It still beats our imagination, though, that far into the 21st century, people would enter into a race with the calculation of winning by hook or crook. While others are busy canvassing for votes, they are busy perfecting their rigging plans, such as buying up PVCs, perhaps oblivious that most things are like chickens – they come home to roost! At this elemental level, they may just succeed in defacing some of the PVCs that would be useful at the election proper. There is no alternative to working hard to win by fair means.
By Hon. Josef Omorotionmwan
In the next 48 to 96 hours, Edo State will be engulfed in the primaries of the major political parties for the September 10 gubernatorial election. While the primary for the All Progressives Congress, APC, comes up on Saturday, June 18, 2016, that of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is scheduled for Monday, June 20.
The relevance of primaries cannot be over-emphasized. The Constitution of the country provides for election into various offices by the people; but the same Constitution is silent on how the candidates should emerge.
Under any political system – democratic or totalitarian – nothing is more important than the selection of candidates because this could make or mar the political party and the nation.
In a democracy, the nomination process must, in some way, involve the people. Were the selection of candidates to be left entirely to the political elites, the most fundamental principle of democracy – popular participation – would be denied. Parties could become tyrannical, totally ignoring the wishes of the followers and the general public.
With every passing election in Nigeria, the phrase, “As expensive as election” incrementally finds expression and relevance.
In the particular case of the APC in Edo State, there is the seemingly misleading impression that whoever emerges victorious at the primary election has won the election proper, thanks to the high performance of the Adams Oshiomhole-led Administration. This explains why to some aspirants, the party’s primary has largely become a do-or-die affair.
But it will soon dawn on some of the aspirants that electoral success cannot be picked up on the street. Rather, it is earned.
Nigerians constitute a curious paradox. Why else should a primary, which is put in place for peace and harmony, become the very prescription for acrimony and war?
Even in an intra-party squabble, people are still going for broke; and pulling out the big buck; oblivious of the fact that Nigerians have become wiser. Nigerian voters have demonstrated, in large measure, that their conscience cannot be mortgaged or purchased. They would take your money and still vote their conscience.
This played out at the 2012 governorship election in Edo State when one party outspent the other on a ration of close to 4:1 and the results came in reverse order – the party that spent less swept the poll across the State; and won in virtually all the Wards and polling units.
It still sounds like yesterday when Aspirant Muhammadu Buhari, as he then was, moved the world with his emotional submission, “I have no money to give to delegates. And even if I had the money, I would not have given. I would use such money to provide services for the down-trodden masses of this nation.”
At the end of the convention, Buhari came atop, leaving no other explanation than most delegates who voted for him enjoyed flight tickets provided by other aspirants; they slept in hotel rooms paid for by other aspirants, and consumed some of the best meals provided by other aspirants.
Money hardly makes the essential difference because there are two categories of expenditure targets: Batch ‘A’ is made up of your primary audience, people who have made up their minds to vote for you; while Batch ‘B’ consists largely of the quick fixes, people already committed to other contestants but waiting in the wings to grab your money and run. It is immaterial that you have all their Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVCs, in your possession!
And more so, with some recent electoral reforms in place, violence and manipulations, including ballot box snatching and ballot stuffing, are gradually becoming things of the past.
It still beats our imagination, though, that far into the 21st century, people would enter into a race with the calculation of winning by hook or crook. While others are busy canvassing for votes, they are busy perfecting their rigging plans, such as buying up PVCs, perhaps oblivious that most things are like chickens – they come home to roost! At this elemental level, they may just succeed in defacing some of the PVCs that would be useful at the election proper. There is no alternative to working hard to win by fair means.
In the end, the primaries will throw up winners and losers. On the part of the winners, it would be celebrations galore. But while they bask in the euphoria of their new conquest, they must not be carried away because for every new level, there is a new devil and they require the support of the losers to pull through at the main election.
Let us learn to draw inspiration from positive thinkers. Penultimate Monday, Americans went to bed with former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and Senator Bernie Sanders, both of the Democratic Party, spitting fire on each other on policy differences.
When Americans woke up the following morning, Clinton had become the presidential candidate of the party. The languages of Clinton and Sanders changed considerably. For Clinton, “I want to congratulate Senator Bernie Sanders for the extraordinary campaign he has run. He has spent his long career in public service fighting for progressive causes… Senator Sanders, his campaign and the vigorous debates we had about how to raise incomes, reduce inequality and increase upward mobility have been very good for the Democratic Party and for America… We believe that cooperation is better than conflict; unity is better than division; empowerment is better than resentment; and bridges are better than walls.” And we may as well add that jaw-jaw is better than war-war.
Even where Senator Sanders was not going to throw in the towel immediately, he was quick to add, “I am not going to do anything to contribute to Donald Trump becoming President of America”.
The foregoing depicts a height of civilized politicking, below which we do not expect Edolites to go.
Here’s wishing Edolites the very best of primaries that would ultimately usher in the freest, fairest and the most credible election the State has ever had.
Hon. Josef Omorotionmwan is a public affairs analyst and Chairman, Board of Directors, Edo Broadcasting Service. He can be reached at: joligien@yahoo.com
