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Nigerians, Yar’Adua, and the Leap Impossible By Abdullah Musa Many writers have sprouted, writing books showing us how to be better human beings. Of most significance at being better, is how to achieve our objectives. Few are there who can simply live for others. The American model seems to suggest that it is in the pursuit of individual goals that the goal of the collective can be achieved: meaning that excellence is first and foremost an individual’s hurdle before it becomes that of the collective. Many are there who believe in religion. Religious beliefs seem to flow from the individual then to become the property of the multitude. The Prophet, as in the case of Islam calls, then followers start in a trickle, before today we are boasting of a billion Muslims. We have read of the travails of those who strove to establish the religion of Islam along side its Prophet. There were losses of lives, of properties; to the degree that for the faithful and the faith to survive, adherents had to leave their places of birth to seek refuge in Abyssinia, (now Ethiopia; luckily for them the ruler then was not a Meles Zenawi, who had purchased a ticket to be in the front row of those fighting Islam and its adherents) then later in Madinah. Such a venture required what we may call quantum leap; a supreme sacrifice, which the lily-livered could not be able to do. Human history had shown that any endeavor that leads to profound achievement/greatness was never achieved while wrapped in the comforts of the blanket. In an endeavor such as that of Islam, what was needed was a severance from the past; a change in thinking; a change in focus; in real fact turning oneself into something entirely different from what one was initially. It required giving up fathers, mothers, kith and kin, as long as they stood in opposition to the new way of thinking. In short, there was choice involved. I had for long been mesmerized by certain quotes in Machiavelli’s, “The Prince”. In one such quote he was referring to the decision of one who wanted to be ruler; he said: “there are two worlds, (from which one must choose)… and having chosen, not to look back.” This to me is the essence of life, the compelling need to make choices, even though not all choices are good, but a choice must be made. Some had been less charitable. They argued that inability to choose is a choice itself! I agree, for by refusing to move from point one to point two, you seem to imply that you are more comfortable in point one. President Yar’Adua seems to be still in a kind of flux. Ordinary mortals like me, who literally have no stake in the system, are not able to hazard a guess as to his fate: one full four-year term? Full two terms of office? Or may be just the few months he is now enjoying before Justice Kutigi’s hammer descends? We may for convenience however decide to assume that at least there is going to be an Yar’Adua Presidency for four years. Facts on the grounds show that people are responding to the activities of the current President. They talk of the seven-point agenda, they respond to the 2008 budget and the likes. They even call on the federal government to do one thing or the other. That would however not stop Nigerians from making a U-turn the moment the pendulum swings in another direction. Unfortunately, I was not able to see the full budget of the federal government, and I cared not to listen to the Finance Minister’s budget briefing, for I became highly piqued by his echoing the World Bankers that Nigeria is under-borrowed. I cannot stop him from borrowing on behalf of all Nigerians, in the same manner that I cannot get any of my wishes be considered by any arm of government be it federal, state or local. Those who are stakeholders in the system we operate are few. So forgetting that there is a finance minister who definitely will not, and cannot serve or protect my interest, I still join the bandwagon of those who feel that the government of Yar’Adua should serve Nigerians however short or long its tenure might be. How to go about it seems to be entirely its business, for I do not know whether they parleyed with the operators of industry as to a timetable on the rejuvenation of the power sector; with the farmers on what to do about fertilizers, climate change, and guaranteed prices; with ASUU on the problems of Nigeria’s universities and how to tackle same; with experts on the nations dangerous and un-planned transportation system; with bankers on the desire to make them invest in real sectors with possible protection by the federal government; and with the unemployed to get at least data on the nature of the unemployment. If nothing of the above-mentioned has taken place or will ever take place, how can anyone convince me that Yar’Adua can change Nigeria for the better, however sincere he is? It would ultimately be that (according to my jaundiced view) he would do all that is necessary to have a stable Nigeria to continue with the contractor-economy; have functioning but useless