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Opposition And 2015 By Charles Ofoji

June 10, 2013

No one needs to consult the oracle to know that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan will seek re-election as president in 2015. Otherwise, by now, he will have put it beyond doubt that he will not contest. We would have also seen an heir apparent to the presidential throne. Therefore, the indices categorically show that Jonathan will present himself for a second mandate. Whether he gets it or not is what is open to prediction. A recent catalogue of Jonathan's accomplishments in his first two years in office showcases abysmal poor performance. Normally, based on that, no sane person can approach the electorate for another four years.

No one needs to consult the oracle to know that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan will seek re-election as president in 2015. Otherwise, by now, he will have put it beyond doubt that he will not contest. We would have also seen an heir apparent to the presidential throne. Therefore, the indices categorically show that Jonathan will present himself for a second mandate. Whether he gets it or not is what is open to prediction. A recent catalogue of Jonathan's accomplishments in his first two years in office showcases abysmal poor performance. Normally, based on that, no sane person can approach the electorate for another four years.



Yes, Nigerians are in one mind that this president is a disappointment. But to be able to reject Jonathan in 2015, Nigerians need the availability of a better option. In the fourth Republic, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) has won all national elections. The opposition has always alleged foul play. Be this true or false, the truth of the matter is that lack of credible opposition has facilitated PDP steely grip on power. An opposition party with national appeal is lacking. The stature of existing opposition parties is less than what is required to be in the same league as PDP – talk less of wrestling power from it.

Nigerians are tired of PDP. It appears that the party is taking the country to nowhere. Under its leadership, the nation is decaying. Since 1999, in moves to oust the PDP from power, we have seen merger talks and merger collapses. But the February merger of four opposition parties into the All Progressive Congress (APC) seems to be the most serious. It is an alliance of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). “We are resolved to merge forthwith ….and offer to our beleaguered people a recipe for peace and prosperity, according to a statement released by the parties then. However, the big question is: would that recipe be a solution to PDP dominance?

It seems that God cursed Nigeria with bad leadership. Since 1966, the country has been plagued by leaders who put themselves before the people. The result is that so many Nigerians have lived and died like animals. They never one day got a taste of a decent life. And the sad thing is that more are still living a life meant only for animals and will also die, living that life. In the midst of plenty, a callous elite has denied the people a life. As a result of self-serving leadership, the destiny of Nigeria got twisted.

The leadership of president Jonathan is not different from those before him. Despite the promise of change, it has remained business as usual. Public discontent over PDP's 14 years leadership is at a breaking point. Nigerians are looking for genuine leaders who will rescue them from PDP mortal affliction. But do they see them in the people offering themselves under the APC platform?

The trouble with the APC thing is that it consists of members who the PDP has defeated in the past. They were not acceptable to the people. So would they now be acceptable to the masses merely because they have crossed carpet? No. More so, when the signs are that APC may adopt Buhari as its presidential candidate. Rt. General Buhari is a patriot, who wishes the best for his country and the downtrodden. Nonetheless, it is undeniable that in a multi-ethnic country like ours, he is a divisive figure and not marketable across the core North. I guess his undoing is that he failed to grasp that no matter how good one's intentions are, a politician has to guard his utterances. His recent criticism of the crackdown on Boko Haram and statement that militancy started in the Niger Delta is unwise of someone who is aspiring to become the president of all.

This apart, what is needed to defeat the PDP is the emergence of an unblemished charismatic person, who the people could trust. I had just left High School when Buhari and fellow coup plotters overthrew the government of President Shehu Shagari. Almost 30 years after, now a full-fledged man, the same person still wants to lead the nation. No matter how you look at it, something is wrong with that ambition. In fact, it is an insult to people of my generation. It also means that the country has not progressed politically.

The people in APC's  front row is all of the same people who could not give PDP a good fight since 1999. And so long as they don't take a back seat, PDP may remain in power beyond 2015.

What is needed to uproot PDP is not change of colour, slogan or position. It demands something extraordinary. A mass movement is needed. These APC front-liners can not inspire that. You wont sack a ruling party by merely criticising it, even when it is superfluous. You have to offer sometime better. Nigerians are desperately looking for a face of new Nigeria; the Nigeria of their dreams. So far, I have not seen that face.


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The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of SaharaReporters
 

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