Whosoever emerges as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria following Saturday’s elections faces a country more divided, segmented and regionalized since the Civil War.
The elections have been an excellent study in divisions and diversity. The voting patterns differing from weekend to weekend with many hopes dashed and aspirations cast in the bins of history.It is without any scientific calculations that the most prominent contenders for the presidency were sitting president Goodluck Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari. Everyone else was a non-contender from the very beginning.
Whatever the shortcomings of either man, as it is likely to be either of them, the next president must start the process of healing our country with the same determination either one applied into seeking the position.
I am reminded of a conversation about a year ago which I had with my good friend. He was in Abuja and I was in Accra, Ghana. His question to me was what to do about a Jonathan presidency. This was at the height of the nonsense made out of the issue of the non-meritocratic zoning system within the PDP and the natural succession of the then Vice-President to substantial president in the wake of late President Yar’Adua’s absence and subsequent death.
I repeat what my position was. If President Goodluck Jonathan emerges and in whatever he does, he must make sure that he is not viewed as a sectional or regional president. It is easy to try and please ‘your people’ as they look forward to their own opportunity to raid the treasury whilst plunging the whole nation into further crisis.
Perception Management is the greatest task either man’s team would have to undertake. In Nigeria, the situation is whatever the Nigerian thinks it is. Dare you suggest otherwise and the Blood of Jesus and all known and unknown demons would make your position untenable. It is the nature of Nigerians.
If Jonathan emerges, as would be expected unless something incredibly magical happens at this stage, one great value would have come out of the process for me. The whole nonsense of zoning will have no justification in future years.
If Buhari emerges, as the final figures may still prove, the death of the Fear of Incumbency would be the plus. It would say that state treasury or simle campaign donations, anyone can challenge for high office.
Nuhu Ribadu/Fola Adeola ran on a Muslim/Muslim ticket as did the late MKO Abiola. That issue played no part in my opinion in their success or failure. Yet another good thing.
The fact that the electoral body INEC finally got its act together is another plus. The pointers here are that it is possible to reach the utopic plateau of free and fair elections in Nigeria in the nearest future. It is also indicative that an INEC is capable of being truly independent.
The manner in which voters have made their determinations, regardless of the well-documented unscrupulous acts of some as would be expected in Nigeria, shows the growth of the concept of democracy in a largely illiterate country.
The mass participation of Nigerian Youths in the process and the use of electronic media in this new age, was a novelty that is here to stay. Snubbing the future generation of voters, social network platforms and the Nigerians in the Diaspora will be the the risk of the politician from now on.
If the youths themselves can further build on what they have started, they certainly will have to be reckoned with in the future.
Some voted one way on a particular weekend and sought to go the other way the next. In many cases this was contrary to speculations about the influence of parties in certain regions or indeed their godfathers and controllers.
It is also pertinent to note that the appearance on the scene of meaningless personal objectives by way of numerous invisible political parties makes the case for a statutory number of parties in any Nigerian elections.
The purpose of setting up a party to enable a meaningless group receive handouts from the electoral body or position individual egos for recognition in the hope that some relevance will be achieved is clearly defeated.
Whether those in the north voted along religious or sectional lines or whether those in the south voted blindly, we have succeeded in defining clear lines of division that will not help either man on the seat.
Convincing either group of supporters from either region that their man won or lost would be a matter of conjecture and beer-parlour trivia.
It is no longer important who won or who rigged or who did not show up at the big dance.
The lessons learnt by all parties and participants should form the jump off point for repairing the nation.
Lest we pretend that we are there yet, it must be said that the 2011 General Elections have laid the foundations for more credible elections come 2015 with more credible and more active participation of many who shunned politics and leadership thinking it was a game for layabouts who have no other chances of success in the real world.
Over to you Mr. President.
What do you think?
