WHAT DOES TECHNOCRAT OSINBAJO BRING TO THE POLITICAL TABLE? BY MUYIWA ADETIBA

Professor Osinbajo

We have all moaned about the political landscape in the country. A landscape that breeds corruption, incompetence and mindless greed. We have all complained about the fact that we are ruled in the main, by our second eleven and the decay in health, education, energy to name but a few is an eloquent attestation to our choice of leaders.

We have all moaned about the dearth of good men in governance and wished for the likes of Christopher Kolade, Aliko Mohammed, Gamaliel Onosode, Akintola Williams—men of ability and integrity—to come into governance.

But it will take the miracle of Naaman the leper to bathe in the murky waters of Nigerian politics and come out clean. It will take the miracle of Jonah the prophet to drop into the shark infested sea of Nigerian politics and emerge whole on the other side of the bank.

So those who have built their names and reputations on hard work, integrity and competence are afraid to come near the fiery flame of Nigerian politics less they are singed. In any case, the chances of their being put in the positions of influence are less than 10%. The very nature of our politics—from the leaders to the followers—wants a Fayemi but chooses a Fayose.

So why risk your hard earned integrity along with your limbs and possibly life for a cause that is likely to be a still birth? We know the people who will do our nation some good; people with vision who will plant a tree so that our grandchildren will enjoy a shaded future, but we allow mushy sentiments like tribe, religion and geographical locations to becloud our judgment. So we settle for those whose vision does not go beyond the belly and we call it stomach infrastructure.

We settle for those, in the guise of geopolitical balancing, who do not understand the real issues and we expect lasting solutions. That is why the likes of Pat Utomi with the ideas they bring, the competences they bring, the moral and business values they bring will not be accommodated in our political space.

And yet we need these people, if only because change is inevitable, and if we don’t manage the change, it will manage us. We need these people because the drums of war and disintegration are getting louder and the current actors appear deaf. We need these people because they have the capacity to analyse and build. We need these people because they can earn our respect or just as important, the respect of the international community—no longer will we cringe when our so called leaders grant press interviews.

Prof Yemi Osibajo, the choice of General Buhari and APC for the Vice Presidential ticket, is of this mould. He is an intellectual who bestrides the ivory tower and the business world. He is a Pastor but does not wear his religion on his sleeves. He is an activist who does not mouth the usual slogan but feels quite strongly about the plight of the under privileged and the down trodden.

His active role as one of the founders of ‘The Concerned Professionals’ during the Babangida/Abiola election is a case in point. He is passionate about matters of integrity and transparency and is involved with many organisations that promote them.

He is an ideas man and a reformer as his stint as the Attorney General of Lagos State has shown. He is, for those who have not heard him speak, a natural orator in the mould of Barak Obama! He may be small in stature but he is a giant in intellect. Yet he is humble and deferential with a sharp sense of humour.

Many have wondered what he is bringing to the political table. Maybe we should start with what he is not going to bring. He is not going to bring tons of money. I believe he is comfortable financially but his wealth is nowhere near the billions that will be thrown around. He will not bring a do-or-die violence to the table. He will not arrange for political assassinations or eliminations. He will not contribute to chop-I-chop politics neither will he promote ethnic or religious card.

He will bring values—moral and intellectual—to the table. He will analyse issues and bring ideas. He will bring the many silent Nigerians who have longed for his ilk to come to the front stage. He will bring goodwill, tons of it from both local and international sectors. He will bring integrity, transparency and rule of law to governance. He will, contrary to what some people think, bring a refreshingly frank but independent mind to the table. Osibajo will not sacrifice certain values for political exigencies.

I personally would have wanted him paired with someone else like Kwakwanso. That would have been a vibrant pairing that would have represented a true change. But it is not to be. Although Buhari comes with his own baggage, I can see some advantages.

They both frown at corruption and espouse probity and transparency. But more importantly, Buhari from antecedence and reputation, likes to delegate responsibility to trusted deputies. That would mean Osibajo would be more than a spare tyre. It would bring Osibajo’s ideas and reformative agenda to the fore. It would bring depth to policy formulation. It would also bring vibrancy to a State that is moribund. There is no doubt that if allowed, Osibajo would attract the brightest and best from all over the country.

So we really have no excuses. Those of us who have prayed for people that are incorruptible, who can hold their own in terms of ideas and intellect, who can attract international goodwill and respect now have someone to root for.

Osibajo is as good as it gets no matter how you look at it. Remember if we don’t manage change, it will manage us and the consequences of that can be very dire. Have a wonderful New Year celebration but do think of your children and their future and what a wrong choice in 2015 portends for them. Think also of Nigeria. We are not anywhere near where we should be.