By Omoniyi Salaudeen and Daniel Kanu
In three weeks’ time from now, campaign activities by the various political parties will commence in earnest. Unlike the previous experience, the 2023 general election is coming with a difference.
For the first time in the history of Nigeria, the youths have resolved to play an active role in the election of the next president who will take charge of the affairs of the country from incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.
Thus, as candidates are warming up for electrifying campaigns to woo the electorate, there has been a growing yearning for a positive change of leadership.
This is particularly more so with the disappointing expectations that have been trailing the present administration since the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) took over the rein of power.
While campaigning for the 2015 general elections, President Buhari promised to make security, economy, and anti-corruption as the major plank of his administration. But all of these have turned out to be a rope of sand.
Now, the battle cry is never again will Nigeria fall into the abyss of the immediate past era of false electioneering where the state actors regaled the electorate with mouth-watering electoral promises only to turn around and break them one after another.
More than ever before, the youths are now determined to take their destinies in their hands. In the last couple of months since the emergence of the candidates of different political parties, there has been a kind of unusual frenzy on social media about the election. Whether or not they will sustain the enthusiasm till 2023 and translate their yearning into actual voting is a big question waiting for an answer.
In terms of voting strength, the figure recorded by the youth in the just concluded Continuous Voters’ Registration exercise conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is quite staggering. Out of a total registration figure of 12, 298, 944 on completion of the exercise, the youth recorded 8, 784,677, representing 71.4 per cent, while the middle-aged and elderly voters constitute 2, 430, 709 and 056,017, representing 19.7 and 7.7 per cent respectively. At the bottom of the ladder are the old people, whose total figure is put at 127,541, representing 1.03 per cent.
In about 24 days’ time, precisely September 28, presidential candidates of the various political parties will commence their campaign activities ahead of the presidential election scheduled to hold on February 25, next year. According to the timeline released by the INEC, the governorship and state assembly candidates will kick-start their campaigns on October 12. This is in line with Section 94 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022, which stipulates that “campaign in public by every political party shall commence at least 150 days before the polling day and ends 24 hours prior to that day.”
To forestall any untoward development, while campaigning, the electoral guidelines further prohibit the use of foul language and stipulated penalties for the violators and their accomplices. Section 92 of the Electoral Act, 2022, states that “abusive, intemperate, slanderous or base language or insinuations or innuendoes designed or likely to provoke violent reactions or emotions shall not be employed or used in political campaigns.”
Sub-sections 7(a)(b) and 8 also spelt out specific penalties for violators of these guidelines, stating “A political party, aspirant or candidate who contravenes any of the provisions of Section 92 of the Act commits an offence and is liable on conviction in the case of an aspirant or candidate, to a maximum fine of N1 million or imprisonment for a term of 12 months; and in the case of a political party, to a fine of N2 million in the first instance, and N1 million for any subsequent offence.”
This is where the power of the INEC to enforce strict compliance with the rules of engagement comes into question. There is a need for genuine willpower to whip the gladiators to line.
As has already been observed in recent weeks, some candidates have been engaged in bickering and mudslinging far ahead of the commencement of electioneering.
For instance, in the wake of the controversy that trailed the adoption of Muslim-Muslim ticket by the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the party’s presidential standard bearer, and his counterpart in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, literally took each other to the cleaners, throwing banters with unprintable names. So also did their spokespersons, Festus Keyamo (SAN) and Senator Dino Melaye respectively, who were fiercely engaged in a verbal exchange of words.
In view of this unwholesome scenario, some eminent Nigerians, who spoke with Sunday Sun, challenged the candidates on issue-based electioneering, focusing on the myriads of problems confronting the country: the dwindling economy, insecurity, power crisis, crippling education, corruption, among others, and the way to remedy the worrisome situation.
On the economic front, a Professor of Law at Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, Tayo Bello, speaking with Sunday Sun in a telephone chat, gave a long list of pressing issues the next president must address to rescue the country from the woods.
He said: “As we all know, there is a global economic problem which Nigeria is not an exception. However, the peculiarity of our own situation goes beyond the global trend. Whoever will eventually emerge as the president should be able to understand economic indices. If you lack a clear understanding of the knowledge-based economy as president, definitely, you will rely on the advice of your advisers and you will go nowhere.
“I am of the opinion that whoever will emerge as president must be able to understand indices of economy, he must have the capacity to interpret the economic report and how to implement it.
