In the New Year 2015!

Many factors have been responsible for these assertions and I think to all those who are sincere, it is not wrong to assume that things as they are in Nigeria today are most likely the pointers that must have in the first place provided the data and ingredients that led to these forecasts in the […]

Many factors have been responsible for these assertions and I think to all those who are sincere, it is not wrong to assume that things as they are in Nigeria today are most likely the pointers that must have in the first place provided the data and ingredients that led to these forecasts in the first place.
In the last few years, Nigeria has been in a very bad shape as far as security of life and property are concerned. The country has been ranked amongst the five worst cases in the world where loss of life is highest. The level of governance has been variously ranked among the worst in the entire universe while corruption has continued to surge with government and its officials only playing reactionary roles of denials.
In the last 54 years that Nigeria has existed as an independent nation, there has never been a time minor fault lines were exploited and put at the front burner of every activity, especially governance and politics, than in the last six years that Goodluck Jonathan has held forte as Nigeria’s president.
Today, Nigerians speak in religion, region and tribe as if we are back to the primitive stage of human development. Religion has always been an issue even before now, so also are the issues of tribe and region but they were always managed by the political brinkmanship of the leaders of those times.
What is unfortunate in the contemporary reality is that those who hold state power have since out of their incompetences found these fault lines ready tools for use to favour their political and administrative incapacities and to continue to muddle through governance while perpetrating their crimes in the economic spheres and dimensions of democracy.
The New Year is eventually here and Nigeria is still in bad shape. More tension characterises the scene while the nation awaits an election in February. The prognosis must have been driven by the very pointers that came from Nigeria and Nigerians and in my view the ruling class failed woefully in addressing the issue properly because instead deploying the intelligence wing of the state to follow through and determine factors that might have led to those deductions, all we heard and saw from the state were insults and repudiation that were not based on any science or logic.
With the simmering insecurity in the north especially the north-east, the glaring political failures of this government and the pointers to an eminent defeat in the February elections, coupled with the threats from the militants in the Niger Delta, Nigerians need to pray fervently for themselves and their nation.
I see a way out however, and this is practical. The way Nigerians are tired with the antics of the Jonathan administration and the thirst for change running across the spectrum of the nation’s political landscape, it is likely that the nation would eventually overcome these evil hypotheses and theories.
The government has exhibited tendencies of desperation for a long time and would want to hang on to power by all means. They would want to rig the polls, but it appears the people are prepared to defend the votes and stand resolute on ensuring that the results of the elections retain its sanctity.
My advice to the government is that they shouldn’t attempt any funny pranks with the polls and instead subordinate themselves to the wishes of the Nigerian people. If they are retained, so be it, if they are defeated, let them accept the decision of the Nigerian people so that they don’t make a bad case turn worse. I will not like to see the country turn into an Ivory Coast simply because a defeated president is unwilling to submit himself to the tenets of Western liberalism which empowers the people to decide the fate of their leaders.
I see two scenarios in 2015; a defeated PDP government that may try to do everything possible to retain power and possibly unwilling to hand over in the event it loses the election, and a determined opposition and Nigerian citizenry that would force the losers out of office. In that scenario, the new government would have to work extra hard to stabilise the polity that is already in tatters.
Secondly, if by any chance the incumbents find themselves back on the driver’s seat, the degree of instability in the country is likely to aggravate and this is clearly seen in the way and manner the insecurity in the country has been handled in the last several years. What will become of Nigeria will certainly be difficult to predict at this material time.
It is possible however, that the theories and hypotheses that speak about disintegration could be disproved if there are the concerted efforts on the part of Nigerians to ensure that the nation remains as it is. This is possible if the decision to leadership positions is reserved and protected by the people and not those who are in various offices or the commercial heavyweights whose interests would be affected by a either a change in government or the will do things right by blocking the obvious national leakages in our economy.
The first few months of 2015 would really be trying moments for Nigeria and they will determine if the theses of the US intelligence community and others would be right or wrong. My prayer is that Nigerians are able to take their destinies into their own hands.
Those who use religion, region and tribe in deceiving the people must be told off and If Nigerians desire to remain together as one, the real issues in governance must form the basis of our allegiances and not what God we worship or religion we profess. The languages that we speak and where we are coming from are all secondary issues. What is critical is a people that are capable of propelling growth and development.
I prefer a Christian that would make life easier for me to be able to worship better as a Muslim than a Muslim leader who will make life miserable for me and other people.
Now that President Jonathan is threatening to deal with troublemakers, I hope those who will not vote for him in February are not the troublemakers. I hope those who will stand to say the president has failed to deliver on good governance using verifiable and frank indices are not the troublemakers. I hope those opposition elements that would tell Nigerians the failures of the Jonathan administration are not the troublemakers and I hope that in February if Nigerians so desire to push the Jonathan government out,they would not be considered as troublemakers.
The last word here today is that security agencies in Nigeria must place Nigeria first before any person in or outside of government. The agencies must be the vanguards of democracy otherwise they stand the risk of confronting the will of the people.
Happy New Year to all and sundry.