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President Jonathan's And Buhari's Empty Presidential Campaigns By Nonyelum Ekwempu

January 15, 2015

The election is more than soaring political rhetoric, and tired melodramatic Nollywood-like narratives of one-time “shoelessness” and life as a young military officer. It transcends the religious and the ethnic backgrounds of the candidates and their running mates. At stake is the collective intertwined fate of every single Nigerian, rich and poor, young and old, Northerner and Southerner, Christian and Muslim, and everything in-between. And so before we cast our votes, we deserve to know in clear and concrete terms how each candidate intends to manage this collective future.

In a few weeks, Nigerians will head to the polls to cast their votes for either President Goodluck Jonathan or Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential election. But what exactly would we be voting for? It’s hard to tell, given that both candidates are running campaigns that are extensively vague and abstract on their agendas for Nigeria, and heavily dependent on religious and ethnic divisions. Both campaigns have failed to lay out their specific plans and ideas for how to lead the country forward. This is concerning because Nigeria’s problems are concrete, enormous, and urgent. And they require a visionary leader with a strategy to steer the country on a path towards economic prosperity, peace, and stability.

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I was reminded of the urgency of the nation’s problems when an old classmate posted pictures of our federal government school on Facebook. Not much had changed in the 10 years since I graduated. Everything looked as though they had been frozen in time since the days when I walked the halls as a 10 year old girl in an oversized pinafore and later as a senior girl in a green skirt and white shirt.

In the pictures were overcrowded and disorganized classrooms with old and broken desks and chairs; windowless windows to keep neither the harmattan cold nor the heavy downpours of rainy seasons out; classroom and laboratory buildings without restrooms or clean water supply; and a rundown library with barely any books or tables and chairs for students to study at. Picture after picture showed neglect and decay. I wondered how any learning could take place in such an environment.

Unfortunately, this pattern of neglect, decline, and mismanagement is not unique to my secondary school. Most government funded primary and secondary schools and universities across the country lack the necessary infrastructure needed to foster bright ideas and facilitate learning. Little wonder why year after year, more than two-thirds of secondary school students who sit for the WAEC exams – the country’s college entrance exams – fail to meet the minimum passing scores. What future does Nigeria have when the young minds of tomorrow’s leaders are not being adequately developed to address the challenges of the 21st century? 

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The situation is even more dire in higher education where lengthy strikes frequently punctuate students’ studies, leaving them idle for several months and a threat to our national security. Compounding the problem is the high unemployment rate among college graduates. In March, over half a million young Nigerians registered to participate in a one day recruiting event with the Nigeria Immigration Service. There were only 4,556 job openings. More than ten people lost their lives in the chaos that ensued at the recruiting sites across the country. This is the bleak backdrop against which the campaigns are taking place, and just a few of the many problems that plague the country.

As I looked at the pictures of my former school, I was reminded of the importance of this election. It transcends a power struggle between an established political powerhouse and a rising new opposition. The election is more than soaring political rhetoric, and tired melodramatic Nollywood-like narratives of one-time “shoelessness” and life as a young military officer. It transcends the religious and the ethnic backgrounds of the candidates and their running mates. At stake is the collective intertwined fate of every single Nigerian, rich and poor, young and old, Northerner and Southerner, Christian and Muslim, and everything in-between. And so before we cast our votes, we deserve to know in clear and concrete terms how each candidate intends to manage this collective future.

President Goodluck Jonathan has shown over the last 4 years that he is incapable of challenging the status quo. His presidency has been marked by endless corruption, human rights violations, violence, and an astonishing absence of leadership. His handling of Boko Haram and the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls is one prominent example of his leadership ineptitude. It is hard to imagine him sinking to lower levels of incompetence and cluelessness, as he already occupies the lowest rungs. And there is little hope that he will suddenly find the torch of leadership if elected to another term. But his main opposition, Mohammadu Buhari, who is running on an exaggerated image as a calm but strong-handed reformer, has yet to prove that he is a better alternative.

Nigerians shouldn’t have to piece together fragmented ideas of Buhari’s plan for the country based on his past as a former military dictator in the 1980s. The world has changed dramatically over the last three decades. The strategies that worked then may not be nearly as successful at tackling today’s socioeconomic and geopolitical issues. What innovative policies does he have to deal with not only education and youth unemployment, but also healthcare, child marriage, Boko Haram, corruption, environmental protection, and economic development?  As a military head of state who came to power through a coup, what is his commitment to democracy, human rights, and free speech?

Nigerians need to be assured that their votes will not buy them stale 1980s ideas wrapped in a shiny new APC wrapping paper. (Campaign against indiscipline, anyone?) But when we fail to ask the candidates clarifying questions about their agendas for Nigeria, when we fail to hold them accountable for their past records as national leaders, we become complicit in their incompetence. Unfortunately, we alone suffer the consequences.

Nonyelum Ekwempu is a culture and politics writer. Follower her on Twitter @nonysart.

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