Jonathan’s admonition and political pendulum

“In 2023, you must not make the mistake to vote killers. Those who carry knives, guns and all kinds of gadgets to go and kill people because of politics are the enemies of society. If you kill to become a leader, you will continue to kill to remain a leader and the people will continue to suffer.” – Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

SIR: To put it point blank, it is a crying shame that in the 21st century Nigeria and amid the 2023 general elections, swirls of ethno-religious and political sentiments, tension, apprehension and campaigns of calumny still rule the land. The reason is all about money-poll-y-tricks! It all has to do with poaching for political power to serve the self rather than the state.
 
Unfortunately, this recurring ugly decimal in our body polity is openly supported by the huge sums of money paid to obtain nomination forms by political aspirants, which excludes citizens with the vision and passion to serve our fatherland but lack the slush funds. Another pertinent reason responsible for this increasingly saddening political quagmire is the humongous pay package of political appointees.

Painfully, the class of consciences and cruel perpetrators of this economic and political anomaly keep succeeding from election cycle to another, all because of the aberrant form of democracy that we practise here in Nigeria. First, the people who are supposed to be the main beneficiaries of democracy have been so pauperised-mentally and physically- that they worship their unrelenting oppressors.

Perhaps, that will better explain why they would troop to venues of the commissioning of roads, bridges, school buildings, hospitals and all what not by their all-conquering lords and clap for them, as if those politicians used their own personal fund to carry out such projects.

Worse still, is the recent onslaught of mind-bending experiences of innocent Nigerians. They queue for hours to buy fuel at exorbitant prices in an oil-producing country, or go to banks and spend some eight odd hours waiting to collect their own money all to no avail! With the Naira swap saga, millions of unprepared Nigerians have been harangued by harrowing hunger.

Ordinarily, slaves want their freedom.  That is a natural principle. But when some keep enjoying being oppressed and selling off their children’s future, there is a lot to worry about. For, as Martin Luther King Jnr, the unforgettable human rights activist stated: “Freedom is never willingly given by the oppressor. The oppressed must struggle for it.”
But are Nigerian voters ready for it? Only time will tell.
Ayo Oyoze Baje.