Politics of Imposition Will Always Fail – By Fenny J. Fwa

I’m worried that the APC, which is supposed to be a “corrective” party, is filled with people who don’t believe in the basic principles of democracy, as defined by Abraham Lincoln: that democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
 
They won’t reach out to the people because they have contempt for them. All they want is for the party structure to manipulate the system and impose it on the people. Such people have forgotten that they were imposed on a party before and they met their waterloo, having been woefully defeated by even their local government. If that happens, history will repeat itself. It’s worrisome that such candidates haven’t even once visited delegates, while others have covered the nooks and crannies of the state. My candidate had toured the entire state three times, selling his policies and programs.

The last bid was to divide the state into four zones. I led the Numan zone, and in one day we covered the five local governments and finished at midnight. The message was clear and simple, and it centered on five key points: competence, experience, accomplishments, historical and cultural ties, and being the only candidate from our area.
 
But for somebody to stay in his comfort zone, refusing to see the people he will serve because he is the anointed candidate, is the height of arrogance and complete contempt for the people he wants to serve. In the course of my address, I gave an example of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur when he came to contest the governorship in 1983. He was a highly educated, connected person and had the backing of the NPN federal government and had a very rich purse, having been the boss of NPA for 7 years.

Despite these intimidating advantages, the man crisscrossed the nooks and crannies of Gongola state. In my little town, Borrong, he stayed for 2 days and visited the inaccessible hilly part of my chiefdom. I was on holiday in Gembu when he visited the plateau. He was there for 14 days. On my way to see Cameron, I saw him trekking to a particular village to reach out to voters.
 
It is little wonder that during the primaries, he defeated the late Edward Aleydaino in Numan, the defunct Borrong and Demsa local governments, his catchment areas. During the general election, though, there was massive rigging, yet people didn’t make much noise because Bamaga Tukur worked for his victory.
 
But here we are. We have mentally and physically lazy anti-democratic forces ready to kill democracy in APC, thereby providing a conducive atmosphere for the opposition to hold on to power. What a pity! We have always been admonished that if we don’t want the government after 4 years, we can change it through the ballot box.

With these arrays of under-democratic forces, I’m reminding him that democracy most of the time is a mirage in our beleaguered country.

Anyway, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. A word is enough for the wise.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a breaking news tip, celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the theGazetteNGR entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 08051600130 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Love what we do? Then, buy us a bottle of coke:

• Num: 1210002022
• Name: Ninchi Services Limited
• Bank: Zenith Bank