Fellow Nigerians, let me first and foremost congratulate us on the recent triumph of democracy in our time. The victory of General Muhammadu Buhari at the just concluded presidential elections is not for APC, neither is it for the people’s General himself. It is the victory of those who defiled all the odds and ensured that they voted and their votes counted. It is no more doubts, that our nation as entered a new democratic face. We have set the pace for the whole of Africa and also hold the ace. We are now the envy of the whole World as what they thought would have resulted into violence and gun battles ended peacefully with little or no trouble. At this point, I say it without any fear or doubt, that our 16years uninterrupted democratic rule is gradually becoming a model for countries in Africa and some parts of the World. My sincere prayer is that things can only become better and better for our dear nation.
The victory of General Muhammadu Buhari at the polls is no doubt attributed to Goodluck Jonathan’s ill-performance as the president for the past Six years. In the general elections that brought the president on board in 2011, he enjoyed the goodwill of the people of Nigeria. People saw him as a humble man who will carry out the wish of the people because democracy is about the people. The President didn’t realize that political offices are not forever, and that the moment you fail to comply with the voice of the people, the end result will not be sweet. When Boko Haram kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in Northern Nigeria, the president didn’t realize how this particular incident will be a major dent on his administration. He took the president weeks before he could publicly admit that the innocent young ladies were actually abducted. And to me, this singular action marked the turning point of this administration’s failure. It completely lost the trust of the people. The #BringBackOurGirls went viral and caught the attention of the international communities. 219 of these girls still remain unaccounted for till today.
Another major error the outgoing president committed was surrounding himself with people that destroyed his political career. These were people who were only after the crumbs that fell from the president’s table. They successfully manipulated the President, drew his attention away from being the president of Nigeria, to the president of a selected few. At every point in time they gave him wrong advice, raised his confidence on failures; gave him wrong promises that will never come into fruition. It was a pity that the president realized this a little bit too late. The kingdom has already been taken, and given to someone else. At a point they say they will give him six million votes in the South-West, others even promised him the votes of the whole state. The president got carried away by empty promises; he didn’t see the handwritings on the wall. The first lady too didn’t help matter. She was the lousiest of them all. The damage only her brought to the downfall of her husband’s candidacy is beyond repair.
Finally, credible elections have come to stay in our dear country. Gone were the days when a political party will want to perpetuate itself in power through various means of election malpractices. A party that wishes to continue in power must work and the people will be the judge. Not ever will any inefficient political party rule us a day more after four years. The office of citizens of the people of this country is now fully alive; we decide who will rule us and who will not. I am glad to be part of this new Nigeria. Long-live General Muhammadu Buhari and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.