When anger drives politics, leadership and justice

When anger drives politics, leadership and justice

Posted By: Dayo Sobowale

Coincidentally this week Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and US President Barak Obama spoke to a Muslim audience in their respective nations to drive home their commitment to justice and the objectives of their governments. The Nigerian Vice President reportedly told a delegation of Muslim Congress of Nigeria that although some elites were trying to put pressure on the Nigerian government to relent on its anti corruption war, he insisted that this would not happen because the President and himself are focused on the war and know that that is the wish of the ordinary Nigerians who elected them to office and not the elites alone.

Similarly the US president visited a mosque in Baltimore for the first time in his presidency and called on those preaching hatred against Muslims to stop as American Muslims are part of the American dream and heritage. Today I want to observe that there is a common thread that knits the utterances of these two statesmen together. It is my contention here that for now anger drives world politics as we know it today and that is the context in which I will look at the two statements made by the two leaders in their respective nations.

Undoubtedly in Nigeria anger is driving the anti-corruption campaign and the reason is not far fetched. The campaign had hardly started before the leadership election in the senate stole the thunder of the ruling party that won the 2015 presidential election. Then came the unbelievable revelations that $2. 1bn – which is money meant for the purchase of arms for the prosecution of the Boko Haram insurgency – had been diverted for other purposes by the office of the National Security Adviser from where key members of the last administration collected campaign funds while the armed forces lacked funds and equipment to confront the insurgency. Obviously a mood of righteous indignation has pervaded the whole nation ever since with the masses calling for the heads of culprits who had betrayed the nation in its hour of need in nailing Boko Haram which has been killing thousands of Nigerians with impunity and had even kidnapped the 200 Chibok girls without trace till today. That was the argument of the Nigerian VP before his Muslim guests and that is quite important in that Boko Haram has been condemned by all reasonable Muslims both in Nigeria and globally. The VP’s observations therefore tally eminently and realistically with the mood of Nigerians on crushing both Corruption and Boko Haram simultaneously or concurrently as a clear deterrence to both real and potential rebels or insurgents as well as treasury looters and others who have made it their way of life to feather their private nests at the expense of the commonwealth of the Nigerian nation and people.

Similarly President Barak Obama’s speech at the Baltimore mosque was a sermon on tolerance and justice for US Muslims at a time when no less a person than Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump had called obviously in anger that Muslims should be banned from coming to the US on account of the rise of global terrorism especially that of Islamic state and the terrorism that has reared its head on the hitherto safe and sancrosant US homeland. Obviously the emergence of a candidate like Donald Trump in the Republican Party and even Senator Bernie Saunders challenging Hillary Clinton very competitively for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, has been predicated in the US media on anti – establishment politics bordering on hatred for Washington which is US government in broad terms and Wall Street which essentially means big business and banks. Even Bernie Saunders this week accused Hillary Clinton of being beholden to banks given the huge money — $675000 – Goldman Sachs a leading US investment bank paid her for speeches she made on US government activities during her tenure as Secretary of State. Hillary was miffed and asked the Senator to be bold to accuse her of corruption which she vehemently denied.

Indeed l stumbled on an analysis on the internet which listed five reasons why the mood of the US electorate is anti- establishment and fuelled by anger at present. The first is that most US citizens feel that the politicians have short changed them on the economy and that the rich are getting richer while the middle class and the masses are worse off. The second is the issue of immigration which Obama promotes but which given the Migrants crisis outbursts across the Mediterranean to Europe has created panic in the western world including the US and has made some state governments in the US to clash with President Barak Obama on providing refuge for those fleeing foreign wars. Which again clashes with the US political values as a leading democratic nation or champion and exporter of global democracy. The third is that government in Washington looks after the interests of public servants to the detriment of outsiders and those not in the political class. The fourth is the global hatred for the US that the war on terror has created globally especially in the Middle East fuelled by implacable Arab anger over US age long policy of support for Israel against the Palestinians and the concomitant rise of Islamic state and its bloody, beheading borderless caliphates now horrifying the world and showing special hatred for the US and its citizens globally. The fifth is the deep division in ideological terms between the two main US political parties –the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. It was stated clearly that the Republicans have become more conservative while the Democrats have become more liberal leading to a deep division or gulf between the two now threatening the social cohesion that has sustained the political stability of the US hitherto. Given these scenario it is not surprising that a politician like Donald Trump who claims to be angry with the establishment has emerged on the political scene.

