SIR: Over the past few months—typical of an electioneering period—Nigerians have been divided along political lines. This, of course, is in addition to the ethnic and religious polarisations that have continued to pose a huge threat to the nation’s unity. Nigerians have pitched their tent with the presidential candidate and political party whom they feel would rescue the nation from sinking further into an abyss.
From all indications, there is no love lost among the supporters of each of the candidates as they do not fail to clamp down on one another on social media at the slightest provocation. To each camp, anybody who supports another candidate other than theirs is an enemy of Nigeria, and they unhesitatingly unleash ‘vawulence’—the new Nigerian jargon for violence—on the person.
Since Nigeria practices a democratic system of government—though the democracy is more theoretical than a praxis—and freedom of choice is one of the cardinal principles of democracy, it is somewhat baffling how some people impose their choice of candidates on others, with utter disregard for the others’ choices. Whether they feel one is incapable of making one’s own choices, and therefore, some sort of political evangelism is needed to bring one out of darkness (supporting a rival candidate) to the light (supporting their own candidate) is what I find strange.
No doubt, the presidential election of the last Saturday of February 2023—is big deal. And the reason is not far-fetched. It is the day we can stand by our convictions, fight for the betterment of our country, and build a better future. It is a day we vote to affirm the value of democracy, which in all ramifications, is a very big deal.
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And whoever we choose to vote for on that day requires foregoing alternative choices. In economics, this is called opportunity cost— defined as the potential loss from a missed opportunity; the result of choosing one alternative and foregoing another.
Given the chequered history of Nigerian politics and the failures of successive governments to resuscitate the Nigerian economy since independence, suffice to say that we cannot be certain that our respective candidates would be committed to the project of rebuilding Nigeria.
This is why I am amused by the squabbles over the presidential candidates, particularly the top three contenders: Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
The 2023 presidential election is being touted as an important opportunity for a change in trajectory, owing to the aimless drift of the Nigerian state under the present administration. I sincerely hope that the ‘lesser evil’ we would choose to pilot the affairs of this nation would bring succour to us. I hope we analyse the opportunity cost of our votes carefully and make an informed choice that we won’t live to regret in a few years.
Ultimately, we cannot afford the cost of not voting. For this reason, if you are exasperated about how the country has been run for over seven years, ask yourself where you were on March 28, 2015. Then ask where you will be on February 25, 2023 to do something about it.
- Ezinwanne Onwuka,
ezinwanne.dominion@gmail.com