The 2015 election is about why President Goodluck Jonathan should be given another 4 years. Can anyone honestly say that he has done well over his past 6 years at the helm of our affairs?
Over the past 6 years, we have seen a meteoric rise in corruption. subsidy scams, billions of missing dollars, criminals pardoned and celebrated, immigration recruitment scam Killing our youths, a strange definition for common stealing, police corruption on the rise, running the biggest presidential fleet in the world! Etc
We do need change. However, is the opposition candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari better than Goodluck Jonathan Phd? Will Buhari be better at managing Nigeria's economy, for example?
I invite my readers to consider below enlightening piece from my friend, Joe Atueyi:
Excerpts: My good friend Abba Gumel has challenged me to back up with evidence my assertions that Buhari does not have the skills set to manage a modern economy, does not have the leadership skills to assemble a team that has these skills and does not have the temperament or interpersonal skills required to manage a diverse multi ethnic multi-religious country like Nigeria. I have stated these variously but Abba is a dear friend who despite being a Buharimite is one of the few Buhari supporters I know who would engage you in a debate without descending to the banal. I will oblige him.
Leadership is about staking out a future and marshaling resources-human and otherwise -to make that future a reality. In my younger days I saw leadership as people 'who took charge' in the mold of folks like Murtala Mohammed or former GE CEO Jack Welch. As I have worked for and with different kinds of leaders in business, religion, politics and academia I have come to realize that there are different types of leadership styles and one is not better than the other. What is important is the capacity to deliver results. Jim Collins' article in the Harvard Business Review encapsulates this point:
/hbr.org/2005/07/level-5-leadership-the-triumph-of-humility-and-fierce-resolve
Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve
So we can put away the issue of leadership style and focus on Buhari's knowledge of how to run a modern economy. For someone who has been a governor, minister, head of state, executive chairman of PTF, founder and presidential candidate of political parties etc over a period of more than 30 years one expects --not economic expertise--but at least a specific view of how the economy of Nigeria should be organised. Are you in support of the Government holding the commanding heights of the economy --- takeover MTN and Etisalat? Build more refineries? start a new 'national airline'? shipping line? Takeover federal palace hotel and Ikoyi hotel? start another daily times? terminate the power privatisation and build more power plants?
Or are you in support of Government acting as a regulator and provider of an enabling environment for business to do commercial stuff.
For someone that has been in the public eye for more than 30 years and has sought the presidency of Nigeria Buhari's views should not be a conjecture.
Lets see records of Buhari's views on the economy:
TheCable: A lot of people are saying the problems of Nigeria are so many now, more than what you met in 1983 as military head of state. If you were elected president, what would you do differently from President Jonathan on power supply, for instance? How can we tackle this problem?
Buhari: It cannot be done overnight. The hearings conducted by the National Assembly on NEPA or Power Holding Company of Nigeria, of blessed memory, pension fund and petroleum industry show the extreme mismanagement of what Nigeria stands for… because if you remove petroleum industry, if you remove the organisation of pension funds and power, Nigeria will collapse.
TheCable: Part of the key recommendations in the PIB is deregulation that will lead to the removal of petrol subsidy. Removal of subsidy is sensitive issue. How do you hope to handle that if you are elected president?
Buhari: When we came into power, technically in December 1983 but we started in 1984, I had been part of Obasanjo's government in petroleum. Nigeria handed over to the second republic government a relatively physically-secure and economically-safe country. I can't recall exactly how much foreign reserve we had, but there was physical security and the economy was good. That is what the military handed over to the second republic.
Read more at: http://www.thecable.ng/exclusive-interview-im-opposed-muslim-muslim-ticket-says-buhari/2 | TheCable
Another example :
VANGUARD: Looking at the economy today, what are those things you would point at that are fundamental to making the economy prosperous?
BUHARI: I am not an economist but with my experience, it is about the indiscipline and lack of probity of the PDP government because they have been the government in charge in the last 12 years and so let nobody come out and blame others for the woes of their party which they have foisted on the nation.
VANGUARD: You have spoken in general terms but were you to make a presentation to the business community, what are those things you would be telling them about your economic agenda – in specific terms?
BUHARI: Firstly, let us secure our country.It means anything that comes to this country should be secure, but with people being kidnapped, armed robbery, bombings here and there, bad roads, fraudulent practices, nobody would come in and invest in quantum, nobody would bring substantial investment into this country, we are all joking.
Now in fairness to Buhari, every leader does not have to be an economist. But every leader builds around himself a team capable of addressing his weaknesses and advising him appropriately. If someone who has run for president 3 times and running for a 4th does not have a team that can have in place an economic blueprint of what he will do differently and how he will do it then I refuse to take such a candidate seriously.
Abba says Buhari has EL Rufai and Kwankwaso et al to advise. Raises a few questions: Shouldn't this advice have been provided as part of preparation for office? Are EL Rufai's views on economic management in tandem with Buhari? What are Kwankwaso's views?
In conclusion Abba asked that I compare Buhari with Jonathan on the economic side. That will be akin to comparing light with darkness.
Jonathan, like Buhari, does not personally have a sound background in economics. Unlike Buhari he went out as a first call of business to get sound professionals to focus on the economy: Okonjo Iweala, Aganga, Adesina, first Nnaji and now Nebo, Omobola Johnson, Shamsudeen Usman et al. Whether you agree with them or not they are singing from the same page---their policy thrust is that Govt has to be the regulator and creator of an enabling environment to allow business concentrate on growing the economy. That is why even though all Governments since IBB had tried to privatise none could break the cabal of generator importers, diesel importers and their enhancers in govt that made it impossible until this Govt privatised NEPA.
The results are showing gradually:
http://databank.worldbank.org/data/download/GDP.pdf
Nigeria cannot afford to regress to trade by barter economics in this century.
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