Remember this before voting

By Dele Sobowale

In 2011, a young man, now eight years old, asked me bluntly for which candidate I would recommend that he and his mother vote. Until then, I had only written twelve articles on the upcoming elections without announcing the support of a candidate. I felt compelled to answer the question. Below are excerpts from the 2011 article titled MY CHOICE FOR THE PRESIDENT.

"My last born is now 19 years old. He just told me that he will vote, but wants to know who to vote for. I said that I thought Jonathan was a jerk or a fraud. Buhari is arrogant, distant and ignores his strict selectivity. Ribadu is a deceived megalomaniac. He has the power and privileges of his lineage and his former functions. Okotie is as pretentious in his statement as he was as a singer! So, my brother, how can we help our son choose a candidate who will vote? Give him a name please, not a guideline. He needs a voice to follow at this age. That's you! He believes in you!

In 2015, when Buhari came back as a candidate, there was a fierce media war. I was a minority among Lagos-Ibadan editorialists, as we are called by others, although some editorialists do not even live in Lagos or Nigeria. I confronted the majority of opinion leaders in the way that only a father in the card-carrying sector could write as follows.

"As a rule, you can evaluate the quality of a man, especially a politician, by observing those who stand against him. General Buhari (rtd) is a shining example of such a person. As expected, his statement to the presidency, more than any other possible opponent of President Jonathan, had thrown a lot of people into a manic frenzy. Some of them are my co-chroniclers of the Lagos / Ibadan axis – articles like PUNCH, THISDAY, GUARDIAN and VANGUARD are called. In this series of articles, I would like to mention the professors who write for PUNCH and VANGUARD, who are generally erudite, futuristic, knowledgeable and reasonably objective; but who joined the illogical and uninformed attack of the pack against Buhari.

When a boy from the region is confronted by several opponents, he starts fighting by announcing to his opponents: "Ee po to [you are too few for me]"So, to Professors Abidde, Adelakun, Akinnaso, Olukotun from PUNCH and our own Femi Aribisala, I declare" you are too few "for this battle. Comparing Buhari to Jonathan is like comparing a solid "Iroko" with rotten wood. For starters, every sculptor knows that no one can make a rotten wooden masterpiece. And Jonathan's government is rotten up and down. Thus, anyone seeking the continuation of this government should be seen as an accessory to the grand larceny that is currently unfolding in the name of governance. "

It was a brutal battle waged in the name of Buhari. Let me now ask where were Tinubu, Osinbajo, Lai Muhammad, Amosun, Ajimobi, Amaechi, Rochas, Ngige, etc. in 2011? They worshiped other "gods". Most of those who claimed to love Buhari pbadionately only got on the bandwagon in 2015 when it appeared that he could win the election. The columnists writing for NATION would be embarrbaded if I published what they had written about Buhari in 2011. They claimed that the man was too old. Today, the man who was too old in 2011 is apparently young enough to continue governing until 2023. The difference between commentators of "food is ready" and those who write in principle is clear. I worked for Buhari while he had nothing to give. I left when it was clear that man could not live up to his exalted image. Until 2015, there were only two people I would call the most fanatical about Buhari: Prince Tony Momoh and engineer Buba Galadima. Momoh is still with Buhari; Galadima is separated. This naturally leads to the question: why did you leave?

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There are several reasons for this, but three criticisms will be addressed because there is still the PDP candidate to discuss. The first 20 Buhari appointments, among which only Femi Adesina, was the most important nepotism revealed on a scale never attempted by a Nigerian head of state, with the exception of Buhari himself in 1984- 1985. I will publish one day the list of the best candidates in 1984-1985. Except for the fact that a Daura was present at the time, as at present, it was as if no one was fit to hold a position unless he was from Daura or related by blood or marriage at the location. The appointment model has changed very little despite the outcry. Today, the city of Daura alone is likely to have more appointments to senior government positions than Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Ebonyi. The situation can only worsen with a second term.

The absence of appointments of ministers and heads of departments and agencies for nearly six months was not a sign of caution, as would his two spokespersons. This signaled a lack of preparation. Several witnesses claimed that in 2011, the Congress for Progressive Change, the CCP, under the leadership of Galadima, was already developing a blueprint for economic governance – along with suggestions for nominations – if Buhari had it. prevailed. He would not have waited a month. In 2015, Buhari had forgotten everything. The recession of 2016 has been aggravated by the fact that we have a man who is not very aware of the economic problems that occupies the position of president, who unfortunately has no good economist among his closest advisers. Nigeria is now the world capital of poverty and will continue to dominate the planet as long as our president does not understand that we must develop our economy at least 4% per year to curb the slide into abject poverty. There is no plan to reverse our slide into poverty.

