This election will determine whether Nigeria continues moving forward under President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP or whether we go back to the old ways under another Buhari regime.
When you cast your ballot, the choice is clear:
MOVING FORWARD UNDER PRESIDENT JONATHAN & THE PDP GOING BACKWARDS UNDER BUHARI & THE APC
Under President Jonathan, elections have been the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s history.
Muhammadu Buhari overthrew democracy to become military dictator in 1983.
Under President Jonathan, Nigeria has become the largest economy in Africa, attracting foreign investment, creating jobs, and lifting Nigerians up.
In the name of curbing imports and fighting corruption, Buhari implemented policies that led to countless job losses and the closure of businesses. Prices rose and living standards fell sharply.
In order to tackle corruption, President Jonathan has given the EFCC the independence to investigate and punish corrupt officials without political interference.
As military dictator, Buhari implemented a “war against indiscipline,” which was carried to “sadistic levels, glorying in the humiliation of a people,” wrote the Nobel laureate and writer Wole Soyinka. Despite his brutal tactics, corruption was not curbed under his rule.
President Jonathan enacted the Freedom of Information Act, empowering the press and Nigerian citizens to scrutinize the actions of public officials and institutions.
Under his brutal regime, Buhari made the publication of “critical articles” a crime. He used the decree to jail many journalists, including Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabo. He didn’t stop with journalists, also jailing prominent artists such as Fela Kuti.
President Goodluck Jonathan has strengthened public watchdogs including the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in order to protect the rights of all Nigerians. He has actively fostered collaboration with human rights leaders and other civil society activists on constitutional reform.
As military dictator, Buhari’s brutal crackdown on human rights began with Decree No. 2 of 1984, which allowed Buhari’s chief of staff to arrest and detain anyone indefinitely without trial. When Buhari was overthrown in 1985, the Inspector-General of the Police opened the prison doors on national television, revealing people, many of them torture victims, in various stages of malnutrition.
President Goodluck Jonathan has made it clear that his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. He has sought to unite the country and to ensure that Nigerians are free to vote without fear of violence or intimidation.
Buhari’s inflammatory statements following his loss in the 2011 presidential elections incited widespread violence in the North. A petition has been filed against Buhari in the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his role in inciting post-election violence. Buhari later told loyalists, “If what happened in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood”.
Don’t let Buhari and the APC take us back to the old ways. Come February 14, vote for President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP to keep Nigeria moving forward.
This is a Forward Nigeria advertorial.
