Article: Before I Am Blindly Attacked

Jaiye Gaskia

By Jaye Gaskia

Before I am blindly attacked as an 'Atikuist', a 'Buhariist', or a Jonathanian; let me pose some questions. Even at this early stage of campaigns, are we asking the right questions? Are we being vigilant and holding all actors to account?

I know that Campaign Organizations and structures are being set up for aspirants, including the sole candidate, nevertheless I am not aware of any Campaign Fund having been established; nevertheless without a formal campaign fund raising structure that is registered and identifiable, APC aspirants are already doling out N27.5m to purchase Presidential nomination forms? How did they raise these sums? Who is monitoring the process to ensure that it is in accordance with the relevant provisions of the electoral law?

And did I hear Buhari correctly? Did he say he had already approached the Manager of his Bank in Kaduna because of his personal relationship to grant him a loan to purchase the nomination form?

Where did Atiku get his own money from?

I am raising these questions because this is just about purchasing the nomination form; it is not yet about the full campaigning expense.

And shouldn't we be worried that in a country whose public and private employees hardly pay the paltry minimum wage of N18, 000 per month, the cost price of purchasing the nomination form to run for president is a humongous N27.5M?

To bring the implication of this home; let us ask a basic question; what is the average cost of the average business acquisition on the Nigeria Stock Exchange [NSE]? What is the cost of the average single stock transaction at the upper end of the scale on the NSE?

The implication of this is that we are asking Politrickians who are historically adept at pillage to come and invest N27.5M as first installment for acquiring Nigeria's public treasury for the next four years. And we wonder why this ruling elite is inordinately light fingered and profoundly competent at treasury looting?

This is how it begins, this is where it begins, this is where the foundation is laid for all manner of crooks to invest in supporting a candidate towards collecting appropriate dividends over the length of their tenures.

A word is enough for the wise. If we must Take Back Nigeria, we must be vigilant, we must ask the right questions, and we must organize and mobilize to bring about real change.

(Visit: takebacknigeria.blogspot.com; Follow on Twitter: @jayegaskia& [DPSR]protesttopower; Engage on Facebook: JayeGaskia& Take Back Nigeria, mail us: protest2power@yahoo.com)