Nigeria And The Road To 2023 -By Muhammad Auwal Ibrahim

I don’t want to say that some Nigerians don’t learn from their mistakes. But it seems that’s just it. If not, by now we should have analysed our problem, agreed that it is a problem and mapped a way out ahead of time (not only because of the 2023 elections), before it is too late.

If only we are serious and ready for the change that we are clamouring for, by now, we should have faced the direction of where the sun is setting. We should have selected those who are capable and ready to lead us. Even if they are not eligible and suitable, we should have mentored them and made them to be the right choices/ones. But we only choose to do the 3Ws, herein referred to as “watch, wait and wail” at the end.

And my fear is that by the time we finish doing the 3Ws, we would realise that the situation has deteriorated and become worse than now. But I am afraid to say that we are not serious because both those who are clamouring for change and those who aren’t, are not ready for the change simply because we don’t implement what we say.

I used to be surprised whenever people complained of bad governance which they paved a way for knowingly simply because they have something to gain. Yes, just to achieve their selfish or rather personal interests.

If we all set aside our personal/selfish interests/gains aside and put our collective/national interests before anything, the Nigeria we want is attainable and we would all be happy. The majority of the sad stories we read in our national dailies will definitely become things of the past. But we must all join our hands together. It is not a one-man work.

Ikennan Okoli wrote in his book Change Begins With Me: The Path To An Enduring Nigeria that “We all yearn for change in Nigeria, but most of us are not ready to let the change begin with us. We wait for the perfect time and for the perfect condition before we can do things right. But change does not happen that way.”

“Change Begins With Me”, a national reorientation campaign introduced by the present administration is good, even religiously. If we (not only the corrupt police officers) all agree to change, the country would be good for all of us and even strangers would enjoy it.

Going by this, I am of the idea that all of us should change our attitudes. But some people think that only our leaders should change. But assuming that only our leaders changed, it is still a halfway victory for us because they are very few. There are still bad eggs. And I doubt if they have changed in our present society and if this is so, not all of the followers are changed. Then, we have not achieved our goal. Assuming we (the followers) agree to change, even if the leaders refuse to change, we have achieved a lot in our society. And I can assure you that the future is bright because the upcoming ones are changed-people.

Sadly, even those Nigerians that were said to have sold their votes even as at 2019 elections, it can’t be unconnected with the issue of placing their personal interests over national interest. I could remember that EFCC was reportedly said to have caught voter buyers during the 2019 elections. (https://guardian.ng/news/efcc-arrests-two-vote-buyers-in-gombe/)

So the same with politicians looting from the public treasury. They put their selfish interests over national interest, that’s why they find it easy to embezzle public funds. If the national interest is their first priority, they won’t. They would rather channel the funds for what they are meant for (developmental projects such as constructing water facilities, healthcare centres and agricultural projects in rural areas, nationwide). I know you would agree with this.

The elderly ones are aware of the problems of Nigeria. Even as young as I am, I can point out some. Ineligible and undeserving politicians are elected as leaders in some places. Therefore, so long as this continues to happen, I can’t assure you of a brighter future.

Many Nigerians find it difficult to differentiate between eligibility and suitability (as Dr. Bugaje once opined in Gombe), making it easier for them to [s]elect the wrong candidates during election. However, this should have been the issue of the past. We have all that we need: the elders, the good politicians and so on.

I was curiously waiting to see who the angry Nigerians would vote only for them to prove what I have been thinking they would do as early as 2022. This shows that they are only good at talking, but not at taking actions.

Unfortunately, it is the same set of Nigerians who were allegedly called rodents for destroying our country’s only sack, that my fellow Nigerians are willing to vote for, just a few seconds after hearing their declarations to contest in the 2023 elections. I know that this is possible but I waited for time to tell because I don’t want to jump into a conclusion too early. But they have proved it.

This shows how unserious we are in fighting bad governance. It is not a one-man thing. I will just laugh when you tell me that those that should help in changing the situation don’t have money and as such could not sponsor their campaigns due to its huge cost in Nigeria. All I will ask, is that not a thing of the past in this digital age blessed with new or social media?

I will just laugh when you tell me that there are still unconnected rural dwellers. By the time you finish mentioning all you have, all I know is that both people living in rural areas and those living in modern settings are now online. They are also now engaging in social media trends. Some are even engaging with bad contents, wasting their data. I will finish by asking, are you telling me that they can post but can’t engage in any political activities online to reduce the huge cost?

But I know that there are many platforms like Zoom, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and etc that allow numerous people to participate in an online event. They are all there for us. Is like we choose not to go their way. While the younger ones are already there, misusing them. This is just the sad part of it.

I don’t know if by 2023, we still have to tell Nigerians to vote for good leaders. I don’t know if what we said in the past (2019) was enough. I don’t know if voters still need to be told to do the right thing. I don’t know if Nigerians don’t need to be advised again.

What I know is that the election period is fast approaching and electorates still have the right of [s]electing a candidate among the list of candidates on that day and their failure to know who to vote for right from now, may lead to selection of a wrong person, like it has been in the past. What I know is that things are changing and for us to cope with the changing time, we have to change or adjust to flow with the trend.

Muhammad Auwal Ibrahim is a multiple award-winning journalist, AIJC Fellow, Wits University, Johannesburg, South Africa. Can be reached via awwalbinibrahim@gmail.com