23rd March, 2012
For the Nigerian masses to fully experience succour and get government to wholeheartedly do their bidding, they must be consciously involved in the political process.
Senator Babafemi Ojudu, who stated this at a forum in Ado-Ekiti, said most Nigerians had given in to political passivity by completely shunning the political process due to years of disappointment and betrayal by the political class.
Ojudu said although this action is justified, there is, however, a greater need for the masses to realize that the only way out lies in their ability to be able to negotiate with their political strength which they can only acquire by being fully involved in the political process.
He added that people should not just crawl into their professional holes, instead they should join political parties and organise themselves in such a way that they can bargain with their strength, stressing that being a professional does not mean you should stay away from politics and watch others toy with your well-being.
While attributing the failure of the political class to cater for the needs of the people to the obvious disconnect between them and those that they represent, Ojudu said the masses are too aloof that they allow leaders to be foisted on them.
He argued that most so-called people’s representatives did not ascend to power through mass support, but were ‘anointed’ by party leadership, who, most times, do not even understand the language of the common man.
So rather than represent the masses, such political office holders soon become representatives of the political class.
Ojudu, who represents Ekiti Central in the Senate, noted that the Nigerian masses could change this trend by being fully involved in party affairs to the extent that they would be able to make their own choice who would be truly representative of their aspirations.
He further stated that the masses who are already party members should stop going after crumbs, rather they should organise themselves in such a manner that their numerical strength would be felt in their respective parties. He advised that they should shed the toga of hopelessness which most times dictates that only the affluent and the well-connected can aspire to high political offices.
The lawmaker said he has never believed that everything would just work out smoothly for the masses through prayers or just by voting in elections, adding that it is the masses who can fight for the change that they desire through their genuine political representatives, which according to him is presently in scarce quantity in the country.
He stressed the need for the Nigerian masses to do more than just voting every four years, adding that their strategy should be to organise themselves into a strong political unit that cannot be easily overlooked by the political leadership.