Luck
is believed to be occurrence of fortune or success by chance. We can call it
the carrier of unmerited favour. It is very desirable, great to hold and
splendor to behold. Everyone, one way or the other craves for luck and we do
get it, irrespective of our standing. Nigeria is a country of faith; the people
are accustomed to turning to God and making reference to divine manipulation
when things occur. God must be very proud of us. Forget our religion differences;
there is hardly any nation on earth so passionate about spirituality than
Nigeria. At every point in time, we turn to the greater force for solution to
our quagmire. Sometimes, we got the answer right, but many times we have been
too naïve, so we slipped off the track.
Prior to 2011, there was a man tipped
by all and sundry as a divine leader. The people experience respite in 2011
when they voluntarily gave him the mandate to lead them to Promised Land, a
land which flows with milk and honey as we read in the Holy Bible. It was a
sweet relief. “We are getting it right”, some people enthused. Four years down
the line, the people look back and discover it was a mirage. They have been outsmarted
by these politicians once again. It is either there was no luck there or the
luck hit the roadblock at take off.
I
have followed Nigeria political drama and landscape for over two decades now.
Yes, two decades. I can recall the event of 1992, 1993 and 1994. I still the
see the video of countdown to June 12, 1993 Presidential election, I am still
seeing the stickers of Hope ’93 with the horse logo at doorsteps in the
neighborhoods and I am still hearing the jingle, “M.K.O…is our man oooo…”. My
memory doesn’t fail me. I ate ‘Abiola Rice and drank ‘Abiola Milk’. The conflict
that ensued after the annulment of the election, I witnessed how people carried
coffins to protest along Bus Stop/Gate – Bere Road, how soldiers tear gassed
us. Though, I was very young but this memory doesn’t fail me. ABC Chemist at
Oje Market was burnt when a soldier fired tear gas canister and landed on its
roof. It was a mixture of fun and suffering. There was long queue at National
Filling Station at Itutaba, near Chief Akinloye’s house, all in Ibadan. I
remember how we resort to saw dust for cooking and how the residents of Ibadan
descended on ‘Igbo Agala’ to cut down trees for firewood. My memory doesn’t
fail here. Yet, the Social Democratic Party flag bearer, Bashorun M.K.O
Abiola’s luck had hit the roadblock on June 12, 1993. To me, the luckiest man
on that day was his opponent, Alhaji Bashir Tofa of National Republic Party,
NRC, which is commonly known as ‘egbe eleye’. He lost, yet he outlived his
opponent.
This
is 2015 and Nigeria’s political landscape is heated up by the politicians. I
can foresee nature’s usual way of manipulating with our nation. I know nature
holds the best for us but often times we choose the worst. Of all the
Presidential candidates for the February 14’s election, none is suitable to
lead us to our dreamed nation. General Muhammodu Buhari has been there, though,
he is been appreciated for his disciplinarian stance and the integrity he
extols, but he is too old to lead a new generation of Nigeria. However, the
incumbent who could have been a ray of hope has so far been an utmost
disappointment and has left some of us with no option than to stick with the
good old days. The other Presidential candidates from other political party are
mere spectators, only God knows their motives. This is where we found ourselves
as a nation of over 180million people. I know the election will come and go
irrespective of vituperations by a militant. I know there would be massive
attempt to rig it, I know the electorate may vote with ethnicity consideration,
I know religion will play a massive role in the election. But all these bleed
my heart because my country is a place where logic is castigated and impunity
is exalted. And as a nation, I am afraid our luck may hit roadblock this year
as predicted by another nation.
Oluwatidamilare
is a writer, Motivational Speaker and Consultant.
