The “longest” week

The title of this piece, as much as its contents, was inspired by “The Longest Day” – the book written by Irish-American war correspondent Cornelius Ryan, more than half a century ago today. Published in 1959, it was the source of the serial award-winning epic movie bearing the same name, with an unbelievable cast of […]

The title of this piece, as much as its contents, was inspired by “The Longest Day” – the book written by Irish-American war correspondent Cornelius Ryan, more than half a century ago today. Published in 1959, it was the source of the serial award-winning epic movie bearing the same name, with an unbelievable cast of Hollywood mega-stars  of the time such as John Wayne <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne>, Robert Mitchum <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mitchum>, Richard Burton <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Burton>, Sean Connery <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Connery>, Henry Fonda <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Fonda>, Peter Lawford <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lawford>, and Robert Wagner <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wagner>, to name just a few.
Ryan chose the title of the book from the factual remark Field Marshall Erwin Rommel – whose duty it was to organize German coastal defences – made to one of his aides Hauptmann Helmuth Lang, on the 22nd of April 1944 as both men inspected the formidable fortifications on the shores of Normandy.
The book won universal acclaim for its thoroughness and attention to details. The author interviewed 3,000 survivors of D-Day from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France and Germany.  He also flew along on bomber missions with the U.S. Air Force in the course of the war, and was, at a certain point, also embedded with the American General George Patton’s 3rd Army.
Ryan’s book chronicled the events prior to, and during the Allied landings on the shores of Normandy on the 6th of June, 1944 – a day that is now famously recalled in history as D-Day. It was the day, the Allies, comprised of America, Britain and much of its Commonwealth, Canada, along with the Free-French forces at the time, commenced the liberation of Western Europe to rid the continent of the scourge of Nazism.  
It covered the deep apprehensions of the competing armies, as well as the individual follies and heroics of individuals that affected the outcome of the battle. In so many respects therefore, the chain of events on and before D-Day on the 6th of June 1944, provides a befitting metaphor for the events that continue to unfold as Nigerians look forward to the Presidential elections on the 28th of March, 2015.
Today, in Nigeria, just like in Europe in 1944, a single battle – the presidential elections- is expected to determine the future of the country for better or for worst. No one can tell with any degree of certainty, where the pendulum is likely to swing in the decisive battle at the weekend. And the stakes are so incredibly high.
Failure appears not to be an option for both the PDP and the APC. No matter how we look at it, and regardless of how Nigerians eventually vote, we can be certain of one thing: for its sheer significance to the future of our country, March 28th 2015 promises to be our own D-Day, while this week promises to be the “Longest Week” in the political evolution of the nation for the intrigues, plots and sub-plots we are certain to experience as the competing parties angle for decisive victory.
Before D-Day on Saturday, we are certain to experience more political earthquakes borne out of sheer desperation that will make a mockery of decency and commonsense which is in desperate short supply these days. And if the desperate moves political re-alignments prove to be ineffective, some carefully planted booby-traps should do the job. And why not!
These days, political orientations and re-alignments are not so difficult to predict in Nigeria. When incumbent Governors known to be rabidly opposed to President Jonathan, suddenly make a u-turn to sing his praise on Corruption Avenue, all we have to do is to study their lifestyles and the money trail from their state treasuries to their private accounts or business interests offshore.
The EFCC is thought to have dossiers on such characters on its shelves but will not act, just yet. To these category of governors, D-Day, and all it portends should the PDP loses, remains a nightmare better imagined. They will do everything under the sun to ensure Jonathan wins and would not mind if those comprehensive dossiers the EFCC have on them disappeared from the shelves altogether. But they are not alone.
Dame Patience Jonathan may not be the brightest spouse to ever occupy the Aso Rock Villa, but like her husband, what she appears to have in abundance is native intelligence and cunning. She left no one in doubt of that when she claimed on the campaign trail recently that the APC candidate Muhammadu Buhari must not win on D-Day because she loathed the prospects of having to feed her husband in Prison! The Guilty, as James Hadley Chase reminded us in his book bearing the same name, are always afraid.
Like our First Family, it will be interesting to know what is currently playing out in the minds of those indicted for their involvement in the subsidy scam. Those who looted the pension funds must also be living in mortal fear of D-Day and the pregnancy it carries with a vengeance. And while we are on the same subject matter, where would the likes of Ayo Fayose, Femi Fani-Kayode and a certain Doyin Okupe run to if the unthinkable happens on Saturday?
What about the Generals who cannot justify the massive security votes in the past several years or those who would be expected to account for the sleaze in the oil industry? They are not expected to be passive today, and the days leading up to Saturday. They belong to the class of high profile criminals the Emir of Kano S.L. Sanusi kindly referred to as the vested interests who would do anything to maintain the status-quo.   
That is why although Nigerians have two sets of elections to contend with in the next two weeks, it is what occurs on D-Day March 28th 2015 that has captured the imagination of Nigerians the world over like no other election in our history. One reason for that is that at no other time in our electoral history have serial felons had so many willing accomplices in the corridors of power.
They will be active players in the electoral process principally because of the enormous protection they presently enjoy with the concentration of powers in the presidency. The Nigerian president, in relative terms, is even more powerful than the American President, no thanks to our week democratic institutions.
That explains why even now, most ordinary Nigerians still suspect that the week may still unveil some hidden booby traps that could still prevent the elections from holding as scheduled. With the pending court against General Buhari’s eligibility suddenly scheduled for accelerated hearing, no one can say what the outcome would be, added to the noises on a possible police strike action a few days before D-Day. And who knows; some people have also suggested that another Abubakar Shekau may surface from nowhere to indict Buhari and in the process disqualify him altogether.
By contrast, the long suffering people of Nigeria, especially those most affected by the insurgency in the North-East, cannot wait to have their say on Saturday. They, along with Nigeria’s previously resurgent Middle Class, were most hit by the sudden drop in crude oil prices and the attendant devaluation of the Naira.  
For their sake, and the sake of future Nigerians, we must all pray to ensure that March 28th 2015 does not become a day that will forever live in infamy to mimic the famous words of the late American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his reaction to the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbour which heralded the American entry into the Second World War. We most all perform our civic responsibilities to ensure the elections are free, fair and credible. And may Nigeria be the ultimate winner.