Fayose’s Victory: A Shame To Democracy-Fashola

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, News Wednesday, June 25th, 2014

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has described the victory of Ayodele Fayose in the Ekiti as a shame to democracy.

The governor said he was appalled by the way the people’s conscience were bought with rice and money to enable Fayose win the poll rather than voting for a governor who had performed creditably.

Gov. Fashola of Lagos state, South-West Nigeria

Speaking after meeting with Vice Chairmen of councils in Lagos, Nigeria on Wednesday, said the poll which brought Fayose as governor for the second time has not come without some concerns and issues needed to be examined.

“I believe that in partisan politics, politicians and political parties should approach the electorate with challenging idea, manifestoes and with the intention to bring change to the state or country and that every election is an assessment of what the people think and how people behave and that is what is inherent in when votes are counted.

“So the lessons that are supposedly coming out of Ekiti are frightening lesson for me. Lesson about whether the people of Ekiti are really saying that this was all about money and rice. This is because that is very easy to do. Developmental work is difficult to initiate and to execute. And developmental work that brings on change which is what every election ask for, will also from time to time occasion debates and policy trust. And which legitimately must be criticized,” he said.

According to Fashola, “it must be a very dangerous message to simply suggest that once you give people money then this is the way it will happen. It is frightening for me in a democracy. But it raises the question of what we have been doing for seven years. Should we just be giving money and when people ask about security, we say that we have giving you money, go and rent your own security?

“ When people ask for healthcare, we say that you have collected money. Is that the model for development? These are lessons and I am not suggesting that we monopolies the debate about what the best policy is. But I am saying that there must be another side. There must be a debate. The debate that recognizes that development comes at a cost. And that even those that are privilege to serve, don’t claim to have a monopoly of ideas.

“And we have demonstrated in Lagos state how flexible we can be about policies if we see a stronger argument. But to simply suggest that APC states where a lot of development is taking place; the road to winning power and we want to keep power and I am not pretentious about that. We want to remain in power but to suggest to us that in the aftermath of this, that the way to do that is to give money, for me it is a very worrisome lesson to learn.”

Fashola said when one looked at the way people had behaved one week before the election, no one could say that Governor Kayode Fayemi will lose the election, saying that worst anyone could say was that the election look close.

“Does a governor whom everyone has said did well, lose in his own ward. If he was such a bad governor, was the deputy too bad. Was the speaker of the house also bad? I know that this may be difficult to convey but I want Nigerians to examine the message and not the messenger,” he added.