By Nwobodo Chidiebere
My fellow Nigerians,
2015 is not only ringing a bell in the nation’s polity because of the general
elections associated with it, but would present a golden opportunity to
redefine and reshape the destiny of this great nation of Africa.
The emergence
of two major candidates: Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP and General Buhari of the
APC has made it a hard decision for Nigerians to make putting a lot of facts
into consideration.
I am very
conscious of the fact that Nigerians are yearning for improved standard of
living, effective security of lives and properties, infrastructural facilities,
etc. As a patriotic Nigerian with conscience, I cannot fall into the gripping
hands of political entrepreneurs, whose spirit of opportunism and self-centeredness
are the propelling forces behind their quest for power.
As 2015 presidential election
approaches, the voyage of the Nigerian state has run into a cross road. On the
left side of the road, is the short-long way and on the right side of it lays
the long-short way. The two candidates of the leading political parties represent
these two ways. While President Jonathan represents the long-short way, General
Buhari represent the short-long way.
Before I proceed, I would crave your
indulgence to define the two proverbial ways in other to awaken the
consciousness of Nigerian voters. The short-long way would appear shortest and
easiest at the outset to an adventurer, but would later prove to be the longest
and rocky road to take.
While the long-short way may appear long and
discouraging to a short-sighted explorer, it will at the end be the shortest
and hitch-free route to ply to arrive at the desired destination. The
million-dollar question here is: why did I describe Gen. Buhari as the
short-long way?
Gen. Buhari may represent the change some sections of Nigeria
are yearning for in the short term, but not in the long term because of his
leadership weakness which made him a remote in the hand of the Emperor of the
APC’s empire, which unjustifiably manifested in his inability to pick his
preferred running mate.
It is no longer news that the people’s General has been
surrounded by hawks and caged into dungeon that nothing good would come out of
this man if elected president, apart from serving the interest of his
Emperor owing to recent activities in the APC.
The same Lord of Lagos, who has
dictated the tune of the state for 16 years running, single-handedly rammed
John Odigie-Oyegun down the throat of the APC stalwarts as its National
Chairman.
He influenced the APC governors which made them to throw their weight
behind Gen. Buhari’s emergence as the APC presidential candidate in return for
the position of the Vice presidential candidate, which the King of Bourdillion,
later ceded to one of his cronies-Prof. Yemsi Osinbajo, after his earlier
ambition to clinch the Vice Presidential ticket of the APC was crushed by the
antagonists of Muslim-Muslim ticket.
The choice of Gen. Buhari may be popular
amongst his Northern followers and power-starved politicians, who see the aging
General’s ambition as an opportunity to grab power, but the selection of
Osinbajo as Gen. Buhari’s running mate confirmed the fears of many
Nigerians that we are in for another “Cabalnocracy”, which implies government
of the cabal by the cabal and for the cabal.
The over bearing influence of one
person in the so-called progressive party has made it crystal clear to lovers
of this country, that the newest cabal in town is working assiduously to mask
its motive with Gen. Buhari’s face to get to power.
Nigerians should be aware of those
who have exploited the people of Lagos for years via god-fatherism and heavy
burden of taxes, while preaching the gospel of freedom in Abuja; those who
installed their wives, children, in-laws, concubines, and cronies as governors,
senators, House of Reps members, state Assembly members, etc, while they keep
parading themselves as progressives.
As if that was not enough, the same
hypocritical elements who have been busy singing the song of change connived
with some PDP governors to truncate Local Government autonomy; while they
advocate for true federalism!
Nigerians have become politically conscious
enough not to allow retrogressive fundamentalists to reverse this country to
the same centralists who resisted the devolution of power at the National
Conference, by insisting on the current “feeding bottle federalism” which made
them parasites of Nigerian state.
Let’s come to think of it, what
informed the decision of the APC National leader to insist on Prof. Osinbajo as
Gen. Buhari’s running mate knowing his political naivety? Is Osinbajo more experienced
and qualified than the likes of Governors Fashola and Oshiomole or former
governor Fayemi?
Why did Tinubu block the emergence of Gov. Ameachi as
the APC vice presidential candidate? Is Tinubu the de facto presidential
candidate of the APC who is scheming to leverage on Gen. Buhari’s popularity
in the North to acquire power via Prof. Osinbajo? In the first instance, the
Emperor of the APC’s empire went for a candidate who claimed that he borrowed
money for his nomination form from a bank, without telling Nigerians the
collateral he used to secure the loan.
The burning questions agitating the
minds of Nigerians are: are we ready to be enslaved by this desperate cabal? Is
the APC clamoring for change just for the sake of it? Gen. Buhari who truncated
our nascent democracy in 1984, is aspiring to come back and benefit from the
same democracy he rejected 30 years after. Does he represent the change we need
at this defining moment?
Is this not a grand conspiracy of power mongers with
born-to-rule mentality riding on the gullibility of Nigerians to get power at
all cost? What does the APC stand for, if not a party of disgruntled elements
and power-starved individuals? Objectively, I am not blinded to the fact that
President Jonathan may not have performed optimally to the expectation of some
Nigerians, but can we just for the sake of change replace a young woman who has
given birth to two children with an old woman who has reached menopause because
the impatient husband is angling for more children?
Is the aspiration of 72
year old General not insulting the sensibilities of Nigerian youths? Your guess
is as good as mine.
Nwobodo Chidiebere, public
commentator writes via chidieberenwobodo@yahoo.com. He writes from Abuja.
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