The action of the All Progressives Congress to pull out General Muhammadu Buhari may have come as a disappointment to the fans and followers of the General. While intellectuals and "sane" Nigerians are anticipating a debate between the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan and General Buhari, it should be noted that a debate will only allow for sweet talks, sentiments and empty confidence on 'achievements', but it will not determine how the tenure of the eventual winner would be at the end.


Other than the fact that the debate will not tell or determine we would be led at the long run, it will not also mean a thing to a large part of the body of the country. Reasons for this are best known to those who have made up their minds concerning the forth coming elections. Some are;


1. Those who live below a dollar per day: A debate does not mean a thing to these set of people. They are not interested in how politicians map out their plans and explain how they fit into the plans of these politicians. They believe they have been neglected and if you ask any of them, they'll tell you their only wish is that the government of the day should be voted out and nothing more. To them, Goodluck Jonathan has nothing to say but lies and vain promises; anyone but the present administration will do for them.

2. Religious bigots: Debate or not, a Christian/Muslim bigot would only want someone who shares the same religious ideology to be their leader. They are never interested in what politicians have in store for them. Christians fall more under the category as they believe the emergence of an Islamic leader could mean Islamization to the nation. Hence, the need to re-elect Goodluck Jonathan, irrespective of his competence or incompetence.

3. Tribal Bigots: One of the problems most politicians have battled with overtime is this; they must break barriers and try to connect with people of this group who believe they must be represented at the top come what may. A staunch Hausa man may not be moved with the debate issues, just as a staunch Igbo/South-South man would gladly prefer their own over General Muhammadu Buhari.

4. Average Nigerians: Average Nigerians may decide to try another person for a change since the last five years have produced nothing to them. Hence, the need for President Jonathan to show up at any of the debates would mean nothing. 2011 comes to mind here as Goodluck Jonathan boycotted a debate while Buhar, Ribadu and Shekarau listed their agenda for the country, and at the long run, Jonathan won by a landslide having debated D'banj 'succesfully'. Does this mean a thing then?

5. To the crème de la crème: Whatever happens, most of the people who fall into this class may never want General Buhari to get there at all cost, as they have benefited from the present administration, one way or the other. I believe this could explain why President Jonathan met with Dangote, Otedola, others in Lagos, just few days ago. Given the record of the General and his plans on imprisoning looters and enemies of the country, a debate would still not count in this regard because interests must be protected, come what may.

6.Those who are yet to choose a candidate: I believe the debate would enable people who belong to this group choose whom they think is best for them, since they are more concerned with the several agenda of each candidate.

As much as I'm still hoping for a debate, my mind is made on whom to vote at the polls, having experienced five years under the present administration. The same could be said for almost every conscious Nigerian. Either way, the aforementioned have defined who the populace would vote for at the polls. When Jonathan decided to ignore the 2011 debate, the heavens didn't fall and his followers rather enjoyed his time-out the D'banj. I believe the heavens would not fall still if GMB boycotts every debate available. Past records of these politicians is enough to debate. There are facts, figures, achievements and major flaws and a debate will not suffice in covering them up.

And to those who say the General cannot speak for more than two minutes, here's a video where the he was interviewed by Channels TV on 'Politics Today'. I guess a 9 minutes interview is still not enough?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LI9PxgWXVk