With a month or thereabouts before the commencement of the general election political campaigns and jingles will be (if not have been) intense and quite rewarding - in terms of stomach infrastructure superpacks, in January of all months. Considering the recently concluded festivities - Christmas and New Year celebrations - several kitchensills and stores could use refill. Moreover, it has been long officially declared by INEC that the Presidential and National Assembly elections would hold on February 14, 2015; while Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are fixed for February 28, 2015. Which explains why we nowadays hear educated and not-so-educated speeches of contesting candidates, and, worst still, that of their hanger-ons as well. Some of us cannot be thankful enough, then, knowing the whole theatre is a momentary and passing thing. Nevertheless we need to be up-to-date on who said what. For the records, at least. In his acceptance speech Major General Muhammadu Buhari, GMB for short, made some pledges. Read it in his own words: I make these five pledges regarding the government if we are elected next February; a. We will govern Nigeria honestly, in accordance with the constitution. b. We will strive to secure the country and efficiently manage the economy. c. We will strive to attack poverty through broadly-shared economic growth and attacking corruption through impartial application of the law. d. We will tolerate no religious, regional, ethnic or gender bias in our government. e. We will return Nigeria to a position of international respect through patriotic foreign policy. f. We will choose the best Nigerians for the right jobs. Our government will be committed to the cause of the common man. Whether you are a Christian from Bayelsa State or a Muslim from Katsina State, you are first and foremost a Nigerian in my eyes. I shall treat you equally as my people, my national family, my brothers and sisters. There can be no genuine love of our country without loving all its people in our diversity. Isnt that more than five? In his acceptance speech, also, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GEJ for short, with a strange mix of pout and charisma, said he was interested in addressing the youth, that himself and those of his age space, and beyond, are spent. Hear him for yourself: I am going to address the people who are voting for the first time, those of you who will attain 18years this year. That means I am addressing the young people. I donot want to address old people like me, because we are spent already.. I am going to dwell on three key things... The first is the issue of insecurity... If we have problems what is the cause—equipment... No country equips armed forces overnight. What they use is quite expensive and they are built over the years. Even if you spend 10 billion dollars today, you cannot equip the army, navy and air force. The capacity is built overtime... The next [second key thing] is that they say government is corrupt...We have arrested more people within this period. Gotten more convictions within this period...We came and cleaned up the sector and today there is no corruption in the fertilizer industry again... Dont ask me where or what the third key thing point is - I couldnt find it anywhere in the speech either. Meanwhile, President Jonathan was humble enough to admit his own abysmal failure. My generation has failed said he, [because] we couldn’t take Nigeria to the moon. The acknowledgment of his shortcomings wouldve been gladly accepted had he not volunteered himself for a reelection. Ideally, were Nigeria a functional and law abiding country, he should have of his own accord resigned being president long ago, or, worst case scenario, he shouldve been sacked. But such isnt customary to the country. Rather, people like him in Nigeria will still jostle for another term in office in the futile hope to whitewash their festered image. If, as they say, you dont change a winning team, Ill reckon a losing one shouldnt be kept in any case. The Presidents speech, in particular, was a verbiage that carries no cheerful note whatsoever that could cheer a sorrowed heart. GEJ in his own words help remove all doubts about his incompetence; while GMB, the touted plumber, is fixed in his military ways, his not properly outlined pledges are too obsolete and not corrective in this current tangled state of things. The general philosophy of a problem is such that if not comprehended, it cannot be correctly and comprehensively solved. Obviously the retired General isnt abreast of the iron slippers he is itchy to wear. You dont pluck the best Nigerians from a mango tree. You thoroughly educate them first. It was too late for the deceased former president Yaradua to grasp the science of the problem he was cajoled into before his election and learn the lessons. Is it well with our educational sector? Yet nobody, not even the one who claimed to be addressing the youth, has said anything more than other about improving the quality of our education here. Nobody has said what exactly is the bane of our existence - economy, security, power, transportation, etc. - and how to scientifically deal with them step by step. All we hear (and were tired of hearing) are pledges after pledges. Not even one of the so-called popular presidential candidates bothered to stretch themselves to furnish their respective speech with facts and stats. Not one! Sloth is the word. It is very embarassing that in a nation of more than 150 million people GEJ and GMB (very bizzare acronyms) are the worthiest persons we are contemplating to vote for presidency next month. I duck my head in shame. Anyway thank God I dont have a PVC. Otherwise I would have it burnt and shredded in a flowing canal. I cant afford to waste my energy anymore over what is not.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 05:25:37 +0000
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