Former Chairman of the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has
asked Nigerians to let politicians know that can no longer ‘buy’ their way into
elective positions by ensuring that the electoral processes are not tampered
with.
He said that until the problem of
vote-buying is tackled in the country, those in government will remain
irresponsible and non-responsive to the aspirations of the people.
Jega said this in Abuja on Friday
at an interactive forum organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development,
CDD, to interrogate how African government’s can reconcile procedural
democratic practices with substantive democracy.
He noted that the struggle for
democracy to survive in Africa has been characterized by frustration because of
the failure of governance to satisfy the aspirations and expectations of the
people as well as promote stability.
Jega also decried the mode of
politics in most parts of Africa which he said excludes a large segment of the
population, especially women and youths from the political process.
On the issue of corruption, the
erstwhile INEC boss disclosed that reliance of democratic governments in Africa
on extractive revenue such as sales of crude oil as opposed to tax-based
revenue raised a major challenge to the fight against corruption.
He, however, maintained that
despite the frustrations of democracy, militarianism was not an option.
His words: “Unless the people let
politicians know that they cannot buy their way into office every four or five
years, through the ballot box, they will never be responsible and responsive to
the needs and aspirations of the people.
“Voters should realize that they
are critical stakeholders that deserve to be listened to. Hence, it is
imperative they begin to protect the integrity of the electoral process so as
to have sufficient moral ground to hold those in governance accountable.
“Relying exclusively on
extractive revenue is unhealthy for good governance and democracy. All a public
office holder needs to do to loot the treasure is simply to divert funds
accruing to government from the extractive sector of the economy.
“However, if the government
raises bulk of its revenue by compelling people to pay their taxes, the people
will in turn be interested in knowing how the taxes they paid were utilized,
and that will reduce the level of the corruption perpetuated by those in
government.”
“We need to careful with what the
frustrations of democracy can lead us into. Militarianism should never again be
an option for us. Democracy may not be the only game but it is a major game in
town,” he concluded.
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