As the conventions end

The most important of all the elections of course, will continue to remain that of the office of the president of the federation and the two major contenders are as it was in 2011, Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and MuhammaduBuhari of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC).My take on the primaries is […]

The most important of all the elections of course, will continue to remain that of the office of the president of the federation and the two major contenders are as it was in 2011, Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and MuhammaduBuhari of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC).
My take on the primaries is that despite the rot in our political system and engineering, some incremental attainments are being recorded day by day if the conduct of the primaries at various levels is anything to go by. I can say with a high degree of confidence that if only the attitude of political managers would change; Nigeria may do better than it is doing at the moment.
What are the items on the agenda of the nation at the moment? In as much as views may differ, one thing that is a fact is that Nigeria has never had it this bad as in the last eight years, six of which were under the rule of Goodluck Jonathan.
Nigeria is badly fractured along minor fault-lines that have existed as long as the country has but have never been as badly applied in everyday life as this government has done. Religion for instance,has always been an issue very dear to the minds of the people but it remained more or less a personal affair that did not impact as negatively on the psyche of the people as much as it is magnified at the moment.
I think what the candidates need to do is to ensure that the one major item on their agenda is how to rescue the soul of this country that is grasping seriously for breath. I am of the view that it will amount to impossibility if the current government tells us that it has the capacity to rectify the situation primarily because it is responsible for its evolution in the first place.
It will appear as if the government found a shortcut in the usage of such very personal issues of division as strategy of either covering its insincerity and incapacity and the victims as well as the fighting forces here are Nigerians from the various divides. The result is what we see on ground today manifesting in the name of backwardness, failures in every aspect of the nation’s social, economic and even political infrastructure.
The way out certainly may not be to rely on the state as it is currently constituted and instead beginning to look for alternatives within the landscape if only Nigeria is to survive these serious difficulties that it is facing. I make bold to say again that virtually all aspects of our life today are in bad shape; that is not what we inherited from those before us.
We inherited a system that was though not perfect, more humane than this disaster and leaders that were courageous and at the service of their people against this bunch of thieves who only steal from our collective till and turn the other way and pitch one group against the other.
This is the worst scenario that the nation has seen and may not survive it longer than necessary unless effective political brinksmanship is evolved and again, as I said, not likely from the powers that be today because they aggravated the problems even if they did not create them.
The social contract theory has two sides to it, the role of the state and that of citizenry. The role of the state is to protect lives and property while that of the citizens is to be law abiding and pay taxes.
In Nigeria today, the state has failed but I must confess the failure didn’t start with this government though it made matters worse because of share political irresponsibility and economic wildness. The society is in pain.
I think what Nigerians must look out for in the coming elections is who can put back the country on the right track and not those who are only going to make matters worse.  I am frightened by the degree of insincerity on the part of Jonathan’s administration. The manner in which they propagate falsehood as their achievements is embarrassing.
To any visitor in this country today, it is visible and clear that infrastructure such as electricity, roads and safety have all collapsed but going through our major cities what do we see, especially in Abuja; lies and falsehood as achievements.
This means two things;either the government does not understand what is expected of it or is deliberately telling lies and spitting on the faces of Nigerians. I am sure most of the statistics that we read and see from government are incorrect and cannot be verified but they argue that they are transforming.
If this is what transformation means, then I do not want it, I don’t need it and millions of other citizens too would not want or need it. The entire political scenario has been taken over by lies and falsehood and if this is not corrected, Nigeria will continue to sink down the drain of oblivion and uncertainties that further increase the possibilities of the collapsed agenda called the nation.
I cannot imagine that leaders could be cheap liars. Here I see a lot of them and the citizens out of hunger and desperation continue to stay aloof. We must rise out of our individual and collective docility and act for the sake of today and tomorrow. If this mess goes on unabated, I see the end the country not too far away.
There are alternatives that are credible and I think Nigerians must cash in on them. Ensure that the sanctity of votes are kept, and elect those representatives and leaders that are capable of turning around the country.
The conventions are over. PDP has coroneted its candidate and the APC has elected its own. We must move forward. God save and bless Nigeria.