2023: Nigerians to find answers to their problems

As Nigerian election campaigns for the 2023 general election gather momentum, one factor seems to have emerged. It is the fact that the race to become the next president is no longer a race between the ruling APC and the former ruling party PDP, but a separate three-horse race.

This third force is the Labor Party (LP) symbolized by Mr. Peter Obi. Listen to people on why a noticeable number of them are willing to consider an alternative outside of APC and PDP; the overwhelming response was "we are TIRED and have had ENOUGH of the same selfish individuals, and monumental thefts administered by both the PDP and the APC."

Two questions arise from the above answers. They are: why are Nigerians tired and looking for a real alternative to the PDP and the APC? Second, where is or what is this alternative?

Answering the first question will require providing a full account of the abuses of power and failure of governance by APC and PDP. Given the space constraint, this cannot be done here. All that will be provided is a brief summary of why Nigerians are asking for a new order. First, it is believed that for 23 years, Nigerians have been struggling for the meaning of civilian rule – democracy, which neither the PDP nor the APC have been able to deliver. Since 1999, Nigerians have witnessed regularly rigged elections with their votes routinely rendered void as it has no effect on who comes to power but are forced to look at those who came to power through illegitimate means treat the public treasury as their personal gift.

The worst thefts and abuses are said to be committed by governors, who run their states with absolute power. They have a rigid grip on their state treasury and treat it as their personal piggy bank. Moreover, the most criminal among them totally control the political processes in their domain. Who becomes a member of their house of assembly, which they dominate, and who becomes a member of national assemblies is entirely their choice. The presidents of their local government come under their personal patronage. They hire and fire local government presidents at will.

Not satisfied with their anti-democratic practices, Nigerian governors bullied their House of Assembly into enacting laws guaranteeing that after leaving office, their pension is equal to 90% of their salary and benefits while in office, whatever other political office they may hold after serving as governors. For this reason, the majority of them who have retired to the Senate Chamber receive double pay, in addition to the benefits they give themselves. All at the expense of the poor starving masses. These actions fall within their definition of democracy offered to Nigerians. Quite simply - a parody.

Apart from the betrayal actions of governors, no public institution in Nigeria thrives.

The public education system has virtually collapsed. Primary and secondary education has been entirely contracted out to private individuals. As a result, the country has the highest number of out-of-school children in the world. There is no will on the part of the various governments to enroll children and improve the level of education in the country. Public universities, from which most people in power have benefited, are perpetually closed by strikes. Until two months ago and in times of peace, public universities were closed for nine consecutive months, with the government in no hurry to reopen schools, but happy to create opportunities for idle youngsters to indulge in criminal behavior.

Of course, they are aware that those who have managed to graduate have no prospect of getting a job, but with a life abundant in alienation. The only functioning universities are mostly private universities, including those built and owned by former government officials who stole from the federal or state governments.

Economically, the country has been lying on its back for years. Weak attempts by the government to use economic jargon and fake statistics to downplay the country's difficult economic conditions continue to fail to hide the realities of ordinary people's lives. The daily struggle to feed themselves, clothe themselves and have a roof over their heads has been nothing but a crushing experience for ordinary citizens under the PDP and APC administrations. Neither side has ever shown any serious will to pursue economic development policies.

The tragedy of poverty in Nigeria is that it is a deliberate state policy. The reasons behind the senseless theft of public money by political actors, apart from greed, is to subject Nigerians to rent seeking and begging for survival. Nigeria's economic philosophy is based on rents and clientelism. The bastardization of the economy by political elites is probably a better illustration...