Since 1999, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been in power. But, the challenges of development have persisted. Can the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), fix Nigeria in 2015? Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the party’s manifesto, which makes it a credible alternative platform.
For 14 years, the country has been at crossroads. The challenges are overwhelming. The poor economy has led to an illusion of hope. The failed budgets have exposed imprudent management. The atmosphere of insecurity is not investment-driven. The energy crisis has led to a high cost of production and crippled the manufacturing sector. Bad roads are death traps. The rot in the aviation sector, soaring unemployment and corruption are the nation’s albatross. Who will fix the crumbling edifice in 2015?
The all Progressives Congress (APC) attempted to provide answers to these puzzles last week in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), when it unveiled its manifestos. The 10-point road map, in its leaders’ view, may herald a welfarist state. There is a signal that the ideological culture of the old is about to be re-invented. The highlights of the manifestos include the creation of 20,000 jobs per state, free and qualitative education, better housing plan, improved funding for agriculture, independence for anti-corruption agencies and security. Others are social security for the poor, technological driven industrial estates, allowances for ex-corps members for 12 months and war against corruption.
To political watchers, the die is cast between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the main opposition platform, the APC. The prelude to the battle is the contest of ideas. Many Nigerians have hailed the party’s plans, but, the PDP frowned at it, dismissing it as unrealistic. Its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, described it as a road map to anarchy, adding that it will lead to doom.
The APC Interim Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said that, ahead of the next general elections, the party would approach voters with the road map. He said that the manifestos would halt the cries of despondency, when it is implemented, unlike the Federal Government’s transformation agenda, which has become a disaster, owing to faulty implementation. Mohammed, who described the road map as the outcome of the national need assessment, stressed: “We commissioned a survey on what is wrong with Nigeria; what exactly Nigerians need. unemployment, corruption and insecurity are the major problems confronting Nigeria today. So, the road map is a result of what Nigerians need. He added: “What we have done today is to show that there is a big difference between the PDP and the APC. We are after a new Nigeria. This is a new Nigeria we are creating in which the people will be the beginning and the end of all developmental programmes”.
Already, some of these manifestos are being implemented in some APC states. In Ekiti State, Governor Kayode Fayemi is implementing a novel social security scheme for the vulnerable aged people. Beneficiaries have acknowledged the programme, which they described as life-prolonging. In Osun State, Governor Rauf Aregbesola is fighting the infrastructure battle. The state has the highest number of towns in the country. Across these towns, roads are being constructed and rehabilitated. In fact, in his first one hundred days in office, the governor created 20, 000 jobs. the provision of employment may have reduced crime in the state. In Lagos State, Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has delivered on his promise to provide affordable housing within the context of the current economic realities. Many road projects are on-going. The light rail project is on course. The state is a huge construction site.
In Rivers State, the resources of the state are judiciously deployed to developmental projects. The governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has built new schools, rehabilitated many schools, and commissioned new roads. There is no sector that is not touched by the governor, despite the concerted efforts made by his detractors to divert his attention from state business. In Zamfara State, Governor Yari has revolutionalised agriculture and turned it into an income yielding venture. In Kwara State, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed is building on the legacies of former Governor Bukola Saraki. In Oyo State, the urban renewal efforts of Governor Abiola Ajimobi has given Ibadannand other towns a face lift. Even, members of the PDP in Ogun State have applauded the giant strides of the Amosun Administration. In Kano State, Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso has run an accountable government. The dividends of democracy are felt at the grassroots.
The next stage, said the APC Interim Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, is their replication at the federal level, if the party wins the presidential election. Other leaders, including Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, and the 16 APC governors also believe that they are achievable goals. Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wamakko, who spoke at the presentation of the road map, submitted that it is not a rhetoric, but a blue-print for change. He said, through its effective implementation, the party will restore national dignity.
His Yobe counterpart, Ibrahim Geidam, berated the PDP for its failure to revive the power sector and reduce insecurity. He said, instead, the party has promoted arrogance of power, impunity and corruption. But, the Yobe governor assured that hope is not lost, if the people vote wisely in the next year’s election. “The legacy of any government is to make its country stronger and better. In the power sector, there was a drop of 924 megawatts of power in 2013 and since then, it has continued to drop. In the last six months, the National Economic Council has not met. Today, there is insecurity in the country, especially in the Northeast. The only solution to the problem of insecurity is the swearing in of an APC government in 2015”, he added.
