Nigeria: The challenge of survival beyond the 2023 general elections-Why we should listen to the youth support their cause-Notes for posterity, By John Abhuere

INTRODUCTION

In few days time, the 2023 General Elections would have come and gone. What we do between now and then and how we do them especially with our votes during election will determine whether Nigeria will remain as one big strong country like the USA or become fragmented like Israel of the old under Rehoboam or Yugoslavia in 1992. Either world is possible but what comes upon us will depends largely on the outcome of the 2023 general elections.

For all intents and purposes the forthcoming presidential election is a make or mar exercise. Against the catalog of failures and disappointments of the past, the 2023 Presidential election must be seen as a referendum of sort on the country’s unity and survival. The question is: Do we want Nigeria to remain as one country or to go the way of Yugoslavia? I stand for the unity of Nigeria.

However in a country where many ethnic groups complain of marginalization, exclusion and where some others are accused of greedy domination or too much obsession with monopoly of the national government there is a big hurdle to the unity and even survival of the country. The difficulty was even deepened the more in 2022 when the powerful elite sealed all hopes of redemption by jettisoning the principle of power shift to the South East geo- political zone where it was meant to be in accordance with conventional practice since 1999.

The ripples of the violation of shared Values and breach of faith hurt the feeling of others and break mutual trust, thereby frustrating the hope of unity of the country. Neither the APC nor the PDP can give the salvation the country really needs today because of heavy moral burden or deficit. For instance, a victory for the PDP means reigniting the north- south dichotomy while the APC victory will destroy whatever trust and respect between the west and east. This is why I am worried because Nigeria to me is like a tinderbox .It can inflame any moment because of subdued anger and injustice and frustration.

I am a Nigerian nationalist and Writer. I owe no loyalty or allegiance to any political party. The well being of Nigeria has been my main interest. Nigeria first before anything else including political parties. There has to be a country before political parties. What l am seeing is nightmarish. It Is a big ball of fire set by political greed and insensitivity of some political parties since last year which could spread uncontrollably to burn all of us…. We have duty to save the country from avoidable disaster.

At 71, I am deeply pained and sad that the country we gleefully celebrated in 1960 has been in bad shape for too long a time-made more so in the more recent times by two political parties.
There is urgent need for self correction by removing the obstacles to our collective progress. Political parties with dismal performance should not be voted for any longer. This was part of the mistakes of the past- Power moving from one failed party to another. This has to change. The youth have shown the light, and suggest the way forward here. Let there be Justice .As elaborated on below what the APC& PDP political elites have damaged, let the electorate fix or correct the situation with their PVCs by voting heavily for Labor party and its Obi-Datti presidential ticket

Based on careful analysis of the history of their country, the youth cry for change and mobilize themselves for action. More specifically, what the youth had done so far is to identify and chart a new path and infused their choice with national idealism .Here they remind the country of the wrong, barren, unproductive and most disappointing road she has travelled these over sixty years of independence especially since 1999 when democracy returned. Two political parties had ruled the country since 1999 with remarkable inefficiency, unpardonable failure and extreme hardship. We are tired of living with bad government.

Nations are built by their patriotic citizens .And this is where the efforts of the youth informed by strong spirit of patriotism, nationalism and altruism are relevant and a concern for a better country should be supported. Nigeria is not the only culturally diversified country in the world as can be seen from the history of Singapore and the USA. But through policy of inclusion, citizenry participation, good governance equitable Justice, respect for the rule of law, able leadership and effective management of resources including diverse cultures they have have done far better than Nigeria.

Those of us above 70 years should not turn face to the other way when the country is sliding down the edge of the precipice. The 2022primaries left the country fatally wounded and raised serious concerns about our collective sense of justice, unity and patriotism and insensitivity of the APC and the PDP in placing narrow self interest of “winnability” far above the collective national interest of the unity and survival of the country beyond 2023.

