THERE is anxiety in the land over this month’s general elections. To be sure, the presidential and national assembly elections will hold on February 14, 2015 while those of governors and state assemblies have been scheduled for February 28. Some of the fears though, especially about security and logistics challenges, have been allayed by recent pronouncements and disclosures from security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

THE Yoruba town of Ibadan is largest native market in Africa. The Yorubas engage in the business of planting and trading in Cocoa, Palm produce, timber, rubber, and kola nuts, apart from their normal food crops. They are good businessmen and women, some of whom dealt in timber, cocoa, kola nuts, trading from Lagos to Bathurst (now Banjul), in The Gambia, and South Congo; whist the Ijebus, Ijesha and the Oyo speaking Yorubas deal in general merchandise.

LET me commence this discourse with a citation from the divine scripture I am familiar with:

“O mankind! Lo! We have created you from (a pair) of male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that you may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower, fully aware” [Quran:49:13].

Did I hear that APC promises a welfare system that will pay between N5,000 and N10,000 per month to the poorest 25 million Nigerians? Just this programme alone will cost between N1.5 and N3 trillion per annum. (Soludo wondered where the APC proposed to source the money from.)

A country with a very vibrant opposition is a blessed one. Man has not been able to master power the way it was purposed. Societies that have therefore succeeded in putting checks and balances to power excesses are the ones moving their democracy ahead. ‘Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’, we have seen it in our parties and in government, that is why the APC’s current posture against the PDP in the coming election is a good development for Nigeria.