THE elections of 28th March 2015 will ever remain a pleasant and memorable experience for Nigerians, Africans and the world at large.

This is borne by the peaceful and serene atmosphere of majority of the polling booths that day as complemented by queues, the patient wait of the electorate to go through the electoral processes, their willingness to see their votes cast rightly so as to count at the end of the procedure.

This is further expressed by the beautiful colouring of the atmosphere by the military, police, paramilitary and various law enforcement agencies, donned in their various uniforms, peacefully, cheerfully, and helpfully playing one role or the other in seeing that all went well without interference.

All these go to crown the day as one truly graced by divine favour.

The experience in my polling centre, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory, was indeed captivating. In the first sense, the turn-out was great and beyond imagination as compared to some other elections in the history of Nigeria. The display of great zeal to vote by various classes of people made it even more impressive.

The card reader’s ability to read the cards in the process of accreditation in most cases, notwithstanding imperfections reported in some places, went a long way to calm nerves and reassure all of the seriousness with which the nation and her electoral body, INEC, takes the process.

The fruit of which is the production of trust and confidence in the electoral process as it points to its ability to come out with a reliable and truthful result. A revelation, which buttresses the point of democratic governance that the vote of each citizen counts in deciding who governs their land and people.

Hence, in spite of some technical and logistic hitches, most electorate did not show discouragement; rather they patiently waited for the procedure to be properly and rightly carried out, in a way that bears good fruit and boosts confidence in the whole process.

Most captivating of all in the experience of this day is the new birth in Nigerians of the need to contribute to the deepening of our democracy. This is necessary as democracy is certified to be the most human rights’ respecting form of government in the world when it is practised genuinely and correctly. One can thus, breathe a sigh of relief that a new Nigeria is already being born.

A nation where government exists to do what favours and develops all the people without discrimination of colour, ethnic group, social status or religion.

One needs to therefore praise, appreciate and celebrate the government of President Good Luck Jonathan for working with and allowing INEC freely organize a generally acclaimed free and fair elections without insistence that the process makes sure the pendulum of success swings in his favour.

The sign that Nigeria is a land graced with divine favour is also displayed in developments after the results were announced. This could be simply described as ‘miracle 2015 in Nigeria’ as without precedence, the incumbent president, a candidate who actively took part in the eventful campaign process towards the elections and contested for the presidential office for another term, conceded defeat based on already announced results even before INEC’s official declaration of winner.

This gesture has become an epoch-making one, as President Jonathan has been transformed from being a Nigerian President to a statesman. He confirmed to the whole world that Nigeria is truly the ‘giant of Africa,’ the land of divine favour, as only one soaked in divine grace can humbly acknowledge the good and success of others. One can thus say that President Goodluck has fulfilled his destiny as the lucky President of a lucky Nigeria, for some ‘prophets,’ who l am not sure whether to tag ‘prophets of doom’ or … declared break up, inconclusive presidential election, and other ills for the country as a result of the election. That events have turned out as they are today, could therefore, best be described as God’s hand at work.

Consequently, as we rejoice in these works of God and celebrate with the newly elected President, General Muhammadu Buhari (retired), who himself symbolizes the favour of Allah, as it is only after several persevering attempts that he finally got a glamorous, glorious, though very energy-sapping journey to democratic presidency of Nigeria.

It is visible that in the course of past failed attempts he has been divinely purified, reformed and empowered to truly work in obedience to the Almighty Allah for the holistic and historic development of Nigeria and her people.

That he is God’s choice at this point of Nigeria’s history is strongly manifest in the manner he emerged as candidate of his party, which membership cuts across the six geo-political zones of the nation.

It will thus be right to state that the expectation of all Nigerians particularly, Africans in solidarity, and the world at large for the new government, is enormous.

To succeed fully, all citizens are to keep close to the government by taking interest in the goings on, praying fervently for God’s guidance, speaking out when things are not going right/well. And most importantly, committing oneself to punctually, correctly, justly, dutifully, and patriotically do one’s own part of the task at various levels selflessly, promptly, and respectfully. It is necessary because the great nations of the world that are highly regarded and flocked to today have become so as a result of collaborative effort between government and citizens.

It is not the responsibility of one against the other, rather, both government and citizens need to carry out their assigned tasks guided by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the teachings of the faith one follows, and most importantly, in obedience to the Almighty Creator/God/Allah/Absolute Being under whose benevolence we live and move and have our being.

This requirement is well acknowledged in our National Pledge when it concludes/declares/states/prays with the words: ‘So help me God!’ Interestingly, this divine help sought/asked for is rendered granted/made visible in the divine favours Presidential Election 2015 have brought and are bearing witness to at this point of our nationhood. Thus, to the outgoing government, it is right to say congratulations for the ways you cooperated with divine grace. And to the incoming government, it is also necessary to say ‘Take courage,’ ‘Fear not,’ open yourself to work with Allah to realize His project for Nigeria. And to all of us ‘Favoured Nigeria,’ we, in total trust in the reassuring protection of the Almighty Creator, pray that He blesses our nation, people and government, so that we may continue to journey forward in democratic governance.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!

•Fr Igbaoyinbo is also author of ‘Nigeria, Blessed by God, Let’s make it shine’ (2011) and ‘Genuine Democracy and Divine Empowerment: Cooperating With the Will of God for the Authentic Development Of Nigeria (March 2015).