Papering cracked walls will not help. The voters must do the right thing by voting against the political parties that brought us so much hardship and sorrow in the past. Luckily the youth have spoken well and acting rationally on the right path to national unity, progress and survival. This piece invites all the voters to support their cause for our collective good. What follows are some of the reasons we should listen to the youth and vote Labor Party, Obi and Datti to power.

CHALLENGE OF SURVIVAL BEYOND THE 2023 GENERAL ELECTIONS

By the end of 2022, it was clear that Nigeria was in grave danger of disintegration. Survival level was low. She was faced with serious existential Crisis worsened the more in 2022 by the unpatriotic actions of some political elite who placed narrow personal interests far above the collective public and national interest. The dogged and insensitive pursuit of policy of exclusion, utter disregard for shared and cherished values such ch power shift,rotation and zoning,excessive greed for power at all cost, neglect of equitable Justice, rule of law, marginalization of some ethnic groups from the leadership of the country ,insecurity, ,poverty etc are some of the causes of the existential crisis threatening the foundation of the country today. It is cleat that unless concerted efforts are made in 2023 to save the country from the harms done against her in 2022 by some the political elite she would be doomed for ever.

Nigeria’s greatest challenge today is how best to ensure its survival after the 2023 general elections.It is about how to keep the territorial integrity of the country intact as it is presently.This in our opinion should be our collective uppermost consideration as we plan to vote shortly. It is the main reason all patriotic Nigerians should vote for Labor Party with its presidential ticket of the duo- Obi & Datti as the party with the strongest moral force and intellectual capacity to do the needful for national unity and development.

For the youth, year 2023 is an opportunity to change the fortune of the country through wise voting for a new government. Towards this end they identified with a new political party led by Mr Peter Obi and Dr Datti – Ahmed -two great Nigerians generally believed to be morally upright, efficient and effective management and administration. Every society desires its best on the leadership seat.

There are reasons to believe that the youth are better informed here and to support their position, party and those on their presidential ticket -the pair of Obi and Datti.

If nothing else, there has been genuine cause for worry about poor leadership in Nigeria and related problems of poverty, insecurity, unemployment, bottom- level patriotism. And these men are Gurus here.For a more rewarding change the youth are advising us all to look before leaping and to ensure that the parties that led us to our present predicament are not given another chance to continue with their ruination of the country. This is the simple but true message of the youth to the rest of the society-The need for positive and beneficial Change.

They should be taken seriously because positive change is often the outcome of “conscious decision and guided actions”.the huge failure of the past and imperative of positive change for way forward. Obi-Dati is the best pair to run the country in terms of shared vision for nation building,moral fitness, knowledge, skills, competence and zeal for sound leadership, effective management and good good governance.

Thus the forthcoming elections provide opportunity to start fixing Nigeria afresh with emphasis on her unity and development . Enough is enough to bad governance, inept leadership, mismanagement, greediness for power, structural injustice in the country and to get good hands in the saddle. This is why the intervention of the youth and their chosen path aimed at salvaging from the political jackal should be appreciated.

LABOR VICTORY-A VOTE FOR NATIONAL UNITY,JUSTICE, & HALT TOWADS DISINTEGRATION

There is the need to save Nigeria from disintegration. A vote for Labor Party with its Obi-Datti presidential ticket is a vote for national unity, peace, harmony and development of the country. It is halt to the nation’s slide towards disintegration Normally I am a nationalist who is strongly optimistic about the Nigeria project. Today my faith in one Nigeria has been strongly shaken by the insensitivity and unpatriotic attitude of the political class especially those of the two leading political parties- the PDP and the APC.

It is needless to say that their unpatriotic actions have almost driven the country to precipice. I have never never been more afraid of the possibility of Nigeria’s disintegration than now because of the open endorsement of the policy of exclusion in 2022 by the two leading political parties in Nigeria and the attendant venom of bitterness, acidic hatred, brazen injustice and endless sea of frustration that had surfaced ever since and shall continue to exist or manifest in the country. You do not plant injustice and expect Justice to reign. The citizens should use their PVC to restore love and unity, justice and fair play, hope and faith in the country by voting for Labor Party. Obi and Datti have the magic wand, energy and intellectual capacity todo he needs.

