The 2023 general election is almost here, and I am not writing this opinion to stop people from thinking for themselves. After all, elections are a celebration of freedom and choice. It’s therefore up to people to choose their leaders and live with the consequences of their choice.
As a Nigerian, I consider us as being fortunate to live in a country where we have opportunities and power to elect our leaders, and as such, we have the responsibility to vote wisely for people who can correct the problems confronting us.
Our challenges are numerous and no point rehearsing them. Suffice to say that insecurity, official corruption in all arms of government, inequity, injustice, bad governance, imbalanced federation and infrastructural deficit still top the list.
Though I am yet to make my final call on the 2023 presidential election, but because the incumbent APC president wants a successor who will continue from where he stopped, and has a willing candidate that already identified his readiness to continue with his poor legacy, I am certain APC will not be in my voting option in the presidential election. I want it to be the agenda of all patriotic Nigerians to ensure that APC is roundly defeated, because the party has successfully created the worst humanitarian crisis since the civil war by not upholding to any of its promises. The party is confused and likewise the leadership. They have created enormous confusion all over the place to the extent that even the people are confused about them.
The Labor Party candidate radiates lots of hopes. He is running on his personal track record. He has an impressive support base and may likely cause an upset. The way Nigeria politics is configured will make his winning a miracle, even though I don’t mind the miracle. I am nevertheless concerned that he has avoided speaking on most of the thorny and controversial issues that need to be addressed.
With the exception of maybe Atiku Abubakar of PDP, other candidates have avoided the thorny issues of restructuring, true federalism, unity, privatization and some other vexed issues associated with the flawed 1999 Constitution.
What drives Atiku Abubakar to take on some of the most thorny and controversial issues? Is it personal aggrandizement of power? Is it a sincere regard for the well-being of the Nigerian state? At the core of many of the attacks against his aspiration by detractors, particularly, the APC is the fear of losing the control of central power which is most likely to happen if BVAS works and votes counts.
APC indeed has a lot to be worried about. Since the party came to power in 2015, the security situation has grown from bad to worse. Lawmakers from across the aisle jettisoned their partisan affiliation and issued ultimatum to the president demanding that he takes immediate action on insecurity or be held accountable for creating and perpetuating insecurity.
People are frustrated and angry by the state of affairs. Millions of indigenous people are being displaced from their homes with their means of survival destroyed. Thousands have been killed or abducted for ransom with the government doing nothing.
No one is safe in Nigeria, and not even the President is safe. Governor El Rufai of Kaduna State – an advocate of taking strong measures against terrorists – once confirmed that the president was unaware of the level of insecurity faced by Nigerians. He said the president wasn’t even aware that the terrorists who had made kidnappings and killings their regular past time has threatened to also kidnap him. Who is briefing the president on the security situation and why are they withholding information from him?
Whether you think the terrorists are simply blowing some hot puffs in the air or not, the truth is that the enemies are now in our backyard. People living in the capital city of Abuja are literally living in fear of their lives.
On the recent Kuje jail break, a legislator who ought to know alleged on the floor of the parliament that the DSS sent 44 actionable intelligence to the presidency before the jail break that freed all of the terrorists detained at the correctional centre, yet no action was taken to beef up security and prevent the attack. Perhaps, the Commander in Chief wasn’t aware of the DSS report, or if he was aware, refused to issue appropriate orders or his orders were not obeyed by the security chiefs feeding fat on insecurity.
‘I feel like I have been lied to by the media telling us that Buhari is the answer to all the country’s problems’, Khadija Usman whom I met on a trip to Kaduna told me. ‘That’s what I saw him as when I voted for him’. ‘The media owe Nigerians unreserved apologies for making former President Jonathan look like a corrupt and clueless leader’ said Friday Okeke.
Ajayi a Yoruba and father of five who was a staunch APC and Buharist said his party has broken all of its promises; to end insecurity, end corruption, strengthen the Naira and bring it at par with the dollar, reduce the cost of petrol, make the refineries work and end strikes by university lecturers. As soon as they won the election, they looked at the list of their promises and said ‘forget it’ or ‘they outright denied those promises.’
‘We Hausa in the North feel trapped in the vicious cycle of believing whatever lies APC sold to us. I escaped the village to Abuja because we can’t even go to the farms because we are being killed while the government look the other way,’ said Musa.
‘They refused to arm us and yet will not provide for the safety and security of our lives and property. Now Abuja is also under attack, I don’t know where else to go.’’ The security threat in Abuja is real. The terrorists has attacked villages and communities within the city and abducted hundreds of people, they successfully bombed the city’s largest correctional centre and freed all the hardened criminals held in the facility.
During his inaugural speech, President Buhari projected that he would run an all-inclusive government. When he famously said ‘I am for nobody, I am for everybody,’ he made it seem that former President Jonathan hated the Muslim North. But that is the furthest thing from the truth. Nigerians were soon to find out that President Buhari is not whom he says he is. He just pretended to love the country and that he will be fair to all to win voters.
Under APC’s watch, you find gunmen carrying sophisticated weapons, almost similar if not superior to the guns carried by our military, and they are willing to use those guns indiscriminately and in total disregard for human life and a total disrespect for the authorities and the law. Gunmen attack police stations, military formations and kill hundreds of our police officers while the government and military high command appear weak to take actions. Nigerians are sickened by the weak response of our military to take the battle to the bandits, their inaction to defend themselves and the excuse they make consequently has resulted in the growing suspicion of the public that there must be interwoven relationship between the government and the rogue elements.
Nigerians must understand that the conduct of free, fair and credible 2023 elections does not begin and end with INEC and security agencies. Citizens have responsibility too. The power to elect leaders comes with responsibility to be calm and peaceful at the ballot box.
There are several steps that must be taken by those who wish to vote:
Remember to bring your valid PVC. Know your polling unit ahead of the election. Be informed and find out where candidates stand on issues that matter to you. On election day, vote your conscience . In doing so, you will make Nigeria proud as a leader and beacon for democracy.