Former Senator for Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has said Nigeria’s political culture affects the governance of the country.
Senator Sani noted that politicians spend just one year for real governance while the remaining three years of the total fours years are spent on politicking, election and handover to another administration.
Naija News reports that the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain made the observation on Sunday in an interview with Arise News.
The former Senator called on politicians to prioritize governance and the country’s development over personal political interest.
“Our constitution caters to a four-year term in office. And the way we divide these four years is that governance only happens in one year. The second year is talking about the election. The third year is conducting the election. And the last year will be handing over after election. So we waste almost more than 70 percent of a four-year tenure discussing about the next election.
“Virtually, a sane country, a stable country, a country that does its work, should dedicate almost three and a half years of the lifespan of its democratic process in its development. The national discourse is not about technology. It’s not about infrastructure. It’s not about the economy. It’s not about the future. It’s not about how we can be Indonesia, Malaysia, or Japan. It is about handover. It’s about elections. It’s about coalition. It’s about endorsement. This is where we have found ourselves today.
“What will I expect after the 2023 elections? Everyone wants a tool for governance to now know the issues we are going to address. Address our security challenges, educational challenges, health challenges, infrastructural challenges, and rebuild and reconfigure our country for the future. But that’s not the case. After the first year in power, the next is talking about 2027. And the next year, the year after that, we’ll be preparing about 2027. And then the last year will be about conducting election for 2027. So virtually, we don’t have any space for governance.
“I think it’s very important that, as a country, that we put in the interests of this country first before our own personal interests. And the only way to go about it is that politicians must see themselves as Nigerians first before they think about their political party, their political affiliation, or wherever they come from. A nation of 230 million people, we don’t have much time left to spend so much time in politics. All this struggle, all this craze, all this desperation for political power, it’s been helpful to this country. And I think it is time for us to, each time election comes to an end, it’s time for us to concentrate on governance,” he said.
Security Is Improving Under Tinubu
Senator Sani commended the efforts of President Bola Tinubu on security. Speaking on the President’s two years in office, the APC chieftain stated that the mass abduction of students had stopped under the current government.
He, however, stressed that much work has to be done by President Tinubu and security agencies to eradicate insecurity in the country.
“There are still challenges going on now, but I can’t remember the last time when we have gotten reports where students were kidnapped and ransomed and extorted. If you can remember in my own area of the state, there was an attack on Greenfield University, Bethel Baptist High School, even the Nigerian Defence Academy, Polytechnic in Zaria, and other southern Kaduna were all under attack. But for now, things have come down. But that does not mean the security issues are virtually solved, but we can see improvement in that aspect of it,” he stated.
I Don’t Support Compulsory Voting
The Kaduna Central Senator in the 8th National Assembly condemned the mandatory voting bill in the 10th NASS.
He noted that Nigerians should be enlightened on the importance of voting and not forced to vote.
He added that the citizens must be made to know the implications of abstaining from voting, including election rigging.
“I do not support a compulsory voting law for all Nigerians, but we should enlighten Nigerians to vote. But forcing them to go and vote will come with a lot of consequences. And then you ask yourself, why are you not going to vote? Apart from the fact that their refusal to vote enabled those who vote or rig elections to put in the person they want, the point is that perhaps many people have lost interest in the passion to vote people into office if your votes don’t count.
“But in the general sense, if you know you are not going to vote, there is no reason for you to go and collect PVCs, because these are very expensive items which were all budgeted for. And then you sit down, and then you complain when the person you don’t want emerges the leader of your country. So we should enlighten people on the need to go and vote,” he added.
