The 2019 election took a decisive upward pitch with the debate of vice-presidential candidates on Friday, 14 December 2018. It has sparked interest and provided a basis for initial assessment of the political parties and candidates. More significantly, it has activated the interest of the middle class who have since engaged in heated conversations around the debate.
Five candidates lined up for the debate. They are Yemi Osinbajo (APC), Peter Obi (PDP), Umma Getso (YPP), Ganiyu Galadima (ACPN) and Kadijah Abdullahi (ANN). The Nigeria Election Debate Group organised the debate in conjunction with the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, the umbrella body of radio and television stations in the country.
Emerging national consensus on the debate is that the candidates of the two leading parties, Osinbajo for the All Progressives Congress and Obi for the Peoples Democratic Party, stood out. The representatives of the other parties did not bring their best to the podium. They could have done better to offer the nation an alternative.
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Five persons on a debate platform over two and a half hours also limited the time available for each participant. More importantly, the session turned out to be a Question and Answer platform for each candidate rather than a debate. The moderator asked questions to which the participants responded. They should have tackled identical topics or questions so that the audience could appreciate their perspectives on the issues.
It was appropriate that the first round of debates focused on the economy. The economy is a determinant of so much in all other spheres of life and provides the overarching bases for all actions in statecraft, governance and the management of the personal affairs of citizens. The health of nations is a function of the wealth of nations. Nigeria needs to pay even greater attention to the management of its economic resources.
It is satisfying that the leading contestants delivered robust statements and responses on broad economic issues.
Hearty commendations for the fact of the debate. Congratulations to both the organisers and the participants. Nigerians eagerly anticipate the January 19, 2019 debate of the presidential candidates as the final testing ground. It should also provide grounds for choice for undecided or swing voters while consolidating choices or changing decisions for others.
Organisers of the debate should exercise the presidential candidates with a broader range of issues. Topics include the structure of Nigeria; the share of the federation account between the federal, states and local governments; agriculture and water resources; the environment; citizenship; devolution of power; and youth, labour and sports. Others are energy; economy, trade and investment; foreign policy and diaspora matters; the rule of law and human rights; law and judiciary; public finance; property rights and land legislation; security. They should interrogate the place of the legislature and whether our democracy should continue to model the presidential system or revert to the parliamentary system of the First Republic.
Citizens expect from them clear outlines of policy on these significant issues. We should discern from them a direction. We should be able to hold them accountable for the promises that they would make.
It is positive that the debate has sparked the interest of the middle class in the coming elections. Such interest is notable because of the recognised significant role of the middle class in entrenching democracy as well as contributing to values, standards and growth in all societies. The Nigerian middle class must stand up for the count if our democracy would effectively take root.
Firstly, leaders at all levels of government come mostly from the middle class. The values, attitudes and performance of the government reflect those of the class from which they emerged. Experts call it the “elite consensus”.
Drawing from the above, the elite consensus on Nigeria up until now is that sub-optimal performance is okay. The middle class looks askance at the governance process, detaching itself as if they were visitors to the country from other places. They spend much time contrarily lamenting the dysfunctions caused by poor policy choices and, in particular, poor execution. Much more than corruption explains the failures in execution. There is the paramount challenge of capacity.
From our traditional societies and in other modern systems, the middle class adopts formal and informal mechanisms to ensure better outcomes for the society with themselves as prime beneficiaries. They form political action committees. They visit, write and demand town hall meetings with their representatives, whether in the executive or the legislature. Then they adopt peer pressure; the tried and tested informal means of social control.
Members shun their colleagues for failing to uphold agreed values. Approbation and reprobation draw on the foundation of shared values. The social contract in a democracy is also an economic one. People contract with the government to offer allegiance, obey the rules, pay taxes and levies in exchange for government delivering on the security of lives and property and betterment of lives.
A growing and prosperous middle class ensures the survival of democracy by its greater independence and capacity to hold government accountable. The middle class is better informed and has access to all levels of government. Let the Nigerian middle class play the role of middle classes elsewhere who propelled the political and social direction of their countries. We must stop leaving it to chance.
