New Governance for Nigeria

According to a report published in October 2009 by The Nation, a new political group is being formed by some of the country's leading intellectuals and reformers, including the former head of the anti-corruption agency EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, Nasir el-Rufai, former Senate President Chief Ken Nnamani, and many others.

Ribadu and El Rufai currently live in London and are believed to be on self-imposed exile. In recent times, the two have emerged as folk heroes only among those who oppose some policies of the PDP especially as regards the fight against corruption. But the two have equally been accused by pro-Yar’Adua groups of even handedness in the handling their portfolios during the regime of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. One source said the travails of Ribadu and El Rufai may not be unconnected with the belief in government circles that the two that once worked in a PDP-led government are waging covert campaigns against a possible second term for President Yar Adua. A source in the new movement explained that the decision to float the movement as 'a new political party' was part of the fall-out of the internal crisis that has been rocking the PDP. Most of the leaders of the movement, he added, are worried over the absence of internal democracy within the Prince Vincent Ogbulafor-led PDP. Another source also suggested that the new movement which has a formidable network of individuals from entrenched traditional and political formations in the Northern part of the country has punctured the myth that Yar Adua would be the automatic candidate of the North in the coming Presidential election. The source also hinted that ‘with the dwindling economic fortunes of the country and the lack of effective solution to the nation’s mounting social and security crisis, there was the need for the North to raise an alternative platform apart from the PDP which Yar Adua is thought to firmly control. ‘’There is the thinking that an alternative political movement is necessary to counter the PDP and it is strategic that such a movement should produce a new tendency different from the currently dominant one in the North,’ the source hinted. It was gathered that the movement will initially operate as a non-partisan group but plans to enlist the support of civil society and the human rights community. But a member of the group said the main target is that the group will be launched as a ‘mass-based political party." Investigation by The Nation shows that the group has registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) with the name Best Practice Initiative. Already, it was further learnt, the movement has secured offices in the six geo-political zones "to start a massive recruitment process." Besides the offices, zonal organising secretaries have also been recruited and are expected to converge in Abuja with the leadership this week. "I think the essence is to build the party from the grassroots level and make it people oriented party", an insider told The Nation on phone at the weekend. When contacted, a leading figure in the group, Dr. Sam Amadi confirmed the existence of the new movement. He said the movement’s main concern is to work for the enthronement of good governance in Nigeria. Nigerians, he argued, deserve to live a better life if quality governance were in place. "Ours is just a political movement, it is not yet a political party; it is a good experiment and we hope it works," he said. Amadi also concurred that the group had secured offices across the country. He said "Yes, offices are springing up but we don’t want to give details yet." A political observer noted that the movement is made up of "men of proven integrity" on the political scene. Nnamani and Masari, he recalled, led the National Assembly to thwart former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s third term plot, while Ribadu, as EFCC boss, tackled the menace of corruption with uncommon zeal. The analyst also described general Danjuma as a man that would not shy away from speaking out against misrule. "That led to the problem he had with Obasanjo, when he worked in his government as the Defence Minister," he added. It would be recalled that General Danjuma once threatened to go on self exile if Chief Obasanjo was not voted into office as president. But in later years