EVOLUTION OF CANDIDATE-CENTERED POLITICS IN ABIA STATE

Barr. Ody Ajike

There is a fundamental feature in every democratic nation which has resisted change and spurred itself into relevance: that feature is that in every democratic nation of the world, Political Parties are testimonies to organizational durability and adaptiveness, in the face of strong voter competition.

This is the same in the face of evolution in the political environment of all democratic nations. Voters are reacting to disastrous and tumultuous undemocratic actions by leaders. Voters respond to a plebiscitary system with a decline in the relevance of political parties as a consequence of voter’s choice. Voters are apparently responding to Candidates much more than previously.

In the Contemporary Nigeria, Candidate-Centered politics can be traced to the 2015 Presidential elections. During this election, voters responded to candidate-centered politics by voting certain candidates because of perceived failures by the incumbents in upholding fiscal responsibility, security of citizens and absolute development in real terms.

This is the beginning of the evolution in modern times of the decline of Party in the electorate-partisanship on the basis of voter’s choice. Political Parties are yet institutionalized Service Providers to Candidates and huge resource mobilisers but in the evolving dynamics, electorates are nudging away from Party-Centered politics and choosing a preference to Candidate centered politics. This approach has increased and has the tendency to further increase the tenets of democracy. The electoral process will become more participatory, more media oriented and based on candidates preference by voters.

Abia and a few States seem to be the objects of candidate-centered politics in the coming months because of the challenge of destruction of political credibility by leaders in these states. Political struggle increases especially when political credibility has been destroyed.

In Abia, this destruction is a live wire to the evolution of candidate-centered politics. Politics not based on party choice but based firmly on voter’s choice to determine who best fits the plugs to offer the best for Abia and her people. Over the past 12 years, Abians have groaned under a debilitating lack of innovative, purposeful, developmental democratic leadership. They people do not matter again to their leaders, their interests are put at the residual levels of importance, their infrastructures are primitive and governments both previous and present has refused and/or ignored to offer a renewal. Public finance has become a private resource pool for private pockets, education and health has depreciated to abysmal levels only decent persons could ignore.

Agriculture is toddling with no reasonable impetus added or supplied for its growth and development. Private industries are established and die off within few years due to lack of service infrastructure. The capital city still regales in primitiveness and absurd relevance of a modern city. The Governor has refused to understand and accept that the quantum of power available for his relevance is predicated by the quantum of empowerment achieved for the people.

Life generally has been as Hobbes described the primitive times as brutish, cruel and short due to government ability and resolve to owe salaries and pensions for months without end. 

The State of Abia needs a man of clear purpose, a people organizer, a man with a credibility to deliver wealth and democratize prosperity. A man seasoned in moral affluence, dedicated to development, charismatic disposition, a man not ready to accept the trappings of self-creation but wealth creation for the people. A man ready to turn tides of developmental depression to prosperity. A man well-schooled in the onions of empathy for workers, businessmen, traders, aged and the vulnerable of the Abia society.

That man is Uchechukwu Ogah. As the evolution of Candidate-centered politics rises in a State in the rising sun, a New Deal for Abians will be a thing of the present come 2019. It’s our time to change the bull breaking our China wares and bring in a humble personality with a listening ear to the cries of our people who are under crisis of leadership.

This new deal of prosperity is loading.