ENTER PRIME MINISTER LIZ TRUSS
The election of Truss as prime minister holds lesson for Nigeria
The election yesterday of Ms Liz Truss as the new leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom came after a rigorous process spanning weeks following the resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. By garnering 81,326 votes to defeat Mr Rishi Sunak who secured 60,399 votes, Truss will today become the third female Prime Minister of Britain after Mrs Theresa May and the late Mrs Margaret Thatcher. The turnout of 82.6 per cent of party members to cast their votes was deemed very high but the 57 per cent of valid votes won by Truss was considered low when compared with previous leaders. But all these are mere statistics. Once she visits the Queen to secure the procedural invitation to form government, Truss can begin to define her era as British Prime Minister.
Exactly two months ago, Johnson resigned as Prime Minister amid pressure from Conservative colleagues who could no longer accept the numerous scandals that had rocked his administration. In his speech, Johnson said he would step down once his replacement was chosen. The contest for his successor started with about 20 candidates each of whom was required to secure 30 votes from their colleagues to avoid dropping out. In the course of that process, the fourth ballot which reduced the field to three was held on 19th July and the fifth, a day later for the final two names. Voting among Conservative Party members officially closed on 2nd September with the result announced yesterday.
To the British and other mature and decent democracies, the outcome of the exercise may not be so remarkable. But for us in Nigeria, we must learn the lesson in basic democratic good manners. From the moment Johnson announced his intention to resign, there have been many debates to test the character and temperament of those who sought to succeed him. A series of 12 public hustings were held within a period of seven weeks between July and August before the emergence of two final candidates from whom one was eventually elected.
Beyond the rigour of the political process that led to her emergence, Truss is coming to office at a particularly trying moment. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has produced a daunting energy crisis. Inflation in the UK is likely to hit double digit in early 2023. The queues on the NHS waiting list are getting longer than ever before. She also inherits a nation that has witnessed a low growth economy for over a decade. On the international scene, Europe remains challenged by an increasingly belligerent Russia under Vladimir Putin. In the post-Brexit era, Britain is still groping for a definable place in the world.
On all these issues, the British public expects a more decisive government than the low energy and mostly nonperforming group under Boris Johnson. These challenges will test Truss’s experience and mettle. But she comes to office with years of experience variously as a courageous MP, cabinet minister with rounded exposure and considerable track record. For Truss, the next couple of months will be full of expectations both at home and abroad.
Meanwhile, under the British parliamentary system, the Prime Minister is only first among equals. The presidential system which we practice in Nigeria is different. Beyond the latitude granted by the constitution, the Nigerian presidency also occupies a peculiar cultural space in which the person, in the eye of a largely illiterate populace, is regarded as a combination of king and chief executive. But there are also lessons about the manner Johnson was eventually humbled that should serve all power mongers. It may yet be that the diplomacy of bad manners and bullish arrogance is about to recess.
