ELECTION OUTCOMES IN NIGERIA: THE LESSON FROM YAR'ADUA.

Today is a Sunday in Nigeria. As usual almost everyone of the Christian fold will be heading for one church or the other.
Most times, a Sunday provides an opportunity for Christians to review their relationship with their creator and also confess their wrong doings especially within the ending week.
As Christians there are many virtues and tenets that we uphold, even equating them as all being important.
And that's why we say that all sins are equal. Even the sins of consciously lieing. Many of us can easily claim that everyone lies. But that everybody does it, doesn't make it a no or less sin.
Last year was an electioneering year in Nigeria, and as usual politicians campaigned through all the nook and cranny of the country making gigantic promises. However, we can't ascertain whether the promises would turn out to me mere lies until the end of their four years in office.
Historically, elections in Nigeria have always been associated with widespread electoral malpractices, thuggery and various dimension of violence. Many politicians in Nigeria have benefited from this evil, without ever acknowledging the ills that characterised the various elections that brought them to political office. This ofcourse is another usual lie prevalent in Nigeria. But how do we easily sell off our consciences just because of our greedy desires. To show how unrepentant we could be, even after leaving office, we still shut our consciences and never acknowledge anything wrong with the elections.
Since the history of elections in Nigeria, only former president Shehu Musa Yar'Adua of blessed memory was able to free his conscience by openly acknowledging that the election that brought him to office as Nigeria's president, that was even affirmed by the Supreme Court was flayed with many irregularities, violence, malpractices and other ills far against international standards for free and fair elections. Many of his party men were mad at him for his strange sincerity. But that was a man of immeasurable integrity and untainted conscience. Unfortunately enough, He wasn't a Christian. Against Yar'Adua's position, former Presidents Obasanjo and Jonathan never saw anything wrong with their elections. Even our current President Buhari. Though the 2015 Presidential election was adjudged to be relatively credible , we can't close our conscience and lie that all was well with that election especially as we all know of widespread violence and escalating and unrealistic figures especially from the South and East.
No doubt, the elections may have come and gone, even with the highest court of the land upholding many elections that never gives uncompromising justice to our conscience, yet we just have to bear that brunt of injustice justice.
Even after been sure that our victories may never be challenged until the expiration of our first tenure, isn't it time for us to purge our conscience and tell the world the truth?
My own state, Rivers State is a major course of concern to me. The whole world was aware of all that transpired before, during and after the 2015 General Elections in Rivers. Even if the Supreme Court have disappointed many people of good conscience worldwide, wouldn't it be wound-healing if those that benefited from that bloody path to political offices accept the reality of the elections?
Even if we hide it from man, obviously we can never hide it from God as He is undoubtedly the Omniscient God.
This Sunday provides an opportunity for us to give up on our lies especially about election outcome and confess before God and Man so as to gain God's forgiveness, Man's forgiveness and free and regain our consciences.
Yar'Adua provides the greatest example in this regards.
Happy Sunday Friends.

Suanu Prince Pyagbara
Twitter - @Princely_Suanu
PortHarcourt
31/1/2016
Source:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10153901949835818&id=503930817&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.10153901949835818%3Atl_objid.10153901949835818%3Athid.503930817%3A306061129499414%3A2%3A0%3A1454313599%3A-1459388205784341256&__tn__=%2As

Do we really learn?

A man that publicly acknowledged the irregularities in the election that brought him to power is a true man of integrity unlike some self-acclaimed ones.

The death of that man Yar'adua really had a bad impact on us as a country. I still miss him.

Nigeria never learn from history, it's like madness, church baptism/anointing no dey comot am.