The Youth in Nigerian Democracy:The Presidential Race & the Youth

One of the greatest pride I derive in being a Nigerian and in particular,perhaps , the MOST UNIQUE feature of Nigeria is our UNITY IN DIVERSITY!
Today's edition is a special one! I'm using this opportunity to congratulate all Nigerians on this August occasion of our Independence Anniversary,may we celebrate next Year's anniversary a greater,more unified and more posperous country.Ameen.
But how are we going ensure that? Considering the predictions of the Americans of a divided Nigeria come 2015,coupled with the insecurity challenges AND THE DELIBERATE ACTS OF SABOTAGE AND INSINCERITY OF THE SECURITY FORCES AND THE PRESIDENCY in curbing the insurgency,the future seem very scary and pretty bleak indeed! The question now is whether we subscribe to the fission of the Nigerian state, if Yes,why,if no,why not?
When,you consider the numerous barbaric ethnic and religious conflicts that have been recorded in our history,you might want to agree that we all call it quits on Nigeria and we go our separate ways. Sounds good,doesn't it? You fall into this category of people calling for Nigeria's disintegration if you think it does.
Another school of thought thinks it's not wise for Nigeria to disintegrate but at the same time doesn't believe people from other parts of the country should have a say when it comes to policy formation. They just want to be on top as decision makers forever and the vulnerable among those denied the federal powers feel cheated and would gladly join those who want Nigeria divided. These power brokers,according to those less powerful ones are power drunk and very selfish.
There's a third category... a moderate group that believes in Nigeria... not out of greed of subjecting others to their rule and control but out of a higher sense of purpose which very little understand even though it's the aim and objective of all the aforementioned categories.
Everyone wants and deserve a better deal than we are currently getting, but,in my own view,it isn't enough reason to demand for disintegration. What we need is a major restructuring that would ensure equity among all Nigerians. However, this can't be ensured by disintegration or the maintenance of the status quo as it is right now,but, by a CHANGE OF HEART! EVERYONE GOT TO STOP THINKING ONLY ABOUT THEIR WELFARE,WE SHOULD ALSO CONSIDER THE WELL-BEING OF OTHERS...THE WELL-FARE OF ALL AND SUNDRY THAT'S TRUE PATRIOTISM!!!
Selfishness and greed are the greatest inhibitors to development in Nigeria. This shall be explained in greater details in the nearest future,insha Allah. But for the benefit of our current discuss,I would like to explain how it's stalling progress.
In 1999,at the beginning of the current republic,there were the formation of political parties.From their names and places where they are dominant,one can easily tell which is pro-hausa,pro-ibo and pro-yoruba. It was just too glaring!
As expected, each party won elections in their places of dominance,that is,APGA won overwhelmingly in the east,AD in the West and PDP up north....and just as usual, the PDP won the general elections. It's the party of the biggest region in Nigeria.
By 2011 general elections, there was a crack in the wall of the PDP, there was a major disagreement within the party that has successfully divided the north... it appears the northerners have lost the unifying force that had made them invincible since independence, they can't agree on whether to support Jonathan for president or follow an acclaimed plan of power sharing between the North and South.
The aggrieved Northern politicians  say Jonathan agreed not to contest in 2011,he was said to have agreed to step down after completing Yaradua's tenure. Now, that he does insist on contesting,they would rather pull out of the party to join other parties than to stay and vote in a traitor.... guy,you know the stories, I don't need to waste your time on that.The bottom line is that Jonathan emerged the winner of the 2011 elections amidst the political crisis. Some voted based on their convictions BUT THE MAJORITY VOTED BASED ON TRIBE,RELIGION OR ETHNICITY.Jonathan won on these various divides NOT based on conviction of the electorates. This has been the case from the word go...I've seen a situation whereby AN ILLITERATE so to speak won a political seat of power! It's that bad! So,it's NOT just a Jonathan thing alone. We vote based on sentiments all the time...we hardly consider performance. People get voted to power based on where they come from as against their ability to govern well! It's a shame!
Jonathan won in the South in the general either because he is a Christian or a man from the South and in the North majorly due to religious reasons and partially due to efforts of disgruntled elements of the North...mostly from the North Central who felt shortchanged by the core North.
