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Remarks @ Southern Youth Dialogue on Electoral Reform

posted on Friday, September 04, 2009 10:56 AM

I feel very honoured to be given the privilege of being part of this history making gathering of young people with great minds in the southern part of our great country – Nigeria. This event is great because it is just-in-time. Our nation is faced with followership and governance disorder through our failing democracy, occasioned in the course of the abortion of true democratic progression which pivots around the will of the people through electoral processes.

Today, we take note of the public hearing of our Electoral Reform Bill; although in my candid opinion I posit that we need to reorganize our thinking and behaviour towards elections and the elect.

The Youth must champion the cause of credible elections and electioneering. For this change to be achieved, Young people need a platform to create a colossal change. The platform could be a Youth Political party or movement (call it anything) which defies individualism and propagates the ideals of national development. It is only with this party that we can break the strong hold of the ruling party that has not catered for the youth.

At this stage of our political evolution, it is the task of every responsible youth to be able to locate our electoral problems and direct attention to the sure means of proffering lasting solutions to them. It is our call to initiate and enforce the change in unity and unionisms.

Our campaign for electoral reformation must include creating a process where credible young people would be given the freedom of contesting an election without constitutional discrimination. This process would make young people accountable for the success and or failure of the system instead of blaming it on the older generation who have failed the entire nation.

This dialogue should seek to address salient issues facing youth commercialization of votes and political thuggery. It should focus on how we can mobilize ourselves against rigging in the 2011 general elections. It should seek to put forward qualities of the kind of leaders that we seek to sail our democratic leadership.
The failure of a good electoral system is what has lead our nation to this present state of incessant strikes in our educational system, high level of unemployment, power failure, corruption and a substantial number of Nigerian youth involvement in cybercrimes and fraud which has earned us a bad image and reputation through awful exemplary leadership.

We need an electoral system that would produce political leaders who would not play politics with our economy, nor sacrifice our national interest on the altar of political party affiliation. For us to do this we need a change, change in the value systems and what is perceived as important variables in electing our leaders. Our reforms should include, standing against the selection of party flag bearers without giving party delegates the opportunity to democratically choose their party flag bearers, just as it was noticed in the 2003 and 2007 parties conventions before the then general elections’.

For the reform in our electoral system to be effective the youth of this nation must be the ones to champion the cause and pursue it with vigour. Why? Because, the future belongs to the youth and so, the youth must guard the present jealously in other to have a better future.

You know, Whenever my thoughts collide with the idea behind the list of the old men parading themselves as democrats in the electoral reform coalition, I can’t help but laugh because these so called democrats are the same set of people who employed and still employ the strength of our youth for political thuggery and twisted the electoral processes for their own favour in past elections. My question is, does it mean that the corrupt system they now want to reform does not favour them anymore or have they become ‘born again democrats’?

In concluding my submission fellow Nigerian Youths, the struggle for a better political dimension this is a struggle of a strenuous life. A life we must hope to endure with joy, if we must have a better Nigeria. Each one of us should carry on your shoulders not a burden of doing well for the sake of self, but for the sake of the entire citizenry - the sake of humanity.
At every stage, and under all circumstances, the essence of the struggle for electoral reform is to equalize opportunity and protect the choice of the electorates. To achieve all these, we must have the right kind of character – the character that breeds success, the character that makes a boy first a good son to the home, community and an active citizen.

On our constitution, let us appeal to the legislators to pursue the review of our imperfect 1999 constitution and the passage of Electoral Reform Act with heartiness just as they pursue their allowances. I would beseech all those present in this dialogue to take these deliberations seriously and make contributions that would change the polity and the political platform for the good of our dear nation. I wish you all happy deliberations and hope to see you once again at the top.
Thank you and God bless you.
martobono@yahoo.com

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