By
Coker Onita
It is no more news that Nigeria is at the cliff edge, ready to take the final plunge into Armageddon. No election, in its over 60 years of independence, is more crucial, weighty and more salutary than this one. Indeed, the last few months have been tension soaked and so thick that one can literally cut with a knife.
Which way Nigera? l dare to ask. Our late friend, great musician and thinker, Evangelist Sony Okosuns, had asked the same billion-dollar question in the late 80s. At the time he wrote the song, things weren’t as bad as this. Our lives were less chaotic, less brutish, nasty and short. Nigeria, so it seems, is at the brink of dismemberment.
Nowhere in Nigeria can we sleep with two eyes closed. Food has vanished from our tables and our children go to bed, very hungry and angry. But for prayers, some say, all of us would have been consumed.
While l agree with religious zealots that only the grace, abundant grace of God, Allah, had helped us, we would have been cannibalising each other.
So what’s the problem? Why are we unable to live together as one people, bound by unity, love and cordiality? With the benefit of hindsight, our major problem is unmitigated greed, laced with mutual suspicion as micro-nations. Who do us sef? Can’t all of us see that Nigeria is grinding to a halt?
What then is the way forward? But with another round of elections, starting this weekend, we can begin to start life anew.
Two out of the four political gladiators strike a chord in my heart. Without pandering to any ethno-religious or primordial considerations, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku stands out. His maturity, political sagacity, economic wizardry, political dexterity and international exposure all stand him out. It is not about “Emi l’okan” mentality. It’s about mental and physical agility, competence, measured mien and sense of readiness to hit the ground running.
While the truth is that the rot is deep and pervasive, we cannot start any gamble now. If we do so, we may not find Nigeria on the world map again. God forbid!
Let’s rally round him. Let’s give governance our best shot so that we can be happy, once again. Good luck, Nigeria.
FORMER EDITOR OF PRIME PEOPLE AND PUBLISHER/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF TODAY’S CHOICE MAGAZINE (TC), COKER ONITA IS DIRECTOR, INFORMATION AND STRATEGY OF THE ATIKU PEOPLE UNITED (APU)