OPINION: ANNIHILATION OF REALITY IN NIGERIA

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Nigeria as a country is blessed with both human and natural resources. Sadly, we are not making the best of all we have.

My focus in this piece is drawn from the recent events surrounding the February 25, 2023 elections and the way parties and supporters went about selling their candidates. It is no doubt that the campaigns targeted two or three elements of our existence, namely; religion, tribe/ethnicity and money.

If we don’t throw religion under the bus in Nigeria as soon as possible the downward trend may never stop. Religion has always brought division to the citizens and if you have taken your time to listen to some of the political canvassers, you will agree with me 100 per cent.

When Tinubu picked Kashim Shettima as his running mate, the cry of Muslim/Muslim came up and till this day, we have not heard the last of it. The Islamization story rained on President Muhammadu Buhari is still fresh on my mind.

Thought of competence came much later in the equation. Today almost 8 years after Buhari became President our General Overseers are still on their pulpit and still taking advantage of the congregation. It was a bit of a shock when a particular candidate started touring the churches to canvass for support. Smart man, abi what do I know?

Interestingly, we pretend to have transcended ethnicity and tribalism; but trust me, it is written all over our skies.

While we can not say that those who supported the ambition of Mr. Peter Obi, did along ethnic divides; the ethnic coloration of the support base was quite glaring during the campaigns and eventually at the votes. The neutralizers of the supporters came from the youth who weren’t voting because they knew the candidate but because they were angry at the system/government.

In Lagos, at some point; it started to look like it was a battle between Igbo and Yoruba people as could be seen in reports where people of certain tribal extraction were being prevented from getting into their polling unit. Similar experiences were reported from other parts of the country but more was seen from the Tinubu and Obi ethnic backyard.

If you will find a moment to check the demographics of those who participated in the voting exercise across board, tribe/ethnicity, religion and angst were the deciding factor. Taking us away from the reality of looking for competence, understanding of governance and those other elements that helps on the journey to nationhood.

For religion, Tribe and anger; we are on the way to annihilate our reality.
Adebayo Ilupeju Marketing Communications Ikeja, Lagos.