ELECTORAL REFORM AND PDP's ROTATIONAL PRESIDENCY

ELECTORAL REFORMS AND PDP’s ROTATIONAL PRESIDENCY

There is no doubt surrounding the fact that democracy is the best form of government ever known to man. Even so, many democratic societies and its citizens still suffer gross underdevelopment and abject poverty owing to poor political leadership culture. This sad reality has elicited a whole lot of debate among political scientists, journalists, opinion leaders, and commentators on contemporary issues. The consensus opinion is that the masses have been robbed of their powers by the political class. It has become clear that political power no longer belongs to the people- electorates like it is supposed to be. As a result of this, the loyalty of political leaders is mostly directed at electoral umpires, god fathers, and kingmakers. It is for this simple reason that public office holders can afford to ignore the concerns of the electorates and loot the treasury.

In an effort to return power to the people, the late President Musa Yar’Adua stunned the world when he admitted openly that the election that brought him to power was faulty. He thereafter called for understanding and promised to carry out a holistic electoral reform exercise. Unfortunately, many Nigerians have failed to appreciate the true meaning of electoral reform and have therefore restricted it to mean the recommendations of Justice Mohammed Uwais-led Electoral Reform Committee.

For the avoidance of doubt, let it be noted that the main aim of reforming the nation’s electoral system would be defeated if it is not done holistically. We cannot talk of electoral reforms when there is no internal democracy within the political parties. We cannot talk of electoral reforms when some key players in the nation’s electoral body- INEC are card-carrying members of political parties. In the same vein, Nigerians cannot talk of electoral reforms when political parties are allowed to practice undemocratic traditions such as rotational presidency.

One of the major aims of reforming the electoral system is to promote quality political leadership in the country. For this very important reason, whatever action or practice that would not support this objective should be jettisoned. Rotational presidency is one of them. Apart from promoting tribalism, the culture of seclusion is undemocratic. It creates bitterness among party members and also reduces the chances of sourcing for the best hands.

My opinion is not based on the fact that I and President Goodluck Jonathan come from the same state. After all, he has not said he is going to contest the presidency in 2011. Nevertheless, there would be nothing wrong if majority of members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wants him to contest. This is the beauty of democracy. Power belongs to the people- not a party’s National Working Committee or Board of Trustee. This is the time when Nigerians should come together and work towards making every vote count and not wasting valuable time on issues that will divide the nation along tribal lines.

Perhaps, it would be necessary to highlight the reason behind the culture of rotational presidency. It is to a very large extent erroneously believed that one has to share the same tribal lineage with the president in order to secure a key appointment or win a big contract. This anomaly is hugely responsible for why tribal lineage is regarded far above every other factor in Nigerian politics. Frankly, tribal-based politics can only be rife in a country where the government pay mere lip service to the culture of transparency, accountability, justice, and fair play.

Just like I have submitted in previous write-ups, one of Nigeria’s greatest problems is tribalism. It is owing to the deep rooted nature of tribalism in the polity that successive administrations have not been able to effectively fight corruption in the country. There is an unwritten law in Nigeria that forbids citizens from exposing or prosecuting fellow tribesmen for corrupt practices. That is the reason why public servants that earns less than N12m annually will build mansions, acquire fleet of exotic cars, and own investments worth over N200m within four years without being asked to show proof of sources of funds.

Furthermore, tribalism promotes national poverty. It makes citizens to become lazy. In a tribal-infected polity, even people that sow nothing can reap bountifully simply because their tribesperson is in power. This is clearly against natural principle. The more we promote tribal agenda above democratic prescriptions, the closer we get to the source of our disintegration.

I do not know their individual names but most of the people championing calls for electoral reforms are carrying nametags that bear “Hypocrite.” That is exactly what those of them that support the culture of rotational presidency are. The reason for the reform must not be bleached to serve tribal agendas. And for those that are threatening the corporate destiny of Nigeria following speculations that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan may run for the presidency come 2011; I wish them well. They should not play God. Nigerian masses are hungry for good political leadership. Let the people be allowed to decide whom they want. It can be Jonathan or any other person. Let us stop playing God and concentrate on how to make our votes count.

NEED TO REJIG NIGERIA'S ANTI-CORRUPTION PROTOCOL

Corruption has been identifies as the mountain standing between Nigeria and her Promised Land. The prevalence of corruption has greatly discouraged the inflow foreign investments into the country. This is indeed a serious problem when viewed against the backdrop of the current economic order. It is necessary for our fiscal policy formulators and advisers to understand that Nigeria can only benefit from the culture of free market economy when the nation is able to win the confidence of the global business community. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s corruption and fraud index are still very high. This has discouraged many foreign corporations and institutions from trusting Nigerian citizens or investing in the country.

