"Umoru", evils, lies and abuse, on Nigeria's road to perdition, By Uddin Ifeanyi

In the face of the many ills plaguing the economy, the leading presidential candidates in next year's elections could not have served as more disturbing metaphors. Whether it's the sight of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate pedaling furiously on an exercise bike, or the People's Democratic Party (PDP) candidate striding in front of multi-station gym equipment, the sense was of the usual Nigerian predisposition to "major over minor"!

Even then, there was more to the videos released by campaign teams from both parties as an argument for their qualification for office than our proven preference to religiously address isolated episodes of ringworm infestation in the context of a leprosy epidemic would recommend. Concerns have been expressed about the quality of campaigns by all political parties so far. Untruths pushed against intemperate language in an unsightly carousel that belies our favorite description of the self: a people whose culture shuns the rude. In that sense, we just seem to reflect the temperament and pace of politics in the age of social media.

If the truth still matters, however, which of the many versions of it trampled upon by campaign committees matters most? Arguably, the inability of these forums to describe their respective remedies for the woes of the economy—unemployment, inflation, monetization of the national deficit—may be indicative of various levels of incompetence. But this is not, ipso facto, a lie. Yet it is important. Politics may always have economics for breakfast, but isn't this process the root of our continued underdevelopment? If a healthy economy says a lot about the health of a country, should we allow politics of misrepresentation and abuse to push the conversation about the economy out of the living room?

The answer to this question may be obvious. But there was little acknowledgment of that fact in the now-viral exercise videos of presidential candidates. And truth be told, none of the videos had anything to do with the contestants' respective health concerns. Was "Umoru" ill when then-President Obasanjo gave him his now infamous call? When did "Umoru" actually die? History suggests, given the nature of the pathology to which President Umaru Yar-Adua ultimately succumbed, that the answers to both of these questions are "Yes" and "Long before his entourage deigned to inform the country".< /p>

As with pregnancy, whether or not a candidate for public office is physically fit is a binary question. You can't be half pregnant. Despite the often vicious arguments about the health of our presidential candidates, it looks like we'll have to wait for time to pass on this. As with the Yoruba, according to which two people cannot collectively give up the truth (either the liar is aware of his concealment or the person being lied to is), time has a way of uncovering untruths.

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In other words, the videos have everything to do with what we have become. As Americans put it, they trusted American institutions to respond well to President Donald Trump's fiery efforts to remake the country in his image. And across the country—from the vice president, through the courts, to the electoral process in the states—these institutions first wavered and then crumbled. Responding to the American example, Nigerians insist that the political and economic redemption of emerging economies such as ours will depend on our ability to strengthen similarly placed institutions.

Just like the strong, however, institutions are not stronger than the men who hold them. Men of character and courage (of their beliefs more than anything else) are more likely to hold forts than those of a thief, liar, and autocratic ilk. These videos may not tell us how healthy our eventual president is. But around these candidates are those who know the truth. Unfortunately, the videos don't talk about whether these courtiers are people of character and courage, or the thief, liar and autocratic kind.

Fortunately, we cannot put up videos to hide the fact that our economy is very sick. We can only hope that because parts of our political class are regaining their backbones, we will hand the rearing of it over the next year to those with good intentions and who have both the sense and the courage to fix it. .

Uddin Ifeanyi, a failed journalist and retired civil servant, can be contacted @IfeanyiUddin.