PMB: FOR MASSES OR ELITES?

For the past couples of years, President Muhammad Buhari have been bidding for presidential ambition but his mandate was denied in April 2007 presidential elections competing with late Umar Musa Yar’adua of People Democratic Party (PDP) and in April 2011 presidential elections competing with Goodluck Janothan of PDP; PDP was said to have won the elections respectively. PDP for the last 16 years of leadership was reported to be found in gross economic misconduct, insecurity, corruption and poverty.

It takes courage, confidence and trusts for PMB with almighty merger of some political parties that form All Progressive Congress (APC) which defeated the PDP in March 2015 presidential elections. Who are the masses? Who are the elites? How did the both contribute in the victory of PMB in 2015 general elections? Masses are the ordinary people who form the largest groups in the society, while the elites are some selected groups that are superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of groups. Karl Marx posit that ‘the history of the society is that of class struggle between the proletariat and bourgeois’

PMB in 2015 APC primaries informed the delegate that ‘I don’t have dollar to share to you but I have Nigeria at heart’ his statement attracted delegate sympathy and therefore makes him to won the APC primaries elections, defeated kwankwanso, Atiku and Rochas. PMB bedeviled with financial constraint and incumbency factor of PDP in 2015. The elites gave their private jets and cars for mobilizations while some masses donate an amount through a customized recharge cards which amounted to millions of naira for his campaigns and above all the masses came out in their mass number to vote out PDP in 2015; I can deduce that PMB in 2015 presidential elections was a product of both the masses and the elites.

Immediately after the presidential inauguration in may 2015, the led administration started in slow bureaucratic process   and the economy induce with recession and inflation; the policy of PMB embargo in importation of food items most especially rice imposed hardship to ordinary Nigerians, find it difficult to have food on their tables, on other hand some politicians were been chase by EFCC for an alleged corrupt practice. For the past three years in government, the led administrations remind faithful in implementing its campaign promises of improving the economy, securing the country and fighting corruption. But obviously much have to be done in security, economy and human capital development.

The recent defections of APC senators, house of representatives members, and governors from APC to PDP has became a top public agenda in Nigeria, as of today  15 APC senators including the senate president, 37 reps members and 2 governors were reported to have defected to PDP. The PDP is now carrying weight in Nigerian politics with members both from the masses and influential elite like Atiku, Kwankwaso and Tambuwal to write few but few. One cannot predict the outcome of 2019 general elections because all parties are really ready and drawing all the strategies for victory in 2019 but the questions is that, did the elite vote? What is percentage of the elite in Nigeria? The elites are few in number, most of them don’t vote and even their sons and daughters are not living in Nigeria and do not even have PVC talk less of voting. PMB in 2019 might be for the masses but the question is that, are the messes happy with his administration? The answer will be for another day.