By Olakunle Agboola – The political scene in Nigeria is becoming more fascinating as many Nigerians abroad have started campaigning for their favorite candidate to win the next presidential election.
Social media has become ritzier with different comments and political analyses for the game change come 2023. Also, media houses in recent times are becoming busier conducting interviews and following up on happenings with different political parties cum rallies.
The Ekiti-State gubernatorial election ought to be a litmus test to know if other gubernatorial and presidential elections will be free and fair. It was a bit worrisome with quite a large number of people who have attested that the voting exercise was not credibly worthy but soiled by vote-buying in a faceless skirmish between the two major political parties in Nigeria, APC, and PDP. The outcome of the election has been the subject of discussion with many Nigerians contemplating that what happened in Ekiti-State might not be far-fetched to the Osun-State gubernatorial election if INEC fails to take vote-buying into a deep deliberation.
Biodun Bade, a law practitioner in Ado-Ekiti stated in an interview via zoom that INEC will have to demonstrate that they are capable of conducting a free and fair election by allowing people to cast their vote without being monitored to act otherwise.
“ The INEC officials assigned to each polling unit with the police and party officials are the enemy of this great country. if I could analyze the last gubernatorial election in Ekiti- State, I will conclude that the election was bought over by the agent of darkness. I am yet to fathom why many will sell their vote, after all, we have been through in this country. I believe by now, the selling point should be a credible leader who will hopefully take us out of this precarious state we are in at the moment. It is obvious what we have seen in Ekiti will repeat itself in Osun and might be a build-up to the presidential election”.
Deji Ojo, a lawyer by profession has a logical opinion and won’t blame the citizen of Ekiti state for selling their votes but rather the political elites who have left many Nigerians to wallow in abject poverty.
“ The state of Nigeria is like brigandage and the political elites are in total control of the situation, ensuring a large number of the citizens are left to swim in poverty. It is like locking a dog inside a cage for days without food and when released, you see the dog ducking the ground and looking for anything edible to survive. The instinct at that moment is to survive and this is the state of many Nigerians and not particularly people from Ekiti State. The Nigerian political elites are aware of many citizens being swallowed up in poverty and this has become their weapon to win elections. They have a huge budget for vote-buying and they never plan to take poverty away. So sad with the depravity in the heart of so-called leaders”
The Nigerians in the diaspora on the other hand have begun to mount up hopes most especially in the coming election if the right candidate will win and change the state of endless misery beaconed on many Nigerian citizens. In the recent interview conducted by the African Voice Newspaper for Nigerians living in the UK, many considered going back home, if the right leader emerged in the coming election, most especially the presidential race.
Tolu Ajibade is a Uba driver in Kent and won’t think twice about leaving the UK for Nigeria if Peter Obi becomes the next president.
“I am getting old and considering going back to Nigeria has been a major concern with myriads of problems combating the nation. The rising insecurity problem is worrisome and my heart bleeds sometimes looking at the probability of going back home but I won’t think twice about going back to Nigeria if Peter Obi becomes the next president. I have so much hope in Obi and this is not about ethnicity or tribes or religious sentiments. He has sold out his credibility and everything he says, he will tell you to go and verify. He has rekindled my hope of going back to my father’s land if he wins.
Ire Jones is a factory worker in London. He has spent 20 years of his life living in the UK and he is homesick and tired of continuing living in the UK with much hope that Nigeria can become a better place to live if Peter Obi wins the election.
“There is no big deal living in the UK and I am one out of many that are tired of the system. There is so much huge tax and you have to keep working round the clock just to pay your bills. The system is designed for you to be averagely ok and never designed for you to be wealthy. Nigeria has all that life could offer but the problem has been leadership. I hope God has sent the right man, which is Peter Obi to take Nigeria to the promised land. We can’t afford to miss this era of Peter Obi”.
Michael Fatoki lives in London and he is also of the opinion of going back home if Nigeria is turned around. Having left Nigeria for ten years, he has a huge sense of going back home if there is a change within the political space.
“ I follow up on Nigerian politics every day and I think after my morning prayer, the next thing is browsing through my phone to check what is going on in the country. I have always been full of hopes that the country will be better if we have the right set of political leaders. I have been following Peter Obi lately and I think we need him if we remove religious and ethnic sentiments. He has said so many things with facts and figures while he will ask you to verify. This is just the right man for the job.
There are many Nigerians in the UK and quite a large number are full of hopes and considering going back home if the country takes a new turn. Peter Obi’s popularity is on the rise among the Nigerian citizens living in the UK as many hope, he could be the next president and make Nigeria a great nation. Are you a Nigerian living in the UK and what could make you relocate to Nigeria?
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