By Sunny Ikhioya

MAN is the problem of man. Structures and institutions are set up to take care of excesses and challenges of man but man always finds ways to circumvent the system. This is more glaring in developing countries like Nigeria. The solution, however, lies with the people; the day they collectively decide to take their destinies in their hands, that will be the beginning of the end of manipulations and impunity. 

The trending news today is the decision of major political parties to impose exorbitant fees for the sale of nomination forms to political aspirants, especially as it concerns the presidential election.

One hundred million naira is not what you expect from a career politician or technocrat, except, along the line, they have found other ways to amass wealth. This decision forecloses the involvement of truly honest politicians in the contest for our next president, which implies that the contest will no longer be for the best candidate but for only those who can afford it monetarily.

Are we, therefore, to say that the contest will be free and fair? By this action, are we saying that our democracy is moving forward or backwards? When are we going to have a level playing field for all candidates? Is the democracy we claim to be practicing for the people or a privileged few? This question becomes pertinent when we look at history.

People have in the past risen from poor backgrounds to become leaders in society, at local, national and international forums. This is not because they had money, but because of the qualities that they possessed, ideas and the intellect that impact on society.

That was how the Awolowos, Azikiwes, Balewas, Enahoros and others found themselves at the hierarchy of Nigerian politics in the fifties and sixties. Even the Sardauna, Ahmadu Bello, was in conflict with the traditional institutions at certain periods before he became Premier of the northern region.

The leadership system has now decayed. While explaining the situation in Tanzania under former President Nyerere, Professor PLO Lumumba said: “People will ask where the money you are spending is from and when you have more than you are supposed to have, the electorate will say you are a thief. So the burden rests on both the politician and the electorate. The typical politician impoverishes the people, so that they can be attracted to them and to do that you must have money”.

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Our politicians have discovered that the electorate have an insatiable thirst or appetite for things that they do not work for; so it is easy to prey on their greed. As a result, in our politics, you will not find a competition for ideas, but a lucrative casino where the man in control is responsible for the distribution of money.

It is difficult to convince the electorate that ideas count for something; instead they will say: “we hear you, but in the intervening period, we must eat. If no money, your ideas will not fly”. That is the situation with our African politics.

But how do we change this negative orientation of ours? It is a big task; the solution is massive sensitisation of the populace. Until they are made to realise that the effective selection of leadership affects our collective growth, we will not move forward. It is said that “the love of money is the root of all evil”, but at the same time, another wisdom quote tells us that “money is the answer for everything”.

A people must strive to be rich, but they must do so with wisdom. For again, it is said that “wisdom is more precious than rubbies (money)”; for money on its own is not the solution to problems but the correct application of it. It must be done for the uplifting of humanity in a prosperous nation so that the people are happy. The accumulation of wealth is achieved through the implementation of wealth principles, which focuses more on assets and more income as against liabilities.

It also focuses on judicious use of resources, an area that this nation has been found wanting. If there is a shared prosperity and politicians are honest with themselves, there would have been no need for the humongous registration fees to contest election.

The action of our political parties will only open avenues for more corruption; if they choose to go ahead with the money methodology, political contestants will definitely strive to recoup their expenses when they succeed in getting into power.

Every party must put in place structures that will improve efficiency, especially through technology; this will reduce cost of operations to a reasonable level. In an environment of lack and want, it will be wrong for politicians to display profligacy, as this will send a wrong signal.

A party with a sound record in its use of resources will impact the people positively. From what we have seen from our political parties, they are not setting the right examples. At this period of our country’s history, we need somebody who can truly manage the economy, ensure productive use of resources, eliminate waste to the barest minimum and create wealth and prosperity for the people.

Some people will borrow money to meet the requirement of the party, others will have a collection of friends who rally round them to raise these funds. What then will be in it for all of these investors? The in-coming political office holders will be indebted to them;  a debtor is a slave to the borrower; so the incoming office holders will be handicapped from the beginning.

The decision of parties to introduce humongous fees will discourage people of intellect and competence, those who have refused to place their hands on the public till; and when the good ones are not running, the bad guys take over.

In true democracies, monies are raised through voluntary contributions, with   the sources well noted and recorded; this type breeds transparency and fairness. So, what is stopping us from following such footsteps?

Our politicians must reexamine their ways and take a cue from our pre-independence politicians. Politics is about sharing power, control and management of the society. If the best part of politics is the one that puts the people in control, which is true democracy and we are not practicing it as such, how do we factor in the ordinary people in this power sharing business?

It should be a food for thought for our leadership. We must remove that mercantile culture from our politics. According to Prof Lumumba   “until we remove alibabaism from our politics, we are going nowhere “.

He was referring to Alibaba and the 40 Thieves, from old Arabian literature fable. But these days, the thieves are no more 40 but in uncountable numbers. This culture must be eliminated from our politics; we must realise that nothing comes for free; when you demand too much from politicians before they get into power, you will be selling your conscience.

We say we want to give our traditional rulers and local government leaders more responsibilities;   they should begin with the task of a proper sensitisation of the people and demand for only the best to represent them. They should shun people of shady characters, whose sources of wealth cannot be verified.

They should also leave room for people with ideas that can impact society; money alone will not turn things around unless, properly applied. It is a new dawn; the people are now being courted by politicians of different shades and types; it is time to mend our ways and send the bad characters packing.

Ikhioya  wrote viawww.southsouthecho.com