As the 2023 presidential campaign begins

The campaigns for the 2023 presidential election will soon officially kick off to usher us fully into the election season. But almost all the gladiators have been subtly campaigning already with TV and newspaper interviews.

We have been inundated with promises from the presidential candidates from the ridiculous to the sublime.

In Nigeria, we wait every year to elect someone who we believe will be the messiah to take us to the promised land. We dress our candidates in borrowed robes and set unrealistic expectations for them and in most cases end up disappointed. I think we need to stop that trend.

I have said it severally on this page that one person alone cannot change Nigeria. We put so much pressure on the president and we forget we have governors, lawmakers, and local government chairmen. For us to get the country we desire and get our systems working, we need to start electing quality people from top to bottom. We need to have quality representatives at the state and national assembly and governors.

Sadly, as we approach the 2023 presidential election, we are still following the same trend of creating unrealistic expectations.

I was hoping that the presidential candidates will stick to the issues but my hope has been dashed. What are the issues? Growing a stronger economy and taming the ravaging insecurity.

The good news is that for the past few weeks, the military has been recording tremendous success against bandits and terrorists. We have been hearing cheering news and I hope they sustain the momentum. The federal government had pledged to end insecurity by December. I believe in the capacity and ability of the military to carry out this national assignment. Without security, every other thing takes a back seat.

Back to my topic, I was expecting the candidates to concentrate on issues and the electorate should judge the candidates based on their antecedents and practical plans for changing the fortunes of the country. But it seems we are all retreating to our ethnic cocoons.

When you read some messages on social media filled with ethnic and religious bile, you will be scared for the 2023 presidential election. The three major tribes are represented in the presidential election. The All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu, is Yoruba from the south-west; the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is Fulani from the north; and the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, is Igbo from the south-east. With all due respect to the other candidates, Nigeria’s next president will come from among these three candidates.

Already the conversations are taking the dimension of ethnic profiling and divisive campaigns. The supporters of the three leading candidates are tearing each other apart on social media and the media space. We simply cannot continue like this.

The irony of the whole thing is that the three candidates are close friends and will remain friends even after the election but some of their overzealous supporters will lose friends and family because of blind support.

Some are already threatening that if their favourite candidate doesn’t win, Nigeria will be on the road to Armageddon. I have good news for them. Nigeria will be fine even if their favourite candidate loses.

Also, the level of cyberbullying and toxicity on social media is appalling and reprehensible.

What I’ll never understand is why some supporters are so unfathomably insecure. You know, you can support your favourite presidential candidate without being toxic or dishing out discriminatory hatred toward the rest. It is possible. No matter what happens in 2023, Nigeria will be fine.