Electoral reforms: Nigeria must learn from Egypt

Posted by admin Latest Politics Monday, March 7th, 2011

Former Special Adviser to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo on Policy and Programs Monitoring, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, has said that the only way to achieve internal democracy amongst political parties in Nigeria, is for Nigerians to learn the Egyptian example.

The professor of political science said: “I believe that internal democracy within parties will not come if people do not struggle for it. If the people in Egypt had sat down, shouting internal democracy, it will never had come. They organized, they mobilized, they educated their people and they fought for it. They were persistent and they were resilient and that is what Nigerians need to learn; that these parties do not belong to any individual.”

Continuing, Ihonvbere said: “I think the only way they would get internal democracy is for people to go to court again and again to assert their rights, to struggle against conditions where they are marginalized or cheated, to refuse to support or even engage in protest vote when unpopular candidates are imposed on them, to reject imposition by all means necessary and to continue to assert the fact that we want elections to be free and fair.”

While saying he does not foresee the Egyptian revolution soon in Nigeria, Ihonvbere however said, “if the elite and the custodians of power and the states do not take themselves seriously, respect the rules, respect their positions, fight against corruption, meet the basic needs of the majority of the people, we can have it here.”

He also bares his mind on why he wants to occupy the Edo Government House in 2012, saying “with me as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), we will win. Without me as the candidate, I don’t know what will happen.”

Ihonvbere spoke on this and other sundry issues. Excerpt:

You are a professor of political science.
From your assessment, would you say we are on the right track in achieving an ideal democracy, considering the inconsistencies and maneuverings we are witnessing in the polity?
Well, I would say that structurally, yes. The police is educating its members, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is trying to have a proper voters register and declaring that it will not tolerate any attempt to violate the rules, the constitution has been amended accordingly, the political parties are struggling to make deadlines, and so, structurally, the president has again and again, declared his commitment to free and fair elections. Yes, they are trying but contextually, I would say there are problems.

If you look at the crisis within the parties, complains about violence and imposition of candidates, manipulation of primaries and the role of the usual gate-keepers, you look at the desperation of many politicians, their preparedness to manipulate the people, the way they behaved during the voters registration exercise where some of them were trying to carry people from one unit to another to register, you will say that even though we have changed the building, the occupants don’t appear to have changed. But I believe that Nigerians are more aware now of their rights, that when you rig a candidate in, the candidate will spend all his time or her time, battling to remain in office. And that when you also rig a candidate into office, that person could be removed even at the last hour in office, thereby creating some disjuncture within the system and I think more and more Nigerians now believe that the only way to avoid waste in discipline, rascality, violence, abuse of office and abuse of power, is to do the right thing, have free and fair elections, one person, one vote and to defend the vote. So, I think we will get there.

Considering that President Goodluck Jonathan has declared his commitment towards ensuring free, fair and credible elections in 2011, why are there still maneuverings and manipulations?
The president is one person and he is in Aso Rock. He is not in all the ministries. There is a limit to what he can do. There is a limit to what he can achieve and I believe that at the end of the day, it is the extent to which we give meaning to what he says through our own moral dispositions, spiritual dispositions, political attitudes and the extent to which the political parties respect their own rules and respect the constitution, the extent to which people refuse to be bribed, to be recruited as thugs, to refuse to be compromised either as electoral officers or as police officers. That is when free and fair elections would have meaning.
The president has said his own. It is now left for Nigerians in their various communities, constituencies and organizations, to give meaning and support to what the president said.

It appears that most of the political parties lack internal democracy. How can we have internal democracy in the various political parties?
There is no doubt about that. I think the only way they would get internal democracy is for people to go to court again and again to assert their rights, to struggle against conditions where they are marginalized or cheated, to refuse to support or even engage in protest vote when unpopular candidates are imposed on them, to reject imposition by all means necessary and to continue to assert the fact that we want elections to be free and fair.

I believe that internal democracy within parties will not come if people do not struggle for it. If the people in Egypt had sat down, shouting internal democracy, it will never had come. They organized, they mobilized, they educated their people and they fought for it. They were persistent and they were resilient and that is what Nigerians need to learn; that these parties do not belong to any individual. There are leaders, yes, who have to be respected but the people make the parties and the people should have their way at all times.

Are you foreseeing the Egyptian-like revolution in Nigeria soon?
No. I do not see the Egyptian thing in Nigeria soon but if the elites and the custodians of power and the states do not take themselves seriously, respect the rules, respect their positions, fight against corruption, meet the basic needs of the majority of the people, we can have it here. I mean, unemployment is becoming a time-bomb, people are hungry, inflation rate is high, interest rate is criminal and you cannot succeed in business with a loan from any Nigerian bank. You will go bankrupt when it is double digit. Security is still a problem. The reason most people are struggling to fly by air is because they are afraid to travel by road. The roads are bad, even housing is still a problem and the schools are dilapidated. So, the government, from the presidency down to the local governments and the communities, must sit down, reflect, rethink, re-strategize, refocus and redesign a new future for Nigeria and Nigerians. Then, we will avoid any kind of problems.

