Dr Salman Al-Azami :
In the past few weeks, there has been a concerted effort online to keep Professor Yunus at the helm of Bangladesh, even to the extent of demanding him to continue running the country for another five years or more.
This demand is problematic in many ways, and despite its flaws, an elected government through a free and fair election is the best option for the country to go forward.
The interim government is working towards its commitment towards holding an election between December this year and June next year.
At the same time, it is working collaboratively with the political stakeholders to agree upon some essential reforms to ensure that no government in the future can become fascists like Hasina and the Awami League.
As far as I understand, a respectable man like Professor Yunus will ensure that his deadline is met and then he will go back to his current mission of ‘three zeros’ and ‘social business.’
Yet, we should not undermine the fact that many people do want him to continue for longer. We need to understand why this idea is floating around rather than considering it conspiratorial.
For this, we need to look back at our political leadership of the last 54 years. The hopes and aspirations of the Bangladeshi people when we became an independent country in 1971 remain unfulfilled even after more than half a century – thanks to the politicians who ran the country all these years.
Except for the former President Ziur Rahman, and to some extent his widow and the former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, the country was not run by true patriots, rather by corrupt dictators Hasina and Ershad and their cronies.
People have lost trust in politicians, and despite taking part in a handful of free and fair elections enthusiastically (1991, 1996 and 2001), the expectations of the people were never fulfilled. Bangladeshis witnessed the worst version of authoritarianism and corruption during the last regime of Hasina in which she turned her political party Awami League into a mafia network.
It is in this backdrop and at the cost of hundreds of lives and thousands of life-changing injuries that Professor Yunus took over the country.
When Professor Yunus came to power in August last year, every single institution of the country was dysfunctional. The most basic requirement of a country is the law and order, but the institution that takes care of it, the Police, were not functioning. The economy was in turmoil with hundreds of billions of people’s monies laundered abroad by Hasina’s mafia gang.
The banks were empty. Educational institutions were not functioning. Students who led the country to its second independence took over the traffic control instead of being in education.
The price of essentials was sky high. To make matters worse, a terrible and unexpected flood created further chaos in the country. Indian government, Indian media, and the fallen regime of Hasina started a never-ending propaganda war to destabilise the Yunus government through playing different cards, particularly the card of minority repression.
Therefore, it is fair to say that Professor Yunus took charge of a broken country with a broken law and order and economy. The following success stories could be highlighted in this regard, though some readers may or may not agree with me on all of them:
1. Bangladeshis are not used to seeing the country being run by honest leaders. There is no credible allegation of corruption by Professor Yunus or his advisors till date.
2. The international reputation of the Chief Advisor has certainly helped him to steady the ship after the disastrous 36 days in July-August and its immediate aftermath when all national institutions were effectively malfunctioning.
3. Professor Yunus’ personal charisma and international reputation contributed significantly to the diplomatic successes of his government. Despite repeated attempts to sabotage by Awami League and India, Bangladesh is able to stand firm internationally.
4. The biggest success, according to me, is the government’s foreign policy. From looking at India eye to eye and to seeking investments from China and from other parts of the world is a great step towards re-positioning Bangladesh as a country with an independent foreign policy.
5. Bringing back some of the country’s best brains to serve the country – like Mr Ashik Chowdhury who came to the forefront due to his excellent leadership at the recent investment conference, is an excellent step in the right direction.
6. After many years, the people of Bangladesh had a comfortable Ramadan, Eid, and the Bengali New Year celebrations with enthusiasm and inclusivity.
7. He was able to unite the country and save it from communal violence despite provocations from ISKON and India.
8. The creation of various reform committees and working collaboratively with different political parties to come to a consensus and take the country forward towards a credible election.
Having said that, it is true that Professor Yunus is an asset for Bangladesh and it will be foolish to not use his expertise, credibility and reputation after he hands over power to an elected government. He himself would not want to remain in power after June 2026 in the current arrangement. Therefore, we should try to find a way to keep him at the helm through a democratic process.
My proposal is that whoever comes to power makes Professor Yunus the President of the country if he agrees to take on that role. One of the key points in the discussions on reform is creating a balance of power between the Prime Minister and the President and that the President is elected rather than selected. I have no doubt that he would be elected the President of the country.
In this way, Bangladesh can continue to benefit from his international reputation and credibility, and the political government will have a capable guardian in the form of a man whose integrity, honesty and patriotism is admired almost universally in the country. He is now 85 years old.
If the political parties put the country above their party interests and want to take the country forward, then making him the President of the next democratic government can be the best thing for the country.
Will our politicians consider this proposal?
(The author is a British Bangladeshi academic who lives in Manchester and teaches Language, Media and Communications at the School of Humanities in Liverpool Hope University. He can be reached: twitter: @linguistbd)
