The debate on who should reap the fruit of sacrifice(s) made during the election has been ongoing for long. While public office holder(s) tend to favor the technocrats more, the politicians usually feel short-changed: that they have been used and dumped by the elected politician(s). Recently, the camp of the politician(s) who played several role(s) to unseat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo state has been in disarray, due to the appointments made so far by the Governor of the state, Engineer Seyi Makinde. They feel that the “technocrats” who did “nothing” during the electioneering process are being appointed to serve in the government, while the politician(s), who traversed the whole of the state to canvass for votes are being neglected. Are technocrats truly “irrelevant” during electioneering process?
Technocrats is an adherent of technocracy (Merriam-Webster Dictionary): a proposed system of governance in which decision-makers are selected on the basis of their expertise in a given area of responsibility, particularly with regard to scientific or technical knowledge. The term rose to prominence in the United States of America in 1919, when Engineer Howard Scott formed a group of engineers that later proposed a new form of economic management as a radical response to the Great Depression. In Nigeria parlance, technocrats are the people who are mostly captain of industries, appointed by elected public officers to steer governance and work towards the success of elected officers. They are the Ministers, Commissioners’, Special Advisers (SAs), whom are mostly not card-carrying members of political parties. Because they are not card-carrying member(s) of political parties, and mostly invisible during the electioneering process, politicians usually feel that the technocrats are “eating” where they did not prepare the “food”. Do technocrats really “eat” where they did not cook? It may then be important to look at few of the roles they played before, during and after election(s).
• Major financier of election(s):Election, especially in this part of the world, gulp a whole lot of money! Unlike in the advanced democracies: where party members contribute funds to propagate the ideology of the party, it is the responsibility of a candidate that is contesting election(s) in this part of the world, to provide funds for all stages involved in the election. Who provide(s) all these funds that amount to billions of naira? TECHNOCRATS. While politicians are attending rallies and speaking to their friends to vote for the party, technocrats are those that provide the funds spent during those rallies, as well as the funds shared to “mobilize” the politicians to the rally ground.
• Preparation of blueprints/ manifestoes:It is very easy for a member of a political party (politician) to tell the populace about what his/her party will achieve, if and when given opportunity to win election. However, that pamphlet being distributed that detailed what the party (candidate) intend to achieve if and when elected, was a product of “research”, painstakingly done by some people. They traversed the whole of the Local Government/State/Federation, to conduct interviews, participate in their activities, risk their lives, etc before those pamphlets could be produced. Who are the people that produce that well-detailed pamphlets for distribution?
TECHNOCRATS
• Consultation with stakeholders: Among the stakeholders in election(s) are the money-bags, policy-makers, electoral observers, etc. It is the TECHNOCRATS that uses the network of friendship they have built overtime to connect with these key-decision makers, to ensure that they have the support(s) of a particular candidates.
We can go on and on to highlight the roles played by the technocrats before and during the election. However, this does not in anyway indicate that the politicians should not be rewarded for the roles they played during the electioneering process. In actual fact, a greedy politician may thwart the effort(s) of the technocrats within a twinkle of an eye.
What can politician(s) do to ensure that they have a fair share of appointments when their candidates are elected into the position of authority?
A politician who want to be respected by elected public officer should strive to have a source of livelihood, beyond politics. When you do not depend on the crumbs that candidates give out in the course of winning elections, there are chances that they will take you seriously when distributing their appointments.
Beyond having a reliable source of livelihood, politician(s) should be able to add values.
Nobody wants a liability who is not bringing anything valuable to the table. If you are able to distinguish yourself in your field, there would be no reason for you not to be considered for appointments. Politician(s), especially the young folks, should strive to have a sound education, be logical in argument, contribute to a worthy cause, refuse to “sha perspe”, stop being “cyberdogs” to the elected public officers, build a network of friendship across political divides, etc and see whether they would be recognized while sharing appointments or otherwise. Governance is a serious business that should not be handled by charlatans, but those who are competent.
Azeez Shuaib, a member of Oyo State Youth Parliament writes from Ibadan.
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