2015 Elections: Traveling to Singapore by Road?

I am convinced that this is a season of progress because the best way to predict the future is to have the power to shape it. History is on our side and it’s another opportunity to seize the moment as we change our attitude towards the past since it is obvious we cannot change it. Why must we wait for every four years only to concentrate on quarrels about who becomes our president at elections rather than agree on where we should be headed?

I have followed a lot of discussions in the social media space about who becomes Nigeria’s President in February 2015. Expectedly, these conversations have often led to fights, quarrels and war of words. So many campaigns on the pages of newspapers are merely attempts to attack the personalities of political actors who are seeking the driver’s seat at the next elections in the hope that this tactics will dissuade the unsuspecting public from voting for such individuals. There has been a general famine of clear messages about their plans for a new Nigeria where they, I, our children, grand-children and great grand-children would live for many years to come. The truth is, the elections will come and go but until we address our real issues, 2019 is just around the corner and the cycle continues.

Is election really the most important issue for our nation now? I will say YES and will also say NO. Why do we have to quarrel over who will drive the vehicle when we have not even decided where we want to go as a nation? Where is the report of the national conference? What’s the outcome? What has been implemented from it? I know elections are important in determining the future of a nation and for our own country, at least it will happen every four years whether we like it or not but there are more fundamental issues that need to be addressed for it to be a meaningful exercise.  I have always thought that where you come from is not nearly as important as where you are going. Is it not when you know where you want to go that you can determine the vehicle that will take you there? I agree you can travel to Abuja from Lagos with a car even though it’s possible to go by an air plane, but when your journey is from Lagos to Singapore, I’m not certain that the choice of a car is in your best interest. Even, when it is possible, no one prays to enjoy the supply of meat when there is no longer any tooth to chew. The age in which we live is one that is impatient for results. Unfortunately, to the person who does not know where he wants to go there is no favourable wind.

Attempting to employ a person who has been trained as a tractor driver to fly a private jet that is supposed to take you on a business trip to Singapore is an open invitation to suicide. When we determine where we want to go, then we can make a choice about who takes us there and that’s why people like me will always ask for campaigns that are issues-based. Where there is no vision, the people perish. Where there is no vision, there is no hope. The very essence of leadership is vision and capacity to translate it into reality. There has to be a clearly articulated vision by our leaders seeking political offices, otherwise an uncertain trumpet may spell another doom for the nation.

True democracy is hard work and anyone serious about leading our country from 2015 onwards must be serious about convincing us that the stability, prosperity and individual opportunity of every citizen is his or her priority. They must honestly speak to us about the deeper causes of the crisis of insecurity that has plagued our once peaceful dear nation and inspire us with hope of how they intend to lead us to victory in this battle against the forces that drives us apart- be it ethnic, religious, political or otherwise. This is an expectation that we all hold in common as a people.

The future depends on what we do in the present and history has shown that peace and progress come to those who make the right choices. All of us, workers, entrepreneurs, professionals, artisans, students and business owners have a stake in working towards a greater Nigeria and should be involved in our own futures to create a world of broader prosperity that our children will want to live in. The one thing that you have that nobody else has is your voice and your mind and this is just the best season to use your votes to rescue our nation from the corrupt few who steal our country’s resources. In the final analysis, destiny is not a matter of chance, but of choice. Not something to wish for, but to fight for. I have collected my Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and I’m election-ready.