Putting into consideration this total decadence you have mentioned, do you think it is morally right for President Goodluck Jonathan to continue in office?
Well, he won the primaries free and fair. I was there, I counted the votes and I can assure you that I did not count any vote twice and I did not count anybody’s vote for him. And I think that if we want to think of whether he is qualified, I will say yes, he is more than qualified: educationally, intellectually, morally, by experience, by virtue of what he has been able to do so far by focus, he has done very, very well and I think at the national level, we must begin to think of how we can rise beyond all these small issues of which village do you come from and to think of the best, nothing but the best at the national level. And the national level should not belong to anybody, or any zone, or any region, any individual or any ethnic group. It should belong to the Nigerian people. The best of the various local governments, the various wards, the various states, should come up to the centre to give us positive, productive and focused leadership.

What is your view on INEC?
I think INEC is doing a good job. Jega is putting a lot of efforts. I mean, it is Nigerians who are still running INEC. Jega is going to be in Abuja. He would not be in all the 774 local government areas or the wards. So, a lot depends on Nigerians. Our future is in our hands and not in the hands of INEC. INEC can only set the broad rules, provide the materials, make necessary structural arrangements but the operations would have to be with Nigerians. If we want to get the right people in, we want democracy, we want social justice, we want development, we want an end to corruption, we have to come out and put the right people that we can control.

If the president appoints you special adviser on political matters, what are the key areas you would advice him to focus on?
What advice will you offer him on how to build an ideal democracy?
I think the real issue is not even whether I am appointed or not. I have been doing a lot in my own way, even sometimes not to his knowledge, to support the cause of democracy, democratization and good governance in Nigeria. Generally, we don’t even have institutions for building new leaders, building a successful generation and that is why in the same place, some people continue to be recycled over and over again. Old, tired people are recycled again and again in office.
We are talking about looking at the educational system. We need to use the educational system to remould a new Nigeria. The study of social studies and the civics, which many of us studied, which taught us the right of citizenship, are not even taught at all again.

Publishing houses are dead. They are all printing birthday cards, exercise books and calendars. Books are no longer being published. There is no reading culture. In a country of 150 million, you cannot find a newspaper that sells 500,000 in a day. There is a problem there. We have to rise to be able to identify people who have experience, who have exposure, who have commitment and a track record of service, and bring these people into our system. Federal character is important but federal character should not be an alternative to quality, to education, to exposure, capacity and capability to deliver. And I think these are areas we need to look at. And then, to reprioritize.

We have to focus resources on those areas that create jobs for the young people. If you don’t provide jobs for people, it is a time job. The revolution will be worse than that of Egypt. I come from a local government that has almost 80 percent graduate unemployment. There are no jobs anywhere because industry is not expanding, agriculture is stagnant and we just make a lot of noise about small and medium scale industry, tourism is not even five percent developed to the point where it can become a revenue earner or an employment generator, which is what is done in many parts of the world. Yes, this country has abundant locations for positive, productive and useful tourism. So, I think as President Jonathan said, power is important, security is important and infrastructure. These three areas are critical, including human development.

Edo Government House will be vacant in 2012.
Are you interested in occupying the Dennis Osadebay House?
Yeah. I have expressed my interest in going to Edo Government House in 2012, 17 months ago. And I have been in the field, I have been organizing and mobilizing my supporters and we are trying to avoid the mistakes of the past when I ran before. Of course, we are not going to make the mistakes we made before. This time is not for a lot of noise. If you don’t have the ticket, you are not going anywhere. So, the issues are to organize, to focus, to mobilize and to present to Edo people, what you can do better than whoever is there at the moment. So, that I am interested in it is not news. I am going to work for it, I am not going to sit down and expect that it will fall on my lap and I am battle ready, battle tested and I believe I am going to deliver.

On which platform are you contesting?
I am a member of the PDP.

Are you thinking of defecting to another if you are not given the gubernatorial ticket?
(Laughs) I am not defecting to any other party. But like the cockroach said, I know why I avoid the bad top. Going in is easy but coming out is difficult. In politics, we all join political parties and it is not a cult. When it no longer serves your interest, you have the democratic right to opt out and find solace, comfort, satisfaction, peace of mind and respect where people acknowledge who you are and your contribution to the organization and reward you accordingly. To that extent, I am a member of the PDP, I have no reason to leave the PDP but if I have reasons to leave the PDP, I will explain the reasons to the leaders of the party, to the members of the party, to my supporters and I pray and hope and I am going to work hard to make sure that we don’t get to that position. So, I am a member of the PDP, I like the PDP and I am in PDP.

If elected, how are you going to turn the state around?
Edo state is not an easy state. That is one thing we must say. It is not resource-rich either but I do believe that with my exposure, with my education, with my experience, with my networks within and outside the country, we can change the state.
Human development is number one. When you have human development, everything else follows. Human development, infrastructural development, creating jobs for people, expanding small and medium scale industry and attracting investors. If you cannot attract investors, you cannot promote development. You also have to consolidate and expand agriculture, linking it to industry. These are things that we can do very easily and we have the capacity to do it. We have a blue print. As the time comes and as at when necessary, we shall open it to Nigeria.

How do you access the performance of the incumbent governor, Adams Oshiomhole?
I believe he is doing his best but I believe I can do better.
Any hope for the PDP in Edo state?
With me as the candidate, we will win. Without me as the candidate, I don’t know what will happen.

-Sunwp_posts

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Posted by admin on Mar 7 2011. Filed under Latest Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry