2023 Presidential Election: Change is Oversold, It’s EXECUTION Stupid!

(first published on VANGUARD, October 15, 2022 and reproduced by permission of Author)

Listening to Peter Obi speak, he has made it clear that he is not running a regular presidential election campaign, rather he is going for a change. Peter Obi and the Obident Movement symbolizes the hopes and dreams for many Nigeria younger population. The younger population has lost faith in the ability of the government to address what they consider important in making Nigeria better for everyone. For most of them any sermon about change is always very gratifying and appreciated, which in large part explains why they are so stoke, and in the process, providing huge momentum for the 2023 presidential election.

As we often read and hear, change is always a good thing. Interestingly though, the word change is one of the most maligned, vain, nebulous, and “loaded” word in English language as it relates to political discourses. It is also the most misunderstood word in the context of democracy, where change happens in dribs and drabs. In the countable sense, change means “a situation in which something becomes different or you make something different.” In practical terms, actionable sets are facilitated by execution for a change to occur.

If one closely examines the actionable sets in President Buhari’s 2015 and 2019 manifestos, he proposed many “changes” he planned to make. Upon examination, one would agree that the plan was reasonable and relatively comprehensive. The actionable sets would have brought about progress and prosperity. The changes President Buhari proposed didn’t quite happen as he planned because of tactical failures in its execution.

The institutional infrastructure of democratic governance is highly extractive, and rent seeking that fundamental change is never easy. Compromise is the “engine oil,” that lubricates democratic agendas. It is not cheap and the trade-offs often betray the needed change.

Worse yet, talking about a change, when it is not principled and properly anchored on intellectual rigor gets one nowhere. Circular reasonings are unguardedly prominent in most prophecies for change.

The truth as I know it about Nigerians is we are very clear about the change we want. Where Nigerians have failed, and continues to fail is in execution. Presidents of democratic countries are “elected” leaders, whose job is to lead. The execution is always left to the people, and in Nigeria, that would be Nigerians. This suggests that the salient discussion for anyone serious about making Nigeria better needs to be about execution, and execution strategies rooted structurally, and culturally on national engagement.

A national engagement should begin with harvesting of Nigerians’ ingenuity, promoting inclusiveness, buttressing vertical and horizontal integrations, insisting on national pride and trustworthiness, and encouraging a genuine flair for a “can do” attitude.

The gospel about whether Nigeria needs a change is outdated, superficial, and superfluous. What Nigeria contemporaneously needs is a focus on what matters the most for national development and to be taken seriously in the league of nations. This focus should be on EXECUTION – our ability to execute, and how we go about executing. This execution mentality should be fostered by national engagement, and ingrained in every Nigerian as a job that must be done.

So, as you score candidates for the February 2023 election, I would encourage you to think about what you can do to make Nigeria better in executing the change you know and want.

The story about change has been told many times before, and if you don’t already know the “change” you want and need, that ambivalence should, arguably, dispossess one of the right to a permanent voter card (PVC). PVC entitles you as a citizen of Nigeria to vote for the change you know and want. Not knowing the change, you want, fundamentally desecrates the tenets of government by the people, and for the people. The value of your PVC is the supreme power it vests on you to decide who represents your interest in carrying out the change you know and want.

The game changer for Nigeria, now and ever, I believe, is EXECUTION. Nigeria survival depends on it. Importantly, the power of your PVC binds you to ask the “right” questions and get your questions answered by political candidates running for political offices.

And since you are not “selling” the rights vested on you through your PVC, which allows you to vote for candidates, but vote to give them the right to represent you, one important and fair question to ask of candidates is; what are they going to do to make you a part of the execution? Given that fairness in a representative government is bijective, the execution question should be asked of both sides. This “two-way street” nature of the execution question was famously posed in John F. Kennedy’s speech, when he said: “My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”

It has been clear to me since the 1957 self-determination declaration between the British government and Nigeria, that Nigerians know what change they want. So, we should stop worshipping the sophisms of change, and get on with the job of execution. Nigeria President constitutionally occupies the office for maximum of eight years, and the average life expectancy for a Nigerian is 7x of what is provided for in the constitution for the president, which means one is likely to live through, on the average, a minimum of seven presidential administrations in Nigeria, given the average life expectancy of fifty-six years. And that could go as high as fourteen presidential administrations.

So far, I count myself lucky to have lived through sixteen Nigerian presidents and heads of state plus one imperial governor- general. The point is, I have lived through many presidential administrations in my lifetime in Nigeria and in United States where I maintain citizenships. I have lived through many campaigns and campaign promises. Presidents don’t have magical powers. Many of their promises of change end up being a promise, and their legacies are usually written with many chapters devoted to why and where they failed with few pages on projects they executed under their watch.

We should all agree on one thing that the 2023 election is not about change but about execution. We should not be fooled by the grandiloquence of speeches that talk about the change we need. We should be more discerning about who would help us in “perfecting” the execution we contractually sign up for as a citizen. The President of Nigeria is the chief executive officer (CEO), who we elect to provide leadership for our executions. Change management is usually perfunctory to the core responsibility of a CEO, and providing leadership, and taking credit for execution is not. So, when you ask where is the “beef” in the 2023 election? It is execution! It has always been about execution, and it will continue to be about execution – Execution, Execution, …, Execution!

Nigeria’s electricity grid doesn’t work properly not because we need a change, but because we continue to poorly execute on what it would take to make it work properly. We have abundant fertile land in Nigeria, and people go hungry every day because of poor execution. We have roads and highways that get washed away easily when it rains because of poor execution. Nigeria is endowed with a lot of human capital and talents. Yet, unemployment and underemployment are extremely high because of our poor execution in private capital formation.

So, for the 2023 presidential election, we should say goodbye to “change-mongers,” and welcome in a leader that would help us perfect execution.

Messaging about change create doubts, distortions, disenfranchisements, and hopelessness, while messaging about execution provides an enriching focus, empowerment, and a lodestar to greatness. For that reason, the matter arising in the 2023 Nigeria presidential election can be phrased succinctly and cutely in the manner of Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign slogan:: It’s EXECUTION stupid!

I urge you to engage your gift of discernment, and let the candidates know that you know the change you want. Then cast your vote for “perfecting” EXECUTION that counts you in, and makes Nigeria a better country for everyone.

The President of Nigeria is a politician, and governs not by what he wants, nor by the campaign promises for a change he made, but governs by the reality on the ground, which is heavily influenced by geopolitical dynamics. So, don’t forget to stack campaign promises of a change to the stark reality on the ground.

Cardinally, remember that in a democratic country, like Nigeria, institutional limitations largely allow for the president to “preside” and not “rule.” This overarching constraint should be balanced against any campaign promises of change. Maneuvering around the institutional limitations placed on the office of president requires tact, diplomacy, and a powerful disposition to get things done not by the president but by the governed – and again Execution.

*Philip Obazee retired as a managing director from a global asset management company based in Philadelphia, USA, and currently he is the founder and chief executive officer of Polymetrics Americas Research, LLC.