As Nigerians exercise their civic right to choose a new president today, examines the issues that will determine who among the candidates will succeed the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. DIRISU YAKUBU writes.

The moment is here as Nigerians across the 774 local government areas in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory file out to elect a new president today.

Four years ago, the ritual of election took place, culminating in the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari, of the All Progressives Congress. Nigerians are excited over the possibility of electing new sets of leaders in a process devoid of manipulation. For the first time in the recent history of the nation, citizens are increasingly aware of their role in determining who governs them.

The past four years have been challenging for Nigerians, most of whom lived in fear for their lives and those of their loved ones. The scourge of insecurity made worse by terrorism, kidnapping and banditry made virtually every part of the country a security risk. This was in spite of repeated assurances by the Federal Government that it would run the merchants of death out of town.

On the educational front, there was little to cheer as students of Federal Government owned institutions lost a session to the industrial action called by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

All these combined with a stagnant economy that produces little, leaving citizens with a mountain to climb paying for goods and services they need to survive.

Interestingly, the four front runners in this year’s election, Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the All Progressives Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party and the New Nigeria People’s Party, respectively, have blueprints that they hope to implement to propel the nation on the path to prosperity.

As Nigerians march out to cast their ballot today, issues dominating discourse and likely to determine the eventual winner include:

Restructuring

It is perhaps the most dominant national discourse in the past few years. While the vast majority of Nigerians agree that the country needs some form of restructuring, there is no agreement on what the word means, particularly as it relates to the Nigerian situation. While those opposed to the idea believe that the advocacy for restructuring is an affront to the sovereignty of the state; those on the opposite side see it as a catalyst that will birth a new Nigeria that will run as a truly federal state in the mould of Germany, United States of America and Australia, among others.

Atiku and Obi have been consistent in their call for a restructured Nigeria. With the South-South, South-West, North-Central and some eminent personalities in the North-East and North-West calling for restructuring, it is likely that a good number of Nigerians will cast their vote with the thought of this demand in mind.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, said there was an urgent need to restructure the country through agreed terms at a national conference or constituent assembly of the people.

He stated, “This (restructuring) will birth a new autonomous, indigenous and people-driven constitution that will herald a new dawn. Even if this is the only major agenda of the next president, he would have succeeded historically.

“There will be no remarkable success in the present crooked, lopsided, corruption- infested unitary system of government that we practice. It will only throw up strong men who initially roar and bark, like the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), and later peters out without biting. Except a new beginning is achieved, The Nigerian people will continue to operate like Tom and Jerry (cat and mouse) in an environment of acrimony, mutual suspicion, disrespect and supremacy tussle.”

Security

Nigerians will head to the polls praying for a secure atmosphere to cast their ballots and hope that a new government will herald a peaceful nation for all.

A former Commissioner of Police in charge of the Federal Capital Territory, Lawrence Alobi, called on security agencies to wear professionalism as a badge as they file out nationwide to maintain law and order during the polls.

He said, “All security agents deployed for election duty, especially the police, must maintain their neutrality. They should know that the image of the force is very important and they must not do anything that will dent the image of their institutions.

“Security agencies must not do anything that will compromise the integrity of the electoral process and they must provide security for all the political parties, their candidates as well as the voters.”

Alobi warned against exposing the men and women in uniform to compromise in the hands of politicians, saying, “The authority should provide sufficient logistics for men that have been deployed. Their welfare must not be toyed with. They should be protected enough so that politicians will not influence them with foodstuffs and money.”

Cash crunch

The journey to a cashless society may have begun in earnest with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to peg the maximum daily withdrawal at N20,000 for individuals. But accessing cash in the past few weeks has been extremely difficult, with many Nigerians spending hours at Automated Teller Machine galleries for days to get as little as N3,000.

But contrary to insinuations that many citizens may not file out to vote as a result of the cash crunch, Abuja-based financial expert and tax consultant, Adam Echono, said voters would instead be fired up to demonstrate their power for a change of government.

“I don’t think so (cash crunch likely to cause low turnout of voters). The enthusiasm is very high now. The naira scarcity is not an issue. The people will come out, vote and protect their votes. They will be determined to use the power they have to make a statement,” he said.

Vote-buying

The influence of money in politics has dominated the discourse for years. President Muhammadu Buhari approved the introduction of new naira notes a few weeks to the election as a measure to prevent vote-buying by politicians.

Speaking with newsmen, the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Rafsanjani, said vote-buying was likely to be reduced to the barest minimum this time

He said, “First of all, we are glad that the 2023 elections are starting tomorrow (Saturday). Most importantly is the fact that all relevant stakeholders are ready to engage in order to ensure the successful conduct of the elections.

“Indeed, the 2023 elections, just like every other elections, have their own peculiarities and challenges, but we are glad that INEC, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and Civil Society Organisations are working round the clock to ensure free, fair, credible, peaceful and violent-free elections.

“Of course, one of the major challenges we face during elections is the issue of vote-buying and selling where politicians induce/offer some material or monetary incentives to voters in order to have the elections in their favour. The new naira policy, which is aimed at curbing the excesses of vote-buying and selling, will greatly affect how politicians do vote trading.

“But we also know that politicians have their ways and they will do everything they can to induce such rewards. We vehemently condemn such actions, which jeopardise the integrity of the Nigerian state.”

He added, “The effect of bad governance, insecurity and corruption has made it very difficult for the majority of Nigerians to trust the institutions, hence, we have seen how desperate Nigerians are fed up with the kinds of situations going on in the country. They want to change the government so that they can have people who will adequately represent them.

“Coupled with the fact that Nigerians are enlightened and educated about their voting rights, an effort that CISLAC, the Centre for Democracy and Development and Transition Monitoring Group and many other Civil Society Organisations have been putting right from the onset of the election seasons; it is highly unlikely that vote-buying and selling will play out during the general elections.

“The extent to which voters will vote due to financial incentives by politicians will be very minimal due to the new financial policies and due to the increased awareness of voters about their rights and responsibilities.”

Technology

Improved technological innovation in the electoral process is one of the key initiatives of the Prof Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC. With the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System in place of the card reader, there is sufficient reason to hope for better polls this time, according to democracy advocate and constitutional lawyer, Kennedy Khanoba

“The BVAS is the game changer. With it, allocation of fictitious votes will be a thing of the past. The most interesting part of the electoral reforms is the electronic transmission of results in real time. I think that despite the despair, Nigerians have reasons to be hopeful. The 2023 elections are likely to be the best we have seen since independence,” he said.

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