I am worried the more about the disintegration of the country because the country seems to me like a tinder- box of sort and there is so much ignorance, unconcern or indifference to the danger inherent in sitting on a tinderbox .Any small mistake or wrong doing could inflame everything to ashes- GOD forbids. But it is a possibility. Yet some of us take the unity of the country for granted believing wrongly that come rain or shine – whatever happens Nigeria will survive and remain one united big country . Unfortunately I do not believe so: Nigeria could fall apart under the heavyweight of injustice and misrule and disrespect for morals, rule of law , conventional practice and shared values.

Till date I still do not understand why our leaders had been so so impervious to reason and perception and unfaithful to the national cause. For instance we prayed in our discarded National anthem:”Oh God of creation, to help us to build a nation where no one is oppressed” and to “live in peace and plentiful ” but we continue to trade in injustice, banditry, corruption, hatred etc .In the present National anthem we sing to God to “guide our leaders right, help our youth the truth to know, to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign and one nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.”But more often than not we have failed to live up to the expectations of our prayers or heart desires.

It is memorandum of sort on the future of the country. It is about a choice bet poverty and wealth,bad governance and good governance.For instance if we want to remain in perpetual misery , poverty and embarrassing state of under- development you can vote in the old guards but if you want a brand new better Nigeria, new lease of life and big sigh relief from backwardness and other negative effects of misrule that abound in the country today please vote right and the right . In the view of the youth and supported by this writer, the appropriate political party to save the day for us all is the Labor party with Mr Peter Obi and Dr Datti as presidential and VicePresidential candidates respectively .For them It is the most assured path to national redemption and highest hope for economic success today.

EXISTENTIAL CRISIS

Basically the Nigerian youth are concerned with existential issues or crisis of the country.They are on rescue mission:They want to retrieve their country from the jaw of the lion or the valley of death. In a word ,they want to create a new Nigeria of their dreams. Towards building a new Nigeria , there are some important, helpful questions to ask here: what is new and old in the country? Which political parties brought us to this sorry pass? Such questions are important to help guide us on what to do to save the country from further damage.

The answer here is clear. The political parties that ruled Nigeria especially since 1999 brought us to this sorry pass.What is new in the political scene is the rise of the Labor Party from obscurity with large support from the youths who are looking for ways to overcome to the existential problems of the country and obstacles to both personal and national survival. There is new thinking and approach to making Nigeria a great nation. The incompetence and injustice under the APC and PDP governments had gone beyond reason and made them irrelevant to the new agenda. It was time to say no to a return of the country “to the days of the jackals”.

NEED TO AVERT DANGER AHEAD

To avert the danger looming around , the youth believe in having new and better hands in leadership positions. AS they say: “garbage in garbage out “. This underscores the need to look for clean, useful stuff to feed into the system .It invites us to vote for the right party that can deliver the good .For this reason they wish for more virtuous and competent people in government. They seek for her unity, prosperity, meaningful development for all parts of the country equitable Justice, address issues of structured injustice ,inequality , marginalization, exclusion , poverty , unemployment, insecurity and the survival of the country beyond2023 and more goodies for their beloved country. In short, they want to create a new world and save the country from the misrule of the past.

Properly understood , the issues which the youth are concerned with are not youth specific but of general concern for the collective good for the progress of their country. What is good is good. And what is bad is bad. Reason demands that we support what is good. The Labor party and its presidential ticket of Obi – Dati in their view is best for the task of nation building. To them based on their history of dismal poor performance in office since 1999, the APC and PDP are not only bad but they are also unfit to be trusted with power today. Common sense dictates that we should embrace what is good and reject what is bad. The youth desire the best for their country including able, virtuous leaders.

