Group 100 efforts are an exercise in futility

By Uche Offia

Only Nigerian voters can choose who governs them come 2027. It is often said that whoever wears the shoes knows how painful he or she feels. For almost four years every family has experienced many hardships occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy by the APC Administration.

How I wish the administration had gone to the United Kingdom to understudy the management of the mass transit system before the removal of the subsidy. In the UK almost everybody uses a mass transit bus or tube to go to work.

In Nigeria mass transit does not exist in urban cities not to talk of farmers and farm products. As a result food is very expensive and city workers now go to work two or three days per week instead of five days.

Apart from removal of fuel subsidy, insecurity, kidnapping, floating of the Naira, farmers and herdsmen clashes as well as unknown gunmen and ritualists forced Nigerians to return to the state of nature. No wonder G100 wants all opposition parties to present one candidate to ensure the defeat of the ruling APC. However, the efforts of G100 remain an exercise in futility because it is rather too late. They were supposed to have started last year, not now that the major candidates have released their manifestos and have been marketing their programmes.

For the former VP Atiku Abubakar, most of the APC policies have to be reversed. For instance, he wants the restoration of fuel subsidies, opening of our borders and implementation of the Orosanya report etc.

For His Excellency Peter Obi, fuel subsidy must be removed with human face, and the North with plenty of arable land, agriculture must be mechanized to feed Nigerians and for export. Again, food must also be processed for export too. Obi says Southern Nigeria must be industrialised in accordance with the area of comparative advantage between East and West geopolitical zones.

G100 believes these are an effort in futility. It is too late now that the campaign has started. If the efforts to bring opposition leaders to adopt one candidate to face the incumbent President Tinubu had started last year, the efforts could have been a worthwhile venture.

In the current situation, voters have to study the lifestyle of the candidates, their character, their political history in office, capacity and strength now. With these guidelines, voters can vote according to their conscience. INEC, security agencies, politicians and electoral officials for God’s sake, please allow voters to decide who is to be their President come 2027.

•Uche G. Offiah, a diplomat and communications consultant, writes via email.