The bulk of whatever we still have as foreign investments in the country is tied strictly to the oil industry. Foreign investors still have some confidence in Nigeria’s petroleum sector because of its peculiar nature. In Nigeria, crude oil production and marketing is such that foreign investors have undue advantage over the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) mostly because of the nation’s poor technological state. This has afforded the joint venture partners the opportunity to dictate terms and conditions of joint venture activities. It is in this light that the local content policy of the federal government is most welcome. If properly monitored, Nigeria will save billions of dollars spent annually on the fabrication, installation, and maintenance oil industry utilities.

It is for all these reasons that the federal government has channelled huge material and human resources towards fighting corruption especially in the last ten years. Nevertheless, it would not be out of place to argue that not much have been achieved when viewed against the backdrop of the number of high profile corruption cases being unearthed daily by the nation’s anti-graft agencies. This sad development is enough reason for government to rejig the nation’s anti-graft protocol.

To a very large extent, current anti-corruption efforts are focused mainly on investigation, prosecution, and punishment of convicted offenders. Even at that, the logic surrounding punishment of persons convicted for corruption is faulty. There is no justification for giving equal punishment to persons that embezzled different amounts of money. Take the case of two men- one embezzled N10m and the other, N10b but were all sentenced to two years prison term. Apart from prescribing long prison terms (minimum of ten years), every N1m of illegally acquired money should attract additional 1 year prison term. Through this, the weight of punishment can make some meaning. The current system where someone will embezzle up to N10b and serve a mere two year jail term is an insult on the sensibilities of poor Nigerians. If given the opportunity, many poor Nigerians would be too willing to collect N10m and spend three years in prison in order to escape poverty.

Nigeria’s current anti-graft campaign can be likened to pursuing a policy of cure, as against that of prevention. Government should consider legislations that will encourage citizens to live within their income. This should be done putting in place legislation that will compel citizens to disclose sources of income to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before acquiring properties or investing up to N5m and above. Whoever that fails to do so should be punished with a one year jail term and also forfeit the said property or investment to the applicable tier of government where the source of illegal money is traced to. Apart from discouraging corruption, the work of the various security and anti-graft agencies will be made easier and more efficient.

Nevertheless, government must have to tackle the problems of poverty in the country. Ordinarily, Nigeria is too endowed to experience problems of poverty. The inability of government to fight corruption and distribute national wealth evenly is the fundamental causes of poverty in the country. National wealth can be distributed evenly by strengthening of the nation’s socio-economic framework. To achieve this, the organised private sector will have to be energised to stimulate rapid economic growth. This would require stable power, effective transport infrastructure, friendly tax regime, and access to long term credit facilities among others.

Furthermore, government must also diversify the economy by encouraging the agro-allied and solid minerals sectors. Apart from contributing to the nation’s foreign exchange earnings, millions of high-paying jobs will be created. Clearly, unemployment is a major source of poverty, malnutrition, crime, and insecurity in Nigeria.

There is no doubt that over 80% of Nigerian workers in both the public and private sectors cannot rely on their salaries for the feeding, housing, transportation, health care, and educational needs of their families. Like the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), affordable premiums can be set to enable Nigerian workers and their family access quality health care services, quality education to university level, and ability to own houses commensurate with their income. Of what necessity is work if one cannot rely on his income to take care of the basic needs of life?

Nigerians should not allow themselves to be deceived by charges of “political witch-hunting” levelled against the presidency by highly placed citizens facing corruption charges. Are we saying, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) should not investigate and charge to court those sharing different political opinion with the president even when there are enough evidences to do so? This is not the best way to fight corruption. Until they are convicted in a recognised law court, such persons remain innocent. They should therefore submit themselves for trial and sue government for damage if they are eventually acquitted.

My sympathy for these highly placed Nigerians accused of corruption is tied to the proof that they do not have confidence in the judiciary. From all indications, the Nigerian judiciary can be entrusted with the freedom of the innocent and punishment of the guilty. Let us join hands and make corruption unpopular in Nigeria.

DEMOCRACY, GOVERNORS' FORUM AND IWU

There is no gainsaying that the foundation of every healthy democratic society is built on the principles of sound and reliable electoral culture. This is so because, it is only through free and fair elections that credible persons could be picked and entrusted with key leadership positions in society. In the last thirty years of Nigeria’s history, several bold attempts have been made by the political class, social-cultural, religious, and civil society organisations to find enduring solutions to the nation’s weak and spongy electoral protocols. The faulty nature of the electoral system has helped to create room for the few moneybags to massage the conscience of electoral officials in order to rig elections in favour of themselves or their stooges. This is the reason why politicians respect electoral umpires far more than even the electorates. Without any fear of contradiction, this is the root causes of failing political leadership in the country.

