Before we talk of a second term for Mr. President

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has been called many names, some of them by us. They include ‘baba go-slow’, in general acknowledgment of the snail speed at which his government has moved over the past two and a half years. He is also widely seen, after the mercurial Obasanjo years, as somewhat timid and, perhaps, distant and disengaged. The result has been either paralysis in key government institutions, or else unrestrained freelancing by various clans and principalities within the government, each pursuing a different and often cross-purpose agenda.

But a strange and altogether encouraging thing has happened in recent weeks: we see signs of intelligent life in Mr. Yar’Adua’s government.

Exhibit Number One: the Niger Delta. This is by far the farthest that any goverment has gone in trying to resolve the ever-deteriorating social, security, and political situation in the Niger Delta. Our government has engaged in a broad and deep dialogue with the various stakeholders, at a scale we have never before experienced. Despite the increasingly fractious nature of the various groups pressing for justice for the people of the Niger Delta, it appears that, so far, the government is keeping pretty much everyone in the tent. This means there is a possibility of lasting resolution.

The behind-the-scenes work being done by people like Wole Soyinka augurs well for an enduring peace. We note of course one particularly worrying aspect of the approach to resolving the crisis, and one that could, if untended, undermine all the progress that has been made: the apparently unbridled use of slush funds by both federal and state governments to “settle” various militias. The danger is that they will constantly demand to be paid hundreds of millions of naira, particularly as the political season rolls in. This does not augur well for a lasting solution.

Nevertheless, we acknowledge that progress is being made in the Niger Delta, and perhaps we will find a way to resolve this crisis once and for all.

Another unexpected achievement of this president is that he actually appointed Lamido Sanusi as governor of the Central Bank – an action that created a massive chain reaction that has completely reordered our banking landscape. Mr. Sanusi, though he sometimes enjoys the limelight a bit too much, has proved to be an inspired choice to reform our deeply corrupt financial sector. Cynics may grouse and grumble that Mr. Sanusi was an accidental choice.

But we prefer to give credit to the president, for doing something which was clearly against the interest of many of his closest political allies. The result is a banking sector that now has a real chance of leading our economic revival.

The president continues to have some major failings. Chief among them is his evident inability, or unwillingness, to distance himself from some of the more odious political chieftains of the ruling party, such as the convicted fraudster, James Ibori, who continues to hold sway over the presidency through various minions.

And the singular failure of his presidency is the lack of practical progress on finding a lasting solution to our power problem. Timidity is a character flaw.

We do not discount the fact that the president is not in the most robust of health. And we wish him and his family the best on that front.

But the nation’s work needs to be done. We call on Mr. Yar’Adua to demonstrate the requisite energy and focus necessary to drive our country forward. He is showing signs that his government could actually grapple successfully with some difficult issues.

He now needs to persuade us that he can do more that repeat a tame political slogan about some 7-point agenda. Otherwise, talk of a second term for the president becomes a bit of a joke.