By Brave Dickson
A Rivers State-born peacebuilding expert, Mr Borve Paago has urged Nigerians to always vote out politicians who do not operate within the confines of extant laws in the country as well as those who are not interested in building peace within their constituencies.
Mr Paago who doubles as Search For Common Ground, Head Office for Niger Delta Region attributed the non-participation in peacebuilding process by politicians in their respective constituencies to be the reason why politicians are fencing themselves with security agents.
While urging the judicial arm of government to be bold in adjudicating for justice, the peacebuilding expert who dropped the hint in a chat with our correspondent also advised politicians to desist from making and implementing laws in their favour at the detriment of the masses.
He said: “The judicial arm of government should wake up to its role of adjudication. It should be able to caution and punish defaulters, regardless of who you are. We have seen it in other countries where people were incarcerated. Why does the Nigerian governance system operate in negativity and very backwards in terms of standard governance globally? Why does the Nigerian system not functioning even when we have the best brains in this country? And so I call on the citizens of this country to begin a process of retiring politicians who do not respond within the confines and definitions of the laws of our land.
“So it hopes on our mandate bearers (politicians) to drive the process of peace which they are not doing. While the citizens are living in fear due to insecurity, our mandate bearers are using security agents to fence themselves in crises areas. It is an abnormally, they need to now key into existing projects of peace and a lot of them exist in the Niger Delta.
“if you look at the political structure, every person is being represented somewhere. Whether you are at the local government level, you are also represented at the state and federal levels, So, whether you are a governor or president, the first and most important thing is that you have a minute unit of representation being where you originated from which is your constituency.
“Mandate bearers have continuously isolated themselves from peacebuilding platforms, maybe they are afraid of being called names but they forgot that if they refuse to be part of the peacebuilding process, they will find themselves being mentioned anyhow someday. But if they support the process, the masses will appreciate them for trying their little best. It is that little best the masses need from them.
“Every mandate bearer was a citizen first before emerging to a position of authority. Let them come back home and key into peace advocacies in their localities. So that the grassroots level can have vibrant support from them. Some of the politicians do not visit their constituencies anymore for fear of intimidation or being stoned. Let them come and fraternize and imbibe the idea of peace.
“There are a lot of mixtures that are making the laws in this country to be ineffective. Our legislations are restrictive and are targeting at a particular section of the population. Therefore, extant laws and regulations guiding elections and conducts of political parties should be reviewed to suit modern realities.
“The formulators and implementers of the laws should not make the laws to target those who are outside the cycles of their comfort. For instance, the senate does not want to make a law against itself. These are factors inhibiting good governance in Nigeria. So, there should not be a divide in law-making and implementation in the country. Everybody should first be seen as a citizen before being seen as a representative of the people. And so much more is expected of politicians in terms of obedience and compliance to the law.
