Well, here’s the award for the ‘Most Disgraceful Political Behaviour’ ahead of 2023. And the joint winners are: Goodluck Jonathan, former president of Nigeria, and Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Together, they are inducted into the political ‘Hall of Shame’ for putting their political ambitions above common decency and political decorum and insulting the intelligence of Nigerians.
In any civilised democracy, where the norms of political integrity and public ethics prevail, Jonathan and Emefiele would attract intense and sustained media criticism and public opprobrium. Consider how the British media and public unrelentingly hold their politicians and public figures to account even for minor indiscretions.
In any civilised democracy, where the norms of political integrity and public ethics prevail, Jonathan and Emefiele would attract intense and sustained media criticism and public opprobrium
Yet, what Jonathan and Emefiele did are not minor indiscretions. They plumbed new depths in undermining integrity in public life, in damaging the fabrics of politics and democracy in Nigeria. As I have often argued, the first step towards sanitising politics and democracy in Nigeria is a critical mass of enlightened and active citizens who can act as a bulwark against bad political behaviours, who can swiftly reject ignoble political behaviours such as Jonathan and Emefiele displayed with impunity.
Let’s start with Jonathan. As a former president, he should show outstanding leadership in upholding and protecting the integrity of politics in Nigeria. Sadly, his recent political shenanigans undermined the development of politics and the party system in Nigeria.
In truth, I have never been a fan of Jonathan. In a meritocratic society, where politics is fairly competitive, he would not be mayor of a major city like New York or London. But, thanks to godfatherism and serendipity, he became president of Nigeria. He made a complete hash of the job, and rightly suffered an unprecedented re-election defeat. However, utterly self-entitled and lacking self-awareness, he wanted to return to power. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he wanted to do so by defecting from the party that made him what he is to the party that unseated him from power and repudiated everything his government stood for.
Last year, I wrote a piece titled “A word for Jonathan: Decamp to APC and your reputation is in tatters” (BusinessDay, October 18, 2021). I argued that it would be morally repugnant and reputationally damaging for Jonathan to decamp from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), under which, without parallel, he was deputy governor, acting governor, governor, deputy president, acting president and president, the last of which gave him international platform and recognition.
Let’s face it, Jonathan owed PDP an apology because his appalling performance and perfidy damaged the party and cost it power in 2015. Some people say that Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State, and the South-West helped make General Muhammadu Buhari president in 2015. But that’s not the whole story!
True, Tinubu helped form the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a formidable opposition party. But the APC would not have won the 2015 presidential election if PDP had not imploded, thanks to Jonathan’s woeful performance and his refusal to honour an agreement to serve only one term after winning the election in 2011, thus completing the second term of his joint-ticket with President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who died in office in May 2010.
Lest we forget. It was Jonathan’s poor performance and his betrayal of an agreement to do only one term that turned prominent PDP politicians, including former President Obasanjo, against him. Imagine if he had voluntarily and in good faith stepped down for a popular PDP candidate from the North in 2015. The party might have kept the eight northern states it won in 2011. And if it kept the eight northern states in 2015, instead of losing five of them to APC, Buhari might not have become president, despite the South-West’s votes. But Jonathan’s insistence on running in 2015 forced several sitting and former PDP governors and countless other prominent members to decamp to APC, or oppose his re-election, thereby destabilising the PDP and helping the APC to win power.
Yet, instead of apologising to the PDP and helping to rebuild the party, Jonathan was prepared to run against it as APC’s presidential candidate in next year’s elections. That’s the saga that has unfolded over the past few weeks, with a fascinating chronology of events.
First, on April 22, Jonathan told protesters urging him to run for the 2023 presidency: “The political process is ongoing. Just watch out!” Then, on May 9, a group of nomadic pastoralists and Almajiris bought him APC’s N100 million nomination forms. Jonathan dissociated himself from the group’s action, saying he didn’t authorise them to purchase the forms for him. But after a two-hour meeting with the Fulani group, he was considering doing a U-turn and accept their offer. On May 11, he held a closed-door meeting with APC’s national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, reportedly telling him that he would run for president under APC if the party made him its consensus candidate.
Yet, in the end, Jonathan did not submit the presidential forms, despite the extension of the deadline, reportedly because of him. Why? Well, he saw the handwriting on the wall. Without being a consensus candidate, he stood no chance of clinching the APC’s presidential ticket.
As someone said, “the former president just wants a coronation as the presidential ticket bearer.” But APC wasn’t willing to anoint him. Why would the APC make him a consensus candidate and risk its own implosion, its own convulsion? Jonathan’s political naivety is baffling.
But the fact that Jonathan even considered running against PDP in next year’s presidential race was, in itself, the lowest depths of political immorality, it was utterly unconscionable. Well, inevitably, realpolitik kicked in, forcing him into ignominious retreat. You can’t whitewash this, even if you wanted to; it’s total humiliation for the former president!
Turning to Emefiele. Well, the most striking thing about him is his sheer arrogance and self-indulgence. Despite constantly invoking God, he lacks sound judgment and moral rectitude. How could someone with “35 years of banking leadership” not see the utter incongruence between being a sitting central bank governor and a presidential aspirant?
Read also: Emefiele’s power thirst: A failed litmus test for true economic leadership
In a piece titled “2023: Central banker or politician? Emefiele must decide what he is” (BusinessDay, April 18, 2022), I argued that Emefiele couldn’t pursue his presidential ambitions as a sitting CBN governor. Leaving aside his role in the management of Nigeria’s economy, it’s inappropriate for him to run for president a sitting CBN governor, given the constraints of the CBN Act, the Public Service Rules and the fact that sensitive election materials are stored with the CBN. Yet, Emefiele was so determined to run for the 2023 presidency that he rushed to the court, seeking relief to join the contest for the APC’s presidential ticket while serving as CBN governor.
Well, on May 11, President Buhari pulled the plug, ordering all federal political appointees with political ambitions to resign. That forced Emefiele into a humiliating climbdown. He decided to cut his losses. He didn’t want to lose his CBN job, so he abruptly dropped his presidential ambitions. But not before sending a parting shot to Nigerians.
After a meeting with the president on May 12, Emefiele was asked about the anxiety his presidential ambition was causing among Nigerians. He replied: “Let them have a heart attack. It’s good to have a heart attack. I am having a lot of fun.” How infantile!
Truth is, Emefiele has been utterly compromised as CBN governor, being a registered member of a political party, with known political ambitions. Elsewhere, he won’t keep the job! He must resign or be sacked!
But here’s the broader point. Left to their own devices, Nigerian politicians will push the boundaries of acceptable behaviours. Like Jonathan and Emefiele, they must be forced into retreats, however humiliating!
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