Triple million: 170m people, 170m controversies

BY ADE ILEMOBADE

We are living in an interesting time in Nigeria, given the momentum in which intellectual engagement and discourse “tsunamised” in respect of whether we need a domestication of our presidency or an internationalised presidency.

Simply put do we want a sit at home president or a president that is forward looking willing to establish a rapprochement with our partners in a globalised world.

I have read all kinds of argumentation ranging from the moderate liberal point of view for internationalisation to include extreme isolationism of the African renaissance demagogue, whatever position you are in support of, the obvious framework and element prevalent in most of the discourse is that they were all argument in circle.

We love controversy as a people either on social media, in a beer palour or with a keg of palmwine. We argue sometimes for argument sake even when we know nothing concrete is being said, that is exactly what happened with the abovementioned dichotomy recently.

Pardon me if I am guilty of the same misadventure in this piece as a result of my over “flagellation”, since it is going to take a super human to please the kaleidoscope of highly opinionated Nigeriana critical of the factual reality that the president travelled abroad often in the fulfillment of his international engagements.

They posit that we have enough pressing domestic problems needing urgent attention of the president such issues as Boko haram, Power failure, Fuel scarcity, etc.

Note: These are problems predating the president’s assumption of office, which he is engaging the international community/partners in finding resolution.

My point on this way of looking at things is that we don’t need the president to be at home to find resolution to these problems, moreover there is no panacea that could be found just because we have a domesticated president.

We are not an island nation and we do not have a siege mentality. Isolationism is never the bedrock of our foreign policy, moreover we are a nation of coalition building, seeking partnerships in the resolution of our developmental challenges.

Note: Cooperativeness is the essence of our foreign policy.

I wonder what has become of delegation of responsibility in this case, do we always have to depend on the president to have a functioning government when in factual term the constitution is vivid about the vice president’s role when the president is not around.

Moreover, we have a cabinet in place with a mandate to deliver given to them by the president and they are men and women equal to the task ahead.

Those pushing domestication argument are only looking for psychological reassurance that the president is at home, but it is neither a panacea for resolving 16 years of PDP mismanagement.

I don’t get it really, do we need a domesticated babysitter as president babysitting the cabinet of qualified ministers, NO! NO!! that is not what we want.

WE DON’T NEED A DOMESTIC PRESIDENT.

The president has shown leadership by delegating responsibility a noticeable sign of vote of confidence in his Vice president and the rest of the cabinet to manage the stable whenever he is on assignment outside the country. Therefore no need for panic and unecessary controversy.

These same people previously manufactured controversy during the first quarter of the president Buhari administration when the president was busy meticulously studying the various ministries with the assistance of the permanent secretaries, they were clarmouring for the president to appoint ministers to assist him in the daily runnings of the administration, now they are singing a different song.

The last time the president didn’t attend a UN meeting the same social media critics were all over the place, goverment and governance is not dictated on social media. The president knows better than social media critics.

Ilemobade is a philosopher

Twitter: @pearl2prince