By Rufus Ibebe
LAGOS AUGUST 27TH (URHOBOTODAY0-As already known by many people that are reading this article, Deltans would be going to the polls on the 25th of October, 2014 to decide who will be ruling them as chairmen and counselors in the third tiers of government. There are 25 Local Government Areas (LGA) in the state and all these LGAs, now have at least two candidates from different political parties contesting for one position or the other.
All is now set for as peaceful election. The election timetable has been released. Permanent Voters Card (PVC) has been issued by Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) across the state to enable the masses vote effectively. Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) is now ongoing to enable persons that have not registered to do so in other not to be left behind in the process of choosing who would lead them in the next few years.
Political parties have done their congresses and come out with the list of their various candidates that would be bearing their flags in the upcoming election. For instance, Ughelli North has Kenneth Ibru of People Democratic Party PDP(, Nathaniel Dortie of Labour Party and Elder Onoakpofure of All Progressive Congress (APC) as the candidates for the chairmanship position that is keenly contested by the three mentioned above political parties.All the electorate in each of the local government areas now know who would be contesting for one position or the other in their locality.
It is a well known fact that the road to success just like the road to heaven is not an easy one. It is only the brave and determined ones that end up succeeding at the end of the day. Political success comes to only those that are willing to work for the general good of mankind.
Those that are to voted for must be men that have good head and good hearts. According to Nelson Mandela, these are the two (good head and good hearts) formidable combinations that can bring about a good society. We no doubt, need these combinations in other to move our local government to an enviable height.
Now that we know who the contestants are, this is the right time to demand for their manifestoes in other to properly study and see which of them have the interest of the public in their mind. We must not only ask them questions, but also, we must demand that they answer our questions in other for us to be able to ascertain the best among them to be voted for. We must take into concederation their past records and achievements before voting for them.
We must provide a level playing ground for all the contestants for them to showcase their best. We must however know that we have the final say at the end with the power of our vote. We must not destroy the future of many generations because we fail to properly screen the contestant before voting for them.
Our politicians must know that according to the words of Tai Sholarin, “our successes (political success inclusive) are conditioned by the amount of risk we are ready to take. The big fish is not caught in shallow waters. You must go into the open sea”. You must have at the back of your mind that there are some positive risk that you are going to take in other to secure victory that will rein in your political career yet they must be taken for the interest of the general good of the society. I look forward to see a politician that is contesting in the upcoming general election that would be willing and bold enough to take the risk of not giving money to the electorates in other to secure their votes. I look forward to seeing a man that would be God fearing enough not to use thugs to intimidate his or her opponents in other to see that they win the elections. I hope to see a contestant that would say, “I am not going to snatch voting materials in other to win this election because I want an election that would be free and fair”.
I pray that there would be a contestant that would be willing to take the risk of ensuring that at the end of the election, he would be able to look back and say, “thank God I won because the people voted for me and not because I rigged myself into power with my wealth”
I would make a mentor a man who would say after October 25th that, “even though I lose, thank God that I did not soil my hands with the blood of the innocent masses neither did I do anything against the laws of the land”.
Now that we know the contestants, we must ensure that we choose credible leaders from them and not see this election time as the time to get rich from the money that is gotten from politicians. The electorates should know that the only way to get the best leader to emerge from the contestants is not to take money from them but to carefully select them. They must understand that this is the only time and medium through which they can effectively vote in the right leaders. The market women must not see this time as the time for sharing some few bags of rice and voting for the provider of such rice when they know that they are on a mission of looting the public wealth. Okada riders must not rally round a particular constant because of the few bags of money that is given to them to share. Students must vote wisely for the right candidate that they know will deliver the dividend of democracy to their locality just as the employed and the unemployed in the society must put head together that the votes that they are giving to the right candidates are counted and secured at the end of October 25th.
Political parties must ensure that they play by the rules of the game that is the only way to ensure that democracy is strengthened in the state. It would be very disastrous if at the end of the day, the votes of the citizens are not allowed to count because of the negative roles that are played by the political parties. They have brought out their best candidates; hence they must allow the electorates to make their choice of the leader they want at the end of the day.
I would employ the losers at the end of the day to be bold enough to be like Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state who accepted defeat at the just concluded governorship election in Ekiti state. If at all they are not satisfied with the outcome of the result, violent must not be used as the means of seeking re-dress rather petitions should be filed to the appropriate quarters.
Deltans, you now know the contestants; please vote wisely because your future is in your hand.
Rufus Ibebe wrote from Ughelli, Delta State