Many Nigerians for various reasons are already keenly looking forward to 2007.
For politicians, it is the dawn of another soap-box era guaranteed by the constitution to canvass and cast votes for specific public offices, whereas for the masses, it is an ample opportunity to engender change by easing out the never-do-wells for focused new breeds.
Although 2007 is about three years away, political realignments had since kicked off even as those that will contest the different elective positions have began high level jostling.
At the presidential level, it is now common knowledge that the likes of retired General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), Brigadier-General Mohammed Marwa (Rtd) and Vice President Atiku Abubaka, are vying for the exalted position.
At the governor ship level, many aspirants have likewise flagged off their campaigns albeit in hushed tones. Soon they will make their intentions public.
Just before it is time for business as usual (although one hopes not) certain gray areas which pose serious threat to political stability, social justice and effective representation need to be critically examined. The aim will be to forestall re-occurrence of the ugly mistakes of the past, which left so much to be desired within the system.
An issue in point is the quest by deputy governors to succeed their bosses in 2007 even when existing circumstances weigh heavily against their candidacay. In the provisions of the 1999 Constitution for instance, state governors and their deputies have the same mandate of four or eight years as the case may be to impart positively on the lives of the people. For any deputy governor to fail to deliver the goods to the people within a period of four or eight years is to commit political suicide. And the foggy reasoning that such deputies would suddenly excel in 2007 simply discounts equity and justice for the people.
In spite of benefitting handsomely from all the rights and privileges of a governor’s office, (security votes etcetera), deputy governors who came into office in 1999 would have served a record of eight straight years by 2007.
For equity’s sake, what should be paramount at this stage will be to relinquish the position for another to hold forte. It would naturally be instructive that when a predecessor leaves his immediate office with a lot of achievements to show, his successor would be under pressure to match if not surpass the records of the earlier. And this is what a virile society needs for development.
The insistence on continuity, (as many deputy governors would want to harp) has since become a political cliche because to be allowed to contest again is to seek to run for a third term, which even the president and governors are not allowed under the constitution. This is why it has become important to bring to light, the views of opinion moulders that deputy governors should not be handed the ticket of their bosses.
Come to think of it, after serving eight years in office, why would a deputy want to perpetuate himself in office under the guise of seeking governorship. Outside the lure of corrupt enrichment, such a candidate should have reached the peak of maximal performance at that level. Of course history in Africa alone has shown that the more years African leaders spend in office, the more they deteriorate in terms of performance.
If 2007 is to be the future year where things must start looking up for the good of all, particularly the youths, then this dogma of “The old, Bold and Rich” in politics must be stopped now.
Political watchers both inside and outside are worried about the trend of super-imposition of candidates on the masses in Nigeria. It is feared that one of the key reasons why major crisis may erupt in future is through imposition of candidates on parties. The masses should be allowed to select their leaders independent of any socio-political dogma.
One would think that, ideally, the objective in seeking election into public office is to contribute ones “quota” to the development of one’s constituency and by extension others through selfless service.
Once we begin to loose sight of this fact, and allow ourselves to plummet into politics of power for power sake we would all be the worse for it.
A few known deputy governors that fall into this category include: Sir Goodluck Jonathan (Bayelsa), Chief Benjamin Elue (Delta), Chief Ebere Udeagu (Imo), Chief Okechukwu Ezenwata (Enugu), Chief Gabriel Toby (Rivers) and of course Chief Mike Ogbiadomhe (Edo), and even Femi Pedro (Lagos State, who is seen, largely as an outsider).
In clear terms, it would amount to committing political hara-kiri electing such deputy governors in 2007. If eventually they selfishly indicate interest in the governorship office (which in any case is their right) it would simply mean giving a single individual a total of either 12 or 16 years in the governance of their states. Come to think of it, their present bosses only spent eight years!
Against the background of fairness, can these deputy governors justifiably claim that they would be injured if they did not get power as governors come 2007?
Again, the deputy governors having served with their bosses for eight years are privy to certain secrets of their bosses, which they may later use to witch-hunt them (governors).
Better and more reasonable alternatives will be for those deputies interested in succeeding their bosses to be encouraged to angle for different elective positions where they would still be useful to their states and nation.
Investigations reveal that some states are already tired of listening or seeing the faces of certain governors and their deputies and thus giving such deputy governors extra years in office would on its own steam create a kill-joy scenario. For one, the citizens are not likely to support their programmes should they succeed their bosses thereby resulting in another round of wasted years and resources.
Some may argue that the deputy governors have experience than any other aspirant to the governorship seat. But not all experience is worthwhile. Definitely, an experience that will perpetuate ineptitude, squalor and backwardness should be discarded. And this is the kind of experience and expertise some of the deputy governors have. They have perfected the art of over-invoicing, diversion of state allocations (ask Mrs. Nenedi Usman, Minister of State for Finance) and other sharp practices that giving the opportunity to remain in office beyond 2007, there will be an invitation to the locusts to continue ravaging the victim states.
Equally, some of the deputies have in the last five years made it known that they are not worth the exalted seats they presently occupy. They keep antagonising their bosses for not assigning duties to them. But even the little they had been given has exposed their incompetence. In some states, the deputy governors usually step into the governor’s shoes in acting capacity each time the governors traveled, but the populace hardly feel their impact.
It is quite unfortunate and surprising that today instead of these deputy governors assisting their masters in delivering democracy dividends to the populace, they have chosen to plot how to succeed their bosses in 2007.
It is unfortunate not because they are not entitled to aspire to their state’s plum position; far from that, but the fact remains that most of these deputy governors have performed far below average.
Aside, their inordinate thirst to come back to power, the conduct of these men are palpably bereft of morality and full of the usual obstinacy and disdain for the rest of the populace in the state.
Most of them have in one way or the other constituted themselves as a clog in the wheel of progress of their states.
One is therefore at a loss as to what magic a man who had constituted a clog in the wheel of progress of a state can perform if eventually he finds himself at the helm of affairs of his state.
The biblical injunction even detests such, as it says: a man who could not do well when given little things, would definitely not do well if given greater responsibility.
Chief Enyinnaya Abaribe and Kofoworola Bucknor Akerele former deputy governors of Abia and Lagos States respectively are not the only over-ambitious ones as their governors claimed, many more still exist, which nothing but time will expose.
Consequently, it is important to note at this juncture that most of the deputy governors are not loyal but may be pretending to be obedient, and if given power, their bosses should be ready for a volt-face from them. And that would be dangerous.
Unfortunately, very few see power as a call to selfless service to the people; most see it as a call to “material glory”.
The state governors should rather think of supporting a neutral person than thinking of allowing their deputies succeed them as such action will not only be against the principle of justice and fair-play but will amount to making such deputies the demi-god of sorts.
