THE REALITY OF NIGERIAN ELECTIONS....

Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s ushered us into the era of cable satellite, which opened a world of possibilities for people of my generation who were hitherto surfed between local channels and video cassettes.

We were introduced to America in a new way, here was this country where meritocracy seemed to be rewarded and by the time we were full grown pimpled teenagers we met William Jefferson Clinton a.k.a Bill Clinton. He brought the theater of American politics which to us, seemed hallow, sacred and pure. The brains and words mattered, people were asking pertinent questions, words like deficit, government shutdown and impeachment filtered into our vocabulary and by 1995, Tony Blair had come in and we were all there to watch it all.

Yet back home we were living under a dictatorship and it was no illusion that our nation was failing, that nothing seemed to matter, our senses were attuned for better and that better was not home.. Our erstwhile head of state read speeches that were caricatured and our political parties of the time were “Leprous”. Enter democracy, we dared dream, a dream which since been dashed against the rocks of religion, tribalism, nepotism and any other “ism” that tears us apart. As I write this, I am all too aware that half of my state (Adamawa), Borno and Yobe are under siege and elections are in less than a month’s time and I am none the wiser whom to vote for. Every conversation about nationhood in my generation was shaped by an ideal and belief that every routine aspect of us mattered, yet that belief daily gives way to the reality of our negativity as it began to etch through our belief, which was erroneously based on fundamentals different from our country’s. Fairness and truth was more by the union jack and star spangled banner than our dear green and white. This was the reality for most middle class children and others.

2015 and 7 years after Obama made us the 'we could, wherever we were', speech.And I am asking can we? Can we speak about the shrinking economy to the populace? Can we the electorate grasp the reality of the drop in oil prices? Does anyone care about the North-East and it's tendency to experience unprecedented levels of human disasters? These I expect should be the issues that will dominate the topic of discussions in the forth coming elections, alas NO!!!

The discussion for our nationhood is going to be dominated by religion, tribalism and any other thing that will divide us further, which has since brought our nation to its knees and belly. The reality of Nigerian politics is that the conversation between the enlightened and rural populace, are two different things, while the elites deal with the ideals, the rural populace deal with the reality of living in nation with non-existent infrastructure, failing public health system and other failures of the state. The elites seek ways to be like their contemporaries abroad, the rural populace know only the hands they've been dealt. Rarely do the elites vote either through apathy or cynicism, the rural populace make up the votes and decide the fate of every election or that is why the message they hear is always about fear mongering and what they stand to lose and gain in accordance with their creed and race (tribe within this context). When Fayose championed the cause of “Stomach Infrastructure” during his re-election bid, it was a massive rejection the conversation we should have as a country, it was rejection of development. The erstwhile Governor Fayemi had developed the state’s infrastructure and education along the lines of teacher and content development but this mattered little, all that seemed to matter was that they didn't get what was due them in form of food and cash gifts. This desire to please the populace at all cost, to offer them a bounty, is one of the reasons Nigerian elections have become expensive. In the distribution and allocation of resources Nigeria has always race, tribe and creed, a pseudo-ethnic balancing, captured aptly in the Federal Character Commission; add this to the need to reject competence for “one of our own” indices and what you have is the recipe for the Nigerian elections. Governor Fayemi put it better when he said “Intellect is not supposed to be popular in our country right now. If you are an intellectual, you are an elite and an elite is what should be thrown into the dustbin, not to be associated with”. We must also understand that the Nigerian elite is distinguishable from the Nigerian politician, who can also be an elite in identity, that though educated and enlightened, it counts for little to be able to speak and articulate a position well, he must be able to speak the language of the rural populace and his uncompromising stand in speaking that language has continued to cost us as a nation. I must state as a caveat that leadership is not a product of enlightenment but it counts for the development of institutions and structures of national development.

The reality of Nigerian elections is that the people who matter don’t know what matters and this indictment is for us all. Because while we claim to know vote, we haven’t learnt to speak with a voice that doesn't exclude others and while those we think don’t know, know that with their vote, they will continue to exclude those who though deserve office, will continuously linger in the wilderness of seeking. A further damning consequence of the structure of our nation is that the center is far away from the people and with its mirage of glaring wealth, the rural populace feel entitled to whatever they can get during the election period. The Nigerian electorate must learn not to live in fear of being destroyed by the fears expressed by the Nigerian politician, that in a democracy, power is given in custody and can be taken away because we decide who gets into power. That there is no distinguishing between the rural populace and the elites in voting for a better Nigeria because Nigeria belongs to us all and this is what I THINK!!!!!

Article by Nasom Ngaro

Happy new year

I cant believe i ignored you for this long. I have been caught up between bussiness, work and all. 2015 is just getting started and my plate is already full but that's the way i like. The fuller the better, no time for gossip. oh well, when its on the blog then its allowed. lool I want to wish you a great 2015 filled with all the good things you're heart desires. I cant say how happy i am that we all crossed over especially those of us in the north east with the Boko Haram saga and the whole politically activities going on. We have lost lives, properties and peace since all this started, but i am positive this year will be better and safer and much more peaceful. Be safe, vote wisely and use protection. God bless you all and welcome to 2015, it will be a great year for us all.