Anambra Elections:
Folks, the Anambra gubernatorial elections will hold in November 6, 2021. We are already in March 2021 and none of our political parties have told us who they intend to field as candidates for that election. And I am thinking, when will we know about which of the individuals currently positioning themselves will be the ones contesting in the November election? It is bad enough that even if we find out today, we may not have enough time to vet these persons prior to the November election. But as it stands, we may not even know who these individuals are until after June and God knows what their records are for us to begin to decipher who among them would be the best qualified for the job.
My thoughts currently are whether this entire process is by design and to make sure that we the voters do not have enough time to look deeply into the records of some of these individuals running for office. Elections should be conducted with ample time allowed for parties to do what they must do to select their flag bearers. Additionally, voters should be given time to vet the candidates, consider their previous records, investigate their backgrounds prior to deciding who they will eventually earn their vote. But no, INEC in the month of March, decided that the election will be held November 6, 2020 allowing only 7 months for the prospective parties to select their candidates, produce their manifestos and conduct a campaign. Hell, if we do not have time to review the records of the individuals vying for our votes, our next measure may be to look at the party or individual with the “fat” pocket, and sell our vote to the highest bidder. In essence, if you can’t beat them, join them! This is a sad, sad situation for a nation hopping to move itself forward. If we cannot field and/or elect the right people to manage our affairs, we will continue to be a third world nation come 50 years from today. This is Naija for you!
Nigeria 2023 Presidential Election Umu Igbo Where are You?
The presidential election is two (2) years away and all the other geographical regions are testing the waters with their numerous candidates to see which one of them will emerge the best representation of the region. But among Umu Igbo, nothing, nothing, nothing! There have been rumors that some of our pollical parties may, and the key word is, may be willing to zone the next presidency to someone of Igbo extraction. You would think that the Igbo nation will take this seriously? No! what do we do instead, continue to focus on that shinning object on the hill called Biafra. Rather than take seriously this opportunity of showcasing the abundant political skills and mastery within our ethnic group, we rather whine, scream about everything else but how to position ourselves for this potential opportunity. All these other cries of marginalization by the north needs to be put in context. Hell, the Abia state governor was very clear about who invited the military to Orlu and parts of Ihiala and due to the security conditions, and the menace of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) why are we not holding him accountable?
As far as I am concerned, this is our best opportunity to stand up and be counted in 2023. And if for our own selfish reasons, or in our eagerness to promote previous looters we lose the opportunity to field candidates of Igbo extraction in no less than two political parties, let no Igbo man or woman talk to me about marginalization. If we continue to get marginalized, then we deserve every bit of it!
On another issue, I am thinking that with the failure of our national security apparatus to protect Nigerian citizens, the northerners created their own security network, Hisbah and Shege Ka Fasa, and based on Islamic and sharia laws, the Yoruba responded by creating Amotekun security network to assist with maintaining some semblance of law and order in their region. What has the Southeastern states, especially the Igbo nation done? Nothing, nothing, nothing. First, we allowed IPOB, who has no jurisdiction anywhere in the Southeast to purportedly create the Eastern Security Network (ESN) a direct challenge to the sovereignty of our democratically elected state governors. We as a people continue to believe that the federal government will come and bail us out – the same Fulani led federal government whose tribesmen are killing, raping, and kidnapping our citizens? What an irony. We would rather keep our federal allocation for our pockets and depend on the federal authorities to provide security for our folks. What a group of people. Yet we cry Igbo Kwenu all the time!
The Confused Igbo Nation:
The last several weeks, in addition to cries of marginalization, conflicts with the herdsmen, agitation for the sovereign state of Biafra, we accused the north of poising food shipment to the east and demanded they stop shipping food stuff to us. Some elements were saturating social media with images of herdsmen having sex with their livestock etc. Well, they heard us, and these Hausa/Fulani people decided to stop shipping food products to the southern part of the country. What did we do? We started a new cry that now the Hausa/Fulani are planning on starving the Igbo nation just like they did during the civil war. Again, we went to our rooftops screaming as loudly as we could about how the north is no longer shipping foodstuff to the south. My people what we say matter! Whenever we raise propaganda and tell stories about a group that has lived among us for centuries, all to advance a stale belief that Biafra will rise again, we cannot complain when they take our words literarily. Granted, Igbos are marginalized, the herdsmen/Farmer conflict is real, we should all work to stop grazing as a method of raising livestock. However, we cannot use these challenges as fodder to enrage and unleash our youth to any actions that will be detrimental to them and the community we are purporting to protect.
Can Someone Say Amen:
I am thinking about the words of Governor Ganduje of Kano State regarding the federal government passing a law banning any form of grazing or “trekking” of cattle from the North to the Southern part of the country. Can someone say Amen to that statement by a governor what got the message? This is a governor from the North proposing solutions to some of the current challenges facing our nation, and I am still awaiting a collective hurray from all persons impacted by this herdsmen/farmer conflict but hear nothing. We should be applauding, supporting, and agitating for the implementation of such laws to help us with some of our issues. But knowing Nigeria, we do not solve problems, we just let them go by the wayside and disappear until we need it as a fodder for our next complaints. It seems like we are only attracted to laws that will benefit only a select few, or one region of the nation at the detriment of the regions. That is Naija for you. More power to Governor Ganduje, may you continue to show leadership through your voice and actions.
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