IN SEARCH OF LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER COUNTRY

Take leadership for example. Every society desires to recruit its best for leadership. There might not be agreement on what constitutes the best. But we know it when we see it. The youth’ s concern with leadership is of common interest and consistent with philosophers thinking since classical times. All the leading minds reviewed recommend having the best citizens in leadership position, the reverse has been largely the case in Nigeria.

As some government’s sources admit, the country had not been lucky enough to have capable hands to lead her. In fact Achebe spoke the mind of many citizens when he identified poor leadership as the greatest of the country. How to get the best leaders from the 2023 general elections has been the main concern of the majority of the Nigerian youth. Rightly they are advocating for the most virtuous party leaders here. The youth are right in their search and choice. They are at home with Aristotle who prefer people of high virtue in power .

According to him the” values of virtuous qualities in people rather than formal rules or useful results” should count more in the selection of leaders. To him “individuals have certain qualities or virtues in their character that make them better than others”. To Aristotle human existence is for “the promotion of rational pursuit of excellence or knowledge of the good” which in turn requires the personal virtue of honesty, truthfulness, courage, temperance, generosity and high mindedness(La Rue Hosman) .

The use of reason he said leads to “excellence and happiness”.

In this connection Michael Josephson identified six core values which most people hold dear and should be of interest in leadership recruitment, development and practice. The core values include trust worthiness, respect, responsibilities, fairness caring and citizenship. They are ethical in nature. This is important to note because one can be wealthy, handsome, powerful etc without be virtuous or ethical. (http://saylordolog.glthub.io/text-government-regulation-and-the-legal-environment-of-business).

To some such as Plato the philosopher king or king philosopher should lead in order to to have a just City. To Socrates “until philosopher s rule as kings or those who are now kings and leading men genuinely and adequately philosophize, that is until political power and philosophy entirely coincide… Cities will have no rest from evils( https : //wwwbritannical.com>topic) .
To him leaders should be morally up-right, and subordinate their personal interest to public interest, avoid doing what is inconsistent with a “commitment to rightness or a vow never to do wrong…disrespect for the laws and harm the reputation of one’s family and friends” (Encyclopedia Britannica). This was the main reason Socrates rejected the idea of escaping from Athens when he was found “guilty of impiety and corrupting the young” with ideas, unbelievable crime: refusing to recognize gods recognized by the state, introducing new gods and corrupting the morals of the youth people” . In his view doing so conflicts with is moral belief or principle and it was dishonorable to disrespect the state -even though many saw his “trial as state persecution” and “execution as state murder”.
To others only the physically healthy, strong, courageous, wise citizen should rule. To utilitarian philosophers only those who can produce the greatest happiness or good for the majority of the citizens -greatest number should rule. But thinkers such as Kant argues otherwise insisting that only those who can do good acts should lead because some bad actions could produce happiness to some people.

There are those who see good in dictatorship as opposed to democratic leadership. However those in leadership are expected to be loyal, educated, knowledgeable, caring, patriotic, nationalistic, altruistic, faithful to people and the constitution, highly ethical, creative and result oriented. In the more recent years following many corporate scandals that had affected the fortunes of nations at both domestic and international levels ,greater attention had shifted to the moral / ethical side of life or question in the governance of both the private and public organizations ,character of leaders and managers, their ethical standards etc.
The meaning of all this is that there is never an end to the search for good hands on the saddle of leadership, management and governance of an organization or society. And the youth are right in their quest and chase for better society and their desire for virtuous leadership. Nigeria needs virtuous men and women and a patriotism- driven political party with genuine concern for the good of society and happiness of all the citizens to lead and run the country in the right direction. But there has been serious gap between intention and actions, between theory and practice. Here the need for good governance is recognized, the qualities of able leadership and effective management are known and the importance of sound ethical conduct is appreciated but the political elite do not care to apply them in practice.
The yawning gap between theory and practice has been on for ages in Nigeria. There has been serious leadership, management, governance, and justice challenge in the country .Time is now at hand to bridge the gap and tackle the challenge of leadership and management that had stalled our progress since independence. Here I believe that the Labor Party with the Obi-Dati president ticket has the capacity more than any other party to do this today in Nigeria.
HIGHER ON THE SCALE OF VIRTUES- All Animals are equal but some are more equal than others
As George Orwell observed in his book -Animal Farm “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others ” . Other parties may be good but on the youth’s scale of virtue ,moral probity and ethical standing in Nigeria some parties and their leaders are more virtuous than others, more patriotic, nationalistic, altruistic , more caring, inclusive and development oriented , more morally and ethically upright than others .This is the point of the youth that can hardly be faulted. For them the Labor party with Obi and Dati are the best toddy. And it is in our collective interest and the survival of our great, very promising and eminently endowed, abundantly blessed but poorly led and managed country to listen to the youth, support their cause and aspirations for a better country.

