Power transition is a necessary ritual in all functional democracies, but one that regrettably slows down governance for a period, the length of which is determined by the nature of the transition, Mallam Farouk Ifris Salaudeen of Vanguard Newspaper writes.
Nigeria Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
In cases where a new party or an individual not privy to the workings of the incumbent’s administration assumes power, the process of settling into governance is typically drawn-out as the newly-elected leader adjusts his often quixotic agenda to reflect the country’s realities on many fronts, particularly in the area of finance.
It could be a disorienting process that takes even more than a year to complete, especially for career politicians with lifelong ambitions that have seen them enter into a series of alliances that they must now accommodate and reward.
For a country like Nigeria where, despite the progress made, several sectors remain in need of urgent and continuous interventions, it is a self-evident fact that the country simply cannot afford an administrative pause marked by unproductive political dramas after the 2023 general elections.
This important point is perhaps one of the most compelling arguments for the election of Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo who is vying to replace his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari. Of all the aspirants on the platform of the ruling party, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), he is the only one who can realistically promise to hit the ground running and manage a stable transition process.
Having earned the respect and trust of his principal, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has been entrusted with several important domestic and international assignments, giving an unparalleled understanding of the administration’s operations and entrails, its successes and shortcomings.
He has witnessed and led several Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings where members of the cabinet give an account of their stewardship and the state of the nation. He has also participated in security briefings with the heads of the armed forces who continue to devise ways and strategies to enhance the country’s security and protect its territorial integrity.
No other aspirant can boast of this level of access and as such, their understanding of the country’s situation is at best superficial, drawn largely from tainted third-person and other politically-motivated narratives that do little to help with actual governance. They will still require several months of study and familiarization with certain facts (some of which are classified for obvious reasons) to improve their understanding of the country before adapting their prepared approach (if any) to reflect their new knowledge state.
This is a time-consuming and costly process that Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo will skip and get right down to business from the very first day because he already possesses the knowledge and has a clear and practical idea of continuity.
He hinted at this in his declaration speech where he harped on his seven years of service behind the President and repeated in his address to delegates in Oyo State where he assured them of his readiness to hit the ground running.
Unsurprisingly, mischievous political opponents have twisted this to mean that the Vice President intends to replicate his principal’s moves as president, even though they know it’s neither true nor sensible. Continuity, an important feature of democratic governments that have powered and sustained the rise of several developed countries, is not a lazy ‘copy’ and ‘paste’ of administrative priorities and moves. Rather a commitment to build on useful ideas and replace bad or weak ones with effective alternatives.
The absence of this in our politics, and the preferred abandonment of good investments to pursue a fresh agenda in the hunt for personal glory and out of petty partisanship, is the reason the country is littered with several abandoned projects and the country has gained a reputation for great but short-lived policy drives.
A recent example of smart continuity can be seen in the decision of Joe Biden, America’s president, to expand the coverage of the healthcare program introduced by his predecessor and former principal, Barack Obama. He saw that the health insurance package met its goal of offering subsidized care to Americans and built on it. No reasonable person has surmised from this that Joe Biden is an extension of Oba
Mammy has pointed out their stark differences.
The differences nonetheless, a good policy is a good policy. That is how to responsibly run a government and sustain momentum in areas where it is required. It is in Nigeria’s best interest to elect a man who thinks this way and is best equipped to govern from day one.
