March 28: It’s finally here

Finally, the day is here and the prophecies of whether Nigeria will be or not be, is with us today and the choice between the two scenarios lies squarely in the hands of citizens. The entire globe and especially the major democracies are looking up to the outcome of today. Africans across the continent are […]

Finally, the day is here and the prophecies of whether Nigeria will be or not be, is with us today and the choice between the two scenarios lies squarely in the hands of citizens. The entire globe and especially the major democracies are looking up to the outcome of today. Africans across the continent are all jittery waiting to see what Nigerians would make of their destinies.
The battle today is between continuity and change. It is between those who insist the nation is faring well and those who believe Nigeria is short-changed by its leaders and thus require better brinkmanship in order to right the wrongs that the nation’s political establishment has inflicted on the country and the people in the last several years.
What is certain is that as I write this piece in my apartment in Abuja, the nations’ federal capital, I have not had electricity in my house for almost 24 hours. It is the rule here not an exception. If this is what I get in Abuja, I wonder what my people in other towns and villages are subjected to as far as power and electricity are concerned.
In Abuja today, it takes you hours to secure fuel at any filling station. I don’t know the story in other cities and villages across the country. Certainly, the situation there would be worse than I have at the federal capital city.
I am not talking about schools. I teach in a university that was established about 30 years ago and still run classes in rooms made for pupils. Secondary schools have collapsed and so also are primary schools. All public institutions, including the military, are facing serious challenges and all that we hear from those in political authority is either they are not responsible for the rot or falsely presenting figures and statistics that are direct opposite of the realities on ground.
The Nigerian scenario is bedeviled by serious crisis. Things are falling apart and nobody has the power and authority to change the situation but the Nigerian people. This I believe is critical and must be done today if the nation is to survive the path of serious reconstruction and attempt at instituting social justice.
Attention of the global community is on Nigeria today and in the coming days. The tradition of elections here is that those in authority deploy tremendous resources to influence the outcome. That is not even the main issue. The problem is that brute force, using the coercive apparatuses of state,is deployed to cow people and even change election results to favour the government and its candidates. This is one reason why the world has been preaching that the elections must meet minimum international standards.
The government is not happy with the position taken by the international community and the steps INEC has taken to minimise electoral fraud. In this election, the ruling party and the government are acting the role of opposition parties. They are accusing the electoral umpire of bias. They are going to court to request that some of the fraud-proof measures adopted by INEC are removed. Why all these? The answer may simply be that the government requires that the old ways of doing elections be the rule because it provides the stronger the tools to deal with the weak.
Nigerians must make the difference today by voting candidates of their choice and free from intimidation by any law enforcement agent/s. We will vote and remain until the votes are counted and results released. We are free to compare the results from our polling units with those of others. We are free to refuse any intimidation by forces of backwardness and insist on our rights.
I believe that if Nigerians would insist on doing the right thing, the soldier, police or state security personnel are also from amongst us. We can resist peacefully any attempt to intimidate or subject us to what we do not lawfully want. Nigerians are about to make history and no amount of intimidation from any quarters should cow the citizens. We must resolve to join the league of nations in Africa and elsewhere that do elections with minimal flaws.
We must resist intimidation and violence. We have to be careful in case those who are losing chose to cause chaos so as to discredit the process. This we have been informed, is one of the options open to the government that in the event that early results show a victory for the  people, they shall create confusion and cause uproar with a view to possible military intervention. I hope the Nigerian military knows and understands what time it is. Nigerians would resist any attempt to truncate their mandates and rights. We are at liberty to choose our government and representatives and no one should toy with that.
As we vote today, we must be conscious of what the nation is and what we are doing. We may not have another time to elect a president until after four years. We must be wise and compare today and yesterday and see if our lives are any better.
I wish Nigerians free and fair elections. May we see the end of this day happily and with the required wisdom to do the right thing? God bless Nigeria and its people. I believe that today if properly handled would lead to a better Nigeria.