2015 NO OPTION The next presidential election shall be based on the economy and the middle class. - Hilary Clinton What shall the 2015 presidential elections in Nigeria be based on? Do we even have candidates who have declared their intentions? August is here and we have just six months to the presidential elections, yet we dont know who are the presidential hopeful. Ok I think I do. The body language (apologies Tambuwal) of Goodluck Jonathan (PDP) seems to suggest that very soon he will accept the appeal by well meaning Nigerians who have been begging him to lead us once again as this will enable him finish the good work he has been doing since he happened along and shoelessly came into national prominence. While the opposition parties grapples with their local politics, apart from the APC, the other opposition parties are at best MUSHROOM parties existing only on paper and do not have what it takes to mount a challenge for the office of the president. Even if Jesus Christ contest for the presidency under one of the mushroom parties, Nigerians wont vote for him, and will rather vote for the PDP even if Lucifer with horns is on the ballot. Their mantra is - The Devil you know is better than the Angel you do not know. So apart from the Pharmacist turned Journalist and failed Chicken Farmer, Sam Nda Isaiah who have declared his intention to contest for the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who else has shown interest? Nobody! So why is Sam Nda Isaiah not always in the news talking to Nigerians via village square and townhall meetings, selling us his ideas and blueprint at cell meetings, to convince us that he is a serious contender so that we can key into his vision to guide Nigeria to Nirvana and confer on the people life that overflows? Instead what do we see? He has turned his column in his Leadership Newspaper to a launching pad for firing salvo and missiles on the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan who he dreams of replacing. Perhaps Reuben Abati was right when he dismissed the Sam Nda Isaiahs presidential challenge by saying that, Running the presidency is a serious business and it is not for those who cannot manage an ordinary poultry business. So who are the serious contenders from the opposition, APC? There are quite a number of candidates whose body language signified that they want to give it a shot. General Mohammadu Buhari leads the pack, closely followed by Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano, Raji Fashola of Lagos is also planning to test the presidential waters. Rotimi Amaechi is still looking at the options before him, just as the Comrade Governor Oshio-Baba. Showboy Rochas Okorocha has deployed the services of a phantom restoration group who are currently begging him to lead us and take charge of our restoration. So we go back to the beginning and ask the question: Who are the contenders for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, six months to the presidential election in 2015? Are we still begging and cajoling the masquerade? Yes I think thats where we are at the moment. Nigerian presidents never come prepared. Often times they find themselves in office by accident of history. One small local politician occupying a small office somewhere in the region, goes to sleep thinking of how he will use his small office to steal some money belonging to the people to further enlarge his filthy treasure, finds himself in Abuja after the Kingmakers summoned him. You are going to be the next president they will tell him. And mote be it. Are there precedents we can draw parallels from? Very plenty, to say the least! In 1979, President Shehu Shagari was gunning for the post of a Senator when his party, the NPN thrust the presidential ticket on his lap. Thanks to the electoral umpires mathematical algorithm of 2/3rd abracadabra, an obscured ill-prepared Shehu Shagari was declared the winner of the 1979 presidential election ahead of titans like the Ikenne sage, Pa Obafemi Awolowo and Azikiwe of Africa. The rest as you all know is history. In 1993, after he was cajoled to pick the ticket, MKO Abiola gave it a try and he ended his political career six feet below sea level. In 1999, Obasanjo fresh from Abachas gulag never dreamt of contesting for his Owu ward counsellorship when Maradona led the Kingmakers to his Ota farm to annoint his as the next best thing to happen to Nigeria after sliced bread and butter. In 2007, late Umoru Yar Adua was thinking about managing his health when the Owu Chief thrust him and Goodluck Jonathan, two blind men to say the least on the nation. We are still grappling with the effects of that selfish imposition! Another election cycle is here. What shall determine the 2015 presidential election? Religion, ethnicity, tribalism, Militanst, boko haram, violence, party affiliation, parochial sentiments, personal interest of a few, inter alia. Yet you call this thing, a country? Nigeria is this you?????
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 07:10:53 +0000
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