Presidential 2023: losers and winners

Don't you know that those who run in a race all run, but only one gets the prize? Run therefore, in order to obtain - 1 Corinthians 9:24

The word of God is true and cannot be broken. Anyone who pays attention to this, whether Christian, Muslim or unbeliever, will find God true to his word. It is therefore not for fun that the Scripture says that God honors his word more than he honors his name. Let's try to apply the word of God above to the 2023 presidential election that just ended. Eighteen candidates ran in the last presidential race, but the writing above indicates that only one of them will be crowned the winner. Didn't that happen? Isn't it true that only one of them will receive the prize, which is the presidential crown? This is the first truth that anyone in the race should have understood: only one person will win; not two and not three. So you have to remember from day one that only one person will win the race. If you're lucky, you'll be the only one; otherwise it will be someone else.

The scriptures do not expect you to view the race as a race to the death or a battle to the death. There is life after racing. But because of the importance of running, God advises you to “run like this”; in other words, run this race so as to “get” (the prize). Put everything you have into this race; do not pull punches; be diligent; concentrate; bend over backwards and always keep in mind that only one person will “get” the prize. Only one out of 18 candidates will win the presidential race and become president of Nigeria and this candidate is the one who “runs like this”; who runs better than all the others; who meets conditions that others did not or could not meet; or who makes the fewest mistakes. It is he who makes the best race without error or almost without error. Unforced errors, as in the game of lawn tennis, can win an athlete the award. A costly mistake can result in a game and the prize for a football team.

Many thought AtikuAbubakar of the PDP would win the presidential race hands down. He's been in the race far longer than any other competitor; he therefore has experience, which many will agree is the best teacher. With this experience, he overcame the strong challenge of Rivers State Governor NyesomWike in the party primaries. Atiku also served as Vice President for two terms under President Olusegun Obasanjo; we can therefore say that he is the one of the 18 who came closest to the coveted seat of president. This too is a related experience. Advertisement says: You lack related experience but insist you are the best for the job, "who will be your teacher?" Atiku was also said to be the candidate for the presidential cabal and a rump of the so-called “owners” of Nigeria. They were terrific references, but how did Atiku conduct his run? Did he "run so much" that he "got"? Unfortunately, he didn't and it cost him the presidency. His choice of running mate (Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa) was poorly made and disastrously executed. Staying with IyorchiaAyu as PDP chairman made things worse for him. He lost the support of five governors and the people he pitched his tent with – Ayu and Okowa – were clipboard replacements who added little or no electoral value to his campaign. They both lost their state to rival political parties.

Atiku blamed Peter Obi's defection from the PDP for the loss of the PDP. This argument is neither here nor there. It can't be said that Obi's campaign would have gained momentum if he was still under Atiku's shadow. Without Obi, Atiku stood a chance of winning the election if he had the PDP intact; if the G-5 was still in the fold, it would most likely have won the states of Benue, Oyo and Rivers, which Tinubu all won, and that would have seriously exhausted the eventual winner's total vote count. It was an election that Atiku should have won hands down, but he turned out to be the architect of his own destruction. Someone said overconfidence killed him. Another said Nemesis caught up with him. What he did to Jonathan in 2014/2015 when he ousted five rebel PDP governors from the party has come back to haunt him. Why was he also unable to bring Rabiu Kwankwaso to his corner? Someone said that arrogance and foolish pride were responsible. The last election was for Atiku to kill, but he missed it as he ran. He didn't "run so much" to "get"; therefore, it slipped through his fingers.

Peter Obi could also have won the election or, at the very least, forced a rerun, but he too did not "run" to "get" Despite the bravery and razzmatazz that attended the campaign of Obi, I don't think Obi believed deep in his heart that he could win the election. At best, he only wanted to make a statement, be a mess and kill the joy or force a replay and become the next beautiful wife of Nigerian politics after the late Zik. His first missed step was when his alliance talks with Rabiu Kwankwaso failed. A combination of the two men would have led the last election to...