2015 is just around the corner and Jonathan has a very good chance of winning for the same reasons as above NOT because he did well,he didn't... especially security wise. Yet,you see people sing his praises all over so much so that I begin to wonder if people haven't lost their senses of reasoning out of tribalism, ethniticism and religious bias. People are not asking questions...Yaradua left Katsina a N6 billion rich state...he cleared all the debts he met and left N6 billion in the coffers of Katsina...can u say that of Jonathan as a governor Bayelsa state...he has spent about 7 yrs in office as President...what major achievement has he made? Please,don't start counting the rehabilitation of existing roads or on- going projects here,point to COMPLETED PEOPLE ORIENTED PROJECTS he has executed and HOW these project have had a DIRECT PACT in your life as a citizen. You should now weigh that along with the enormous expenditure of the Federal Government in the last 7 yrs. Be sincere,at least to yourself...with all the billions of dollars,has he done well to deserve a second full term? Remember,also,THE SECURITY OF LIVES AND PROPERTIES OF ALL CITIZENS IS THE MOST BASIC AND ABOUT THE MAJOR REASON HE IS PRESIDENT.
On a day like this...our independence day,I think we need to review our way of reasoning...I think it's high time we started reasoning as Nigerians and not as Hausa,Ibo or Yoruba but as Nigerians.
You would be voting as a tribalist if you vote for a guy simply because he comes from your,state, ethnic group or even from your clan and you would be a religious fanatic if you vote on whether he is a Muslim or Christian. My fellow patriots,we are the third group of Nigerians I described above. Let us base our voting on the right values... not ethnicity, tribe or religious affiliation but on the candidate's capability to deliver the dividends of democracy...we should inquire of his past records as a leader and assess his performance, has he participated or initiated any community development project as a person...if he is coming in for the first time,what do people he had led before say about him? If he passes these tests well,then, we may vote for him even if he comes from the other far end of Nigeria...WE ARE ALL NIGERIANS!
Unless we send this message to the politicians,unless we start to make them realize that just being of the same faith or from the same region or tribe would no longer guarantee them our votes,they shall continue to take us for granted and treat us  unfairly as they now seem to have gotten used to.They would continue to USE AND DUMP US... election is just around the corner,you would start see them more often than ever...right now,you are their family,brother or sister...the moment you vote them back to power,they bid you their byes again...see you in the next 4 years.
Osun people did it,they voted for performance despite all the treat and FEDERAL MIGHT OF THE PDP,if they can do it,we too can.VOTE BASED ON PERFORMANCE AND NOT ETHNICITY OF RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION! WE ARE THE YOUTH AND WE ARE SAYING NO TO ALL FORMS OF SENTIMENTS...BE IT RELIGIOUS OR ETHNIC, IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE WELL,WE SHALL VOTE YOU OUT COME 2015...that should be our message to the power brokers...without us,they can't do anything,trust me! Let's stand our ground this time.
I learnt that China is celebrating too today...what a co-incedent! I therefore congratulate the Chinese on their Communist anniversary celebration... many happy returns!
Thanks for your time and happy independence day Nigeria! Long live Nigeria! Amen.
Regards,
Abdurrahman,
07037595859,
http://moneymakingmachine-alchemy007.blogspot.com

The Youth in Nigerian Democracy:Choice of Whom to Vote for

We got less than a year to 2015 general elections and the tussle for power is reaching the very peak. Already,it's quiet glaring the President,Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is contesting for a second term...as usual,according to the PDP he is the only candidate in the PDP fold that can deliver the desired results,no one else can and in fact he was nominated UN-UPPOSED... (ridiculous kind of to me)...but that doesn't matter as the PDP has spoken as a party.
We are yet to hear from APC, the ONLY real opposition to the ruling party. They seem to be very cautious due to the very fragile nature of their relationship...it's a merger of quite a number of political parties with their various manifestos... no one wants to be cheated or outdone. This makes it very difficult for them to make a choice. Whatever,their choice is,I'm less concerned,rather,I'm more particular about our choice of candidate to vote for.
Politicians in Nigeria have successfully created a political system and atmosphere in which oppositions hardly get a fair chance at the polls...this is not peculiar to PDP,APC too adopts the same tactics of unfairness...a major example of what I'm talking about here is that of state owned media...you can hardly here of the opposition's campaign jingles on them...what you as always hear is the jingles of the ruling party...even in the federal level,this, unfortunately,is the norm.
Another very unfair tactic they employ to remain in power is the censor of all negative forms of news... I mean,it's quiet unfortunate to see that you don't get to hear all the news headlines from the state owned media...you have to go an extra mile to get all the juicy news headlines...this is particularly fraudulent due to the fact that the state media has the attention of the vast majority,hence,this delibrate act of burying some important news headlines keeps the public from knowing what is really happening around them.The state media has turned out to be a tool of propaganda as against its real goal of informing and educating the public. All you'll ever hear is the praise singing of the ruling party no matter how corrupt it might be,the news...in fact all the programs is favorable to the ruling party.No criticism is allowed... whether constructive or otherwise. There's absolute clamp down on freedom of expression.
