The coming federal and presidential elections concentrate the mind on what Nigeria needs. Suddenly, the PDP that misrule Nigeria for sixteen years wants to come back for more. Seeing that Nigerians say they failed as a political party to get Nigeria anywhere positive, they apologise to Nigerians. Strangest of all strange apologies. Have the PDP made amends in the states that they govern to show that if they are voted in to run the federal government they would not repeat their sixteen years of waste, vandalism and project abandonments? All they have continued is the Nigeria paradox of materially successful politicians in an unsuccessful Nigerian polity.
The coming elections concentrate the mind. Let’s look at the contestants for president. How many young people are contesting for the position of president? Is it not a truism prove-able by empirical material that the more candidates run for a particular position, the easier it is for the main contender to win. That is why the main contender sponsors candidates against himself!
There was a futile attempt for the many young and bright contenders for president to come together and chose one of among them to contest against the candidates of PDP and APC. Their failure is symptomatic of the failure of all those who ignored the above-stated concept of multiple candidate elections.
What outcomes can we expect from the coming elections? Before-before the cry was “we shall wipe out corruption.” Since the same politicians, like the soldiers they succeeded in 1999, could not wipe themselves out, corruption persists. Any politician who claims he or she will wipe out corruption, some vote is going to hope he will not be on the ballot paper! The new cry now is “we will restructure.” Even a dancing candidate who cannot restructure his hat is supported by, of all people Afenifere, that bearer of the sacred name of action group. That Afenifere will persuade the western region to vote PDP because their candidate says he will restructure Nigeria. One person, one party cannot restructure Nigeria alone.
True the federal republic of Nigeria needs restructuring. The years of military rule centralised what should be federalised. The command structure of the army was imposed on the country. And that military structure favours some people who refuse to think out of the box that imprisons them. And because it favours them, they would rather stick to it. And unless you can convince them to join in structuring a proper federation, you cannot alone restructure Nigeria. Which party will restore a proper federal system to Nigeria?
What other outcome can we expect from this coming presidential election?
There are those who are still stuck in the rotational presidency. Eight years to the North, eight years to the South. So, let Buhari finish his eight years and then the presidency comes to the South. But which South? The Yoruba South? The Igbo South? The South-South? What about the Middle Belt that is no longer part of the North? When will it roll to them, this rotating presidency?
For the Igbo South there is really a problem here. Since the end of the civil war and the defeat of Biafra it would seem that no Igbo candidate has been seen as possible. The agitation for the realisation of Biafra makes it even more problematic. This is the reason why the Igbo South is ready to support Atiku if he would only do one term (if he wins) and let his Vice President run for President. Even if Atiku swore he would do only one term it is not a promise that anyone can take to any bank. Things change.
Let’s pursue the outcome possibilities of Atiku winning the presidential election. That means that Buhari would have been prevented from doing two terms. Apart from the fact that it means Buhari can run for President come 2023, does that result through into confusion the rotational presidency, two terms North, two terms South? Does it mean that no political party will ever again allocate political office according to geography? Like Atiku saying he would give the Yoruba the secretary to the Government? Will merit reign supreme from 2023 onwards? Can that be an outcome?
What happens to all the numerous candidates who have lost the presidential election? Could they collect their various wonderful ideas and go after the winner and say I give you my ideas, let me work for you? What would PDP say to such a former contestant for the position of president? Would they sit down with these people, these losers, and hand over their victory to them? Or would these numerous contestants go to the states to test their ideas at that level? Given the fact that many of the contestants have not even held ministerial positions before, would it not be better for everybody for the to go back to the states to do the good they promise Nigeria?
What outcome for infrastructure in Nigeria? What if after the elections, things remain the same? The roads are the greatest disaster right now. It has become a matter of putting one’s life on the line the minute one gets into a vehicle on our roads. The state of the roads is appalling. There is hardly a continuous fifty kilometre motorable road to be found any where in Nigeria? If there is any let me know. The state of the vehicles is deplorable. Vehicles belching black smoke, vehicles whose front wheels give up at a bend, vehicles which not only break down on the road but must be fixed by mechanics on the spot. This is one of the most horrible places of accidents on the roads, trucks ramming into traffic held up by break down vehicles.
Can an outcome be the clearing of the road of the so-called security systems of police, FRSC, army, and so on and so forth? These people are NOT doing on the road what needs to done. What needs to be done is the restoration of discipline on the roads and neither the police nor the FRSC are doing this. All they do is collect small sums from vehicle drivers including okada and let them loose on the rest of the road using community. Let one outcome of the coming presidential election be the restoration of discipline on our roads. Do I hear amen to that?
Guardian (NG)
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