By Bisi Lawrence
It used to be that at a pre-election period – that is, at a time like this – the atmosphere would be thick with manifestos proclaiming the virtues of various political parties through the advertisement of their individual policies on the issues of the day.

There would be pamphlets, and fliers, and newspaper articles, and mass rallies presented to inform the people about the principles and plans of each of the parties, in order to catch the voters’ fancy. Those presentations also provided a showcase for the personalities involved in the elections, apart from projecting the standpoints of the parties. It was at such rallies, for instance, that the oratory of Nnamdi Azikiwe showered those memorable “isms” on the audience – “imperialism”, “determinism”, “irredentism”, and so on.

And the response then came like a roar of thunder  -ZEEEK!

But that was a long time ago. In fact, hardly anyone of the present generation went through the experience. Yet there are people who still ask for a return of an “issues_driven” election, mostly, one supposes, because they believe in that model. It gives a fuller meaning to the ideal of democracy in that it ultimately offers choices.

Military rule, protracted as it was in Nigeria, removed that essential opportunity of choices; it removed the chance to decide, imposed its own imperatives on us, and gave it to us good and hard!.At the end, we had little to disagree – or agree – about. Our political will only swayed “a little to the right, and a little to the left”
But then, where indeed are the issues of the day? Corruption? Everyone agrees that it must be eradicated at once.

A sad economy? Everyone agrees that improvement is urgently needed. Unemployment? Everyone agrees that more jobs should be “created”. Industrialization? Of course, everyone agrees that without industrialization, there would be no progress. Electric power?  Definitely; basic infra_structure, after all, is one of the sinews of industrialization.

The Niger Delta Crisis? Well, the right thing should be done, but they must stop bombing. What other issues are there? Well, there is the small matter of how to do “the right thing” in the Niger Delta, for instance; or how to improve the economy; or provide electricity and other items of infra_structure, and more jobs so that the people can live a worthwhile life.

That, in fact, is what a manifesto spells out – not so much of what will be done, but how it is going to be done – if it seeks credibility. And that is the crunch; we are usually very long about plans but very short on implementation. That is the bane of our national development.

However, it is very clear that we cannot continue this way indefinitely. The people know what they want but are in want of. That is why there are so many strikes and rumours of strike all over the land. If only we could make an election issue out of each of these desires, and make our votes count on it, we would be on the way to making progress.

It would mean that we are not going to offer our votes in exchange for quick cash, but for firm pledges that must be redeemed.

And so, we cannot expect the politicians to raise issues for us on which they would wish us to vote. The politicians, for instance, would not present the outlandish remuneration of the legislators as an issue because they hope to gain from it. And yet what issue could be more heated than that at the moment?

Never in all the decades of his eventful military career and public life could former president, retired General Olusegun Obasanjo have been exposed to such embarrassing moments as he experienced at the presidential wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport earlier this week. An unknown man broke through the security, such as it was, and effected an entrance into Obasanjo’s car, where he pounced on the former president and rained kicks and blows on him. The man was quickly dragged off, and the rescued former president sped away in his car.

No matter  how much you may be disenchanted about OBJ,  you could not but feel a sudden chill sliding down your spine. Former Heads of State are involved in such a scenario only in fiction. It is a frightening occurrence. If that could happen to Obasanjo in broad daylight, who is safe?

It happened in an area which should be under 24 hours of security cover, because that is where the president of the nation’s plane lands and takes off. In fact, the presidential jet was said to have been  right there at the time of the incident. And yet a nonentity, for all we know, was able to break through the protection that should have been installed around the area to the extent of coming to the striking distance of a former president. It was bad enough that he could hit OBJ, but it might have been far worse.

What one finds rather uncomfortable is the calm that has descended on the incident. It seems to have been flicked off like an errant dust on an expensive jacket. Nothing further has been heard, at least not till the time of going to press. No developments, no explanations, no report of any import – it is as though it never occurred. But it did. And against the backdrop of other apparent security incidents in the country, it foreshadows no good for the overall welfare of the nation.

One has had cause to comment unfavourably, for instance, on the apparent slipshod standard of the security on the parade ground at Eagle Square on October 1, with a suya seller strolling off between the camera and the grandstand. It should not have happened, and you do not need to be an expert on security to know that.

But we do not seem to be serious about the safety of people in an out_door environment where people, especially very important people, are exposed to the danger of assailants from whom they should be protected. Of course, ordinary Nigerians are impressed by the show of force and fury by which VIP’s are accompanied in public, but there have been very few incidents in the past to test the effectiveness of these scenes of loud drama.

Nigerians do not generally seem to subscribe to crimes that breach security, but it would be wrong to assume that it is because they are incapable of such mayhem.

For instance, you may recall the incident with the visit of President Carter of the United States a few years back. The inner core of the security for the American president was mounted by the Americans themselves. At the public reception held within the vast expense of the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos, the Americans even manned the highly_sophisticated TV equipment which they brought from the States themselves. They all formed a fairly wide cordon and every guard turned his back on the proceedings on the main ground, and concentrated on watching the crowd.

Clad in ash_grey suits, they almost appeared lost in the colorful Nigerian crowd. They earned the applause of the spectators as they smartly marched off the arena at the end of the ceremonies. They too must have been well pleased with such approbation, and as the crowd surged forward to help them with some of the equipment, they willingly released the trunks containing the microphones and cameras and headphones to the friendly, grinning, innocent faces.

However, imagine their surprise at the airport, prior to boarding “Air Force One” (the American Presidential plane) when they found all the equipment gone!

They departed with lots of respect for “my Naija people.”

Nigerians are as capable of any havoc as any other people anywhere in the world. We cannot afford to take our apparent dumbness for granted. When we entered the kidnapping “business”, for instance, we soared away instantly almost beyond the prompt check of the law_enforcement agencies.

Armed robbery and assassinations are still up our street. Ours is not a society that accommodates a shoddy and casual security attention to matters of security. We need to take this important aspect of our life as a nation to heart, especially as we approach the hazardous period of political activity.