By Theo Adebowale
|
It is electioneering season again and politicians are all over the place saying something. Sola, my friend, a journalist was not pleased with the conduct and performance of these campaigners. We got to talking and she said we deserve a better treatment than they are giving. The electorate sure deserve something better than contained in the message of Nigerian politicians.

For instance, at a campaign ground, the crowd, obviously hired, were shouting somebody must go, and throughout the television coverage, that was the major item on the agenda. Characteristically, hundreds of millions of naira was lavished to communicate it. Again, they have got it wrong. And the educated elite must be held responsible for dereliction of responsibility or incompetence. One expects the educated elite to have set the agenda, and communicate it to the electorate. Not that communication has been lacking, but it has been misplaced. Rather, the major issues are either trivialized or mistreated.

Primordial issues like zoning system, religious affiliation of aspirants, philanthropy or ethnic particularism have been focused while the economy has been a major topic which should have received robust attention in debate and review. No well meaning rational attention has been paid to educating the people from the global nature of the phenomenon and what alternatives (if any) are available to exempt Nigerians.

That hunger and poverty are in the land is no news, but sadly, the electorate is yet to be educated on its form, widespread nature and how to know when, it is overcome. Public officials and the ruling party have said it on a number of occasions that, Nigeria is out of recession. Some statistics have been displayed as evidence.

But food stuff and condiments, by their prices have yet to confirm that the recession is over. As a matter of fact, not a few experts display the fact that the economy is sinking deeper into recession. This is a major topic to engage campaigners on as they seek election or re-election.

The poverty level is still high and any politician seeking my vote would be taken serious if he explains to me how much has been done or would be done to drastically reduce the poverty scourge and what results to expect at specific periods. Politicians could be taken serious if they let us know their conceptualisation of unemployment, job creation and for scrutiny investments. Those that have chased foreign investors all over the world need to submit their report detailing the cost and the outcome.

The electorate has the opportunity to assert itself as an employer of labor. Those who were hired for the expiring term should submit themselves for Tenure Performance Review. This would be easy to do if we had the terms of the contract by which the voters hired them. Those who are found wanting should be replaced with men and women of integrity with evidence to outshine them in performance. So, the party platform is a crucial document at this point in time. We can easily lay our hand on the manifesto of Action Group released to canvass for votes in the 1960 elections. It was intended to provide: Life more abundant. For the 1979 elections, the Unity Party of Nigeria released and published the four cardinal programmes. These documents were made available to the electorate. Many of us including primary school pupils and students of higher institutions did not only have copies of the 1979 manifesto of the Unity Party of Nigeria, we know the content and could recall the four cardinal programmes off hand.

Unfortunately, no manifesto is easy to come by these days. Some politicians have referred us to their website to see their party platform as if voters were being done a favour to know what is in stock for them.

All Progressives Congress, more than the others has a responsibility to avail the electorate with hard copies of the party manifesto as well as other documents that detail their covenant with the people of Nigeria. The document will help the electorate to do a score card for the party across the 36 states of the federation. It would be basis for confirming how many of the promises have been kept. The Congress would be made to explain what factors have limited its performance and show where it has done even what was not promised. The other parties also must avail us with copies of their manifesto to show how well they have fared where they have produced Governors, Senators and lawmakers. Party constitutions should be made available for scrutiny to ascertain hierarchy, functions and powers of officials and mechanism for discipline. By now, each party should state clearly duties and obligations of members, and in particular there must be statutory financial obligations as well as rights of members. Financial members must have such privileges as when positions are to be reviewed or elections of party officials, delegates or candidates are called. The constitution would state clearly provision for internal democracy, which has suffered tremendously in all the parties without exception. This is understandable because only a few rich individuals supply funds for all activities of the party and it is morally justifiable because he (or she) who pays the piper dictates the tune.

A credible membership register would be compiled, and party officials can generate revenue for the party from registration, quarterly and annual dues. The devise would be useful for instilling a sense of belonging. It will also curb the excesses of some privileged members who are in the habit of overreaching themselves. This will also encourage party officials to have business to mind, and party procedure and processes to document. Rumor mongering and intra party squabbles would reduce when record keeping is a routine. Members could not only have to spend time on sloganeering, there would be reports to receive, review and respond to. Candidates, later on, elected and appointed officials would be made not responsible to a god father, a cabal but to the party and the electorate. This would limit high handedness as the general goal would be to deliver the common good and not to satisfy the ego of an individual. The electorate would have to confirm the constitutional provisions each party has made to conduct public affairs through internal mechanism.

Voters should be interested in the character, competence and integrity of candidate so that their mandate is not given to the one who would treat them with disdain, misapply resources and loot the treasury. They should find out the kind of company an aspirant keeps before entrusting them with office so that such would not be an embarrassment to their organisation. However, once the party is confirmed to stand on a solid foundation this task will be easy to accomplish, because several times, it has been demonstrated that birds of the same feather flock together. For instance, APC would have realised that serial defectors, are a kind of a rolling stone, and having that in mind would have warned them of the danger of entrusting fundamental responsibilities to unstable characters. Perhaps the party would have saved itself, and the people of Nigeria, a lot of embarrassment.

So, when next the campaigners come ask them for the party constitution. Tell them to produce a copy of the manifesto.