IN NIGERIA, EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE PRESIDENT: 2019 Election In Perspective

As Nigeria is inching towards her next general election come February 2019, it is no news that the country is going to witness a flood of presidential candidates which is looking like the highest numbers in the fifty eight years as an independent country and in the almost twenty years of returning to the civil rule. Of recent, a lot of Nigerians have been throwing their hat into the ring of presidency signifying their intention to become the next ruler of world largest black African country.

From my own calculation and counting, the number of presidential candidates are more than 50 due to the large number of political parties as released by INEC, (this was witnessed in the just concluded governorship election in Osun State where the number of contestants was the largest in the history of governorship election in Nigeria), here are some of their names and the political party platform upon which they are vying for the position: . President Muhammadu Buhari - 1. All Progressives Congress (APC); 2. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar - Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); 3. Donald Duke - Social Democratic Party (SDP); 4. Kingsley Moghalu - Young Progressive Party (YPP); 5. Obiageli Ezekwesili - Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN); 6. Fela Durotoye - Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN); 7. Omoyele Sowore - African Action Congress (AAC); 8. Tope Fasua - Abundance Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP); 9. Eunice Atuejide - National Interest Party (NIP); 10. Olusegun Mimiko - Zenith Labour Party (ZLP); 11. Adesina Fagbenro-Byron - Kowa Party (KP); 12. Chike Ukaegbu - Advanced Allied Party (AAP); 13. Hamza Al-Mustapha - People's Party of Nigeria (PPN); 14. Alistair Soyode - Yes Electorates Solidarity (YES); 15. Obadiah Mailafia - African Democratic Congress (ADC); 16. Ahmed Buhari - Sustainable National Party (SNP); 17. Usman Ibrahim Alhaji - National Rescue Movement (NRM); 18. Eniola Ojajuni - Alliance for Democracy (AD); 19. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim - Alliance for People's Trust; 20. John Ogbor - All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) 21. Edozie Madu - Independent Democrats (ID); 22. Williams Awosola - Democratic People’s Congress (DPC); 23. Habu Aminchi - Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM); 24. Yabagi Sani - Action Democratic Party (ADP); 25. Moses Shipi - All Blending Party (ABP); 26. Peter Nwangwu - We the People of Nigeria (WTPN); 27. Dr Rabia Cengiz - The National Action Council (NAC); 28. Isaac Ositelu - Accord Party; 29. Davidson Akhimien - Grassroots Development Party of Nigeria (GDPN); 30. Alhaji Yahaya Ndu - African Renaissance Party (ARP); 31. Sunday Chukwu-Eguzolugo of Justice Must Prevail Party (JMPP); 32. Hamisu Santuraki - Mega Party of Nigeria (MPN); 33. Fidelis Akhahomen - Young Democratic Party (YDP). 

The number of presidential candidates as I highlighted above are very big, however as good as this looks like, we have to tell ourselves the home truth that many of these gentlemen and ladies vying for this position are jokers, pretenders and just doing this for cheap publicity and popularity. It is a known fact that many of these people would not have up to a thousand vote at the closing of the ballot considering the dynamics of politics in Nigeria, every right thinking Nigerian knows that the 2019 presidential election is a straightforward tango between the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku. With this, it is safe to say that others are just making the numbers such that we will have a longer ballot paper, just like the typical betting slips on the election day.

Meanwhile, how nice would it have been if these charismatic, energetic, resourceful and no-nonsense personality like Omoyele Sowore, Obiageli Ezekwesili, Donald Duke and Professor Oluremi Sonaiya could end up in the hallowed chamber of the Nigerian Senate or House of Representatives, instead of the current set of senators we are parading who have made name for themselves as the most slumbering and highest paid in the world with nothing to show for it at the end of the day. 

Many of these people who are in reality a paperweights as far as the presidential election is concerned, would have done better as a member of parliament. This could be by way of their national issue articulation and debate in the chamber, which would have met the international standards of legislation instead of the current charade and show of shame that has become the symbol of our parliaments.

These joking candidates are just wasting the good bullets that should have been used to raise the bar of legislation in Nigeria and in the lives of Nigerians, they are also going to rob this country of her best hands and brain as far as legislation is concerned. It is safe to say that these so called presidential candidates are going to lose the election big time and we will have to wait for another four years in which governors who are completing their two-terms of eight years would have populated the Senate as well as having as many stooges and proxies in the House of Representatives. This is bad for us as a country of 180 million citizens and it is a double-jeopardy because the pillar upon which democracy is standing on, is being managed by character-barren individuals.

Some of the candidates are only visible on the pages of newspapers and social media. Their gameplan is simple, they just want to use the presidential candidature title to boost their Curriculum Vitae .

Finally, the question begging for answer is that what sort of deliberations, debates and legislation should we be expecting from a governor who ran his state aground, who made his state worse than he met it. This is the reason why the parliament in a saner climes parades the best of hands and brains.


Image credit goes to: 👇https://pr24security.com/index.php/2018/10/10/nigerias-2019-presidential-election-a-game-of-permutations/

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