2010-2015: A Blind Date with Goodluck Jonathan

Sayo Aluko

So, this is him.

A few days from now, the curtains will fall on the 6-year tenure of Nigeria's arguably most-tediuos President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan(GEJ).  Alas, Nigerians got to meet the man they so much expected a lot from, judging by the moonlight tales that heralded his emergence. But, did they get what they bargained for throughout their 6-year date with this lucky one?

This is a recap of some of the moments that defined the Jonathanian era, which pretty much still happens on some Nigerians like a blind date till date.

Taking a Messi cue....

Sayo Aluko

I'm a Cristiano Ronaldo fanatic, not a Messi fan. Just like anybody in the same boat as mine, my Ronaldo sentiment has seldom made me agree with, nor applaud any Messi performance no matter how good. I've always cynically been like, "What did he do, my Ororo (what most Yoruba peeps nickname Ronaldo) has done and can do better".

But, yesternight, I got served.

Of Political Campaigns and the Menace of Miscreants.

Sayo Aluko

For any mind that sees beyond the cliff, it is a disgusting sight. Like a howling pack of insatiable hyenas, wave and wave of ill-visioned and totally jobless youths that besieged campaign venues and convoys, either in a raucous quest to get money from politicians or pilfer from unsuspecting Nigerians, it was really mind-disturbing. I had the privilege of covering a slew of these politically-inclined events in the months that preceded the 2015 elections, and they were all well-graced with the narcotic presence of these delinquents.

From one event to the other, I was made to see yet another blight in government's scorecard, and at a point, it became to me, a thing that just hurts.

These rudderless ones proved violent at their worst and virulent at their best.

The POTENTIAL VII: Managing Debt

Ayk Adeleye

Around this time last year, I owed NEPA some thirty thousand naira; today, NEPA owes me some twenty-five hundred. Funny, eh? As at when I owed thirty grand, my neighbours prided themselves as the rich ones, and insisted that NEPA cut our light at the meter points (so they could retain their connections while I lost mine). One even scorned me the month I paid three out of thirty, she stood in the street and argued that I mustn't be spared. I came back to meet me disconnected. Well, she owes just as much now, a year later.

2015 and the APC Presidential Primary Election: Before shouting a Buhari-ous Hallelujah

Sayo Aluko

 

What I saw at the APC Presidential Primary election, which also doubled the third National Convention of the Party, is hope. My convinced sentiments about the predictability of Nigerian politics aside, on that fateful day, I saw hope again.

Doubtless, the APC surely has the machinery to defeat PDP.
Trust me people, if all the good talk by all political actors present were truly heartfelt, then we may just be quite close to finding a cure for the scourge called Nigeria.

Be that as it may, here below are the few insights I drew from the event and its aftermath.

Painfully enough, my informed reservations about General Muhammadu Buhari Rtd. (GMB) are still alive.

"Sai Buhari!”…. and he won, Alhamdulillah.

I do not doubt the fact that Gen. Buhari is a patriot; but my reservations concerning his candidature and emergence as the APC Presidential flag bearer are hinged on two things.