Road to 2023: University don advocates issue-based campaigns, says ethnic, religious politics rocking polity

From Judex Okoro, Calabar

University of Calabar don, Prof. Chris Nwamuo, has advocated an issue-based campaigns as politicians traverse the country canvassing for votes from the electorate.

Nwamuo noted that it is high time candidates and political parties stopped playing ethnic and religious cards during electioneering, saying  such issues are capable of rocking our political system in 2023.

Speaking at Ibeku community APC Stakehokders’ Forum held recently with the theme, “voter education and peaceful electioneering processes,” the University of Calabar orator decried a situation where electorate tend to give attention to candidates’ tribal origin, religious background and personalities than to the latter’s political programme and ideology.

He stated that there is urgent need “for a active and serious continuous civic and voter education anchored on the imperative to embrace issue-dominated politics because it has more potential to bring about change, sustainable development and lasting peace in a polity.

“So with issue-based campaigns, people representatives go to office having specific issues to be addressed as key element of their political agenda.

“Issue-centred politics has enormous potentials of bringing about serious socio-economic development while persoanlity-dominated politics, as experienced in the country, is susceptible to breed conflict and community unrest.”

On electoral violence, Nwamuo said there is also need to sensitise politicians and their political movements towards being responsible and disciplined during electioneering as  most incidences of political violence are endangered directly or indirectly by the actions of politicians.

On voter apathy, the renowned professor attributed it to many factors including the belief that votes will not count, the belief that leadership candidates will be selected and not elected, that the real election results will be doctored or written and on the belief in vote buying culture.

He listed other factors to include fear of whether BIVAS will work in the coming election and taunted electronic transmission of results to INEC office is a fluke, the belief that corruption cannot allow a free and fair election as well  as the belief that staying back to watch the counting of votes is tantamount to exposing one’s life to danger

He suggested galvanising the potential voters to particiapte in elections so as to enable the real expression  of the majority to be known at the end of electoral exercise, adding that political apathy has never been a solution to bad governance.