THE TALE OF THE AGBADO, THE UNIFIER, THE MESSAIAH COMPLEX AND THE STUDENT UNION PRESIDENT MAJESTIQUE

The Nigerian political arena has always become a bloody war front with the opponents playing different games, strategies and techniques. The upcoming election, though, might be, arguably, the hottest game yet to go down in the history of Nigeria.

The top three candidates; Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, representing All Progress Congress (APC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Mr Peter Obi, the candidate of The Labour Party (LP), are from the three major tribes in Nigeria. These opponents play on ethnicity, religion and emotions. The fourth candidate is Mr Omoyele Sowore, a human rights activist.

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) is an old yoruba politician, who is no stranger to arena of the Nigerian politics. He is a master strategist and holds a lot of power. However he is aged and frail. His favorite word seems to be ‘agbado’- the yoruba word for corn. He has been seen several times on national TV, spouting unintelligible utterances, many of which have been turned into skits.

BAT has also been seen several times, unable to lift his agbada without assistance. A lot has brought into question, his capability to rule but many are his ardent supporters because of tribalism and ethnocentrism, forgetting that at the end of the day, every choice has a consequence.

BAT’s decision to appoint a fellow Muslim as his vice also raised a lot of eyebrows. The Christians feel excluded and see it as a plot to ‘Islamize’ the nation. Some supporters of BAT- the Batified, turn a blind eye to that and even wrote long unintelligent epistles to justify his actions. The traditionalists should be having a good laugh at this as they have long been shoved aside and ignored, even as the original owners of the country.

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is a northern man with several wives, which earned him the title, ‘unifier’. This is hilarious because in the many years of his political endeavors, only his serial marriages got him the title. Many support him because he is a northerner and/or Muslim. His supporters call themselves Atikulated.

Peter Obi, amongst all candidates, adopted a fresh technique that appeals to the youths and Nigerian neoliberals. He put on the cloak of the messiah - the Moses that would take Nigeria out of Egypt. He attends several interviews and has a supportive crowd called The Obedient, who at times, could be mindless zombies. Many forget that he was in the same party as Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the only reason he came out of PDP was because he was not selected as the running candidate.

He has proclaimed that the people are the structure of his structure-less party, running around, taking pictures and travelling around to learn how to supposedly develop Nigeria. His approach to tackling Nigeria’s problems is to micro-manage, which would not really solve anything. Thanks to Peter Obi, the IPOB have relented their voices and are willing endure a united Nigeria, but only if Peter Obi were the president.

Omoyele Sowore, on the other hand, is a human rights activist with no prior experience in politics. He loves to criticize the present government. In an idealist country, he might have made a good leader but if wishes were horses, everyone would ride. He is the closest candidate to being socialist. He seems passionate about the country but he has hung his activism cloak. He wants to change the system but he is quite naive. He is arguably the most liberal candidate but he cannot survive the heat of the Nigerian politics. Many think he is reaching too far for Presidency without climbing the political ladder.

The upcoming election would definitely be bloody and revolutionary. It would mark a change in the entire history of Nigeria, negative or positive, no one is sure yet. Everyone is tensed and hopeful that their preferred candidates win. The political cabals plot beneath the scenes to pave a path for their candidate. At the long run, almost all these candidates are in the same social group, protecting their interests over the citizen’s as the power is and has always been in their circle.