POLITICS OF ENDORSEMENT – AN AFRONT TO DEMOCRATIC IDEALS AND HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT, PARTICULARLY IN DELTA STATE
It is really sad to see how many things happen in this country which ranges from the strange to the absurd and from the weird to the ridiculous, to the extent that often times, such things have become the norm and brazenly made acceptable for all and sundry to swallow. Nigeria is a place where both the government and the governed will often be seen engaged in acts that are prejudicial to the peaceful cohabitation of the diverse people and interests in the country. The politics of candidates’ endorsement for public office positions is just one of those things in Nigeria that has jokingly gained grounds in recent years. It has become a bad practice, which negates the ideals and principles of democracy, especially in Delta State where the situation is terribly evident and has adversely affected the progress and growth of the State in the last two decades or so.
For those who do not know, the issue of endorsement of aspiring public office candidates was made very popular by the late General Sanni Abacha regime with his infamous ‘consensus presidential candidate adoption’ in the late 90s. Not that this practice is done in the interest of the entity called Nigeria, but rather, it is often driven primarily by ‘self-centered interests that are often to the detriment of the citizenry and the country’s preening democracy. A situation where once the tenure of any public office holder is about to end, they use every available machinations and state resources at their disposal and unthinkable political maneuverings to ‘buy’ their way back to office, even when it is glaringly clear that they have not performed as expected. Hence, endorsement of public office candidature has been made popular today because it is seen as the best way of creating the impression that they have been chosen by the people, when in reality, that is not the case.
With the 2019 general elections only some months away, this bad practice has began to permeate the political landscape of Delta State, as our case study on this issue. If it is not the Anioma youths and elders today, it will be the Isoko this or Urhobo that tomorrow, that will be endorsing the current Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, for a second term in Office come 2019 gubernatorial election in the State. In fact, just recently, a grand rally was organized by the Delta South Senatorial District Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at Oleh Isoko South LGA of the State, where former Delta State Governors Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Chief James Ibori, former Minister of Police Affairs, Alaowei Brodrick Bozimo and many others were said to be in attendance, and they practically endorsed and gave Okowa return ticket to the Delta State Government House come 2019. In a write up on this by Fidelis Egugbo, Ibori was quoted to have said: “Governor Okowa has performed creditably well and on behalf of my family, my ethnic nationality, my friends, I join the good people of Delta South Senatorial District to say,congratulations our Governor, there is no doubt that the people of Delta South will lead you (Governor Okowa) back to Government House in 2019.” While Uduaghan said, “all the ethnic groups in Delta South have said they want you (Governor Okowa) back in 2019, so, there will be no primary election for the governorship position, we are going to work very strongly for Governor Okowa.”
Aside the fact these stated persons cannot be the mouth piece of the people in Delta South Senatorial District and the various ethnic groups concerned, to have made such public declaration of endorsement, the practice of people coming together (including hired crowds) to endorse someone for any public office, be it for gaining favours, government contracts, protection of self-centered interests or for whatever reasons; do not mean that such an individual deserves such an endorsement, neither does it mean that person is the best that amongst the candidates that all should follow. It also does not mean that, that person will automatically win the election in question. But to put it bluntly; endorsement, anointing or imposition of political aspirants is detrimental to the principle of internal democracy within political parties and an affront on true democratic process. Those doing it are not helping both the Government and persons concerned, and the country at large. Therefore, it must be stopped. Deltans, and indeed Nigerians, should be allowed to decide for themselves who they want to be voted in and out of any public office.
When few people just gather in their closet meetings and organized public gatherings, and decide to endorse, anoint and impose a public office aspirant on the people, and they do so with brazen skillfulness, using every available trickery, political maneuverings, including using State’s resources at their disposal to ‘buy’ crowds and mammoth supporters to justify their so called endorsement; then something is intricately wrong with both the political class of that society and its citizenry as well, especially if such a society is said to be practicing a supposed democratic system of government. Seriously, the recent wave and popularity of endorsement of political candidates aspiring for one public office or the other can best be described as a mockery of Nigeria’s democracy.
Like we said, the situation in Delta State in this regard, is annoyingly ridiculous to say the least. Some have even gone to the extent of making ‘blatant flattery’ and ‘saying things that are not the real ‘realities’ on ground – just to make their supposed chosen and endorsed aspiring candidate to look good and attractive for the public’s approval and acceptance. In Delta State for instance, you hear things like “Okowa has turned Delta State into a Construction Site” – meaning there are countless infrastructural projects ongoing in the State. But when you look around, one begins to wonder where are the construction sites being referred to? We really do not know where the ‘construction sites’ are, which these people are using to boast about. As far as we, and many Deltans can tell, nothing tangible in terms of infrastructural development, seems to be happening in Delta State.
If one is not connected one way or the other to the Delta State Government, one will not have the roads around one’s area tarred/constructed/repaired by the Government. But the Delta State Governor fails to realize that he is the Governor of the entire State and everybody in it, regardless of their ethnicity. And as the Custodian of the State’s purse, there should not be any form of ‘selective distribution’ of infrastructural developments across the State. Okowa should also learn to listen to the voice of the people, and not the voices of those around him who will only tell him what they want him to hear, to protect their own interest within the Government. As we speak, practically all the road networks in Delta State, especially in Warri and environs, are going really bad with the rains. So, those hailing and singing the praise of the Delta State Governor, are really not helping him or doing him any good, neither are they helping the people and the State.
