By Gozie Irogboli
Dear president-in-waiting, I must begin by congratulating you on your electoral victory even though it has not been announced. But in a couple of days from now, you will be unveiled to the 200 million Nigerians who voted for you to pilot their affairs in the next four years. It is my earnest desire that you do not toe the line of your immediate predecessor. I do not know you yet and will not know you until after February 25 presidential election but I deem it necessary to write this letter to you.
Your Excellency, this letter is premised on several assumptions. First, you won the election free and fair. Secondly, you will not emerge from among those who feel that it is their entitlement to lord it over us. Thirdly, that you will not repudiate your campaign promises as contained in your advertised manifesto as did by your immediate predecessor. Fourthly, that you will not emerge from among the drones that brought this nation to this pitiable situation and have vowed to continue with the obnoxious policies of the outgoing regime, otherwise this letter would be unnecessary.
Dear president-elect, the purpose of this letter essentially, is to draw your attention to what you presumably know already: the sorry state of affairs in the country and the enormous task ahead of you. It is also assumed that you know how we got into this mess and probably know how we will get out of it. I also believe that you know the variegated nature of the country, our challenges, potentials and opportunities for growth and development.
I am sure that you know the current state of affairs in the country at present. But just as a reminder, I will like to present to you in condensed form the current situation in the country so that you do not forget while basking in your euphoria of victory. The country is in very bad shape. You are coming to superintend over the affairs of a country with a serious security problem. The insecurity problem has metastasized to every nook and cranny of the country as insurgents, bandits, kidnappers and terrorists operate freely without let or hindrance, controlling a huge swathe of our territory. National unity is bastardized by the apartheid policies of the outgoing regime that has accentuated our fault lines, creating discontent, anger, mutual recrimination and separatist agitations. The economy of Nigeria is bastardized due to mismanagement and institutionalized corruption. Nigeria is now the poverty capital of the world as 133 million citizens are multi-dimensionally poor. The unemployment rate is now 33.5% with youth unemployment put at 42.5%. At 21.4% inflation rate is growing exponentially and so is our national debt burden which is over $100 billion. Infrastructural facilities are grossly inadequate. The dependency burden is high and asphyxiating; Nigerians now live in misery and squalor. The morale of the masses is at the nadir and scores of citizens commit suicide on daily basis due to hopelessness. Our educational system is in shambles. In the last eight years, our university students have stayed out of school for over 450 days cumulatively due to ASUU/federal government dispute. There are over 20 million out-of-school children while the government fritter billions away on the bogus school feeding program. And externally, Nigeria is now seen as a pariah state is one of the most terrorized countries in the world today.
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Our dear incoming president, you see that you have a lot of work to do. You will work to provide adequate security for the citizens and inspire the citizens whose morale and sense of patriotism have been dampened by bad government. You will have to work to revamp the economy and create an enabling environment for economic activities to thrive for the well-being of the people. You will have to work to improve the educational sector, build institutions and engage the youths productively. You will have to work to improve our image internationally so that we can take our rightful place in the comity of nations. And you will agree with me that it is not going to be an easy task given the rot in the system. But with determination, it will be done.
Sir, I believe that you were voted in because of who you are and your antecedent and probably because of the contents of your manifesto and so it is expected that you will keep your campaign promises, believing that you have the strategies, the willingness and the wherewithal to implement the contents of your manifesto. Again, we expect you to be magnanimous in victory. As the elected president of the country, you should see the whole country as your primary constituency and not your party or ethnic affiliation. We expect an inclusive government that will accommodate disparate interests. You will strengthen national unity and douse youth restiveness and needless agitations when you carry everybody along.
Without a doubt, the nature of the appointments you will make will determine to a large extent the success of your regime. Your lofty ideas and programs can only be dutifully implemented by experts who share your vision. Nigerians expect professionals and technocrats in their cabinet as opposed to the practice of giving appointments based on political compensation. The outgoing regime gave appointments to compensate those that sponsored its electioneering campaign. Nigerians also expect a lean government and a reduction of unproductive investments at the center as is the practice globally. Moreover, we expect that you bring governance and development closer to the people by devolving more resources to the states and local governments.
Dear elected president, if you must succeed, you must fight corruption. Nigerians expect transparency and accountability and prudent management of our commonwealth. You must clear the Augean table. The Nigerian political space is filled with drones, political pettifoggers and hangers-on who thrive on corruption. You must do away with them. They are a distraction and a clog in the wheel of progress of the country. But they cannot surrender without a fight. They will fight dirty by instigating violence. Fighting corruption also may lead to sabotage from the civil servant because of entrenched corruption in the system.
You should be rest assured that the rabble-rousers and the conflict instigators that have been culpably quiescent these past eight years while this nation is a pitiable state will come up again from hibernation and resume their activities. And from Lagos, the press will roar as it is characteristic of them. There would be screaming headlines and sensational narratives but do not be intimidated; the mainstream media no longer have the monopoly of dictating the direction of public discourse. The power of the mainstream media has been swamped out by the new media platforms. Ironically, it will shock you to note that the more you perform the more you will attract snarky criticisms from the Lagos Press. All over the world criticisms are supposed to be inversely related to your performance but not so for the Lagos Press. For the Lagos Press, the volume of criticisms you get is directly proportional to your level of performance. You can find out from Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the former president who despite his performance and democratic posturing was demonized and vilified by the Lagos press, Clemence Westerhoff, the best coach this country has ever had but received the worst form of criticism in his time by the Nigerian press or IBB who despite his performance while in office was maligned and demonized.
As you warm up to assume office, you must consult widely, engage constructively and reflect deeply on your mandate. You must know that the way it is outside is not the way it is inside the corridors of power. You must therefore be willing to learn. Remember that you will not stay in office forever. What type of legacy do you want to leave behind? How do you want to be remembered? I believe these questions should guide your conduct while in office. Some people do not care about posterity, being blinded by power and ephemeral issues but a good leader should.
Furthermore, since you are leading people, you should be willing to accommodate dissenting views; encourage robust engagement and civil advocacy. You should be open to criticism and not be deceived by political hangers-on that may trickle down to you. You know that leadership is about people – peoples’ interest, people’s engagement, peoples’ welfare etcetera. Your appraisal will be based majorly on the impact of your program on the people.
Finally, sir, I apologize sincerely if I sound didactic or pedantic. It is the way I feel. I am convinced that the success of the incoming government will be for the benefit of our country. We can’t afford to fail. I believe as the Scriptures say, “affliction shall not come a second time”.
Gozie Irogboli, an economist, a novelist, and a public policy analyst, writes via [email protected]
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