“The freedoms which democracy brings will remain empty shells if they are not accompanied by real and tangible improvements in the material lives of millions of ordinary citizens …” Nelson Mandela, 2010.
The binary simplistic vote-catching slogans of the two leading political parties, (namely APC and PDP) are “change” and ” continuity” respectively. There is no where the application of these alluring slogans proved problematic than in Oyo, the Pacesetter state of the Federation. For as long the political campaigns lasted, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, the state governor had canvassed for both “Continuity” and “Change” in an irresistible bold ad-billboard along Ibadan-Lagos expressway! Governor Ajimobi, an APC governor is seeking for a second term in the governorship election rescheduled for April 11th.
Understandably to him as governor-candidate the slogan;Continuity is vote-catching while Change slogan in the context of his ambition for a reelection is politically sucidal. On the other hand, since his party sought to unseat the ruling party, PDP at the presidential election of 28th of March, he cannot but also in contradiction canvass for votes with a Change slogan. The great paradox of 2015 election lies in this singular political mix-bag in which a Governor proved to be both a conservative and a progressive at the same breadth! So much for ideologies of political parties!. The paradox of Oyo State shows that political slogans of Change and Continuity only explain the obvious difference between the two leading political parties, but by no means these two slogans do not tame nor fully explain our complex political dynamics. The received wisdom has it that the devil is in the details. Those who care to promote political exclusiveness can magnify the so-called differences between the forces of “Change” and Continuity. But Godliness which is certainly about inclusiveness also calls for pretty political details. Whoever are the winners of these serial historic elections, 2015 polls point to both political Continuity and political Change (certainly not one or the other as political partisans would want us to believe it!). Indeed to the extent that we are witnessing both political political change and political Continuity, all Nigerians are winners after all. Looking at the bigger picture therefore I see political winners not losers.
As we count the hours into the conclusions of the presidential and parliamentary elections, the point cannot be overstated that this is the fifth quadrennial election held since the end of military rule in 1999! This means commendably, Nigeria has sustianed democratic political continuity for the past 16 years! May 29th, this year marks 16 years of uninterrupted constitutionalism and civil rule in the fourth Republic. Furthermore, the political enthusiasm is on the increase, indicating continuity of deepening democratic process. We have since moved from temporary voters’ cards of some 30 millions Nigerians who voted for both Olusegun Obasanjo People’s Democratic Party and Olu Falae of Alliance of Democracy-All People’s Party to some 60million compatriot-voters armed with their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) exercising their democratic rights in 2015! As at Sunday, 22 March 2015 INEC said 56, 431, 255 of the 68, 833, 476 PVCs meant for this year’s general election – 81.98 per cent of the cards – had been collected by their owners across the country. That was the population of South Africa of 52 million people and twice the population of Ghana of 26 millions!
Political parties are the major institutions of a functioning democracy. There has also been some continuity in parties’ institution building. From two party system of 1999 to multiparty system of 2015. Conversely, there has been some significant changes in this democratic political continuity. We have produced scores of new governors and legislators and indeed three presidents and the fourth (?) today! On the whole, I agree that the real winners in this latest cycle of presidential, legislative and state elections must be our country, Nigeria and the 170 million Nigerians. However all said, elections are the means. The end is good governance which has proved elusive since 1999. Whoever is the newly elected President, certainly it is not yet Uhuru! Given the miserable numbers of devalued Naira, 45 per cent unemployment rate, low capacity industrial utilization, double digit interest rates, 70 per cent bellow poverty line, the new President cannot afford to sound triumphant.
Certainly not until his “victory” translate into uninterrupted electricity supply, collapsed industries are revived with mass sustainable jobs and there is an end to the existing general climate of physical and Socio-economic insecurity in the land. Paradoxically to achieve this victory in good governance, we need continuity of some existing policies and some new innovative policy changes. Certainly it is NOT continuity or change. It is both! We must therefore salute both the forces of continuity and change and all Nigerians who in their millions have exercised such remarkable level of patience and resolve to deepen democracy through accreditation, votes’ cast and vigilance to make sure their votes count.
Issa Aremu mni
