Osinbajo more Buharist than Buhari
Minabere Ibelema
President Muhammadu Buhari seems to have a knack for picking vice presidents who execute his mission with greater zeal than he.
His 1984-1985 military regime was readily the most draconian in Nigerian history. Government appointees were summarily dismissed for some dereliction or another. The suspected corrupt were imprisoned without trial. And for the first time, Nigerians were whipped into learning to be orderly in public matters such as queueing up to board a bus.
Initially, this was all attributed to General Buhari, the gap-toothed and smiley commander-in-chief. But it was soon learned that the dynamo behind the draconian measures was actually Buhari's second-in-command, the grim-faced General Tunde Idiabgon.
About 32 years later, there appears to be a reprise, this time in the context of democratic governance. Buhari is the head of state again and in place of Idiagbon, he now has Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. As Buhari tarries in Britain tending to his health, Osinbajo has taken over the presidency. And by all accounts he is executing Buhari's mission with a greater sense of urgency.
Osinbajo has even demonstrated an Idiagbon-like facility for quick action. When he visited the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and found the air-conditioner non-functioning, the conveyor belts broken, and the toilets in tartars, he summarily dismissed directors of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. Now, that's as assertive a leader as one can be.
But that's the extent of the comparison with Idiagbon on the matter of quick action. From all indications, Osinbajo is deeply imbued with democratic ethos. When protesters amassed outside the presidency, he reportedly sent vehicles to bring their leaders to his office. He listened to complaints about continued corruption in the civil service and agreed with the protesters.
"We hear you loud and clear," he was quoted as telling the protest leaders. And he pledged to continue working to root out the problem.
Idiagbon would certainly have sent vehicles to fetch the protest leaders. But the vehicles would have been armoured, the protest leaders would have been accused of subversive actions, and they would have been driven straight to Kirikiri prison.
What is getting Vice President Osinbajo much kudos is not just his democratic credentials or that he can act peremptorily like Idiagbon, but that he is moving Buhari's national agenda with greater dynamism than Buhari himself. Where the retired general dithers, the lawyer-clergy-politician moves swiftly. It is normally the other way around.
Reuters recently captured the general sense that things are moving faster in a story headlined "Buhari's sick leave re-energizes Nigeria's presidency." Among other things the news agency cites recent action on further devaluation of the naira for domestic purposes, faster issuance of business licensing to lure international investors, and heavier workload on civil servants.
"We believe the reform agenda is back on track," Reuters quotes Bismarck Rewane, CEO of Financial Derivatives, as saying. "The reform agenda has always been there but is more visible now with the vice president."
The story also reports on Osinbajo's work ethic. Where the 74-year-Buhari and his aides regularly end their workday at 4 p.m., the 59-year-old Osinbajo and his aides stay until 7 p.m. and beyond. In fact, Osinbajo is said to continue working even after he returns to his residence.
"This man is a workaholic," Reuters quotes an anonymous staff member in the presidency as saying. "I wonder whether he rests at all because he even shifts some of the meetings to his official residence."
Many developing countries are left adrift when the president is incapacitated or otherwise not in charge. Nigeria is lucky to not be one of those.
The go-slow in the implementation of policies by the Buhari administration is reportedly caused by delays or inaction by his aides. Those aides and Buhari himself are now observing how the government has run without him. When he returns — we all hope he will return — Buhari may want to consider integrating the vice presidency more closely into his policy execution processes.
One loud cheer for a conviction
For a country that is universally known as one of the most corrupt in the world, it has been an incredible anomaly that hardly anyone ever gets convicted. The most notable convictions have taken place abroad. I am referring, of course, to the convictions of flagbearers such as the recently released James Ibori and recently deceased Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
Now we have a conviction of our own. Former Adamawa State Governor James Bala Ngilari has been sentenced to five years in prison for the fraudulent procurement of 25 vehicles at the cost of N167 million during his seven-month tenure that ended in May 2015.
Now we may recall that Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State, told us in the much publicized speech in October last year that such procurements are among the most common ways that public funds get diverted. Ngilari was in office for just seven months. What if he had been there for one year, or one term or two terms? You do the maths.
It is also noteworthy that Adamawa is one of the Northeastern states whose poverty is said to have galvanized Boko Haram. It is one of the state's that have borne the brunt of the terrorist group's mayhem. Yet, even there, a governor bought more cars than the government had to have at prices that are obscene. So, let's hear it for Justice Nathan Musa, who handed down Ngilari's conviction.
However, it is too early to cheer. Ngilari's lawyers have vowed to appeal. And we know that in Nigeria appeals last forever. Still, Justice Musa may want to write a primer for his colleagues on how to cut through the legal fog that suffocates other trials.
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