In my days in UNIBEN, during the Hall 3 elections in 2003, campaigns were at a peak. My friend and class rep, Omo-ovie Ogaga Akpos was running for the position of Secretary General along with Lawrence Ogunyemi AKA Lawrencium (if you stayed in Hall 3 and did not know Lawrencium, you were not a student).
For the position of Hall “Share Man”, we had Engr. Abel Ubeku(who was eventually elected) and my friend Engr. Joseph Stephens Eguabor. One of the candidates (I cannot remember his name now) promised to ensure that ceiling fans were fixed in all the rooms in the Hostel (Hian!!!! Nwanze and Ofuani na your parents?)
While contesting for the position of LAWSA Congressman(we were the only faculty that had a congress) in our Freshman year (sorry, I am trying to sound tush), Barr Bright Igbinosa Bright promised to ensure, as part of the every of his mandate(abi na woman-date) that all our lectures were held in the Faculty of Law and we did not have to “zozo” to other places like Basement, A1-A4, B1-B3 et cheteram(Chief Zebrudaya, 1825) for ENL 112,ENL 122,ENL 113 ENL 123, ECO 111, ECO 121, POL 111 and POL 121. See liver na!!! You wan kari Oriakhi, Otoghile, Epelle, Bello Dirisu(happy are those who did not have to write ENL 113 and 123 more than once) to Faculty of Law. I have never known my friend to visit Kwale or Ukwuani area sha!!!
Bright eventually became a member of the Congress ,but till I left 100 Level, apart from the traditional Legal Methods(PUL 111 and 121), Logic(JIL 111 and 121), and Okwechime and Kola Eke (I do not want to remember those guys…)no other lecture held in law faculty.
Away from the introduction. I see folks dissipate energy over the fact that the ruling party has not been able to fulfil its campaign promises. I laugh in Bachama language. Since when did politicians intend to fulfil their campaign promises? Our politicians here would promise to put split-unit ACs in Hell, they would promise to build boreholes in the desert and the “sweet, sweet” things the electorate want to hear. Waiting for the APC to fulfil their campaign promises ehn, you go grow bia bia for teeth. “Fortunately” for them, they have a fine excuse-oil prices have fallen drastically and Jonathan in collabo with Dasuki “stole” all our money.
I ran through the campaign promises the immediate past president made in 2011 while campaigning. He tried sha, but a lot of them were unfulfilled-even after four years. Politicians will continue to tell us what we want them to say. Things that appeal to us. Campaigns are about who tell the greatest lies, about who said the sweetest words, even when the candidate does not have the slightest intention to fulfil them.
I read through the campaign promises of this administration and I did not see how they would be fulfilled, but in the situation during the campaign period, those words were ‘USPs” that won the people to them. I imagined the smiles they would share in private, knowing that the electorates had bought “gbanjo for jankara” (Sunny Neji, 2001). It was simply a case of what the Hausas would call “cinikin biri a kan itace”. Now, you want them to fulfil the promises under seven months? Bros, I like your faith oo!!!
Unfortunately, even when the candidates stand for re-election, the electorate does not judge them by how far they have fulfilled the promise earlier made. They do not judge them by how far they have fulfilled the said promises. They make a fresh set of promises and we clap for them while we wait for their tenures to end.
Politicians and Campaign Promises: How Realistic?
czar'smusings 