EXTREME POVERTY AND HARDSHIP

The nation had suffered extreme povertyUSE and hardship from elite’s failure in government since 1999.To save the country from further damage from the years of the locust in Nigeria, and reverse its misfortune ,the citizens must have the courage to change the political parties that had bled the country almost to death, change the tempo of the game and chart a new course or direction for her. In a nutshell ,this has been the message of the Nigerian youth to our society today- the urgent need for positive change by voting for Labor Party led by Mr. Peter Obi – their golden symbol of Justice, hope for a better Nigeria, good governance and survival of the country beyond the 2023 general elections.

In clear terms the youth are asking voters to reject the largely unwise, negatively productive ,highly unpatriotic , unfeeling , self centered and uncreative old guardians of the country as exemplified by the APC and PDP both of which had been in power since 1999 to our collective regret or consternation. They should be rejected for their extremely poor performance and unhelpful intransigent attitude to national unity and development.

USEFUL LESSONS AND VERDICT OF HISTORY

History is important in understanding the focus and action of the Nigerian youth today and in prompting public support for them. Since the return of democracy to Nigeria in1999 two political parties had exercised power . The first was the PDP1999-2015. The second is the APC. The general verdict was that the country was wantonly raped by the ruling political elite. We must remember those responsible for our collective pains and life of degradation for punishment with rejection at the polls. As we have tried to show, the failure of the political elite especially those of the PDP &APC to do things right messed up the country and threatens our collective existence.

Since the problems of Nigeria today are caused largely by the ruling political parties of the country since 1999 the right thing the voters should do is to issue them with the red card they deserved for fouling the political game over the years.

The problems are many and are now deeply entrenched in our society. They require more competent and committed hands to deal with them. Among others, the problems include insecurity, unemployment, scarcity of good and services- food, money, fuel etc. , weakened spirits of patriotism, nationalism and altruism, loss of faith, confidence and hope in fatherland etc., etc. They are the effect of the many years of failure of the APC and PDP in government and misrule of the country especially the mismanagement of diverse cultures since 1999.

CORRECTING PAST MISTAKES

In particular, the failure of the PDP &APC in 2022 to play by the established rules and convention of the primaries worsened the situation. The primaries left the country severely wounded and raised serious concerns about justice, unity and sense of patriotism of theAPC and the PDP.They have had their turns and times in power with woeful consequences for all of us. Papering cracked walls or allowing either of them would not help the cause national unity and development. They should be sent packing with the advice to learn to sin no more. We need to move forward to take our due place among the comity of nations. But as I observed in my last post,” the unpatriotic actions of the political class of the APC & PDP did not allow this in the past and do not offer hope for redemption today.

Generally the survival of the country was seriously endangered by their political elite, little or no attention has been paid to how to avert it or save the country from imminent doom. While it has been clear that Nigeria is in urgent need of redeemers, the political parties who cooked the bad soup are up again in their aprons asking for our votes to continue with the mess. Rightly the youth are resisting and saying NO to their unholy move.

