They have made it compulsory for the masses to vote from a list selected by them knowing that as blind as the masses are, they may never realise they can actually have a choice. In the upcoming presidential election, the masses have been given no choice but to choose between two candidates forced upon them by the politicians.
What if Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan are not exactly what
the masses want? Are we going to have recourse when they fail as they
always do, to honour their promises?
There seems to be a spot in every
Nigerian, a soft spot in our consciousness like the one in a baby’s
head, which, if pressed or stroked in the right way, reduces us to
giggling children with mouths full of candy. That spot is what I call a
“Mumu Button.” And any person that finds and presses that mumu button in
Nigerians is on the road to wealth and power. As a youth, my faith in
this nation is disappearing like a fart in a wind storm. I have seen
that even the most intelligent and educated Nigerians, when you press
their mumu button, they turn into docile drooling puppy dogs, panting
happily. Obviously, every politician in this country understands this,
but for some reason, the masses don’t. My mumu button has been pressed
many times too, but unlike many people, mine has become calloused due to
misuse and abuse. But since I realised what the politicians are, they
can’t press my mumu button anymore. I see politicians as conmen, I see
them like those Ebonyi State boys trying to sell fake wrist watches to
me in traffic, I see them like pastors. They are always too eager to
sell their plans and schemes, to convince us that their government will
bring “change,” and if we support their candidates, we will be led out
of the darkness into light. And somehow in every election, an amazing
number of us fall for it. We keep buying the scam over and over.
With Buhari and Jonathan, we have again
swallowed the same con hook, line, sinker, rod, reel, creel, boat,
motor, and even the river, down our throats like a starving dog would
gulp a piece of rotten meat without sniffing it first. Why does Buhari
want to be president so badly? Who is really financing Goodluck
Jonathan’s N21 billion campaign and at what cost to the nation if he
gets reelected? When will the masses pull their numbers on the streets
and demand for the simple things of life? Are we ever going to stop
rolling over our backs with our legs wide open like a prostitute waiting
for her customer? With everything we see in the media, to be a
successful politician depends on talk, or more precisely, smooth talk.
The masses love smooth talk. It lulls us into some kind of euphoric
state. With smooth talks, they have convinced most Nigerians that night
is day, bad is good, and most recently, stealing is not the same as
corruption.
It saddens me whenever I see a group of
people arguing that Buhari is better suited for the presidency than
Goodluck Jonathan or vise versa. Therein lies the con of all: can’t we
see that both candidates are being financed by the same group of
individuals? That’s right, the very same people. Whoever becomes the
president on February 14 is still their choice. The elections are
nothing but theatrical productions to keep us distracted and pacified so
we won’t revolt and demand better government. To some of you naive
souls who are still under the spell of all the jangbajantis they taught
you in school, let me explain what election truly is in Nigeria: the
next president will only get into office by playing ball with the likes
of the Dangotes and other power brokers, and by telling you and me what
we want to hear. I have heard things like, his running mate is a pastor,
he is holy and credible. My friend, by the time anybody gets to be
presidential material, he’s been bought ten times over.
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