From Grassroot To Glassroof

I haven’t written in a while. I think in some
ways I m suffering from writers block and
cant seem to get my thoughts down in a
semi-coherent way. However I shall try.
I have been observing the build up to the
2015 Elections here in Nigeria and in my
opinion the most important positions that
we as Nigerians can vote for are the local
and regional positions, by that I mean
councilors, Local Government Chairmen,
State Assembly members, National Assembly
members and Governors. Why?
In my simplistic reasoning, the person who
is most likely to affect your life personally is
on a state or local government level. Because
the fact remains that in our country money
from the Federal account is allocated to each
state and by extension each Governor to run
his state. These funds in addition to
internally generated revenue could
transform many states and help improve the
standards of living of many Nigerians.
My fellow Nigerians, the quest for a better
Nigeria in my opinion starts at the
grassroots because it is the corrupt Local
Government Chairman that is reputed to
steal the most money when viewed as a
percentage of allocations. He/She is no less
of a thief than the President just because
they stole a smaller amount of money. The
money the Local Government Chairman
steals can go to fix a few boreholes in the
community. It could go to providing seats
for students at the Local primary school; it
could go to HIV awareness and basic
sanitation etc.
It is the Local Government chairman who
steals enough money over 4 or 8 years and
decides to run for the National Legislature.
There he goes and steals some more, he
misappropriates the development fund
given to each legislature for his constituency
and denies the communities he is
representing a new classroom, a primary
healthcare facility, scholarships for students
etc.
The Local Government Chairman after
serving in the senate or House of
Representatives runs for Governor. He wins.
He then steals money on a grander scale. He
denies your state good roads, access to
clean drinking water, education, and
healthcare. In fact he not only denies you
basic amenities but he foments crisis
amongst the people of your state. He plays
one group against the other all in a bid to
stay in power.
He cleans up his record by doing a few
contracts and publicizes them. After a few
years, he had gathered enough political
clout and he runs for president and wins.
Now you officially have a corrupt pig in
office that started out as a Local Government
Chairman.Who is from grassroot now to his glassroof,
Of course the scenario I am painting is a bit
exaggerated but still what I am trying to say
is that we as a nation should not focus so
much on the Presidential Elections that we
forget to vote in people at the grassroots
levels who can make a difference in our
lives. I believe this also applies to any
opposition party looking to gain ground in
the long run. Win some states! Win at the
grassroots. Win and perform well in office. If
you don’t believe me, look at Lagos state. It
will be near impossible for the party in
power to lose because the people have seen
performance.
I believe in votes reflecting performance,
that is why it is important for us to vote out
people and parties that have failed to
perform. It is important that we kick out all
Vagabonds, Kleptomaniacs and Big Men
who are to Big for their constituents. Lets us
bring back accountability and lets change
Nigeria positively.
Culled: IBNET www.aibnetwork.blogspot.com