It is embarrassing to see the woefully failed political parties putting themselves forward and asking for our votes once more without shame. It is needless to say that their action is nothing but insult to our intelligence and a slap on our collective memory. As they say you cannot eat your cake and still have it. Their time has passed leaving behind its misery with us to live with. There is a new season at hand and they do not fit into it especially the new unity and development aspirations and agenda of the youth for their country today. The youth earnestly yearn for a rewarding positive change- break with the ugly past.

Let’s shine our eye to avoid the mistakes of the past . As they say ” variety is the spice of life” .The relay -like change of baton from the PDP to APC for the over twenty years should stop because of the lackluster performance. The two parties are like Siamese twin in terms of poor performance. Let us try the Labor Party- the preference of majority youths. History is the spur herThere are other reasons the two parties under reference should be rejected .One of them is the imperative of self correction.

As Charlie Boy has observed “our mumu don too much” – meaning our stupidity and docility are painfully too much. Time now for positive change. For their many intransigent actions including disappointment of popular expectation, acute failure and far below expectation -performance in general and their abandonment of shared values and principles such as power shift, refusing to zone their presidential ticket to the SE ZONE they should be rejected by the voters.

“ONCE BEATEN TWICE SHY”.

Truly “Once beaten, twice shy”. Nigerians have been beaten too many times for too long a time. For the love of country, ourselves, sake of her survival, Justice, equity, maximum citizenry participation, our children, grand children, their children, accelerated development, unity and continuity of the Union and for the bad governance and attendant hard life and long suffering of majority citizens due to inept leadership ,the political parties that had ruled the country since 1999 should not win policy power now. For this reason I support the cause of the youth . Let all the true patriots vote for LABOUR PARTY OBI- DATI PRESIDENTIAL TICKET for the survival ,prosperity and sustained progress of Nigeria after the 2023 General Elections .Nigeria needs new watchmen, new drivers and better hands on deck the political scene for better results and to avert the self- destructive crisis that lay ahead of the country especially because of the shoddy conduct of the 2022 primaries.

SAD TALES OF POOR PERFORMANCE AND WISDOM OF SAVING NIGERIA FROM SELF DESTRUCTION

I agree with the youth that based on the history of poor performance by those political parties and our collective burning desire for positive change , they should be rejected to save Nigeria from self inflicted wounds. It is not wise or proper to reward political parties with a long history of failure with political power. It is unhealthy- really unhealthy, unwise and unhelpful for political power to continue to flow from one failed and morally bankrupt party to another-forth and back.

MUCH DANGER IN THE AIR

There is much danger in the air. It is surprising why it has been so difficult for some of us to see the great danger of some of the decisions and actions by our political elite such as the perpetual denial or exclusion of some groups from governance of our dear country? Why can’t we see the unjustness of the perpetual exclusion of some ethnic groups from the leadership of the country? Why is it so difficult to appreciate the fact that placing self interest above national interest is bad, wrong and unhelpful. It is nation wrecking and retarding of progress.

We need to change the game or direction. The citizens must vote to correct the injustice of exclusion , neglect of meaningful development , wanton violation of the rule of the game, corruption, and heal wounds and injuries of the past committed and perpetrated and perpetuated by the big traditional political parties . Rather than reward, the right thing should be done -reject them., vote them out so that country could have a new lease of life.

SELF CORRECTION

A time comes when citizens make self discovery and undertake self-correction. In such auspicious time , they make a vow and take decision to end all rots in society and manage their destiny much better rather than leave it to chance. In unison they look for good men to fix things for them. This is such time for Nigeria. The youth are really right and ready here. Their choice of presidential ticket to support is superb.

In many ways Obi and Datti represent the best today, the Justice and moral uprightness, educational background, knowledge, skills and competences we have been looking for in our leaders and managers over the years especially since 1999 when democracy returned to Nigeria from forced exile.

A vote for Labour party is thus a vote for the correction of the mistakes and “historical injustice of the past”.

