OPINION
By Ofio ‘Lojuayegbe
Nigeria is facing the worst possible times with inflation in the double digits, the economy in shambles, exchange rates to the USD and other foreign currencies hitting the roof, insecurity at an all-time high and disunity and mistrust amongst citizens permeating every facet of our national life
Obalufon was the last prominent king of the Ife Empire under whose reign Ife, as the “city of daybreak”, witnessed unprecedented prosperity and political influence in virtually all Yoruba speaking territories across West Africa before being supplanted by the Oyo Empire and the famous Benin Kingdom.
Ife was reputed as a city of wealth and a centre of commerce as its economy which was sustained mainly on the production of coloured glass beads called “segi” and “iyun” witnessed a long period of boom during the reign of Ooni Obalufon.
The quality of its glass beads was reckoned to be better than those imported from the Mediterranean, India and some European countries because of the proprietary skills and craftsmanship of the workmen under the control of his Imperial Majesty. Segi and iyun became status symbol for royalty and men of means and influence and other royalties seek validation for their throne by making these items part of the rituals for political ascendancy.
But in the twilight of his reign and as he became more advanced in age, his grip on power began to slide, coupled with his contracting small pox, a pandemic that ravaged both young and old, rich and poor, royalty and commoners in that era. Many metropolises and vasal states that were hitherto client states of Ile Ife with huge volumes of trade transactions going on between them and Ile Ife looked elsewhere for political patronage.
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The resultant effect for an economy built on the twin products of segi and iyun, was a long and painful recession. With frail and indisposed Ooni Obalufon’s inability to call the right shots, and the eventual relocation of his royal court to the outer parts of the city as a form of isolation, the revered City State floundered and the almost irreversible decline of the first Yoruba Empire and one of the largest empires in West Africa, set in.
In his youthful days, Ooni Obalufon exhibited a high capacity to govern and he sustained the pre-eminence of the Ife Empire; but as age and ill health set in, he became less effective as a ruler. This brings us to the importance of capacity to govern. By capacity here I will be alluding to intellect, experience, network and physical agility.
We already have a crowded field of aspirants jostling to become the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. A few of them are in their 70s and probably a couple aren’t telling us the truth about how healthy or not they are. Recently the NDLEA requested that aspirants gunning for elective positions should be made to go through a drug test to be sure they are not stoned into power. This generated some hoopla and some lawyers even questioned the legality of such preposition.
Our collective experience as a Country in the last seven years with our incumbent president, should make the suggestion of a compulsory and robust health checks for any aspirant a no brainer. I am ready to give an arm and a leg to ensure the next chief occupant at Aso Villa is not in diapers or physically impaired. It is even unnerving that an obviously sick president will be reluctant to transmit power to his deputy when he goes on medical tourism, just because the cabal puppeteering him wants power to remain firmly in his region.
Our Country is facing the worst possible times no one can ever wish their enemy, with inflation in the double digits, the economy in shambles, exchange rates to the USD and other foreign currencies hitting the roof, insecurity at an all time high and disunity and mistrust amongst citizens permeating every facet of our national life. This unfortunately is the legacy this president will be leaving behind as we approach the twilight of his lack luster administration.
Prior to his ‘enthronement’ as the president, Bubu’s major antecedents are his management of the ministry of petroleum under General Obasanjo and his mediocre rule for twenty months as a military head of state; and when he was pushed out by “Maradona” he was still in his forties.
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There were no known records of him developing himself by way of pursuing some degrees or diplomas, or even building a flourishing business. All he has ever got was through patronage whether as a member of a military junta or getting some appointment as head of PTF because he belonged to the region that held power. Two hundred million Nigerians deserve better than this.
A former CBN governor and deposed Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, admonished Nigerians early enough, just before Bubu got lucky twice in 2019, about choosing leaders who have capacity rather than whatever anti corruption credentials such leaders might be willing to dangle before voters. Many political pundits believe Bubu scored below average on all the parameters on which he campaigned in 2015, Security, War on Corruption, and the Economy.
The most befuddling of all is his abysmal performance in an area regarded as his familiar terrain being a war tested General. Most maladies being suffered by the country today is as a result of the unsafe environment where Nigerians have to school, work, do business, or play. Instead of FDIs pouring in from wealthier countries, the few foreign investors that we’ve got are fleeing in droves. Investments, not just in Lagos and Ogun States, but across all the six geo-political zones can only thrive and flourish in an atmosphere of safety and security. The General dropped the ball here.
The war on corruption is believed to be a charade from the get go and it is now the talk of the town that Bubu’s cabinet might be the most corrupt in the history of Nigeria. A classical example is the case of re-looting of monies and other assets of government looted by officials of the previous administration. This beggars believe.
The Economy is obviously the weakest point of this administration and I am at my wits end why voters blindly gave this economic illiterate a second mandate to run the biggest economy in Africa. In a space of less than three years the Country experienced two painful recessions and if care is not taken we might witness a third before he leaves the saddle. Our budget deficits are increasingly becoming unsustainable and we are digging ourselves more into a deep debt hole. Nigeria is now the new poverty capital in the world as over sixty million more Nigerians have slide into poverty since Bubu came on board.
It is important that we all say it early enough that capacity in all its shades and forms is what we should lay emphasis on in whoever wants to become our next president. No one else puts it better than SLS himself when he alluded to the fact that integrity benefits the individual but capacity benefits everyone as far as the choice of a leader is concerned. Twice beaten, shame on us, but let’s do better this time around.
Ofio ‘Lojuayegbe, a public commentator and political analyst, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
