Re: Goodluck, Buhari and the Neutrality Controversy. By S. AKOJI In response to Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri and the neutrality debate: When crumbs are presented as real meals..... I just read the latest in VIOs series # issues for Buhari in furtherance of her centrist disposition. This time around she took it a step further in an attempt to balance the tripod where she is conviniently perched at the centre between Goodluck Jonathan and Mohammadu Buhari. Paraphrasing her words, she choose to be neutral because what we have in Goodluck and Buhari are crumbs presented as real meals. She attempt to justify her sweeping dismissal of the two candidates where she reaffirmed that Nigerias electoral system is a vicious cycle of nothingness that throws up mediocre. According to her, That is why a Goodluck Jonathan who has squandered his never-seen-before political goodwill in 6 years, and under whose watch Nigeria witnessed a carnival of corruption, still has the impetus to stand for reelection. After taking a swipe at Jonathan, she then used a backhill on Buhari by dismissing him as a frail 72 year old, ex-general, with questionable academic standing, who has no track record of investments in leadership and respect for democratic tenets, and still has the impetus to contest another election. She contradicted her centrist disposition in her attempt to soothe leftist frayed nerves by rationalising the mass movement that the Buhari candidature has come to represent, where she stated that, It is also understandable that rooting for Buhari, despite his poor democratic credentials is the people’s own way of revolting against Jonathan’s six years of treasury depletion. Now this is where I challenge Victoria to quit her centrist shenanigans and take a stand by queuing up behind one of the two candidates that the system has thrown up for the Pichichi. Doing otherwise to me will amount to scoring an own goal after all her efforts in advocacy and sensitization of the youth population towards getting it right on our match to Nirvana! If you dont stand up for something, youll fall for anything. I agree with her where she asserts that, Nigeria is certainly between the rock and a hard place, and disagree with her where she insist that she has no regrets for the choice she had made - neither Buhari or Goodluck. In her words: I have chosen to be neutral regarding the major presidential candidates because none of them has the capacity to inspire genuine change in leadership. Lets be clear, the only way we can successfully be a part of the change we crave for this country is by liberals and progressives forging a common cause with independents and moderates, for the common good of all with a view to correcting the deficit in the overall health of the country. As Winston Churchill succinctly puts it, The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. So in line with Victorias centrist disposition, if she is given five minutes to address millions of potential voters who are eager to cast their vote on February 14th, what will she tell them? Perhaps she will tell them to throw away their PVCs because neither Buhari nor Goodluck is good enough for Nigeria! In conclusion, I make bold to reaffirm that Nigerians no longer look for the best candidate for the presidency; they seek the one that is not the worst candidate. Putting a centrist debate at this point where we have two candidates in contention, to me is a non - start! We must make do with what is on the table. Look at the two candidates seeking for our votes to become president, - Buhari and Goodluck, and pick the candidate you feel will best serve your interests. Dazzol
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 08:44:09 +0000
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