2015 elections: The devil’s alternative -By Sunny Ikhioya

A country with a very vibrant opposition is a blessed one. Man has not been able to master power the way it was purposed. Societies that have therefore succeeded in putting checks and balances to power excesses are the ones moving their democracy ahead. ‘Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’, we have seen it in our parties and in government, that is why the APC’s current posture against the PDP in the coming election is a good development for Nigeria.

For once, nobody is sure of where the pendulum will swing, real canvassing is taking place and the activities of the incumbent government is being subjected to both intensive and extensive scrutiny. If the elections come, everything goes well and all parties accept the outcome, it will be a big step forward for the growth of our nation’s democratic practices.

As one privileged to express my view in a public forum, I owe it to the Almighty God and my conscience to write the way I see things, without colouration and bleaching. The opposition has exposed the underbelly of the incumbent government and forced those in authority to sit up. Because it offers a viable alternative, the so called untouchables have been forced to come down from their high horses to solicit for votes amongst ordinary citizens.

With the intense and passionate campaigns on the political turf, it is a field day for the citizenry who are now enjoying the role of the beautiful bride, Unfortunately, with each passing day, the electorate is becoming more confused; Jonathan has not performed to expectations and Buhari is not the right substitute, that is the dilemma we are faced with. It is a choice of whether to go with the devil or face the deep blue sea.

There is no third option. It is simply the devil’s alternative. Both contestants have been privileged to govern this country before. We can objectively use their performance to judge them. In this instance, we must take into consideration, the circumstances under which they performed, whether military or civil rule and given other circumstances, would they have performed better?

If at the end of the February presidential election, the APC loses the presidency to the PDP, they should not look far for the cause of the failure but themselves. In a party where talents abound, it is a shame that they have chosen the recycled route.

The whole phantom the Gen Buhari has become is the creation of the APC’s propaganda machinery- we must give it to them, they are good. We have seen Buhari and we know his antecedents; stubborn, pragmatic and fundamentalist. I give you an example of what happened recently in the APC after Buhari won the primaries; he made attempts – at least by his body language to make Tinubu his running mate but for the resistance of people in other camps of the APC.

This is despite the protestation of a group in the party and media reports against this arrangement. In fact, some left the party because of the rumoured Buhari/Tinubu muslim-muslim ticket. He finally settled for a Tinubu nominee, that is a glimpse of the character trait of Buhari, only his type will attempt to take such risk in this 21st century era, old habits never die, not even at the age of seventy three.

The APC have run their campaigns as if it is a war. They do not mind if the whole country is brought down in the process. The country is very fortunate to have a man with Jonathan’s disposition at the helm of affairs at this point in time. His intentions are honest. He has openly admitted that they have failed the nation. He wanted to satisfy everybody but ended up satisfying no one. If you look at the appointments profile, the north against the south, the north has been highly favoured.

Why should the north and south, muslim versus christian be an issue in the Nigerian election of 2015? Why must somebody say power must shift to the north as the only reason we should vote his candidate into power. Many of us in the south take this for granted. But in the north, it is a serious business, they are threatening the lives of those in support of Goodluck Jonathan. Buhari has campaigned in Jonathan’s home state and all PDP controlled states in the south without any form of intimidation or harassment but the President cannot campaign in the north freely and fairly, this is generating orgasm amongst the opposition APC and they will regard this as a fair campaign.

All those politicians, especially from northern extraction who advised Jonathan to thread softly with Boko Haram are the ones calling him weak now. All those who went abroad- US, UK – to lobby against taking action are now singing a different tune.

If we bring in Buhari because of Boko Haram, we have, indirectly, succumbed to the Islamic militants intentions. According to Sule Lamido, people are prodding Buhari because of their selfish intentions. Let nobody be deceived, Jonathan’s government has been steadily sabotaged from beginning, although he knowingly and unknowingly fell into the holes dug for him.

The challenge of Nigeria goes beyond rhetorics. It requires a strong analytical and critical mind. It is not a trivial matter, that is why we should consider Buhari’s certificate issue, he could have escaped that in a military dictatorship but not in a 21st century democratic set up.

In the January, 3rd 2015 issue of the Vanguard, Dr. Bode Olajumoke was quoted as saying: “the temperament and political antecedent of Buhari makes him unfit”.

We must be very careful with the way we handle Jonathan; freedom is cheap and un appreciated until we lose it. Jonathan has not done well and Buhari is not the alternative. People say we should change and I say, change to what? You need to read statements made by APC strongmen such as like El Rufai and Bola Tinubu on Buhari in the past. How come that position has changed in just two years? It is only in this country that politicians change positions like chameleon, we must be very careful to put such people at the helm of our affairs.