There are only a few Nigerians who doubt that the 2023 general elections would prove crucial in the life of the country.
Indeed, all over the country, even those for whom neutrality remains a forte have come to the realization that Nigeria is at a crossroads, a crossroads that may lead the country to perdition if care is not taken.
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, Nigerians hard-pressed to ask what the immediate future holds for them and their beloved country.
Those who are fashioning and fielding these questions are mostly those who have stayed behind. Many of those who have since fled the country could not care less because probably because they are too busy making new lives for themselves in the countries that now play host to them.
At this point,it is now undeniable that as much as its diversity which has utterly failed to gel it’s many disparate parts, leadership has been an insoluble problem for Nigeria.
It is a problem that has raged since independence in 1960 with Nigeria experiencing only flashes of visionary leadership for more than six decades now.
It is noteworthy that Nigerians from all walks of life have tested the corridors of power only to find the heat too much to bear. Many have consequently sunk into incompetence and inertia.
Since 1999,bad leadership has steadily dragged Nigeria into the dungeon of poverty and underdevelopment. With the 2023 elections this close, would Nigeria continue the cycle or is the country about to chart a new course?
A cycle of dysfunction
Every four years, Nigerians troop to the polls to exercise a key civic duty by electing those who would govern them.
Whenever this time comes around, it is more in hope than expectation that those who participate do so as conspiracy theories abound as to whether elections really count in Nigeria are as they should.
Now, as the race heats up, Nigerians know that their next president will be one of Peter Obi, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar who by virtue of their visibility and widespread acceptance should prove too much for other opponents.
Of the lot, Peter Obi is threatening to cause an upset.
Since he formerly announced his bid for the post, dumped the Peoples Democratic Party and moved into the Labour Party,his popularity has spread like wildfire,whipping up a movement ostensibly known as the Obidient movement.
Now, he has gone ahead to release a 62-page manifesto which chronicles his hopes and dreams for Nigeria.
However, beyond his visions for Nigeria, what has stood Mr. Obi out is his consistent call to Nigerians not to vote for any candidate based on his tribe or religion.
Anyone familiar with the backstory of what would surely prove the most pivotal elections in years would know that a lot has been made rightly or wrongly of the ethnicity and religion of the main contenders .
Mr. Peter Obi,a Christian from the Southeast and would have been greatly placed and pleased, to exploit Nigeria’s fractures around ethnic and religious lines.But rather than do that,he has been as constant as the Northern star in asking Nigerians to look beyond religion and ethnicity in choosing their next president.
In a race where many of the main contenders have brought more baggage than brilliance to the table, it is refreshing to see how much of a breath of fresh air Mr. Peter Obi has proven to be.
As the elections approach, many Nigerians are understandably anxious about what it would yield for them.
But ultimately, the lot will fall on Nigerians to choose wisely, and by so doing guarantee the future of the only country they have and love.
Kene Obiezu,
Twitter: @kenobiezu
