WEDNESDAY COLUMN BY USSIJU MEDANER
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Over the years, especially in the current age of easier access to and ubiquity of mobile communication devices and the new media, at least, a cursory public observer would have noticed the evolving norm of an all-year-round election campaign in Nigeria. Hardly have we won and lost an election then we begin preparing for the next outing. This aberration of a miscalculation has, overtime robbed the country of experiencing real development and we need to consciously depart from it in the sincere interest of Nigeria. There is a calendar for election activities and the freedom of political parties and politicians to both directly and indirectly engage in political events are well curtailed by the extant electoral law. Yet, beyond the capture of the law, is the element of patriotism and morality in our dealings with the country. Politicians must be called to order in the interest of the sanity and sanctity of the nation and its integrity.
The fundamental responsibility of a political system is to turn out periodically in a democratic setting, responsible, legitimate elected leadership to govern the affairs of a people as stipulated by the acceptable laws of the land. In a democracy, there would not be a government without political parties and politicians. And where it is globally recognised that the primary objective of the political parties and politicians is to wrest power and occupy position of authorities, it is also both a legal and moral expectation that elected leaders as well as political organisations understand the concept of political activities and timings regarding the optimum development of the state.
For every periodic election, there would be winners and losers alike. It is a given and an indispensable element of every competition. What happens after the elections and the declarations of winners and losers are as important to the country as much as preserving the sanctity of the country and ensuring the full development of its people and resources. These become the responsibility of all; the winners and losers alike.
You do not aspire to become the governor of a state or the president of a country, if you are not first driven by patriotism and the boiling desire to see the state or the nation prospering, regardless of the outcome of the electoral contest; whether you win or lose, your desire to see the prosperity of the people must supersede every of your other desires and responses. A situation, where losers become bitter and take the position of negative and non-constructive opposition is unbecoming a regular habit of supposed serious contestants for political offices.
There won’t be anything wrong if Peter Obi or Atiku Abubakar take the position of rendering constructive opposition and offering suggestions with respect to policy matters to the sitting government. There would not be anything wrong if the opposition would talk the sitting government through engaging more with the China government as part measure to address the crumbling naira value. Telling the government the need to concentrate more on the Naira-Yuan swap deal, given that a huge percentage of our dollar requirements is to settle our payments for trade with china. There would not be anything wrong, if the opposition would create and present the ruling party with a working economic blueprint for the country. There would not be anything wrong if Peter Obi constructively advises the government of the best approaches to confronting our many challenges inclusive of insecurity. And of course, there would be nothing wrong if occasionally and when necessary, they praise the sitting government for a decision well taken and an outcome praiseworthy.
Unfortunately, what we are seeing now are losers who have chosen to stay sore a year after losing elections and whose dispositions have clearly shown that they are not patriotic citizens but power mongers who would hide behind anything and everything to grab power.
I read the comment attributed to former Senator Ben Murray-Bruce on the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway construction by the Federal Government of Nigeria and I am pleased to be a Nigerian at this point. He said “A new era in Nigeria’s transportation history has begun, a 700 kilometer road from Lagos to Calabar with feeder roads joining it from different parts of the country, would perhaps be one of the best things to happen to us as a nation this decade.” He further said, we are not just building a highway, but crafting a legacy of prosperity and growth. He said it would be a lifeline for businesses, a catalyst for economic development and a symbol of hope for a brighter future.
What did Peter Obi has to say about the same highly praised project? He sees it only as a job-losing project at a time of rampant unemployment. The businessman in him and a former governor, who should understand the imperative of road infrastructural development and the unavoidable need to demolish quite a number of existing structures to get any piece of such construction done, has no praise for the project, but complains of the buildings and structures that will have to go for the project to come. Yet, he has laudable explanations for his demolishing of peoples buildings to get his road constructions underway while he was governor of a state. But according to him, he said the conditions were different. Perhaps, he needs someone to remind him of what hypocrisy is.
