A YOUNG PRESIDENT, FREE & FAIR ELECTION AND VOTER EDUCATION: My opinion!!!

Good morning countrymen.
I have read in many platforms the cries for a young President come 2019 and the need for younger people to participate in politics. I wholeheartedly agree, especially judging by our current experience where at some point we could not ascertain the exact location of our leader nor the status of his health, and his clumsy pace at work which he has consistently attributed to age, etc.

But I'm also aware the current President of America qualifies for the title of an old man(the difference being that he knows his real age unlike ours). Yet, when you watch CNN today and see how all the market indices in America have broken decade long records, with unemployment at 4.1%, the lowest in 17years under Trump's administration, bettering the times of G.W Bush and Obama together, you will again ask if age actually is the problem with Nigeria leadership past and present.

Don't tell me it is because Trump took over a stable economy. That is true of course, but one year of cluelessness is more than enough to reverse all of Obama's economic strides. I mean it didn't take Buhari upto a year to plunge a struggling economy into the abyss of recession. So Trump, the old man in the white house has done farely well economically in his one year in office according to reports from CNN his number one critic. Thus, age 'may' not be all that should concern us come 2019.

Another case in point, the current Governor of Kogi State of Nigeria is the youngest Governor of this dispensation. He is not a recycled politician. Just like Trump Governor Bello of Kogi is a businessman turned politician. Now the question is, how has Kogi fared under this young Governor? The answer is there for all to see.

Nigeria in the past was led by leaders in their 30's; Gowon, Muritala etc. But that didn't solve all our problems. In fact, two young men in their 30's; Gowon and Ojukwu of blessed memory led this nation into a horrible civil war that still reverberates in our fabrics. So age, again is not all that bothers me.

I ventured into Politics while in the University because of the alarming rate of corruption and incompetence at the level of Students' Union Government. I vied for the highest office of President though unsuccessfully. Guess what, the looters of our common wealth on campus were not OLD MEN, they were fellow students, YOUNG MEN.

I know you can relate with the last example, I know you understand the point made so far. I do strongly desire younger people in leadership, atleast for sake of the complications associated with 'very' aged leaders such as amnesia, people not remembering their age, the associated weaknesses and incompetence etc excused on age. But I'm more certain that in the case of Nigeria, the age bracket of our leadership is not the chief of all our legitimate concerns.

FREE & FAIR ELECTION
Again is the cry for free and fair election, another misplaced concern for an average Nigerian electorate.

The idea of a free and fair election to the average Nigerian is the concept of ONE MAN ONE VOTE. But one man one vote does not guarantee good leadership, it at best legitimizes bad government. This is because under a one man one vote atmosphere, people can still make wrong choices.

Take a look at your personal life for instance, you have made decisions devoid of external influences in certain areas of your life. So why do you still regret some of your decisions? Were your choices rigged?

I once participated in a free and fair election of one man one vote in a social circle I belong in. A leader emerged. Few months down the line, impeachment loomed as he turned out worst that the man we voted out. That is because there are factors more important in arriving at a choice than who/what the choice is. In our case is the issue of VOTER EDUCATION AND AWARENESS.

To what extent does the voter in Nigeria understand his problems? What is his concept of good governance? Is it water and electricity, bags of rice and stomach infrastructure? What is the level of awareness of those who desire the right to choose leaders in Nigeria under a free and fair atmosphere?

Here in Rivers State where I reside (and this is not peculiar to Rivers), every day on my way to work, I hear over the radio, jingles and news items that make me shake my head in shame.

The people of XYZ community, thanking His Excellency for USING PUBLIC FUND, THEIR OWN MONEY to construct a road to their community. That's your voter baby! The Nigerian voter. He sees his Governor, Chairman, President as Boss, not his employee.

In December 2017, I saw over the news women with placards thanking President Buhari for giving them a bomb free Christmas in Abuja. And I wondered, is security, living in peace now a privilege to be so thankful to politicians for?

So I imagined a day when the company I work for (my employer) will go on air, not once, but daily with radio advertorial and jingles thanking me for doing the work he has HIRED ME, PAID ME, MOTIVATED ME THROUGH TRAININGS, PAID & UNPAID ALLOWANCES ETC, to do. That will be the day....

I do understand what appreciation is, I also know the thin line between appreciation from an enlightened man and praise singing from one who cannot differentiate between his rights and privileges.

Does the average Nigerian voter understand who is the EMPLOYER and the EMPLOYEE in governance? Does he understand what constitutes his rights (security, light, good roads, health care, etc) and privileges (none) in the contract of government? I mean are you supposed to thank me for respecting you, for allowing you to vent your opinion, and for allowing you to live your life free of any form of fear? Those are your rights not privileges.

Now how can a people who PRAISE the Governor for doing roads with public fund demand for accountability? They don't even care how much was spent on the road so long as they drive on the road. That is the booby trap of voter 'uneducatedness'.

In my final year, I was saddled with the responsibility of chairmanship of the electoral body to conduct the 2011 departmental election. I spent most of my time doing voter education and enlightenment. This is because as chairman I was determined the election must be free, but I also knew that a free and fair election is more than one man one vote. A free and fair election begins with voter awareness of his predicament. One man one vote would not guarantee our liberation from mediocrity. I made sure every voter understood what was at stake; the integrity of our union. I went to all classes on this campaign encouraging even those who knew people qualified to occupy positions to come forward with names of such persons.

Friends, free and fair election is not the cure to bad governance. At best, a free and fair election can only produce the leader the electorates DESERVE, not necessarily the leadership they DESIRE. Those two scenarios are different. That is because one man one vote elections are not devoid of religious sentiment, ethnicity and tribalism. It simply means the man who can whip us the highest of such sentiments wins

When was the last time you chose competence over friendship, merit over familiarity or 'my person?' How can an Hausa man vote for an Igbo or Yoruba man vice versa based on competence if not by his level of enlightenment.

Only voter awareness and education can cure Nigerians of religious, ethnic sentiments and tribalism. Only voter education can guarantee good leadership in a clan where people are more loyal to party than country, where the people in the rural areas care much about the Umbrella and the Broom and not those carrying them. For without proper voter enlightenment, an electorate can comfortably and conveniently chose a Devil ahead of a Jesus simply because the Devil spoke a language he understood....

So my dear country men, in facing the challenges of 2019 coming election and the need for youthful leadership, we must critically examine ourselves and our environment. Each of us the enlightened must seek avenue to educate and enlighten our constituents however and in whatever ways we can, especially using the various tools available to us such as the social media. That is the only way we can guarantee that the result of ONE MAN ONE VOTE which we so desire in coming elections shall of necessity translate into good governance. A free and fair election begins with voter education.

I THEREFORE COMMIT TO VOTER EDUCATION, AND ENCOURAGE ALL TO DO SAME.....

God bless Nigeria!!!

© Obinna Asole..... a writer nurtured by conscience.

Young people participating in politics is never the problem, but check again and see, the young people who are supposed to use their some how to say influence to contest are the ones causing troubles, the likes of Nnamdi Kanu, Shekau, Evans etc.
And giving power to young people is like disconnecting the wrong cable to a time bomb e.g Yahaya Bello and most of his young masquerade cabinet members etc

i know u didn't read the piece, u read just the heading because if you did, you will see that it focuses on voters education and awareness rather than age as what we need to fight/shout for

Make I drink pure water first...

LALASTICLALA AND MYND44 DO THE NEEDFUL FOR THIS NICE PIECE