Projections into the 2015 presidential election (II)
It would be sad if voters see themselves as cardinals electing a Pope or Jihadists choosing a caliph. Why is religion so important in a country with perhaps the highest number of adherents but the lowest level of morals? Those who have ruined our nation and those doing same now have sworn on their holy […]
It would be sad if voters see themselves as cardinals electing a Pope or Jihadists choosing a caliph. Why is religion so important in a country with perhaps the highest number of adherents but the lowest level of morals? Those who have ruined our nation and those doing same now have sworn on their holy books to provide quality leadership only to fester their own or tribal nets. If Nigerians must find suitable leaders, they must separate faith from vote. After all those looking for religious balance had no say in the choice of their pastor or imam neither do they have input as to how their church, mosque or shrine is run. We must resist the temptation of providing religious cover for thieves and kleptomaniacs.
The most progressive and advanced nations of the world have no religious creed. It is an abnegation of our sacred duty as rational humans to foreclose issue-based politics because it is not dressed in the toga of our chosen or inherited faith. Four months to elections, voters should be debating contestants/party stand on issues of governance, a plausible rescue plan for a nation in moral, social and economic distress. How would they fund qualitative education that admits the best; prevent strikes, sit-ins and labour disputes and run an academic calendar and curriculum that produces graduates who can compete globally?
What agriculture programmes are being proposed to reward the efforts of 70% of our rural dwellers? How do we reduce our over-dependence on food importation and restore organic production and eating habits so as to improve the quality of life and living? How do we build and sustain roads that help move harvests to all parts of the country before the food has lost its nutrients? What are the plans for all year-round maintenance of those roads and allied infrastructure? What blueprint have parties for effective health care delivery that rehabilitates and improves existing infrastructure, attracts the best expertise and leverage on technology to deliver quality diagnostic treatment of diseases and stop preventable deaths?
How do we grow and sustain an economy that restores investor confidence? What practical plan do the parties have to block the haemorrhaging tap of corruption? How do we institute a system that punishes wrong no matter who commits it? How do we restore the rule of law as against the present ruse of the law? A Pope or the Grand Mufti as president with neither programme nor vision will leave us groping in the dark and jubilant over the resuscitation of 18th Century rail lines while the world is exploring potentials on the moon.
The rallying cry ought to be – give us a politics of issues or lose our votes. We have prayed so much and God is not deaf to our prayers, but the electorate must stop acting like a hungry man who is served his favourite meal but spends time asking God to send the angels to feed him instead of settling down to eat. It’s a shame that even enlightened citizens seem to think that some candidate can Islamize a country that runs a secular constitution with almost impossible amendment procedure. These are not the issues of 2015 and should not be.
Our questions should be in the manner of where are the brains that produced the Ogbunigwe? What happened to the kids that produced helicopters using motorcycle engines? What have we done with Ezekiel Izuogwu and Victor Uwaifo’s prototype cars? How can we make our universities of technology not just half-baked graduate producers but innovators and job creators? How can we leverage on research to join the others in technological advancement? What has happened to the politicians past and present who swore on the Bible and the Quran but have done nothing but feather their own nests? How do we bring them to justice and serve as deterrence to those so inclined?
The 2015 election is most important for signs already on the ground. Boko Haram is constantly winning territories in the north east; there is resurgence of brigandage and stockpiling of arms in the South-South; a militant pro-Biafra group has attempted to seize a government house in the east. Threats and counter-threats are being issued daily by apostles and Imams of violence with means to carry them out. If we fail to elect a visionary leader that can rally this nation, we would be history. Scores of people in the north east are in the bushes trying to escape Boko Haram. The government at the centre claims it has no arms to fight them. Imagine what it would be if they had to fight three or four insurgencies at the same time?
Concluded.