If we are to tell ourselves the honest truth, and if the Government of the day in Delta State and their usual supporters would admit this (even though we know this is impossible for them); we would realize that Governor Okowa has not really performed as one would have expected of him, especially as a renowned politician who has been in politics before 1999, as far back as the time of late Felix Ibru. This makes him amongst the crop of oldest politicians (not in terms of age) in Delta State. That means we can say that he has more experience than the like of Ibori and Uduaghan. So, Okowa has all the experience needed to know exactly what to do to transform the Delta State as a Governor. But obviously, he has not been able to actualize this, as such, different groups and hired crowds are used to endorse him for 2019 governorship election. So, in our own assessment, Governor Okowa has not performed as expected. As we write this piece, all the roads constructed by former Governor Uduaghan have gone bad. Example, the roads in Ugboroke Layout Effurun-Warri. Let us also not forget the fact that oil and gas companies are still relocating from Delta State. The popular Osubi Airstrip has not been upgraded and expanded to a Standard Airport as earlier planned by the previous government. In fact, all the infrastructure in the State are in a state of decay. We would not be worried about all of this if the Delta State PDP Government is performing as expected, so as to help in minimizing violent crimes and unemployment in the State. But instead, the PDP Government has held Delta State hostage in the last 19 years.
The best endorsement and public approval that Okowa, and any other politician should strive to get, is that gotten from the general masses, which will be as result of the said politician’s delivery on evident projects, policies and programs that have enormously impacted the lives of people, regardless of the areas in question. This is the best legacy, that should be allowed to speak on the behalf of any political leader in the country. They do not need any sort of endorsement from any group of persons or political godfathers before they would stand a better chance to be elected/returned to any public office. The good works they have been able to deliver over the years, should be more than enough legacy to speak better things on their behalf in the eyes of the public. We have had exceptional political leaders in this country like late Obafemi Awolowo, practically lived on share ‘good will’ all because of the laudable legacy he left behind. For instance, he came up with good business-friendly policies, including tax holidays to encourage many foreign and domestic companies to thrive then in the western region. This brought enormous employment opportunities and created a sustainable platform for industrial growth in places like Lagos and in Ibadan. Awolowo was practically ‘the first’ to do a lot of things in the country – from the first Television, free education, to the first Stadium. All of this greatly improved the economy of the then Western region. In fact, Awolowos family till today, are still living and enjoying the good will that was created by him years ago. Nelson Mandela of South-Africa, is another exceptional political leader/activist whose legacy and integrity made him to live on good will, and such good will is still enjoyed today by his family across the globe. Mandela’s children are still respected and revered today wherever they go around the world. These are political leaders who decided to dedicate the ‘opportunity to serve’ in public office, by refusing to stain their name with misappropriated/stolen funds, but to leave good legacies behind that will continue to speak better things about them after their gone.
A dictatorship is not only when a military ruler or an individual ‘lords’ it over the general populace, but it is also when a political party has practically done the unthinkable to remain in power without given any room for opposition and fair play in a supposed Democratic dispensation. This is the exact unfortunate situation in Delta State since 1999 with the overbearing tendencies of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party. Proponents of endorsement argue that a sitting-president for instance, deserves the right to the ‘option of first refusal’ as it is done in other civilized climes. This school of thought is quick at pointing to the United States of America, the model from which we copied our democracy. But they will not compare the maturity of minds that operate the American constitution as against those of Nigeria. The Nigerian politician derives joy in looting and pillaging our common wealth while sycophants sing his praise with the loudest of instruments. To him, the common wealth is his personal fiefdom; as such there is no accountability. The opposition or his/her critics are seen as frustrated elements, who, at the worst of times, should be harassed and intimidated with the state apparatus. Juxtapose that with the American politician who thinks about the long-term future interest of his country and desires to serve in altruism, not personal interest; will resign for seeming ineptitude, public outcry or criticism and will be made to go to jail if found to have unjustifiably tampered with public funds.
We all know that the voters card is not a guarantee for a free and fair election in Nigeria, especially in Delta State, and on a general scale, the Nigerian public are not happy with the overall performances of State Governors since 1999 till date, particularly those under the PDP-led Government. The PDP-led Governments have become ‘Permanent Monarchs’ in Delta State, where the ‘kingship stool’ is inherited from one political godfather to a son. In fact, the PDP-led Government in Delta State, can best be likened to the Delta State Monarchy. While the Delta State Traditional Rulers/Kings have turned themselves to ‘well-decorated civil servants’ of every incumbent State Government of Delta State. And they have continued to endorse their Masters who are the Governors of the State.
After all said and done, the crux of the matter is that the politics of endorsement and the premium importance given to money are not good to the development of Nigeria’s Electoral process. It will only continue to serve the selfish interests of some selected and privileged few in the political circles. While we continue to earnestly pray for elections to really count in Nigeria, particularly in Delta State, and represent the true heart desires of the generality of the people, we equally make this clarion call to all Nigerians to realize the powers they have in their hands with the Voters Card and come out to vote (regardless of distasteful past experiences), for people they truly believe will make a difference in the polity – whether endorsement or not.
Zik Gbemre, JP.
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
