ELECTION 2011: MY CANDIDATE, MY REASON
Attendant with election as an eligible voter is the problem of choosing credible and capable candidates to vote for in the various offices and levels of government. It is encouraging to note that the number of individuals with the ideology that ‘my vote will not count’ is dwindling as a large number is becoming increasingly aware of the need for a better system, economy and government hence, the optimism and clamor for change.
But it takes a patriotic, well informed and positive mind to overlook the general menace of ‘getting paid to vote’, refrain from hooliganism, erase the incumbent power ideology, desist from following the majority and instead, look for means of identifying and then casting their vote for the most suitable candidate.
As this is my first experience of voting, I felt an urge to exercise my fundamental human right which includes the freedom of speech and the right to vote. Consequently, I found myself getting emotional about the state of things in this potentially great country of ours which unconsciously led me to follow the campaign and electioneering process closely, did background research on key candidates most especially the presidential, got involved in youth forums, argued extensively and what all of the above achieved was an informed decision on whom to cast my vote for as the president of our great country Nigeria come April 2011. My reason for choosing this candidate is discussed in the next few paragraphs.
I believe that it is from historical records that judges of character (in this case eligible voters) draw their premise for endorsements. Ribadu (ACN) has served this country in the capacity of a law enforcement officer (Chairman, EFCC). His duty was to investigate and arrest corrupt political office holders and public administrators. To say that he succeeded in this task will be an overstatement as it is unfortunate and at the same time depressing to note that his was an obvious scenario of selective application of justice which from all indications favoured the friends of the government as at then. It was as a result of this that he was tagged by wikileaks as 'a puppet of the last regime'. I believe that the selective application of justice is tantamount to injustice itself and so his anticorruption stand was compromised. It would have been glorious if he had accentuated his integrity and resigned instead of allowing himself to be used as a political errand boy of the then ‘commander-in-chief’. Ribadu has never been an ACN member not until a few months ago and so, he obviously is at the mercy of ACN and has lots of ‘puppet masters’ to report to, I foresee his history been replayed if elected.
Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the incumbent and a member of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP is also a lucky contestant. His party has produced the president since Nigeria transited to a democratic system. It is however unfortunate to note that the persons and party have not been able to solve Nigeria’s problem. Characteristic of this party PDP is the usage of force, rigging and public fund embezzlement. Reiterating their lack of public sympathy is their interesting act of shunning public debates and instead preferred to attend the ‘koko concert’, this cannot be more annoying and the masses seem to be tired of them. More unfortunate is the involvement of the talented musician who has refused to learn from the likes of Beyonce and Usher after been paid a huge amount of money for performances made to Lybia’s dictator, Col. Gaddafi donated those monies to charity upon learning of his unholy acts, but instead has placed money as a priority instead of good name and allowed himself to be used as a political ‘scape-goat’. I cannot ascertain that Jonathan has no good intentions for the country; however, judging from antecedence, I can say categorically that to actualize his good intentions however minute it might be, he has the largest number of party forces to contend with. More so, Nigeria, in addition to Goodluck needs honesty and hard work.
Gen. Buhari has once served as the military head of state and so his experience is in dictatorship, not democracy. Also, in the NN24 presidential debate organized, he was second to Governor Shekarau of Kano state which evidences the fact that in intelligience, public speaking and plans, Shekarau exceeds him. Talking of integrity, he was recently accused of influencing during his tenure some suitcases at the airport believed to be filled with money. This leaves a question mark on his integrity and proves that he is only human. But asides these, this stern general handled the treasury as a head of state, administered the PTF and ETF with no single allegation of corruption. His administration fought vehemently against corruption and some level of sanity was restored.
Pardon my indulgence, everyone can bear witness of the fact that if there is one thing Gen. Buhari is known for, it is his anti-corruption stand. He is the big wig and god father of his party CPC and hence I don’t see him having the problem of god-fatherism if elected as opposed to Jonathan and Ribadu. As regards being a religious fanatic and ethnic bigot, his running mate is the founding pastor of a renown church and also a Yoruba man. Asides from Pastor Tunde Bakare(a lawyer by profession) being a ‘sheep keeper in the vine yard of God’ and so cannot afford a bad reputation, he has also being a critic and an activist as he is the founder of the Save Nigeria Group(SNG) which notable Nigerians like the Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has been associated with .
Governor Shekarau is obviously an intelligent man. In debates, he has proven himself to be the most intelligent of the whole lot. He has been able to maintain peace and stability in Kano state but, Nigeria needs more than peace and stability, it needs in addition to peace and stability, innovative and dynamic minds like those of Governor Fashola of Lagos state and the late western premier, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Out of all the presidential candidates, none of them has been able to present workable plans and blue prints as regards the path to take towards a sustainable development in the country. Hence, what I was left with was not to chose the most intelligent of them all, not to chose the strongest of them all, not to chose the richest nor the one with the cleanest record of them all(as there was none). On what basis did you chose you might ask?
It is a wrong assertion to say that Nigeria needs a workable system. She already has that in existence. Instead, what she needs is a working system. All tiers of government, parastatals and law enforcements are aware of their duties, they have their statements of purpose hence blueprints, and so the question of plans and blueprints for sustainable development has to a large extent being taken care of, it is already in the system. Everyone has their assignments but, our workable system is still not working because of one singular reason, CORRUPTION. This is a cancer that has eaten so deep that the whole system is on the verge of disintegration. It is in this regard that I have chosen to vote for the team whose strongest point is in the weakest point of this country, the man whose team CAN afford to lose, afford to be plan less, afford to be un-innovative BUT!! CANNOT and I repeat, CANNOT afford to be CORRUPT!!
Give me a team that will fight against corruption (because they themselves cannot be corrupt) and I will give you a team that will change Nigeria for good! General Buhari has seen money, lots of it and he has maintained his integrity. He is the only past head of state without an oil rig, his reason I do not know, but for whatever reason he might have, I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt that his team is capable of fighting against corruption if given the opportunity.


Public Disclaimer
All ideas in this write-up are original and personal as they are based on my own point of view; I have no close affiliation to any presidential candidate. I am a patriotic citizen of our great country Nigeria and all I wish for is a positive change. No one is obligated to share this view as every individual is entitled to his/her own opinion. Thanks.