In recognition of the state of the country, the task at hand quite simply sets the platform for some assertiveness rather than aggression, which was expressed with the confidence of a man who does not waste his words. Mr. President is definitely committed to ending the Boko Haram insurgency, giving recognition and support to maintaining peace in the Niger Delta. The level of detail was just about right and bearable for such an occasion.
Over the past few weeks of travel and commitments, it has become more difficult to write my contributory columns. The pressing subject has been to write about Malcolm X but there are so many things I want to say about him and his legacy that I am totally spoilt for choice. So for now my focus inevitably is the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari and the criticisms of the All Progressives Congress’s policy dialogue that preceded it. Like most Nigerians, I watched the inauguration on television – a vantage point that allows one to make object of the event. The story that emerged was one of authenticity, sincerity and humility. Authenticity because, of all Africans, Nigerians symbolically and instinctively express themselves in their cultural identities and finery. It was great to see the New President and his Vice President, as well as their spouses represent our indigenous glamour. The subsequent shame was that the New York Times, in one of its columns, misrepresented the Babanriga worn by Mr. President as a Muslim attire, consistent with the false, misleading and disingenuous dichotomy that polarises Nigeria in the mind of a badly informed world. Well, ignorance is a cloak many wear in African matters, one which the New York Times should be ashamed to be associated with. Far more endearing was the tone, mood and accent of the President’s speech. In a country where people are greatly taken by even badly copied western accents, it was quite endearing to hear the President’s sincerity, without any affectation of foreign or other intonation patterns and the honesty of his regional infection, a cementing of his resolute solidarity with the everyday Nigerian. As trivial as these might sound, it offers sharp relief from the Nigerian elites’ obsession with external validation, and affirms a level of integrity, not just in the substance of what it said but in a form and cadence that is genuinely us.
I would truly have loved something of Mr. President’s vision of what kind of Nigeria he expects to see at the end of his tenure. It would have been even greater if he called the country to sacrifice, support and being part of the solution to national concerns.
The inaugural speech was also revealing in its content. It was expressed with sincerity, clarity of purpose and a spirit of good will. The gratitude to the people, kind words for the former President and now definitive remarks about being owned by everyone and by no one. Magnanimous, big hearted, and with the abundance or generosity of spirit that plays very well for the President, whose austere visage hides a heart of gold. In recognition of the state of the country, the task at hand quite simply sets the platform for some assertiveness rather than aggression, which was expressed with the confidence of a man who does not waste his words. Mr. President is definitely committed to ending the Boko Haram insurgency, giving recognition and support to maintaining peace in the Niger Delta. The level of detail was just about right and bearable for such an occasion. In line with constitutional obligations, he set out his planned priority and goals with different arms of government and also different levels of executives, from the Federal to the Local Government. I think his choice of state and local government funding and jurisdictional issues highlight something that must have an irritating antecedent to find its arcane qualities in such a defining speech.
Whatever his faults, Dr. Fayemi has put himself at the centre of designing policy solutions, organising our best angels to actualise these and grounding these efforts by institutionalising them. Even with its most cynical interpretation as being self-serving, the pay off is immense to any government focussed on service.
I would truly have loved something of Mr. President’s vision of what kind of Nigeria he expects to see at the end of his tenure. It would have been even greater if he called the country to sacrifice, support and being part of the solution to national concerns. His speech at the Chatham House event had more of the soaring of vision, clarity of purpose and invitation to partnership that I had hoped for at the Inauguration but maybe that will come later. I have been informed by those present that his speech – from the heart – at the Banquet in the evening was quite one to listen to.
