Many
politicians are aggrieved today at what appears to be a persecution by
the government since they are not accustomed to 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.
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 society which
might, one day, be the envy of Africa and the world. Many today can
now openly voice their opinions and convictions and seek justice at
the various institutions. The Nigerian appeal and supreme courts have
been very busy of late. They have had suits and counter-suits to
attend to for a while and I am yet to know where this will all end.
Another major gain is in the area of fighting corruption. Whether
tagged as selective or not, but the fact stands that Nigeria is trying
hard to rid herself of some of the bad eggs in the system. As far as
I am concerned, no other government in the history of the nation has
taken this fight as seriously as this current one. A lot of Kudos to
the head of the EFCC. There have been harsh criticisms nonetheless,
which is normal as everyone is entitle to his or her opinions but a
growing Nigeria, like a child, must first walk before running. The
government is not perfect just like its brain child the EFCC.
As earlier mentioned, we are just
a few days away from the general elections, quite frankly many of the
presidential candidates are still wallowing in politics rather than
being real and frank with Nigerians. It has been basically, the
politics of mud slinging and cat fights. This re-echoes the old
politics by old corrupt Nigerian politicians which lacked substance in
every respect. They repeat every manifesto from the old eras, most of
which they did not really understand themselves and for those which
they did, without conviction. I do not find any other logical
explanation for the deplorable and sad way things are today in our
great country, Nigeria. At the beginning, they always promise good
roads, good education, good health care, gain full employment and
yadi-yadi-ya, but never accomplishes a tenth of their promises. With
politicians like these in the corridor of power again, more
unpredictable consequences should be expected like the ugly trend of
kidnappings in the Niger-delta. Ugly, but it is the reality from
years of total negligence.
Many politicians are aggrieved
today at what appears to be a persecution by the government since they
are not accustomed to 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.
In as much as many of the
politicians have personally differences with the person of Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo, sentiments and personal discords should be set
aside and instead, seek to continue and improve on what his government
has started. Continuity is what the Nigerian people have been
silently asking for.
