BY AJANAH ISIAKA
In the coming weeks, the major political parties will be choosing their presidential candidates for the 2023 election. The election of presidential candidates by political parties through delegate election is still subject of popular debates in the country. Most Nigerians have not seen this method of choosing leaders as the best possible option for our nation. Nigerians have come to agree that delegate elections are not as transparent and popular as our people are made to believe. What periodically takes place with over 3,000 delegates across the nation is nothing but a bazaar where delegates trade their votes for cash.
Nigeria, our dear country is on the move again to elect a new president. And I think this is a very critical matter that demands the attention of every conscious Nigerian.
Nigeria is the most populous African nation. Nigeria is well respected in the comity of nations of the world. The political movement of this great African nation directly or indirectly affects the development in other African nations. Nigeria is expected to show example by deepening its institution of governance and democracy. The expectation of Nigerians and other African nations is that the giant of Africa be able to conduct free and fair elections.
So far, the major political parties for the delegate elections are APC, PDP, ADC, SDP, and PRP. At the last count, 38 presidential aspirants are slugging it out to clinch the number one position of their political parties.
A serious study of the intellectual disposition and political ideologies of the presidential aspirants clearly shows that some are serious and passionate democrats; many are despots and tyrants pretending to be democrats, while we have charlatans also masquerading as leaders in our political space.
Nigeria today has never had it so terribly bad in all facets of life. Both economic and social problems have threatened and shaken the foundation of our nation.
Our neo-colonial economy, an appendage of imperialism has thrown a large army of our population to mass poverty, hunger, destitution and untold hardship. In Nigeria of today, people are living by the grace of almighty God.
Another major problem is the threat to human lives, property and internal security by the activities of Boko haram, bandits, kidnappers and unknown gunmen. The nation is almost held hostage by the nefarious activities of these groups of people. We have also the problem of religion and ethnicity which has continued to mar the progress and unity of our country.
“Who is that leader that will put an end to nepotism, tribalism and poor moral values in governance?”
These and many more are the critical problems that urgently deserve the attention of our new president come 2023. Some questions Nigerians will naturally be posing to the presidential aspirants as they seek the mandate of their parties through delegate election to pilot the affairs of our country include:
How are the presidential aspirants going to tackle imperialism and our neo-colonial economy that has continued to visit our people with each regime with mass poverty, hunger, deprivation, unemployment, hardship and general underdevelopment?
How will presidential aspirants as a matter of urgency tackle internal security problems, particularly the problem of Boko haram, herdsmen and farmers crisis, bandits, unknown gunmen and kidnapping ravaging all over the nation?
What are the likely solutions the presidential aspirants are going to proffer to further polarization of our country along regional, religious and ethnic dichotomies?
Who is that selfless, transparent and patriotic presidential aspirant who is totally committed to rescuing our nation from further economic, social and political drift? Who is that humble, patriotic Nigeria leader that has no ethnic or religious agenda other than to pilot the affairs of our nation to a more prosperous and greater height? Who is that patriotic presidential aspirant who is committed to killing corruption and put a halt to looting of the commonwealth of our great nation? Who is the genuine leader who is going to rescue local government council administration in Nigeria from total collapse and release local councils from strangulation from the state governments?
Who is that leader that will put an end to nepotism, tribalism and poor moral values in governance?
This is the time to begin the great search for such a leader. The attention of Nigerians will be focused on political parties delegate elections. The over 3,000 delegates should realize that they are carrying the burden of over 200 million Nigerian citizens. To betray the trust of Nigerians at this critical stage because of financial inducement from our corrupt cash and carry political elites, the delegates would have betrayed history and the good people of Nigeria.
Isiaka writes from Bukuru, Jos Plateau State.
CAVEAT: Views and opinions expressed here are those of the writers and are not in any way those of The Point Newspaper – Editor
