Governance is a serious business. Forget the fact that it has been reduced to nothing, by some inept leaders and rogues who see governance as a means to make quick money and improve the lots of their relations, friends and inlaws.
In a normal clime, Governance is reserved for the serious-minded and those who had excelled in their chosen careers. They are then conscripted into political parties to replicate what they had achieved in their personal endeavours, for the people.
That is the reason a serious-minded government can not promise the masses what it cannot fulfill. For instance, before a serious administration promises its people water, it would have taken a proper study of such venture, apportioned enough fund for such project in the budget, and be sure of its execution.
It is only in Nigeria where a President or State Governor will promise a people road without building it and yet visits same community to promise them water, and still question the masses if they call him or her a liar.
When we were growing up in Owerri in the early 70s, contractors found it difficult to do business with Government.
The reason was that before you win a contract with Government, you must have gone through various hurdles. And after succeeding in getting the contracts, to pay you was a tough job, because you must meet up all the demands.
As at then, before a permanent secretary collects a bribe from you, the contractor will meet him at a lonely road where the money is dropped as if it was a kidnap ransom.
The Permanent Secretary will not send anybody to collect the money but himself so as to avoid a situation for a witness, incase “Yawa gass”.
In the days of yore time, taking of a chieftaincy title by a serving Civil Servant was seen as a big fraud, corruption. Then, if a Civil Servant has one, he or she must “drop” it as he/she goes to work.
I can remember vividly how, after much persuasion from our community, my late Uncle, and astute administrator Sir RU Ekpe had to take his chieftaincy title in the night so that he does not get reported at office as haven taken a chieftaincy title. The picture of that chieftaincy title was hidden in the cupboard in the village house until he retired from the service.
But today, I know of a junior Civil Servant who parades “Nze, High Chief” titles in his office. Even to add your religious title then was prohibited. But time has really changed for the worse.
Rather than things get better, the situation is degenerating to a bedlam scenario. Studies have shown that rather than improve, what we seem to imitate is the wrong side of the divide.
For instance, Nigeria copied American type of democracy. Today Nigerian democracy is the most expensive in the world, where our legislators earn trillions a year, at the detriment of the masses who voted them into office to “serve” them.
Our Governors ride exotic cars in a fleet of convoy, but if you visit America, you will see a state Governor queuing with other citizens to buy goods in a super market. Why can’t we imitate that but the wrong things?
Why is it that despite all we may say, the Shagari era benefited Nigerians the more in terms of massive infrastructure, in spite the meager allocations that accrued to states then.
In Imo state, Governor Sam Mbakwe erected huge factories all over the old Imo state, to the extent that the Governors in Abia, Imo and part of Ebonyi, since 1999 cannot refurbish all the factories Mbakwe left behind, much more building new ones.
As 2015 approaches, all manner of people have thrown their hats into the ring for the Governorship diadem.
The salient question should be; are all these people in the race to serve the masses or to line their pockets with the collective wealth of the poor masses?
Going through the Imo Guber list, it is certain some aspirants joined the fray just for the simple reason to either shore up their names, or to gamble. It is the common thing here that the moment you call a meeting to sound out the people on your purported guber ambition, the next morning you step out, “You Excellency, Your Excellency” will rent the air. This is whether the fellow later acquired the party’s guber form or not, much more winning the party’s ticket.
Those of them in Imo state who printed posters in 2011 are still being called “Your Excellency” till date.
It is this type of descretation of the Governorship Seat that has led to all manner of people joining Governorship race of their states.
The other day, I read in one of the Owerri based Newspapers where a certain man was said to be under pressure from some certain group to join Imo guber race.
Pray, has a position as important as that of Governorship Seat become one in which a Group of people will gather and put pressure on somebody to run?
Governorship seat of any state is not a tea party. That is why whoever that is persuaded to run must not be voted for. Before you make up your mind to join a race like that of Governorship, you must have put your house in order, with wide consultations from reasonable quarters before venturing out.
