2003 and the Tazarce Phenomenon in Nigerian Politics

By

D. S. Dauda (M.D.)

[UKRAINE]

ddsulaiman@tim.net.ua

Any keen observer of  recent events in Nigeria’s political scene should not fail to notice the alarming trend that has come to characterise contemporary politicking in the country. One must admit that  every politician (particularly the Nigerian species of the genus) is to a certain degree ambitious, even egocentric. This probably explains why politicians everywhere are not keen on relinquishing power voluntarily once they can lay their hands on it, the only difference between them being the ways and means used to perpetuate themselves in office. Violence, intimidation, character assassination, mud-slinging and a variety of other means are employed as tools to achieve this.   

It is common knowledge that the term “tazarce” was coined and successfully incorporated into our lexicon during the ill-fated Abacha years. Since then it has come to represent the sophisticated political maneuver by the incumbent to perpetuate himself in office by “humbly accepting” to contest elections under pressure from “patriotic”  organisations and movements purportedly representing the masses. It was an open secret  that General Abacha harboured an intention to succeed himself in office at the end of his transition programme. Nigerian politicians, then scattered  in the  five political movements participating in the transition, fell over one another in their haste to adopt the dark-goggled General as their candidate. Various traditional rulers and “well- meaning, patriotic Nigerians” under the guise of one organisation or the other were not left out in that unholy crusade. Those not in the junta’s good books were either silenced forever, sent to cool off in gaol or cowered into silence. The more fortunate ones amongst them  went into exile from where they exhorted their equally “well-meaning” hosts to impose sanctions on the poor, hapless masses of Nigeria. 

Meanwhile back at home, being the “God-fearing” nation we are,  all manner of marabouts, false prophets, priests and traditional medicine-men  were contracted to pray, fast and perform rituals to ensure the success of their plans by those who had a stake therein. We all know how and where that all ended. That shameful experience was indeed an incident that should have served as a lesson  to Nigerians and the politicians in particular. This makes it all the more nauseating and puzzling for one to observe the current trend in the county’s politics as we approach the 2003 elections. As in Abacha’s transition, representatives of all the currently registered parties are neck-deep actors in the current tazarce drama. If it is in Afenefere/AD’s character to impose their candidates on the electorate, at least the PDP and APP we were used to were in the habit of arranging primaries before endorsing and presenting candidates. 

So it comes as a surprise to hear incumbents and their sycophants canvassing for “automatic tickets”. Had such tickets been given in 1998, these same “defenders of democracy” would have been the first to cry foul. For the Afenifere led AD to contemplate granting automatic endorsements  to their incumbents, the million-dollar question remains: to whom are you giving the ticket? Is it the same Akande-Omisore or even  Tinubu and Akerele-Bucknor who have been washing their dirty linen in public you want to present again or are you now giving Akande and Tinubu a free hand to drop their cantankerous deputies without giving the latter a fair chance to slug it out with their bosses in primaries? Whatever their option, the road to automatic endorsement Afenifere and the incumbents seem bent on following will lead to consequences far more disastrous than those after their  D’Rovans Hotel misadventure of 1998, from which they seem to have learnt nothing. It is hard to imagine a forcefully-sidelined Omisore or Akerele-Bucknor quietly retiring to private business, just as it is incomprehensible how a continuation in office of the current teams could be beneficial to their respective states.  

The PDP, or at least some parts of it, seems determined not to be left behind in the tazarce circus. Indeed  one of the very first shots to be fired in this battle was the retort from none other than Obasanjo’s reputed Mr.Fix-it, Tony Anenih, that there was no vacancy in Aso Rock. Then we began hearing stories of governors keen to strike a deal with Aso Rock to render their support to Obasanjo’s tazarce in exchange for automatic endorsements. If PDP governors had the excuse of  belonging to the same party (at least on paper) to back Obasanjo, then Ahmed Sani Yerima of APP and Lam Adesina of AD amongst others deserve a special mention  either as “patriots” of an extraordinary order or something else. With the unsuccessful attempt to pass that bastard electoral bill into law still fresh in our minds, Mrs. Anenih (Mrs. Fix-it?) led the women’s wing of the PDP to Aso Rock to urge Uncle Sege to continue the good work. The President then replied that he was still waiting for that sign from up above. If that event didn’t attract much attention, Kashim Ibrahim (Presidential Liaison Officer to the senate) certainly did. Many stood up to dissociate themselves and indeed the North-East Ibrahim claimed to be representing from his outbursts. So also did other parts of the PDP after Mr. Fix-it (again?) led another delegation to the President, this time claiming to represent the PDP in the South-South. 

This time around, it is either our Messiah has already received the endorsement he had been long awaiting or he has already taken a tentative decision, for he replied that there would be “consequences” should he not run in 2003. One is tempted to compare this type of mentality to that of the Abacha years, the only difference being that Abacha let others  threaten and intimidate us with the consequences on his behalf. The bottom line is that Obasanjo and indeed most of the incumbent legislators and  state governors, have woefully failed. It is clear as daylight that most  would now prove incapable of winning in even free and fair primaries of their respective parties. It is this fear that fuels the tazarce phenomenon. It is now up to us to identify it for what it is – the last recourse of our cowardly political class, and stand up to them. We should make it unequivocally clear to them that the only way they can count on our support is by their performing in office. At least this should be the case in a democracy that we so yearn for and are so far away from.