By Yomi Obaditan

The Nigerian politics and the politicians are negatively peculiar,  comparatively different from other westen democratic political processes. It reminds one of the award-winning play titled: “ Our husband has gone mad again” by Ola Rotimi. The play takes a comic swipe at ideological misfits and opportunists, who strut over the ever-accommodating political landscape of contemporary Africa. From the First Republic till the present time, our politics has been characterised by greed and violence. The post-independence political processes collapsed and failed because of political intolerance and wanton destruction of lives and properties.

Jonathan-Buhari

The Second Republic failed on the same pedestal. The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and the Federal Government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari was not only corrupt, but also lawless, insensitive, violent, and ruthless.

The military 16 years intervention could have been a blessing,   if the Buhari/ Idiagbion military regime had stayed long to cleanse the polity and show us the right political ideology to follow. Within a short time of the Buhari administration, there was law and order, the War Against Indiscipline was on, and there was sanity everywhere. The looters of the nation’s treasury were brought to book. The undoing of that regime was that it ruled with iron fist. The retroactive decree that terminated the lives of drug traffickers, Ojuolape and two others, dented the image of that regime. The Decree 4 that was promulgated against the media was another albatross on the neck of that government.   The nation woke up to discover there was a palace coup carried out by Ibrahim Babangida. The eight years of that administration led to the fall in the value of our currency,n while a loan from International Monitory Fund (IMF) marked the beginning of our economic ruins.

The 1993 presidential election was nullified for no just cause. The winner of that mandate Moshood Kashimawo Abiola (MKO) was detained and died in custody. The nation was thrown into political crisis until the political elite compromised the national issue and General Olusegun Obasanjo was brought it in to console the Yoruba over the death of Abiola. If General Sani Abacha had not died, the nation would not have heard about how the general and his family looted the nation.

The civilian administration has also been bedevilled by corruption. The Transparency International rated Nigeria as one of the most corrupt nations in the world. We have been told that our leaders stole more than $300 trillion from our economy in the last 20 years. The eight years of Obasanjo was a disaster. That administration had no respect for rule of law. It wasted over $65 billion on the power sector. The infrastructures were dilapidated.

The 2011 presidential election was conducted with the hope of electing a doctorate degree holder as President, the first of its kind in the history of Nigeria. Goodluck Jonathan was massively voted for nationwide. Four years later, the same Peoples Democratic Party candidate is struggling to avert defeat at the polls. Why? Jonathan himself provides the answer in his interview with Thisday Newspaper, when he said: “We underated the capacity of the Boko Haram, and probably the issue of corruption, because these are the two areas people tackle us; corruption and security. But people often say my body movement encourages corruption, which is not true.”

The recent violence in the polity is a sign that “our husband has gone mad again”.

Notwithstanding the peace pact brokered by Professor Bolaji Akinyemi and Mr. Koffi Annan, from Lagos to Kano, Gombe, Ekiti and Rivers, it has been violence all the way. The latest and most frightful of the violence that occurred in Okirika Local Government Area of Rivers State, where the campaign rally of the APC gubernatorial candidate was terminated by bullets from political thugs. A policeman was reportedly killed and 50 others were injured, despite the guarantee the party received from the state Police Commisioner.

The president has not condemned the attack. Tension is on the rise daily, but are there no beautiful ones among the political groups that should call for time to heal the wounds, to bridge the chasms that divide the nation in order to build a better and new nation?

Any government which lays claim to legitimacy is expected to ensure there is a measure of social welfare for its citizens; guarantee their security irrespective of social status and religious beliefs. It is just and rightful that the people’s right to freely choose the type of leaders they want is guaranteed. That is the more reason Jonathan must allow the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) to independently perform its duties as electoral umpire.

The military needs not be told that its duty is to protect the nation from external attacks, while the internal security of the country lies with the police.   Section 217, Sub-Section (c) of the 1999 Constitution provides for the involvement of the military only in the suppression of insurrection so as to restore order, therefore it is most appropriate to deploy the military to the areas affected by insurgency. It is wrong for the military to openly contradict the court verdict which forbids it from electoral duties.

Leaders go, leaders come but the nation must continue to exist. The election scheduled for March 28 and April 11 must not be disrupted by any security chief.