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Nigeria decides 2023: The elections and Pan-Africanism

By Dolapo Aina
18 February 2023   |   5:13 am
Everyone operates on incentives, and more often than not, that conflicts with your interests. Robert Greene notes that "our natural tendency is to project onto other people our own beliefs and value systems in ways in which we are not even aware." Can a nation be born in a day? Can a nation prevail? Ruminations…

People arrive to cast their votes during Nigeria’s presidential election at a polling station in Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria February 23, 2019. REUTERS/Nyancho NwaNri – RC1B303BF090

Everyone operates on incentives, and more often than not, that conflicts with your interests. Robert Greene notes that “our natural tendency is to project onto other people our own beliefs and value systems in ways in which we are not even aware.”

Can a nation be born in a day? Can a nation prevail? Ruminations going through my mind as I contemplated for several weeks whether I should write this piece after some deep-thinking discussions with a Rwandan who once lived and worked in the financial sector in Nigeria.

Alas, first things first, I would reiterate that I don’t do politics (actually, I stopped analysing and writing about politics after the general elections in Nigeria in 2019.) And one of the reasons I stopped doing politics was and is still based on the responsibility of being a writer. One major gift, blessing and challenge of being a writer is that people trust writers (even if they have just met a pretty good one.) It is a challenging responsibility because everyone confines in you if you are a good writer. You are told things you know you are not supposed to be privy to (personal, professional, political and societal) depending on the strata the person is in or calibre of the individual talking to you.

Now, in this context, if it is politics, you are most likely to be told political tales and intrigues which can either be kept as secrets or revealed when the time is appropriate. Being a writer comes with a huge responsibility in a country like Nigeria and a Continent like Africa, as you navigate with the premium King Solomon-esque wisdom; only found in The Book of Proverbs.

There are political tales which happened decades ago and have not been published and would not be published by the actors, witnesses and those who were informed. It is not about breaking the news but the fact that there are things just left outside the public domain. Globally, and meeting people from diverse backgrounds during travels, I came to realise several years ago in Lagos, Nigeria that people of all strata trust writers more than journalists. They would be open and carefree when talking with a writer but would keep sealed lips when with a journalist. In a nutshell, what is privy information to a writer months ago, becomes breaking news to a journalist several months later.

So, when you are from a country like Nigeria with a population of over 220 million citizens (with a non-voting Diaspora who remitted 20.9 billion dollars in 2022), 94 million voters (the highest on the continent), 774 local governments, 500 plethora of languages with circa 371 diverse ethnic groups to go round Africa. Coupled with striking similarities in idiosyncrasies including politics, you as a Nigerian pretty much understand varied forms of political thinking on the African Continent. Why so, because if you looked closely, an ethnic group in Nigeria has been practising such political thinking synonymous with other African ethnic groups before Nigeria’s independence in 1960. One more time, I don’t do politics but there are exceptions as Nigeria goes to the polls to elect a new President cum leader on 25th of February 2023 and other gubernatorial aspirants on Saturday, 11th of March 2023.

Since the beginning of 2023, I have been reading a book titled; Diplomatic Soldering by General Joe Garba who as Nigerian’s External Affairs Minister, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations and President of the United Nations. For every page of the book I have read, I read it with chagrin and wonder why the electorate are having qualms on what type of leader the country needs.

The book exposes you as the reader to what Nigerian leaders were undertaking in the 60s to 80s. Nigerian leaders were practically engineering Pan African movements and independence movements on the African Continent to the dismay of Western countries who were funding and supporting repressive regimes. One chess game move from Nigeria had rippling effects in other African countries.

Two perfect examples: Nigeria nationalised British Petroleum via General Obasanjo and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was livid during CHOGM in Lusaka, Zambia sometime in the late 1970s but Nigeria did not move a muscle. That singular Nigerian Government act, fuelled the process which commenced the independence of Zimbabwe. Another Nigerian chess move which might not be known was when after two years of stalling her embassy relocation, the American embassy staff woke up one morning to see soldiers in the premises. The soldiers were from the engineering battalion headed by Major-General Obasanjo. For every anti-African move by some Western States, Nigeria made counter-moves with the right financial muscle.

