Amidst the rumbles of the upcoming 2019 general elections, in the hope of electing a new President for the most populous country in Africa and the 7th most populous country in the world, with an estimated population of
| 200,962,417 and a yearly change of 2.60 percent [ according to worldometers ]. Nigerians all over the world [ including the international community] are very much concerned with the outcome of the upcoming general elections on Saturday, the 16th of February, this year. Meanwhile, The Guardian Newspaper, London, published a very interesting article on Monday, the 11th of February, 2019. The article read thus; |
Nigeria’s 84 million voters will go to the polls next weekend to give their verdict on Muhammadu Buhari. The country is Africa’s most populous, and by some measures has the largest economy on the continent. Nigeria celebrated Mr Buhari’s election in 2015 as not only a resounding rejection of the unpopular Goodluck Jonathan but also the first democratic transition since the return of civilian rule in 1999.
Unfortunately, the highlight of Mr Buhari’s presidency appears to have been the gaining of it. The economy struggles, and his pledges to curb rampant corruption have been applied to political opponents. Insecurity remains a pressing issue: notably, Boko Haram appears to be resurging despite the government’s repeated assurances that it has beaten the extremist group, and a spreading herder-farmer conflict has killed thousands. The president’s extended absence overseas, for medical treatment, prompted such persistent rumours of his death and replacement by a body double that he felt obliged to tell voters: “It’s the real me, I assure you.”
A country with a median age of 18 faces, it would appear, an uninspiring choice between two septuagenarian political veterans. The slate of candidates is lengthy – helped by a 2018 reform which lowered the age limit for presidential candidates to 35 from 40. But the only serious rival to Mr Buhari and his All Progressives Congress party is the business tycoon and former vice-president Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic party. Both men are Fulani Muslims from the north, and have chosen running mates from the south. Mr Buhari headed the military junta in the 1980s and now describes himself as a “converted democrat”. But Mr Abubakar has won the backing of an influential bloc including former military heads of state. Supporters portray him as an energetic contrast to the ineffective incumbent; opponents highlight corruption allegations, including a 2010 US Senate report which said that he and one of his wives had wired $40m of “suspect funds” into American accounts. Mr Abubakar denies the claims.- The Guardian UK, Monday, 11th February, 2019.
While it is obvious that neither of the candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the former ruling Peoples Democratic Party is capable of making Nigeria a nation to be proud of in the league of developed nations.
Omoyele Sowore, of the African Action Congress, AAC is the only Presidential candidate among all, that is prepared and determined to make Nigeria the true giant of Africa and a country to be reckoned with in the world, especially in the United Nations and among developed countries of the world.
AAC; TAKE IT BACK!!!