Columnists
2023: Let’s Change The Narratives Through Credible Elections -By Richard Odusanya
The British we all know play a major role in the spread of Christianity in Nigeria, today the incumbent Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Mr Rishi Sunak is not a Christian but a dedicated Hindu. Therefore, let’s throw away religion and ethnic sentiments and elect Leaders who have the capacity to take Nigeria to the next level. This is our last chance.
The road to the Presidential Villa (Aso rock), is long, expensive, and exhausting. Becoming a candidate is only the beginning of the election process. Successful candidates must both persuade voters that they deserve their individual votes and garner the critical votes of electors within the system and persuading voters is the essence of a political campaign. Advertising, theme songs, stump speeches, and even negative campaigning have been around since our country began, and each advance in technology since then has offered new opportunities for candidates to persuade voters. This is well entrenched in our body politics.
More specifically, as Africa’s most populous country, largest economy and most notable democracy, Nigeria is a bellwether for the continent. A weakening economy, rising insecurity and violent conflicts threaten progress made in its democratic development. Amid deepening distrust amongst each other by reasons of ethnicity and religion. Nigeria has significant work to do in improving national, state and local security and governance ahead of national and state elections in the February/March general elections.
The 2023 elections will be conducted under a new electoral framework, the Electoral Act 2022, a law that provides a more robust legal framework for the conduct of the polls. The law gives the legislative backing for more transparent voting, collation and announcement of results. Traditionally, the goal has been to secure against election fraud by corrupt candidates or their supporters who may attempt to favor a particular candidate whom may be their preferred candidate.
This act repeals the Electoral Act No. 6, 2010 and enacts the Electoral Act 2022, to regulate the conduct of Federal, State and Area Council elections, to make provisions for the restriction of the qualification for elective office to relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. It enables the use of card readers and other technological devices in elections and political party primaries, to provide a time line for the submission of list of candidates, criteria for substitution of candidates, limit of campaign expenses, and address the omission of names of candidates or logo of political parties.
Against this background, as a nation destined for greatness, let’s change the narratives through credible elections and good conducts. Therefore, any Presidential Candidate who plays the religion or ethics card should not only be rejected at the polls, but sanctioned. Such candidate may have nothing and absolutely nothing to offer. Invariably the 4 frontline Presidential Candidates have past records for which they should be appraised. Atiku was VP for 8years, Kwankwaso was Kano State Governor 8 years, Tinubu Governor of Lagos State 8years and Obi Anambra 8years.
The candidates records, achievements and legacies in previous position held should be the yardstick for their appraisal not religion or ethnic sentiments. We sure need to change the narrative, it should be what I have done before in a similar position; what I can do and what I will do, this is certainly not the time for experiments. Any one among the major Candidates fanning the embers of Religion and Ethnicity simply means he has nothing to offer, let’s call a spade a spade. Let’s deemphasize ethnicity and religion in our political discussions.
The British we all know play a major role in the spread of Christianity in Nigeria, today the incumbent Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Mr Rishi Sunak is not a Christian but a dedicated Hindu. Therefore, let’s throw away religion and ethnic sentiments and elect Leaders who have the capacity to take Nigeria to the next level. This is our last chance. Today, Africa is laced with some of the most obstinate conflicts, most of them constructed from differences in religious and ethnic identities.
In conclusion, I will like to share with my readers the legacy of President John Jerry Rawlings (JJR), a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the democratically elected President of Ghana. Under Rawlings, Ghana’s transition sets democratic example for the continent of Africa. JJR, laid the foundation of a stable democratic example that is existing in Ghana today – so much unlike Olusegun Obasanjo, the Balogun owu, our own letter-writer who laid the foundation of “Do or die” politics and undemocratic tendencies.
Richard Odusanya