As a writer who does some travelling and interacting with elder-state personalities on the African Continent and Africans who have lived in Nigeria, I get to hear some “Nigeria should to be great” and “Nigeria is great” stories. And usually, the summary of their thoughts is that: Nigeria needs to get her leadership right. When Africans are echoing the same analysis and singing the same chorus, you know it has reached that zenith where Africans wonder why Nigeria cannot get her leadership right and are frustrated because they know the ramifications of Nigeria getting it right.

The snowball effects would transmute to other African countries. If with movies, music and huge human capital, individual and collective continental and global achievements, Nigeria has gotten it right and it can be seen and felt on the African Continent, why should Nigeria not get it right with her leadership?

Pan-Africanism is sweeping the African Continent again like it was from the 1960s to the late 1990s. Pan African then, was spearheaded by Nigeria with her no-nonsense leaders, educated and exposed populace who pretty much were all over the Continent (as I discovered that there was a Nigerians in Zambia Association in the 1970s) and the world and most especially, the resources to make Pan African projects materialise. A perfect example is what Qatar achieved with the FIFA World Cup held in Qatar in 2022.

Pan-Arabism is now gaining momentum and one of the fuels for Pan-Arabism is money which the political and corporate leaders of the world listen and gravitate to.

Pan Africanism needs deep pockets and only two countries have the deep pockets; Nigeria and South Africa. But these countries are not even at the table. Nigeria is basically focused on petty distractions whilst Africa watches on. We all remember the elections of June 12, 1993. Several similarities with the Muslim-Muslim Presidential ticket of the ruling party and even numerology in the elections of 2023 for those who follow such art. Be that as it may, the coming elections would shape the next 4 to 8 years of Nigeria.

Watching familiar personalities in two of the major parties, one communicates with (who seem to have gone incommunicado on their private lines); on several campaign rallies and stages, one is left wondering if they truly believe in their principals. For it appears that everyone operates on incentives, and more often than not, that conflicts with your interests. Robert Greene stated that “our natural tendency is to project onto other people our own beliefs and value systems in ways in which we are not even aware.”

I have realised that people are supporting their candidates for several reasons and there are reasons some part of the country would not support some particular candidates. And the unmentioned factor has to do with the past. A part of Nigeria’s history that has not been deliberated on amicably. The age-old general perception that one part of the country is deft at politics; another part of the country knows how to play politics and another part of the country isn’t politically savvy and sagacious is playing out but not mentioned in public.

One public knowledge is that the best brains never get to Aso Rock. So, just like how one of Nigeria’s best minds is heading African Development Bank in the person of Professor Akinwunmi Adesina; not forgetting Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who is the Director-General of World Trade Organisation. One gets the feeling and it is glaring that Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo would be snapped up by a global institution. Another erudite egghead bypassed by the Nigerian system.

Feelers one gets from the current system is that the hardship is unbearable even the elite say they can see what people are going through. What you have to ask yourself is, if the electorate know that voting is a covenant? You ask if the electorate would cast their votes for a perceived Messiah? A David who wants to restore Nigeria’s image? A modern-day Robinhood or a real-life Raymond Reddington? If the electorate decide to compensate and not to elect the leader with the right character, competence, capacity, compassion, credibility, credentials between individuals I would christen; Bolakov, Petrov and Atikuv to take over from Bubukov; it would be four to twelve years of lamentations of national “Ugo See Shege” and international “Seefinishism”.

Even though, a country gets the leadership it elects into office not the leadership it needs; Nigeria should not keep holding Africa back. Nigeria should get it right. And remember that politicians worry about the next election whilst statesmen worry about the next generation.

Conclusively, this piece which should be translated into all the 500 languages in Nigeria for people to read and chew on, ends with this rhetoric which goes thus; Kingmakers don’t become kings. And it has only occurred on the African Continent once because it was a people-driven resolve and not a personal goal of an individual. So, would the Nigerian electorate enthrone a kingmaker to become a king?

Dolapo Aina writes Kigali, Rwanda.

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