The same Landmark business they claimed has been destroyed, hiring all their mouthpieces on the media, to discredit the government action to embark on the coastal road project, has suddenly reopened after just a few days to continue its operation. It is funny, they told us it took six years to build it and it took the government only six hours to demolish it; now, are they also saying that it took only six days to rebuild it as it has reopened for business?
Maybe it is an expression of ethnic bigotry, an attempt to belittle the project because it does not directly link Southeastern Nigeria. Yet, the same people did not see the significant Second Niger Bridge as a waste of much needed money at a time when the country was in desperate need of the resources for other more important things and solicit more for continuous repair and refurbishment of the old bridge.
Last two days, the yet-to-be substantiated story of deportation of some indigenes of Osun State from Lagos back to their home state was on the air; and an investigation is ongoing to unravel the truth of the story. Without no known public conclusion of the incident yet, Mr. Peter Obi has jumped to conclusions condemning the action. A man in his position should know otherwise, but he would say it nonetheless to augment his premature and immature campaign for 2027. We all remember how this same Peter Obi as governor of Anambra state arrested and repatriated indigenes of Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom to their states during his tenure as governor. Or would he also claim the conditions are different?
Last two weeks, there was an accident somewhere in Kogi state, and long before anyone knew what the cause of the accident was, Mr. Peter Obi was in the media blaming bad roads, insecurity and the government for the accident. What on earth would insecurity have to do with an accident on the road, if not coming from a man who is bent on turning every incident to a negative campaign against the sitting government? In his words, he said though he did not know yet what caused the accident but he was sure it would be a bad road; and he began to, as usual, berate the government and present himself as a saint and messiah who would do better! The same accident, we were later informed, was caused by a truck overtaking in a wrong manner.
Peter Obi got it wrong in 2023; he took the wrong turn, thinking he could warm his way into the hearts of Nigerians and win the presidential election by spewing wrong data that posted a bad image of the country and literally comparing the country to de-market it. And now, going to Canada to continue the demarketing onslaught against the soul of the country is an act taken too far and one that needs to be discouraged. We, no doubt, have our peculiar problems as a nation. But truth be told, we are taking bold and decisive moves to work them out, and slowly we are beginning to see positive outcomes. A patriotic citizen would constructively talk about what we are doing and how we could do it better, and not seize every opportunity to enjoy taunting and dishing out negative statements about the nation to stay relevant with his support base.
This is not the time for campaigning. Elections are over and this is time to work to build Nigeria. This is the time for all of us, including those in the opposition, to contribute positively and constructively to the task of nation building. Peter Obi throwing caution to the wind and making unguarded statements and speeches on issues is nothing but an expression of a man who is bereft of advisers and who takes critical decisions without critical analysis. For all reasonable and logical thinking Nigerians, we have already seen again the pointer that we cannot afford to make the mistake of allowing such a person anywhere closer to the seat of power of the country.
It is the wrong time for campaigning and it is also filled with negative campaign rhetoric. Choosing campaign advertising and speeches that directly serves as an attack on every policy direction, record and opinion of the sitting government without bothering to analyse or even conduct a decent fact-finding and talk from an informed position is unbecoming of a presidential hopeful.
I can authoritatively conclude that Peter Obi and his Obedient mob have become the attention-seeking pack who are dumb, purposely and antagonistically performative and whose actions and utterances are not designed to help the country or anyone but themselves and their chosen leader. Or else, how on earth would Peter Obi be the only person who is right and cannot be wrong? Deportations done by him was right. Demolition to make way for road constructions done by him was right. Only roads constructed by him serve public good. Only the state workers strike action allowed by him is understandable. It is only the state funds domiciled in banks where he has interests that do not qualify as corruption, and money found in his convoy would not be regarded as money laundering.
Who are the people advising Peter Obi? There is the common saying that too much of everything is bad. He may think that he is being wise by frequently issuing statements on social media which is an important platform in today’s politics, but he may equally be exposing his follies, his inability to grasp national governance and politics. We can only hope he did not also get this advice from a madman!
