct to say that Osinbajo is a product of that school, then there is no reason why he should be denied the opportunity of representing that school for the highest office. No matter the role that Tinubu may have played in the political life of Nigeria, it will be unfair to his reputation to say that he did all that he has done for the selfish and personal ambition to become President or that he has raised men and women all the while purely for his own good. Nobody should play godfatherism to such an extent that he sits down to encourage people to aspire to the best of their potentials only to create a ceiling or barrier for them. You cannot raise a person to the office of Vice-President and then suddenly turn around to ask him not to run for the highest office on account solely that it has been your life ambition. Surely the nation is greater than any individual and no one should rate himself so high as to hold the nation to ransom by declaring himself as the only one fit for any particular office. In fact if we should turn the argument around, the better way to put it is that those who have sacrificed their lives, their thoughts and destinies alongside Tinubu have been the ones who have sustained him so far and he should be the one to show gratitude and loyalty to them while he retires peacefully and successfully to watch them grow.
In the eye of the 1999 Constitution, the concept of loyalty to an individual is non-existent; thus, the issue of loyalty from Osinbajo to Tinubu is totally misplaced and indeed a misnormer.
The loyalty demanded of the office of the Vice-President is to the Constitution and by necessary extension to the people of Nigeria. In the scheme of things, once a member of the Tinubu political school has openly declared his interest as the Vice-President has done, the role of Tinubu himself should be that of open endorsement and not opposition. It will do so much damage to that school and to Tinubu himself should he enter into an open contest in a primary election with the Vice-President.
From the day he was elected, Osinbajo became the leader of the APC in the South-West and the onus of loyalty should fall upon Tinubu himself, not the other way round. Unless Osinbajo has committed some grievous errors against the party during his tenure as Vice-President, it would be a total disservice to deny him the presidential slot on account of the life ambition of Tinubu to be president. That ambition became subject to the office of the Vice-President, from the day of his election in 2015 and re-election in 2019, in the absence of any written undertaking against it. The challenge here is for Tinubu to develop his political school beyond and above his own personality, since he cannot live forever. Otherwise, the school will not outlive him, as it will die a natural death, since it has always been about the personal ambition of just one person.
In my own humble opinion, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has shown exceptional loyalty to the President even in the most trying times and in the face of the greatest challenges. If the APC puts its house in order in choosing its presidential candidate, I see a good contest between Mr. Peter Obi of the PDP and Professor Yemi Osinbajo of the APC. It is true that Osinbajo is a Pastor and a committed Christian, which should count in his favour. Contrary to some write ups which tend to tag him in negative religious garb, Osinbajo was the sitting Vice-President when a female pastor of his church was hacked down and gruesomely murdered in Abuja while she was on her daily evangelism. The heavens did not fall and I remember vividly that Osinbajo and his wife visited the family and used the occasion to preach love and tolerance. There was no reprisal attack from either Osinbajo’s church or the body of Christ nationwide. Admirably, the church was able to manage the issue with commendable maturity. That cannot happen were the Vice-President to be a religious fanatic.
I have also looked through the profile of his appointments to see that he has religious balance, gender equality and national spread in the list of his official and personal staff. Whatever may be the plan, posterity awaits the open endorsement of Osinbajo by Tinubu. He should actually buy his nomination form and hand it over to him openly as a sign of that endorsement. There should be no debate about this at all.
His Excellency Mr Rotimi Amaechi started his political journey with His Excellency Chief Peter Odili, he rose to the position of Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and later Governor of Rivers State for eight years. He has served as the Honourable Minister of Transport since 2015 when the Buhari administration came on board. I personally believe that he has done well but the South-South having recently produced the President through His Excellency Mr. Goodluck Jonathan, that zone should have the grace to accommodate another zone for that office. The power base of the APC has been the North and the South-West and since the North has had its shot, it is proper to allow the South-West take the benefit of its commitment and support for the party in the coming election. This is in relation to the APC, as it was clearly stated last week that the PDP should automatically zone its ticket to the South-East.
Let me share with you some other perspectives expressed by other patriots in reaction to the first piece published last week.
“Patrick Oyetakin: Thank you sir for this wonderful piece. For me South-East shouldn’t be denied the opportunity to rule Nigeria. Peter Obi that I know has all it takes to rescue Nigeria from the present calamitous situation the nation finds itself as a result of bad governance.