However what I find commendable is the way the US president has confronted the systemic anger that Donald Trump is fuelling for political purposes. In reacting to Obama’s visit to the Mosque in Baltimore, Trump was even more aggressive and contemptuous. He said he – Obama- has more important places to go and he went to a mosque. But Obama has stood up for the underdog which Muslims have become because of the terrorism and security threat created by Islamic State globally. If one recalls that Obama in his biography recalled how he followed his step father to a mosque in Djarkata, Indonesia for which some later called him a Muslim sympathizer and some mischief makers also called for a fatwah on him as a former Muslim, then one should appreciate his courage in taking on Donald Trump and stemming the anger against Muslims while soliciting for tolerance for them in spite of the horror and terrorism of IS. President Obama has shown rare courage on this Baltimore mosque visit. He has shown clearly that when duty calls or danger no leader worth his salt should be found wanting. That is a lesson that Donald Trump should learn in spite of his anger against Muslims coming to the US which he called a security issue and not a religious one. Obama has shown leadership against all odds and at great personal risk. That is an example worth emulating by good world leaders and he has my undiluted admiration this time around . Again long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Nation

Nigeria needs moral leaders to kill corruption —Buhari

Nigeria needs moral leaders to kill corruption —Buhari

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo (left), receiving an award as Grand Patron of Save Democracy Group Africa, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, from former Deputy Senate President/National Council Chairman, Save Democracy Group Africa, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, at the summit of the group, in Abuja, on Monday. With them is the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki. PHOTO: NAN

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, said Nigeria can only tackle corruption successfully if it gets moral leaders who will not steal the commonwealth.

The president, who made the submission in a speech presented on his behalf by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, at the opening ceremony of the National Political Summit in Abuja, said for the country to sustain its democracy and gain respect across Africa, it must evolve moral leaders.

The summit, organised by the Save Democracy Africa, headed by the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Ghali Umar Na’Abba, had as its theme: 2015 General Election: The Gains and Building Positive Political Culture for Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria.”

According to the president, “every step to the balance of a stable democracy is worth it. My support for sustained dialogue amongst political stakeholders and key actors in our country will help in speeding up the political evolution of our country, grow our politics, building understanding and definitely help our people.

“For the Save Democracy Group Africa, as the name implies, has one objective of positively impacting the different culture in Africa, politics at the end must serve the people, the task of nation building primarily rest on the political elite, the strength of democratic institutions also rely on the commitment of that same elite to the success of these institutions.

“I say selflessness and self respect because it requires a deep understanding of one’s role in the destiny of one’s people and those yet unborn to hold political power and yet allow one’s self to be subject to the rule of law and other restraining rules and conventions.”

Also peaking at the summit, Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, said Nigerians were no longer attuned to excuses from public office holders, adding that the countrymen would vote out any leader who fails to perform.

Saraki said the Eighth Senate, under his leadership, would ensure that there was no longer room for diversion of public funds.

According to him, the National Assembly would work with the executive to fight corruption in all sectors, adding that discretionary spending of government resources, unbudgeted expenditures, procurement abuses and diversion of public monies must stop.

“The 2015 general election has changed Nigeria for good. Its implications will continue to redefine the Nigerian political space for sometime to come. For the first time, the voice of the Nigerian people was definitive and unmistakable. They wanted change.

“For those of us who, by this election, have been entrusted with shaping the destination we travel from now, there is a clear and distinct warning, the change demanded by Nigerians from the 2015 election are not without consequences. The victory was won out of turmoil and strife. It was an election won on the belief that Nigeria, together, is our best chance of becoming the greatest of all black nations,” he said.

Saraki added that Nigerians had called on their leaders to stamp out corruption, improve governance, accountability, transparency, service delivery and human right protection, adding that the National Assembly was ready to roll out an array of reforms to ensure accountability.

In his presentation at the summit, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, said the decision of the legislature to stop the third term bid of former President Olusegun Obasanjo was the greatest achievements of the Nigerian legislature.

He said the decision by the lawmakers helped to save Nigeria’s democracy from going the way of some emerging democracies in Africa, adding that the legislature had contributed immensely to the stability of Nigeria’s democracy.

He said the 2015 general election was a success as technology impacted greatly on the exercise, adding, however, that there was the need to amend the Electoral Act to accommodate electronic voting.

“Perhaps, the greatest achievement of the legislature in Nigeria was the unanimous rejection of the third term bid of former President Obasanjo,” he said, adding that the National Assembly was vehement in its rejection of a proposal to elongate the tenure of the president to 12 years.

