There is no doubt that local government elections are important in the political history of Nigeria. This is because it marks a turning point in the development of the country.

One major issue that cannot be overlooked is that local government councils are the third tier level of government after the state and federal governments. Its existence became very imperative in 1976 when the then military Head of State, Gen Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd) and his second-in-command, late Gen Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, took a far-reaching decision to create that form of government. Their aim was to establish a system of government that allows for closer interaction and interface with the grassroots, and a cadre of leaders, with root in the communities, who would better understand and appreciate the challenges of rural development, and tackle them at that level, without necessarily going the whole hub of attracting state and federal government attention, for all problems.

Since then, the rural dwellers have been feeling the presence of government in virtually all aspects of life, including employment and empowerment of the teeming populace at the countryside. It was essentially for this reason that  the Federal Government has often increased budgetary allocations to the local government administration.

This is to enable the elected council chairmen and their councilors to strategically address the developmental needs of the grassroots, as spelt out in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In fact, the mandates given the elected leader at the local government level by the people are geared towards making life comfortable for the rural folks in order to justify the huge responsibilities placed on their shoulders by not just the Constitution but the electorate.

According to Karl Marx, he greatest social scientist of our time, “to raise the peasant to the position of the ruling class is to win the battle of democracy.” To underscore the significance of this maxim, and bring it to bear on our local environment, the whole essence of government and democracy, all the political parties, opinion leaders and stakeholders in the local government areas of Rivers State, and most other states in Nigeria, came together, and agreed on the principle of zoning as a way of ensuring good governance, equal and equitable representation, and spread of development across all sections of the communities and local governments.

This, indeed, has resulted in the zoning of the chairmanship and councillorship positions among the various communities in the local government areas to avoid unnecessary controversies arising from cheating, marginalisation, domination, suppression, and other antics used by political heavyweights to sideline less privileged or endowed communities in the control of the resources of the local governments.

In Rivers State, for instance, this system of government has been in place for a long time, thereby making it possible for most communities to enjoy the dividends of democracy. It has created political leaders in communities where none would have emerged without any such strategy in place.

Apart from that, the zoning formula has also brought about competition amongst the elected council officials as most of them strive to do better than the others in the running of the councils. Even development projects are now spread across the communities to give all the people a sense of belonging. Perhaps, the result of this is the fact that some of the local governments that observe and respect the zoning principle have had more peace, stability and development than others who have flagrantly abused the zoning formula.

Of course, the concept of zoning, if strictly followed and adhered to by all the local government areas, would reduce frequent frictions and cases of electoral violence, because those whose turn it is to produce the next council chairman will wash their eyes thoroughly and present credible, mature and qualified candidates to run for elective offices  during local government polls.

But the question now is: Has this zoning principle been fully applied in the emergence of candidates for tomorrow’s local government elections in all the political parties? Are we sure that cases of imposition of candidates did not rear its ugly head again this time around? Are we sure that only credible candidates that are incorruptible, have exemplary leadership qualities, and are above sectional interest are chosen to contest for the plum jobs at the third tiers of government?

As the local government elections slated for Saturday, May 21, draws to a decisive moment, there are already complaints of violation of the zoning principle in the election of candidates during the recently concluded party primaries. Even the screening of party candidates by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has raised tension amongst some political parties and leaders, some whom have already complained of attempts to undermine their candidates’’ chances of scaling the hurdles set forth by the state elections umpire.

Talking of the zoning arrangement, it is already clear that some of the candidates contesting in tomorrow’s elections are sponsored by old politicians, or better still, money bags, who still play the game of godfatherism. If the last series of elections in April for National Assembly, president, governors/state Houses of Assembly are anything to go by, these politicians who have failed to play by the rules of the game should allow the RSIEC borrow a leaf from the present Independent National Electoral Commission headed by Prof Mohammed Attahiru Jega, which has exhibited zero tolerance for any form of rigging and malpractice.

The  so-called godfathers, who had messed up the system in the past, have now staged a come back with their clique, putting finishing touches on how to truncate the zoning method, and cause confusion in most local governments of the state. But given the feelers from the last local government administrations across the state, and the abysmal performance of majority of the chairmen, it is incumbent on Rivers people to look inwards, and carefully elect credible people of their choice to run the affairs of the local governments, irrespective of party leanings.

Security agencies and their operatives should ensure that they are on top of the situation to avoid break down of law and order, chaos and anarchy. Already, the state Commissioner of Police, Suleiman Abbah, has warned trouble makers to stay clear of polling centres tomorrow, as the more than 20,000 security personnel deployed to manage the polls have been placed on red alert to deal decisively with anyone caught violating the electoral laws.

In addition to that, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi had earlier given an assurance that votes must count this time around, and that the electorate’s rights would be respected. I think the only way to guarantee sustainable democracy and development in the polity is for stakeholders to respect the laws of the land, conduct themselves in an orderly fashion, and allow the electorate to decide who governs them at the local government level. It is only when the people are allowed to freely decide their faith and destiny would peace and democracy rule the state, and indeed, the nation.

Nwauwa, a public affairs analyst, writes from Port Harcourt.

Magnus Nwauwa