Only five or so weeks to the general elections, it is a tragedy that the campaigns by the two dominant political parties are so glaringly bereft of concrete ideas and any long range vision, let alone any strategy of achieving greatness for the nation. In all of the campaigns by both leading parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) and their presidential candidates, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari respectively, only in vain have Nigerians awaited articulation of any great idea or any big dream, for Nigeria. The result, as at today, one month to the election, is that Nigerians have little or nothing concrete to choose from by way of ideas in the two sides.
Section 14 (2) (b) the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says with no equivocation that ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government…’ The point must be noted that it is not for nothing that security is mentioned first and welfare closely next to it in the raison d’etre of government. Security, after all, determines the implementation of just about every other development activity in the polity.
In place of clearly articulated positions that reflect careful research, thoughtful analysis, and deep understanding of the remote and immediate causes of a dangerously worsening situation in the land, it is very sad that both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in government, and the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) make, at the best, woolly statements about their commitment to improving the situation. The country is at the mercy of insurgents in the three northeastern states, random and organised killings and robberies in the northwestern, central, and eastern parts by persons suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, kidnapping in the eastern and ritual killings in the western areas respectively. PDP candidate and sitting president, Goodluck Jonathan would not even address the matter directly but merely glossed over it when he inaugurated his presidential campaign committee in Abuja the other day. Said he: “We remain fully committed to further empowering the security agencies to enable them win the war against terror”. On his part, the APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, at a campaign rally in Uyo, reportedly accused the PDP government of not doing enough against insurgency and that a change of national leadership was necessary to guarantee security and an efficient management of resources. The strategy to achieve the one would be to engage the help of retired senior military officers; for the other, he did not say.
The ‘welfare of the people’ is a broad expression that captures all the social, economic, and political, even cultural issues, that define the quality of life of the citizenry. These cover the gamut of the hierarchy of human needs and include nutrition, education, health, housing, employment, esteem and self-actualisation. Dr. Jonathan said that the PDP, through his government, has ‘engaged the people of Nigeria positively with people-friendly policies which have moved Nigeria forward.’ Buhari promised that ‘attention will be given to education, healthcare, agriculture…’ and ‘anybody who steals Nigeria’s [one] kobo will find himself in Kirikiri.’ Under the ‘Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, these are objectives already constitutionally demanded of any party in government. How these will be achieved in terms of human and non-human resources, the candidates have not said.
While the campaign contents generally lack depth of thinking and breadth of fact as well as figure, and originality of answers to urgent national questions, they are rife with accusations, mudslinging and personal attacks. It is difficult to see how these ‘trivialities’ guarantee the security and welfare of the people.
In these campaigns, in vain do patriotic Nigerians eagerly await the articulation of large visions and big dreams of and for their country. In vain have they waited for calculated and workable strategies to take their country where it rightly belongs. Pray, what is the vision of each presidential candidate for Nigeria? Where does either Buhari or Jonathan want Nigeria to be, economically or technologically, say in 2040 or in the next quarter of a century? What are the strategies and tactics to achieve it? Nigerians have a right to know.
Whereas it is said that all is fair in war and politics, the point must be made that the campaigns of the two major political parties have been largely irrelevant to the burning issues of the day. It is not enough to promise to improve agriculture, to raise the standard of education, to create jobs. These are hackneyed political promises that have lost credibility with each election. Indeed, it is tempting to regard the Nigerian political class as incapable of creative thinking both in campaign strategy and in the fulfilling of promises made on the hustings.
Campaign strategies generally fall into three types namely: party-centred strategy, issue-oriented strategy, and image-driven strategy. None of these is discernible from what is on offer so far. Given the woeful manner in which the Nigerian political class has conducted itself and the affairs of this country, there is no doubt that the nation is still without visionary leadership on all sides of the divide if what has been on display is any guide.
The time has come to inject some seriousness into the running of the affairs of this country. Candidates must make promises that are specific and set targets that are measurable, attainable and time-bound. Both Dr. Jonathan and Gen. Buhari can still lead other public office seekers by example and focus on issue-oriented campaigns and articulate their vision of a great Nigeria.
