USAfrica: 2015 Nigerian elections and choice of Goodluck Jonathan or Mohammadu Buhari

Nigeria and choice of Goodluck Jonathan or Mohammadu Buhari.

By Emeka Chiakwelu

USAfrica, Houston: Nigeria is getting ready for an important 2015 election in February 2015. The two rivalry parties, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its major opposition, All Progressives Congress (APC) have finally produced their presidential candidates. The incumbent Nigerian President Jonathan of the PDP will be challenged by former military ruler, retired General Buhari of the APC.

This is a serious election due to the circumstances that Nigeria finds itself. Nigeria has surprised both her friends and foes on her economic and political sustainability especially on her continue existence as a corporate entity. Contrary to the proposition forwarded and propounded by naysayers Nigeria must continue to exist as a united country beyond their 2015 prediction of disillusion and meltdown. That is where the question of leadership comes in; Nigeria needs an intelligent, prudent, reliable, patriotic, peaceful and unity conscious leader.

President Jonathan or General Buhari: who is the best candidate suited to be called the leader of 21st century Nigeria and who can lead Nigeria to the promised land?  It is important to put in context what I mean by 21st century Nigeria. The word 21st century is now ubiquitous and superfluous in any political and economic dialogue but its significance have not diminished nor become pliable.

21st century has been called the century of possibilities and at one point it has been called the African century. The 21st century is anticipated to be a century that Africa will put her house in order and take her place under the sun. Nigeria being the largest economy and most populous in
Africa is expected to be in the vanguard.

The antecedent century was marked with African humiliation of conquest by European invaders, swiveled around slavery and colonialism. Therefore with the emerging 21st century, Africans in general and Nigeria in particular must assert themselves with innovative breakthroughs and scientific ideas in high technology, modern education and high standard of living to achieve sustainable freedom and true independent.

All things being equal, it is necessary, if not indispensable that the 21st century Nigeria must be a century of possibilities and political rebirth consolidated with enlightenment and optimum economic development.

So, whatever happens in Nigeria politically could determine the sustainability of the country’s progress in 21st century,

As I have aforementioned Nigeria is in a unique position. Economically speaking and despite the falling oil price, Nigeria has achieved an affirmative and quantifiable macroeconomics stability. Nigeria at the moment is the largest economy in Africa, no matter how you look at it, it is a great achievement. The economy is projected to grow at above 5 percent and inflation rate is below 9 percent and attraction of foreign investments continues.

Although, the nosedive of oil price is nibbling on the strength and value of naira due to overvalue US dollar and fervent aggressive currency speculators, the streams of foreign investments have not waned. Nigeria continues to have its low debt ratios which make it attractive to investors and inducement to leverage capital.

On the other side, Nigeria has some traceable and intractable problems with poverty and unemployment. The huge issue of Boko Haram and its destructive tendencies are threat to political stability especially in the north east of Nigeria in particular and the entire northern Nigeria in general.

The triumph over corruption must be comprehensive and long term. The defeat of corruption becomes sustainable when the political and social infrastructures are set up and effectively managed. The civic institutions including the security apparatus, courts and media must be independent and incorruptible. The citizens must be empowered to participate in creating a corrupt free society. The clergy, schools and moral leaders must be employed in the eradicating corruption. Our children and next generation of Nigerian leaders must be taught in schools on how corruption annihilates and minimize the wealth and well-being of a nation.

Nigeria needs a leader that understands and formulates economic policy that can be effectively communicate to investors and can be able to speak the language of economics to capitalists and potential investors. Nigeria needs a leader of purpose that can unite the country’s diverse population for the greater good of our country. Nigeria needs a visionary leader that comprehends how the 21st century world works and understands that domestic/local acts and decision have international implications.                                                                                                                           • Emeka Chiakwelu, special projects executive at USAfrica multimedia networks Houston, is a principal policy strategist at Afripol.

VIDEO #CNN special #CHIBOK Girls n #BokoHaram Live intvw wt the Founder of USAfrica multimedia and public policy networks Chido Nwangwu. CNN anchors John Berman n Michaela Pereira.  

VIDEO of the CNN International broadcast/profile of USAfrica and CLASSmagazine Publisher Chido Nwangwu.   http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2010/07/29/mpa.african.media.bk.a.cnn  

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Forthcoming 2015 BOOK: In this engaging, uniquely insightful and first person reportage book, MANDELA & ACHEBE: Footprints of Greatness, about two global icons and towering persons of African descent whose exemplary lives

 and friendship hold lessons for humanity and Africans, USAfrica Founder Chido Nwangwu takes a measure of their works and consequence to write that Mandela and Achebe have left “footprints of greatness.”

