<\/p>\n
As the year draws to a close, it feels as if we\u2019re now in the business end of election season. Verbal shots have been fired, promises have been made, and outfits have been changed quicker than a contestant at a Miss World pageant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u200d<\/p>\n
All of this is par for the course in Nigerian politics, and even more so when elections are looming. Patchwork loyalties are held together by pieces of string and the precarious glue of patronage. But once an election comes into view, the ties holding politicians and party together unravel faster than you can say carpet crossing.<\/p>\n
\u200d<\/p>\n
One prime example of the shifting of party support is that of Femi Fani-Kayode, formerly of NRC, formerly of PDP, now defender-in-chief of APC. As\u00a0recently as 2017<\/a>, FFK described Kassim Shettima, who\u2019s Bola Tinubu\u2019s running mate on the APC ticket, as \u201cmurderous, evil scum\u201d. And he warned President Buhari about Tinubu\u2019s apparently perfidious nature. However, that was then, and this is now, and the Tinubu\/Shettima ticket as far as he\u2019s concerned might as well be the second coming. FFK has defended himself saying he would not apologise for the \u201cposition<\/a>\u201d he took back then. The word position is curious in its use, almost suggesting truth is irrelevant, it\u2019s one\u2019s position\/opinion that matters. Murderous evil scum can become angels overnight.<\/p>\n \u200d<\/p>\n The changing outfits of the campaign trail is always one of the more somewhat endearing features of election season. For example, Atiku Abubakar wearing a red cap and isiagu\u00a0in Anambra<\/a>. You have Peter Obi visiting the Olubadan in Oyo, wearing the\u00a0pointiest of pointy filas<\/a>, or Bola Tinubu also in isiagu\u00a0in Ebonyi state<\/a>. It\u2019s a reminder of the huge religious and ethnic diversity of Nigeria, and the number of varying and sometimes conflicting interests which need to be balanced in the quest to lead the country. And since it\u2019s become a three horse race, no region can be taken for granted, and no votes can be dismissed. This could be the election where truly, every vote counts.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u200d<\/p>\n The week also saw the concluding part of Stears\u2019s look at the manifestos of the various parties. A quick google of \u201cbroken promises\u201d and \u201cNigeria\u201d throws up\u00a0543,000 results<\/a>. I even came across an article from the Sun, which had the phrase \u201calthough Nigerians are used to fake electoral promises<\/a>,\u201d ouch. Stears took a\u00a0favourable view<\/a>\u00a0of the Labour Party manifesto, but not so much their columnist Feyi Fawehinmi, a\u00a0few days later<\/a>. These are behind a paywall, so please throw in your coins and contribute – good journalism isn\u2019t free. And seek out their analyses of the other manifestos.<\/p>\n \u200d<\/p>\n On TV, Nancy Iloh of AIT also brought on Kelechukwu Ogu of SBM Intelligence to have a look at the manifestos. His reaction to the APC pledge of 12% GDP growth for the next four years was incredulity, \u201cthat\u2019s outrageous<\/a>,\u201d he said. China did achieve five years of double digit growth in the 2000s\u2026 but then again\u00a0that was China<\/a>, and this is Nigeria.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u200d<\/p>\n Nicholas Ibekwe has also done\u00a0some of the hard yards<\/a>\u00a0on Twitter with some digestible morsels on the manifestos. He identifies as a [classical] liberal, so he has a particular stance, but he makes that disclosure to explain why he\u2019s not so keen on the Labour party position, for example.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u200d<\/p>\n The silver lining in all of this is that no\/few trees were harmed in the making of these manifestos, because they wouldn\u2019t have been worth the paper they were printed on. For the present times, perhaps they\u2019re not worth the data usage.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u200d<\/p>\n The tweet of the week isn\u2019t at all political, or perhaps it is, seeing as it comes from the\u00a0Ministry of Education<\/a>. Their tweets on Coursera scholarships proved popular with more than 2,000 retweets, and 3,000 likes. For all the lack of opportunity in the country, Nigerians still see education as offering the best chance at survival. No doubt some of you would\u2019ve seen the graduate lists of the universities of\u00a0Hertfordshire in England<\/a>, and\u00a0West of Scotland<\/a>, largely populated by Nigerian students. University of Lagos, Hertfordshire campus, is indeed apt. As a friend of mine quipped, no wonder there\u2019s no forex in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u200d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As the year draws to a close, it feels as if we\u2019re now in the business end of election season. 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