For instance, were the leadership of the APC and PDP more patriotic and not obsessed with the value of winnability that made them to jettison some helpful conventional practice since 1999,a Nigerian from the south east zone would have emerged president of Nigeria after the 2023 elections. What the APC & PDP political elites have damaged, let the electorate fix or correct the situation with their PVCs by voting heavily for Labor party and its Obi-Datti presidential ticket.

INTEGRITY

A vote for labor party with Obi -Datti presidential ticket is vote for integrity, prudence and good governance. Obi has the gift of creative stinginess and prudence by which we mean putting money on only viable projects that can move the state forward. Datti is man of strong moral principles and high ethical standards. he once withdrew from presidential race because accord the process of elections was too filthy.

THE NEED FOR BETTER DEAL FROM POLITICIANS AND GOVERNMENT

For sure we need better deal from our politicians and government of the day. We need to have more virtuous people in government. And we need good leaders and political parties that care for the wellness and happiness of all the citizens and survival of the country. By their numerous selfish acts ,the APC &PDP have proved extremely unfit to do the needful for accelerated development and unity of the country, highly untrustworthy and extremely incapable of doing good governance over the years.

In particular their misuse of political power, disrespect for the nation’s code of conduct, and violation of national values, conventional practice such as power shift, zoning etc, in 2022 showed them as incorrigible sinners and offenders deserving a red card to leave the field of play for better players. Better players are needed urgently to score the desired goal.

SAVING COUNTRY FROM FURTHER RUINS

We need to save the country from further ruins. We need leaders that are morally or ethically conscious and responsible. A nation where rules of conduct and values are violated at will is bound to live in crises. And political parties which aided and abetted such evil against society do not deserve our attention. Rather, as we suggested earlier, the unpatriotic, failed and disappointing political parties should be punished and one of the effective ways to do this is to deny them further opportunity to form a government after the 2023 elections. They can no longer be trusted with political power.

Integrity and trust are important to win public confidence and support but as we saw in 2022, the political parties under reference lacked these qualities and many other nation enabling and ennobling values such as nationalism , patriotism’, altruism and Justice, respect for the rule of law, shared values etc. politicians need to observe a code of decent code of conduct. To recall a “Code of Conduct is a “set of rules outlining the norms, rules and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual ,party or organization. It is said to be important part in establishing an inclusive culture” “though not a comprehensive solution on its own”.(Www http so:/ en.m.wikippedia.org>wiki.

RESPECT FOR CODE OF CONDUCT FOR NATIONAL UNITY AND INTEGRATION

As I have observed elsewhere there is the need to respect code of conduct, shared values, promote tolerance and inclusion for harmony and peace to reign in the polity.

They are good for the health of nations. With deliberate policy of inclusiveness, justice and fairness, nations stay together in unity, otherwise they fall apart. This is the story of the old kingdom of Israel under Rehoboam that broke into smaller kingdoms including Judea. It was also the same experience of YUGOSLAVIA where the mismanagement of diverse cultures among others led to the disintegration of the country.

On the contrary, effective policy of inclusion ,Fair Play and Justice produced pleasant results in Canada and the UK respectively. In 1995 Quebec referendum was held for the sovereignty of Quebec but because the French speaking area of Canada felt at home and thus saw no need to leave Canada .On 18 September 2014 a referendum on Scottish independence was defeated by 55% to45% as the Sottish people voted to remain one with the U.K.

And in Nigeria the Yoruba ethnic group were only relatively pacified in 1999 when Obasanjo became president after the foolish annulment of Abiola victory. There was a big sigh of relief all over the country. This is why the unpatriotic and unjust act of abandoning the sane policy of power rotation, power shift with its salutary therapeutic effect on policy of inclusion and participation by some political parties in 2022 has been of great concern for the wrong message and ill feelings the abandonment sends across some parts of the country.

