An urgent call for a broad enlightenment of the electorates

By Samson Oderinde

The 2023 General Election is a few days away to the time when Nigerians will troop out to elect their leaders and representatives at both the national and state levels of the country, to serve them for the next four years. All the political parties, particularly the major ones are making frantic efforts to outmaneuver one another for electoral victories. Candidates of the respective political parties are not living any stone unturned to win the election.

Prior to the emergence of candidates for the various seats, there were serious contention amongst aspirants, which led to irreconcilable disagreements between some contenders, as well as their leaders and other party faithful, to the extent that some of the candidates who emerged are not enjoying the full support and backing of many of their party members and leaders, while the outcome of some party primaries are still subject of litigation in the courts, inspite of the nearness of the general election.

Some of the candidates are seeking re-election to the political positions which they currently hold: they have the right to seek re-election and are ably qualified by all standards, including their credible performances on the jobs, but they are being opposed with vehemence from within and without their political parties, based on spurious allegations or flimsy prejudices.

Though, this is not strange during the electoral processes, but it is being done recklessly to hold the parties involved, as well as the election umpires to ransom; this must be checked as much as possible.

Every Nigerian has the right to take decision or position on matters, such as who to elect as his or her President, Governor, Legislator and others at critical times as election periods. The electorates are expected to make their choices about who to elect for various offices, based on objective analysis of current issues which are germane to the election and other peripheral matters; such as deploying their patriotism to ensure a secured future for the country.

However, due to the low literacy level of most of the Nigerian electorates, the elites have great roles to play to get them well informed and enlightened about current affairs and broaden their horizon on other relevant issues, to disabuse their minds on fabricated or concocted falsehood which disgruntled politicians will be out to feed them with, so that they are not confused, misguided or misled to elect misfit into public offices, who would compound their harrowing socio-economic and political quagmire.

Presently, every candidate for the various elective offices are on campaign tours of their constituencies, jostling for votes and adopting various tactics to woo the electorates. It is now expedient for the elites to deliberately carry out some enlightenment activities, using the salient facts and figures available to them to guide the electorates as much as possible, so that they could be able to make their informed choices among the competing candidates for every elective position, rather than those they could be railroaded to vote for.

This method is laudable, very necessary, and fundamental to good governance and a major tool for a solid democracy, as well as sustainable growth and development of Nigeria and other third world countries. It is instructive therefore, that to entrench a stable democracy, acceptable people’s leaders must be elected at all levels of the polity and for this to occur, a broad enlightenment of the electorates is critical and must be effected dexterously: a well-informed electorates is pertinent to a stable democracy.

The struggle for various political offices towards the 2023 General Election is contentious and acrimonious to a large extent in most states of the federation, with bitter rivalry and deep-seated animosity.

Party primaries witnessed unnecessary skirmishes and court cases by contenders to the various positions, while the campaign rallies and other political activities are being aggressively and desperately pursued by the candidates of various political parties, thereby heightening psychological tension and evoking doubts.

Public spirited elites and opinion moulders are admonished to swing into action in the next few days, to lead the electorates to decide on who to elect for the various elective positions in the country, based on the pedigree and antecedent of the candidates, the programme of actions put forward by their parties, as well as other electoral values applicable to the election. If this step is taken, the electorates will elect people-oriented and passionate public officers, who would serve them conscientiously for the next four years and they will reap bountiful political dividends within the period, more than ever before. “A stitch in time safes nine”.

Chief Samson Olurotimi Olumuyiwa Oderinde is a Nigerian politician

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