LET THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BE FOR THE PEOPLE... It is a known fact that our democratic system forbids individuals from contesting for elective posts as independent persons. The necessary implication of this is that a candidate must receive the blessings of a political party, if he/she must run for an elective office. In our political system, political parties themselves are often seen as groups of persons, who ONLY engage in fielding candidates for elections as well as canvassing for votes to ensure that such candidates emerge victorious. This is pure misconception! As a matter of fact, in vibrant and ideal democracies, political parties are not perceived as mere platform for contesting elections or political appointments. Rather, they play plethora of roles like educating their members politically, informing members in administrative offices about public opinion on national issues, as well as maintaining a strong ideological base that would ultimately ensure that the needs and aspirations of the people are substantially satisfied. In other words, if the activities of political parties are people-driven, one must not be a card-carrying member of a ruling party before he should benefit from its government. Thus, what this means is that one should not be seen as a person, who has come to REAP where he did not SOW, if he should require a government run by a rival party to do anything for ones community among other concerns. As such, the government of the people, must be for the people; not for party members! All said and done, what is position of the law vis-a-vis the place, making and funtions of political parties in Nigeria? I shall be lending my vioce in that regard, having sections 221 to 229 of the Constitution as my guide. Join me esteemed friends. The Station is Radio Rivers, Port Harcourt. The frequency is 99.1FM. The time is 8:15am. As President Obama admonished Americans in his Inaugural Speech of 21st January, 2013: You and I as citizens have the power to set this Countrys course. You and I as citizens have the obligation to shape the debates of our time, not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals. Esteemed friends, join me. This is our time to correct the mistakes of the past!
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 07:13:01 +0000