Fides Media Living the Faith
On Saturday February 25 and March 4, Nigerians will have opportunities to choose those who will determine their fate for the next four years. But most critical is the presidential election which will usher in the person that will shape the destiny of the nation. Being that leadership flows from the top to bottom, the presidential election has become the most important one at this point in the nation’s history.
Presenting themselves to Nigerians for the presidential election are three major candidates in the persons of Peter Obi of Labour Party; Atiku Abubakar of People’s Democratic Party, PDP; and Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Anyone who has lived in Nigeria for the past eight years does not need to be told about the problems of the country. Social and economic activities have ground to a halt due to the bloody activities of bandits, killer herdsmen and Islamist fundamentalists, otherwise known as Boko Haram. There is also the grave matter of the collapsed economy which has turned Nigeria into one of the poorest countries of the world.
Everyone in the country knows that Nigeria’s problems stem from corrupt leadership and those behind the country’s woes are still lining up to be elected. It is now left for the citizens to choose wisely and avoid repeating mistakes of the past.
Nigerians have been making mistakes over the years in elections and each of those mistakes had worsened matters and today the country is on the verge of collapse. Do we rest our hopes on the same people who have held us down or do we look the way of those who will change our fortunes?
Apart from the president, we also need to vote for people in the national assembly who will work well with the president and not frustrate his efforts; people who also have the interests of the country at heart. It is one thing to elect a president and another to have people around him to support him, to share his vision.
Let’s not forget the scenario in Anambra during the first tenure of Peter Obi as governor of the state where he was nearly frustrated by opposition elements in the state legislature who had an overwhelming majority. They deliberately refused to pass his budget and it took the intervention of the Church and elders of the state to make them see reason but that did not stop them from going ahead to illegally impeach him later.
What happened then typified the irresponsibility of some politicians in Nigeria who go after personal interest first rather than public good. The coming elections therefore provide a perfect opportunity for the masses of the country to put things right by electing the right candidates. Failure to do this may mean the final disintegration of the country.
May God almighty help his people in Nigeria this time around.