I sent in today’s discourse very late and that was because I had already done a follow up write up to “Barbaric, uncivilized and unreligious” which was published last week. Under the title, “Taming the madness in the country”, I had gone ahead once again to proffer solutions to the growing insecurity in the country. The solutions I put forward are not the usual ones we hear, like “increase number of security personnel”, “take decisive action”, which have become clichés now. I came through with very new and fresh recipe for dealing with deviants stoking the land.
Let me tickle your imagination a little. For instance, I suggested to “impeach the President and hand over power to his deputy, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; by that act alone insecurity will nosedive by 60 per cent.” I withdrew that for what you are reading because of the law of topicality. Sometimes, there are current affairs no quality commentator should ignore else you deny the larger society some good. The last one week has seen the political parties commence party primaries, from where they will choose candidates for the citizens to pick from during the general elections slated for February next year.
Quality of leadership of a country under democratic order is essentially determined by the quality of internal democracy in the political parties. In fact leadership recruitment begins with the process that throws up leaders for the political parties. At each turn of governance we complain about poor leadership and the disappointments they turn out to be against huge expectations. A local radio station asked me to review the implications and consequences of President Muhammadu Buhari not signing the last submitted portion of the Electoral Act which would have restored voting rights to “statutory delegates” in party primaries.
My response was quick, straight and sharp: «I hate endpoint reactions.» I told the station manager who called to solicit my participation, «If we meant business and were very serious to develop our space, and if we have our thinking faculties right, we would be very concerned about processes especially at the very beginning.» Most members of the National Assembly are carry overs from the Seventh Assembly, there is no problem of this country they don›t know, neither is there any issue that has not received a mention in the National Assembly in one form or another.
So what is the rational of having to wait till the eve of a major national election before we all begin to act in a frenzy? Wouldn’t it have made more sense if the electoral corrections we are struggling to effect now were done between 2015 and 2019. Why is it that such critical amendments were not done when the atmosphere was very calm and free from intense struggles for political advantages like what we have now. Would it not have been nice to embark on that at a time the elections were still very far off.
«The predictability factor in democracy» would have been my title for this discourse, because it is the crux of today›s outing. Elections cease from being credible and fair when citizens and political players, particularly the aspirants to public offices can›t tell with certainty dates for polls, exact processes and requirements involved in their pursuit of particular public office. In 2015 the electoral umpire unilaterally altered the dates of presidential and governorship polls on account of their own abdication of responsibility. That singular act affected participants differently. It conferred those with backing of public funds undue advantages.
On this run towards the 2023 general elections the same trend is rearing up her ugly head again. Critical observers like us have heard the electoral umpire, INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) warn repeatedly that it won’t extend dates for particular electoral processes. We hear and we see needless outburst because it is not supposed to be so in the first instance. The National Assembly few months to the poll came up with an amendment to include statutory delegates it removed by a recent amendment of the Electoral Act. It sent the bill to the President who in turn kept it away in a corner, till the party primaries got off to a start: none of the parties was sure what line to follow, the non-communication by the President kept everyone on the edge.
It was so because we left what ought to have been done in time till it was late. Definitely participation of statutory delegates may not have been totally free of vices. In fact, some say it may have increased it but it would have pushed forward the frontiers of democratic practice than the delegates system seems to have offered. Do I like the delegate system? My answer is no; the direct system appeals to me; at least it could come under manipulation initially but after a time it will afford other citizens opportunity to fight the growth of oligarchy.
It is time we look also at consensus option. The best system is one that allows aspirants face the voting population head on. But whatever may be the case, the most important thing is to set out the rules and procedures very early, standardize them so those who wish to take a go at public service know from the word go what to expect. If the aspirants knew it would be only the show of three people delegates, I can bet many of the presidential and even governorship aspirants would have limited the approach to the elected three persons per ward or one each from each local government across the country as the case may be.
The predictability factor in democracy is crucial. It will help citizens plan and know what offices to vie for and to avoid the confusion when every minister in President Buhari’s cabinet wanted to contest the office of the President because they thought they could keep public office while chasing another. When the rules are clear we avoid such madness. I have played day on the place of godfathers and money for votes, but from what we know, our system is still very crude.The way things run on the political scene, it is easier, much easier for a horse to pass through the eye of a needle than for a just and honest man win an election through our current political process. Very difficult!