COLUMN
Kaduna State held elections into its local government council areas recently. There are a few issues the successful conduct of the election throws up. One, the people of the state turn out to vote, and this means that they appreciate the relevance of administration brought so close to them at the grassroots. They have been enjoying the positive effects of elected LGA officials who are accountable and responsible to the people and they want to continue to enjoy same.
Two, the people show resilience, they show understanding. There is no doubt that these are trying times, a period when criminal elements are bent on diverting the attention of people and government away from the important business of providing quality administration and infrastructural facilities to the people. Security of lives and property has thus become a major concern for everyone, to the extent that many doubters make comments that show they believe the government should not do anything else apart from chasing bandits. Yet there are equally pressing issues, and having a government structure that is capable of attending to them is equally important. LGAs are an important component of this structure, and they are what the government wants to ensure are put in place by organising the elections.
Meanwhile, the question could be asked: Must the business of governance come to a halt because of the few criminal elements that the government has been making efforts to degrade? No. The governance process has to continue and doing otherwise would amount to capitulating to criminals whose season shall yet come to an end in view of government’s unrelenting efforts. The need to ensure that governance processes continue is seen in the determination of the government to hold the LGA elections. By coming out to cast their ballot, the people of Kaduna State agreed with their government, they did not agree with cynics.
Three, the LGA elections were largely peaceful. This could only mean that residents of Kaduna State are for peace and would cooperate with their state government to achieve it. It is only criminal elements and those who wish to gain from chaos for political and other selfish motives who would not be happy at this turn of event i.e. residents of Kaduna State turning out to restate their confidence in their government through the ballot box. Kaduna State people are peace-loving, and they want peace to be carried forward through the election of candidates of their choice into the local councils. These local representatives will join the state government to facilitate peace in the council areas. It is what the people indicate in the last LG elections.
Four, the fact that the people came out and voted indicated they believed their government meant well. They believed their government meant them to really make their choice known through the ballot, and that was reflected in how they came out to vote. If they did not think the government would let their votes count, they would not. Such level of trust has not been exhibited in most states of the country where even the governments in power worry that they might lose the election to the opposition party. In the event they do all they can to manipulate the process.
More than that, governments in some of these other states are so worried about their chances that they would not dare adopt processes that they would not have control over, such as the use of electronic voting. In Kaduna State, the electronic voting was not used for the first time, it was used for the second time yet the ruling party coasted to victory. What does that signpost? Residents of Kaduna would believe more that there is genuine democracy in the state.
Five, by casting their vote in favour of the ruling party in majority of the LGAs, the people of Kaduna State indicate that they are for the developmental drives embarked upon by the government. It has been pointed out by political opponents of the ruling party that the policies and programmes of the government are anti-people. Such cynics have had their say. Now residents of Kaduna State have shown that they believe in what their state government has been doing. They believe such programmes are not anti-people, rather the government is putting people first. They believe the reforms carried out in the civil service, in the LGAs, are in the best interest of the people and the state. Voters have shown to the public who they believe – the government that would not permit unqualified teachers to ruin the lives of the children of the state, the government that would not permit a few individuals to pocket the resources of the state, the government that would not expend more than 80 percent of the revenue of the state paying the salaries of redundant workers to the detriment of the development of the people.
The fact that the ruling party does not ‘capture’ all the LGAs but allows the vote of the people to count, unlike what obtains in some states, speaks loudly and clearly. It shows the confidence of the government in its good work as well as the belief that it has nothing to hide. There are states that want only their party to be in control of the LGAs because they have other motives with regard to the revenue accruable to the LGAs; as such they are wary of an opposition party being in control of any LGA where they may cry loud about state government diverting LGA funds. In Kaduna State, LGAs’ federal allocations have been going to them and as such the state government has nothing to hide. These are facts, not just the burnishing of the image of a government. One would therefore suppose that these positives that the government in Kaduna State represents is what the people of the state are giving a thumb-up for when then troop out to vote, as well as give their government a resounding victory.
