How to avert voter apathy in Lagos, by LASIEC

Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) yesterday expressed worries over recurrent voter apathy in the state, urging traditional rulers and community leaders to mobilise people for future local government polls.

Its chairman, Justice Fatai Adeyinka (rtd), lamented the decline in the turnout of registered voters at periodic elections. He said democracy cannot be sustained by the reluctance of people to choose or reject their leaders during elections. The former Chief Judge of Lagos State said, since local government is the closest to the grassroots, more people should turn out to vote for the chairmanship and councillorship candidates.

Adeyinka spoke in Lagos at the ‘Civic populace stakeholders’ forum’ organised by the commission. It was attended by representatives of the state Council of Obas and Chiefs, market men and women associations, council chairmen and councillors, and community development associations. At the forum, a member of Lagos State House of Assembly, Mrs. Funmilayo Tejuoso, delivered a lecture titled: “Building a culture of effective representation: The role of a civic populace”. She said the people have uncritically confused the roles of the legislature with the executive, thereby rebuking legislators for lapses committed by the executive arm of government. Tejuoso pointed out that many voters expected lawmakers to construct roads and provide other social amenities, despite the fact that they lack the constitutional power to implement the budget.

Frowning at voters’ apathy, he said: “Organising elections in which participation and turnout is low is a frustrating experience for election managers. Low turnout at elections denies the populace the opportunity to exercise their civic right and duty”.

In 2008, 4.1 million voters registered ahead of the council polls. Only 1,5 million voted, representing 25 percent of the registered voters. The figures declined in 2011. While 6.1 million voters registered, 781,363 voted, representing 12.76 per cent.

Adeyinka appealed to Lagosians to embrace voting at grassroots elections as a patriotic duty in the interest of democracy. He said a vibrant and active civic populace should promote public trust, foster accountability and build support for democratic values in the state by participating in governance through the choice of democratic leaders.

The LASIEC boss highlighted the roles of the community leaders in mobiisation for democracy. He said: “The role of the civic populace in any democracy is of utmost importance as these groups are the closest to the grassroots. The civic populace interacts with the electorate on daily basis. They also provide spiritual, moral and commercial assistance to the people. The elders and leaders can significantly influence the level of citizen education and participation and contribute to the transparency and fairness in any electoral process”.

Urging the traditional and religious leaders to discharge their obligations to the polity, Adeyinka said they should build a culture of encouraging their people to appreciate the significance of periodic elections. He added: “We all have the right to take part in the governance of this nation, directly or indirectly, by choosing our representatives through the electoral process. The collective will and trust of our people are the basis of authority of government. This authority is exercised periodically through the conduct of elections into various offices”.

Tejuoso, who is a former deputy speaker of the House of Assembly, conducted political education for participants at the forum. She stressed the constitutional attainment of school certificate for eligible office holders in the country, adding that aspirants are not required to forge the certificate, even if they came out with poor results.

The legislator also highlighted the functions of the legislature, clarifying that they are not in charge of execution of projects. She pointed out that House of Representatives members may implement some constituency projects because they get constituency allowances for them. But she said that state legislators can only lobby the executive to attract projects to their constituencies.

Tejuoso stressed: “It is important to quickly point out that legislators don’t construct roads, award contracts, provide water or electricity. It is not our job, but that of the executive. Legislators lobby to get some of these things done, to attract these things to our constituencies. Basically, our responsibilities revolve around making laws that would bring about good governance in all ramifications”.

The lawmaker said effective representation also required gathering views of constituents and reflecting them at the level of decision making. She however lamented that the economic downturn had beclouded the perception of the people about the roles of the legislators.

Tejuoso said: “Because of the poverty challenges, we have become the provider of solutions to economic challenges in our constituencies. Many of our constituents approach us for financial help during the wedding and naming ceremonies of their children. When we wake up, people are lining up to see us. When we get to the office, people are waiting to see us. When we get home in the night, they are there to see us for solutions to their economic problems. Unfortunately, the resources available are never sufficient to meet these challenges”.

The lawmaker said when a legislators boasts of attracting good roads to their constituencies, people usually discourage them by urging them to “tar our mouths, instead of tarring our toads”. Tejuoso also complained that street urchins, popularly known as ‘area boys’ often harass lawmakers, oblivious of the fact they depend on their salaries to survive.

She urged the constituents to cooperate with the legislature by furnishing information on the needs of their needs to the legislators who live among them. She said that the people can also monitor the implementation of government projects by reporting to the appropriate agencies the observable lapses of the contractors on site. Tejuoso however, warned them not to convert project monitoring into an opportunity to extort the contractors, warning that it would be counter-productive.

The lawmaker also urged the people to project government’s assets and projects in their environment. She said maintenance culture involves the protection of public utilities, especially roads, transformers, hospitals and other social infrastructure, adding that people should also refrain from building on canals.

Tejuoso added: “Let it be known that legislators are not out to steal money. As we request for your cooperation, you must appreciate that the communal interest must supersede individual interest. So, instead of abusing us that we have not given you money, you should criticise us if your roads are not tarred”.