MAKE THIS POLITY A BETTER PLACE. Femi Ojo

The current situation of our country is best described as a place with no sweetness. The politicians have made a mess of the polity, they have impoverished the masses of Nigerian people…the lives of the majority of our people have been dented by the abysmal governance of those who govern. Indeed, there is no sweetness here! Ours is a country of paradox, we are so blessed yet the majority of our people are in need. We are a special country among the committee of nations and things that make us special are plethora…we are a nation that is made of the good and the bad. This country is arguably characterized with plethora of incredulity.

The first batch of 2015 elections have come and currently the results are coming out with expected results and some surprises, the bad politicians are losing, some bad politicians are winning and the near good ones are both winning and losing too…the political characters that will form the next administration are gradually being unveiled. The birth of the new administration is beginning to be blabbed while the masses of our people wait for the big moment….the declaration of the next President!

As Nigerians intently wait for the unveiling of the man who will rock the political boat of our dear country in the next four years, the reflection on the contemporary state of our nation is for this polity to be a better place, a place of pride, a place we will all call our own and a place our children and those unborn generations can say indeed, there is sweetness and hopes for their future aspirations. The nation as it stands now truly needs a redirection and a new but determined mind to take it to an enviable pride of place in the committee of nations.

In few hours’ time, the winner of the just concluded Presidential Election will be known, no doubt the winner will either be the current unimpressive President or the man with a tainted past but whose near-saint image (as far as our clime is concerned) will not allow us to sleep. As Nigerians reflected deeply last week before the polls across the country, here is the message for those crops of politicians who may likely be winners in these elections….make this polity better!

By now, it should be obvious to our politicians that the power of the people is beginning to be central in our democratic experience, at least the first batch of 2015 elections last week will attest to this assertion. The mass participation of our people across demographics in the first batch of elections loudly connote that Nigerians are tired of the ‘same of the same’ politics and thus want this polity to be better. The enormous responsibilities that the resilience, determination and great resolve of Nigerian voters have placed before whoever wins the Presidential election is that our people will no longer tolerate pitiless government and the masses of our people will not hesitate to democratically flog any future unsympathetic government with their democratic power.

The masses of our people have spoken and there seems a common voice in this democratic struggle to make our polity better. Our Politicians across boards therefore should see to it that our polity is better and our peoples’ aspirational hopes are not dashed. Nigerians through whatever will be the outcomes of these elections have resolved that there is a great dissatisfaction against the decaying infrastructural facilities, collapse of values in our system, corruption, decaying educational institution, just to mention but a few. One therefore expects a better and new Nigeria in the next dispensation.

It is worth to say that the masses of our people have awakened politically to their civic responsibilities, but  the road ahead is not near and the democratic exercise of our civic power has just begun…there should be no more passiveness in matters politics. Our people should also further contribute to making this polity a better one by actively voicing out against forces that take us for granted. The task before Nigerians who have resolved to vote in these elections is that they must not fold their arms after the elections. There must be active participation in governance in the post-election period. Elected politicians must be subjected to accountability; they must give explanations to the masses of our people from whom they derive their legitimacy. This is the only sure way those who are elected will thread with caution and recognize the power of the people.

 As contemporarily demonstrated by Nigerian voters, the greatest asset of democracy is the power of the people and there is one terribly good thing about the choice in the first batch of elections whose results we are awaiting…the desire of the people to choose and to determine democratically who will govern them was so clear. Our people want a better polity, so they trooped out in millions, old and young to vote for nothing but the betterment of this polity. It is clear by this action of Nigerian voters that, we want a better polity and brighter tomorrow for our children and generations after. As we await the final release of the election results by Independent National Electoral Commission, Nigerians hope that losers in these elections will be statesmanlike by accepting defeats and congratulate the winners and the winners, I do hope will dedicate their victory to the Nigerian people and unite our divisive forces for the betterment of our polity.