It is still a long way to 2027, when general elections will be conducted to vote for a successor to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who still has a second term, alongside some state governors, who may also wish to complete their mandated second terms.
That will be in about two years from now. However, the political arena is already heat up, with the activities of gladiators, embarking on extensive consultations, hoping to clinch their parties tickets for the coveted seats; including the President, whose party, the All Progressive Congress(APC) has since endorsed him as its candidate.
Certainly this is not ideal, at least so, in an organized democratic system where those in office are normally allowed a breather, to focus on the sacred task of providing good governance, as they see through their given mandate, before electioneering campaigns activities could comence.
But not so in Nigeria, where the politicians have no respect for the rules of the game, because the extant laws are not being applied, to make them tore the line.
Little wonder, our democracy is still a caricature of the ideal, even after Twenty-six years of uninterrupted democratic rule. And sadly, the populace have been left to haplessly yearn for the much craved dividends of democracy that has so far remain a mirage.
However, this is not to say that the country has not made some progress. It has, but the achievements are not very impressive. Things would have been much better had the politicians been more disciplined, and exhibited more decorum in the pursuit of their ambitions.
Surely, this is a sad commentary about a country that pride itself as the biggest democracy in the African continent. Indeed, there is the urgent need to turn a new leaf, in order to establish a system that will serve as a true model, and source of inspiration for the rest of Africa.
This will not be so much of a difficult thing to do, provided the politicians in particular, and Nigerians in general, will change their understanding of, and attitudes to, politics. We should not see politcs as a process for just acquiring political power, but one, which also requires a responsible and effective use of such power to better the lots of all the people.
Certainly, this will not happen until the politicians embibea the tenets of patience and discipline, and do what they do, in their quest to acquire political power, at the appropriate time.
The apparent do or die approach, they have chosen in the pursuit of their goals, is obviously heating the polity too early, before the 2027 elections.
This is not being responsible. The actions of the politicians portray lack of maturity, and understanding of what is at stake. There is an implicit element of desperation in some of them. There is no gain-saying that this is not helpful in the efforts towards building a durable democratic system in the country.
Our candid opinion is that, the right thing to do should be, to allow for the provision of good governance to take precedence, over and above open politicking, which most of the aspirants have embarked on, even though its time is yet to come.
We deem it appropriate therefore to urge for caution, in order to not only sustain our democracy, but more importantly, to build it on a solid foundation.
2027 — Caution Is Advised