“Now that campaign is about to commence, candidates must be able to convince the citizens beyond the imagination of their knowledge of the economy. The present government has continued to borrow without limit. The incoming president must understand how to reschedule some of these debts because if we continue to use about 78 per cent of our revenue earnings on loan servicing, we might not be able to survive it. Therefore, there must be debt forgiveness or debt rescheduling. He must also be able to monitor some of the projects they spent the money they borrowed on.
“Again, he must be able to establish the economic nexus between the West and the East, meaning that he must be able to develop an economic model that is neither socialist nor completely capitalist. He must create a hybrid. He must be able to block all the loopholes and drain pipes. You cannot claim to be an economic guru and corruption is booming under your administration. For instance, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, just revealed that crude oil thefts were linked to churches and mosques. That is not an ordinary statement. Those involved in the deal should be arrested, investigated, and sent to jail.
“More importantly, we must remove subsidy. If we don’t remove subsidies, subsidies will kill Nigeria. The incoming president must have the political will to implement the removal of subsidies.
“Above all, the people that will work with him must be of impeccable character. He must bring in experts that are very honest. He must check their CVs. Anybody with questionable character should not be allowed to participate in his government. He must be able to restructure to the extent that more revenue will go to the states.”
The National President, Ijaw Media Monitoring Group, Elder Asu Beks, also lent credence to this, saying that “with the level of our debt profile, the first thing the next president must address is the issue of debt forgiveness because our debt has grown so much that the coming administration will not be able to embark on any capital project for about two to three years on resumption.”
This is even as he stressed the urgent need to deal with the menace of kidnapping, terrorism, and banditry, adding that, “much more grave is the issue of insecurity. I find it difficult to understand why we have not been able to curb the menace of terrorists. We can’t keep on like this as a nation. And that is why people say they are tired of these old brigades who will tell the same old story. Let’s look for something different, let’s look for a positive change, not the kind of change APC brought on us in 2015.”
He harped on the imperative of restructuring as a panacea for a stable polity.
“There is a need for us to restructure this country. We have made the centre so attractive that everybody wants to go to Abuja. We need to decentralize. If we do that, this issue of everything must go to the centre will not be there,” he posited.
In his own case, Jackson Olalekan-Ojo, a concerned security expert, charged Nigerians to elect a positive sadist as the next president to frontally deal with the threatening security challenge facing the country.
According to him, a positive sadist is a leader who does not take no for an answer.
His words: “The next president must be somebody whose words will be an order. I remember when this notorious armed robber, Anineh, was terrorizing the whole country. One day, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) got to the Executive Council meeting, called the Inspector General of Police, Etim Iyang, and said: “Who is this Anineh people are talking about? I want to see him.” Not more than two days after, Anenih was caught because the IG and Deputy IGs knew they would all go for it if they failed to produce him. That is the kind of leader that can handle the security situation in the country.
“We have had a situation when the president gave an order to the IG of police which was not obeyed and nothing happened. At one time, he gave the Security Chiefs an order to shoot on sight anyone seen carrying an AK-47. Up till now, that order has not been carried out.
“At this point, we need a president who must be a positive sadist. A positive sadist is somebody who will give an order which must be carried out without an excuse,” he said.
For Dr Phillips Nto, a former Finance Commissioner in Abia State and World Bank consultant, those to be elected must pass the integrity test.
He said: “Before any expectation from the next leadership, Nigerians must first ensure that we elect people with credibility, those who will keep their promises. Nigerians want to see a president who earns their votes on the strength of credibility.
“The core value of true and effective leadership is integrity. Moral uprightness or rectitude is a sine qua non to trusted leadership.
“Good character is the primary foundation upon which the next president and others to be elected must stand to be able to govern according to the Constitution.”
Nto maintained that the next president must be ready to tackle the current security challenge plus a good knowledge of the economy so as to know what to do to revamp it, adding that with the combined effects of the two sectors, other things will naturally fall in line.
A university teacher, Dr Mercy Obembe, warned Nigerians to “look critically before voting, adding that any mistake made in choosing a wrong candidate may spell doom for the country.
“A lot is expected from those coming into office in 2023. The frightening state of insecurity in the land needs to be tackled. The economy is in shamble, and poor infrastructure that abounds needs to be genuinely tackled.
“We have never had this level of division among Nigerians. So, we need a government that will fan the ember of unity. There is this urgent need to enthrone justice, fairness, and all-inclusive governance.
“Every sector is inadequate. The education sector, health, power, manufacturing sector, energy sector, etcetera, all need revival, resuscitation, restoration, and serious overhauling,” she noted.