Violence around political campaigns has become a major issue in the gubernatorial contest in Ekiti State and with that, it is easy for lazy politicians and never-do-well to escape the eagle eyes and scrutiny of the enlightened people of Ekiti. Using brute force, these funny characters can begin to chase shadows than focus on presenting their credentials as contestants, performances in the past and pedigrees.
The three leading candidates in the Ekiti gubernatorial race from the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP} and the Labour Party have some kind of experience to fall back upon in selling their candidates to the people. In view of this, one would have expected they will be put on the spot and made to show their score cards, which must
necessarily justify why the electorate in the state should prefer just one to be in power. No allowance should be given for runaway attitude and regurgitating worn-out issues that amount to nothing in the lives of the people.
Democracy is the most popular, acceptable and modern means of recruiting leaders. It is not about wielding sharp cutlasses and crimson red eyes after consuming raps of marijuana. Democracy, no doubt, presents a situation of war, that is, a war of words and ideas fought in the minds of people and on the pages of newspapers. And if this is truly the case, we will expect the media and the civil society in Ekiti do us a favour by making the entire candidate to stay on issues and ensuring the language of campaign is elevated, civil and high enough for decent electoral choices to be made.
Again, apart from experience in government and public service, it is imperative that other variables should be used in evaluating the candidates.
These variables must not include the size of the fists the candidates could deploy in inflicting physical injuries on opponents. Elections all over the world are not world wrestling title bouts and Nigerians must not change the rules.
I could see Kayode Fayemi coming up with another surprise again like he did between 2006 and 2010, though he was considered a greenhorn and an underdog because of his mode of entry into Nigerian politics. He was at that time not what Nigerians will call a politician because he caught his teeth in politics as a rights activist while struggling against the military junta of Abacha on the platform of the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO. For those, discerning enough, risk taking and staying in the range of fire should have been seen as strength needed in climbing up the political ladder. The Abacha time was indeed a dangerous time in the politics of Nigeria, where many preferred to join’ them to partake in chopping’ or stay on the side-line than be wasted by sniper’s bullets.
Some few weeks ago, a rights activist in Oyo state, Moshood Erubami, joined the APC and declared his interest in contesting election into the Federal House of Representatives in 2015. He would need to get a hand-out from Fayemi on how to do it successfully. Fayemi has therefore become a distinguished fellow in this instance.
Again, I also wish to credit Fayemi’s emergence as the governor of Ekiti to a combination of contradicting factors. First, he had political suaveness.
Second, a costly mistake was made when he was underrated by the opposition political party, the PDP. It seems to be the belief then in the opposition and even now, was that the intellectual depth of a candidate would not count and would actually be a liability in an election. It proved costly, and their loss became the gain of Fayemi. The depth also assisted him in government. Will history repeat itself?
From all indications, Fayemi has become the candidate to beat. Therefore, those interested in doing a serious fight of brain and power with him must factor this into calculation. He is the incumbent and that comes with a huge advantage. He is theoretically sound in the art of fighting. He has doggedness more than anyone in that contest, though politicians, because they are blessed with simple minds, will not believe this. Fayemi also seems a man not easily frightened or intimidated by any circumstance around him, though his countenance may not betray it. For example, he had to challenge the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the court of law several times until he got victory in 2010.
Ayodele Fayose shares something in common with Fayemi. He recorded a political first too by defeating the progressive government of Chief Niyi Adebayo with the conservative PDP machinery in 2003. He is seen as a tough person, a political hardliner and heavy risk taker. But will he be able to match Fayemi in terms of intellectual inputs during the ongoing campaigns?
The afore-mentioned candidates do have the advantage of strong and tested political bureaucracies. Opeyemi Bamidele, on the other hand, scores low and will trail behind them. I also have a word for the campaign managers of Fayemi: they should not play down his achievements in areas of governance because it will stand him in good stead in this election.
Something looks to me amazing in the man Fayemi, though I am a distant admirer of his: how he was able to stay focused on his 8-point agenda amidst the huge distractions that Nigeria has become. In many cases, bitter internal party politics within the APC and desperate 2015 ambitions outside his party were distractions. It takes a strength of character to navigate such multitude of distractions and focus on hitherto neglected goals and interests of the people covering areas like agriculture, physical infrastructural development, tourism, education, social welfare, industry, roads, water, communication, gender and employment generation. All these are dividends of government dispersed in a way that everyone, and everything, both far and near within the state is moved and reached.
I was able to see that he recorded many firsts in governance despite paucity of funds when compared with many rich states in Nigeria. To my mind, that is true governance. It is about using the little in your hands for the benefits of the vast majority. And he has been able to use his programmes and projects to ‘touch’ towns, villages, young men, school children and the aged and to make statements that governance mediocrity and aimless spending like a prodigal son.
I could also see the feat going on in Ekiti may not be that easy to accomplish for those who are misguided not to realise the tangential relationship between knowledge and modernisation of underdeveloped societies. And for reason, intelligent choices must be made in Ekiti. Piloting a rural and underdeveloped economy out of the cycle of poverty would need knowledge and Ekiti is a good example of where we can make it work. Some may not realise it: knowledge is not cheap.
No comments:
Post a Comment