Former governor of Niger state, Babangida Aliyu, has said that the nation’s corrupt electoral process has made it impossible for honest people to contest for elections.
Aliyu stated this on Saturday in Kaduna while speaking as a guest at the annual lecture and General Meeting of the Kaduna State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).
He said “one of the issues that may erode the confidence in our system is in our election and electoral system, to the extent that some prominent Nigerians are questioning whether democracy is workable in Nigeria.”
According to him, “The process is so corrupted that it has become impossible for honest and not well-to-do-person to contest election in Nigeria.”
Aliyu, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), served as governor of Niger state for eight years, from 2007 to 2015.
According to him, delegates for primary elections see the nomination process as an avenue to make money from those aspiring for elections.
“The fee for the purchase of forms, the delegates see the nomination process as their opportunity to make money and shamelessly collect from all the aspirants, knowing that they can only cast their votes for one person”, he said.
He added, “At the end of it all, the highest bidder gets nominated. Probably, because of the manner our elections are conducted, the loss of moral values in our body politic, the level of corruption or is it poverty, where sachet of noodle and two yards of cloth can make a person mortgage his four years of life”.
He said, “Little wonder, therefore, most of the election results end up in courts, hence giving the courts the power to elect our leaders.”
He also noted that institutions that ought to have inspired confidence and promote loyalty to the nation have become so weak.
Aliyu said, “Our institutions that should engender confidence and loyalty to the nation have become porous, corrupt, and display total lack of integrity.
“Sale and purchase of appointment both at the civil service and political levels. Most of these offices are supposed to be neutral, non-partisan, and be totally loyal to the country and the government of the day.
“How can that happen when an officer who purchased his offices now knows the beauty of corruption.
“In addition these are the offices that talk, treat and handle issues of ethical sustainable development.
“We may be doomed if we don’t arrest and correct the situation.
“How many of us know the Councillor representing your ward, the members of state Assembly, your members of the House of Representatives, your Senator, not mention your Governor or Minister? “We have a runaway democracy because we, the critical stakeholders, don’t seem to care so long we are in our comfort zone.
“We must pay attention so that those we elect must be reminded of their responsibilities”.
