As the jostle for the office of the presidency gathers momentum, the one million dollar question is: “Are Nigerians now ready or determined to take their destinies by their own hands or simply put, take a refreshing departure from the old order?” Or characteristically allow the same pilferers bestride our corridors of leadership? Tufiakwa!
Because, according to T.A West: “Success only comes to the determined and indomitable”. Also, there is a popular scripture verse that says “ heaven helps those who helps themselves”.(James chapt. 2V14 – 26).
Truth be told, it is high time, Nigerians rejected any overtures from the presidential aspirants of both APC and PDP respectively, because their antecedents or modus-operandi, are akin to the tricks and promises used in luring a woman to bed and later default.
This is why an article written by Lian (UK-based) entittled “Muslim-Muslim Ticket, Nigerians why bother? (Sunday Sun Pg 10, July 10, 2022) is a must read for every discerning minds.
Honestly speaking, in that essay, he painstakingly dissected on the needless media-hoopla, occasioned by Tinibu’s running mate, whether Muslim or Christian? Without mincing words that particular master-piece, made my day. After said and done, Tinubu a religious bigot true to type neglected voice of good reasoning and settled for the Muslim-Muslim ticket. May I ask: according to a popular Igbo parlance, would one suffer blindness for two times? At this juncture, this new breeze of genuine change and liberation that is resonating across the whole country, irrespective of tribe or religion, through “OBi-dient Movement” and messages, signpost a good omen for our traumatized nation.
Forget about the braggadocio by some of those drowning politicians, as their camps are now really jittery. Jittery in the sense that the movement and Obi’s popularity are daily up-surging. This was also highly boosted, by his choice of running mate, in the person of Yesufu Datti-Buba Ahmed an urbane mind, untainted politician with sound academic background and also relatively young like Obi, as Nigerians cannot afford to experience another Buhari’s style of inefficient and incompetent leadership due to old age and ill health.
The onus, therefore, lies on the electorate (mostly the youths) not to disappoint this time around.
Happily the mass surge for voters registration and consciousness is highly unprecedented and is, therefore, a welcome development. And moreover, one thing is to cast your vote, the most important thing is to protect your votes. The idea of collecting money from these desperate politicians because of poverty (stomach infrastructure) is highly discouraged because, it will be tantamount to mortgaging your future destinies.
Finally, let me, therefore, end this piece with an admonition from Winston Churchill, “it is not enough, that we do our best, sometimes, we have to do what’s required”.
With God, A new Nigeria beckons!
• Charles Azubuike (Snr) writes from Onitsha