Will this year be profitable?

The much anticipated year 2019 has finally come. Year 2019 means different things to Nigerians. In a few weeks, Nigerians will go to the poll. Yes, 2019 is an election year. The country will witness the general election where new leaders are expected to emerge. In the preceding year, however, Nigerians faced myriad problems ranging from insecurity, economic hardship and poor standard of living.

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Recall that in 2018, 87 million Nigerians were said to be living below the poverty line. Will these negative trends change in 2019? The year will likely inherit the 2018 general insecurity, the unfinished war against Boko Haram, banditry, killings and kidnapping among many others. What about inflation and high rate of unemployment in the country? Also 2019 will face the unresolved national minimum wage, the petroleum of oil marketers’ subsidy claim and the ASUU strike. In fact, 2019 is a year with many challenges.

Amid these multi-dimensional problems, because it is an election year, our politicians have been busy campaigning or promising what they cannot fulfil. Either the APC’s ‘Next Level” slogan or the PDP’s “Make Nigeria Work Again”, it is all a hoax. The programs are good on paper and could hardly become reality after election. These politicians are birds of a feather. They don’t have the country and the people at heart. If you don’t believe it, reflect on the gale of defections that rocked the two major political parties last year and are still going on. These politicians are united by one common goal: how to be in power and amass wealth for themselves, families and cronies.

Sadly, many poor Nigerians who are the victims of this elite manipulation have failed to realise the gimmicks being employed by these power monger elite. During elections, they will employ ethnicity, religion or regionalism. After election, they will start the blame game. The last 20 years of uninterrupted democracy has failed to transform the country to Eldorado of sort. The last 20 years of democracy in the country only breeded corruption, wastage and political hooliganism. Nigerian democracy in the last two decades has been deepening and widening the gap of inequality between the haves and the have not. No wonder the country recently became the poverty headquarters of Africa. Will 2019 change this narration?

2019 will be a promising year if Nigerians can only vote credible candidates. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has registered many political parties. And it seems all the political parties have fielded candidates for the elective positions. It is left for Nigerians to elect candidates with impeccable integrity. Until Nigerians do away with party politics and opt for politics of personalities, 2019 which signifies a promising year will become the most disappointing one.

Ibrahim Pambegua,

Kaduna State.