Nigeria
Nigeria Presidential Election: Nigeria on path to recovery whichever way it goes
Three opportunities—political, social and economic opportunities—are facing Nigeria. Each of the three main contenders to the seat of Nigeria’s presidency come with unique opportunities. Three days to the Presidential election, pundits cannot conveniently predict the way the election will go. But glaring indices point to the fact that whoever emerges the President and commander-in-chief of the most populous African country will do better than the current Muhammadu Buhari led government.
The nearly 8-year administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been roundly criticised for cluelessness in handling security and economy issues. Buhari’s regime saw regional interests snowball into insecurity especially in the South-East part of the country who felt to have been alienated by the national government. The administration’s tactless approach to security fanned the establishment of regional security networks like the Amotekun in South-West and Eastern Security Network in the South-East. Activities of Boko Haram and bandits also grew in the Northern parts of the country. Although his handlers claimed Buhari’s administration did well in provision of Infrastructure and agriculture, Buhar’s critiques said those efforts were poor and they did not reflect on the economy or wellbeing of the people of Nigeria.
The 2023 election presents three unique individuals: Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
Tibunu is a south-west politician whose large political foresight has seen him build a political empire from Lagos State where he served as Senator and Governor, then spread to almost every part of the region. Although widely accused of corruption and high-handedness, Tinubu is easily a man of political vision. Over the years, he brought his leadership and management acumen to bear in the development and growth of his political base from an obscure regional party to now a national and ruling party in Nigeria. However, Tibunu has no known source of wealth before he became a political lord in the south-west. Although Tinubu is seen to be battling with health issues, he will surely do better than Buhari if he is voted to be president on Saturday.
Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President of the country is a politician from the North-West whose made his fortune between 1999 and 2007 when he served as the Vice President to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Atiku swiftly invested his wealth in education and communication sectors within and outside Nigeria. Atiku is a savvy politician with a huge network of allies across Nigeria. Atiku prides himself as a unifier because of his charismatic style of leadership. Although Atiku is accused of corruption and extravagant life-style, he is likely to perform better than Buhari in terms of handling the economy and security situations of Nigeria.
The third force, Peter Obi, is a wealthy businessman and politician from south-east whose promises of good governance has endeared him to the youth. Obi, who is a trader and producer of consumables promises to bring his experience to bear in turning Nigeria from a consumption nation to a producing nation, thereby pulling many out of poverty. Often described as a frugal politician, Obi built business empires. Obi’s transparent leadership style, good managerial acumen will help him work on the unity and security of the country and also on the economy.
Saturday’s election and perhaps, a run-off election within the next 21 days after Saturday will produce one of these three politicians as the President of Nigeria. Despite the shortcoming of the three leading contenders, any of them who succeeds Buhari will do better than Buhari in unifying the country, working on the economy and security of the country. It is easy to say that Nigeria is on the path to recovery.
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