As I pondered the implications of another wave of defections in Nigerian politics, it struck me that it is really all about recycling the same politicians. It is as though there is a cadre of people that have staked claim to Nigerian governance, and every four years they joust among themselves for control.
Name them, Olusegun Obasanjo, Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku Abubakar, Bola Tinubu, etc. In one way or another, they have steered the affairs of the country for 40 years or more. And in all likelihood, they will determine from among themselves who becomes or remains president in 2019.
Yet, there is virtual unanimity that Nigeria’s governance has consistently failed the people, that corruption is mind-boggling, that the country’s enormous resources have been squandered, and that bloodletting and crime have continued to degrade the quality of life all over the country. In virtually every other civic or corporate body, such a record would be reason to jettison those at the helm and replace them with the new. Yet, at the federal level in particular, all we have had is a recycling of the same.
Sure, there is the obvious deviation from this norm: the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan. But it was an accidental presidency. And it could be argued that, its shortcomings aside, it was supplanted by the old guard.
In any case, within days after I started pondering the recycling of politicians, I received two video clips that suggest that the era might soon be over. It was as though some associates clairvoyantly read my mind. In one video, a precocious toddler raised the question of why people his age are not allowed to vote. In the second, the 40-year-old leader of the newly born National Interest Party (NIP) makes her case for the presidency.
Neither seems to pose a threat to Nigeria’s political stalwarts. Yet, in their remarks lies the seed of the revolution that will transform Nigeria. This revolution will not come from a military putsch, guerilla fighters, or bloodletting of any kind. It will come from young Nigerians envisioning things as they ought to be and using the political process to make them happen.
As Robert Kennedy, the late U.S attorney general, once said: “Some people see things as they are and wonder why. Others see things as they ought to be and say why not.”The toddler and the NIP leader are asking why not?
Here’s the toddler (name unavailable) making the case for the right to vote. “Let’s say we’re in 2019 and it’s the elections, and a child wants to vote but they don’t have the opportunity to vote because they are underage,” he said with all earnestness. “What if we make this change, what if the child studies all the changes that the different political parties want to make in the country and they understand the depth of what they are doing….And they have the voting intelligence of an adult.” Why mustn’t they be allowed to vote? he asked, in effect.
It was a question that left the moderator of the forum searching for words. The chair of the occasion responded, tongue-in-cheek, that the toddler was ready to vote in 2019 — for his party, of course. When in the Punchwise column of June 17, I proposed a government of the youth, I never thought it would be a toddler who would upstage me.
The more substantive challenge to Nigeria’s political order may well come from Atuedide Eunice Uche Julian, the presidential candidate of the National Interest Party. Sure, the party, which was formed just last year, is miniscule in size and barely noticeable out of the crowded field of 68 registered by INEC. And it is an online party, meaning that you are not likely to find Mrs. Julian exhorting large crowds at campaign rallies. You might not even see party faithful dutifully handing out flyers at marketplaces and motor parks.
Yet the party’s unconventional and non-traditional approach to electoral campaign could be the secret weapon with which to upend the political behemoths. Who needs to be told that the youth are online? And what better way to galvanize them than via the plethora of social media? Moreover, an online campaign evens the playing field among financially loaded and strapped parties. In fact, the younger parties have the upper hand.
And then there is the very unpolitical background of the NIP’s flagbearer, the antithesis of political recycling. Mrs. Julian seems to have had a background in everything but politics. According to her self-introduction and online bios, she has had educational and career backgrounds in French and German languages, film-making, acting, business and law. It was in the course of doctoral studies that she researched “corporate governance as it relates to political parties in Nigeria.” And that opened her eyes about Nigerian politics.
“Our leaders before have given us great blueprints. But then when they get into power, we do not see any of those manifestos manifested,” Julian said with a casual delivery and beatific smile that belie the seriousness of her message. “Why? I have asked myself that question. The only reason I find to my mind, the true reason we have not moved forward in Nigeria is vested interests.”
And so NIP plans to have membership that represents all interests and to work to meet all interests. It also plans to make transparency a hallmark of the party. To that end, it will put revenues and expenditures online to enable everyone to track them.
Julian noted that the first six months of Buhari’s administration were its best. People were at their desks and busy at work even before work time. Why? Because people were expecting something different. But once appointments were made and people realized that it is the same people all over, they reverted to the way they used to be, she said.
What are the odds that Julian can unseat Buhari and upstage the major parties? Probably little. Still, she can draw inspiration from the Obama miracle in the United States. And more recently, there is the case of a first-time candidate for Congress in New York defeating a 10-term incumbent. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old, beat Joe Crowley, who had represented New York’s 14th Congressional District for 20 years and held a leadership position in Congress.
Ocasio-Cortez pulled the improbable upset through intensive grassroots canvassing, much as Julian’s NIP intends to do online. If the NIP doesn’t win in 2019, it could in 2023 or 2027, etc. And if it is not the NIP, it could be any of the similarly non-traditional and unconventional parties.
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