There is an emerging Age Campaign out there against Ugbo. In the absences of an effective oppositional challenge to Ugbos Records of Accomplishments, his Bold 5 Poiny Policy Agenda trust to moving Cross River forward, and the inability of his opposition to define a campaign message, they have resulted in coded age smearing tactics...questioning his relevancy as it relates to age. Such smearing tactics have no place in Cross River. Can you fault a man for limited exposure when opportunity doesnt present itself after preparations are in place? No! It is therefore not proper to make a case against Age on the grounds that one is too old. I wonder how the Age Question should even be an issue relative to a candidates experience, innovative ideas and vision. AGE IS ONLY RELATIVE TO ABILITY, REASONING, AND VISION. I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponents youth and inexperience, Ronald Reagan during the 1984 presidential debates when asked if, at 73, he was too old to be President of the United State. The line — a classic became the springboard to victory for the Republican winning by a landslide and leaving office at 77 years, he became the first oldest American President at 69years.... The AGE argument really depends on what area and application one is coming from when speaking about governance. Those in this campaign raising the age arguments have constrained themselves to a single issue -I call them the single issues opposition campaigners. By raising this question, undoubtedly they intend to mislead the public in a mobilization for thinly veiled political reasons. Such arguments are often made as an immunization strategy with which, they want to shield themselves from criticism, and prevent an extensive debate on the pros and cons of important policy matters to the voters. Therefore, it is unsurprising to see age arguments abound within this campaign. A considerable controversial avenue the opposition will want to use to debate, in the absences of a policy blue prints, and lack of an effective contrast to a more progressive 5 point agenda tabled by the Ntufam Fidelis Ugbo candidacy. No doubts this sentiment is anchored by those oppose to Ugbos candidacy and supported by mischief politicians who believe that #CrossRiver Governorship 2015 is a Birthday Party Celebration. They can go in and around town singing a birthday song -that the only criteria for Cross River Governorship is age. For them, age is the first criteria, the second criteria, and age is remains unfortunately the final criteria. As these opposition elements insist that you can only contest Governorship, if you are under 45 -using citation of former governors Clement Ebri, Donald Etim Duke and currently Governor Liyel Imoke as only criteria for the people of Cross River State to elect a governor in 2015. What a wrong headed argument to governance. Let me be clear, the voters are fortunate in this new age media to read the fine prints of an aspirant policy agenda, see through the case be made, which are not hard to recognize and tear apart. So for those ready to focus attention on age, here are three possible flaws in reasoning that characterize the age arguments. The question on age attempt to deflect attention away from the important technical differences in policy that do exist between competing campaigns and that of Ugbo. -note, every individual is unique to his own views and approach to governance, there is no placing a political breeding format of age on individuals. And, there is no factor in this regards, as it relates to our constitutional provisions on the maximum except the minimum limits of acceptability. I reference them on the criteria as subject only to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). One need not be an expert in political science biology to recognize how Cross River State contending candidates differ from one another in age, however, by Ugbos very orientation and vision we can determine properly that his inline with the needs of our State at this moment. To lay a single issue as important plays down novel possibilities, and hence the experience age comes with in dealing with new uncertainties and risks -given to known disconnect. -Secondly, the argument presumes youthfulness in political practices or excise portrays a novelty which is unproblematic...it is simply not true. Although it is fine to be a promising young individual, it is pretty much ubiquitous in political history, its application has not been without harm. For instance, when President Clinton first came to office relatively young in age, is inexperience led to many miscalculation in his home state as governor. -Finally and most importantly, those making age an issue assume away the Political Environmental, Social, and Policy consequences of large-scale changes in electoral attitudes and attention. What is at stake for Cross River cannot be minimize to age. Ugbo laid-out a pretty bold policy agenda that should be the focus of his detractors. For instance, the potential unforeseen benefits in powering electricity generation using solar -in effect, bringing the current ways of electrification cascading downward throughout technological civilization. The worries here should be on solar usage partially spurred by the development in alternative energy policy, and whats beneficial to our people, this will in no doubts typically differ from traditional electricity generation. What happened to discussing housing policy scheme for home owners and rental policy? What happened on taking Ugbo on in his Educational Policy for revamping our failing school system? What happened to debating his policy on Health and Agriculture? The ensuring obligatory point of passage for good governance is Innovation, Vision and Bold Leadership, keeping government bound to this threesome concept is like sharecroppers to their landowner and maintenance of the land, and is the only way to deploy a larger system of industrialized mono-culture. Therefore, the issue is not merely about the putative safety of Ugbo in an age of experience but over what kind of Cross River should exist: One based on centralized youthful political power structures or the opposite? When age is made central, in the absence of real issues confronting us, the citizens are deny the existence of such concerns on innovation, vision, and bold leadership. Our societys ability to prosper in this world of rapid change will depend on developing forms of innovation, vision, and bold leadership -which grantees governance that can operate effectively across the shifting boundaries of the new information and economic society. For us, in the absence of oil well, it is particularly crucial. As a State, our people are in the midst of a fundamental transformation, and who leads and govern our society is important. When we look around, signs of transformation are all over. A radical restructuring of public bureaucracies in the state is needed. Our government in the state demand more direct participate in decision-making, and it challenges to the legitimacy of many traditional institutions at the local levels. The society accelerating pace of change and overwhelming challenges facing us demands practical leadership and governance cannot lag behind with an up-stater in Leopard House. Because governance isnt a walk in the park, or a dreamers contest, we should not trivialize the very Office of Governor that aspirants are seeking to occupy. Governance is clearly the experience of skills learned and acquired over requisite period time; it is certainly not achieved by learning the ropes of governance when someone is newly elected to office..Cross River cannot hill afford to risk this moment of economic transition for an inexperience element; the lives of over 3 million people cannot be placed at the alter of gambling, and there remains no luxury at our critical juncture. In this election, the wonderful people of Cross River State deserve far better a choice than just a youthful age governor. Ugbo passes the test on governance given his antecedent as an innovative planner appointed by President Good Luck to help in National Planing & development, a visionary helping to shape the path on better economic policy and budgeting for Cross River as Commissioner for Finance, and with his bold Leadership displayed in his career at CBN and as the Secretary to State Government in Cross River. -we can safely conclude Ugbo meets what Cross River needs, not the limited opposition single message on Age. -what Cross River State needs is not too far fetch from Ugbo: - she needs an innovative thinker, she needs a visionary, she needs someone with bold leadership, she needs a Governor who will resume office hitting the ground running from the first day in Office. - she needs a Governor knowledgeable of the critical processes of governance and how to navigate the state and federal bureaucracy needed to place cross riverians at an advantage in the new chancing global economic. It is our fervent prayer that Cross River gets exactly the right sort of leader to steer its affairs state with innovation, vision, and bold leadership in 2015. Peter Ubi is a Political Analyst and Campaign Strategist -writing from New York. God Bless Cross River State.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 22:29:04 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015