Joshua Oyebode

Nigerians are upbeat, with less than 72 hours to the 2023 general elections. It is expedient to submit that the presidential election in particular draws the cynosure of concern for citizens, allies of Nigeria, and the international community at large. Commentators and analysts argue that this is the most important presidential election in Nigeria’s annals. It is indeed herculean to disagree with this conclusion. As the veil gradually draws upon President Buhari’s tenure, many Nigerians believe that his administration has been dismal, failing to address our recurring and exacerbating national challenges. With a poorly performing economy under the Buhari administration, the socio-economic living conditions of millions of Nigerians plummeted. Data from World Bank in 2022 put Nigeria’s economic growth rate at 3.6%, ranking 40th amongst 54 African nations. Other attendant challenges include widespread insecurity of lives and property, and poor management of the education sector which led to prolonged strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities in 2022. Consequently, Buhari’s successor will be beleaguered with a legion of inherited national challenges needing urgent attention and decisive solutions. Nigeria will either be set on course for intense rehabilitation and rigorous recovery, or she sails towards an abyss of despair. Whichever trajectory Nigeria shall gravitate towards shall be determined by whomever the majority of Nigerian voters elect to Aso Villa as President. One sacred guide must lead Nigerian voters as they go to the polls; that their right to vote, as guaranteed by the constitution and other instruments must be exercised to “…promote the good government and welfare of all persons in our country, on the principles of freedom, equality and justice…” This sacred and ultimate guide has its origin in the preamble of the Nigerian Constitution. For clarity sake, one of the core purposes for the existence of the constitution is the elevation of good governance and welfare of every Nigerian, which is presumed to hinge upon the egalitarian ideals of freedom, equality, and justice. Consequently, Nigerians have a constitutional obligation to vote candidates who will guarantee the promotion of good government and welfare of citizens. If we fail in this obligation, we shall jointly bear the devastating consequences. As we vote, we must lay every weight of ethnic bias, religious sentiments, and personal gratification on the altar of national interest and the collective aspiration towards a Nigeria that is conducive for the welfare and good government of the least of citizens. The pedigrees of the respective presidential candidates are neither covert nor equivocal. We must vote the candidate who reflects the yearnings of the Nigerian people for good governance. The candidate who neither has a precedence of corruption allegations against him, nor a growing concern of cognitive and physical wellness, should be elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. If the majority of Nigerian voters toss away this ultimate guide as prescribed by the constitution, and elect a presidential candidate who is an adversary of good governance, the end of Buhari’s administration will be the continuance of our national misfortunes and Nigeria will continue to be a country which James Baldwin eloquently describes as evolving no systemic place for her citizens.