Second term and incumbency factor

The second term is not to be taken for granted by elected public officers. Rather, a second term is earned by performance during the first term.

There appears to be a prevalent notion in the Nigerian polity that elected officers are expected to do a second term, either as a matter of right or as a matter of might. In either case it appears that the incumbent official is allowed to use all the resources at his disposal to secure that second term, sometimes against the obvious wish of the people. This is a very dangerous trend which needs to be discouraged, and curbed by law if necessary.

The very essence of the two-term tenure proposal is to allow the electorate to return officers who are performing satisfactorily to come back for a second term to continue their good work. Elected officials who perform below expectation or do not maintain adequate level of accountability should be prevented, by popular vote, from coming back for a second term. That’s the idea.

Of course, the efficacy of this proposal depends on the presence of a credible electoral process; one that accurately reflects the wish and vote of the people each time it is exercised. The challenge that our nation appears to be facing right now is how to position the electoral process beyond the corruptive influence of the incumbency factor.

Equally, the efficacy of the proposal depends on the presence of an alternative, in the form of a credible opposition. Such opposition must see the need and use the opportunity to present candidates with enough savvy, competence and integrity to convince the electorate that they are not jumping from frying pan into fire.

Under such circumstances political parties, especially the major ones, would be hard-pressed to put forward only their best candidates for elective offices. The ability of the electorate to go back and forth as they wish would breed healthy competition between the political parties. This can only work to the benefit of the electorate, gradually leading to improvement in the quality of people in public office.

As for the length of each tenure, it is settled that four years is sufficient time for an elected official to show whether he (or she!) is capable or not. Definitely a capable official would have completed some tangible projects in four years. If he has projects which would take longer, then he should have laid visible foundation for the electorate to see. In this case, it is they who would seek for his return to complete the job he started.

At this point in our political development, Nigerians should resist any attempt to change the presidential and gubernatorial tenure. The present tenure will work in the best interest of the electorate. Let us rather focus our energy and attention on other areas of the democratic and developmental process needing improvement.

Shex Ladipo