As one of the participants and discussants at the policy dialogue held in Abuja a few weeks ago, I am totally surprised at how this intervention has been badly misrepresented in the efforts to discredit Dr. Kayode Fayemi. As people jockey for positions in the new administration, this most essential of priorities is being tarnished as part of the indictment relating to the Tony Blair angle. This is unfortunate because whatever the politics being played, the search for viable solutions to seemingly intractable national problems cannot be acceptable as the casualty. The participatory exploration of ideas, solutions and the creation of policies is a critical way ahead for anyone who is committed to our people, their development and prosperity in the country. Our security challenges, our teeming unemployed, our depleted treasury and badly organised efforts at collaboration will not be served by investing in discrediting rivals. Whatever his faults, Dr. Fayemi has put himself at the centre of designing policy solutions, organising our best angels to actualise these and grounding these efforts by institutionalising them. Even with its most cynical interpretation as being self-serving, the pay off is immense to any government focussed on service. At the very least, it is far more beneficial than reams of newspaper invested only in the purpose of discrediting rather than building up. Granted there will be the politics of personalities as offices are being pursued, however the real service to our people is the restoration of the disciplined efforts to identify effective solutions that address the problems we incessantly complain about.
There are many who say we are stuck in analysis paralysis but root cause analysis is going to be critical; we must stop treating symptoms and focus on root causes. The critical root cause in the Niger Delta is not amnesty but a sense of injustice that must be engaged with, challenged and addressed. Whether amnesty helps or not will be determined by an objective review and assessment with the people, not just vested interests and middle men.
I do not even think the policy dialogue went as far as we need to go. The reasons are these: the solutions to the problems we face today are not found in current conventional wisdom or accepted ways of thinking. The progress that we seek will only emerge from a process of continuous testing, learning and improvement, not just wholesale implementation of popular approaches. There is no problem faced by a complex country such as Nigeria that is not systemic in nature, so compartmental or departmental approaches are doomed to longer-term failure. Anything that is done without the participation, contribution and ownership of a broader spectrum of Nigerians cannot be managed and sustained on the longer term. Dr. Fayemi and his team offered a start and it was a platform to give priority to issues and ideas. Whether Tony Blair or his representatives should have been invited or not, their contribution on the journey of New Labour was insightful and helpful. We build these strawmen of personalities, design or process flaws, but they are distractions. President Muhammadu Buhari will only serve this country effectively in the battle for solutions and a departure from the unfortunate Nigerian obsession with being all knowing at doing the variation of the same things over and again. Our solutions will often come from our curiosity about the unknown. The real change emerges firmly from these spaces.
We, most certainly, will not address structural unemployment without changing an economic system in which over 50 percent of our productive activities are within an informal economy that we largely ignore.
Mr. President seems a man who loves simplicity but it must be an elegant and holistic simplicity. He must not allow the kind of counsel that confuses complexity with complication. There are many who say we are stuck in analysis paralysis but root cause analysis is going to be critical; we must stop treating symptoms and focus on root causes. The critical root cause in the Niger Delta is not amnesty but a sense of injustice that must be engaged with, challenged and addressed. Whether amnesty helps or not will be determined by an objective review and assessment with the people, not just vested interests and middle men. Boko Haram is also a fundamental issue of a breakdown of the culture of rule of law when, as the President identified, the extra judicial killing of its leader became a catalyst for the murder of tens of thousands of people.
We, most certainly, will not address structural unemployment without changing an economic system in which over 50 percent of our productive activities are within an informal economy that we largely ignore. We are a country that rarely engages in original design, piloting and experimentation, learning the lessons of failure, and the discipline of continuous review and improvement. We barely engage in maintenance or effective management. We are all obliged to work together with the people serving at the discretion and pleasure of the President and his agenda. We will not allow these things to be reduced by rivalry, jealousy or cynicism.
Back to the inauguration, as I watched President Buhari steer from the former President Obasanjo to greet dignitaries in the box, it is clear we have a truly learning and humble President. I, like many millions of Nigerians, will truly do well to take to heart the wisdom from the example that such an evolved character gives. Far more significantly for me, it is an honour to sacrifice and support this government as its ideas start to fully emerge. It will be a privilege to say President Muhammadu Buhari is a true Omoluwabi.
Adewale Ajadi, a lawyer, creative consultant and leadership expert, is author of Omoluwabi 2.0: A Code of Transformation in 21st Century Nigeria.
