Delegates and our democracy

This week will witness critical political developments, choices, measures and steps to be taken by the two leading political parties towards nominating their candidates for the 2023 elections. The two parties—the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party—will conduct their primaries for the nomination of candidates which will witness the crowd of aspirants whittled down to a candidate for each of the elective positions being contested by the parties. It is a big week like no other in our attempt at democratic consolidation. This discourse reviews the issues involved in the primaries, the high stakes, the role of delegates and some outstanding issues with our Electoral Act.

We are living witnesses to the insecurity, disunity, collapse of education and health sectors, degraded economic indicators reflected in high levels of unemployment, inflation, a continually depreciating currency and all the ills that have plagued the country in the last seven years. For the sake of brevity, this discourse will refer to these national challenges as the challenge. The challenge is not a given; it did not just happen. It is a product of the political decision and choices made by the state and citizens. The delegates who elect candidates in the leading parties play a major role. Their decision or indecision most at times places a fait accompli before citizens who have made a habit of choosing one of the candidates presented by the two parties and electing him or her into office. But when the primaries throw up two obviously incompetent persons, who belong to the age of mischief and who have contributed in no small measure to the present economic, political and social decay, we are faced with the choice of the devil and the deep blue sea.

Nigeria is at a fork in the road and needs to take effective decisions on its next political and governance steps. Things we took for granted in previous years have become critical challenges. Commodity prices are high and have not collapsed, yet our petro dollar boom is over. Hard choices need to be made on how to redirect our economic, social and political life because we are just at the end of the cliff and could plunge headlong if we decide to ride our luck a little further. Nigerians have always taken pride in the fact that we have almost allowed our country to get to points where other countries collapsed but somehow, we came back from the brink. No, not this time. The decision to be made by delegates in a few days time in Abuja the federal capital territory will determine whether we have a country or the documentation that there was a country may move from a metaphor to real life. Before, the choice Nigerians faced could have been between acceleration and stagnation, stability and fragility and the quest for social solidarity. But today, the choice before the delegates and Nigerians is between disintegration, heightened anarchy, aggravated hunger and starvation on the one hand and national reconciliation, firm but steady steps at rebuilding our economy on the other hand.

With our aggravated challenges, bringing our country back from the brink is an economic, moral, political and social imperative.  Politics and political decisions are essential tools for nation building. However, Nigerian politics is portrayed as lacking in the qualities that build the nation. It is portrayed as a winner takes all, a bazaar that goes to the highest bidder, lacking in morality, cares little about inclusivity, competence and capacity of the contestants and where the major stakeholders think only of today and what they stand to gain. The higher national interest is relegated to the background.

Against the background of the foregoing, this discourse makes a direct appeal to the delegates to understand that the future of Nigeria, including their own future and that of their children lies in their decisions. If as a result of the exercise of their delegates’ powers, the naira crashes further in the next couple of months to N1000 to the United States dollar or insecurity engulfs more parts of Nigeria, they will not be excused from the consequences simply because they were delegates. It is, therefore, time to vote with conscience and nobility, remembering that we are all in this ship together and your choice could ensure that the ship floats or sinks.

Media reports filtering out about huge exchanges of cash, in foreign currencies between aspirants and delegates is nauseating. At a time when workers in many states have not been paid their starvation wages for months, the Academic Staff Union of Universities is on strike and the economy has virtually collapsed, it is a shame that some aspirants including state governors contesting for the presidential ticket of political parties should be involved in this.

It is a fact of life that formal guarantees of good governance in law and policy make no meaning when substantial political party structures and policies prevent the emergence of quality candidates, knowledgeable men and women with integrity and thereby reduce political contests to contests between the fifth eleven and the dregs of society. No society grows with the quality of leadership that emerges from such exercise. The delegates must find a way of righting the wrongs and remember that they have no other country but Nigeria.

The fact is that inclusive politics that seeks to unite, which is merit and knowledge driven holds more potentials for economic growth and good governance; our brand of politics is a pre-condition for economic stagnation and insecurity. Opportunities for choosing the best of the best will provide a fertile ground for innovation especially if the energy and potentials of the youths and women is tapped for development.  Let the delegates choose an inclusive and knowledgeable person to build the economy which will reduce the prospects of another recession without a compass for sustainable growth. Delegates need to throw up candidates who will promote citizens’ solidarity and popular participation, where all participate in baking the national cake, and also benefit from its dividends. Beyond economic policy, we need good candidates that will focus on education, social inclusion and giving the vulnerable a voice which will provide the founding blocks for reduction of inequality.

On another note, the fact that the National Assembly and the President are still in the Electoral Act amendment game a few days to the presidential primaries is very disgraceful and shameful. We have a National Assembly made up of different professionals and they have votes to hire all kinds of experts to facilitate their legislative work and all we get is this quality of law making that forgets statutory delegates and only remembers them a few days to the primaries. Clear and straight forward, the National Assembly in the exercise of its legislative powers cannot pass a value for money test.

In the final analysis, if the two major parties fail to throw up candidates beyond the usual suspects who are transactional and money bag specialists, Nigerians will be bound to make an alternative choice beyond them during the general elections.