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| NIGERIAN ELECTIONS |
I have seen many election seasons in Nigeria; all of them with the attendant election issues that arise but I have never seen one as charged as this one. There are about sixty candidates vying for the office of the president of Nigeria. The main titans however are the incumbent, president Goodluck Jonathan and the former military head of state, retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. Issues concerning these two gentlemen are splattered all over any literary channel on a daily basis, making it look like the other contestant are simply waiting for the next president to be announced and inaugurated.
It is quite interesting to note that the team of the incumbent are displaying some level of fear and this has led them to take to the style of hostile attacks on the personality of the opposition leader. Nigerians who are at the fore of these attacks are Chief Femi Fani Kayode, a lawyer who is also the presidential campaign director of PDP and Mr. Ayo Fayose, the governor of Ekiti State. These are gentlemen who have cases to answer in Nigeria and with the promise by Buhari to send all corrupt Nigerians to jail looming over their heads, it is to be expected that they would use every possible tactic to scuttle the presidential ambition of Buhari.
Nigerians express their opinions through various forms of expression especially on social media and atmosphere appears to be very charged. Past rulers as well as religious bodies are not spared from it all. It is either they support Jonathan or they support Buhari and the opinions are inclined towards outright hostility and hate.
One and only one president will come out of it all despite threats of violence and lawlessness. Nigerians however must not forget about their own wellbeing. Nigerians must still live their life after the election no matter how long it takes for the dust to settle and they must have to continue to live with each other whether peacefully or otherwise. People are so engrossed in the election campaigns and all the antecedents that come along with such activities that one wonders how they can still maintain focus on the pressing issues that have been made to take the back burner.
Among these pressing issues are Boko Haram, reduction in price of PMS (petrol), pending cases of corruption that have not been effectively addressed, mismanagement of pension funds, the Chibok girls, mismanagement of oil revenue, mismanagement of oil reserves and a host of others.
These issues affect the masses directly as they feel the impact directly. We must not loose focus of these pending issues while we vigourously participate in the election campaigns, mudslinging and violence. Thinking of these issues should give reason for people to be calm and rational in their decisions of who the next leader should be.
GOD bless Nigeria.
