Nigeria is the most populated black nation in the world. Even though the last time she had a national population census was ages ago, it is estimated that it now has well over two hundred million people living there or scattered all over the world.
Ideally, this staggering figure is supposed to be a good thing if leadership and management of her resources were in order, but unfortunately, this is not the situation on ground. It is known that Nigerians have many mineral resources, but they wait in vain for when they will begin to enjoy the benefits thereof.
Since attaining independence status over six decades ago, the Nigerian state has promised so much but delivered little. The early stages of growth showed glimpses of what it could become, but all that derailed fast with consistent leadership failures and unrealistic policies that have left the people impoverished.
Lately, there has been movements, cross-carpeting, and porting from the ruling party, the APC to others like PDP, APGA and vice versa, a constant feature when elections are around the corner as politicians tend to strategize and reposition themselves on a platform where they can “serve” the people better.
Unfortunately, this has not translated into better lives for the citizens. Nigerians have expressed concerns that both the APC and main opposition party the PDP are all the same. This can be true to some extent considering the number of people who moved from both parties and can be seen in both parties. So invariably, they just changed parties or rather they changed the name but the occupants are still the same.
As the elections draw closer, the question on the lips of many is;
what other options do we have as a people if we want to have a new set of people lead the country and manage its resources?
Since we cannot trust or separate the APC from the PDP, are there others who can step up to the plate? Well, in my own view, we have an abundance of knowhow’s available, people who have shown enough excellence both in the private and public sector that when trusted with the mantle of leadership can offer something different, but unfortunately, our system does not allow for newbies especially at the highest playing field ; The Presidency.
It is obvious that the Local Government structure has collapsed in Nigeria, they only exist on paper as no meaningful development can be traced to them but that is ideally where the change should start from, bottom up approach.
Attempting to walk into the highest office in the land will require you building momentum and it will not happen only on social media. Majority of the people who vote are actually not on such platforms but in the rural areas.
Nigerians need alternatives and until you and I decide to be the change we want, then we will keep recycling the ones we have now.
It starts from getting your voters card and registering in a political party. Have you?
