October 29, (THEWILL) – The Supreme Court of Nigeria has finally put an end to the legal battle over the presidential election of 2023. It has officially drawn to a conclusion the electoral process for that particular poll.
The apex court upheld the victory of Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over his challengers, Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The court dismissed the petitions filed by Obi and Atiku, who both alleged that the election was marred by irregularities, violence and fraud.
The judgement has been welcomed by President Tinubu, his party and his supporters, who celebrated their triumph as a validation of their mandate and a victory for democracy. The President thanked Nigerians for their trust and confidence in him and pledged to work for the unity, peace and progress of the country. He also extended a hand of friendship to his opponents and urged them to join him in the task of nation-building.
However, the judgement has been met with disappointment and dismay by Obi and Atiku, their supporters and Nigerians who did not vote for the President, who rejected the verdict as a subversion of the will of the people.
Notwithstanding, the Supreme Court judgement has thus brought to a close one of the most contentious and prolonged electoral disputes in Nigeria’s history that went as far as District courts in the US. It has also set the stage for a new phase in the country’s political landscape, where Tinubu will have to face the daunting challenges of governance, while Obi and Atiku will have to play the role of opposition.
Indeed, President Tinubu’s victory at the Supreme Court does not mean that he can rest on his laurels or take the people’s mandate for granted. Plus, there is definitely no time to gloat. On the contrary, it means that he has to work harder and smarter to deliver on his campaign promises and meet the expectations of all Nigerians. He has to prove that he is not only a successful politician, with a history in Lagos State, but also an effective leader with the capacity to lead a country as diverse and fractious as Nigeria with a chronic and perennial economic problem.
It will be obvious to the President by now that he inherited a country facing a myriad of problems that are threatening its stability, security and development. He must therefore train all his focus and the weight of talent at his disposal to dealing with hydra headed problems that have made the people poorer and wiped out hundreds of billions of naira in wealth.
The Naira has been on a downward spiral against major currencies for several years. The exchange rate has reached an all-time low of over NGN1000 per Dollar, making imports more expensive and exports less competitive. This has resulted in even more inflation, unemployment, poverty and hardship for millions of Nigerians. Tinubu has to find ways to stabilise the Naira, boost foreign reserves, diversify the economy and encourage local production.
In tandem with that, his government will have to deal with foreign earnings shortages. The scarcity of dollars in the country has been worsened by the decline in oil revenues, which account for over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings.
Incessant domestic sabotage by bad actors in collaboration with government agents, has reduced Nigeria’s income from oil exports. This has affected the ability of the government to fund its budget, pay its debts and meet its obligations. Tinubu has to find alternative sources of revenue, cut wasteful spending, improve fiscal discipline and transparency, and attract quick foreign investments while working hard to increase oil production to shore up dollar availability.
Increasing local fuel production must be the priority of the president and ensuring that all key major federal government owned roads are repaired as a matter of urgency to ease transportation of goods. I was shocked to hear that it takes more than a week for a truck to get to Kano from Lagos because bad roads. This should not be happening.
Despite previously being Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria, which has been overtaken by Angola, still relies heavily on importing refined petroleum products for domestic consumption. This is because all four of our refineries are not operational due to poor maintenance, sabotage, mismanagement and corruption. The importation of fuel consumes a huge chunk of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, exposes the country to global price fluctuations and creates opportunities for smuggling and subsidy fraud. Tinubu has to revive the refineries, support private sector involvement in refining, as I have always advocated, reduce fuel importation and permanently stop subsidy, while promoting alternative sources of energy.
This will mean effecting a prudent and purposeful stoppage of oil theft. Nigeria loses billions of dollars every year to oil theft or illegal bunkering. This is a criminal activity that involves tapping into pipelines or wells to syphon crude oil or refined products for sale in local or international markets. In some cases it involves illegally loading crude from the main terminals and not reporting it with the activate connivance of rogue oil company employees, security personnel and officials from the regulator agencies. Oil theft causes environmental damage, pipeline explosions, revenue loss, security threats and social unrest. Tinubu has to crack down on oil thieves, prosecute offenders, protect pipelines and wells, enhance surveillance and monitoring and collaborate with neighbouring countries to curb cross-border smuggling.
Related to this issue is the responsibility of this government to improve security. We are currently grappling with various forms of insecurity that pose serious challenges to our peace and stability as a country. These include terrorism by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), banditry and kidnapping by armed groups, communal clashes and farmer-herder conflicts, unknown gunmen, secessionist agitations and militancy in the Niger Delta, and cultism and gang violence in urban areas. These security threats have claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions of people, affected farmers, destroyed property and infrastructure, and disrupted economic and social activities.
Tinubu has to strengthen the security forces, equip them with modern weapons and technology, improve their welfare and morale, enhance intelligence gathering and sharing, foster dialogue and reconciliation, and address the root causes of insecurity such as poverty, unemployment, inequality and injustice. The president must again look into state policing. Policing has to be localised to effectively check crime.
Other key areas that require the President’s attention are electricity and healthcare, amongst others. Nigeria has one of the lowest per capita electricity consumption rates in the world. The country’s power sector is plagued by inadequate generation, transmission and distribution capacity, frequent outages and blackouts, high losses and inefficiencies, low tariffs and revenue collection, vandalism and sabotage, and poor governance and regulation. The lack of reliable and affordable power supply has hampered industrialization, productivity, innovation and growth.
While the government is facing these challenges, it will require checks. With the Supreme Court judgement the role of checking the Tinubu government falls on Obi and Atiku as the leaders of the opposition. They have to accept the verdict as the final arbiter of the electoral dispute, respect the rule of law and the constitution of Nigeria. However, this does not mean that they have to abandon their principles or their followers. It will be their responsibility to hold Tinubu accountable for his actions or inactions. They have to criticise his policies or programmes that are detrimental to the nation or its people. They have to offer alternative solutions or perspectives that are constructive or beneficial without the bile of negative politics and the angst of payback.
They have to play the role of an opposition that is patriotic, but without the bitterness of partisanship. They have to cooperate with Tinubu on issues of national importance or consensus even as they oppose him on issues of disagreement or divergence. It will behove them to compete with him on issues of choice or preference.
Their role calls for responsible opposition that is democratic to ensure the government of the day does not become dictatorial. They themselves will have to respect the rights and freedoms of Tinubu and his supporters, while seeking to protect their own rights and freedoms from Tinubu’s abuse or infringement. In all of these, the goal is to abide by the rules and regulations of the electoral system and the constitution of the country.
This means it is their right to be opposition, but without desperation. They have to learn from their mistakes or failures in the past elections, improve their strategies or tactics for future elections and mobilise their supporters accordingly while seeking to attract new ones for future elections.
In the end, we must all realise that the Supreme Court judgement has set a clear direction for Nigeria’s political future. It has given Tinubu a mandate to govern Nigeria for the next four years. It has given Obi and Atiku a mandate to oppose Tinubu for the next four years. The judgement has also given Nigerians a mandate to hold Tinubu accountable for his governance. It has given Nigerians a mandate to hold Obi and Atiku accountable for their opposition.
The judgement has also given Nigerians a mandate to participate in Nigeria’s political process. Now, it is time for the hard work of moving Nigeria forward. We are yearning for a productive country just like we had in the 60s and 70s. Nigerians deserve nothing less. On your marks …
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