The APC ward congresses were held in Ijumu Local Government Area
of Kogi state on Saturday, 31st of July, 2021. The press releases that trailed the conduct of the Congress is unfortunate and not in the interest and character of Ijumu people. I quickly want to say here that the opinion I express is my perception of the whole issue and therefore the views are personal. I am also concerned about the negative image the press releases have created in the minds of our friends. Two people in diaspora on my political platform THE NUCLEUS, called to verify the press release. We all agree that there have been infractions in recent political activities whereby due process, competence, hardwork, level playing ground and excellence have been pushed to the background.All the same two wrongs don’t make a right. The internal party conflict resolution mechanism would have been explored. If that is not enough, a report could have been made to the leader of the party in the state, Gov. Yahaya Bello.
Secondly, the system being complained about has been in use for long and many have benefited from it. I believe strongly also that some elders of the party could have intervened before now. For me, I did not need to be a prophet to know that the Congress was going to be an issue because there have not been any love lost among the major political contenders.
The way forward as I have always canvassed, is for the stakeholders to adopt the spirit of give and take. They need to put aside their ego and pursue dialogue.
In the beginning it was not so. There was mutual respect and concessions when necessary. The issue of violence, impunity and winner takes all was minimal. The Chairman who is the Chief Security of the Local Government and confidant of his Excellency, though has a formidable political machinery at the grass root. This he has been able to achieve through patronage and identification with his followers especially in their low moments. However, he needs to stretch an olive hand to those that are complaining.
The mistake we make is to believe that politics is for personal agrandizement rather than for the development of the people. That is the reason why an otherwise serious issue like politics is being treated with disdain with all it’s implications. The people back home are in their worst moment and they deserve good governance which can not be obtained in anarchy.
*JUST THINKING ALOUD*