In 24 days, Umar Yar Adua will become Nigeria’s first (s)elected graduate president. Roll on the red carpet, the “well wishers” of the new president have begun trooping to “congratulate” him, an euphemism that is not totally lost on ordinary Nigerians. The “well wishers” are merely registering their presence in the hope of an opportunity to join the looting party to be inaugurated on May 29. One million faceless youths have started marching for Yar Adua just like they did for Abacha, the council of ulamas, those who maintained a criminal silence after the gruesome murder of a teacher in Gombe state for “desecrating” the quran are also “congratulating” the president-elect. Of course the traditional rulers are not to be exempted; they have long been angling for “constitutional relevance” under the excuse of being the “custodians of peace” in their enclaves.

Now that the PDP has “captured” Aso Rock for a third consecutive term, what does Yar Adua have in store for Nigerians in the next four years? Of course he has toed the well worn path of “continuity”, but this raises the question; continuity of what? Continuity in terms of disregarding court injunctions, massive looting, bad roads, dilapidated social infrastructure and collapsed energy sector? A continuation of massive rigging, shameless cross-carpeting, imposition of sharia and government in-fighting?

Yar Adua has pledged to extend a hand of fellowship to the opposition, how does he purpose to do that and to whose benefit? Is he merely trying to bribe them to prevent a deluge of protests over the bold faced rape of the people’s mandate that swept him to power?

Yar Adua’s greatest albatross will be gaining the credibility of western nations who have yet to congratulate him on his “victory”. As for the masses, there is no hope of an orange revolution, they can only pray that Umar’s kidneys will hold up long enough to enable him tackle several of the nation’s problems. Now that the elections are over, the “opposition” is now free to “congratulate” Umaru only to regroup in four years time when positions on the looting party are up for grabs again. God bless Nigeria.