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Public opinion is largely anti-APC for 2023, but is the opposition even worth our trust?

Joseph Adeiye
Point Blank

ANY Nigerian who is being honest and fair will agree that Nigeria is not doing so well for its own well-being —the safety of Nigerians has never been so threatened and our economy is on a downward curve. There are many factors that can be linked to the many misfortunes of the country in the last couple of years but Nigerians need a culprit more than anything else. Today’s scapegoat for many will be the president and his political party. 

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While President Muhammadu Buhari believes that his government has done everything possible to keep Nigeria afloat in the face of an unprecedented broth of challenges, many Nigerians think otherwise and have gone as far as demanding he steps down from the presidency. 
The corrosive criticism from Nigerians is not only for Buhari but for his political platform, the All Progressives Congress. It would seem that in this blame game we want to drag his party down as well so that, even if Buhari uses his final presidential term, the APC will be like a legion of lepers in the next general election. The ruling party is currently receiving the sort of negative rating that the opposition received just before the 2015 general election, when they were the ruling party. Now that the Peoples Democratic Party has seen how the president’s infamy is affecting the ruling party, the opposition is ready to go on the offensive to reclaim Aso Villa. 

As we ‘celebrated’ Democracy Day on Saturday, June 12, the state governors under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) planned to meet in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, to concoct various plans on how to remove the ruling All Progressives Congress in the forthcoming 2023 general elections. They have made it obvious that the opposition will stop at nothing to secure the prioritized presidential seat come 2023. So, it is within expectations to see these governors from the PDP working to support their party in every capacity in the coming years. 

As these politicians strategize and plan on how to influence the future of governance in Nigeria, Nigerians will be wise to follow their every move closely. This is because as politicians view politics as a game and are engrossed in outplaying their opponents, these politicians often end up in government using the same poli-tricks and playing political games instead of actually governing. This is why some governments will be more concerned about how previous leaders left ruins behind than how to take responsibility and change current realities favourably.

The Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress are currently locked in their political power play, they are more interested in how either of them will come out on top at the end of the 2023 battle for supremacy than how to really fix Nigeria. So when politicians like the PDP governors gather and make promises about how they would not disappoint Nigerians who support them, it will be quite unwise to not take their words with a pinch of salt. Listening to political rhetoric can be very boring especially if you have been listening for years. The rhetoric of transformation, change, and next level. The rhetoric of God in politics. The APC is fond of these, but the PDP did not spare us of such rhetoric on Sunday either. 

The Chairperson of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Aminu Tambuwal, conjured a picture of God-fearing leaders who are willing to rely on prayers and righteousness to facilitate the recovery of Nigeria. “These star-studded leaders of PDP governors in their respective states and political generals are determined by the grace of God through your prayers, support and cooperation, to rescue Nigeria.

“It is a task that we must accomplish to the glory of God and his glory alone.

“God on our side, we are determined as leaders, to provide that platform for the emergence of another PDP leadership in this country, come 2023.

“We need prayers. God is always there for His people and will never be tired of Nigeria for His glory.” 

This prime example of the rhetoric of God in politics by even the opposition should not inspire our trust in them at all. If anything, we can clearly see the dishonesty of a group of persons who have been part of the political elite for no less than a decade trying to rescue us from a situation they created in the first place. 

Rhetoric is not enough to save Nigeria. Transformation did not come, Change was negative, only for us to buy Next Level. We need responsible and responsive people who can be trusted, not parties or empty or promises.