2027 : THE COALITION PARTNERS AND OUR CHOICES: Now that we have chosen to play politics instead of governance, then our eyes must be wide open.
The year 2025 marks only the halfway point for the current rulers of our dear country Nigeria, and one would have expected to see a comparison of two scenarios, an evaluation of sorts, which would have been, before May 29th 2023 and May 29th 2025 , comparing what life was like two years ago and now.
Carrying out an assessment or measurements of sorts, examining the statistics in different sectors of our lives.
But no, that is not the case, in two years, our rulers have been more focused on getting endorsements for re-election, into the next term that is two years away.
That people are going through excruciating difficulty and insecurity are not considered weighty enough to attract attention.
Who bells the cat? Is the billion dollar question as opposition figures and their political parties are thrown into crisis, induced by small minded “Big men” in power, Who believe that they would remain in the corridors of power forever, men Who believe, they have control over their lives and can decide what to do to whoever, when and how?
Yet all of the so called powerful “Big men” call on God, they claim to worship him but inflict pain and suffering on their countrymen and women, on the aged and children.
These men mastermind so many atrocious deeds to get to power, according to them , power must be grabbed, snatched and taken by force, using the people’s God given resources to humiliate them.
The Europeans did as much by stealing our resources in Africa, for instance the world’s wealth is measured and stored in gold, the highest deposits of gold is found in Africa, meanwhile the poorest people in the world are in the same Africa,in the region where gold is mined.
How does one explain it? How do we tell the story that the Niger -Delta region of Nigeria where our oil wealth comes from is the poorest? That the people cannot fish,farm, drink clean water, go to school, their houses are still built on water , yet God has blessed them, with enough natural resources that could build floating cities.
But no, because majority of leaders from the Niger-Delta region are greedy politicians, without vision.
The region is surrounded by water, yet there are no viable harbours for import and export trade. The ports cannot function because of politics. Largely because much of the wealth of the region is in the hands of “outsiders”.
Sons of the soil are content to fight each other over pipeline security jobs.
I saw an article about how and why the Chinese don’t elect their leaders, in China , if you cannot serve do not go near the throne, because there will be no room for you as a leader, to tell the people that you had a certain classmate who was 13 years old in 1979 when you purportedly graduated from the University, the Chinese will stone you to death. The Chinese will not tolerate fraud or anything against the interest of the state.
The people will not clap for you or decamp to join your party. The Chinese will never choose to be suffering and smiling.
As if to address the matter, the political class have chosen to come together for the second time in the 4th republic in a coalition that is expected to turn things around for the better.
It is a choice they have made, and having made the decision, Nigerians should instead of condemnation force them to go the whole hog. Nigerians should demand for the next step of reforms, which is to confront the monster called, the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the demands are simple.
1- “All election results must be electronically transmitted,real time, no glitches, no manual coalition of results.
2 – INEC must be made to take full responsibility for whatever action it takes, concerning elections in Nigeria.
3 – Never again should the loser of an election in Nigeria, be the one to prove that he was or has been shortchanged
4 – INEC must be the one to prove that what it has done is correct .
A new Nigeria is possible, the coalition partners must ensure that, they bring or present new faces with new ideas and vision if they are to make any difference, nobody is new in the coalition, but their choices could be, and could be the tonic for a new Nigeria, after all, it would be impossible to bring people from outer space to come and change our country.
It is all we have and we have to fix it, it is about the choices we make. We have the chance, let’s do it.
Dr. Effiong Nyong
Former Chairman and Governorship candidate Cross River State ADC.
