Continuity in Government
by George O.A. Uwaifo
The general elections are just a few days away and surprisingly, the magnitude of the rancor and confusion in our political atmosphere is overwhelming. A lot of pending court cases with a string of appeals and contra-appeals as well as strong verbal exchanges between major political candidates and the federal government. The Independent National Electoral Commission is not left out of the political showdown either. This situation leaves the vast majority of Nigerians as spectators watching and waiting for the final outcome after the general elections which takes place on April 29th, 2007.
Amidst this chaos and in-fighting which has so far torn political parties in pieces and created rivalries between former friends, there has to be an inherent gain for the Nigerian polity. One of which is the fact that Nigeria is re-orientating herself towards being a great democratic societyo this type of treatment and scrutiny or better put, it has not been “business as usual” or “chop make I chop” . This has generally been the type of politics in Nigeria before the Obasanjo government. I think it is perfectly normal for a system to question the wealth of politicians as well as any questionable activity of any one in the past. If you tag it “selective”, then so be it. The cleansing must start from a point. Nigerians have had a bad deal for far too long. Being associated with corruption is not negotiable and unacceptable in any ramification. Continuity in this direction is absolutely necessary and as such, any potential president of the Federal republic of Nigeria who fails to see the good in this administration’s fight against corruption would end up being counter productive and counter progressive for the nation.
