I rose from the bed and made a beeline to the standing mirror in the master bedroom. The familiar face that stared back at me was mine and not that of the other Tinubu. That’s when it dawned on me that I had simply traded places with the President-Elect in a dream I had!
By Tiko Okoye
Just last week, I had a dream. In the dream, I received a notification to proceed with my entourage to the International Convention Centre where my running mate and I were to be presented with Certificates of Return, as winners of the recently conducted presidential election.
I was considerably taken aback because I definitely didn’t contest any election in recent times. The last time I was engaged in an electoral contest was about 15 years ago when I successfully ran for the post of President-General of my town union. But here was my official invite from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) right in my hand!
I dreamt of the struggles and sacrifices our founding fathers encountered and made to extricate Nigeria from the clutches of colonialism. I dreamt of the euphoria that attended the ceremony as the Union Jack was lowered and the green/white/green flag of the newly independent nation was raised on October 1, 1960.
I dreamt of nations such as Japan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and China that were far less developed than Nigeria at flag independence but all of which have since left Nigeria wallowing in the wilderness of stunted growth and underdevelopment.
I dreamt of all the giant strides Nigerians were making in many fields in international arenas and sighed heavily for the umpteenth time at the contradiction of making motions without meaningful movement back on the home front. This contradiction more than anything else shepherded me into politics with a yearning to make a clear difference in governance, if and when God engraces me to occupy the highest political office in the land.
I’ve spent nearly 30 years preparing for this assignment. And, finally, the come has come to become! (apologies to Dr KO Mbadiwe). My one and only desire is to hit the ground running. An English adage cautions that Rome wasn’t built in a day; but it won’t be built – even in a lifetime – if the first critical foundational steps are not taken. As the Chinese adage posits: “A journey of a thousand miles starts with taking that crucial first step.”
In line with this disposition, the names of my cabinet members will be announced in my inaugural address to the nation shortly after swearing the oath of office. It goes without saying that Nigerians are eagerly looking forward to what I would say in my inaugural address to the nation.
While pledging not to disappoint my fellow countrymen and women, I must however caution, as renowned marketing guru Peter Drucker so poignantly averred, that: “Leadership is not about making (rousing or even great) speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results, not attributes.” And that’s how I desire Nigerians to assess my results-oriented stewardship.
Considering that a lot of mixed messaging and poor understanding have muddied up the topic of true federalism, I hereby pledge to use the appurtenances of my high office to engender a better understanding of the issues involved among all sections of the nation.
Modesty apart, my antecedents and storied pedigree as a true democrat are impeccable. The separation of powers between the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature would be jealously guarded under my administration. As a matter of fact, my administration would do everything possible within available means to significantly improve the productivity of the Judiciary and Legislature by providing a conducive environment and appropriate working tools for them.
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The enormity of the cumulative bottlenecks has made governance in Nigeria seem like a Sisyphean task. I’m equally aware of the famous words of legendary English economist and acclaimed father of modern macroeconomics, Lord John Maynard Keynes, to the effect that we are all dead in the long run.
My policy decisions will consequently be highly prioritized. My focus will be on four years, in the first instance, split into immediate-term and near-term. The former will be strictly devoted to harvesting low-hanging fruits while the latter will be devoted to harvesting even more low-hanging fruits!
Just as Martin Luther King Jr. noted in his evergreen “I have a dream” public speech, I also believe in the power of my cause and the beauty of a better future for all Nigerians. It is time for this great country to begin to live out the true meaning of its creed. When I stand to swear the oath of office, I would consider myself as signing a promissory note to, and social contract with, every Nigerian citizen.
My fellow countrymen and women, I pledge on my honour to exhibit an intense passion and incomparable empathy and fair-mindedness in my job while displaying fluidity in the political spectrum. One of the best ways I’m going to demonstrate this is by being liberal on social issues and conservative on fiscal matters.
I’m very determined to execute the mandate freely given to me by a good majority of Nigerians in a manner that would render the raging debate over whether or not to make Section 2 of the Constitution justiciable a moot point. I’ll present a valid cheque of good governance, by way of improved welfare and security Nigerians can confidently cash in the not too distant future.
The recent elections have proven that our youths have come of age and can never again be taken for granted. In 1960, a newly sworn-in President John F. Kennedy challenged American youths to “Not think about what your country can do for you; rather think about what you can do for your country.” Inasmuch as I would’ve loved to relay the same message to our youths today, I sincerely cannot because, smitten with pain and despair, majority of our youths feel they’ve been left out in the cold by successive governments.
My administration will disengage from many non-core functions of government and reduce the convolution of businesses and operations of many government agencies that result in costly and wasteful overlapping. We would use the enormous savings realised from the reforms to fund scholarships, bursaries and affordable loans for students. We shall equally invest more in building the entrepreneurial capacity of our youths to drive poverty alleviation as well as job and wealth creation.
Most of you might have been aware that together with members of the National Executive Council and National Working Committee of our great party, my VP-elect and I met with newly elected – and returning members too – of the incoming 10th Senate elected on our party platform. It was the first of many to come as it is my desire to establish a harmonious working relationship between my administration and the National Assembly.
An African proverb posits that it is an abomination to live by the bank of a river and be using saliva as one’s bath water. It hardly makes any sense for a ruling party to have a majority in the Legislature and still not be able to implement its major policy programmes. Our great party – the All Progressive Peoples Congress – does have a manifesto crystallized through rigorous inclusive consultations that will stand the test of time.
Iconic Greek philosopher Aristotle it was who bellowed that “Man is naturally a political animal.” It shouldn’t therefore be surprising to hear that some members of our great party have started mobilizing for different posts of their choosing in the incoming National Assembly. This is to be expected of any vibrant democracy. However, party discipline requires that nobody beats the gun before it is fired.
Our party leadership would definitely provide guidelines and guard rails that would prevent the kind of ugly scenario that not only saw the opposition reaping where it didn’t sow, but the entire governance machinery of the federal government was jinxed. On my part, after undertaking very detailed comparative analyses of the votes scored in the six zones and 36 states, in juxtaposition with the Pareto Principle, my thoughts on how the offices can be equitably allotted are as follows:
Senate President – NW (Kano); (2) Deputy Senate President – SS (Akwa Ibom); (3) House Speaker – NC (Niger); (4) Deputy Speaker – SS (Rivers); (5) Senate Majority Leader – SE (Imo); (6) House Majority Leader – NW (Jigawa); (7) Senate Whip – NC (Benue); (8) House Whip – NE (Bauchi); (9) Secretary to the Federal Government – SW (Oyo/Ondo).
The grandfather clock at the foyer downstairs just chimed seven o’clock in the morning. I rose from the bed and made a beeline to the standing mirror in the master bedroom. The familiar face that stared back at me was mine and not that of the other Tinubu. That’s when it dawned on me that I had simply traded places with the President-Elect in a dream I had!