The American democracy which we modelled ours after, is four years tenured. It’s only renewable if voted for a second term. What it then means is that, in the wisdom of those who designed this both for America and other democracies in the world, including Nigeria, four years is enough to make an impact as a president or governor, if indeed the intention is to serve and not otherwise.
American democracy is replete with people who only had one term. Why, then, does it sound incredible to a lot of people when Mr. Peter Obi says he would do one tenure as president?
One term tenure sounds unbelievable because democracy as practised by us is anything but democratic. It’s because the vote of the people does not count. That is why every elected governor or president takes having a second term for granted. If the sanctity of the ballot and the wish of people at the polls is upheld and respected, political office holders will realise that four years is a lot of time in governance.
In four years and three months of their truncated second term, Alhaji Lateef Jakande and some governors of that Republic made so much impressions that can only be imagined by the political class of today. Why, really, is there so much fuss about a four-year tenure?
Since Peter Obi made that pledge, so many politicians have dismissed him for a liar. In fact, the most vocal or vitriolic attacks have come from no other than the governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo. Although Soludo’s action is consistent with his unwarranted and childish disposition towards the meteoric rise in reputation of Mr. Peter Obi, his lack of maturity, and vaulting ambition and impression of his self-worth leaves no one in doubt that he is driven by jealousy and blinded by envy.
One thing for sure is that Obi is not the only living ex-governor of Anambra. What other reason, apart from his declared aspiration to be president, has made him the target of Soludo’s unmasked pettiness? Is Obi not qualified academically to be president? Is he the worst performing ex-governor of Nigeria? Is Obi the most corrupt ex-governor of Anambra? What exactly is Obi’s sins against Soludo? How is demarketing Obi possibly going to help Soludo’s political career?
Soludo, in responding to Obi one term promise, was quoted once as saying: “How can anybody with a brain…You think you are talking to fools. You come to people and say, ‘I’ll do only one term. Anybody, any politician who said that must be sent to a psychiatric home.”
The Anambra governor argued that, given that the country’s constitution allows for a second term, pledging to serve for one term is strange.
“Tell us where it has ever happened or who. Anybody who is saying this needs a psychiatric examination because you are taking every one of us to be a fool.”
This outrage and unguarded vituperation is not to be unexpected as we have already argued, but is Soludo saying Nelson Mandela, who served one term and refused every appeal to run for a second term had no brains or that he was not constitutionally free to run for a second? If Soludo had his way, would he have had Mandela see a psychiatrist? Or was he too old or senile to run again, in a world where sit-tight vegetable leadership is now becoming the fad?
I have heard some politicians in the class of Soludo making this same argument that four years is too short to make any meaningful impact, but I completely and totally disagree with that school of thought.
The problem of the country is largely that of bad leadership. A bad leader can stay until death and still not achieve anything. There are too many examples to draw from in our own experiences as a nation, so no point dwelling too much on this.
The eight years tenure enjoyed by so many governors of Soludo South-East regions and many other regions have left most states with nothing to show for it.
Second, governance is a continuum, so any sincere president, particularly, can leave behind solid structure for growth.
How many years will it take to truly make the INEC independent to deliver elections that end at polling booths and will not provide opportunities for corrupt judges and lawyers to reap from? How many years does it require to wane the judiciary, legislature from the presidential fiefdom?
How many terms would it require to emplace the rule of law and stop the grand scale corruption and nepotism, with the president leading by example? How many tenures does it require to loose the anti-graft agencies, EFCC, ICPC, from the apron string of the presidency?
Must it take eight years to drastically reduce medical tourism by building world-class hospitals, or are the professionals not here to run these institutions? Must it take eight years to reduce the corruption of budget-padding if the president is not himself involved? Would it require eternity to start patronising made in Nigeria vehicles and goods rather than importing from abroad if the president is leading the way?
Even the eight years tenure that we have taken for granted, how many of those years are actually spent in governance? The first year in office is spent fighting for legitimacy in court because the judiciary, rather than the people, decides the outcome elections. No thanks to our crooked electoral processes. The last two years are spent fighting for a second term or plotting hand overs to cronies.
This by no means is not an attestation to the fact that should Obi be voted, he would not renege on his promises, because only God knows the hearts of men, but this is simply saying that it’s possible to keep that promise and achieve a lot within that period.
If Mandela, who had the offer on a platter of gold, could turn it down, is that saying no other African can do likewise?
Finally, no single president can achieve all there are to do or completely wipe out corruption or insecurity, but a presidency that is totally free or has no link with these, and allows the anti-graft agencies and the military complete responsibility with no sacred cows, would achieve in four years what we have not been able to achieve in the last 13 years or more.
In four years, a dutiful presidency can bequeat for us a constitution devoid of all the boobytraps, landmines, and pitfalls which our leaders and political class have continued to exploit to swindle and misgovern us.
A presidency that prunes itself of profligacy and prepared to drastically reduce the cost of governance would certainly achieve more.
What we need are durable institutions free from the vice grip of the executive and not strong men.
We can set that solid foundation in four years.
What we have today are strong men who have taken their offices for granted and see their second term as a foregone conclusion and, therefore, do not need the mandate of the electorate.
Four years is more than enough to make a solid impression, particularly as president, because what is demanded is focused, examplary, and purpose-driven leadership for the led to cue into.