He chronicles, movingly, his 1998 reporting from the Robben Island jail room in South Africa where Mandela was held for decades through his 20 years of being close to Achebe. He moderated the 2012 Achebe Colloquium at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.“I’ll forever remember having walked inside and peeped through that historic Mandela jail cell (where he was held for most of his 27 years in unjust imprisonment) at the dreaded Robben Island, on March 27, 1998, alongside then Editor-in-chief of TIME magazine and later news chief executive of the CNN, Walter Isaacson (and others) when President Bill Clinton made his first official trip to South Africa and came to Robben Island. Come to this island of scourge and you will understand, in part, the simple greatness and towering grace of Nelson Mandela”, notes  Chido Nwangwu, award-winning writer, multimedia specialist and founder of USAfricaonline.com, the first African-owned U.S-based newspaper published on the internet, in his first book; he writes movingly from his 1998 reporting from South Africa on Mandela. http://www.mandelaachebechido.com/

  •Dr. Chido Nwangwu, moderator of the Achebe Colloquium (Governance, Security, and Peace in Africa) December 7-8, 2012 at Brown University in Rhode Island and former adviser on Africa business/issues to the Mayor of Houston, is the Founder & Publisher of Houston-based USAfrica multimedia networks since 1992, first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper published on the internet USAfricaonline.com; CLASSmagazine, AchebeBooks.com, the USAfrica-powered e-groups of AfricanChristians, Nigeria360 and the largest pictorial events megasite on the African diaspora www.PhotoWorks.TV . He was recently profiled by the CNN International for his pioneering works on multimedia/news/public policy projects for Africans and Americans. http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2010/07/29/mpa.african.media.bk.a.cnn         e-mail: Chido247@Gmail.com wireless 1-832-45-CHIDO (24436).

  Nigeria’s Federal Republic of Insecurity. By Chido Nwangwu, Publisher of USAfrica, USAfricaonline.com and the Nigeria360 e-group. https://usafricaonline.com/2011/12/17/nigeria-federal-republic-of-insecurity-by-chido-nwangwu/ 

IF any of the Nigerian President’s 100 advisers has the polite courage for the extraordinary task of reminding His Excellency of his foremost, sworn, constitutional obligation to the national interest about security and safety of Nigerians and all who sojourn in Nigeria, please whisper clearly to Mr. President that I said, respectfully: Nigerians, at home and abroad, are still concerned and afraid for living in what I call Nigeria’s Federal Republic of Insecurity. FULL text of commentary, exclusively, at USAfricaonline.com https://usafricaonline.com/2011/12/17/nigeria-federal-republic-of-insecurity-by-chido-nwangwu/

USAfrica: BOKO HARAM’s latest killings sharpen divide for security team at Nigeria’s presidency. By Chido Nwangwu
https://usafricaonline.com/2013/10/21/usafrica-boko-harams-latest-killings-sharpen-divide-for-security-team-at-nigerias-presidency-by-chido-nwangwu/

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Dancing with “ghosts” of BOKO HARAM, President Jonathan, Sultan Abubakar and Nigeria’s national security. By Dr. Chido Nwangwu
https://usafricaonline.com/2013/04/05/dancing-with-ghosts-of-boko-haram-president-jonathan-sultan-abubakar-and-nigerias-national-security-by-chido-nwangwu/

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Why Obama’s late to symbolic, historic meeting with Mandela.  By Chido Nwangwu.   https://usafricaonline.com/2013/06/26/obamas-late-to-symbolic-historic-meeting-with-fit-mandela-by-chido-nwangwu/

Eight lessons of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide. By Chido Nwangwu, Publisher of USAfrica multimedia networks, Houston.   https://usafricaonline.com/2009/11/01/chido-8lessons-rwanda-genocide/

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Margaret Thatcher, Mandela and Africa.  By Chido Nwangwu, Founder & Publisher of USAfrica, and the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper published on the internet USAfricaonline.com. Click for newscast video of London-based SkyNEWS, the global, 24-hour British international tv network’s interview with USAfrica’s Publisher Chido Nwangwu on April 11, 2013 regarding this latest commentary http://youtu.be/G0fJXq_pi1c )

There’s a compelling political trinity to Nelson Mandela: the man, the messiah and the mystique. https://usafricaonline.com/2013/07/18/mandela-95-hearty-cheers-to-his-footprints-of-greatness-by-chido-nwangwu/

#Achebe USAfrica Founder Dr. Chido Nwangwu gets award for his works on #ThingsFallApart author Chinua Achebe from ASA-USA Dallas. Chido is completing the book on Mandela & Achebe: Footprints of Greatness. by Chido Nwangwu ISBN 978-0-9893970-0-1. www.MandelaAchebeChido.com