Adetola Odumuyiwa: Big Sam, I disagree with the way you painted Tinubu as the person that raised your senior colleague in the legal profession and a Professor of law who I know cuts his political administration skills while working with Prince Bola Ajibola, SAN, as Special Assistant to the Minister of Justice as he was then. Professor Osinbajo, SAN, worked with Bola Tinubu as Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General in Lagos State bringing his wealth of experience to the job. He already knew what he wanted to do with that office on his appointment and never took the administration of justice skills in Lagos State from Tinubu who is not a legal mind, anyway. I hate the notion that if I work under your leadership, you have become my boss, as we work together as a team and not as an apprentice. I also want to debunk the insinuation that he made Osinbajo to become Vice-President to Buhari, from all the accounts that I have read, this was far from the truth.
On the issue of zoning, I don’t see it the way you saw it. I strongly believe that zoning will never help the course of one Nigeria as we are defining it. Zoning will do more harm than the good we all long for. If we don›t stop this issue of zoning now, it will become a bigger problem in the near future for us to handle. We claim to be practicing democracy but we are doing just the opposite. If PDP fields a South-East candidate for the coming election and Nigerian electorates reject him and vote for an APC candidate who is not from South-East, what happens thereafter. If a South-East candidate wins, either as a member of APC or PDP, what happens after his eight year tenure, where will the next President come from? It will get to a point in our country when Ilaje people in Ondo State will demand that it is their turn to produce Nigeria’s president. Our concern today should be to have a pan Nigerian president from anywhere in Nigeria that will see Nigeria as his constituency and not necessarily where or which region he belongs since we are not ready to decentralize our governance in such a way that the center will no longer be attractive for anyone to be nursing his life ambition to be there.
Adewale Akintewe; I read this piece with rapt attention, and I felt the writer had done political justice to some political voids in this country›s history, given his position on the South-South divide. In addition, he corrected some incorrect assumptions about Comrade Omoyele Sowore›s ability to rule this nation, in contrast to some who ask what position Sowore has held in the Nigerian government. Howbeit, I beg to differ with some of the conclusions, which appear to be a point of discouraging a leader who has been building ambition and also human at the same time, and when the time comes to make his ambition realistic, a follower whom he has built tries to impediment him by showing interest in the same ambition. Humanly speaking sir, would you be pleased if any of your trained lawyers showed interest in a position you want to run for at the same time, say, NBA president, in your chamber?
Olamiposi Justus Omoriba: Who is the best to take the mantle of leadership after Buhari? I may be wrong to be categorical but out of many options, I will consider Omoyele Sowore, at this point in Nigeria, there is a need for total paradigm shift of governance, especially the one that considers the universal law of human rights and the rule of law. Sowore seems to be in tune with this than the rest. Only an environment with good justice system breeds adequate security and economic prosperity.
Confidence Emmanuel Owosanni: Learned Silk Sir, I love the fact that you invoked what I call «The Swiss intuition» coupled with a high rate of unpredictability in demystifying/canvassing the issue of choice candidacy! You›re critical with engaging euphemistic words so as to avoid any form of surfaced derogatory remark got my most attention to re-read this piece. I›m wowed! God sparing your soul, I›ll make you a special adviser to the…on… when I become the head honcho of this great country.
Bestman O Besty: If we are to apply the PDP zoning arrangement, automatically it is the turn of the North to rule under PDP, sentiment and emotion aside, in 16 years of PDP in power the North only ruled for 2 years why the south 14 years, it›s naturally fair for PDP to adhere to their zoning arrangement by zoning it to the North for equity and fairness. Buhari is not a product of PDP.
Olajumoke Awosika: Profound insight. But my money is on Wike as a radical game changer. If he gets there, I believe he has the courage to demand and get true federalism, overhaul and change the evil 1999 Constitution and give back the resources of each State back to them. We need someone bold and audacious at this time in our history.
Ayorinde Obanewa: Good morning my mentor and very senior. I have said it in different platforms and places that if we desire a working Nigeria that all her citizens will be proud of then H.E. Peter Obi still remains the best candidate and we are all aware of this fact. I just think we should take our destinies in our hands by doing everything humanly possible to retire these sets of economic and political vampires. God help Nigeria.”
I am well aware of the brewing controversy concerning the eligibility or otherwise of the former President, His Excellency Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and the case of Dr. Kingsely Moghalu but since neither of them has indicated their interests openly, it is best for now, to confine the discourse to those who have made open declarations. Now, presidential elections should not be about individuals but rather programmes, policies and the manifesto of the platform upon which the candidates seek to run for election. The case with Nigeria is so unique that none of the political parties can be identified with any specific ideology beyond capturing power for the sake of it. The legacy that Mr. Peter Obi, Comrade Omoyele Sowore and Professor Yemi Osinbajo will leave for our nation is to conduct their campaigns on the basis of sound ideologies, documented programmes and enduring policies that will translate to rapid development for our nation and for all our people. This is my perspective for 2023. Happy Eid El-Fitr.
Adegboruwa is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
