Slowly but steadily ,the shades are being swept away by the light that is determined to dispel the stygian darkness that has enveloped Nigeria for the better part of eight years.
As the country stands on the cusp of historic general elections, what exactly is on the minds of Nigerians? What are majority of Nigerians thinking? Crucially, what do Nigerians want from the elections?
With President Muhammadu Buhari and his team having ruled the roost for close to a decade now, it has been eight unsatisfactory years. There may be mitigating circumstances, say the rot which ate deep into the fabric of the country for sixteen years during which the PDP was in power. However, given how much he touted change and how high he got hope to soar, the buck has not moved from his table in the last eight years.
In the last eight years, Nigerians have had a hellish journey. The synergy between widespread poverty and uncontrollable insecurity has pushed many Nigerians to the edge of the precipice.
There has also been a distinct lack of direction and administration with a government stuffed with so much experience. But in all these, what has especially caught Nigeria cold is the levity and nonchalance with which allegations of nepotism and incompetence have been treated.
But for all they have suffered in the last eight years, has there been enough lessons for Nigerians? For all the ignominy they have suffered as citizens and residents of a country that has scratched and scraped in the last eight years with nothing to show for it, have Nigerians resolved that enough is enough?
February 25,2023 is only days away and the choices placed before Nigerians have never been starker in their differences. On the one hand are two political parties who have been responsible for all the problems the country has experienced since 1999.That the PDP and the APC have dipped into their barrels to offer Nigerians two politicians who have been around long enough to be associated with all manner of dirt speaks volumes of their dreams for Nigeria.
On the other hand is a political party which was marooned in relative obscurity until now and a candidate whose refreshing honesty and history makes him just what the doctor ordered for Nigeria.
When Peter Obi ditched the Peoples Democratic Party to set up camp with the Labour Party, not many people could have predicated that he was about to rattle electoral cages in the country.
Many months down the line, the former Anambra State Governor has got many Nigerians believing. Even more crucially, he has redefined what it means to stand for elections in Nigeria.
Before Nigerians, the choices have never been more different or c It is as between light and darkness, as between marching forward or stumbling backwards.
A lot has been said in Nigeria in this period but at the end of the day it is Nigerians who will decide what they want and how they want it. However, it is important to remember that at every point in time the quality of leadership in place in a country is often an accurate reflection of the state of that country, and crucially of the people who make the choice of leadership in that country.
It is also the reason those who will stay off the elections because they do not have their PVCs must through their own nonchalance must bear the shame of their own negligence. When votes are cast and theirs do not count because they would not have given it a chance to count, they must hide their faces in shame.
The least any one can give a sinking ship is a vote of confidence to show that they do not want it to sink. To do otherwise would be to hasten the plight of the sinking ship. Those who have deliberately chosen to abstain from the February 25 polls must be seen for who they are: the saboteurs of an ailing country.
In these days when locusts surround Nigeria and her treasures, driving them away and foiling their plans must be given utmost priority.
Whatever happens on February 25th, Nigerians must play their part. Whatever happens, Nigerians will have to take full responsibility for the crop of leaders that will emerge in a country that has never managed to get leadership right.
Kene Obiezu,
keneobiezu@gmail.com
