The moment of truth is here. Next Saturday, fellow countrymen and women will be going to the polls to elect the presidential candidate of their choice. In a practical, concrete sense, what the Nigerian voter is being asked to do on April 19 2003, is to make a critical assessment of the track record of the incumbent while at the same time paying close attention to other democratic alternatives being proposed by other parties. Voting against president Obasanjo would be seen as the ultimate repudiation of his four-year administration and what it has meant for the average Nigerian. On the other hand, voting for the incumbent president should be construed as an expression of satisfaction with the handling of our national affairs by his administration. That is how democratic governance (and accountability) should work, and Nigeria cannot afford to be an exception to the rule. In democratic elections, citizens are called upon to express confidence or the lack of it in those who seek constitutional legitimacy from them in order to help make their lives better and more fulfilling. And to the extent that president Obasanjo has not only reneged on this constitutional responsibility but has also uniquely contributed to the profound degradation of our national co-existence by way of an unfocused, glib leadership style, he cannot in good conscience be seen as a legitimate contender in the 2003 presidential election. In civilized democracies, an incumbent with a track record half as dreadful as that of president Obasanjo would not have thought twice before offering his resignation.

 Today, the average Nigerian is understandably despondent about his situation in life and fearful about the future. As I write these words, fuel scarcity has grounded much of economic activity in the country, not to mention its untold ravages on the already precarious existence of hapless Nigerians. And as our government continues to fiddle with its bogeys, Nigerians are mad that most of the country's refineries are either broken down or unviable even as the Obasanjo administration seems to prefer importations of fuel - a favorite gravy train for the president's friends and henchmen. Electricity supply is as unreliable as it used to be prior to 1999 inspite of the billions of naira voted so far for its improvement. As for corruption, the 2003 Audit Report and the treatment meted out to its author clearly illustrate the general attitude of the Obasanjo administration to official corruption and its implications for our society. The educational sector is in a state of advanced decay, thanks to government paralysis. The health domain also in shambles. And the security of life and property for the average Nigerian is at an all-time low, with citizens at the mercy of gun-totting criminals. The Obasanjo administration's laissez-faire attitude to security as well as its obstructionist approach to democratic governance have uniquely contributed to the escalation of civil strife in our communities. The numerous human rights abuses of the Obasanjo rule are well documented, with the genocidal massacres of hundreds of innocent civilians by the Army in Odi and Benue being the more dramatic of such abuses.  

 Yet, those that are either directly or indirectly responsible for our lives being a living hell in the midst of plenty continue to seek refuge in the arrogance and contempt they have always harboured toward the people. The average Nigerian, irrespective of section, ethnic group or  religion, cannot objectively say that their life is better in this "fin-de-regne" of the Obasanjo debacle  than it was prior to 1999. Confronted with its excesses and unpardonable failures, the Obasanjo administration has often opted for the facile resort to dirty tricks and cynical obfuscation reminiscent of the eerie interregnum of the Abacha self-succession project. We are impudently taunted with the drab slogan of 'continuity' even when the image it readily conjures up is one of more excruciating hardship for the masses of our people.

 But impunity by elected representatives should have its limits. In practical terms, this means that the elections we are about to embark upon must be seen as free and fair. It is the only democratic way Nigerians can realistically hope to change the course of their dreary existence by massively voting against an incumbent president who has through sheer incompetence  and lack of vision contributed to the unprecedented levels of misery and deprivation plaguing the land. So, clearly, on April 19 - that is next Saturday -,  the choice for president should be amongst the cast of alternatives to General Obasanjo.

 God bless Nigeria !

 Aonduna Tondu.

 New York, USA