Hot on the heels of the 2015 general elections are a string of lobbying, real politicking and power tussles leading to May 29th, when the elected government is sworn in to power. Everyone is guessing what the cabinet will look like, and with a recent mention of the APC changing its manifesto, the debate is raging on, on why that happened, and whether the party will rescind on her pre-election promises. Flashback to pre-election days in February and March 2015, and vote canvassing were done via the media - conventional and new - in the form of hate speech, defamation of character, in documentaries, advertorials, townhall meetings and civic debates before the elections. While manifestos were thoroughly analyzed, concerns over issues like corruption, unemployment, maternal and child healthcare, domestic violence, security, foreign exchange, economy, foreign policy, inflation, rule of law and power were hugely on the front burner before the elections and seem to remain, as Nigerians continue to guess, how the incoming government will deal with Nigeria's plethora of problems.
THUGS "@Abati199O: The President commends Ayo Fayose, for this advert. The Old General is too weak to lead. pic.twitter.com/2lyuTJg8YJ"
— YOUNG MADIBA (@MallamaHafsa) January 20, 2015
Analysts say if the incoming government can do away with corruption and make power available to Nigerians, a lot of the problems currently plaguing the largest massing of black people on earth will begin to tow the path to self sufficiency and development. And recently, at a gas sector roundtable, the issue of gas to power and gas to transport were reiterated as means to alleviate a lot of the problems plaguing Africa's largest economy. However, while the problem is said to be with the transmission of power rather than generation and distribution which have been duly privatized between preceding governments, it is not clear if the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) will be able to improve transmission capacity of the current grid, or a miracle is expected of Muhammadu Buhari in anycase. Prior to the elections, the Sell Your Vote webapp - j.mp/Sell2015, a scenario game asking Nigerians if they will compromise their votes by taking money from politicians, got some feedback which showed that Nigerians were no longer willing to take peanuts from politicians for shoddy showing while in office.
My vote is a "seed". I just checked the value of my vote on the http://t.co/JFNUQkHwmy app/website. @KoloKennethK pic.twitter.com/DGEx9TAohJ
— Beryl@CocktailsByMzB (@PurpleEllipsis) April 9, 2015
— Award Winning Wife (@bimbo_cash) March 23, 2015
I just sold my vote for N0.00 at http://t.co/ddoaghK0gS... Sell yours too for PREMIUM value as #NigeriaDecides pic.twitter.com/Kuush7JnfF
— Ojonwa Miachi (@ojonwa) April 1, 2015
And believe it or not, Nigerians who have already set up the "Office of the Citizen" of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, will seek to ensure accountability and transparency in the delivery of dividends of democracy, which like in 1959 till today, revolve around clean water, good roads, functional hospitals, free education, jobs and constant supply of power. Whether President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari is the Miracle Man from Daura, is something Nigerians will realise after May 29.
