2019: Time for Issue-based campaigns

AS campaigns for presidential and National Assembly elections kicked off on November 18 ahead of the February polls, it is requisite that all participants must play the game by the rules of the electoral umpire. To serve the people shouldn’t be by might. If not, it is no longer for service-delivery but selfish interests. The overall essence of politicking is to sell ideas and dreams to the people for evaluation. And whatever decision the people opted is within their powers and should be respected. In democracy, the majority will always have their way and nobody is accorded powers to make the right choices for the people. This accounts for the definition of democracy as ‘government of, for and by the people’. Unequivocally, the crux of democracy is allowing the people to freely choose their leaders and representatives without any form of intimidations or molestations irrespective of the soundness of their decisions.

ALSO READ: Presidency attacks Jonathan over TSA, BVN, IPPS introduction claim

Remarkably, President Muhammadu Buhari while launching the ‘Next-Level’ a moment ago at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa charged all the seated guests to consciously enthrone altruism, decorum and civility while going about with campaigns, and particularly jogged everyone’s memory that Nigeria is our only country, and therefore to play politics with sense of responsibilities and patriotism instead of setting the nation ablaze. That is outstanding leadership and statesmanship. Immediately President Buhari made the statement, I instantaneously recalled some years back when the then President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in a similar gathering ahead of his second term bid audaciously declared ‘do-or-die’ politics with the justification of consolidating his purported achievements in the first term for the masses. That is a blunder and anti-democratic. No leader chooses to lead the people by force. If a mandate is not freely given, it is nothing else but a junta.

Again, during campaigns, it is always difficult to separate activities of the government from the ruling party, and that’s a conventional norm that replicates down to the states. Irrefutably, politics and government have a thin line during campaigns, and therefore, it would always be difficult to separate the party from the government. The hullabaloo over the presence of the service chiefs at the event is uncalled for. What is important is that the people are entitled to a free-and-fair election to choose by ballot their desired leaders. Besides, from the invite card, it was clear that the event tagged “Next-Level” was organized by the presidency for the presentation of the achievements and projections of the Buhari administration through the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and not from APC secretariat.

Without a doubt, the event has political ingredients; nonetheless, it was equally, competently a government programme for appraisals and stewardship for accountability. To sum, let’s focus on issues and policies that can move the nation forward.

Anything inconsistent is bunkum. Former US-President Barack Obama’s once said, “I know that campaigns can seem small, and even silly. Trivial things become big distractions. Serious issues become sound bites. And the truth gets buried under an avalanche of money and advertising. If you’re sick of hearing me approve this message, believe me – so am I”.

Carl Umegboro,07057101974