Ahead 2015: Citizens’ Hope in Jeopardy?
The atmosphere in Nigeria and Rivers in particular is already tensed with who becomes what as the election year 2015 draws closer than ever. It is five months ago.
Though the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC is yet to give the matching order for campaigns, the respective political parties have begun their campaign in disguise of searching for credible candidates and calling on supposed sailing candidates to contest the forthcoming election, an act that is sending wrong signals into the air of what could be the hope of the citizens and younger generations.
General elections allows the room for participatory contest, via primary elections where individuals test their popularity, all for the success and growth of the various political parties.
With the commencement of a kangaroo search by sponsored groups and several calls on specific individuals to contest election which is neither seeking for second tenure nor going for higher position resulting from previous meritorious services, it is alarming that citizens maybe thrown into confusion and jeopardy which automatically contravene the popular postulation of “the youths are future leaders”.
Many Citizens especially in the Rivers State project are seemingly confused of what hope they posses in 2015 as the political atmosphere is nonetheless not stable, signaling confusion, threats and crisis, but God forbid.
Those who are regarded as stakeholders are unable to provide a suitable, reliable and comfortable answers to certain questions posed by the circumstances in the state. What is happening?
To those at the centre of the political scene, nothing seems wrong, everything is in place and intact, while supporters and indeed majority of citizens are in outright jeopardy occasion on irregular and unfounded positions of their leaders.
As the 2015 general election draws nearer, it is expected that the would be leaders must be those without skeleton in their cupboards, who have and known the feelings of their wards, children, supporters and voters, which eventually are the deciders of the polity at heart.
Accessing the quality of those presenting themselves to the people is very simple without bias. If you must vote or support any of these individuals, it is crucial to verify without sentiments communal background and how supportive, developmental is such individual in his/her domain, his/her previous accounts in previous area of responsibility and how willing to contribute to the human and infrastructural development of the people before declaring out support for such an individual.
In as much as some are not mindful of causing or inflicting pains on others, all aspirants should be thoroughly investigated and absolved of these cankerworms before the decision to give them the needed support to sail through.
The citizens’ hope for future liberation which must begin now is in jeopardy if certain unproductive characters are for any reasons given the chances or allowed to fly the flags of the respective political parties.
The citizens hope for future is that, life must be robust, cheat free, equal opportunity and effective representation, food on every table, shelter for all, and of course economic viability and stability amongst others. Anything short of these are inimical to the expected liberation as expected the citizens right while choosing their flag bearers at all levels of the political contest, acknowledging them as the hope of democracy.
Should the citizen’s hope be jeopardized, what it means is that, the future of democracy in the nation is at stake and may not be reactivated since the barrack boys are always there to checkmate the civil activities in the polity not minding the cost and understanding to return to civil rule.
Let the citizens’ right counts in this democratic dispensation, a call on all stakeholders in the polity to jettison selfishness, greed and sharp practices for the citizens liberation.###
With James Mgboineme
Jamesprojectgodwin@yahoo.com.
