Between Tinubu’s Campaign Manifesto And Reality -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

Tinubu’s campaign manifesto has continued to elicit reaction from many concerned Nigerians for obvious reasons bordering on the failure of his political platform, the All Progressives Congress (APC) to deliver on their previous campaign promises, the contradictions inherent in the manifesto document and the Asiwaju’s ignoble pedigree and his numerous scandals. As one who pride himself as the person that enthroned Buhari as Nigerian President and who appraised him (Buhari) to have performed creditably well and pledged to continue from where he stopped, it is expected that he dusts up Buhari’s change manifesto or his next level manifesto but instead he seems to be parroting MKO Abiola’s steps as alleged by Dele Momodu, Dino Melaye and others. Why I do not see anything wrong in copying what is right, I will point out without equivocation that consistency with words and action is the hallmark of integrity. Tinubu’s inconsistency was as aptly captured by a colleague as follows: “Tinubu stated in the manifesto that Nigerians do not want the broken, unimaginative, failed promises repackaged and fed to them again and yet he stated that the total transformation of Nigeria can be achieved by building on the foundation laid by the present APC administration that is known for failed promises”.

Indeed, the Tinubu APC’s manifesto is a patchwork of statements of intentions carelessly strung together to beguile the electorates again. It lacks clarity and definitive goals. The Emi-Lokan manifesto as it has come to be known is a document that cannot be relied on for there seems to be a mismatch of policy and strategy. Tinubu and his Emi-Lokan manifesto connote uncertainty, inconsistency and fakery. I felt outraged as I skimmed through the 80-page document knowing that it is meant as a mere propaganda tool. At best, it is a document that is meant to: “turn a rotten situation into a bad one,” to quote the Asiwaju himself.

The obvious implication of this is either that Tinubu and his camp do not know the purpose of campaign manifesto or they are just doing it for doing sake believing that Nigerians are indifferent about it. It is pertinent to point out here that campaign manifesto is beyond sloganeering.  It is beyond mere propaganda, catchphrase or campaign mantra. It is a historical document for the present and future references. It is like a contract; a binding document the deviation from could have consequences in different dimensions in enlightened environments where people hold their leaders accountable.

My grouse with Tinubu is his hypocrisy, his notoriety for not keeping his words and his numerous false claims which is akin to taking the country for granted. Tinubu stated that he will deal with issue of petroleum subsidy. But prior to 2015, Tinubu and his camp led the campaign against petroleum subsidy saying it was a scam but seven and a half years later upon coming to power, the government that he installed has paid out more money as subsidy than that of the previous administrations and yet Tinubu remained taciturn. Tinubu’s manifesto contained promises to provide power and give the country infrastructural facelift and that again cannot be trusted. Tinubu’s ally and political protégé, Raji Fashola has been in charge of power, works and housing but his impact is not in any way felt except in the negatives despite the huge budget allocations to those ministries. In the past Tinubu and his group have led the crusade for restructuring and power sharing but opposed these and vehemently stuck to government of exclusion under the APC regime. How then does he want the Nigerians to believe that he is going to implement the true federalism item on his manifesto? Tinubu has created for himself the image of a man who “consistently inconsistent” as some public commentators put it. For instance, Tinubu opposed and boycotted the National Conference convened by the Goodluck Jonathan regime to address our national issues even when he had used the campaign for what he called Sovereign National Conference to gain relevance in the past.

Evidently, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu sees the campaign manifesto as a means to an end; a means to bulldoze his way into power, a means to cajole the electorate rather than a commitment and mandate that should be accomplish if elected. It smirks of insensitivity, irresponsibility and lack of integrity to make promises that you do not intend to keep. Tinubu and his ilk should be told that Politics is not about deception and spoofing but about nation building. If Tinubu who prides himself as the leader of the political contraption called APC cannot lead the party to fulfill any of its campaign promises and yet claims that the party has done well and that he will continue with the party’s policies it means that Tinubu has failed ab initio. He cannot be trusted at all what with his false claims, shadowy background, inglorious pedigree, numerous scandals…

I have tried to do a comparative analysis of Tinubu and Atiku’s manifesto and my finding is that Atiku Abubakar’s manifesto is more compact and specific and therefore more realistic. The background analysis shows his grasp of the current situation, the challenges as well as the task ahead. There is a clear correlation between the diagnosed problems and the measures to contain them. And I am more comfortable with Atiku who aptly titled his document my covenant with Nigerians. The implication is that he recognized the manifesto as not just a campaign document but a monument, his mandate and a pact that is binding on him. Without doubt, Atiku’s document when juxtaposed with Tinubu’s nebulous manifesto is like comparing light and darkness. Atiku has demonstrated readiness and preparedness. Atiku exemplifies professionalism, organization and eagerness to work. Atiku is realistic with his measurable and attainable goals as contained in his manifesto. Atiku’s five point agenda that center on power devolution, unifying the country, providing security, developing the economy and Education are more realistic and germane to our present situation. 

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com

An actress, social activist, politician

London, UK