In contest for Governorship, you must have millions of naira of your own, before approaching those who may come in when your own pocket starts drying.
You don’t see (N10,000000) Ten million naira in your Bank Account and begin to gallivant the whole place, calling meetings for Governorship.
Yes, character, pedigree and other qualities are important for challenging for governorship, but the lubricator is the funds to mobilize, inform, and educate the electorate of your vision and plans.
There is no where in the world that elections do not gulp Billions of naira, depending on the type of election.
Even in America, if you don’t have millions of Dollars you cannot be an America President. Amerce has never elected a poor man her president before. Same as Governors. You must be tested in everything, including having enough, so that you don’t dip your hands into Uncle Sam’s Coffers.
Therefore, those eyeing Imo Governorship must wash their eyes clearly this time around. The battle will be fiercer in 2015 because of many factors..
One, the masses have enough preferences to make in 2015. They have seen three Governors since 1999 and therefore in a good stead to measure whoever they would want to be their governor.
Imo electorate have seen Udenwa. They can today make comparisons of him. They have seen Ohakim and can give a verdict of him. They are also watching Okorocha today, and will deliver their observation in the next few months.
Therefore, it is pertinent to note that the electorate have learnt enough since 1999 to determine their fate when the time comes in the next election.
It will be a tall order for all those contesting for Imo Governorship Seat in 2015, because the gullible public are getting wiser.
Unfortunately for the Aspirants, the electorate, even as at now, know the chaffs from the wheat of plethora of Aspirants jostling for the tickets of the various political parties in the state.
As at now, the only known political parties to Imo electorate are APC, PDP, APGA, may be UPP.
And it is in PDP that most of the Aspirants are clustered. The electorate also know that it is from these PDP aspirants that most of the now moribund political parties will poach their candidates.
It is as certain as tomorrow, that not all these numbers seeking for PDP ticket will make it since the slot is just one. Therefore the real party men among them will remain in the party to support the candidate that will emerge after the primaries. While the ambitious and desperate ones will dust as many of the political parties, as possible to execute their ambitions to a conclusive end.
These other aspirants may turn to fortune seekers who will pray that INEC misses their party logos and name, so that whoever wins the election proper will be at their beck and call for survival.
The biggest mistake and easiest way for a Tribunal or Court to cancel an election is for INEC to omit any party Logo. The electoral Act stipulates that whenever a party Logo is omitted, that election is null and void, as it is assumed that the omitted party and its candidate have been disenfranchised.
Therefore, INEC must shine its eyes against smart alecs that would want to reap where they did not sow. And that was one of the reason INEC asked that the number of participating political parties in the elections in 2015 be trimmed down to a manageable number, so that the serious ones would be separated from the unserious.
It is unfortunate that democracy, and election in Nigeria which should pave way for easy and transparent method to produce real leaders to take charge of the masses problems have been criminalized by desperate politicians.
Why are we innovators in only those things that will destroy our system? Oyibo man discovered computer, installed face book, email and others.
Rather than improve on it, we “manufactured” “Yahoo Yahoo”. See how Cynthia was murdered through “face book”?
Can’t we invent what can improve our lots? Many say that lack of job has plunged youths into various act of vices to survive, including joining Governorship races to make ends meet. This is serious!
But how could somebody spend over (N20m) twenty million naira to gamble for Governorship election, which may end a hoax?
Why can’t that money be put into reasonable ventures that can benefit the suffering masses?
But some people are lucky. Are you not aware of a guber candidate of one of the obscure parties in Imo state in 2007 who was “settled” with millions of naira? I ran into him in a burial last week, and the man has gone back to square one. “What happened to the millions of naira?” I thought. Down the drain, because he did not work hard for it. He desecrated Governorship seat and paid for it.
The only hope for Imo people is that among the legion of Aspirants are well tested technocrats, politicians and entrepreneurs, that in the end, one of them may emerge as Governor. Including the incumbent.
But let the peoples votes count, Amen.
