Thoughts on #BringBackGoodluck2015

The Chibok girls were seized on the night of the first Nyanya bombings and in the morning after, Mr. President was on a political rally in Kano, dancing his troubles away. There was virtually no response from the central authorities over the seized girls until few weeks later when the world took up the campaign, […]

The Chibok girls were seized on the night of the first Nyanya bombings and in the morning after, Mr. President was on a political rally in Kano, dancing his troubles away.
There was virtually no response from the central authorities over the seized girls until few weeks later when the world took up the campaign, before the government in Abuja realized that the problem was gigantic and could be of significant political and electoral cost.
Now that the matter is as it was, the concerns of government have again shifted away from a very crucial issue of importance to minor and pecuniary politics of re-election in the face of stunning non-performance by the president and his government. I am convinced that the government is not even thinking about these innocent girls and their relations or the rest of us. What is of utmost importance is that President Jonathan must have another term in office, even if illegally.
The Chibok girls remain the concern of only a few of us, their parents and Borno State government, whose governor has faced more turmoil in his territory than any other governor, or even president, in the nation.
President Jonathan desperately wants to be president post-2015. He and his handlers are confused, given the obvious constitutional issues of number of times an executive could be sworn in and the issue of tenure of more than 8 years. The delay in declaration is anchored on the fear of the consequences of legal action likely to follow if the president declares. That is however left for politicians and other stakeholders, as well as other Nigerians, to blow the whistle when he eventually declares.
In my view, the declaration though already very clear is halted by the fear of the courts so that when it eventually is made, there will be little time for the courts to decide and the president will all along contest and if he wins or rigs, the rest would be determined possibly by the judiciary. Heads or tails, Nigeria is in crisis and it does not appear that the ruling class under President Jonathan has the capacity to see this ship back afloat.
I am extremely worried that pro-Jonathan campaigners could be so bold as to use the #BringBackOurGirls hashtag into one for the president. The campaigners have lost all sense of reason long ago and that fact expresses in very clear terms the incapacity of this government to protect us.
In their desperation, they would use any language both decent and foul to sell their agenda and the ball is in the courts of Nigerians to either accept such or reject it. I say my mind all the time on the Jonathan presidency in relation to 2015. If it is the view of Nigerians that President Jonathan should continue in the event the courts clear him, so be it. What I will not accept or condone is brazen abuse of our collective intelligence through electoral fraud and massive rigging. Or insensitive utilisation of the #BringBackOurGirls slogan.
If we don’t desire progress in the electoral system, we may as well continue to do things as usual. The end result is certainly not in the interest of the nation and its future. Every small country in Africa is getting its elections right, but here we are going off-track with every one so far conducted.
I disagree with the president and those who argue that the 2011 was free, fair and credible. It’s not true. Where you have over 90% voter turn-out, then it is certainly questionable. I have studied elections across the globe and one interesting observation over time has been the issue of voter turnout: Hardly would anyone get over 50%.
Actually, it is good the pro-Jonathan campaigners have stolen the #BringBackOurGirls mantra in the negative and are using it. But it surely will backfire because it will continue to agitate the minds of Nigerians and members of the international community that those innocent girls remain in captivity, and that is by the grace of a failing government.
In performance – or the lack of it – there are no religion or ethnicity issues. It is either a government is able, or inept. In my view, the Jonathan administration is grossly inept and if it can show proof of ability between now and February, I may consider voting in that direction. The government needs to realize that there are problems and own up to them with the view to addressing them as against this idea of chasing shadows and creating enemies out of those who are saying the truth.