2015 ELECTIONS AND CANDIDATE IMPOSITION
In nations like the United State of America, before a Presidential candidate emerges, every candidate campaigns to get their party’s ticket to run for any political position like that of President Obama where he contested against Mrs Hilary Clinton for the Democratic Party candidateship, even though George Bush, the incumbent President then was Republican, Obama still won the elections in 2008. Now coming back to Nigeria, after many years of military rule, and we experiencing 15 years of the enthronement of democracy, several elections that have brought in different personalities as our political leaders in this country under the flagship of different political parties, but one thing we fail to know is that the system is a mix of authoritarianism and kleptocracy which is in effect. Nigeria is a country with democracy without democrats; this has always been shown in our political party’s system of producing candidates for any elections. In this country, the undemocratic culture of the outgoing incumbent in political offices anointing their successors instead of allowing the internal party democracy to play out in the eventual choice of party candidates for any political position, this sad situation has given birth to godfatherhood and imposition, killing the effort and desires of the fewdemocrats in such party to be given a fair playing ground to test their real competency on how to solve the real national problems. We have seen this come to play in the 2007 elections where President Obasanjo of PDP single handily picked his successor and imposed him on the party even when he had health issues, while in Lagos State, former governor Senator Ahmed Tinubu of APC personally handpicked and anointed the incumbent governor of Lagos State, similarly, former governor of Abia state, Orji Uzor Kalu of PPA picked incumbent governor Theodore Orji and most recently, Peter Obi of APGA doing the same to Willy Obiano of Anambra state. Now, this is being played out in the run up to the 2015 general elections where Board of Trustees of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have endorsed President Jonathan as its sole candidate for the presidential election. Enugu state has followed suit as the incumbent governor Sullivan Chime have endorsed Mr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as the sole candidate for the party. The governor of Akwa Ibom has rolled out machinery to ensure the enthronement of Udom Emmanuel as his successor. With time, more power of incumbency examples are likely to follow suit. This prevailing trend is bad and unacceptable as it runs against the principles of liberal democracy as written in the 1999 constitution. Democracy thrives on freedom of expression, freedom of choice, freedom to vote and be voted for, freedom to dissent and a freedom to free and fair periodic elections among others. It would appear that Nigerian politicians have observed all of these in the breach of agreement. Internal party democracy should inform the choice of candidate for elections and candidates should be chosen in broad democratic ways. Such choices should therefore ultimately be informed by their character and national contribution. Also, the wind of undemocratic imposition currently blowing in the nation has the capacity to generate bad blood in the various parties destroying the cohesion and unity previously experienced. Imposition is antithetical to the tenets of liberal democracy as it undermines character audit and the sovereignty of the people even at the political party level. If the nation professes to be running a democracy, the people should at all times decide. OBIOWE
