EDITORIAL: Tomorrow Counts!

• Go Out And Vote

THE pun is deliberate, for every vote will count in one of the most pivotal electoral decisions made in Nigeria pre and post independence. Ironically, the first elections; the legislative elections in the Lagos Colony a sin Calabar were held a century ago in 1923. Since then, our journey has been a tortuous excursion full of twists and turns. this is why tomorrow is crucial and every vote must count.

The various campaigns mounted by political actors has sadly not been inspiring or imaginative. The age of the new technologies should have ushered in a different form of campaigns. It has not and this will be debilitating for the future. 

The future will definitely be rocky. Reflecting general reservations about the tepidness of the campaigns report published by the financial analysts Bloomberg was unambiguous in stating that none of the leading candidates has indicated the much desirable resolve to tackle Nigeria’s fiscal crises. This is alarming because it is becoming the conventional wisdom not least disturbingly in the financial, bond and insurance markets worldwide. After the euphoria of the elections, a very daunting reality will sober up all and sundry.

After tomorrow, whichever way it goes, acts of statesmanship will be required. Elections by their nature are divisive but afterwards the need to “rally the republic” around a common purpose becomes imperative. For this to happen, politicians must transfer into statesman fixated on the sustainable development of the next generation and not on the electoral calculus for the next election. Nigeria is at a critical juncture requiring the unity of civil and political society that can no longer be postponed. 

We implore our esteemed readers to go out in record numbers tomorrow to exercise their civic responsibility and defend their hard won democratic rights by ensuring that all votes are counted. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.