WHAT THE 2019 NIGERIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS ABOUT

Alex Aidaghese

21 hrs · 

WHAT THE 2019 NIGERIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS ABOUT

Uneasy resides the head that wears a crown.

There is too much blood eating away our land. We have a Presidency, without a President.

Nigeria is not NNPC or PTF where you could simply delegate power and responsibilities to your family members and untouchable cronies, by staying out of the nitty gritty of governmental compliance and regulatory regime. He would rather be a spectator in his own game, than risk exposing his inadequacies in the course of performance.

What we have at the moment is oligarchy unchecked that is cascading precipitously towards anarchy. It is certainly not a Presidential system or Democracy.

He is not in charge, because he doesn't know what is at stake or what it takes to be in charge. Worst of all, he is NOT aware of his limitations. It has nothing to do with preparedness or the lack of it. It's the Kanye West syndrome - shallow foundation.

He didn't know the extent of the casualties in Kaduna State. He is not aware that a rogue and discredited senior staff at the Health Ministry/NHIS is staying put in office, courtesy of the Nigerian Police.

One of his Ministers knowingly dodged the mandatory one-year NYSC program, and he is still on the job. Contrary to all expectations, he did igbabonelimin (acrobatic somersault) and decided to sue the NYSC for not reminding him of his civic responsibility. Really!

Nigerians want a President who doesn't suffer any form of disconnect, or intellectual fatigue. We want a President who is on the same page with us - our trauma, our grief, and our expectations.

Not a President who couldn't assemble a team of creative economists and management strategists to assist him in packaging a fundamental framework for the execution of his campaign promise of N5K monthly stipends to unemployed Nigerian youths. And that's what Papa Awo would have.

Do you know why he couldn't follow up with his promise? Disconnect and timidity of vision. He doesn't know what Nigerians are going through in real life. He is not Papa Awo. And he is not IBB. He has no team.

Remember IBB's power-parked cabinet and his Council of Economic Advisers, headed by the all-around intellectually fierce Economist of Great Ife, Professor Ojetunji Aboyade? That was a team.

Please, reflect first on what that administration accomplished, and not what IBB didn't do. That's by the way.

Atiku exhibited that Awo and IBB traits during the Obasanjo's administration - the Audacity of Vision and the ability to peak a team, whose judgement you can't question. And that's the main reason I have been rooting for him since 2012.

It is not about "do we have the money for the project?" Rather, "I need a team to help put together mechanisms for the funding for the project." That's the grundnorm of Awoism.

That audacity is what is missing in the Nigerian leaderships of today - from the State capitals to the Presidency. Million thanks, of course, to the the never ceasing crude oil windfall.

Have you ever taken a pause to ponder why President Buhari didn't form his cabinet on time or why he hasn't seen reasons to breathe life into his lackluster cabinet? Two reasons: He doesn't know Nigerians. And two, his performance evaluation metrics models and benchmarks do not take into account the economic utility of the output of his Ministers.

A President who didn't participate in the appointment of his current DG of the DSS is not fit to govern.

A President who is not conscious of the futility inherent in reserving three strategic ministries in one Minister, when we have "Thousands of Better Fasholas" at home and abroad is not fit to govern.

He exemplifies the ills perverting our federal system since the end of the civil war, where the Misfits Misfits (apology to Mr. Sonala Olumhense) ascend the leadership ladder with astronomical alacrity on the strength of places of birth.

We have never been governed as one country. Everyone of them at Abuja knows this. But when it comes to a discussion on True Federalism or Restructuring, they feign ignorance of the existence of race-based appointments and promotion metrics.

Ethiopian Airlines is one of the best managed in the Developing World today because Ethiopia is one country. We're not. Just do a perusal of Buhari's appointments, and tell me we are one country. And that is the tragedy of the ongoing debate about his WAEC result.

Truth is, he didn't cheat. The system did - lowering the eligibility ladder. Same reason that a candidate from Zamfara State for instance, with a score of 10 points could find his way to any of the Federal Unity Schools. Whereas, another candidate from say, Imo, Ogun, or Delta State is expected to score more than 120 points to pass the same exam.

Our Federal system, populated by the Buharis of Nigeria at the top, perverted the true essence of the Federal Character and Quota System. In the process, they're killing Nigerian Public institutions and business entities along the way. Nepotism unchecked.

It's only in Nigeria that you are considered a bigot for identifying and condemning the bigotry in the system. Bigotry, aided by nepotism, is what is fueling the amber of hatred, intolerance, and the strident demands for separation.

FEDERAL QUESTIONS

Please, explain this: Kano State, with a population almost the same as that of Lagos State, has 44 Local Govt Council, while Lagos has 20 or 22. Abacha who did that wasn't politically naive. Yet, you don't know what Restructuring or True Federalism is about?

An Igbo man cannot be the Minister of Internal Affairs, Chairman of FCT, DG of Custom and Immigration, Minister of Defense, or Chairman of EFCC.

They feign ignorance of what Restructuring or True Federalism connotes, but they suffer no scruples telling me we are one country.

They sat on the passage of the PIB (Petroleum Industry Bill) into law for close to twelve years, because of a set aside funds for the Host Communities. Yet, they suffer no scruples claiming we are one country.

They know full well that the major contributors to the set aside funds are International Oil Companies (IOCs) and domestic oil companies engage in exploratory activities in the Niger Delta. Not a dime from the Federal Government goes to the fund.

They didn't care. And they don't care to ponder over the ecological evils ravaging the Niger Delta, without mercy. Today, they are having difficulties defining Host Community within the context of the Petroleum Bill.

This election is the dividing moment - any mistake, it is over with Nigeria. I don't want to come to the Nigerian social media scene in three years time, and be reading about Decentralization of Power and the 1914 Amalgamation.

This is the last opportunity to make that happen, by electing a President who is willing to take a chance on Nigerian diversity and set in motion a sustainable framework for glasnost and perestroika. And be bold enough to govern Nigeria as one country - a father figure to all.

Today, there is a massive void in leadership in Nigeria. That void explains the upsurge in ritual activities and the celebrity status that the men and women of God and of Allah enjoy. They open their doors to the helpless and the seekers of fortunes, without conditions. And that warm embrace creates rooms for vulnerabilities.

So, in the absence of a government the citizens could trust and look up to at moment of perils, running to would be killers, rapists, and swindlers becomes not just a second thought, but the dominant and overriding thought. We need a President who knows what ails us as a people. In the past three years, the incumbent has not given me reasons to believe he feels our pains.

I beg to plead.