NOW THAT ELECTIONS ARE OVER

                        Now that elections are over

By Oriaifoh Godwins

Now that the Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship and House of Assembly elections are over, we should come together and put behind us the disturbing, divisive hate campaigns and campaigns of calumny that characterised the electioneering campaigns and now begin to think of how we can move Nigeria to higher heights.

The election is historic in several respects as President Goodluck Jonathan, for the sake of Nigeria’s unity, displayed a rare spirit of statesmanship by conceding defeat early and thus saved Nigeria from premeditated violence. By his action, God disgraced and disappointed those that have been chanting songs of war. The mayhem and chaos that would have followed, was successfully doused.

Yes, Nigeria is yet to get to its Eldorado on democratic principles, but from the outcome of the 2015 elections, and how some political gladiators have handled the outcome of the elections with maturity, we are now a nation to be reckoned with amongst civilised societies.

Again, I will like to commend our new President, General Muhammadu Buhari, when in his acceptance speech, he said:

 “My love and concern for this nation and what I desire for it extends to all, even to those who do not like us or our politics. You are all my people and I shall treat everyone of you as my own. I shall work for those who voted for me as well as those who voted against me and even for those who did not vote at all. We all live under one name as one nation: we are all Nigerians...”

Soon after he made his speech, a friend of mine, who was hitherto a staunch Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, member was pleasantly surprised at Buhari’s speech, he said; ‘I am beginning to like this man ooo...’ I however, reminded him that, all the hard words that were flying around before then, with respect to the persons of Buhari, was all political, and that, the earlier action o

f Goodluck Jonathan in conceding defeat made Buhari to have no choice but to ‘soft pedal.’

I strongly advise that we should stop allowing ourselves to be made pawns in the hands of political opportunists. Every Nigerian should know and understand that what binds us together is far greater than what is threatening to divide us.

When they fought for the independence of this country, I am sure our founding fathers, the likes of Anthony Enahoro, Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe and a host of others, never thought it will take us this long to get it right. Let us agree that, the military interregnum slowed down the pace of growth of democracy in Nigeria, what have we as individuals consciously done to stabilise the polity? Have we not been sheepishly following people we call our leaders without us knowing that, some of them are only interested in their selfish interests? That they are not nationalistic, or patriotic; that they are only interested in using us, the electorates to achieve their selfish inordinate ambitions. Why do we think they continue to galvanise from one political party to another, especially when, for whatever reason, they are not able to achieve their selfish ambition in the party they are? Have we forgotten that, whatever they promised they are going to do, to better our lives, when they eventually assume power, (that they brand ‘dividends of democracy’) is actually our rights? It is our common wealth, that is, if they do them at all. A lot of persons have died in the past, supporting a particular politician, but before you know it, the same politician that they fought and died for, ends up in decamping to the same political party that they fought for him against.

Now that election is over, we must continue to live as brothers and sisters. We must continue to be our brother’s keepers.

To the shameless political prostitutes that are found of jumping from one party to the other; and that defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Party, APC, the same party that you dumped today, will still be there tomorrow for you to defect to, after you have finished making a mess of yourself in the party you just defected to.

However, the fact that political parties in Nigeria do not have political ideologies makes it easy for these political opportunists to defect at will. These people stand for nothing, but to satisfy their inordinate greed and avarice. They are skilled at sweet talking and hoodwinking their unsuspecting followers to see reasons why they should defect to another party; and some, sheepishly follow them, but the time is coming when all these nonsense will stop; when the electorates will say enough is enough. You can no longer push us around like a zombie. Nigeria will sure get there someday.

"I strongly advise that we should stop allowing ourselves to be made pawns in the hands of political opportunists. Every Nigerian should know and understand that what binds us together is far greater than what is threatening to divide us"