Nigerians should not wait for Barrack Obama or Hillary Clinton to confirm to us that poor leadership culture has been the bane of Nigeria- the supposed Giant of Africa, now struggling to make impact even among Lilliputian nations. It is a common fact that poor political leadership breeds corruption, underdevelopment, poverty, crime, tribalism, nepotism, and ineptitude among others. Many have therefore not seen it as a surprise that over 90% of the nation’s population are living below poverty line. To the utter dismay of many, a greater percentage of workers in both the private and public sectors earn salaries that are not enough to feed a family of three for just one week. Quite evidently, the rise in cases of ill health among Nigerians can be traced to poor dieting regime. Majority of Nigerian now eat between one and two low diet meals daily. This already bad situation is made worse by the non availability of access to clean drinking water most especially in the rural areas. The international community is shocked that the world’s sixth largest producer of crude oil is relying on the importation of fuel to service her local market. It is an irony that Nigeria is still grappling with power generation with all the option of gas, hydro, wind, coal, and solar at our disposal. With an enormous population size, Nigeria is capable of generating enough power from waste products.

It is also very disturbing that job creation figures have fallen far below population growth levels. The authorities must understand that the consequences of high unemployment rate are capable of compromising the security of this nation. Governments at the local, state, and federal levels must therefore roll out practicable plans to stimulate economic and industrial growth. This will in turn create employment opportunities and improve the human worth of more of the nation’s citizens. With all of the above in mind, one can easily appreciate the reasons for the enthusiasm shown by Nigerians concerning the attempt by the present administration to reform the nation’s frail electoral framework.

While the Governors’ Forum are free to hold their opinions on issues bothering on the country, it is very clear that their hard-line position on the Chairmanship of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was very unfortunate. It bears clear traces of self help. The Governors’ Forum failed to convince Nigerians of what the nation stood to lose if Maurice Iwu is not retained for a second term. If one puts common sense to test, it would point to the fact that the nation’s electoral system cannot be truly reformed with Iwu as INEC boss. This is so because, civil society groups, religious organisations, socio-cultural bodies, and several political actors are convinced that evidences volunteered at election tribunals has stained the hands of Maurice Iwu with blood. Many stakeholders believe that he played significant roles in aiding electoral frauds. Retaining him would therefore pose a whole lot of credibility problems for INEC. Integrity is an important ingredient that cannot be divorced from the personality of electoral umpires.

The huge support that greeted the exit of Maurice Iwu last week was indeed unprecedented. By that singular action, Acting President Goodluck Jonathan has made a bold statement that political leadership in Nigeria can surely rise above parochial interests. The only way Jonathan or any other political leader can be encouraged to always stand on the side of truth is for the political class, civil society, religious, and socio-cultural organisations to give them all the backing they deserve. But more importantly, the acting president should not ignore, but rather engage the Governors’ Forum in dialogues to remind them of the important need to put the nation first. In as much as state governors wield a lot of influence, I foresee a dull picture where their shallow and narrow minded opinions on key national issues would pitch the masses against them in the very near future.

Immediately after President Musa Yar’Adua was flown out to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, the Governors’ Forum quickly turned themselves into a mountain that Goodluck Jonathan must climb before taking important decisions. Even without the benefit of a prophet, one can see the handwriting clearly on the wall. The governors are trying to position themselves well ahead of the 2011 elections at the expense of the nation. Their shock and grief following the much expected exit of Maurice Iwu have no doubt distorted a well rehearsed cavalcade.

While there is nothing wrong in governors demanding to be consulted on key national issues, their attempts at sacrificing national interests for parochial ambitions should be resisted by both the presidency and the masses. This is one sure way we can safeguard our democracy. The time has therefore come for all to remind state governors of the important need for them to leave the acting president alone and face squarely the enormous responsibilities waiting for them in their various states. Under normal circumstances, they should not need Iwu to win elections. Let them allow their four year report cards to deliver them at the polls. The governors are certainly afraid that with the expected electoral reform exercise, the opportunity for rigging elections will be greatly reduced. A sound electoral culture will customarily make the electorates kings as is obtained in every democratically healthy society. Nigerian masses should start celebrating. The years of poor political leadership will soon come to an end.