By this time next week, all things being equal, Nigeria would have known who would take the country on the next four-year ride through the waters of its existence. Many predictions precede the 2023 presidential election. Some supporters have already started circulating on social media a picture of their preferred candidate with the caption of president. The barrage of false information and propaganda has increased its crescendo and the dirty and desperate minded who see this election as a do or die affair have already started spinning their ultimate web of crime and electoral malpractice in a bid to cheat the electoral system and seize power.
All these are coming on the heels of the scorching scarcity of naira notes occasioned by a yet to be ascertained attempt to squeeze the last bit of patience and humanity from the Nigerian populace. The electorate at their wit’s end trying to secure Premium Motor Spirit at a good price as well as readjust as fast as possible to the extreme pressure of doing business in a cashless society where the banks’ software applications remain as problematic as ever.
Many have even stalled their business activities until the end of the elections. They would tell you they do not want to commit themselves in any serious business transaction until after the elections in order to be sure what direction Nigeria is going and what best step to take in acclimatizing to it. A sales representative told ANN that all his customers who used to ask for a restock of his products every 14 days have since declined doing any purchases “until after the election.” Most schools have closed for their mid-term breaks “until after the elections.” Therefore, the pattern continues across board for Nigerians living in Nigeria.
A maverick view of the developments would show that indeed, whatever becomes the outcome of the February 25 election; the real winners would be those who towed the path of peace and instead of make more enemies, made more friends and contacts as a result of the electioneering period. The true winners would be those who kept to the right side of the law and resisted every lure to engage in vote buying, vote selling and other forms of electoral malpractice during the election. The true winners would be those eligible voters who voted according to their conscience and not because a particular candidate or party is more popular than the other is. The true winners would be those who understand that politics is a game and that there are no permanent friends or foes but only permanent interests.
Who would be the true winners of the 2023 elections? They are the ones who speak out against all the misinformation and bullying, violence and malpractices that people engaged in this electioneering year all in attempt to seize power. It will be those who saw through the reverse psychology employed by some politicians to hypnotise the electorate and secure their votes. It would be those who understood that after the election, Nigeria will still be the same with all her teething problems and that nobody has the magic wand to make all of Nigeria’s problems disappear with the wave of a hand, regardless of all the claims.
These people would be the ones who would not be taken by surprise when the same masses that hailed Jesus while he rode on a donkey into Jerusalem would be the same people that would stone him as he carries his cross out of Jerusalem. They would be the ones who would adjust faster to whatever becomes the outcome of the election because they understand that the masses will always be the masses and politicians would always be politicians and survival is a must!
