Banishing Inept And Clueless Governance From Nigeria: Obi To The Rescue -By Isaac Asabor

It is not an exaggeration to say that there has been a worsening crisis of misgovernance, conspicuous undemocratic practices, and apparent signs of general underdevelopment as being witnessed in the form of ethnocentrism, nepotism, hunger, an unprecedented rate of unemployment, and biting hardships resulting in the provocation of youth’s restiveness.

All these are largely the results of the deepening inept and clueless leadership that has characterized the ongoing administration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s leadership on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), since 2015.  The situation has become very worrisome and unbearable that it will not be odd to say that Nigerians need a reprieve, and a breath of fresh air in the election of Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential aspirant of the Labour Party (LP), come February 25, 2023.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is not an exaggeration to say that Nigeria’s socio-political milieu has become so bad to the point of being critical and damaging as it continues to eat deeper into the political fabric of Nigeria’s polity so much that the country and the people have for the umpteenth time suffered due to the wrong choice of leaders by vulnerable and gullible electorates.

Against the foregoing backdrop, permit me to opine that the federal government should ensure that the transition into the next political dispensation is smooth and peaceful. The foregoing request cannot be pooh-poohed as power belong to the people and need to be for the people and, as well, by the people. To say in this context that Nigeria is in dire need of a democratic ideal that is borne out of the innate desire in man for good governance, societal stability, and development cannot be misplaced.

For a democratic ideal to be realized there is a need for the umpires in the forthcoming primary elections; across the 18 political parties,  in the country to ensure that the upcoming elections are freely and fairly conducted to allow for the true choice of the people to emerge. Very imperative too is that the elected must see the presidential election that he won as an opportunity for serving, protecting, and advancing the interests and well-being of the generality of the people of Nigeria. And the candidate that fits into this bill is Obi.

Against the foregoing backdrop, there is an urgent need for Nigerians to rally round Obi as he is in my assessment the most qualified presidential candidate by virtue of his experience, and high level of integrity. Without a doubt, Nigerians deserve him to become the next president as he has what it takes to occupy the position. Having been a governor of Anambra State in an era where an unprecedented level of infrastructural development and good governance were recorded for the entire constituencies in the State, there is no iota of doubt that his experience would be brought to bear in taking Nigeria and the people to the Eldorado of good governance. It is high time we stopped making the wrong choice by maximizing the power that is inherent in our voter’s cards.

Simply expressed, the opportunity of electing the most qualified candidate at the polls in Nigeria is beckoning again. It is a golden opportunity that should be seized, unlike previous ones that were marred by prebendalism and primordial sentiments that have over the years characterized elections in the country.

For the sake of clarity, the term prebendalism simply means a political system where elected officials and government workers feel they have a right to a share of government revenues, and use them to benefit their supporters, co-religionists, and members of their ethnic group. Argued from this perspective.

At this juncture, permit me to urge fellow Nigerians; both at home and in the Diaspora to eschew prebendalism and primordial sentiments in the forthcoming presidential elections in the country, and vote for the most qualified and experienced contestant, who in my assessment is Obi. The reason for this call cannot be farfetched as Nigeria needs to be taken to a level where governance would positively impact the people’s collective well-being. The socioeconomic and political growth of the country should be paramount in our minds at the polls. It suffices to say that it is high time we delivered the country from the pages of political history that gave it ignominious mention as the country has literarily been passing through bouts of a chequered history.

To me, the coming elections present the opportunity of using Obi’s candidacy to banish inept governance in the country and entrench a new dawn to the advantage of posterity.

For the benefit of those who may not have comprehended the spur of my viewpoints, it is expedient to make them understand in this context that in sports, business, and even in politics, competency, and experience are not undermined. Would the winner of the last world cup have won the soccer world cup without a good and competent player? Or Apple existed without Steve Jobs? Would the US have had a New Deal without Franklin Delano Roosevelt?  The forgoing are questions that are unarguably begging for answers.

My fellow Nigerians, we need a leader, such as Obi, whom political history would record as being responsible for the emancipation of Nigeria and Nigerians from inept and clueless governance.

In a similar nexus, it is germane to opine that since robust qualifications and experience are sine qua non to good governance, so there is wisdom for us to rally round Obi.

I understand that party loyalists across all registered parties in the country are directly controlled by the party (leaders) as they typically grow up within the party organization, and are keen to vote along party lines, and have been trained to perform rent-seeking activities for the party. These characteristics may be dear to party leaders and to hardcore party supporters but much less appealing to unattached, swing voters. Be that as it may, the need to retrieve Nigeria from the mouth of the jackals has come. It is now or never!

Against the foregoing backdrop, permit me to caution that “Enough Is Enough!” Nigeria needs to be moved beyond ineptitude, cluelessness, prebendalism, and primordial sentiments in governance.