Nigerians are now just sitting and holding their cheeks as the major two political parties, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democrasti Party, PDP, hold their various primary election this weekend to elect their flags bearers in next year’s general elections.
The issue is one that has left many people in doubt as to the ability of the delegates to really do the needful in terms of electing who fly their parties’ flags in the forthcoming elections. Delegates are just few individuals who are chosen by various political parties to represent majority in selecting who bears the flag of their various parties during election.
The question here is, how can an individual or a small number of people determine who becomes a leader of a country, state and a local government? The argument is that the outcome of what the delegates would do cannot reflect the general minds of the people and citizens of this country.
Most delegates end up enriching themselves during the primaries, this is because the highest bidder becomes the ultimate winner of the primaries which is not meant to be so. Leaders are expected to emerge based on credibility, integrity, and the antecedents of the aspirant. But today, the case is different, because of the absence of the true virtuous of a leader.
Most of the leaders create a barrier in their mind that what they have in their pockets can do the work for them because most of the delegates are not trustworthy or credible.
We should put some measures in place to discourage delegates from collecting “brown envelopes” from the aspirants of all the political parties. Doing this will create the proper environment to produce credible and honest flag bearers of the parties.
The assumption is that the delegates represent majority, so we deemed it fit to call on to the delegates to shun collecting money from the aspirants and be credible since they’re dancing with our tunes.
The delegates will be a means or an avenue through which an aspirant can be a flagbearer of a particular party. So, the delegates should try the possible best they can to avoid anything that will lead to electing irresponsible persons as their candidates. They should vote based on credibility and integrity.
Money politics has led to some delegates to vote for only candidates that paid the highest money, and in some cases these candidates end up emerging as elected governor, president, senate and House of representatives member.
Unfortunately, when they assume their various offices, some of them hardly do well in the first two years or may do well in their first tenure, then seek re-election and after winning they hardly do anything meaningful.
We are not saying that delegates are not doing their duties well, but they can effect positive change in our country by putting to an end to the highest bidder syndrome and go for integrity, credibility and competency, which will guarantee a promising future for our country’s electoral system.
If the delegates vote based on credibility and integrity, I am cocksure that we will regain the lost glory of our dear nation, Nigeria. Even as the two major conduct their various primary elections, delegates should remember that as citizens of this country we are counting on them to be fair, sincere and just in their conduct.
They should remember that whatever they do and whoever they elect as their parties flag bearers could eventually be elected as our leaders. So, they should vote a patriotic, credible, responsible, honest and trustworthy candidates.
Therefore, they are expected to do the needful, having in mind that the future of our country depends on them and they either do what is right to be remembered and be praised or do bad and live with it.
Dangana Henry Joseph
and Muhammad Umar Shehu
[email protected]
08035794769 [email protected]
