IT is quite unfortunate that the much anticipated presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled to hold on the 16th of February, 2019 were cancelled and postponed few hours to the commencement time. There was no satisfactory explanation and reason for the postponement of the said election. I woke up early because of 6.00 a.m to 6.00 p.m. movement ban and left for my polling unit which is about 25 minutes’ drive from my home. I got there by 5.55 a.m. and was in my car listening to a radio programme where I learnt of the postponement. I cannot understand the rationale behind it. There was no satisfactory explanation for the postponement of the said elections. If we look critically at this action of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), there are two possible interpretations which could be categorised in two different school of thoughts. The first school of thought was of the opinion that INEC is trying to blackmail the sitting government of the federation by calling off or postponing the elections to make the citizenry lose faith in the intention of the government to conduct a credible election. The other school of thought opines that this action is the handiwork of the sitting government with an attempt to make zealous citizenry lose their zeal to vote-out the government and bring-in candidates of their choice to power. This school believes that the action of the government is sciential. You know, “he who pays the piper dictates the tunes.”
Whichever way the interpretation goes, the resultant outcome could lead to “voter apathy”, a situation whereby voters might shun voting on the newly fixed date. A number of lessons could be learnt therefrom as follows: The government or its agent, INEC, had succeeded in killing people’s morale. The Federal Government, having declared holidays for workers to travel long distances, which portends great risks to Nigerian workers who love their fatherland and are eager to perform that civic responsibilities in order to elect their choice government for the next four years. The INEC, being headed by a professor for that matter, has derailed from its schedule of duties (timetable) against all odds. This raises some questions. Are there no early warning signs that INEC could use to track actions and events that could derail its programmes? Did INEC carry out a SWOT (Strength – Weakness – Opportunity- Threat) analysis? The INEC under the watch of a scholar did not exhibit scholarship in carrying out its responsibilities. The Nigerian political class which comprises mainly of sexagenarians to octogenarians have nothing to offer Nigeria again. They have suffered diminishing returns in their potentials to rule Nigeria and provide an egalitarian society. There’s the need for a paradigm shift. More youths with fresh ideas and wisdom are needed in our body polity. What legacies are the old political order leaving behind? The youth have been cowed into submission and acceptance of the status quo by the affluence of the old political order.
The sitting government has shown to the world that it lacks character and integrity. Nigeria, the self-acclaimed giant of Africa, cannot deliver on a self-designed programme. The international community is watching us. Why are Nigerians flourishing in other saner climes like America, Europe, Australia, Canada and New-Zealand, yet couldn’t make a mark in their fatherland? This is a food for thought for every Nigerian, old and young. Let us join hands to make Nigeria great. We have no other country we could call ours. Nigeria would be governed by Nigerians, so that Nigerians could make Nigeria great. True Nigerians are what we need to attain the rank. The most painful aspect of this show of shame is that the sitting president, General Buhari, claimed ignorance of the action that has been a national embarrassment. This shows that the president is not on top of his game and this could be dangerous to Nigerians if he is re-elected. We have seen many instances when he’s not always in charge of affairs concerning Nigerians and their welfare. We need personal re-orientation. We have lost so much values in our system and body polity. I’m bleeding (crying is an understatement) for Nigeria. God bless Nigeria.
- Dr Oyatokun lives in Ibadan, Oyo State.
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