By Femi Ogunshola, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it, is like wrapping a present and not giving it,” says William Arthur Ward, a renowned writer of inspirational maxim.
This is the situation playing out in Nigeria’s political space, as politicians who went begging the electorate for votes, never bothered to go back to express their gratitude after electoral victories.
Previously, `after fierce battle with their opponents’ successful politicians usually make a triumphant ride back, to their constituencies to appreciate the people.
Even losers, sometime go back to thank the people for the support received, as they still hoped to represent their aspiration.
Regrettably, that culture appeared to have gone, but with a new dimension.
A new culture has enveloped the political landscape, as supporters now fall over themselves to pay solidarity visits, either as group, social cultural organisations, among others, to their elected representatives.
Mr Abiola Farounbi, a political analyst, who commented on the development, noted that the political climate, especially in the 4th Republic, the nature of political campaign and votes’ soliciting keeps evolving every four years.
According to him, Nigerian politicians in the past will usually return to pay a thank you visit, after a tortuous campaign, to solicit support from voters that eventually earned them victory.
During the thank you visit, Farounbi said, the politicians would enunciate how they would galvanise the interests of the people, group and geo-political zones to national reckoning and meet their political aspirations.
Farounbi, nonetheless, expressed worry that such culture was fast losing its hold in place of solidarity visits.
He lamented that party loyalists, supporters and groups rather than allow politicians to return to them for a thank you visit, they would instead embark on solidarity visits to politicians who dole out largess.
Farounbi said that the new trend of paying solidarity visits to politicians irrespective of the office the individual occupies, negates the African culture that values appreciation.
According to him, the 2019 general election has come and gone, various oaths of office have been taken, but only a fraction of the elected officials went back to their various constituencies to say thank you.
“One wonders why it is difficult for the 21st century politicians to develop the habit of visiting their constituents with the zeal and vigour they used in campaigning to embark on a thank you visit,” Farounbi said.
He added that it was necessary for politicians and elected officers to familiarise themselves more with the people after elections, in order to appreciate those who stood in the sun to elect them.
He disclosed that engagements with some of the elected officers revealed that they spent a lot of money during electioneering campaigns; hence they may feel reluctant to embark on the thank you visit, which may involve further spending.
Farounbi stated that royal fathers were not left out, stating that they had complained of politicians coming for political endorsements when soliciting for votes.
He, however, said that after emerging victorious at the polls, they usually never deemed it fit to come back for a thank you visit.
He called on upcoming politicians to imbibe the right culture and ensure that they start on a right path by visiting their constituencies on a thank you visit, after electoral victories.
According to him, politicians should make it a point of duty to always visit their constituencies on appreciation and thank you tour, irrespective of the outcome of the election.
“We hope there will be a cultural shift and politicians will begin to see that the real power belongs to the electorate who make it possible for them to be elected.’’
Olabode Towoju, a chieftain of the All Progressives of Congress (APC) in Kwara State, noted that the dying culture of thank you visit, was a pointer to the way and manner the society has degenerated.
According to him, it is painful when as a people we work tirelessly for a cause and having emerged victorious, only for politicians to jettison the support they enjoyed from the people.
He said that the most disturbing aspect was that the same politicians would deem it fit to patronise the people once they noticed that another four years was beckoning.
Towoju said that as a politician, his own idea of thank you visit would rather be for all politicians to give quality representation and dividends of democracy back to their people.
The Kwara born politician noted that in a situation where politicians become self- serving and see the people as only looking for money as a way of saying thank you could be disastrous.
“Naturally, politicians cannot pick everyone’s call, that is why provisions of aide is very important, they can always make use of their aides to respond to the people who elected them into office.’’
“A clear case is a business associate of mine, who has been refusing to pick his people’s calls, (those)who elected him, neither did he make any attempt to visit them, the people complained to me; but the consequences was fatal.’’
According to Towoju, this singular act completely eroded all the goodwill he acquired over the years and he has since gone into political oblivion, after that tenure.
Towoju stated that although it was not always necessary for politicians to embark on a voyage of thank you, just for the sake of it, adding however that what people needed was dividends of democracy and good representation.
Touching the lives of ordinary people, according to him, remains the potent weapon of paying back the sacrifice and loyalty of the electorate.
He said that politicians and elected officers could embark on the jamboree of a thank you visit after election, but could not attract anything to their constituencies.
Towoju said that he would prefer an elected officer that paid his own thank you visit through provision of democracy dividends and inclusive representation.
On his part, Abdulalhi Usman, a politician, said that the eroding culture of thank you visit should be restored.
He called on politicians to as a matter of respect for the people, discourage solidarity visits after elections, but to rather go back to the people to say thank you, for their support, dedication and loyalty.