Just a day or so ago,I heard over the radio the praise singing of an administration which even the presenter of the radio program knows very well hasn't really performed enough to be commended...I was like...kai! My point here is to let you know that both the APC & PDP are guilty of unfairly tweaking the instruments of government to avail them undue advantage over the opposition and unless something is done,nothing would really change...Nigerians would continue to suffer from underdevelopment. When there's no room for criticism, there's no check and balance for the government, hence,he get away with any crime especially, financial crimes since there's no one to ask questions and he,therefore, answers to no one...it's like anarchy to me!
In order to prevent the continuity of this unfair status quo,there is need for the youth to review how they decide who to vote for. In the last post,I discouraged the recipient of bribe as this unsettle the politicians and keeps them right on their toes,I shall build on that fact.
In addition to your refusal of bribes which both major parties have been found guilty of,it would be most imperative on you to consider the C.V. of the available candidates. What are their achievements so far...have they held a post of responsibility before,how did they fare,were they indicted of fraud or were they applauded for their selfless services...how many developmental projects have they been involved in,PERSONALLY...etc.
You see,unless you value your choice of candidates based on these and other noble criteria,you are most likely going to make a wrong choice. When you do,you would also be sending a message to both candidates. You would have successfully sent an indirect message that goes thus:
"Look,I don't care how able and capable you are for the elected post. I care more about your,tribe,religion affiliation and how much you can pay...my vote goes to the highest bidder!"
You don't have to say it...they say 'action speaks louder than voice'. Your action tells it all. If sentiments of what tribe I come from,my religion or how much I give as bribe are the criteria we hope to base our choice of candidate on,then,Nigerians shouldn't blame anyone but themselves if things get worse or it remains as it is.
We need to learn to think straight and more of our future than our present situation... we shouldn't let the little lack we experience today influence our choices at the polls adversely. We must make do away with such notion as "he is from my clan","we of the same religion","he is from the North,I can't vote for him","he is from the South,I can't vote". In their places,we should adopt such notions as "Even though he is from the South,I'll vote for him as he is more qualified than Mr A who is from my tribe","We may be of the same faith but I won't vote for him,because he hasn't done well in previous less demanding capacities","I would NEVER vote a candidate that offers a bribe for my vote,it is an obvious sign that he won't do well in office" and "So long he is a Nigerian with laudable achievements and very good track record of high performance in the past, I would vote for him!"
To cut the long story short,my messages are:
- Make it a duty to participate positively in every election
- Secure your permanent voter's card today,it's your power to hire or fire any politician
- Go out to vote as a matter of National responsibility and your contribution to development.
- Do NOT vote for whom ever it is that offers you a bribe...it's a BIG sign that he won't serve you but himself.
- Whoever offers a bribe for your vote does so to gain undue advantage,out of desperation to win by all means,don't fall for it.
- VOTE ONLY BASED ON PAST SUCCESS RECORDS AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS HE TOOK PART IN...THAT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN TELL A CANDIDATE IS PASSIONATE AND DEVOTED TO SERVING YOU!
That very last point is in fact the MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE I wish to pass today. You may wonder should none of the contesting candidates have the qualities as recommended above,what shall we do?
Well,my recommendation then,would be the rotation of candidates until you find a worthwhile candidate. LIKE THE PEOPLE OF OSUN, NEVER VOTE A CANDIDATE FOR A SECOND TERM UNLESS HE DOES WELL.
In the recently concluded gubernatorial elections,Ogbeni  AbdulRauf Aregbesola emerges as the winner NOT because he is the incumbent governor but because HE DID WELL DURING HIS FIRST TENURE! This was a shocker to members of the PDP as Osun people never returned an incumbent governor,NO ONE before Aregbe had a second term in office as governor... it has always been a single tenure... so,the PDP was hoping to bank on that,but,it didn't work out that way,despite the federal might of the PDP.
This goes to prove beyond reasonable doubt that even an annointed candidate of the president can loose an election if the people does not approve of him/her... it means that should the people stand their ground and talk with a single voice,no one can defeat them...not even a political godfather!
Osun now,is reaping the fruit of togetherness...oneness, unity of purpose and ideology... they got the very best from Aregbe in his first and decided to reward him with a second tenure! Nigeria as a country must adopt this tactic... the coming general elections is a test ground for us to do that... WE MUST SHUN ALL FORMS OF TRIBALISM DURING THE 2015 ELECTIONS... THE ONLY THING TO CONSIDER IN VOTING A CANDIDATE IS HIS TRACK RECORD AND NOTHING MORE...FORGET WHERE HE COMES FROM,SO LONG HE IS A NIGERIAN WITH A GOOD TRACK RECORD, WE SHOULD VOTE HIM IN.
We shall do more talking on the Presidential elections in my next issue... don't miss it!
Regards,
Abdurrahman,
07037595859,
http://moneymakingmachine-alchemy007.blogspot.com