By Martin Ugboma
For me, it has always come down to a simple question.
If our good lord was to call me, who amongst the Presidential candidates would I rather willingly leave my kids with for tutelage?
For 2015 and 2019, it was Muhammadu Buhari. As an idealist young man, I detested the lack of meaningful economic development during his days as the military Head of state. So, I told my friends I would hold my nose and vote Buhari.
PDP made it easy by depriving the east the chance to produce their Presidential candidate, in a manner that suggested the Igbos do not count and were probably delusional to expect that the party respects a promise to present a Southerner for President. Atiku, their chosen candidate, had a beautiful recommendation from his previous boss and embarrassing names from the Economist magazine. It was a no-brainer.
From Buhari (Khalifa), I fully expected a frontal attack on corruption which for most of us had become a way of life. I was optimistic that the Police and Judiciary would be cleansed to create the platform for development. I dreamt that the era of weekend and midnight injunctions from my neighbor to stop me from hosting my daughter’s birthday the next day would be over. I believed 2015 was not the time for economic policy, but sanity. Nigeria desperately required a cleansing of the system and a return to common sense and civility.
Khalifa took power. And for a brief period, body language was enough to knock some sense into the system. PPPRA no longer demanded $1m payments for the allocation of 5,000 m/t of kerosene or AGO. The Police did not insist on their little bribes spread out by the giver in mint notes or direct POS transfers. Discretion crept in as we all enjoyed what we hoped was the calm before the rolling of heads.
We waited.
One,
Two,
Three months.
Nothing.
Nothing happened.
Not even a ministerial list.
The storm never came. Lagos to Abuja flights went back to being the target for cash thefts as all the Managing Directors of tank farms , owning Oil & Gas companies resumed the regular trips with their stash of cash for the PPPRA.
The Policeman on the road resorted to his bribe being given with respect – smoothened out and handed over like an offering to the gods and not an unholy price of extortion.
Khalifa was ill, and understandably more concerned with mortality. He craved for peace with our maker, and nothing else mattered.
Not corruption, not banditry, not the growing convoys of ineffective Government officials. Service chiefs were still rewarded with life changing promotions without demonstrating capacity in their new roles.
So, we suffered.
Nigeria suffered.
I hear he asked for our forgiveness.
I forgive him. He built us the 2nd Niger bridge.
In 2023, I voted Tinubu.
He was the man for me as I relied on his track record in Lagos state, the ability to retain credibility, build performing teams even with people he may not like. His rise from former Governor of Lagos state to a political powerhouse is a study in resilience and politicking. Retaining the loyalty of many who have worked for him and building alliances and disciples from every nook and corner of our country. He understood how Governments create wealth.
I recognized that a brimming pot would also increase the appetite of government officials, but then, the Holy book reminds us all that the laborer deserves his wages.
I was not fooled by the former Governor who had the phone numbers of all the senior prefects in secondary schools during his eight years in Anambra state. I believed that was not his job as he had a Commissioner of Education and many other officers who could meaningfully apply that information. Micro-managing as President would surely not get us anywhere. He did not meaningfully grow the states’ IGR, and so, at best, was just a good manager of resources. He built nothing.
The removal of the ruinous petrol subsidy, floating of the Naira and tax reforms I fully supported, though I recognize the haphazard implementation and the lack of visible cushions from inevitable consequences of these policies.
Butter disappeared from our breakfast tables. Eggs followed. Bread and rice, and now we battle with garri – the giver of life. It has been heart wrenching watching the broken faces when the cashier at the till gives us our bill at the check-out counter. Me? Ebubedike, shamefully dropping the Blue Band butter I had hoped would sooth my longing for the N14,000 lump of French butter?
While the masses suffer, government officials struggle with our musicians for attention in the social media space with heart wrenching displays of wealth and affluence.
Bello Turji still reigns.
Igbos now hold traditional weddings in Lagos and Abuja and Monday sit at home continues in the East because of IPOB.
In the Delta region, we still pay those who had robbed and bullied us to protect our oil and gas infrastructure.
And still, the Service chiefs trot around with shiny new epaulets.
Painfully, these failures are not the reasons I am now fully committed to voting for Peter Obi in the next Presidential elections. I have regularly joked that in Nigeria while Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba rule they expect the Igbo man to dutifully tag along, carrying their briefcases. But now, it has become obvious.
Jagaban is taking away the briefcase.
My people have accepted lopsided appointments to government positions. We have accepted that our kids must score 250 and above in JAMB for admissions their classmates get for a score of 190. We have accepted that if a Hause/Fulani/Yoruba and Igbo man with equal qualifications move to Abuja, the Hausa/Fulani would be first with a government appointment. The Yoruba would follow. And many years after, they could call upon their Igbo friend to execute a contract given to one of their children.
It is our lot because we dared to fight the civil war.
It is our lot because we have failed to organize and think long term.
It is our lot because we are Republicans.
But painfully, it is now apparent that Jagaban has excised Igboland from his Nigeria. He has made it abundantly clear that the little we have should be taken and given to those who already have, so they would have in abundance.
I do not want my children to struggle to breathe in my country. I do not want them seeking a change of name and state of origin to survive in their homeland. I do not want them scrambling for crumbs from the table of their masters.
For this reason, just like I did with Buhari, I will hold my nose and vote Peter Obi. It is my hope that this choice will yield fruits that take us back to us back to the words of our anthem
Though tribe and tongue may differ
In brotherhood we stand
Nigerians all
Are proud to serve
Our sovereign motherland
BY: MARTIN AZUBUIKE UGBOMA
E MAIL: martin.ugboma@yahoo.com
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