What Nigeria's Election Can't Teach Doesn't Exist, By Azu Ishiekwene
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Kenyan veteran politician Raila Odinga shared lesson five at the LEADERSHIP Conference and Awards in Abuja shortly before Nigeria's election, but we weren't listening: "Don't trust technology too much ", he said, or something like that. effect. "They can fail or be made to fail."... Despite Odinga, we thought otherwise.
The February/March elections in Nigeria undid a lot of things. One was the 63-year-old myth that no rich and ambitious candidate could become president. Until the last presidential election.
Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, president of Nigeria between 1963 and 1966, approached it. But while ownership of his extensive and authoritative newspaper chain made him influential, he was not wealthy. Anyway, he was only a ceremonial president.
The other leaders, especially the elected ones, until now had neither money nor ambition. And all of them, without exception, were also unprepared for the office. Some of them have even said so publicly.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be the first Nigerian leader to have money and ambition, and also to publicly declare that he is ready and ready to govern and get elected. Considered one of the richest politicians in Africa, he has many business interests and investments ranging from real estate and stocks to media.
He would be the first elected president to challenge the so-called "owners of Nigeria", who have over the years obsessed that power in the hands of a wealthy independent candidate could put the beneficiary beyond their reach.
As proved in the February 25 presidential election, ambition alone would not have been enough to get Tinubu over the line, especially after his own party leader, President Muhammadu Buhari's redesign of banknotes on the eve of the elections plunged the country into financial chaos. Money, ambition and daring courage combined to snatch the chestnut of Tinubu's aspiration from the fire of adversity.
“Do you know why he won the election?” a US diplomat and election observer recently asked. “He got the money; he had the best national organization working for him and the ground game.”
What this means for governance, whether it brings more freedom and responsibility or inhibitions and opacity, would be interesting to see in the days to come.
But the kingmaker's loss of influence isn't the only lesson to be learned from the 2023 election. second lesson.
In the last election, Buhari showed himself as the master of strategic ambivalence. He didn't want Tinubu as his successor. Yet, in his vale of indecision, he knew the surge would land on the shore, and was quite content, despite his misery, to go with the flow. It wasn't always like this.
President Olusegun Obasanjo made his own wave. As a military head of state, he moved heaven and earth to install Shehu Shagari as civilian president in 1979. And on his second coming...
As a PREMIUM TIMES reader, your opinion matters. Please complete our survey to help us better understand our readers' values and preferences. Your feedback will give us valuable insight into how we can tailor the different types of content we offer to meet your needs. The survey should only take about 6-8 minutes.
Click here to take it.
Kenyan veteran politician Raila Odinga shared lesson five at the LEADERSHIP Conference and Awards in Abuja shortly before Nigeria's election, but we weren't listening: "Don't trust technology too much ", he said, or something like that. effect. "They can fail or be made to fail."... Despite Odinga, we thought otherwise.
The February/March elections in Nigeria undid a lot of things. One was the 63-year-old myth that no rich and ambitious candidate could become president. Until the last presidential election.
Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, president of Nigeria between 1963 and 1966, approached it. But while ownership of his extensive and authoritative newspaper chain made him influential, he was not wealthy. Anyway, he was only a ceremonial president.
The other leaders, especially the elected ones, until now had neither money nor ambition. And all of them, without exception, were also unprepared for the office. Some of them have even said so publicly.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be the first Nigerian leader to have money and ambition, and also to publicly declare that he is ready and ready to govern and get elected. Considered one of the richest politicians in Africa, he has many business interests and investments ranging from real estate and stocks to media.
He would be the first elected president to challenge the so-called "owners of Nigeria", who have over the years obsessed that power in the hands of a wealthy independent candidate could put the beneficiary beyond their reach.
As proved in the February 25 presidential election, ambition alone would not have been enough to get Tinubu over the line, especially after his own party leader, President Muhammadu Buhari's redesign of banknotes on the eve of the elections plunged the country into financial chaos. Money, ambition and daring courage combined to snatch the chestnut of Tinubu's aspiration from the fire of adversity.
“Do you know why he won the election?” a US diplomat and election observer recently asked. “He got the money; he had the best national organization working for him and the ground game.”
What this means for governance, whether it brings more freedom and responsibility or inhibitions and opacity, would be interesting to see in the days to come.
But the kingmaker's loss of influence isn't the only lesson to be learned from the 2023 election. second lesson.
In the last election, Buhari showed himself as the master of strategic ambivalence. He didn't want Tinubu as his successor. Yet, in his vale of indecision, he knew the surge would land on the shore, and was quite content, despite his misery, to go with the flow. It wasn't always like this.
President Olusegun Obasanjo made his own wave. As a military head of state, he moved heaven and earth to install Shehu Shagari as civilian president in 1979. And on his second coming...
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