THE POLITICISATION OF POLITICS
I would repeat what I said when PDP and APC were having a go at each other under Jonathan: it does not matter who is behind or beside Boko Haram — all Nigerians desire is for their lives and property to be protected by the government. That was what Jonathan owed all Nigerians. The rest is detail. I repeated the same argument under Buhari: it does not matter whether it is Fulani or Kanuri herdsmen — Nigerians are being kidnapped and killed by criminals all over the country and all they desire is security. The rest is detail. Now that we are back to our favourite ritual of propounding conspiracy theories, my message to Tinubu is the same: secure Nigeria. The rest is detail.
We have a big problem in Nigeria: politics always takes precedence over everything. A sense of responsibility to peace and progress is often an afterthought. We are immersed in polarising politics 24/7. At what stage do we focus on the purpose of politics which, as ironic as it may sound, is for the greater good of the society? At what time do we put partisan interests aside and see ourselves first as Nigerians who have a duty to make our country better, no matter who we voted or didn’t vote for? We are already fiercely preparing for the 2027 presidential election, less than a year into a new administration. We play partisan and divisive politics every day of our lives. That is who we are.
To be sure, playing politics is the food of democratic contests. I cannot argue against that. The intrigues and high-wire games could be exciting. There is nothing wrong with that. As I said, politics is not a bad thing, for as long as you are trying to win, keep or jostle for power. My worry is what we play politics with or over. It is okay, in my view, to play politics with the economic policy of the current administration. You can pillory the fiscal and monetary policies. You can ridicule the industrial, trade and agricultural policies. You can tear the policies on education and infrastructure apart. They will even become sweeter when you claim to have better policies if you are in power.
We saw the APC do a lot of that to the PDP and Jonathan ahead of the 2015 elections. It was N300/£ and N216/$. The APC made plenty political capital out of the falling exchange rates then and asked Nigerians to vote out Jonathan. There was a popular Muhammadu Buhari/Yemi Osinbajo advertising board with the message: “Is N216 to $1 Okay?” Today, the rates are N1600/£ and
N1400/$ and PDP supporters and sympathisers have every right to play politics with it. There was this Buhari/Osinbajo poster beside a petrol station where the price displayed was N87/litre. Today, it is over N600/litre. Why should anyone begrudge opposition supporters who make fun of the APC? It is return match.
Since the APC came to power in 2015, we have seen a dramatic fall in the economy. Prices of goods and services have hit the sky. The APC government spent eight years blaming the economic downturn on “16 years of misrule by the PDP”. Many PDP supporters asked the APC to shut up and do the job since they promised Nigerians that they had the solution to the economic challenges. With the APC unable to solve the problem till today, the PDP and other opposition supporters are accusing the APC government of bringing misery on Nigerians. I do not see anything wrong with this kind of politics. It is a competition of words that is worth watching. That is very good for politics.
However, I cannot withstand the politicisation of insecurity. I think certain things should be off limits. Nobody should go around saying “northerners” want to destabilise Tinubu because he didn’t give them their “born-to-rule” appointments. We’ve gone this conspiracy route before and it only further hurt our nationhood. Politicians should also avoid the route of saying “I can secure Nigeria better” just because they want to win elections. The APC said more than this in 2015 but nine years later we are still fighting terrorism, insurgency, banditry and kidnapping. Talk is cheap. Our sincere concern should be about finding a lasting solution rather than engaging in grandstanding for political gain.
It is the duty of Tinubu, as president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, to secure every nook and cranny of the country. We cannot begin to argue over that. As the chief security officer of the federation, he must find a solution. But, in the name of God, we should not go into another era of conspiracy theories because we want to play politics. Nigerians — northerners, southerners, Muslims, Christians, traditionalists, non-religious, men, women, children, APC members, non-APC members — are at the mercy of these criminals. Let us play politics with the relocation of CBN, the economy, and such like. But let us not return to the unhelpful politicisation of insecurity. Anathema.