2023 presents for Nigerians a choice between orchestrated power-shift and merit-driven power pursuit.
By Nchee Nwabunnia
The popular saying that power is taken and not given does not completely imply that power can only be attained through the instrumentality of raw muscles or street brawls. It rather means that one has to demonstrate his desire to fight sufficiently for what he believes in.
In the build-up to the 2023 general election, the Igbo political elite put up bold attempts and visible efforts to participate in the presidential primaries of the leading political parties. They put up commendable pressure on their parties to concede their presidential slots to the South East geo-political zone. But they were frustrated by cocktails of intrigues in the parties.
For the henchmen of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), their desire to wrestle power, having been in the opposition for nearly eight years, was according to them above zoning. To them, their interest is about who will win the election, irrespective of where he comes from. For that, they settled for Atiku Abubakar.
In my opinion, this is subjective. I believe so because a Peter Obi from the South East is currently more popular than an Atiku Abubakar from the North East, at least, going by several online polls, currently trending. The immediate deduction is that the PDP’s decision was not based on good intentions.
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The bad blood that arose from the party’s primary election has further elucidated the fact that the party leaders were entirely on a selfish pursuit rather than national coherence. While Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike saw the need to see power shift to the South, he never saw the need for power to shift to South East, the only Southern region that has not had a go at the presidency since the PDP agreed on power sharing.
Atiku on the other hand felt that this is his last chance, considering the fact that he will be too old in the next eight years. As a result, he threw courtesy to the wind, put his political machinery to bear and bamboozled his way through. The last minute withdrawal of Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, from the presidential primary and collapsing his structure into Atiku’s was a clear case of conspiracy against the South. The role of the national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu in the outcome of the convention, was also questionable.
This is the crux of Gov Wike’s grouse with Atiku and the party leadership. The selection of Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa over Wike as a running mate to Atiku would not have been an issue but for the initial maneuver against the Rivers governor. That is, assuming Wike also had genuine intentions for the party.
On the part of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the convention would have been an opportunity for the President, Muhammadu Buhari to demonstrate a pan-Nigeria outing and put behind his clannish tendencies as manifested especially in his lopsided appointment. In the eyes of many Nigerians, the regime is mostly bias, nepotistic and insensitive to all issues of national unity – an impression that has cost the party enormous goodwill.
Projecting a presidential candidate of South East extraction would have been a loud way of showcasing statesmanship by the APC leadership. Credit goes to the party for yielding to power shift to the South but succumbing to Bola Tinubu’s ‘e mi lekon’ theory made mess of the final step to equity.
Those who hinged their support for Tinubu’s candidacy on his political sagacity refused to listen to sense of reason and reality. Today, the reality of Tinubu’s ‘age’, doubtful academic credentials and continuous visitation to London for obvious health reasons are pointers to a repeat of history. Is this what Nigerians truly need at this point of our national history?
If power resides with the people, it is time for them to seek for the best and most qualified candidate; a candidate who has the strength of character, energy, knowledge and experience to steer the ship of Nigeria to the desired destination.
Tribalism has failed Nigeria, nepotism has failed us, PDP has failed us, APC is failing us. Right in the face of a near hopeless situation, divine intervention has made the impossible possible. The emergence of Peter Obi through Labour Party and the associated factors of character and credibility, are pointers to the fact that Nigeria has a hope of being remedied. A limited choice of Atiku and Tinubu would have left Nigerians with nothing – a case of standing between the devil and the deep blue sea. Now that we have a good choice, let us jump at it. Obi’s unique emergence, propelled by the forces of the masses, brings to the fore a choice between orchestrated power-shift and a merit-driven power pursuit. Settling for the latter option, settles it.
Nchee Nwabunnia writes from Lagos.
