My opinion!!!
(This is from a friend. It is totally worth your time!)
Good morning countrymen.
I read on many platforms the cries for a young President come
2019 and the need for younger people to participate in politics. I
wholeheartedly agree, especially judging by our current experience where
at some point we could not ascertain the exact location of our leader nor the
status of his health, and his clumsy pace at work which he has consistently
attributed to age, etc.
But I'm also aware the current President of America qualifies
for the title of an old man(the difference being that he knows his real age
unlike ours). Yet, when you watch CNN today and see how all the market indices
in America have broken decade long records, with unemployment at 4.1%, the
lowest in 17years under Trump's administration, bettering the times
of G.W Bush and Obama together, you will again ask if age actually is the
problem with Nigeria leadership past and present.
Don't tell me it is because Trump took over a stable
economy. That is true of course, but one year of cluelessness is more
than enough to reverse all of Obama's economic strides. I mean it didn't take
Buhari upto a year to plunge a struggling economy into the abyss of recession.
So Trump, the old man in the white house has done farely well economically in
his one year in office according to reports from CNN his number one critic.
Thus, age 'may' not be all that should concern us come 2019.
Another case in point, the current Governor of Kogi State of
Nigeria is the youngest Governor of this dispensation. He is not a recycled
politician. Just like Trump Governor Bello of Kogi is a businessman turned
politician. Now the question is, how has Kogi fared under this young Governor?
The answer is there for all to see.
Nigeria in the past was led by leaders in their 30's; Gowon,
Muritala etc. But that didn't solve all our problems. In fact, two young men in
their 30's; Gowon and Ojukwu of blessed memory led this nation into a horrible
civil war that still reverberates in our fabrics. So age, again is not all that
bothers me.
I ventured into Politics while in the University because of the
alarming rate of corruption and incompetence at the level of Students' Union
Government. I vied for the highest office of President though unsuccessfully.
Guess what, the looters of our common wealth on campus were not OLD MEN, they
were fellow students, YOUNG MEN.
I know you can relate with the last example, I know you
understand the point made so far. I do strongly desire younger people in
leadership, atleast for sake of the complications associated with 'very' aged
leaders such as amnesia, people not remembering their age, the associated
weaknesses and incompetence etc excused on age. But I'm more certain that in
the case of Nigeria, the age bracket of our leadership is not the chief of all
our legitimate concerns.
FREE & FAIR ELECTION
Again is the cry for free and fair election, another misplaced
concern for an average Nigerian electorate.
The idea of a free and fair election to the average Nigerian is
the concept of ONE MAN ONE VOTE. But one man one vote does not guarantee good
leadership, it at best legitimizes bad government. This is because under a one
man one vote atmosphere, people can still make wrong choices.
Take a look at your personal life for instance, you have made
decisions devoid of external influences in certain areas of your life. So why
do you still regret some of your decisions? Were your choices rigged?
I once participated in a free and fair election of one man one
vote in a social circle I belong in. A leader emerged. Few months down the
line, impeachment loomed as he turned out worst that the man we voted out. That
is because there are factors more important in arriving at a choice than
who/what the choice is. In our case is the issue of VOTER EDUCATION AND
AWARENESS.
To what extent does the voter in Nigeria understand his
problems? What is his concept of good governance? Is it water and electricity,
bags of rice and stomach infrastructure? What is the level of awareness of
those who desire the right to choose leaders in Nigeria under a free and fair
atmosphere?
Here in Rivers State where I reside (and this is not peculiar to
Rivers), every day on my way to work, I hear over the radio, jingles and news
items that make me shake my head in shame.
The people of XYZ community, thanking His Excellency for USING
PUBLIC FUND, THEIR OWN MONEY to construct a road to their community. That's
your voter baby! The Nigerian voter. He sees his Governor, Chairman, President
as Boss, not his employee.
In December 2017, I saw over the news women with placards
thanking President Buhari for giving them a bomb free Christmas in Abuja. And I
wondered, is security, living in peace now a privilege to be so thankful to
politicians for?
So I imagined a day when the company I work for (my employer)
will go on air, not once, but daily with radio advertorial and jingles thanking
me for doing the work he has HIRED ME, PAID ME, MOTIVATED ME THROUGH TRAININGS,
PAID & UNPAID ALLOWANCES ETC, to do. That will be the day....
I do understand what appreciation is, I also know the thin line
between appreciation from an enlightened man and praise singing from one who
cannot differentiate between his rights and privileges.
Does the average Nigerian voter understand who is the EMPLOYER
and the EMPLOYEE in governance? Does he understand what constitutes his rights
(security, light, good roads, health care, etc) and privileges (none) in the
contract of government? I mean are you supposed to thank me for respecting you,
for allowing you to vent your opinion, and for allowing you to live your life
free of any form of fear? Those are your rights not privileges.
Now how can a people who PRAISE the Governor for doing roads
with public fund demand for accountability? They don't even care how much was
spent on the road so long as they drive on the road. That is the booby trap of
voter 'uneducatedness'.
In my final year, I was saddled with the responsibility of
chairmanship of the electoral body to conduct the 2011 departmental election. I
spent most of my time doing voter education and enlightenment. This is because
as chairman I was determined the election must be free, but I also knew that a
free and fair election is more than one man one vote. A free and fair election
begins with voter awareness of his predicament. One man one vote would not
guarantee our liberation from mediocrity. I made sure every voter understood
what was at stake; the integrity of our union. I went to all classes on this
campaign encouraging even those who knew people qualified to occupy positions
to come forward with names of such persons.
Friends, free and fair election is not the cure to bad
governance. At best, a free and fair election can only produce the leader the
electorates DESERVE, not necessarily the leadership they DESIRE. Those two
scenarios are different. That is because one man one vote elections are not
devoid of religious sentiment, ethnicity and tribalism. It simply means the man
who can whip up the highest of such sentiments wins
When was the last time you chose competence over
friendship, merit over familiarity or 'my person?' How can an Hausa man
vote for an Igbo or Yoruba man vice versa based on competence if not by his
level of enlightenment.
Only voter awareness and education can cure Nigerians of
religious, ethnic sentiments and tribalism. Only voter education can guarantee
good leadership in a clan where people are more loyal to party than country,
where the people in the rural areas care much about the Umbrella and the Broom
and not those carrying them. For without proper voter enlightenment, an
electorate can comfortably and conveniently chose a Devil ahead of a Jesus
simply because the Devil spoke a language he understood....
So my dear country men, in facing the challenges of 2019 coming
election and the need for youthful leadership, we must critically examine
ourselves and our environment. Each of us the enlightened must seek avenue to
educate and enlighten our constituents however and in whatever ways we can,
especially using the various tools available to us such as the social media.
That is the only way we can guarantee that the result of ONE MAN ONE VOTE which
we so desire in coming elections shall of necessity translate into good
governance. A free and fair election begins with voter education.
I THEREFORE COMMIT TO VOTER EDUCATION, AND ENCOURAGE ALL TO DO
SAME.....
God bless Nigeria!!!
©Obinna Asole...... a writer nurtured by conscience
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