Season of desperate moves

The electoral act has been brazenly violated in ways that ought to force Attahiru Jega to answer to the preconceived label of partisan. After all, he is a northerner, that breed who’s born to rule mentality is parading the most dreaded political tsunami against the sleaze train – Muhammadu Buhari.
Thus far, Jega has refused to bite the bait and that rankles the system. The London kite flown by Sambo Dasuki was a trump card drawn either too early or too late. Calling for the postponement of elections at a time when government does nothing and the country is sliding into unmitigated chaos and anarchy serves no altruistic purpose. That is until you realize that Jega’s tenure expires this year. Postponing the elections till April gets rid of the principal witness in any electoral tribunal. It’s a relapse to June 12, 1983 by a system that by its own tweet would rather foist a coup than hand over to Buhari.
Dragging church leaders into politics serves two purposes – to divide the electorate and the nation, fuel the embers of religious discord and tear at the fabrics of national cohesion then blame the victim. If you get the Christians and Muslims to start fighting especially in areas where the balance is tipped against the other and where an insurgency is highest, then you find reasons to say – I told you so.
The silent beneficiary of corruption is the one-man empire religious establishment masquerading as Christ’s body. They bait the public with pie-in-the-sky prosperity messages while cashing the cheques here on earth. This message is an indulgent that absolves government of the blame for its failure and puts it on the unknown enemy. A responsible government is a threat to their source of funds. The proprietor milks his followers by asking them to give to God. They respond with fervour sometimes stealing to meet the demand. They believe they can buy forgiveness with fat tithes and offerings.
The proprietor invests proceeds in schools that charges exorbitant fees, he makes billions from selling books, tapes and videos yet pays no tax and is not subject to external audit. True missionaries are turning in their graves. They sacrificed all for the gospel, built schools, roads and hospitals but charged nothing; they mostly die from tropical diseases or exhaustion.
Today’s one-man empire is different – the pastor is the general overseer, his wife is his assistant and his children are board members. While the UN was launching appeal for the treatment of Ebola, the jets of these super-rich pastors were overflying the crisis zones. Boko Haram displaces thousands; they offer no help but talk about plans to islamize the nation – what is ISIS doing in Iraq? Jesus must be ashamed to see what is done in His name.
Suddenly, the Muhammadu Buhari who was a no-threat in 2011 is now the greatest hazard to the kleptocracy. You wonder why? What has changed? Why is the man who ‘has done nothing to improve himself in 30 years’ such a threat? Because he jails the corrupt and those who put the poor where they are today fear going to jail. Suddenly, all their power and prestige gone – that scares.
Yes, 30-years ago when the nation was at a similar level, Buhari rose to the task. He did what had to be done to stop the slide. Today, we face the twin trouble of poverty induced by corruption and an unmitigated culture of impunity. Those responsible for this state of affairs want immunity from prosecution. Under the status quo, they get their desire but if things change, they are in hot soup. That is what the next election is about. It is about exposing how multi-million contracts cost so much but deliver so little. It is about education that creates or delivers jobs; it is about security of lives and property germane to any meaningful development. It is about taking back the country from the buccaneers who have been robbing it blind.
It is not about sentiments. It is not about northerners wanting power back – the north has gained nothing for its history of clinging to power. It is about making citizens aware that their actions or inaction has consequences. It is about saving what is left of the nation. No amount of threats or intimidation can stop this train. Only the people can. Democracy is about freedom of choice, let those who come to it campaign on issues and stop clutching at straws like drowning men.