AN ADVICE FOR MR PRESIDENT

A word for Mr. President

Yesterday, President Goodluck Jonathan became the fourth elected civilian President of Nigeria since independence in 1960. Though I’m usually reluctant to refer to May 29 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day, Jonathan’s inauguration was a significant event in the history of the country. The elections that gave birth to this year’s May 29 celebrations were adjudged free and fair by local and international observers and this gives the hope that, finally, Nigeria may be on the much-awaited path to palpable growth.

More importantly, the day also marked the beginning of real work for the young Jonathan administration. Though, he had been there for about a year as President, his pre-elections stint at Aso Rock was apparently to solidify his political base and prepare the grounds for real presidency. It was, as observed, a period to call every monkey a king to garner the needed support for a return.

But now that the deal has been sealed and Jonathan has emerged the people’s President, he must, as a matter of urgency, cut growth-inhibiting political ties as the first step to serving the interests of those who elected him. But to do that, he must take some time to learn from great leaders, like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, that he must remain resolute in decision making even if it means crushing the toes of overbearing godfathers.

In his determination to transform Singapore, a third world Island that did not have its own power or even drinking water, into an international business hub, Lee ignored the complaints of those who called him an autocrat. He did what he thought was right, as long as it was in the interest of the economy.

One law that people usually cited as an example of how autocratic Lee’s rule was, was the chewing gum ban that was enacted in the country in 1992. Visitors, no matter their colour, knew at the time, that they could not chew gum in that country and walk away. And why was chewing gum banned? Because people used to litter everywhere by sticking them under tables and chairs! Some had called that action petty, but I would say that it was a reflection of the “no-nonsense” regime he planned to sail the country through troubled waters.

The first learning point for Jonathan is that Lee, the first prime minister of Singapore, could not be misled or intimidated to abandon a policy that had been proved to be in the interest of the country’s economy. In a September 25, 2003 assessment of Lee as a leader, Asia Times quoted him as saying that if he found an obstacle in the way of a policy or goal he thought needed to be achieved, he would not “hesitate to use a bulldozer to clear the way”. “Anybody, who decides to take me on needs to put on knuckledusters. If you think you can hurt me more than I can hurt you, try,” Lee would say.

And when asked to defend his leadership style, he was always quick to say that he must be tough because Singapore, as a poor country, required firm leadership to produce the needed economic stability, which sceptics felt was unattainable. But he did not stop at that.

Realising that there must be continuity of dedicated and informed leadership to sustain the Singaporean success, he selected and trained intelligent young leaders to take over from where he stopped in 1990.

Beyond this, another key learning point for Nigeria’s new President is that Lee built a fantastic economic team around himself to break the old Singaporean poverty plague, under a regime that had no place for corruption.

While announcing Lee’s decision to quit the cabinet as “Minister Mentor” on May 15, 2011, the Satay Club, Singapore’s popular online news medium, said, “Lee Kuan Yew leaves behind a culture that prizes meritocracy and has no tolerance for corruption. He introduced legislation to strengthen the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, and more controversially, proposed, in 1994, that the salaries of ministers and top civil servants should be linked to top professionals in the private sector to maintain a clean and honest government.”

Because his efforts were genuine, they were not in vain. The 2011 Corruption Perception Index, compiled by Transparency International, rated Singapore the least corrupt country in the world. The country’s economic indices are as excellent. Currently, unemployment rate in Singapore is only slightly above two per cent, while the country was rated the fastest growing economy in the first half of 2010 with an impressive growth rate of 17.9 per cent.

Back home, the virtual break down of law and order after former President Olusegun Obasanjo left the scene reveals the need for this kind of domineering rule in Nigeria’s quest for sustainable growth.

OBJ might have, along the line, committed some political blunders, grave enough to hang him. But one cannot take away the fact that he was firm enough to push the right policies through at the right time, through his dogged support for his second term “star” disciples.

Under him, the National Assembly was not as unruly as it is today, the fear of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission became the beginning of wisdom for public officials and the economy recorded modest gains. Like Lee, OBJ would not hesitate “to clear the way with a bulldozer” if he must push a policy through. Though this might not have been particularly palatable, it scored some good points.

For instance, at the time OBJ appointed Nuhu Ribadu to head the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nigeria was the most corrupt country in the world, according to Transparency International. But the daring anti-corruption crusade, which hung political heavyweights out to dry without apology, moved the country six places up the TI ladder within two years, and served as the icing on the efforts of the cabinet’s stars.

For Jonathan, his regime has started on a good footing and should, ordinarily, produce better results. But since success does not come on a platter of gold, the President must begin his journey by recognising that he does not have to repay “godfathers” with political appointments. It is a good thing that people have said he is a listening President, but he cannot afford to listen to every sycophant, lest he run the economy into a ditch.

In a few days, Jonathan will take his first important step. He will name those he has chosen to drive the economy. I may not have a candidate for Mr. President, but I do know that Nigerians would be disappointed to see the names of the same old, tired hands that have continued to commit the same economic blunders.

The people have demonstrated, using their votes, that this country is not the property of a few opportunists that are being rotated around “juicy” posts. The President should, therefore, sacrifice all the “dropouts” on the Peoples Democratic Party’s list for a winning team. Like Lee, he needs the best of the pack to wake the economy from slumber. This is no time for tired legs!