Lessons from 2015 general elections

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

The 2015 general elections have come and gone, the contests have been won and lost, the victors are doing their victory dances while looking forward to the tasks ahead while the vanquished are nursing their wounds and still trying to wake up to reality. The drama, intrigues, tensions and uncertainty that enveloped the atmosphere is gradually dispersing as we commence another four year journey to 2019. However, the 2015 elections came with rich lessons, and here are some.

Never Ruin People’s Chances in your Life

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), a party which prided itself as Africa’s largest party, has ruled Nigeria since the birth of Democracy in 1999. Apparently, the sixteen years old leader has been used, misused and abused that the chances of some credible candidates under the party’s umbrella had been almost completely eroded.

Some candidates, who contested under the umbrella and lost, suffered defeat solely because of their political affiliation. There were audible comments like “he is a good candidate; with a major disappointing ‘but’- his platform”. The people perceived and labelled the self-acclaimed Africa’s largest party as a wrong bus station to call for passengers owing to the national appeal and reputation they earned for themselves in close to two decades of their leadership. Their leadership actions and in some other cases, inaction ruined the chances of most of their candidates in the just concluded election. As I humorously put it – Never ruin people’s chances in your life. PDP has messed up so bad that they made it nearly impossible for their good candidates to win elections. People would say, give me HIV, STD, RIP...anything but PDP.

Be Humble; tomorrow is Uncertain

 The Omnipotent being has a way of bringing humility to those who find it too cheap to add to their short list of moral values and virtues. On the 18th of December 2008, barely nine years into Nigeria’s democratic rule, headed by the PDP, the then National Chairman vehemently stated that the party will rule Nigeria for not ten, not twenty, but for sixty years. Making such expression on borrowed breath with conviction was the height of contempt to the Supreme Being.