Politicians bribing voters hinders good governance

A former speaker of the Osun House of Assembly, Prof. Mojeed Alabi, has blamed the politics of “stomach infrastructure,” for the low delivery of good governance in the country.

Alabi asserted while delivering the 40th anniversary lecture of Ede Unique Club, in Ede town.

He said that the politics of stomach infrastructure, which entails public office seekers giving handouts to curry votes, had prevented Nigerians from asking their leaders questions on good governance.

Alabi said that due to the politics of stomach infrastructure, the electorate no longer cares about good governance, but only what they get as immediate benefits.

“By the time you reduce vote-catching strategies to merely inviting people to your house, killing cow, feeding, and giving them one or two Naira to vote, it compromises the future of what they ordinarily should have asked for,” he said.

Alabi, who is the current Provost of College of Law, Osun State University, said that due to the politics of stomach Infrastructure, people no longer ask questions about the capacity of politicians vying for elective posts.

He said that instead of the electorate asking questions on whether the aspirant has the capacity to lead, “what they are after is whether the person has money.”

Alabi said that stomach infrastructure was a function of a debased society and put the blame on both the electorate and the leadership.

He appealed to political leaders to always put the interest of the masses first by providing them with the real dividends of democracy.

In his remarks, Alhaji Ganiu Omowabi, the President of the club, said the group in the last 40 years of its existence had been known as a breeding ground for leaders in various fields of endeavours.

Omowabi said the group, which was founded in 1983 as an organisation of young men, had grown to become one of the longest-surviving bodies of its kind.

The president said that as part of activities to celebrate its anniversary, the club had donated N5.5 million worth of solar power facility to Ede General Hospital.

He tasked other non-governmental organisations to continue to support the government in providing basic amenities to the people.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the highlight of the event was the presentation of a fellowship award on infrastructure development to Governor Ademola Adeleke.

Other personalities were also given a special recognition award, including Mr Wale Abass, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police.

(NAN)