Yorubanisation

Ogbuagu doesn’t mind Yorubanisation in President Bola Tinubu’s early appointments but points out its gamble-like consequences.

Contrary to what you may imagine by the choice of essay title, one is here to offer a preemptive and cautious endorsement of what many see as Yorubanisation in President Bola Tinubu’s key appointments. The preemptive message is for the Igbo while the cautionary endorsement is for the benefit of proud Yoruba race and based on the Igbo experience. We shall argue this cautionary support extensively, after dispensing with the preemptive note of warning to Ndigbo.

It is a no-brainer that Ndigbo will be the first to jump into the criticism of the Yorubanisation that is emerging from the early appointments in the Tinubu Administration. Ndigbo have no other reason to do so than the unreflective tendency to dance around the fire of ethnic tension that their political godfathers habitually fan into flames for selfish gains. I would say to them, sheath your swords for this is not necessary at this point. Other ethnic groups watch and wait, bidding for time and opportunity. Why not take a cue from the rest who will judge the performance of the experiment at the appropriate time?

This preemptive advisory for the Igbo would have been unnecessary if the group has someone with the pedigree and willingness to launch a “Yorubanisation” attack, like the “Fulanization” missile that former President Obasanjo hauled at President Buhari in March 2019.  As an example, the likes of Chief Emeka Anyaoku, an Igbo rare breed, are too sophisticated for such a role. The tendency is to leave the denunciations to political neophytes who will activate and extend the familiar ethnic dogfights that question our readiness to live with our ethnic neighbours as one nation.

At any rate, any Igbo criticizing the skewed appointments of President Bola Tinubu today is embarking on an exercise in futility. Since 1960 when Nigeria gained political independence, the Igbo political  image suffered from accusations of the same tendency. I grew up hearing and reading that Igbo leaders of a bygone era discriminated against other ethnic groups. There are those who will swear that this habit persists, both in the public and private sectors of the economy.

Among the Igbo themselves, this claim is at variance with the image of the typical Igbo civil servant and political appointee. They are more likely to be accused of being nationalistic rather than group-centered in the discharge of their duties. But the other image persists and is one of the stated reasons why their ethnic rivals, the true Yoruba and true Fulani, distrust the Igbo political leader and will do everything to ensure that he does not come close to political power.

Today, however, thanks to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Fulani have received their own baptism of fire. The Fulanization agenda that Obasanjo railed against threw Nigerian under the bus, and we now know how competent and inclusive a true Fulani can be if the reins of power are turned over to him.

By a stroke of fate, the Yoruba will now have their turn at the table of national unity and inclusiveness. Until and unless the Supreme Court says otherwise, President Bola Tinubu is firmly in the saddle and his appointments will remain a feature of life in Nigeria, going forward. If Tinubu does not breach the Constitution in his appointments, what should concern every Nigerian, in my view, is not the preponderance of Yoruba appointees but their capacity to put up a command performance in their assigned roles.

Let’s backtrack a bit. So far, most people vociferously promoted by their ethnic groups to become President of Nigeria are by nature provincial in their outlook and politics. In other words, one can always tell how provincial they are by the level of support they receive from their ethnic group as well as the fear that their accession to the throne evokes in minds of citizens of rival ethnic group or groups. This is not a negative comment but one borne out of the facts from our evolving history.

The instinctive fear of rival ethnic leadership has become the burden of political leaders from the three dominant groups – the Fulani, the Yoruba and the Igbo – in their titanic struggles for ultimate power in Nigeria. Among the three, the Fulani appear to be masters of the game, constantly playing the Igbo against the Yoruba, and southeast minorities against the Igbo, to maintain their dominance. Ironically, this political gamesmanship that the Fulani mastered is now threatened by a Fulani-inspired INEC declaration of Governor Bola Tinubu as President.

Today’s bold appointments by the Tinubu Presidency demonstrate a visible shift of power. Since the beginning of this Republic in 1999, for example, it is unheard of for a non-Fulani Minister to head the FCT or the Ministry of Water Resources.

Beyond the appointments, however, what will he do with the power and how far can he go? Will he use this power to selfishly enrich and empower the Yoruba to become a dominant group in Nigeria like the Fulani are wont to do? Or will he use it to restructure Nigeria in such a way that politicians will no longer become the obstacle to our unity and development? In other words, are we settling down to witness a transformative impact or will this turn out to be another uneventful, reactionary epoch in our history?

There are two reasons why one will urge that we support the President even if he continues the routine of approving more persons from his ethnic group to head strategic policy making positions.

The first is that, prior to 2023, the dominant Yoruba tune was that Nigeria has not given a true Yoruba (aka omoluabi) an opportunity to lead. This claim persisted, notwithstanding that two of their number (Obasanjo and late Ernest Shonekan) have been on the driving seat. Apparently, they were not considered good enough to represent the group. In the case of Shonekan, Yoruba were in the forefront of efforts to topple the interim government that Gen. Babangida cobbled together when he hurriedly stepped aside. The true Yoruba rejoiced when Shoneka was elbowed aside and his position taken over by the dark-goggled General Sani Abacha.

The popular thinking among dominant Yoruba voices has been that only an omoluabi in the mold of Obafemi Awolowo, Bola Ige, and Bola Tinubu parade the ethnic credentials that Nigerians should use to judge their leadership competence. With the last man standing in power, it should be expected that Nigeria has arrived at the threshold of change that the true Yoruba have yearned for. By appropriating the critical fiscal and monetary command positions to the Yoruba, Tinubu has therefore set the stage for a miracle which Nigerian people yearn for today, perhaps more than at any other time in their history.

The second is that, on the matter of Nigeria’s development, the elephant in the room has always been management of the economy. If therefore the President wants to go with a single minded commitment to making sure that the people that help him shoot the elephant are those who speak his language, literally and figuratively, so be it. In other words, it does not matter that the management of Nigeria’s fiscal and monetary policy are firmly in the hands of the Yoruba, from the Accountant-General, CBN Governor, FIRS Chairman, Customs Comptroller-General, Ports and Maritime managers, to the NNPC where the president is the generalissimo.

As I said before, what should matter is that the appointees, working in concert, are able to revive the economy and make life easy for Nigerian citizens. If one takes this position, what then is cautionary about the endorsement? The President, through the skewed appointments, is on a gamble. And, like every gambling attempt, this can lead – and we pray that it does – to a windfall that will benefit Nigeria. On the other hand, heavens forbid, it could become a spectacular failure that hurts the economy further while inextricably tainting the image of the Yoruba – because of the appointments.

Even the nepotistic Buhari hedged his bet in his first tenure; he shared the seats for management of the economy between his Northwest and Southwest partners. While the Accountant-General, Customs and NNPC went to Buhari’s Northwest, Finance and FIRS went to the Southwest while CBN went to the South-South. It is for this reason that one offers a cautious support for the skewed appointments. May it not happen that tomorrow, the proud Yoruba race will be forced to enjoy the same negative image that Muhammadu Buhari bequeathed to his Fulani people through a similar policy.