Barely a week from now, voting in the 2019 elections season will kick off with the presidential election on Saturday, February 16. The fight, as we know, except you live in la la land, is between the candidates of Nigeria’s two biggest parties – the APC and PDP. This may not be the most ideal of options, but this is where we have found ourselves.
And you cannot take seriously many of the supposed alternative options. Some of them are obviously on a CV-makeover project. I doubt there is anywhere in the world where people begin seeking elective office from the presidential ticket. What’s irritating is that some of these people cannot win elections even in their polling units.
I understand those who say they don’t mind wasting their votes; I get it! I have done that too in past elections, knowing a candidate stands no chance but exercising my right to vote my conscience or whatever. You should also be ready to enjoy whatever comes out of the choices you have made. The only thing that gets me mad is the hypocrisy and insincerity. You see this in people who don’t like to take responsibility for their own choices. As they say in these parts, whatever you choose, you should be able to ‘own it with your chest’.
Waiting for the real presidential debate
You will recall that there was a presidential debate last month which had three candidates in attendance. No need to mention their names or worse still, the names of their parties because at this stage, no one needs the extra confusion; or extra research.
After that debate, which some dubbed ‘Motivational Speakers Conference’, there was the expectation that President Muhammadu Buhari would take Atiku Abubakar up on his offer to a debate. As of the time of writing this, it doesn’t seem like we are going to see that debate between President Buhari (APC) and Atiku (PDP). General Buhari knows when not to go to war, it seems. Anyhow, I don’t see how anyone can be waiting for this one debate as if it is the ‘mother all debates’. What debate trumps the last four years?
iREP 2019…the story continues
It’s that time of the year again when cinema/documentary film enthusiasts congregate in Lagos to network and discuss the finer points of documentary filmmaking. This practice dates back to 2011 when iREPRESENT Documentary Film Festival began, and has garnered many more converts along the way. The dates for iREP 2019, the ninth edition, have been fixed for March 21 to March 24.
The four days of packed activities for the festival will, for the most part, take place at the aptly named Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos. The theme for this year’s iREP is ‘Storylines’. The idea, according to the organisers, is “to promote awareness about the power of documentaries to deepen social and cultural education as well as encouraging participatory democracy” which helps set off ‘Africa in self-conversation’. The fact that this year’s iREP will happen in the middle of Nigeria’s elections should in itself generate many productive conversations.
Kicking off proceedings is The Human Shelter by award-winning Danish filmmaker, Boris Bertram, as the opening film. The Human Shelter explores the many ways people set up their homes across the world. It spans four continents, from Mosul to Lagos, Tokyo, Hawaii and the Arctic Circle, in seven chapters.
Outside of this, there are over 30 carefully selected films. One of iREP’s strong points is the calibre of resource persons who come in from around the world. These personalities include Professor Jonathan Haynes, Awa Amkpa, Niyi Coker, Linus Abraham, Dr Paul Ugor, Esmeralda Kale, and the ultra-creative architect, Theo Lawson, who is also one of iREP’s executive directors.
With an array this rich resource persons, iREP is obviously aiming to deliver on all fronts through masterclass training, workshops, and panel discussions. All of that will be crowned with the much-talked about iREP cocktail. What’s a festival without festivities after all?
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