Former Head Of State and current President Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria H.E Muhammadu Buhari and Former Vice President Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria Atiku Abubakar are currently on opposite sides of power. This brings me to think about how far Nigeria has come since attaining sovereignty and independence 58years ago, the pathetic situation has never been better under any political party rule or military rule—instead We are stuck with hardships and worse situations which keeps getting worse everyday.
I was born into a political chaos in the late 80s and growing up, I was accustomed to the phrase “e go better” and somehow majority of Nigerians believed it—I believed it, in school We were taught about the values and patriotism of Our Fathers land, and as a Son of two Ghanaian migrants parents, I was told stories of the instability of the Ghana economy at the time and They also told me the why they migrated to Nigeria.
According to Them, They moved to Nigeria seeking a better life for two of their children in the early 80s at the time, before I was born in the late 80s as Their third Child. During this era, Nigeria had one of the best economy in Africa and Migrants trooped in on a daily basis to seek a better life for Themselves and Their Families, One would have thought that by now Nigeria would be the Singapore of Africa today. We are where We are today in Nigeria because of negligence and power hungry politicians.
At this stage We can only hope. Mostly because We have no other choice but to trust retired politicians seeking power to assure Us of a corruption free Nigeria if They are voted for. In Nigeria today, we recycle Politicians and the young ones are suppressed by greed and silenced by unlawful detention and death threats.
Today, We have Former Governors Of States becoming Senators after finishing their term in office, We have the same Politicians that have been within the circle of power for years still scrambling for power. As rich as Nigeria is, we cannot boldly pride Ourselves on any tangible achievements since independence. We can only brag everyday to the outside world about how tough We are as Nigerians and how how many times We’ve survived against all odds—I brag with that too.
Do We take actions now or watch Our Children boast of being survivors instead of living a better life? Do we teach the younger and upcoming generation to rather survive than to live? I’m never going to vote in Nigeria again until I’m given an option of a new league of youthful leaders who are determined to move Nigeria forward.
The big difference between President Muhammadu Buhari and Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is that one has power and the other yearns for power—I see nothing new in the 2019 elections, just same old plot twist We are accustomed to in the Nigerian political system. Let us live and not survive.
Bright Sarpong
Twitter: @sarpongmic
Hmm. Nigeria will be great again someday