2023: Powering the Wheels of Change -By Onojah Emmanuel Onogwu

Elections, especially presidential which is the apex of all political seats of authority in democratic states, are known to come with a lot of heat and pressure world over, as it affects (directly or indirectly) every inhabitant of a state, be it citizens or aliens. In that wise, mixed reactions already trail the forthcoming 2023 general elections in Nigeria. It is already raising dusts and mole hills even though it is about nine (9) months away at the time of filing this discourse.

Though there are about eighteen (?) registered political parties in Nigeria as at 2022, only three candidates from the supposed popular political parties in the country (APC, PDP, LP) are brought to the fore in virtually all discourse, debates, campaigns and analytical presentations as pertains the forthcoming presidential elections. This is not strange from the norm obtainable since the inception of democracy in the country.

History was made in the 2015 presidential election when an incumbent president was voted out of power. That was succeeded by a similar incident in the recent polls in Osun state based on the INEC declaration of 17th July, 2022, where the incumbent governor (Gboyega Oyetola) lost in the polls to Sen. Ademola Adeleke. These incidents are a misnormal in the chronicles of Nigerian politics and leaves many at awe. Although it elucidates evidence of a growing democracy and rolls out the era of “incumbent supremacy” where it was practically impossible to vote out a sitting governor or president in Nigeria.

It is not strange that in Nigeria before now, electorates habitually pledged their allegiance or affiliation to political parties without even an iota of idea of the parties’ blueprints and manifesto. We voted leaders into political offices based on their popularity, rather than cognition and evaluation of their track records and integrity. This is why politicians who have made unapologetically careless utterances that posed threat to national stability and peace in the past, could emerge as leaders and political appointees at various levels of government.
There apparently has never been a perfect election (especially presidential) anywhere in the world as former president and presidential candidate of the Republican party in the 2020 US presidential election (Donald Trump), was quoted as accusing the Democratic party of rigging the elections in America – a society which is presented to the rest of the world as seemingly perfect in all it processes, procedures, and engagements. By this insight, Nigerians are therefore charged to shun all forms of discouragement on grounds of shortcomings in our electoral processes, and come out en mass to exercise their franchise in the polls come 2023.

In juxtaposition with states like America which has enjoyed over 200 years of uninterrupted democracy, the Nigerian democracy which properly initiated in 1999 and has persisted for barely 23 years uninterrupted, can be said to be advancing and maturing on rapid wheels.

Nigerian youths are canvassing for a change as they proclaim to have outgrown the era of vote buying/selling, political thuggery, partisanship and affiliation to certain political party regardless of what they (the political parties) have to offer to nationhood. From the projections around various quarters, curiosity is high towards the 2023 elections as the social media space is already awashed with campaign and support for a candidate from a seemingly inferior political party by youths who unarguably wield strong power (demographically) in terms of installing or evicting a political leader via the polls. Analysts and political enthusiasts however are of the opinion that social media rantings wield no influence on the real deal of actions on the polls. If the foregoing nonetheless is on the contrary, then a new day is dawn in our democratic landscape.

Prequel to the current trend, youths in Nigeria often expressed nonchalance and reluctance to exercise their franchise. The reluctance to vote in elections in previous years accrued by many factors notable amongst which are; the widespread notion that votes do seldom ever count in Nigerian elections, the fear of sporadic shooting and invasion of polls by political thugs which was a frequent recurring phenomenon, ballot box snatching, and inflation of results, all for which voting amounted to wasted efforts, time, and energy. Today, all thanks to social media, there has been widespread orientation and awareness about the imperatives of obtaining the permanent voter’s card (PVC) and exercising one’s votes in all elections. Youths and Nigerians entirely are now taking conscious efforts towards participating actively in elections at various levels.

The 2023 election is peculiar in the respect that it wields a lot of hope for Nigeria and Nigerians, and if we get it right in terms of electing competent democratic leaders, as against the looters, nepotists, and fanatics of the past, it would attone for all our past errors. We have always made reference to the ‘good old days’ while other nations of the world are forging ahead and bringing to bear, the saying that; ‘the future is now.” The question thus becomes; should Nigeria be retrogressing rather than advancing?

Rather than accessing the credibility and capacity of candidates who are for various political positions in Nigeria, our sense of judgment and assessment of aspirants is usually narrowed towards religious and ethnic inclinations. The popular motion for a “Christian – Muslim” representation is debatable but should not be the optimal yardstick for guiding our voter decision. Religious sentiments should thus be relegated to the background. The multi – party system operational in Nigeria today avails us a lot of choices and options. Hence, making mountains out of mole hills on the issue of a Muslim – Muslim/Christian – Christian ticket by any political party is unwarranted. Nigerians should rather assess the Innate qualities and capacity of aspirants, as religion will not bring the industrialization and advancement we seek for, but capacity and competence will.

Recall that in 1973, the then military head of state – Gen. Yakubu Gowon was quoted as saying that Nigeria’s problem was not how to make money, but how to spend it. It is a huge mystery how 50 years later, the irony comes to play, and the reverse becomes the case of Nigeria’s problem not being how to spend money anymore, but on the contrary; how to make it. We should also note that the country (Nigeria) which is now heavily in debt to China and lots of other international organizations, once gave out loans in large sum to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1974 (Vanguard, Sept. 22, 2017). This reflects the extent to which the nation has retarded. A recent data published (21st July, 2022) by the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, portends that Nigeria’s debt servicing cost for the 1st quarter of the year (2022) now surpasses her revenue. The level and pace of degeneration calls for concern and consolidates the reasons why we should look beyond ethnic and religious inclinations in deciding those to place at the helm of affairs come 2023.

Politics in Nigeria, over time, has been likened to the game of chess, where politicians (who are the players), capitalize on their seeming smartness, and the gullible masses/followers to make a foolery of them (the masses) who in this case are the soldiers on the chess board constantly at war against impoverishment, insecurity, short life expectancy, epileptic power, inadequate health facilities/personnel, and a list of numerous other social upheavals that bedevils the polity on daily basis.

I urge Nigerians to make the forthcoming 2023 elections phenomenal by turning up en mass to elect candidates based on their credentials, proven capacity and integrity. A paradigm shift would force our slumbering leaders back on their feet. Note that posterity would hold us to account if we miss it once more. Shun sentiments of all forms and vote conscientiously!
Voting with bias to party affiliation, is a step in the wrong direction.

The presidential debate, a commendable medium through which electorates can get to know their choice candidates better, should be made compulsory for all presidential candidates and taken seriously, rather than as just some jamboree engagement. It is through such interactive mediums that the masses can get intimated with aspirants’ manifestos and what they have to bring on deck.

Politics and leadership in Nigeria should cease to be a do or die affair. The spirit of sportsmanship must be incorporated into our political landscape such that losers and winners in any election would see themselves as colleagues and parties in the struggle for a better Nigeria and accept their loss/victory in good fate. A gesture well exemplified by former president Goodluck Jonathan upon the announcement of the 2015 presidential election result by INEC.

The 2023 election can be free of violence, rigging and all forms of electoral malpractices. We could have a recap of June 12 1993, or even better.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Onojah Emmanuel Onogwu, is a social activist cum journalist with bias to broadcasting. He is resident in Lagos and has many publications to his credit.
Contact Onojah via:
Email – onojahe96@gmail.com
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