THE CASE OF KETTLE CALLING POT BLACK: WHO IS DECEIVING WHO? Outside the law, Buhari bears the moral burden of explaining how his campaign would accept donations of N1,000 from ordinary yam farmers, after he had told everyone that the maximum contribution from any individual to his campaign would be N100. Nigeria: Billionaire Yam Farmers Vanguard 5 JANUARY 2015 EDITORIAL EVERYTHING is possible during campaigns. However, there is a lot that we can learn if we pay more attention to campaigns for the 2015 elections, especially the presidential one, where all the verve seems to be. Yam farmers have promised to raise N5b for General Muhammadu Buhari. The farmers explained that they would sell their products at a bazaar price of N1,000 for a tuber of yam to raise the money. By the arithmetic, five million tubers of yam would be available for the sales. Do not worry about the logistics of moving five million tubers of yam to one location, for with politics, wonders happen. We admire the ingenuity of the farmers, but would still remark that whether the money was raised from business barons (mostly in anonymity) or five million farmers (if each sacrificed a yam) who cannot easily be identified, they are not different from friends of President Goodluck Jonathan, who gave him N21.3 billion. The farmers event may hold in a stadium, while business moguls shelled out their billions in the comfort of bespoke ambience, they are all violating our laws that forbid donations for political campaigns, other than from members of a political party. Like their richer colleagues, they have hugged fame. Section 221 of the Constitution states: No association, other than a political party, shall canvass for votes for any candidate at an election, or contribute to the funds of any political party, or to the election expenses of any candidate at an election. If the five million farmers pass party membership test, they would be in good standing with the law, since the peg for individual contributions to political campaign is N1 million. Yet the farmers could violate Section 221 of the Constitution since they are promoting their cause through their association. The law makes no distinction between farmers and barons, if it did, it would be discriminatory. Section 91 (2) of the Electoral Act puts a ceiling of N1 billion on the electoral expenses of a presidential candidate. The farmers intend to blow that target by N4 billion, friends of Jonathan violated the law to the tune of N20.3 billion. They are both guilty. Outside the law, Buhari bears the moral burden of explaining how his campaign would accept donations of N1,000 from ordinary yam farmers, after he had told everyone that the maximum contribution from any individual to his campaign would be N100. The farmers in their enthusiasm would be unaware of the inflation they would introduce to a choking economy. Five million tubers of yam withdrawn from the national food basket is a high number that could create more hunger and we do not expect that yams bought at N1,000 could be eaten. *Mr. Kupoluyi, wrote from Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 00:44:38 +0000
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