Think and vote your conscience – the Nigerian 2011 election experience
Think and vote your conscience the Nigerian 2011 election experience
Come Saturday, April 9, 2011, Nigerians will make a choice to vote and choose a credible leader who will man the affairs of our country for the next four years. For me, I have decided to vote my conscience, not along party-line, not by expected introspective rewards, not by voting pattern of my parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, cousins or friends but convincingly by sincere analysis and evaluation of the featuring aspirants particularly among the foursome front-runners.
Who will you vote for? Have you done the mental exercise as I did? Or do you choose to lazy-it-out and follow the same 50 years dark tunnel of distrust, distorted growth and jaundiced development? Do you still want to be selfish, voting for bread and butter while mortgaging the future of your offspring and grand children? They call you wasted generation, do you also wish your children to be wasted?
After 50 years, Nigeria still viciously grapples with itself, importing what it has in abundance and exporting what it has not. Yesterday, they blamed the colonialist, today, they blame the army yet we have had first, second and now third republics harnessing and promoting sufferings. Come to think about it, who among these aspirants do you think will not be "business as usual" president? Who will give this country the desired direction; forget the speech-making? Who among them will bring sanity to the surreptitious massive scramble of country's wealth by few well placed individuals while the masses suffer perpetually? Who among them really want to serve unconditionally because he genuinely wants to make the country better? These are posers that deserve unbiased and critical examination.
Let me help you; is it President Good-luck Jonathan with OBJ, Baba Iyabo breathing closely on his neck? May be, it is Mallam Nuhu Ribadu with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed and standing stooges by his side? Or will be Alhaji Shekerau with his smooth talking intellectual giggles and rhetoric? Kano State is a microcosm of Nigeria he wishes to govern, so how much has he done in the last four years?
Integrity, credibility, sincerity, visionary and purposefulness may be subjective, but faith is uncommon trait which shall not be subjugated or polarized. I can state emphatically that I am not a fan of General Muhammadu Buhari because of tendencies of religious fanaticism but one thing that strikes me in perception is his faith and great passion for Nigeria. I come to realize that in humans, you must at least have one weakness. If General Buhari is proven upright in the mix of plenty, and religion becomes his only weakness; then he has not erred. May be that is the reason he is different and seems to be credible than many of his compatriots and colleagues who have had similar opportunities to be former Heads of States and stole the country dry. Having been appointed the Chairman of Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) at a time he was known to be lean in pocket, he behaved himself and was not drown in financial scandals and mismanagement. I know a former president who was said to pay largesse to his friends and bought cars to his girl friend through a subsidiary account of the same institution or PTDF after he (Buhari) relinquished position. I found a publication in one of the national dailies of Thursday 31st March, 2011, quoting and accusing General Buhari of double-speaks on Abacha's loots. Anybody, seeing what went on since 1999 till date, will unapologetically make similar remarks without minding whose horse is gored. In the end, what happened to the so called recovered loots anyway?
The purpose of this article is not to eulogize Buhari, but rather to make my generation to think aloud and hopefully, help drive their own destinies. I am a card carrying member of the most populous party in Africa (PDP) and do not know anybody or have interest in CPC as a party. I do not seek favor or recognition from anybody and has not come in contact with any CPC member. This is a true confession and could be investigated. Of course, I am not concerned about the self-serving zoning altercations. Neither do I consider the so called geopolitical conflagrations. I am sincerely and truly concerned for our children whom I wouldn't like to also drift off coast through a vessel that seem to have no rudder; a country where competence is meaningless and shelved to the backgrounds because it hangs on whom you know' and not what you know. You must have Abraham as a father to get a job, go to school, be accepted for exams, admitted or treated in the public hospital and even render a national service. Few weeks ago, my nephew who tried to sit for a naval recruitment examination at Abuja was disallowed because he was not someone's candidate. What a tragedy and a daylight robbery? He paid for that assessment and was not even given the opportunity to fail-out.
My conscience tells me that the suffering majority of Nigerians desire a leader that will clear some of these rots, give direction for positive change and growth. A nursery school pupil knows that the grand malaise of our country is CORRUPTION and the man who by records abhors and resents it is most desirable to lead. I have no doubt in my mind that we will all find that leadership in General Muhammadu Buhari leaving sentiment, ethnicity and politics apart. Judging from precedents, he has proven that we can trust him and he has vision for our country. First, he tried it through the barrel of gun but was short-circuited. Saturday April 9, 2011 will be his third outing since 2003. That seems true determination and a strong indication of faith. My mind tells me he means well. I will vote for him. Would you vote for him too? Please think and vote your conscience. It may not have made a difference, but at least it would have made a point.
The Bear Approach to Fundraising: Ten Tips to Using Social Media Effectively A selection of the best quality Lady Gaga songs Why Are There So Many Religions? Paul Chehade is register as a United States Presidential Candidate for the 2012 Election Exploring the Benefits of in the Growth of Social Media Does the Interior Design Industry REALLY Need Social Media? Social media Promotion So once the Social Media Platform is in place what is next? Why Must Women Be More Important in Islam? Social Media - Is it Real? Yes! If So, What Does it Matter? That's Up to You! Use A GPS Tracking Device On An Unfaithful Partner Public Faith in DePuy Shaken Due to Problems With Pinnacle Nigerian Graduates and Job seekers bemoans high unemployment rate as general elections beckons