The manifestos, according to analysts, underscores the party’s vision for a brighter future. It also reveals strategic planning. Although the party has not revealed its implementation strategies fully, the performance of their governors gives an assurance that there will be good governance, if there is power shift in 2015.
A political scientist, Boniface Ayodele, lauded the priority given to employment in the road map. He observed that the country has been sitting on a keg of gun powder, judging by the number of jobless graduates. He said that there is a link between unemployment and crime, which government has ignored to the country’s peril. “National conference cannot solve unemployment. The solution is a concrete plan aimed at reviving the power sector and revatalising the manufacturing sub-sector”, he said.
According to the road map, the creation of 20,000 jobs has implications. The scope is the secondary school leavers, who are to savour technological and vocational training. However, Ayodele said that, there is also the need to tackle under-unemployment. “When graduates now sell recharge cards on the road or when they become road sweepers, that is not employment that can serve as reward for tertiary education. If there is stable power supply, many youths will be able to become creative and productive through sheer handwork, deployment of talents to creative endeavours”, Ayodele added.
Many stakeholders have applauded the determination of the APC to rid Nigeria of corruption. In the manifestos, the party proposed stiff penalty for graft. This include forfeiture and seizure of assets and inexplicable wealth, reinvigoration of the legal system to prevent delays in corruption trials, a guarantee for the independence of the anti-corruption agencies, and transparent government transactions.
Since the setting up of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the PDP government has claimed that the anti-corruption battle was on course. The evidence on ground has contradicted this claim. Graft has dented the image of the country in the comity of nation. Last month, the House of Representatives Speaker, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, chided President Goodluck Jonathan for condoning corruption. It is an understatement. According to critics, the alleged missing N20 billion oil money is a pointed to the monumental fraud being committed daily by power barons.
To wipe out corruption, a chieftain of the APC, Mr. Isiaka Adekunle-Ibrahim, said that party leaders should develop the commitment, will and capacity to confront the challenge. He said that public office and money are too tempting, adding that the party should build a culture of discipline and self-control. “The APC government at the centre will only be able to fight corruption, if the leaders live by example. The state governors are doing that already. The money they have as governors are not even enough to implement their developmental projects. So, they can’t afford to embezzle them. If the anti-corruption posture of the governors is carried over to Abuja, then, there will be hope. If the APC President is not corrupt, he will not appoint corrupt ministers. If the leader is clean and he has the ability to insist on probity, all will be well”, Adekunle-Ibrahim added.
APC’s panacea to insecurity has been public knowledge before the release of the road map. In the past, the APC governors had visited Maiduguri, the Bornu State capital, to give solidarity to their colleague, Ibrahim Kashim, and assess the situation on ground. Many Nigerians believe that the Federal Government has failed to halt terrorism, in spite of the huge money committed to the anti-terror war. Not only have commercial activities been put on hold, many have deserted their towns and villages, owing to the onslaught by the dreadful Boko Haram sect.
Apart from the menace of Boko Haram, kidnapping is also thriving in other parts of the country. Youths also engage in cyber crime. Others engage in ritual killings. In the Southsouth, militancy has not stopped, despite the amnesty programmes, which gulped a huge sum of money from the federal purse.
In the APC’s reckoning, peace and security are fundamental to Nigeria’s social and economic wellbeing. It believes that every Nigerian should be safe and free to work in any part of the country, regardless of tribe, ethnicity or religious beliefs. One of the measures canvassed by the party is the restoration of true federalism. If this is done, the party believes that states will have their local police forces that can address the special needs of each community. Therefore, community policing will not be ruled out as it will engender trust in the members of the community that would be served by he peculiar arrangement.
APC also has good plans for education, the resolution of the ethno-religious conflicts, peaceful co-existence, national healing and girl-child education.
However, to translate these dreams into reality, the party have some hurdles to cross. The choice of its presidential flag bearer and running mate is a challenge. Before the selection process, its leadership structures have to be firmly established as a properly constituted national congress. The congresses at the wards, local governments and states will herald the national convention.
Adekunle-Ibrahim said that “eyes are on this great party as it forges ahead to the next election”, adding that party leaders will need to give concessions and build consensus on many issues of importance for the party to survive the onslaught of the ruling party and the Federal Government. The watchword is unity.
“The APC registration was successful in most parts of the country. The party could have done better in some states. Party management is challenging. There is public goodwill and solidarity, but the party must manage its achievements,” he added.
Another party member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, advised the party leadership to promote the culture of reconciliation and crisis resolution. “This can be done by opening the channels of communication and avenues for ventilation of grievances”, he advised.
