Beyond Buhari, Jonathan

Buhari qnd Jonathan

OUR country is in more danger each day. Every move to pull her from the brink is set for ruination by those who think that the country is all about them. They have narrowed issues to a few politi-cians, instead of the larger interests of Nigerians, without which the country would remain mired in its many challenges.

An example, tomorrow’s elections include 109 seats in the Senate and 360 seats in the House of Representatives, yet the elections are being primed as if they are only about who becomes President. These schemes, bereft of agenda to improve Nigeria, are to project personalities of President Goodluck Jonathan and Maj-Gen Muhammadu Buhari as the issue.

 Little is said about how any of them would be the better person to pull Nigerians out of the doldrums that strings of poor policies have dumped them. Blames, name-calling, and sheer abuses were the new order of campaigns. Everything was wrong with the other person. Every action was being subjected to scrutiny that bore minimal relevance to the burden of leading Nigeria out of its precarious times.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the All Progressives Congress, APC, have focused their campaigns on the imperatives of power being theirs. Nigerians have been a fringe interest to both parties. Where does the everlasting name-calling and blame sharing place Nigerians? How do troubles politicians cause benefit Nigerians?

Political parties, one of the more outspoken politicians has said forthrightly, are in the business of winning elections. Nigerians should take the inclinations of the contenders serious as they make their choices, not only for the President, but for all the legislative seats at stake. Sentiments would be unhelpful.

Nigeria’s challenges run through every stratum of society. Rot at the local governments affects the people more than decisions in Abuja and state capitals. The castration of the local governments through constitutional lacuna's on their status has pushed governance away from the people. Politicians are delighted at the fact that they hold power without being accountable to anyone. Should it be so? Should Nigerians allow this situation to be one of their contributions to democracy?

Our concerns, as a people, should be the agenda for 2015 and beyond. Politicians are obsessed with power. They do anything to get it. From the sharp divisions that emerged at the party primaries, it was clear that politicians were ready to grab power at any cost. The people are an inconvenient baggage in this journey. It is time Nigerians re-directed attention to basic issues affecting us. They should vote for those issues. Nigerians should reclaim their country from politicians whose interest in running Nigeria is to annex our national resources.