Realigning Our Expectations -By Olúfémi Àjàlá

On Tuesday March 31, 2015 President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan called General Muhammadu Buhari to concede defeat in the March 28/29 2015 presidential election and congratulate him on his victory. And what a victory it was; fourth time was the charm for the “People’s General”. I don’t know how long that call was, but it couldn’t have been an easy one for the incumbent to make. It was a call that GEJ needed to make. We had been monitoring state returns and by midday on the 31st it was clear to the rational that the incumbent had lost the election.

Following Orubebe’s outburst earlier in the day, I didn’t know what to think and like most Nigerians I was on pins and needles. “What now”? Going by precedence (in Nigeria and indeed Africa), the logical next step would be mayhem inflicted by the incumbent’s party and then after much fighting and destruction, martial music on the radio signaling the end of another attempt at a true republic; rinse and repeat. By making that call with the results from three states still left to be declared by INEC, GEJ made Nigerian, indeed African history: he chose to create another path at the “what now?” crossroads – the “respect the wishes of the electorate no matter what” path.

Cutlass in hand GEJ went swinging through the bush, clearing the path that will lead to May 29th, the date his administration formally hands over government to GMB’s. Will he be alone in this path-clearing exercise? No, he won’t. Others have since joined him, his wife Dame Patience has even reached out to Hajia Buhari to congratulate her. The sigh of relief that escaped the nation was audible across the world.

As the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, GEJ needed to set the right example at this crucial point in our young democracy and he stepped up to the plate. By making that phone call, GEJ set the tone for this transition period: civility and professionalism. He also effectively took the wind out of the sails of the “we will make Nigeria ungovernable” mob and all their opportunistic hangers on.

Reactions to news of his concession were quick and unanimous: GEJ was the man! In living rooms and beer parlours, via phone calls and text messages, on social and traditional media, adjectives previously reserved for deities were being used to describe GEJ. And who can blame us? We have been abused by our leaders and have become accustomed to them riding roughshod all over us. We have been browbeaten into setting the bar so low that when one shows up for work, it is cause for celebration. By default our leaders do what they like with the mandate they are given, throwing the rules that define said mandate out of the window in favour of their own self-serving rules made up along the way. And why do we put up with this behaviour? I honestly don’t have an answer.

An acquaintance said to me, “Do you think Obasanjo would have allowed this to happen? He would have poured soldiers on to the streets and caused all kinds of mayhem!” This is what we are used to; no election would stand, the result of which does not align with the incumbent’s own plan; this is why we have 133 million people in the voters’ register in Nigeria today. And this is the backdrop/context for the outpouring of praise for GEJ in the wake of his concession.

A friend posted on Facebook, “Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan a gentleman and an Elder Statesman”. Another posted, “If I may be so bold, I will like to propose that the next Nobel Peace Prize be awarded to the outgoing president of Nigerian – President Goodluck Jonathan!” GEJ certainly has been gentlemanly in his direct actions so far, I would wait till he actually steps down from government and he is asked back for advice before calling him an elder statesman.

With the fellow who posted about awarding GEJ the Peace Prize I had a more drawn out conversation. Why should GEJ get a nomination for the Peace Prize? Why should it be awarded to him, I asked. “By his actions to establish and implement electoral reform, ensure free and fair elections and respecting the outcomes” he said, further noting that GEJ’s actions have directly averted the shedding of blood (as a result of the acceptance/non acceptance of the election’s result).

I have to commend GEJ for the first point raised by my Facebook friend. In his bid to bring some kind of reform to electoral practice in Nigeria, GEJ made the uncharacteristically brilliant decision to appoint Attahiru Jega as the INEC chairman. Jega overcame earlier missteps to prove to be the best person for the job. In all though, I do not think my friend’s submission qualifies GEJ for nomination for the Peace Prize, and here is why.

According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who in the preceding year “shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.

In the months leading up to the election, GEJ’s surrogates had been up and down the country spreading lies and fomenting discord. His wife is on record as saying the most terrible things on the campaign trail; statements designed to push specific ethnic and religious buttons and maintain friction along those lines, so they can be exploited come Election Day.

Boko Haram flourished during GEJ’s tenure, however they came to be (rumored to be the Northern equivalent of the Southern hooligans from the 1960s), they have now evolved into a group taking Nigerian lives and annexing Nigerian territory. GEJ is on record, earlier this year, as saying he underestimated them, perhaps for the reasons stated above. The Chibok girls went missing and it took weeks for him to respond and only after everybody on earth had weighed in, further disenfranchising Northerners.
If we liken Nigeria to a house, GEJ’s actions up until March 28 can be likened to him rigging the house up with explosives to blow it all to smithereens. His conceding defeat and accepting the results of the election can be likened to him not lighting the fuse. Do we now applaud him for this? For showing restraint at the last minute? I don’t think so.

As this new day dawns for Nigeria, we need to seize this opportunity to begin to redirect our thinking. Why are we all so astounded by GEJ’s actions? As the President, this is the expectation of him. If one were writing his appraisal he should get a “meets expectation” comment. Lets shift our expectation of our elected officials from nothing to something; let’s start with the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari. Let GMB know we expect him to do his job (we have done ours by electing him). Let’s hold him to account based on campaign promises, call bullshit where necessary and generally be engaged on a daily basis (no checking out and checking back in in 2019).

Lets raise the bar! Our votes just pushed GEJ into the history books. It is time we begin to require our elected officials to work for the good of the people they are elected to lead.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. May our union continue to grow in strength.