The sun scorched. But the mammoth crowd defied it. They milled around the podium, looking up as speaker after speaker took turn to promise a better tomorrow. Defying the scorching sun, pregnant women; mothers with babies strapped to their backs, aged citizens, commercial motorcyclists, youths, among others, queued up in expectation. After the promises and the cheering and dancing, there was a sudden scramble in the crowd. The reason for the scramble was the distribution of food by the candidate of a political party. This scenario is typical of political rallies in Nigeria. Ekiti State, where a governorship election would take place on Saturday, is no exception.
A former governor of the state, Ayo Fayose, who is contesting election next Saturday, has been distributing food item to voters across the state. But many people see distribution of food as a demeaning and cheap way to curry the favour of the electorate. To some analysts, the trend underscores the grinding level of poverty in the polity and the manner by which politicians exploit voters. None of the three leading political parties in the state saw anything bad in the trend. The parties included the All Progressives Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party.
In a telephone interview, Fayose's Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, said that the trend is normal. He claimed that the All Progressives Congress also does the same and that Fayose did it out of human sympathy. "It is a normal thing. Fayemi also does it. If we did it, there is nothing bad in that. It is to show human feeling," Adelusi said. Spokesperson for Opeyemi Bamidele, who is the candidate of LP, Ahmed Salami, also said that there was nothing wrong with the development. He added that it was a way of wooing the electorate to ones side. However, Segun Dipe, the Media Director for the APC candidate, Governor Kayode Fayemi, denied the allegation that his organisation gave out food item this campaign season. He said, "The only time we give out food items is during festive season. I don't think we gave anything out during this campaign season; not to my knowledge." But Dipe stated that there is nothing wrong with giving out things to the people during campaign period. "This is campaign season and you can do anything to get the people to your side. There is nothing wrong with giving the people rice or any other thing." It will be recalled that Fayose became popular in Ekiti State when he distributed water to communities ahead of the 2003 governorship election. He also distributed household items among his teeming followers, riding on the back of this action to the Government House.
Right now in the state, a lot of houses have branded bags of rice with the inscription of the PDP logo and pictures of Fayose on them. So far, it has been reported that Fayose has distributed about 30,000 units of five-kilogram bag of rice. The food-sharing politics in the state started some days ago as wherever Fayose's campaign rally berths becomes the 'food distribution centre'. The distribution of this food item cut across all demography, ethnicity, and the only criterion to earn a bag of rice is to show the party membership cards. Regardless of the weather, many people would queue, beaming with smile as they expect their share of the 'Fayose rice'.
Sometimes when the food item does not go round, the sheer disappointment and shattered hopes could easily be seen on their faces and as they disperse with some muttering that they hope he comes again soon or they meet him at his next campaign rally.
On several occasions, Fayose has been heard saying, "If you don't have a card stop following me. You are useless to me, I see you as a thug." The PDP candidate also took its campaign to the state's tertiary institutions, distributing rice to students and telling them to vote for him in the forthcoming election. Like the rest of the state, the students greeted the development with enthusiasm and open arms.
The queues were usually long although not everyone got a bag of rice but to brighten their mood, the governorship candidate left with a promise to meet them at the point of their need when voted into power. At a point in time, Fayose was accused of distributing expired rice to the people. But he denied the claim. He said he cooked and ate from the rice being distributed. Dipe said, "He (Fayose) should make sure that he distributed good food items and not expired ones. He should give the people things that would make them pray for him and not something that would send them to the hospital."
However, some Nigerians have expressed displeasure over this development. They believe that instead of dishing out food which would serve as a temporary relief to the people, candidates are supposed to reel out their manifestos to the people, stating how they intend to better their lives in the long term. Popular actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekehinde, took to her twitter account to vent her anger over the issue. According to her, such acts should be made a crime punishable under the law. She tweeted, "Isn't sharing of things during election by political parties' bribery and corruption/manipulation? Why is this not a crime under the law?"
A lawyer, Tony Atambi, said that such acts were unacceptable and Nigeria should move away from such politics. He tweeted, "Whether it was Fayose or Fayemi that gave those bags of rice, it is unjustified. We should move away from this kind of politics."
In a telephone interview with our correspondent, human right activist and lawyer, Femi Falana, said that such a tactic by any governorship candidate is unacceptable under the law. Quoting Section 124 of the amended 2010 Electoral Act, the lawyer stated that it is a serious offence for any candidate to induce voters with money or food items. He said that as Fayose was not prosecuted for the act, it might make other candidates believe that the law is dead. "Since Fayose was not arrested or prosecuted, other candidates are made to believe that the law is dead. It is a serious offence for any candidate to induce voters with money and food items. But the country is presently operated on the basis of impunity. The candidate of the PDP openly distributed bags of rice and money last week. The other day, President Goodluck Jonathan said publicly that the money he earmarked for delegates in Kano State in 2011 was not delivered by Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso. Did the Independent National Electoral Commission react to the confessional statement?
"In 1999, Chief Olu Falae proved in court that salt and other materials were distributed by the PDP. The court confirmed the criminality but there was no evidence that General Olusegun Obasanjo authorised the illegal action. I am sure the attention of Mr. Fayose was not drawn to that case," Falana said.
Another Lagos-based lawyer, Bamidele Aturu, in a telephone interview, also condemned Fayose's action. He described the act as a shameful practice, stating that those who indulging in such are not confident of their manifesto. He said, "It is a shameful practice, a corruption of the electoral process and those who are engaged in such should bury their heads in shame. It shows that they are not confident that their manifesto can give them votes. In a sense, it shows that they are celebrating poverty and encouraging the public to be dependent on token gifts from contestants. It is a clear violation of the electoral act because they are bribing voters. INEC should disqualify anyone involved in this practice. I condemn it and I think all Nigerians that love democracy should condemn the act."
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