ELECTION CAMPAIGNS - A DISGRACE TO THE CITIZENRY

As we draw nearer to 2015 when most states will be electing their respective state governors and the country will also be electing her president nationwide, evaluating the fate of the Nigeria citizenry has become pertinent.

With the on-going mimicry of sharing bags of odourless Fufu, rice, milk, money and kerosene as we have seen in both Ekiti and Osun states, our politicians have finally succeeded in disclosing to the masses how hapless, poor and maybe seemingly worthless they perceive them to be. They have just told us that wooing the masses is pretty simple and very affordable. Or how else could they belittle the voters if not by demonstrating a flash-in-the-pan kind of kindness? Kerosene? Rice? Fufu? Milk? Money? Really? Won’t all of these finish within the first week after their elections? What insolence!

Indeed, Governor Kayode Fayemi and Ayo Fayose should go down as national heroes for successfully re-emphasizing the wonder of playing politics based on the “stomach infrastructure” of the populace; little wonder Rauf Aregbesola and Iyiola Omisore towed the same route in their recently concluded duel. Good as these wooing formations might seem for the politicians, the swiftness at which they have been able to sway these ignorant majorities should actually pose more worries for them than hope. I mean, now they should know that someone who is only concerned about his share of rice during election campaigns is neither someone who knows what good leadership is all about nor is he someone who is willing to take responsibility for the development of his community or the nation at large. And obviously, these categories of people constitute the majority who nag and criticize their leaders blinding because in the first place they never really had an apt idea of what good leadership entailed asides them getting free kerosene and Fufu.

Inasmuch as I agree that the majority of the voters in these communities might be poor and of low academic background and hence the ease at which they fall heads over heel for these political parasitic tactics however, I just believe they can do better due to the overstretched use of this tactics.

Really, I challenge INEC to take our electioneering processes to another level by offering voters an opportunity to express dissatisfaction in the aspirants where applicable amongst other things. I suggest there should be a “Vote of No Confidence” column for voters who feel that the competing Political Maradona’s are not only incompetent but also misfits for the positions they are vying for. It is true we all have to exercise our civic rights but certainly not in favor of some political jokers.

As we approach 2015 with such an uncontrolled pace, we can only imagine the several political dramas that are yet to be revealed across the country. How many more will be impeached? How many more will be killed? How many more will have to port from one party to the other? How many will reject INEC’s results and prefer to shrug it out at the elections tribunal? 2015, we can’t wait! Let’s revive hope in our nation, vote leaders based on competence and dedication rather than for short-term freebies and ethnical satisfaction because, this way, our leaders will assume more respect for us all.

EE