This may be the moment that Nigeria wakes from its torpor

What you need to know:

  • If even just half of this population cannot acquire jobs, “the trouble with Nigeria” may no longer refer to the title of the book by Chinua Achebe.

  • For sure, if the incoming leadership does not deal creatively with the country’s youth and harness their energy, technological know-how and aspirations, there will be hell to pay before very long

This morning, 84 million registered Nigerian voters are expected to choose their new president, but the choice they will make will not be entirely earth-shaking. This is because the leading contenders are both old, tired warhorses who have been in power or close to the apex of power in the past two decades, and neither — the austere incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari or his chief opponent, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar — may have anything new to offer.

KITTEN

Had President Buhari kept his pledges when he was elected four years ago as a civilian president, he wouldn’t have had any problem getting re-elected. However, he vowed to fight corruption the way he had done as a military ruler between 1983 and 1985, but failed to do so. Then he swore he would exterminate Boko Haram, the terror group that has for too long rendered the previously fabled Nigerian army impotent, but that outfit seems to be growing stronger with each passing day.

Considering that President Buhari has for a long time been plagued by ill-health to the extent that last year, he had to counter fake news that he had died abroad and had been replaced by a clone, it is not clear why, at 75, he chose to run for the presidency rather than “get off the horse” and go home as advised by one of his predecessors, the respected former President Olusegun Obasanjo. But judging from what happened in the DRC recently, it would not be very prudent on my part to speculate on who will carry the day after all. Very strange things have been known to happen in Africa during and after elections.

In the run-up to today’s election, speculation has been rife that the results will be a toss-up. In fact, if there is no organised cheating as happened in the Congo, Mr Abubakar may actually beat the president. At least he boasts economic management prowess judging from his personal fortune that runs into millions of Naira, but that may not necessarily translate into sound economic policies for the country. In any case, one can only hope that this time round, the votes cast will bring about much-needed change to the continent’s military and economic powerhouse that has been turned into a mewling kitten by blood-soaked militants.

STAMINA

Besides turning around the country’s stagnant economy, whoever wins this election must do two other things urgently: Devise strategies to contain Boko Haram militarily, a feat that has so far proved well-nigh impossible, and seek ways to create jobs for the country’s youth who are estimated to be 60 per cent of the population. This means that, since Nigeria’s population is at 190 million according to the most recent census, a full 114 million of them are below 35 years of age. This youth bulge is a disaster waiting to happen; one day it will burst at the seams.

If even just half of this population cannot acquire jobs, “the trouble with Nigeria” may no longer refer to the title of the book by Chinua Achebe. For sure, if the incoming leadership does not deal creatively with the country’s youth and harness their energy, technological know-how and aspirations, there will be hell to pay before very long. At the risk of being accused of ageism, it would have been better to entrust the country’s future to a younger person with the requisite stamina. Septuagenarians may have their use, but making and implementing 10-year plans for their countries can’t be one of them.

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Bashing the media when things go wrong is an age-old sport for many Kenyans, be they in top government offices or other positions of influence. The reason for this is its very impunity; you can call the media all sorts of names, accuse them of every sin of omission or commission, and they will still faithfully report what you said. This is extremely ironical, but giving a blackout to anyone whose utterances are the very definition of inanity may not be very profitable.

That is why it beggars belief when a person who relies on the media to propagate his beliefs, prejudices and activism can go on an all-out attack against the same outlet. A popular columnist recently accused the media of failing Kenyans by lynching the Judiciary instead of investigating those engaged in mega-corruption. He then went on a tirade lamenting the disappearance of investigative journalism, and concluding that this is one reason few Kenyans buy newspapers any more.

It seems that when knee-jerk critics of government have nothing to say, the media becomes a useful scapegoat. I have been in this industry all my working life, and I have never witnessed a time when journalists worked harder to expose so many ills in society. Almost all the corruption scandals of the past two decades have been exposed by the mainstream or social media. What else would the writer have journalists do — arrest the thieves? People who regard civil society activism as the only truth extant are surely deluded. Such activism cannot be an end in itself.

Mr Ngwiri is a consultant editor ([email protected]