Meanwhile, a former interim leader of the Government of Liberia, Professor Amos Sawyer, has said Nigeria needed to build on the outcome of the 2015 elections.

Speaking on the topic: “Building positive Political Culture for Sustainable Democracy in Africa,” Sawyer, at the summit on Monday, said the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria was historic, adding that its success averted breakdown of law and order in spite of tension prior to the poll.

Elder statesman, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule, who also spoke at the event, said if Nigeria as a country must get it right, it must revisit and revive the past and produce leaders that would not steal.

In his opening remarks, the Director- General, Save Democracy Group Africa, Dr Ifedi Okwenna, had stated that the summit would be an annual event, adding that the concept was put together in the absence of credible platform for continuous dialogue in Africa.

http://www.tribuneonlineng.com/nigeria-needs-moral-leaders-to-kill-corruption-—buhari

President Buhari says only moral elites can deliver dividends of democracy

President Buhari says only moral elites can deliver dividends of democracy

NAN-H-96 Summit Abuja, Jan. 25, 2016 (NAN) President Muhammadu Buhari says the dividends of democracy can only be delivered by an elite who is prepared to offer exemplary moral leadership. Buhari stated this while declaring open the 2016 annual National Political Summit organised by the Save Democracy Group Africa (SDG-Africa) on Monday in Abuja. Buhari, represented by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo, said that it also required as elite that ``understands that leadership is a high calling. ``Delivering such promises requires a leadership that is prepared to make sacrifice of self and parochial interest for the good of the people. ``No matter how simple this may sound, democracy can only deliver on its promises grounded by a moral elite who is prepared to offer exemplary moral leadership. ``A leadership, who is prepared to place the nation and the people above self, prepare to serve without making profit or wealth in any way,’’ Buhari said. He said that the task of nation building rested on political elites as well as the strength and success of democratic institutions also to a large extent, depending on the selflessness and commitment of the same elites. ``It entails selflessness and indeed self-restrain, because it requires a deep moral understanding of ones role in the destinies of millions of ones’ people and those yet to be born to hold political power and yet allows oneself to be subject to rule of law and restraining institutional rules and conventions. ``The deformed position of a person without understanding in power is to maximise position for private, family, ethnic and religious advantage. ``That attitude encourages corrupt behaviour, disrespect for democratic institutions, impunity and ultimately the state lose the capacity to maintain law and order and to deliver economic and social goods to the people.’’ He said that leaders of the nations of the world that managed to deliver decent democratic gains to their people had first conquered selfish desires to use power for personal or parochial gains. ``Democracy by itself cannot heal the terrible defect in the human condition that makes a politician demand and take bribe, steal the resources which are meant to provide drugs to hospitals, schools for our children and road for us all. ``We are all witness to some of the revelations of the ways some of the political and military elites in the last administration corruptly handled billions of dollars of funds meant to procure arms and equipment to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria. ``How do you explain the callousness that enable leaders to seek to benefit from civil conflicts?’’ The president, however, expressed the hope that the summit would lead to the evolution of moral leadership in Nigeria. ``My challenge to this distinguished body therefore is seek answer to the question of how to ensure leadership in Nigeria and indeed Africa is culture-realistic, selfless and committed to the common courses that will up light the people.’’ Buhari commended the SDG-Africa for his investiture as the Grand Patron of the group and conferring the Life Time Democracy Award on him. ``I think they are giving me this award as some form of compensation for three times and indeed the four time of my trying to be the president of this country.’’ He also commended the group for honouring Nigerians who had contributed immensely and selflessly to the development of Nigeria’s democracy. Buhari said that the theme of the summit ``2015 General Election: Consolidating the Gains and Building Positive Political Culture for Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria’’ was very apt. He said that every step on the part of virile and sustainable democracy was worth studying, even as we celebrated. ``My support for this summit is hinged on the need to promote continuous and sustained dialogue among political stakeholders and key actors in our polity and across party lines. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highlight of the summit was the presentation of the Nigeria Hero of Democracy Award on Former President Goodluck Jonathan. A Posthumus Award for Good Democratic Governance was also conferred on late President Musa Umaru YarÁdua. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was also presented with President of Nigerian Shield of Democracy Award among others.

http://nannewsnigeria.com/president-buhari-says-only-moral-elites-can-deliver-dividends-democracy