Promises
and lies are the cheapest commodities of this era. With the rising
proportion of deceit in the land, objectivity has been sent on vacation.
A community of the deceived is also growing by the day. Interrogation
and introspection are in a state of dormancy as party devotees continue
to spread the embellished messages of their principals. Having suspended
civility, decorum and decency, the government in power and the
opposition are bent on outdoing each other in a bid to capture the votes
of the masses.
As I ponder on the forthcoming elections, my
mind wanders back to the June 12, 1993 election, one that was adjudged
the freest and fairest election in Nigeria’s political history. In
anticipation of hope, the central message at the time, Nigerians, for
the first time, defied every historical factor that had tainted our
elections. Religion, tribe, sentiments, and emotions were set aside as
the people cast their vote for M.K.O. Abiola of the Social Democratic
Party.
As the new date of March 28 approaches
for Nigerians to decide their fate via polls, it is doubtful if there
would be a repetition or similitude of 1993. The current atmosphere is
toxic and devoid of any hope – religious institutions have been
politicised; even the military which should be non-partisan has been
infected and imputed into the political calculus of the day. The current
political climate is shorn of logic and value-based arguments as
primordial sentiments have become the gospel truths. Political analysts
seem to suggest that the electorate are going to vote across ethnic
lines. And this is an indictment on the 16-year civil rule since 1999.
As we elect “new” heads every political year, our politics has refused
to grow beyond the voting pattern after independence. Curiously, the
political actors are a semblance of the old block, in character and
learning, having successfully imbibed their mannerisms and
peculiarities.
Mudslinging and campaigns of calumny that
characterised electioneering years back are still rife in 2015. Today’s
politicians have stepped up denigration with cartoons, advertorials and
documentaries that are targeted at destroying reputations than selling
their programmes to the populace. If we have learnt any lesson, it is
how not to walk, after crawling and feeding on baby feed. Our
development instinct is knock-kneed. We have not yet developed the
virtues and values that strengthen democracy. Rather, our democratic
institutions are saturated with vices and villains. It is a shame that
the political parties are filled with men whose campaign tactics are
targeted at insulting the intelligence of Nigerians. Determined to win
the people’s mandate, they dangle before us carrots of “stomach
infrastructure”, which often times are an exhibition of their theft of
our commonwealth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter slab, the pauperised
populace sheepishly trade their national destiny for this evil offer.
It
is worthy of note that the presidential election promises to be most
competitive. And the two main candidates are not new to the electorate,
having ruled Nigeria at one time or the other. For the incumbent
administration of Goodluck Jonathan, his transformation agenda is
synonymous with a worsening electricity situation crippling an already
comatose manufacturing sector and frustrating several power-dependent
enterprises. It is to note that if Jonathan ever had a good intention
for Nigeria, his performance in the last six years does not give
credence to that fact. His superlative self-appraisal is a reflection of
his academic stature. Little wonder, his students have yet to come out
and identify with him publicly. Mildly put, his performance in the last
six years is not good enough to deserve another. Else, his campaign
would have been more of exhibition of his works than the rigour he has
exhausted to persuade the electorate to his side. Sadly, what he lacks
in performance, he vigorously tries to make up in promises. Promises!
Promises!
For Maj. Gen Muhammadu Buhari, it is quizzical that
the rejected candidate in 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections is now the
beautiful bride of the All Progressives Congress. The General has
enjoyed a large and a cult-like following since he won the presidential
ticket of the APC. His profile and political weight in the North are a
vivid threat to the PDP. Sadly, since a tree does not make a forest, it
is doubtful how the General would bring about the much touted “change”
should he win at the poll. Considering that the APC which has been
dubbed Aggrieved Peoples’ Congress is widely regarded as a mixed
multitude of people who joined the party not because they love the
party’s manifestoes or believe its programmes but because they were
sweet-talked with positions and possibilities of privileges, its
enduring prospects is in doubt. How will Buhari prosecute his sponsors
whose wealth is reportedly not corruption-free? Can he free himself of
the hawks who are touting him as being the emblem of anti-corruption?
It
is an anomaly that the best and the brightest among us are never
considered for the presidency. There are 12 other candidates, but the
electorate are either unaware or they are just looking away. If only the
popular but pretentious candidates can be shoved aside for a
people-oriented president. The people are more important than power.
After all, the people make the power; the power is worthless without the
people. But then, it has also been said that a people deserve the kind
of leaders they get.
The forthcoming presidential election is
not about the North against the South, neither is it about Christianity
versus Islam. It is not about major and minor ethnic groups. It is about
Nigeria and Nigerians. It is about our heritage, our political future.
It is about who is capable of leading us, in determining our destiny in
the next four years. You may not be rich. You may not be popular. But
you are powerful. If you have already got your Permanent Voter Card,
that is your determinant weapon; for mass decision. You will decide the
next set of persons who will govern Nigeria. The political parties are
aware of this. By insisting on the PVC and the card reader, INEC under
Jega is working to ensure that the coming elections are difficult to
rig. Thus, you must play your part in deciding the leaders of our
fatherland. If we don’t get it right again, our stay in the abyss of
political misadventure will continue, even as the coming generation gets
impoverished further.
It is amazing how Nigerians abandon their
civic obligations in one breath, and then turn around to agitate for
the enforcement of their rights. A perceptive fellow posits that bad
people are elected by good people who refuse to vote. If by now you
cannot boldly flaunt your PVC, or you have decided not to vote because
you cannot queue up in inclement conditions, or you claim there is no
candidate to vote for, then you have no right or reason to complain in
the days ahead.
It is very easy to tweet or rant on facebook.
The candid truth is that your critical words in the media and the number
of hashtags on the social media are insufficient to create the country
of our dreams. But one thing can: your PVC, as well as an unwavering
determination to cast your vote. The consequence of abstaining from
performing your civic duty is as damming as rigging in an unpopular
candidate.
Popular author and poet, Dante Alighieri, states that
“the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of
great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.” This is not the time to
sit on a fence. Now is the time to pick up your PVC, stand in line and
vote for your desired outcome.
- Yinka Adeosun is a Communications Specialist based in Ondo
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