This morning, the President of Nigeria, Mr. Goodluck Jonathan has been quoted in one of the Dailies as urging Nigerians to vote out bad leaders. To the uninitiated, this statement would appear very laudable. Laudable because in normal temperature and pressure, that is supposed to be the most logical thing to do. Oh yes, in better endowed democracies, it may not just be being a bad politician that would show one the way out of reckoning, even mispeaking or poor delivery of a speech in a confusing synthax could earn a politician a very dramatic exit from not only an elective position but also an appointive one.
It is, in these other climes, almost second nature to invoke the wrath of the electorate on an erring politician and effectively for that matter, to vote out bad politicians. Not so in Nigeria.
The hurdles placed on the path of Nigerians who may wish to attempt this near impossible task are so many than only few stong men dare engage themselves in such exercise. What with the blind an unquestioning loyalty of all agencies of government to individuals rather than institutions? Once any one graps any position in government, is there any one in the Electoral Commission that would prefer to be independent and neutral in carrying out his duties, if it comes to the crucial point of allowing the people to make unfeterred decisions, of electing the right people into public office? If this option is not available to the electorate, how then can the President’s advice be taken seriously? I believe Mr. President never intended we should take him seriously when he made that statement. He knows as well as everyone that it is not possible to vote out bad politicians in this country for now.
Those who know what happens during elections would just laugh at Mr. President when he was making those statements. Vote out bad politician? How would it be done Mr. President?
Mr. President seems to forget that we are in Nigeria and not in the US or France. We are in a Country where the laws are read upside down and where miscreants are preferred to rationale elements in positions of power. A country where the bloodier one gets the brighter the chances of occupying public office. This is a land where electoral processes have been raised to lethal levels and it becomes a do or die affair. And our President is asking us to commit suicide so we can vote out bad politicians.
It is not possible to vote out bad politicians Mr. President for not only the reasons we have adduced here. The Constitution of Nigeria and the extant electoral laws we have now do not permit any Nigerian to pursue this path. Whenever this bad Constitution and severely dysfunctional electoral laws are done away with, Nigerians would be very willing and able to carry out your advice. Thank you Mr. President and regards to the holidaying First lady.
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