There is no doubt that Policy of inclusion is far better than policy of exclusion and domination . The former breeds peace and cooperation the latter creates distrust, hatred crisis . This is one serious reason we should not vote for the political parties that had put us at the greatest risk of disintegration in the more recent years since 1999.

TIRED OF BAD GOVERNMENTS

We are tired of bad government. I have nothing against Atiku or Tinubu except that they are the presidential candidates of extremely bad political parties whose numerous bad actions showed them to be unpatriotic, uncaring and disrespectful of convention and general code of conduct and incapable of meaningful nation building. As an old man in his early 70s I am sick and tired of sad story of extreme poverty, gross underdevelopment, unemployment, insecurity etc in a country so vastly blessed with resources of weal as Nigeria. Also I am tired of failed political parties ,and I desire progress, unity, Justice and equity,- positive change. I want to try other parties. Here the labor party with Obi- Datti presidential ticket and mass youth support appeals most to me.

A HOLY CAUSE

The cause of the youth is holy and thus deserves every support for the survival of the country. Those of us at 70 years and above have hugely disappointed the nation for lacking the courage to say the truth to power , energy and skills to do things right especially to correct the political class of our agency groups, do good government for us all in society and be decent and holy in all their dealings including politics. Our generation met a fairly functional country but turned it to a severely dis- functional one – a situation far worse than we wet it. In all we lost our high sense of morality and standard code of conducts and tradition and culture. With the march of history we lost our high sense of direction, patriotism, nationalism and altruism .
But it is never too late to correct injustice and to make right what has been wrong,to change direction from the wrong way to the right path. Here there are reasons to believe that the youth are on the right path with the right cause, choice of political party and support of presidential and vice presidential candidates . The youth are working hard to promote sane values in the national interest . Perhaps the youth might have been too idealistic, but all in all ,their cause is holy , patriotic ,altruistic , realistic and driven by high sense of nationalism.
It thus stands a good chance of success if the right steps are taken and public support won to their cause. So far the youth have been largely self motivational in their struggle for better country. They need some incentives from their adult leaders and cooperation and understanding of the rest of society in appreciating the serious danger awaiting the country if we make careless or avoidable mistakes during the election.
WILL YOUTH SUPPORT LEAD TO VICTORY….
The question many people are asking rather disdainfully about youth foray into politics include : how far can the youth go with their dream ?Will their support of the Labor Party result in political victory for Peter Obi & Co without visible structure on ground across the country? Is it mere steam in a cup of tea? Honestly I do not know but I will advise that we should not underrate the power of the organized youth, their numerical strength in Nigeria , strength of their idealism and diligent commitment to any cause they hold dear.
Already they have courageously and wisely shown us the light to the right way forward. To this extent there is hope of victory. While it is true that voting is done on the ground at the ward level and not in the sky, thereby making the question of lack of visible structure relevant to the labor party ,but with GOD there is nothing impossible on earth. Meanwhile it suffices to observe my dear compatriot that the result of the elections is difficult to call. is simply blowing in the wind.
SUCCESS will depend on a number of factors both internal and external to the environment the labor party or indeed any political party for that matter. The factors include free, fair and credible election by INEC’ ,neutrality of the government, guarantee of security, effective use of their comparative advantage of huge voting population, knowledge and skills in the use of the tools of modern communications, the way we define the election, what it means to us especially to our collective survival etc .In a word , if there is free and fair elections, adequate security, neutrality of the state, and the majority of youth speak with one voice, move in the same direction and vote one same political party and if the leadership of their chosen party can do the needful of appropriate motivation and direction, the youth can realize their dream for better Nigeria .
But wait a minute to reduce the current drive for Justice, positive change for a better Nigeria to a youth struggle is wrong, unhelpful and – sighted. Most of the issues they
are concerned with are societal in nature.As emphasized earlier, they are not youth -specific but of general concern for the collective good and progress of their country.

● Ptof Abhuere is of the Centre for Child Care Youth Development, Abuja.