A Stitch In Time -By Kene Obiezu

For any country that seeks to occupy a pride of place in the pantheon of developed nations of the world, time is not just of the essence, it is either a priceless companion, or a relentless chastiser as the case may be.

In 1999, Nigeria returned to the road of democracy after many years during which one military dictator after another rode roughshod over the country`s institutions and people.

In the days when the teething problems of an infant democracy mounted, governance proved forbiddingly challenging, and for sixteen years, Nigerians had no qualms in loudly expressing their dissatisfaction with the Peoples Democratic Party.

Matters came to a head in 2015 when in historic elections the Peoples Democratic Power was replaced in power by the All Progressives Congress.

It has well and truly been an eventful seven years. By the time the autocade of the 2023 general elections will arrive next year, the All Progressives Congress and Mr. Muhammadu Buhari would have been in power for eight years. Even today, Nigerians would not struggle to fill countless notebooks with the stories they have to tell about the current administration.

Nigerians were not exactly in paradise when the All Progressives Congress long considered an outsider crashed the power party of the country in 2015. However, it has since been a classic tale of lurching from frying pan to fire.

It is not just that life in the country has become excruciatingly hard, what has become obvious as the All Progressives Congress has fragilely held the forte in Nigeria is that life has become almost impossible.

It is not just the hunger that ravages the entrails of children, the horror of horrors is the insecurity now decimating the country bit by bit. Nigerians are now horrifyingly familiar with the fate of hundreds of Nigerians whose only offence on March 28,2022 was to travel from Abuja to Kaduna via train. Today, more than six dozens of those who were abducted remain in the custody of nameless and faceless criminals who even have the cheeks to draw Nigeria into morbid negotiation over whom to release and in exchange for whom.

The Abuja-Kaduna train attack was not at all an isolated incident. In fact, under a government that has proven to be as feckless as it is toothless, communities around the country have been devastated by terrorist attacks.

The ugly state of things in Nigeria necessarily begs the urgent question of what can be done to rescue a country that is in the vice-grip of terror and bad governance. There is no doubt that time has come for decisive change. Things can no longer continue as they are. With the people we know and the paths we know are leading us only to perdition, things have to change in Nigeria.

It is what the PDP New Generation unapologetically stands for. As an organization of youths who are professionals in their own right, and passionate about Nigeria, especially the future of Nigerian children, the PDP New Generation has no doubt that it is by empowering young people and women in the country and enabling them increase their political participation that things can change for good.

Nigerians can have no doubt that without decisive action, Nigeria will remain in the mud where it is currently stuck. With democracy gifting the country the pristine gift of the ballot box, every Nigerian who is of voting age must resolve to have an edge over bad governance in the country when the general elections come around next year. This necessarily means registering as a voter, getting a voter card and voting during the next elections.

It also means identifying with the PDP New Generation which is committed to political correctness as a tool for the betterment of Nigeria.
They say that a stitch in time saves nine. A stitch in time today will save Nigeria. The time has well and truly come.

Kenechukwu Obiezu, a lawyer, is the Director of Public Affairs of the PDP New Generation.