The immunity and / or impunity enjoyed by killer breeders has only become a global concern since 2015. It's hard to be the patron to a group's life. without sharing his convictions. And, these people believe that it is essential to free others from their farm produce and even, if necessary, lives. A president aware of the needs of ninety-five percent of Nigerians who are not guardians will not allow this situation to develop and degenerate. Four additional years of Buhari can only mean much more years of shepherding intransigence. Buhari just can not change.

Let me summarize quickly. Nepotism / regionalism, persistent economic insecurity and heightened personal insecurity that will follow the re-election of Buhari mean a reversal. Issues such as the selective pursuit of the anti-corruption effort are not addressed. It is clear that friends receive hug; perceived opponents get the hammer. Where is the integrity? This year's famine is also not mentioned. Nigerians will suffer great hardships in 2019.

At this point, it is necessary to highlight the relationships I have had with the two main candidates. I've worked for Buhari, who is not my friend because he was at the time the best choice. I have never worked for the election of Atiku who is a friend. Even his candidacy for the AC Presidency in 2007 was more pragmatic than principled. AC was the best platform readily available and it jumped on without sharing the party's principles – which were by no means undefined. His heart was still in the PDP that he helped to establish. Under Obasanjo, the PDP had committed many atrocities and I could not see Atiku attacking the monsters making up the party.

So, in the 2011 article MY CHOICE OF PRESIDENT, the following remarks were made.

I have also added a personal, and therefore subjective, condition for myself at the time of selection. I will not vote for any candidate for the PDP, no matter who he comes from or where he comes from. Twelve years and 30 billion N have been shelved in Nigeria under the PDP; it is time to change radically. The party is totally corrupt. So those who have tried to "hate" Jonathan are deluding them. Alhaji Atiku is a friend. but even he would not have received my vote if he was the PDP candidate. I know Turaki will understand. I was and I am always willing to forgive any other imminent breach, but no involvement or badociation with a corrupt party. And the reason is simple. Of the nearly N30 trillion that has pbaded into the hands of the PDP in twelve years, nearly N10 trillion can not be accounted for and N20 trillion has been wasted.

Atiku was not the PDP's candidate in 2011; Jonathan was. And, during the next four years, corruption became more entrenched. The number and value of the badets confiscated to date by Ms. Patience Jonathan, Ms. Diezani Alison-Madueke and the department heads would leave any sensible person wondering if the government had done anything other than plan its flight. As far as I know, none of the former members of the PDP who have swelled the ranks of the Nigeria Action Congress, ACN, and Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, to form the core of the All Progressive Congress, APC therefore, in protest against the naked and shameless corruption prevalent in the PDP.

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Now, almost the entire gang that made up the PDP – including Olusegun Obasanjo – is back. Even those who are now in APC will come back if Atiku wins and will be accepted with open arms. Nigeria would have taken twenty years to return to its level of 1999. It is difficult to imagine a better definition of the tragedy. Atiku's recent announcement of what he will do to fight corruption is far from what one would expect.

The late American writer Henry Miller, who had excited young undergraduates in the 1960s with books purchased from shabby TIMES SQUARE stores in New York, was hidden in brown envelopes: "If I have the choice to betray my country or my friend I hope to have the courage to betray my country. I do not agree. To betray Nigeria is the last thing I will do. Although being my friend, Atiku will be entering Aso Rock with the same crowd of people who have turned Nigeria into a circle for twenty years.

APC and Buhari actually made campaign work much easier for the PDP. They voluntarily threw their joker. If Buhari had been perceived as being so severe by his friends as his political opponents, the PDP would have had no chance this year. But open partisanship deprived APC of any progress made in the fight against corruption, whatever it may be. Nepotism was too obvious to be ignored.

It leaves us with the thirds. The withdrawal of Ezekwesili and the support of the majority of its former members allowed Buhari to highlight the problem faced by these badociations – especially when they wait less than a year before the elections to become active. Then, they are the prey of opportunists who are given top positions with whom to exchange. Nevertheless, if Nigeria takes a step forward, we need a third force that will perform well enough to make maybe the first round win impossible for the APC and the PDP. But it is not enough. They must stay together after the 2019 elections and continue to come up with fair opposition ideas in the hope of broadening their bases of support. Without this, Nigeria is now condemned to choose between APC and PDP for another twenty years.

LAST LINE. Even if APC had done everything right, I will always be honored to vote against Buhari if, on polling day, Leah is not safe at home. No Leah; no vote. This is a promise, because we could just as well declare it dead after the elections. Subsequently, Buhari will do nothing to save her.

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