2023: Nigerians must vote wisely

The agitations for which part of Nigeria will have the privilege of producing the next president of the country in 2023 has started to generate tension and panic. Nigeria, a nation already faced with myriad of challenges; from insecurity, high unemployment rate, lack of electricity, abject poverty, falling standard of education to mention but a few, can be described as an ailing nation that needs urgent cure.

What Nigeria needs currently is peace and stability, good governance and leadership not based on ethnicity, a president for the purpose of all Nigerians whether you are from the south, west, east or from the north.

For 23 years of democracy in Nigeria, Nigerians have not enjoyed continuous and sustainable dividends of democracy. Our electricity is not stable, many folds of insecurity – terrorist’s attacks, kidnapping for ransoms, herdsmen killings, high level of corruption, police brutality of citizens- continue to be cankerworm to the development of the country. Dilapidated educational infrastructures and falling standard of education, high unemployment rate, lack of qualitative health care and facilities, no social assistance for vulnerable citizens and high standard of living among others are the ‘devils’ inflicting pains on the citizens.

Successive governments have failed to provide basic needs of life for the majority of Nigerians such as health care, affordable housing, food, standard education at the primary and secondary school levels. Majority of Nigerians are living in abject poverty, university, polytechnic, and college of education graduates are unemployed resulting in graduates being engaged in fraudulent activities such as internet scam (yahoo yahoo), armed robbery and ritual killings.

The teeming youths, most especially graduates after searching for job opportunities endlessly resort to different nefarious activities due to frustration. Year in and year out, our higher institutions continue to turn out graduates to an overstretched labour market. Most graduates in Nigeria, after completion of their studies, still rely on their parents for feeding. What a nation!

The Nigeria Police is among the worst law enforcement agencies in the world because of the corrupt practices of its personnel. Our police extort, collect bribes and brutalise citizens at will. The police personnel are not totally to be blamed for this shameful act, how do one expect a junior police officer whose monthly take-home is just a meager N47,000 (forty-seven thousand naira) which is less than $100 US Dollar to perform credibly, diligently, and professionally without resorting to extortion, bribery, and corruption. Also, how do police with lack of modern weapons to fight criminals or secure the lives and properties of the citizens they are expected to protect.

The police are not well motivated and political office holders received a good welfare package in Nigeria. In our county, ethnic politics dominates all tiers of government; the federal, state, and local government. Another monster is the issue of godfatherism. In some states in Nigeria, it is only one individual or some few individuals that determine who becomes councilors, chairmen of local governments, state governors, members of state house of assemblies, state commissioners and federal lawmakers.

Agitations about which section of Nigeria should produce the next president of the country is what has been a dominant discourse from the beginning of the year 2022. The south-west, south-east and south- south want the presidency back to the region, claiming that the incumbent president Muhammadu Buhari who is from the northern part of the country by 2023 would have completed eight years of two term tenure.

While some members of the opposition People Democratic Party (PDP) are agitating that the presidency contest should be left open for every interested member of the party to contest at the primary election of the party referencing that President Goodluck Jonathan from the south-south geo-political zone was in power until 2015 when the All Progressive Congress (APC) won the presidential election.

What Nigeria and Nigerians need at this critical period and in the coming 2023 when the general election will take place is good governance no matter which section, geo-political zone, religion, colour or race the individual comes. Nigerian Youths need a president that will create different job opportunities for them to survive. Nigerian children need good and qualitative primary and secondary education, good and qualitative health care system, well funded university education, good and motorable road infrastructures, affordable housing, stable power supply, cheap but quality food as well as security of lives and properties.

Nigerians need a president that will put an end to the activities of terrorist groups such as the likes of Islamic States West Africa Provence (ISWAP), the boko haram, bandits, herdsmen, kidnapper, and other criminals terrorising the citizens. Also, the country needs a president that will fight corruption to a standstill without partiality, a president that will put the right peg in the right hole when appointing the ministers and heads of government parastatals. A president that will create equal opportunities for all the citizens irrespective of whether they are from affluent homes or poor family backgrounds; someone that will respect the rule of law, encourage criticism and peaceful protests.

What Nigerians need their president to possess is the fear of God, knowledge, intelligence, physical and mental fitness and the ability to unify the country and turn Nigeria to an industrial nation not a president based on ethnicity, religion, gender, or political affiliation.

Come February 25 and March 11, 2023, Nigeria’s teeming youths should use the advantage of its population strength to vote for candidates that can transform the country. The candidates aspiring for presidency, governorship, senate, the federal and states’ House of Assemblies must be scrutinised and investigated well before voting for them. Candidates that will facilitate changes in policies, programmes and bring development for the betterment of all Nigerians irrespective of which parts of the country he or she comes from.

Enough of voting for selfish politicians, money bags or candidates imposed by the godfathers or political jobbers; some of these politicians when elected only carry out the bidding of their beneficiaries, they are selfish and lack of integrity. This must stop.

The general elections in 2023 is another opportunity for Nigerians to change our destiny by voting wisely for the unity, progress, and stability in Nigeria and by doing so it will eliminate the pains the citizens are passing through now. Get your Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and vote wisely.

Agunloye, a public affairs analyst sent this piece via [email protected]

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“Absolutely, When we came with the Buhari government in 2015 I became the minister. We were committed to a roadmap to establish a National Carrier, to concession the airports, to set up a leasing company, to establish cargo facilities and we have been doing that.”

On why the Buhari government wanted a national carrier, the minister responded: “Nigeria is situated at the centre of Africa, equidistant from all locations in Africa. 30.4 million square kilometres miles, 1.5 billion people, very green land. If Central and Eastern Africa is the belt of the continent, then Nigeria is the buckle. 200 million people and rising middle class, propensity to fly is high. Nigeria is a candidate for National Carrier.”

Sirika who insisted that the coming national carrier will be private sector driven added; “Private. Yes. 5 per cent government and no government stepping right in that company, no government control, no membership of government on board. Totally private and committed.

“Whatever we say we will do as a government since 2015, it has happened. that is why Tim Clark of Emirates, Qatar Airways and all of them are looking to go into Nigeria in multiple frequencies and multiple landing points because Nigeria is the right place for the airline business.

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