The Bane of Nigeria's Political Growth.

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar (Left) and President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on June 16, 2015

The upcoming Nigerian presidential election is obviously going to be a political tug of war between Buhari, the incumbent and Atiku, a former vice president. One of the factors that are making this election so interesting is the fact that both candidates are from the North. Both of them are Moslems. They are both Fulanis. And they are both politically smart enough to pick southern Christians as running mates. Besides rigging, each candidate will need to identify and sharpen his cutting edge or some unique selling point to outwit the other to achieve victory. 

It would have been really nice to see and hear the two men participate in a public debate except that Buhari has already excused himself. Yet, there are certain salient issues of national interest, the tackling of which, are better articulated openly by each of the candidates, and not their “spokespersons”. Among these issues are the downward-spiraling economy, epileptic power supply, Corruption (in broad context) and crumbling education. 

Sadly however, most supporters of these two candidates are too fanatical to care a hoot about the national interest. To them, the election is like the English Premier Football League or UEFA Championship while their parties are the favorite football teams. Irrespective of the quality of the teams’ performances, these people remain stuck in their love for them. And this is the bane of Nigerian political growth.