What Does An incumbent Need Reelection Campaign For?

Recently, the governor of Anambra State, Mr. Willie Obiano commissioned his second term reelection campaign office in Awka, Anambra State, an edifice which the Chairman of his reelection campaign office, Chief Victor Umeh claimed to be the best in the whole of the state amongst all candidates contesting for that office as if we don’t know that it was the state’s resources that was used to erect such a gigantic structure just to see that a man who has been governor for three and half years is reelected into an office he is still occupying.

Shameful it is to me that Nigerians don’t ask questions, neither do we bother to challenge certain issues and situations we find appalling to us, rather, we seat, watch things go wrong and complain without doing anything to remedy the situation.

Question is, WHAT DOES AN INCUMBENT WHO HAS SUPPOSEDLY WORKED FOR HIS PEOPLE NEED TO CAMPIGN AGAIN FOR?

If I am made a Counselor today and I stay in office for 3yrs, my reason for asking for a reelection would be, THE THINGS I DID FOR THE PEOPLE WHILE IN OFFICE and not promises of, I WILL, I WILL, I WILL as though I am coming out to ask for fresh mandate as a fresh candidate. We must as Nigerians stand up and start making demands of anybody who had held positions of elective post, even those appointed must come before us to give account of their stewardships either on appointive or elective positions, which would be a yardstick for sending them back or sending them packing.

What have you done with the first mandate given to you should be our watchword, as we galvanize through giving people second mandates and reject with force, the case of fresh promises made by people who should be calling out their records before us for examination or re-examination before votes are cast for their return to offices they currently occupy or posts of higher responsibilities.

Using Willie Obiano as the focal point here, I am forced to ask what happened to the office he operated his first campaign from? Why another office built with the people’s money? Of what use is the new campaign office when all he needs to do is CALL FORTH HIS ACHIEVEMENTS IN OFFICE in the last three and half years and use them as a stand-point to ask that they vote for him and if he had done well, THERE SHOULDN’T BE ANY STOPPING HIM AT ALL or what do you think?

Isn’t it a complete waste of state’s resources for an incumbent, either President, Governor or even a Local Government Chairman who claim to have done the work he was sent to do by the people to go about commissioning a new office when all he could do is, tell his people, from his office as Governor, what he has done with the mandate he is still enjoying?

Of what benefit would the commissioning of a new campaign office be to the reelection bid of an incumbent who did not work for his people? Should an incumbent who did exactly the things he told his people he would do for them work so hard to convince them to vote him for continuity? Should he even campaign at all in a real scenario? Shouldn’t the work he did with his previous or current mandate work for his reelection?

So, what exactly would the contributions of that gigantic structure Governor Willie Obiano commissioned recently be to his second term campaign if truly he worked for Anambarians?

Ofcourse, I don’t undermine the fact that there are very big individuals contesting the position with him this time around as freshers, but of what use or importance to his chances of winning this election if he is deserving of the people’s mandate? Shouldn’t what he had done for Ndi-Anambra speak for him? This is not forgetting the fact that he started commissioning a few projects here and there as the campaigns were ongoing and paying backlogs of pension areas of over 16yrs, especially that of Nollywood veteran, Pete Edochie whose son, Yul Edochie is a candidate for the same election on another platform, even though we know he won’t score beyond a few votes, but he is a candidate and his father is being paid his areas of pensions a few weeks before election and we call this what? POLITICAL STRATEGY I SUPPOSE?

I think that the time is coming and that time should be now when politicians would stop deceiving us with promises after they had contested for elections and instead of showing proof of stewardship, they are still making promises.

Lets start making realistic demands from these people, because, when we start to ask the right questions, the right answers will come and Nigeria will be better for it..