It is essential major Nigeria presidential candidates for April 2011 election hold as many debates as possible so Nigerians will better understand the candidates and their programs for the country. One of the debates is scheduled on March 29, 2011. Three of the leading candidates, General Muhammadu Buhari of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu of Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) and Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau of All Nigerian People’s party (ANPP) are refusing to participate because President Jonathan snubbed March 18, 2011 debate where they participated.
It was unfortunate that the seating president of Nigeria decided to shun prior debate. President Jonathan’s action is very disappointing.. He appears to be taking Nigerians for granted and also appears to have a sense of entitlement to the presidency. President Jonathan failed to take advantage of the goodwill he has across the nation. His recent campaign rallies is not drawing as much crowd as expected especially in the northern parts of Nigeria. Part of the reason could be his inability to articulate his vision and program to the nation. Nigeria have gone through a lot of changes, people seems to be coming to the conclusion that they have had enough, that the country needs to move in a different direction. We appear headed for a freer and fairer election because of the determination of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) professor Jega to do the right thing.
Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Shekarau and Nuhu Ribadu need to reconsider their decision not to participate in the coming debate. Even though their decision not to participate is understandable in view of what President Jonathan did, but it should not be at the expense of the larger national interest. Speculation is that part of the reason the three leading candidates are reluctant to participate is that one of the major organizers, Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (BON) which is a government agency may give undue advantage to the president at this critical moment. BON needs to reassure other participants that they will provide a level playing field. The fact that other organizations such as Nigerian Election Debate Group (NEDG) and Democratic Institute of the USA will co-organize the debate should reassure the leading candidates. These debates will be the best forum for Mr. Ribadu, Buhari and Shekarau to showcase their vision, potency and programs to Nigerians. They need to inspire and convince Nigerians that they are up to the task.
Back to March 18, 2011 debate conducted by Lagos based NN24 TV Channel which was somewhat diminished by the absence of President Jonathan. The debate was impressive an eye opener for a lot of Nigerians. Power of presentation and inspiration was on full display at the debate. I was shocked by the performance of governor of Kano State, the presidential candidate of All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP), Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau. The other candidates did very well but Shekarau’s performance was outstanding. I was among those who have always regarded him as a light-weight because of his under warming achievement/performance in Kano state. He implemented some ridiculous and harsh laws in his state such as the creation of Hisba. Hisba are moral police that enforces Sharia law which he introduced in Kano State even though Nigeria is suppose to be a secular nation. I saw him explain away those ridiculous and harsh policies he implemented in a calm, clear, concise, coherent, logical and flawless English in a way that some of those harsh laws he implemented seemed harmless, benign and inconsequential. The man qualifies as effective snake oil salesman. Mallam Shekarau is probably the best communicator in Nigeria political scene today. His speech delivery is incredible. I have often wondered in the past how he managed to defeat the former PDP governor he replaced. I wondered no more after watching his debate performance. Mallam Nuhu Ribadu had a lot of substance but his presentation was not as good. He failed to utilize his best asset which was his bold fight against corruption. Buhari is just not a good communicator. He spoke in generalities, his presentation and delivery was not very good. One may wonder why I am emphasizing on style but it matters a lot. We have seen in United States how unknown candidates suddenly catapult to the front of the pack after debates.
Kudos to NN24 TV channel debate moderator, Kadaria Ahmed, she was fearless, even-handed, asked questions with follow-ups in a clear and professional manner. She did not let any of the candidates off without satisfactorily answering her questions. Despite all the setbacks so far, Nigeria is moving in the right direction.