Nigerians should capitalise on their growing discontent to vote deserved leaders, writes Monday Philips Ekpe
Surely, time flies. Sometimes not too fast; at other times with the speed of light. What determines how this is perceived, in many cases, is the volume of the tasks at hand. With the end of open campaigns by candidates in this weekend’s elections, questions should be asked about the success or otherwise of the activities held so far, whether all grounds have been covered, how they have fared especially in relation to their opponents, and what could have been done differently. It’s important to tackle these posers and properly situate the expectations of the runners and their supporters. But do our politicians actually care about what may seem to be secondary at this critical moment? Except for those who have future elections on their minds, embarking on such a soul-searching exercise now can easily be dismissed as academic.
Sincerely, how political job seekers stand and how prepared they are for these elections don’t bother me much right now. After all, many of them are adept at selling their ideas to people primarily to secure votes and have always taken advantage of the failure of their constituents to demand accountability from them. Even with the current pathetic condition of things, a great majority of them are more concerned about securing executive and legislative positions rather than delivering on their promises. For me, most of the messages that have been sent from the evidently unreliable political class to the largely weary electorate are over-beaten, lacking in honesty and deep thought. The sad truth about where we are now is that the trust deficit that has been in decline is set to descend even lower than anticipated only a couple of years back. An average citizen dares not take words of politicians to the bank. Many who fought for democracy have watched helplessly as their hopes go up in smoke. The euphoria that heralds new administrations often gives way to disillusionment and despair.
The 2015 democratic transition, for instance. The then administration of President Goodluck Jonathan appeared to have lost control of the security and welfare of the country, two cardinal, inalienable rationale for government. The urgent need to safeguard the nation’s territorial integrity, secure internal tranquility and arrest economic slide couldn’t be denied. The emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari as Jonathan’s successor seemed inevitable and sensible, considering his pedigree. As a tough and tested general, former federal commissioner of petroleum, military governor of the vast defunct North-eastern State, head of state and chairman of the old Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), his promoters and a chunk of the voters proudly and confidently lined behind him. Today, however, the precarious socio-political and economic situation in the country and the ongoing disaffection of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have presented themselves as overwhelming testimonials of his terms in office. It’s now a season of deferred gratification for the generality of the people, unfortunately.
Now, in yet another repining cycle of anguish, renewed hopes, dashed wishes and quest for rescue, Nigerians are back to the ballot. How should they respond to this familiar but crippling path? Are there chances that the ever-widening gap between the pledge to serve and redeeming it would be narrowed down soon? Answers should be sought and obtained without further delay. The starting point: this weekend, the time when a voter is left alone in a booth with his/her ballot paper, ink, assenting finger and, hopefully, conscience.
But as that lone citizen performs the civic duty of electing those to think, speak, plan and act on his/her behalf, he/she should be mindful of the cries of millions of compatriots, co-travellers on what has turned out to be an endless, painful electoral journey. Here’s my main concern. If Nigerian people are not united by their mounting and mutual woes, when will that ever be? And if the common herculean hurdles now faced across the country cannot forge some sort of fraternity and synergy among the long-suffering masses of Nigeria, enough to destroy their artificial walls, what else will?
Wherever you go, there is palpable anger in the land. To be fair, most of the ills we’re confronted with have their roots way back, long before Buhari became president. But, as I’ve always argued, one distinguishing feature of our present predicament is that this government came to the saddle with plenty of fabulous intentions, but not adequate, workable policies and topnotch, go-getting personnel. To worsen Buhari’s reckoning, the unprecedented public goodwill that ushered him to power eight years ago has plummeted. One can only wonder what the opinion polls on his performance and acceptability would look like at present. That type hasn’t become a preoccupation of Nigerian pollsters yet, thankfully. They’re busy predicting election outcomes. Trust our people, the moment the lucrativeness of the scheme is established, the marketers will be too glad to sell the idea to subsequent presidents, especially those who are sufficiently worried about their image and legacies.
The temptation to chronicle Nigeria’s enduring challenges is ever-present. But I resist it here as pity-party is usually self-defeating. We mustn’t avoid some introspection at this point, however. The opportunities to vote and be voted for don’t come as frequently as the numerous issues that seek to truncate our joy, happiness and overall wellbeing. Meaning, it’ll be too costly to either ignore the red lights everywhere or fail to move decisively to turn the tide in our favour and that of the generations after us. One way to do so is to take a cue from our leaders who quickly mend their relationships, no matter the depth of the differences, in times of threatened self-interests. Disagreements over the naira change is one ready example. Under the pretext of fighting for their people, a section of the political class, notably some governors, has been pressuring Buhari to reverse the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to outlaw the old 500 and 1000 notes. Understandably, being a far smaller group, the state chief executives are able to coordinate themselves, compared with the populace.
That notwithstanding, rising above divisive sentiments, weaponising the pervasive angst that is ethnicity, region and religion blind, and stepping forward to elect competent, selfless, patriotic and visionary leaders have become national emergencies. With due respect to all the 18 presidential candidates in this general election, four of them have stood out consistently since the party primaries in May and June last year. Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), Wazirin Atiku Abubakar of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the APC, and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) are all fairly known to majority of the people. Deciding on who to endorse ought not to be too hard.
Considering the enormity of the prevailing hardship in the country, the checklist should include relevant political profile, mental fortitude, physical and emotional strength, proven transparency, capacity to lead Nigeria in a fast-evolving world, dynamic leadership capability, clear understanding of the nation’s troubles and their solutions. The job descriptions are too critical, too weighty to be handed over to questionable individuals. At stake are the safety and satisfaction of the citizenry, proper exploitation of the country’s resources for optimal outputs, restoration of its fading glory, and bequeathing a prosperous place to coming generations.
Those ideals are achievable, as confirmed in other countries with similar difficulties. In some cases, brutal revolutions have sorted them out. In more peaceful settings, salvation has come through polls, particularly when the people rise in unison to vote out ineptitude, corruption and outright oppression. Time is running out on our beloved country. Indispensable qualities like unity, cohesion and progress – once fairly in good supply here – can’t be taken for granted now. Nigeria can win this weekend!
Dr Ekpe is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board
