- Declares that “representation is not representative.”
- Insists: “Sardauna, Azikiwe, and Awolowo must teach us.”
The fact that “Nigerians excel everywhere except in Nigeria” is astounding.
Written by John Alechenu
Professor Ibrahim Gambari, retired United Nations diplomat and former chief of staff to late President Muhammadu Buhari, in this interview with Vanguard, underscores the need for an elite consensus to overcome the nation’s political and socio-economic crises. He also discussed how his non-governmental organization, the Savannah Center for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD), had contributed to Nigerian democracy.
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How can we resolve the numerous issues facing our country in a way that will last?
We must have many national conversations because that’s how you develop agreement. Finding common ground is the key to a successful mediation discussion, as I can attest from my experience mediating numerous disputes around the globe.
After that, you expand on the shared area. You narrow the regions of disagreement that are unresolvable by increasing the common ground, or the points on which you agree.
As an introduction to your questions, let me add that the Sardauna of Sokoto once got into a fight with his coworkers, Awolowo and Azikiwe. And then one of them said, “Let’s forget our differences.” He responded, “No, no, let’s not forget our differences. In order to come to an agreement on how to proceed, let’s acknowledge, confront, and talk about our differences.
Therefore, what is missing and what Savannah Center is attempting to offer to the discussion is to encourage dialogue that will result in an agreement on how we may develop and advance our nation. That will result in elite consensus, not just for the sake of discussion. In Singapore, there is an elite consensus. That’s why their society is operating.
Forget Asia, look at Senegal. There is a national consensus, elite consensus in Senegal that any president that tries to lengthen his tenure in office against the constitution, they rise as a people and say no.
They shouted no to Diouf when he tried it and kicked him out. They said no to Wade and threw him out. Macky was rejected and expelled. The second unanimity is that they all feel that allowing the Ministry of the Interior to hold elections is the best course of action because they desire a democratic process so much.
Additionally, the police in Francophone nations are extremely powerful and frightening. They register to vote at a specific polling place and cast their ballots at election time just like everyone else. And if you fail to register because you are posted there, you present your ID and then you are permitted to vote. And the votes are counted at the polling place with all the agents of the political parties present and declared. So, within 30 minutes, you may have the result, the national result, with no question of tampering or changing the figures from what the voters cast. That’s Senegal.
Don’t wait for another 20 years before we have a national conference or a constitutional convention, so that all these things stack up.
We are celebrating over two decades of unbroken civilian governance. Is democracy working in Nigeria?
It depends on how we define democracy. What we need is not constitutional change but constitutionalism-a commitment to fair play. Many gamers choose advantage over fair play. It’s not working because of this. Representation is not representative. Women and young people are marginalized; inclusivity is lacking. That is not democracy.
How can we stop the trend of elected leaders jumping from one party to another, especially while in office, on the mandate of the party on whose platform they were elected?
One of the most potent instruments for checking this is simple. One party’s platform is used to elect you. You are free to switch seats, but your seat will be marked as unoccupied.Imagine for a moment if we had that in our nation. Imagine if these governors understood that the moment they alter, there would have to be fresh elections? What is the estimated number of individuals who will cross the path they are currently taking? A permissive environment is produced by the lack of consequences.
In several other systems, if you relocate after winning an election under one platform, your seat is deemed vacant and you must run for office again because you are living under false pretenses. You chose to abandon the façade that led us to elect you.
I thus make this request to you and to myself once more: let’s take political parties into consideration. We can’t grumble because what we have is what we get.
When the parties don’t represent any particular ideology or anyone in particular, how long will we continue to grumble about the individuals in power? What is the governing principle when they arrive, and what are the repercussions of deviating from it?
But there is also the element of greed, because a governor in this nation is a very affluent person. What are you looking for? If you are a reasonable and devout person, all of your requirements will be met by the time you are eight years old. In actuality, they have also set up substantial pensions for themselves. I do not know whether that is still valid.
I get N70,000 a month from my own pension. It’s nearly that much for one bag of rice (laughs). Meanwhile, governors select their own pensions. I was a lecturer, chief of staff, ambassador, and minister. That service was classified as “political” and so non-pensionable.
I battled for the idea that service should be rewarded, not for financial gain.
The guardrails are off if there are no rewards for good behavior and no penalties for poor behavior. The guardrails are off because we are human. So let’s investigate and consider the repercussions of such behavior.
Organizing political parties more effectively than we currently do is, in my opinion, the best deterrent. Being a member of a political party that represents something unique will make you proud.
People may readily join the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) under the First Republic. It was obvious that one wanted things to stay the same while the other desired change.
But who will make the distinction when none exists? The citizens, and of course the leadership. Leaders who believe firmly about something.
Awolowo of the Action Group, AG, for instance, supported a welfare state. Sardauna was a firm believer in maintaining tradition and using continuity to manage change. He stood for local government reform and education. His party believed in that.
That is what I am searching for: parties that have uniqueness and strong leadership.
It was Obama who addressed Parliament in Accra and said Africa did not need strong leaders but robust institutions. You need both. Weak leaders damage institutions, and leaders who are excessively strong also undermine institutions.
Leadership must be respected. You must have followers. People believe in what leaders stand for. They stood for something. They had an idea of what lay ahead. They have organising principles.
Party organizing secretaries were influential back then. Because they represented something unique, they traveled to towns, villages, and ethnic unions.
Indeed, effective laws and procedures are important, but so is leadership and a dedication to creating parties that are different from one another.
What is needed is leadership by example. Not “do as we say,” but “do as we do.”
As a Nigerian who has been honored to serve in various roles what would you say keeps you awake about our country?
What keeps me awake at night is that according to statistics, Nigeria will be the third most populous country in the world by 2050. Food security, housing, health, education, power, transportation, and water resources are issues that our leaders ought to be concerned about.
In Singapore, when their population was going to rise by 200,000, the whole parliament was terrified. Millions are added here, but no one planned.
Yet the potential are there: food security, transportation, power, education, health. Everywhere but Nigeria, Nigerians thrive.
Nigerians desire to win, but we don’t do the things that lead to persistent success. Both consistency and planning are lacking.
We must develop sustainability for this magnificent country with immense potential but terrible leadership owing to absence of checks and balances.
Every month, governors gather allotments, and citizens applaud boreholes. That is another problem.
Leaders will behave appropriately if they are aware that we placed them there and have the authority to remove them. If they believe they got there in spite of us, they will not be accountable.
EFCC and ICPC will have limited impact till there is national consensus on what is acceptable.
This is a communal obligation. Transformation is not an accident. There have to be repercussions.
As a previous chief of staff, what do you think makes a person in that position unique?
On being Chief of Staff, there was no magic. The pressure on the President is great. The Chief of Staff is not a constitutional position. The job is to provide expertise in work organization, loyalty, and assistance. I had no desire to enter politics. I owed no one anything. That helped. A Chief of Staff is a reflection of the President’s character. Only when you are useful do you stay.
As a former UN ambassador, what are your thoughts concerning Nigeria’s Foreign Policy?
Foreign policy is not a luxury. It is the expression of your national interests and beliefs.
We disregarded foreign policy, including the appointment and funding of diplomats.
Appointments of ambassadors must be approved by the host nation. That takes time and is not guaranteed.