universities; ensure dependence on the oil revenue to finance our day to day consumption; and to at the end of the day, leave Nigerians where he found them, under a ‘crushing rock boulder’. (As in the snake versus the hunter story in Hausa folklore) If he does that I would not blame him. First he, as an individual, has already achieved his objectives in Nigeria, however unjust the past arrangement might have been. He had been a two-term Governor; and with a 700 million naira in his kitty, spending one million naira monthly to maintain his family and health, I believe he is guaranteed the next FIFTY-plus years in comfort. Nigeria had been most receptive to the aspirations of the “silent Cal”! But what do Nigerians really want? There is a big difference between what Nigerians want and what a segment of its elites think that they should want. Nigerian elites can be classified into so many groupings for purposes of analysis, and in order to really understand the motivations of their actions or inactions. There are on the one hand home-based elites, to which most Northerners belong, and on the other, those who had at one time or the other made the Western world their homes. The home-based elites are those who are now unearthing the Development Plan models for Yar’Adua to implement; while the NEEDS, SEEDS, and LEEDS initiative was the handiwork of the Okonjie Iweala- type of elites. We are not at liberty to discuss how each came to have its identity. What is most important is that while one thinks we should align completely with the Western global business and industrial system, the other wants to resurrect government as Father Christmas. A government that shields its citizens from the realities and turbulences of the Western world, to create a COCOON within which all the fragile ‘human larvae’ would find comfort to live and survive in, but of course not to grow. Growth must be ruled out; for if you are to grow, you must be willing to face challenges: to literally make the leap from the known to the unknown. Just like the larvae, you must get out of the cocoon, and even develop wings in order to be airborne. What is the vision of Yar’Adua for Nigeria in the so-called 2020? To be top of this or that is meaningless. In what professions are the greatest numbers of Nigerians to be found? In Achaba, where it is rumored that up to THREE MILLION are engaged in Kano State alone? Or in agrarian agriculture, where more than 70% of Nigerians are also rumored to be employed? Do you need Nigerian universities to produce some types of graduates other than those they are now producing? Are you happy or unhappy with the present products? What of Nigeria’s business class, of which the President is one? (It would be interesting to know from which type of business the President made his wealth: from contracting, or from farming? Hardly from industry) so what re-modeling mechanism is he going to employ in order to re-direct capital from speculation to something more productive, with positive multiplier effect? I would not like to exhaust the reader with so many questions which he can never get answer for. (President Yar’Adua will never see or hear about this piece, and were he to hear, he has more pressing problems like how to stay in power rather than answer questions from the phantoms of a poor man’s imaginations) There are certain things I can hazard guesses with respects to the Presidency of Umar. One, I believe that the North would as much as possible have a fair flow of petroleum products, except if Niger Deltans disrupt. Two, that court orders would be religiously followed to the point of absurdity in order to exemplify that his is an administration that respects the rule of law. Three, that some infrastructural development may take place with ‘borrowed’ funds, (inverted commas are placed to show that the funds may as well be part of our foreign reserves, which will be recycled by Western bankers and given out as crippling loans back to us.) since Dr Shamsudeen must surely have his Master’s way. Four, might be that having restored Nigeria to its contractor-class status, Nigeria’s ‘business’ class would be highly pleased, there will multiplier effects to hangers-on, and a second term might easily be won without having to resort to Obasanjo-Adedibu winning strategy. Will Nigeria be transformed by President Yar’Adua? Most unlikely, for two main reasons: one, Nigerians would never want to take a leap anywhere, they would rather grovel, to ensure they are firmly rooted in their past. Two, Yar’Adua needs transformational lieutenants in order to be so inclined. One of the most important pillars is Dr Shamsudeen Usman, an illustrious son of NNDC. Was NNDC able to transform Arewa? In Kano, its main shareholder, over three million are employed in the highly skill-based business of Achaba driving, while thousands are into the more sophisticated business of road- side petrol hawking. Coincidentally, Dr Shamsudeen is from Kano State. I go to sleep with assurance that tomorrow WILL be like the day before yesterday.
Abdullah Musa |