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In a little over a
month, Nigerians will be going to the polls to elect politicians into
positions ranging from state lawmakers to the president of the country.
The process, starting with last year’s amendment to the electoral laws
and the constitution of a new leadership for the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) has been long and exacting.

Along the way,
political parties have conducted their primaries and have picked their
candidates, although some are still bogged down in the mire of legal
challenges. On average, it would appear as if the quality of the
candidates is generally better than at the last general elections. In
any case, the presidential candidates are definitely more exciting.

Among the leading
candidates are the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan and his deputy, Namadi
Sambo who, between them, have a PhD and a degree in Architecture; Nuhu
Ribadu and his vice, Fola Adeola, both consummate professionals in
fields of security and finance, respectively; Muhammadu Buhari and his
running mate, Tunde Bakare, combining experience in running a nation
and a church and Attahiru Barafawa and John Odigie Oyegun, both of whom
have experience of governing states.

But, somehow, a
casual visitor to Nigeria might not actually realise that a national
election is round the corner, unless, that is, he or she attends one of
the rallies being up by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party. By this
week, Messrs Jonathan and Sambo must have been round the country at
least twice since they launched their presidential campaign three weeks
ago. Their wives, leading a strategic campaign for female voters, have
been equally hard at work touring states and soliciting for votes for
their spouses.

Sadly, none of the
other presidential candidates has even left the starting block. The
Action Congress of Nigeria just this week agreed on a running mate for
its presidential candidate and the two men will then have to work out a
campaign schedule – most probably from next week at the earliest. The
All Nigeria Peoples Party is yet to agree on a committee to plan its
presidential campaign and it is still unclear when this will be done –
and how soon the party’s presidential campaign will actually roll out.

Things are not any
better with the Congress for Progressive Change where Messrs Buhari and
Bakare also appear locked in operational issues of when to launch their
campaign. It is worse with the other, smaller parties.

If any of these
opposition parties start their presidential campaign by next week, they
will already have been behind the PDP by close to three weeks. It is
possible that they could put up such professional shows that could
eclipse what the PDP candidates have done, but the signs are not good.

In sum the
opposition has by omission, presented the ruling party with the unfair
advantage of an early start with their tardiness, and playing catch-up
should be a hard trick to pull – especially as they are weaker than the
PDP anyway.

This is a major
disservice to the electoral process and the expectation of Nigerians
who expect a robust campaign going by the calibre of the candidates. It
also shows up the soft underbelly of Nigerian democracy – the weakness
and internal disarray of opposition parties.

All too soon,
these politicians will resort to name-calling to hide their lack of
preparedness and focus. There has been a bit of that already. Last
week, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, a coalition of
small opposition parties accused the PDP of plotting to rig the April
elections. This might have some truth in it, but it would have been
helpful if Nigerians were to see the CNPP and its affiliate groups
actually going round the country to solicit for their votes.

Harrying opponents
is an accepted tactic in politics, but that could hardly be the raison
d’être for the existence of a political group.

Say what we may
about the PDP and its brand of its politics, its presidential
candidates have made a respectable show of campaigning for votes and
selling their candidacy to Nigerians. It is already looking as if they
are the only players on the field, save for occasional press statements
from their opponents. If we knew what the others had to offer, we could
then compare notes and vote according to our best judgment. We can only
do that if the opposition parties’ candidates start campaigning.