2023: Why Osinbajo represents the face of continuity

BY HARUNA ABDULLAHI

The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari assumed the mantle of the leadership of the country in 2015 with a mountain of expectations from Nigerians. It would be mischievous to claim he met a perfect working country the same way it would be insincere to assert that under his watch, everything is working normally in the country. From banditry in the north to separatist clamour in the south, the president has had to grapple with the destabilizing effect of the activities of these non-state actors on the country coupled with the downward spiral of the economy – but that’s not to say efforts have not been made to arrest these challenges.

Even the vociferous critics of this administration will agree with me that since the return to representative democracy in 1999, no president has invested so much in infrastructure as Buhari has done. From the construction of roads to the revitalisation of the hitherto comatose railway sector, Buhari has done remarkably well in fixing the infrastructural deficits of the country. As they say, the government is a continuum and no one better appreciates and amplifies that saying in his leadership style than Buhari. His administration has been one of continuity of projects of his predecessors. As the 2023 general elections draw closer, the political project of having a successor who shares in his vision should benefit from the continuity approach of his administration. No individual is better fit to wear that cap than Vice President Yemi Osinbajo — who has over time proven to be a trusted lieutenant of the president.

The vice president has never left Nigerians in doubt about his leadership abilities. The few times he was delegated with the task of running the country in the absence of the president, he wowed even the worst critics of this administration. There’s no debating the fact that Osinbajo is intellectually gifted and has passed the smell test of leading a diverse country like ours time and time again. As the head of the president’s economic team, he was responsible for drawing two economic plans for the country – that played a crucial role in helping the country exit the economic recession in the fourth quarter of 2020. Equally, he was delegated with the task of implementing the administration’s massive welfare intervention – which is considered by most to be one of the most robust welfare interventions of any administration in the history of the country.

There’s a consensus among Nigerians across the party divide that Vice President Osinbajo remains the APC’s best bet for the president of the country come 2023. During the 2022 annual lecture of Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation, former governor of Niger state and a chieftain of the opposition PDP was reported to have said: “Mr Vice President, do you know you are the best candidate in your party?” he said, describing Osinbajo as the only candidate that knows the country and has the acceptance of everyone across the country regardless of tribe and religion. The Emir of Lafia Justice Sidi Bage (Rtd) openly declared his support and that of Nasarawa people for the vice president when he said, Mr Vice President, “wherever you go, we will follow”.

A former military head of state, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, had this to say about the vice president: “Osinbajo has a great passion for Nigeria, he is one that can communicate with the country and inspire people among other qualities; he is the best person to lead Nigeria in 2023. I know the vice president very well; he is a good man; a man who has conviction about Nigeria; a man who can communicate with the country and inspire people. Such a man is a worthy person to work with; we need a good man to lead Nigeria; a man who has a passion for this country’s economy,” he concluded.

As we approach the 2023 general elections, the onus is on Nigerians to elect a president that is intellectually gifted and possesses the ability to steer the ship of the country. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is a bridge-builder and a problem solver. He has proved time and time again that he is prepared to lead this country to greater prosperity and if the APC stands a chance of consolidating on what has been built in the last seven years and counting. Osinbajo remains their best bet.