By Dr. Leke Adebisi
The 2019 election is looming closer. There is no doubt that the two elephants on the grass are Buhari and Atiku. Though the ground is littered with all sort of players and supporters with their plethora of battering rams, each shouting out at the top of their voice, proclaiming how good their candidate had performed or how great a potential they possess to lead the country out of the present chaos, thereby offering their most profound nuggets of wisdom that could convince and win the day for their preferred candidate, even when unsolicited.
Quietly, I walked not too far from the playground to observe from a distance, the people in the arena. I saw the thugs as well as several past Nigerian leaders, political Analysts and the Media, Foreign Governments and the supposedly non-partisan Nigerian quangos scattered all over the world, the musicians and the Nollywood actors/actresses, and so much more. How would anyone count the innumerable lot here? The playground is filled, full and overflowing. All of these participants have only one common basis, the election 2019.
Drawing inspiration from the famous poem ‘Gone-But-Not-Forgotten’, sprung a better analogy to the chaotic world at the playground. The poem ended with this verse –
The poem described the poise of this angelic woman on the move. She had her challenges; her demons were ever with her. The woman had a job. It was a very risky role. That’s similar to a pole dancer in a dark and dingy suburb. Her dexterity and proficiency were never in doubt twirling and snaking through the poles were almost natural to her. Men lurk around to slip their dirty dollar notes into her panty strings, some other sloven creatures lurching forward to grope her, fulfilling their filthy desires and thrills. Despite her adeptness and speed from one pole to the other, those demons hung tight to her, leeching and consuming her very soul. Between a short space of grace and respite, she remembers her place of dream and glory. Yet this brings more sadness, pain, and gloom to her inner soul as she gets plagued by her fiend.
The analogy drawn with the proverbial angelic woman here is to none but Nigeria. She has been robbed and raped by many past governments. Today, it is the Action People’s Congress (APC) seemingly ruling Nigeria. A while ago, it was the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Years back it was the Nigeria military. And before then, it was the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). All the rulers appeared the same! As described in Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s song titled – ‘Roforofo fight’, Nigeria have gotten to that place where the political parties are all covered in Roforofo (sludge) and we can no longer identify APC from PDP.
The question is – what is the way forward? The current situation is discouraging, confusing and heart-breaking to well-meaning Nigerians, and I sincerely empathize with my fellow countrymen. However, there is no single excuse for anyone to give up in the face of adversity, portending that it is a failure. Failure is never a result from trying, failure is only activated from giving up. The Nigerian political scene is deeply beleaguered by the dominance of our grandparents, so much so that one wonders if there are no youths in the nation willing to take it on. There has been no meaningful succession plan in the leadership of the nation, and the youths ask – are we going to hijack the nation from the leaders? The simple answer is No! This will not be a worthwhile effort for the current and next generations as it would no doubt result in unrest and violence.
Therefore, the appropriate action is to follow the path of peace, this path suggests the inclusion of the youth in the governance of the nation starting from now. We have seen the hopelessly resulting from the abandonment of the youth, seeing that a huge army of them are now resident abroad, if unabated, Nigeria will only become a training ground, whose trained youth escape to the developed/developing countries. With the remnants, the next phase could be an uncontrollable national rebellion, demanding violently for what belongs to them. The global effort must be to seek concertedly a government that has a manifesto, which promises inclusion and holding it to account for the implementation of the promise.
This concerted effort, if realized, will stem the emigration flow of highly educated Nigerian youths to other countries in the world, offering them better opportunities for growth and creating wealth. This effort will move the country away from the national brain drain of youth trained in Nigeria littered all around the world, building other economies abroad while Nigeria lies in rot. Youth empowerment will naturally adjust the balance of hope for young men and women in Nigeria, whereby they will look forward to a future full of potential with expectation rather than being recruited as thugs and hired hands for evil.
Dancing on the edge of a pin is the dire dark predicament of Nigeria today. The narrative could be re-written. The present APC government is weak and tired. Our ‘President Saa Baba’ has gone round the block, fully demonstrated to us that he is no longer capable of leading the nation. The facts are there! At television interviews he performed woefully, at campaign grounds, he was abysmal. With failing health, he slumped down the stairs at a campaign ground. The facts are there summarising that he is out of touch, people alluded to dementia and all sort of other ailments. Why should we choose a president that is this sick, tired, and well past his prime again?
On the flip side is Atiku Abubakar, alert and ready to turn the tide. He reached out with his manifesto to empower the youth, with a whopping 40% of youths promised to be part of his government. At the same time, 30% of his cabinet members are projected to be female. Atiku being a past Vice President of Nigeria and the best of the lot in the history of this great nation has tapped on his experiences to embark on a campaign that is centred on nation-building. Atiku has demonstrated a readiness to build a nation and he has a plan to move forward with today’s dynamic, passionate and emancipated youth of Nigeria.
Why would anyone not settle for an Atiku who has an emphatic and robust plan for the youth and the women in his manifesto. The 2019 election campaign so far presents a better horizon and hope for any Nigerian who wants to deal in facts and not the noise at the playground. Without a shadow of a doubt, Atiku Abubakar is the man.
