February 25, 2023 Elections: The Beginning of a New Nigeria
Only Patriotic Nigerians Are Celebrating the Victory of Democracy
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the national ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) won the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria that was held on Saturday, February 25. He defeated Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the main opposition party, People's Democratic Party (PDP) and presidential candidates of other political parties.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday, March 1st, 2023 presented the certificate of return to the President-Elect, Bola Tinubu in Abuja.
*AN ELECTION...*
An election that has turned Lagos from APC to another party other than PDP;
An election in which El-rufai could not deliver Kaduna;
An election in which Ganduje could not deliver Kano;
An election where Labour Party won in Nassarawa;
An election where atleast 7 popular incubent governors lost their bid for the Senate despite spending massively, to "nobodys" who barely spent anything;
An election where an Okada man and a driver have been reported to have won a seat in the Federal House of Representatives;
An election where the son of a nobody has finally been able to become somebody without the help of anybody;
Yet, you want to rubbish that election?
Because we didn't reverse it all completely?
How do we not see that THE CITIZENS have won already?!
How can we not see that the will of a people has prevailed over established political "structures"!
How can we not see that this is a MASSIVE win for democracy, and then plan to build on this even if the overall result doesn't fall as desired?
How can we not see that this is indeed the first election that the voice of the people has really mattered and has officially killed the age long narrative that *votes don't count*?
Shouldn't we start to celebrate this massive win for Nigeria;
Knowing it's the beginning of massive things to come?
Knowing that something has shifted and true change beckons?
Will blood on the streets be the only indication of change? And what guarantees does that offer?
Do we not see, that what happens from here is the most important thing?
Do we not see that how we build from here, is what matters most?
Do we not yet understand that anger is NOT a strategy and doesn't exactly produce the right result, but it is only an emotion
which, if channelled postively, should birth the right strategies?
Do we not yet see that we have achieved for the first time what has been impossible since the rebirth of our democracy in 1999?!
Are we so blinded by unguided passion that we will rather throw out the baby with the bathwater?
And cannot see that a massive thing just occured?
How many of you calling for blood on the street, is truly ready and willing to shed his/her blood?
Have we not checked history?
Have we not seen that those that died for change still did not fast forward the process of change?
For change still happened completely, ONLY in the process of time.
Can we therefore not see the massive step we have already taken?
And for those shouting, "The violent shall take it by force";
Did you not read your reference completely to understand that violence is the language of KINGDOMS and not DEMOCRACIES?
What exactly do we want?
Outside of the bandwagon mentality and somewhat unguided passion, have we truly defined what we want?
Every election Nigeria has had from 1999, with the exception of NONE, has been marred with protests, disenfranchisement of voters, and violence of massive proportions!
This election is not different, neither is it unique in that regard!
Some of the "tipexing" and "record changing" we have seen, which gives us the illusion that something monumentally wrong happened this time around, has actually been happening in much worse dimensions since 1999.
The only difference which we can't seem to appreciate is that for the first time, we have now been given a system in BVAS, that will shine light on whatever happens in the backend, and therefore, for the first time in our democratic history, the average citizen has been given eyes behind the scenes!
What a WIN!!!
All of this, therefore, makes this
election, the "closest" to CREDIBLE, or if you like, the closest to REALITY that we have ever had!
The pointers are littered all over the results we see!
We must really learn to separate things and not muddle them up with emotions.
We must be sincere enough with ourselves, to know when we have stopped fighting for our country and are just now performing for our individual egos and straddling the lines of arrogance.
If there be any grievances as would legitimately be expected, should we not then go through the established legal framework to address same?
NIGERIA HAS WON!
This election shows that much!
This victory, however, is a continium;
And in our lifetime, we will enjoy the fullness of it!
- *'Laolu Alabi*
February 2023
