Vice President Orji Kalu Angling for Second Class Citizenship?

At least, Governor Kalu is certainly not afraid or even respectful of President Obasanjo, Kalu makes grave accusations and allegations against the president so frequently! Kalu should have been promoting his manifestoes, his public policy ideas instead of his focus those baseless allegations upon accusations.

Less than one year to the general elections in Nigeria in 2007, why is it, the candidates are not campaigning and educating the electorate with manifestoes, policies and programs

We should be asking the candidates, what are their plans are for our infrastructures, plans for employment, plans for well equipped and efficient hospitals, improved schools for better education, plans for generation and transmission electricity and plans to make water available for domestic and industrial consumption, where are your manifestoes for better life in Nigeria and better domestic and foreign policies?

Why don’t political opponents concentrate on selling themselves as good candidates?

Why won’t anyone, interested in public office in Nigeria concentrate in promoting ideas, issues, policies and programs? Why won’t candidates with strength of character, credibility and integrity promote their passion for public service? Why won’t they convince the electorate that they are suitable and even better alternatives, best alternatives compared to past and present crop of public office holders?

A manufacturer or seller of a good and better soap, a soap with greater lather, a soap thatcleans my clothes best, must promote that soap to me, the end user, the judge, instead of talking of he other guy’s soap, or that the other guy makes terrible soap! A smart manufacturer or seller should not talk-down to consumers. A smart politician should not talk-down or distract the electorate.

A smart politician should show respect to the electorate, concentrate on the issues, also concentrate on educating the electorate about ideas, the issues, the policies and programs. But instead, some politicians are busily focusing on the third term debate exclusively and at the expense of educating the electorate with concrete plans, policies and programs.

Nigerians politicians should convince the electorate of their passions, ideas, policies and programs which are essentially their products, which is what they must convince the electorate to buy into. Nigerian politicians must do this and leave it to the electorate to do the comparative analyses between past, present office holders and the aspirant.

Let the electorate be convinced that you are a suitable replacement for what they already have or have had, convince the electorate that you are suitable and superbly better than, the other guy, the incumbent. An incumbent can be defeated, third term or not!

The third term bogey or distractions have become the only selling point for politicians who have nothing to say by way of ideas, policies and programs. The other guy or the incumbent should not be our politicians’ only rallying cry, Incumbents should not be our politicians major selling point, the other guy, (the incumbents) if anything, should only be a point of reference, by the way of contrasting aspirants to current office holders.

Political campaigns and electioneering is akin to selling or marketing products. Let say, I have a product, it is a good product, this soap produces better lather per cubic feet and it is better value for your Naira and by the way, it is better than that nameless soap that you currently use.

Sadly, what we have now is, a new soap seller in the community or country, who is intent on telling us, harping, harping and harping on it, that the soap we have been using, the soap that we are used to, and still purchasing, about which we have had some complaints, is the worst soap. But perhaps we already know that! In any case, let us be the judge.

Now, it is as if someone is compelled to watch the same advertisement or commercial on television over and over again, and repeatedly being told how product “A”, but the sponsor never say anything about the product “B” that he is trying to promote. Product “B” which the sponsor hopes we will accept as a replacement of product “A” but the sponsor of the advertisements or commercials. He keeps on harping on the lack of quality or lack of endearing attributes in a competing product “A”. And after months and months of hearing these sorts of adverts, I expect reasonably intelligent listeners to be bored stiff and tired and sick of the monotonous monologue and debate about the other guy’s bad product, without the sponsor of the adverts ever, introducing the competing brand “B” product. And without trying to demonstrate convincingly, how the new product “B” is a better product.

Political opponent and opposition to Nigeria current government at all levels must begin scheduled demonstrations in words and actions, in campaigns and in manifestoes which must establish why they are better alternatives or hope to be better alternatives. The Nigerian electorate knows what there is currently or what exists.

The unknowns and never before mentioned alternatives, have not been explained to the Nigerian electorate. Harping on and repeatedly asserting that your competitors are bad, does not promote your ideas or products. We must learn to promote the ideas and the issues and the policies and programs that will make the lives of Nigerians better than it is now and make Nigeria great for the benefit of all of Nigerians.