THE PROBLEM WITH NBA ELECTIONS: IT'S THE SYSTEM, NOT THE ASPIRANTS: A REJOINDER TO BAYO’S “HOW PERSONAL POLITICAL AMBITIONS KILL PROGRESS IN NBA”
BY PRECIOUS NWADIMUYA
My brother Bayo Akinlade, I read your article and while I understand your frustration, I believe you are misdirecting your blame.
What I witnessed at the Enugu Conference was, for lack of a better word, obscene. We call it "afunene," and I pray we do not see it like this again. However, will you blame the aspirants? I do not blame the aspirants and I cannot agree with you that the fault lies with them and or their selfish ambitions as you painted it. The true culprit, in my view, is the flaw in our institutional campaign structure.
The current NBA campaign framework does not provide an official platform for aspirants to properly introduce themselves to a national audience. As a result, many are only known within their own branch circles. To overcome this information gap and gain nationwide recognition, they resort to all manner of campaign strategies, many of which are regrettable borrowings from secular politics. The campaign template they have undertaken to market their candidature is not necessarily evidence of a selfish ambition, it may well be that these are simply the only templates they know.
Furthermore, the pressure to engage in these tactics is immense. Even an aspirant who initially plans a reserved campaign can be pushed into a public spectacle. The moment they see an opponent outdoing them with billboards and banners, their supporters — and their own anxiety — pressure them to do the same, or to outdo their rival. I saw a perfect example of this at the Enugu Conference: a General Secretary aspirant who resides in the South-East went into a panic when he arrived and saw banners placed by aspirants who are not resident in the region — and it was a big challenge to him. I imagine that a supporter who saw it called him and said, "Ol boy, what are you doing sef. Are you serious? Your mates have come to your territory, and their bill boards are everywhere." I saw him running helter-skelter around the Okpara square, I wasn’t sure what the problem was until I saw two giant banners he placed in some strategic locations around the Okpara Square opposite the ICC. Yes, he rushed to find space for his own giant banners, simply to keep up with the competition.
This kind of 'campaign spending war' is a self-perpetuating cycle. I am aware of an instance in a previous election where three aspirants met, and one of them proposed a ceiling on campaign spending. The others, however, rejected the idea. They felt that the proposer was not sincere because he already had an advantage; he had a platform given to him by the NBA which he used to effectively to elevate his visibility nationwide and market his candidacy. One of candidates, in particular, who felt that his "deep pocket" was his main advantage, didn’t agree to the spending ceiling proposal because it would deny him his edge, while the proposer would still retain his own edge. With trust broken, no agreement could be reached.
The electorate is also part of the problem. You assume they are not fools, but what I saw in Enugu suggests otherwise. I saw long queues of lawyers waiting to collect "something" from that beautifully decorated location near the ICC main hall. I was shocked and disheartened to overhear some of them say, "This is the only time we can get something from the aspirant because when he wins, he will not remember us." This is the mentality of the average Nigerian voter, and unfortunately, Nigerian lawyers are a part of the Nigerian society.
The only way, in my view, to break this cycle, apart from the Constitutional amendments that were successfully passed by the NBA Annual General Meeting in Enugu, is for the ECNBA to legislate, by way of guidelines, what amounts to acceptable campaigns. Such acceptable campaigns should provide a level playing for the aspirants to engage with the electorates nationwide without placing any financial burden on them. The ECNBA must stipulate in clear terms that any deviation from such legislated form of campaign will amount to a disqualifying offence. Only then can we create a level playing field and hold aspirants accountable for their actions. Ultimately, as you rightly concluded, we all need to do better — the aspirants, the electorate, and the institution itself.
* Precious Nwadimuya is the immediate past Chairman, NBA Asaba
Branch and a Member of the General Council of the Bar
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