I just read the under stated post and the accompanying picture
by my brother, John Ntekim which obviously seeks to mock the campaign of the
All Progressives Congress(APC) in Urueoffong/Oruko LGA as giving only biscuits
to the electorates. Although the post doesn't clearly tell us the objective of
its author, the kind of comments it elicited would clear any doubts in that
regard . I thought as enlightened and forward looking Nigerians, he and the
commentators would rather promote issues based campaigns among the political
parties than attempt to encourage an unhealthy competition on the basis of the
amount of gifts extended to the electorates in order to win their support .
No! He can't do that because we've seen heaps of items donated
to electorates by the campaign team to which he belongs. He probably wants APC
to compete with the PDP on who spends the fattest amount to "buy" the
electorates. Or don't we know the items are purchased with cash? I expected
people to condemn such a dangerous attempt to amplify and reinforce the already
counter productive culture of giving unnecessarily to the electorates during
electioneering at the expense of real, sustainable development. As educated
people, we must be more interested in what happens after the elections than
what happens before it. Need I remind us that election is a means to an end and
not an end in itself? Why are we more interested in what the candidates can
give the electorates than their promises on the development of the Local
Government Area? I'm sure none of the commentators can tell us what the
candidates have promised? Shouldn't such promises be the basis of support?
Shouldn't that be one of the bases for the measurement of the performance of
the one who will win?
One of the things I love about the All Progressives Congress(APC)
is its discouragement of money politics. It hasn't been easy dealing with this
deeply entrenched monster but the journey of a thousand miles must begin with a
step. President Buhari doesn't believe in the deployment of public funds to
finance the activities of his political party. That's why our foreign reserves
and Sovereign Wealth Fund are doing better today than when oil was selling at
over $100 per barrel in the last administration. It is the reason officials of
the APC haven't transformed into dollars spending money bags.
I'm sure we know the federal government has more money than the
Akwa Ibom State government. If APC believed in the appropriation of public
funds to aid its election, I don't think the Akwa Ibom PDP could withstand such
a contest. All lovers of Nigeria must encourage this patriotic disposition of
the Buhari administration and deplore every attempt to drag us to the ugly past
when it was normal to purchase votes with huge amounts of cash. Whether we know
it or not, our state and nation are still suffering the consequences of those
actions. And if we continue on that path, the suffering will continue ad
infinitum.
Sincerely, going through the comments, I realized how far
removed from development our country is. The same people who expect development
are the ones querying the amount of items donated to the electorates as a
precondition for earning their votes. In otherwords, votes should be cast for
the highest bidder. My question is, after the candidates compete on who spends
the biggest amount on the electorates before the election, can they still bring
development commensurate with the resources available to their offices? I
DOUBT. Have you seen how we are all responsible for the problem of this nation?
The electorates milk the contestants during the campaigns and the successful
among them steals without regrets by way of recouping what he spent to purchase
victory. And the very people who started and encouraged the stealing turn round
to blame him for not turning the society into El Dorado. They will conveniently
forget their votes were purchased and the man must recoup what he spent on them
and probably repay his debts.
Listen, until a poor but credible and visionary man can win
election against a rich and visionless rival in Nigeria, development will
continue to elude us. Until people are ready to rather donate to good electoral
causes than take from them, we should forget about development. Please find out
how elections are conducted and how electorates behave in nations which enjoy
development. The wrong process will never lead to the right outcomes. NEVER. In
those climes, contestants spend money basically on publicity because they must
reach the last voter with their manifesto, programmes and plans. They also
spend money on transportation and hotel bills. Respect for voters isn't
measured by the quality and quantity of items given them. In fact, it's the
other way round. We can't promote a different culture here and expect to
compete with the rest of the world. The bulk of the money spent is donated by
supporters who believe in the aspirants. And such donations are publicly
declared and transparently spent by the campaign organisation. For how long
will we remain in the stone age if the younger generation isn't ready for a better
society?
One of the commentators even made reference to how he did better
in terms of gifts to electorates when he contested a faculty election in
school. But he has failed to realize that the once vibrant students activism
died the moment goat eating was introduced into it. Today,there's hardly any
student who can fund his election on campus. He must run to politicians for
help and they end up teleguiding and dictating how he oversees the affairs of
the students. Haven't we seen how goat eating has destroyed a once dreaded
pressure group called Students' Union? I was even made to understand that they
now slaughter and share live cows during NAAKISS elections. What a pity! What a
generation!! Can we descend lower than this?
It's worrisome that even the younger generation doesn't know its
left from right. Mark my words, as long as the effectiveness of electioneering
campaigns are measured by how much candidates spend, particularly on the
electorates, we should never expect development. I was told that "You
can't eat your cake and have it" but today's young people who are
supposedly educated are both advocates of mercantile politics and development
at the same time . How can you expect development and service after stripping
the winner of all valuables, including dragging him into huge indebtedness in
the name of support?
We must choose between expensive campaign gifts and development.
It's not possible to enjoy both.
Omen Bassey.
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