NIGERIAS 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS: THE DANGERS AND BENEFITS OF CONSENSUS CANDIDACY! As the 2015 general elections continues to draw nearer and nearer the polity is gradually heating up as political office aspirants declare their interest and political parties adopt strategies to make sure their members clinch public offices in 2015, INEC the body that is officially saddled with the conduct of elections in Nigeria has since released a comprehensive timetable for the conduct of 2015 general elections,it has also lifted ban on political activities therefore making it legal for political aspirants to start campaigns to woo people to vote them in next years elections. The question that has agitated the minds of many and which has also caused so many controversies is that of consensus candidacy and the issue of anointing a particular aspirant to succed a political office holder. Nigeria is a country where democracy is practiced to a limited extent,We are 54 years old but the level of our democractic practices is still much younger than our age. Prior to our independence we were ruled by the British who made decisions for us and represent our collective interest to a high degree,but since attaining independence we were now left solely to make decisions for ourselves which means our destiny is now in our own hands,and we have the power to make or mar our future. Consensus candicacy is like a double edged sword,It has its benefits while it also has its disadvantages. It has been a culture in this country right from the time of independence that political office holders desire that a person whom they feel or know will do better than than them or rather someone who can represent and defend his personal interests succeed them. It should be noted that the British even many years after our political independence still had influence on the type of persons who are elected to fill certain sensitive positions in Nigeria,and this happened till the early 90s. Consesus candicacy has 2 major advantages: (1) The political party or the people involved know themselves very well.They are conversant with themselves,their way of life,their way of doing things,their capabilities and their weaknesses. So they know who can best fit into the particular office in question. Atimes there are certain aspects of a particular political office aspirant which the members of the public may not know or understand about, afterall they only see or hear him or her from afar and therefore not close enough to know him, It is also a fact that political office aspirants only presesnt themselves to the public as beings without flaws or weakness in a desperate bid to sway the public to vote for them, so most of the time you only know or hear what political aspirants want you to hear. For instance i have neither seen nor heard an aspirant who mounted a podium or said on the pages of a newspaper that he has a weakness of womanizing!, if you have seen one please tell me. (2) The second advantage of consensus candidacy is that it totally eliminates the rancour,bitterness and acrimony involved to choose a candidate during the parties primary elections. This is because other aspirants within the party will be persuaded to step down or relinquish their ambition for another aspirant who in their collective opionion will do much better. This also reduces the cost and the stress involved during primary elections. The major disadvantage or drawback of consensus candidacy is that it does not reflect or represent the wishes of the general public. This is so because only a very small section of the public who belongs to a particular group chooses a person on behalf of the public. In conclusion it must be noted that Nigeria like i earlier mentioned is a country where democracy is still practiced to a limited degree, so it should be borne in mind that consensus candidacy and anointing of candidates is something that may continue to happen for many years to come. It didnt start now and therefore may take a long time to be discontinued!
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 12:17:34 +0000
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