By Rilwan Muhammad
The 2023 general election is, if you would permit the cliche, round the corner, at least if one considers the nature of the Nigerian electioneering where a considerable amount of time is spent on strategic midnight meetings and daylight calculations to win the favour of the voters.
One may, going by the existing reality in the country, argue that a host of those who wore the mantle of steering the affairs of key elective offices in the country are good, mostly, at two things: feathering their own nests and making coordinated plans to remain in power and on the very comforting lap of luxury.
The man of the masses, the talakawa, as he would with air of confidence call himself, would take years marshalling his thoughts and making tactical moves that would guarantee his success at the polls.
Barely after the first year in office, the leader of the talakawa who, in the glare of the public, made a hundred and one promises even when he was fully aware that they were just a pipe dream, would be back in harness, pen in hand to chart the route to remaining in the seat of power.
Current events in the country are an indication that the day is not far off when Nigerians would take to the polls to elect in new leadership across the divide. One out of the many things that would catch your fancy is the debate on which part of the country should produce the next president. The northern part of the country, or at least some powerful people from the region, are busy sweating it out to produce the next president who will succeed Buhari, also from the north. The moves by the top brass in the southern part of the country are also in high spirits. While the Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the Southern Governors’ Forum (SGF) may have their underlying reasons for wanting to produce the next president and why they are trying to prove their mettle in the quest, one may be forced to surmise that should things continue this way, then the phrase “one Nigeria” would be nothing more than the shaken vestiges of a troubling dream.
It is not only the question of the power shift to the south; it is one of which zone in the south should produce the next president: east or west?
“For the sake of stability and equity”, opines second vice chairman, Delta State Council of Traditional Rulers, Pere of Akugbene-Mein Kingdom, Delta State, HRM Luke, Kalanama VIII, “power should be rotated to Southern Nigeria in 2023 and if they want to micro-zone, they should give opportunity to the South-East. Our role as traditional rulers is to advise the government and I have played my advisory role in the interest of Nigeria.”
Fashola, Amaechi and many a southern stalwarts were also quoted as saying that the zoning agreement during the formation of the ruling APC should be respected.
The argument is this: the north has done it, it should now shift it to the south so that the region will not feel marginalised.
At a meeting in Kaduna recently, the Northern States Governors’ Forum said the position of their southern counterparts was unconstitutional. But those in the south also say they have reasons and could justify the constitutionality of their position.
South or north, all we need is a good leader.
Another topical issue concerning the forthcoming election is the crises that are ravaging the ruling All Progressives Congress. The alleged parallel party congresses in states like Kano, Abia, Osun, Niger, Ogun and others doesn’t tell a good story about the party’s tussle for power perpetuation. Not to mention the crises marring the national leadership.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), instead of strategising its internal mechanisms to take power from APC and – according to them – liberate Nigerians from the shackles of bad leadership being experienced under the ruling party, is stirring up internal problems which, if not carefully and timely addressed, would thwart their efforts of taking power from the ruling APC. Perhaps Reuben Abati put it best when he said, “the way the PDP is managing its politics, it will end up donating the 2023 presidency to the APC.”
Nigerians are patiently waiting to see how it all will end come 2023.
What Nigerians need now is to have a candidate who knows and understands the plethora of the country’s problems and who can put a stop to them, or at least to some of them. Nigeria is on a sticky wicket and the job of taking it out of the present situation is not for anybody. It requires a competent person who knows the ins and the outs.
We want the blame game to stop. We have heard enough of it.
We are seeing how APC is bucking blames on PDD even when it’s the fault of the former. Dr Suleiman A. Suleiman’s description of Nigeria as a blame game country is perfect, because “everyone is blaming another for everything, and the solution to any situation is to lament it further, to pass the buck, to blame somebody else.” This phonomen is deeply rooted in the Nigerian politics so that every government that comes in and sees itself in deep but surmountable problems pins the blame on the previous government – maybe this is their cunning way of making excuses and justifying their inactions.
Whether the next president comes from the northeast, northwest, southwest or southeast; what matters a great deal is for the regions and/or the parties to field in competent people. But this is where the big issue lies. From the north’s aging Atiku Abubakar, Kogi’s Yahaya Bello, Bauchi’s Bala Muhammad, Sokoto’s Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and many others who are yet to indicate interest to join the race; to the south’s Kingsley Moghalu, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Rotimi Amaechi and the likes of Yemi Osinbajo, Goodluck Jonathan who haven’t publicly expressed their interest; who is capable of forcing the pace of decimating the worrisome activities of Boko Haram and bandits, of stemming the tide of unemployment, of diversifying the country’s economy, of uniting the nation, of actualising Mambila hydropower project, of bringing forth positive development in all sectors and facets of life and of making Nigeria great? There is also the Rescue Nigeria Project (RNP) who harbour the idea that the PDP and the APC have all under-perfomed.
With one plate in the midst of famished gluttons, who will have a spoonful and who will not? Time, we believe, shall tell.
Rilwan Muhammad can be reached via 07061124918
reedwandk@gmail.com
