Olanrewaju Ajiboye | Saturday, April 22, 2006 |
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MR. FOLARIN SANNI:
SENATORIAL ASPIRANT FOR LAGOS CENTRAL SENATORIAL DISTRICT
UNDER THE PLATFORM OF PDP (www.tunjisanni2007.com)
he Nigeria Political clime is full of frustrations, disappointments and betrayals on the part of the elected to the electors. Good and upright public office holders are few in numbers compared to sophists and opportunists parading themselves as people's representatives
Mr. Folarin Sanni |
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Another opportunity is coming for the renewal of the contract by these so-called elected public officials. As the saying goes, "Power belongs to the people" and that power is vested in one-man, one- vote in a democracy. It is in this context that we the electorate should look before we leap, because our collective wisdom or folly can make or mar our aspirations for peace, progress and development.
If an individual offers himself for public service, he has to a reasonable extent, surrendered his or her privacy for public scrutiny. Based on this, we shall be profiling prospective aspirants on the strength of who they say they are and their level of understanding of the problems confronting the people they aspire to lead. It is for the readers to form an opinion and make up their minds about them.
Today, we present to you a Senatorial Aspirant for Lagos …District under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Folarin Sanni. Co-incidentally, he happens to be the first aspirant to be profiled under this column.
Mr. Folarin Sanni was born in Lagos on 31st December, 1963.By Virtue of his maternal lineage, he is one of the great grand sons of that Great merchant, Alli-Balogun of Lagos Island. His father, Arch. M.A.O. Sanni was a retired civil servant who served meritoriously with LEDB for 40 years and his mother is/was Alhaja Abeni Fatimota(Nee Alli-Balogun).
According to his C.V., Mr. Folarin Sanni has a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois, Chicago USA. Apart from that, he is also a Licensed Nursing Assistant of the state of Illinois and a Licensed Real Estate Agent and Estate Broker, also in the State of Illinois, Chicago USA.
By virtue of Mr. Folarin's family and educational pedigrees according to his Resume, he is a full-blooded Lagosian and he is qualified for such a political office in Nigeria. Asked for his vision as a senatorial aspirant and his response is
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"MY VISION AS A SENATOR IS TO WORK ON FEDERAL STRUCTURE
OF NIGERIA,FIX THE IMBALANCE.MAKE NIGERIA A COUNTRY
WHERE WE RESPECT RULE OF LAW.OBEY BOTH THE LETTER AND
SPIRIT OF LAW".
Other initiatives Mr. Folarin Sanni intends to achieve if elected a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are:
Political Initiatives
- A change in the aspects of the constitution
which currently prevent the arrest or prosecution of
elected public officials during their term of office.
It is unfortunate that in the current dispensation,
certain public officials have used their immunity from
prosecution to shield themselves from public scrutiny.
The present process where public officials suspected
of wrongdoing have to be impeached and removed from
office before they can face criminal prosecution is
unwieldy and cumbersome. Proposed changes:
- A change in the constitution to remove the
blanket political immunity conferred
on elected officials.
- An amendment that protects officials
from frivolous civil suits while allowing for
charges to be brought against any
public officer suspected of criminal activity
- Legislators and executive officials
should be allowed to step aside for brief periods
of up to 6 months to allow them to
defend themselves if charged with a crime.
- Special powers should be given to members of the
judiciary to allow them a free
hand to investigate and bring charges
against dishonest elected officials without
fear of retaliation.
- There should be provision of a certain
percentage of budget allocation for each state
provided to its legislators to enable them to
undertake social and infrastructure projects in their
constituencies.
- Creation of a workshop/ job centres in
conjunction with local businesses to link them with
potential employees and to provide mentoring to young
people.
- Provision of annual scholarships to local
universities for public school teachers with the
legislative district. Any activity that brings elected
officials into positive contact with teachers is
important considering their vital role in the
electoral process.
- Primary elections to pick internal party
officers should be conducted by state electoral
commission representatives to promote impartiality and
reduce factional conflict.
- The party should have a specific committee in
place to receive incoming member other political
parties and to provide them with proper orientation on
their roles in their new political home.
- Chairmanship of legislative committees should
be for no more than two years after which new
legislators should be elected to fill the posts. This
is to prevent the concentration of power in the hands
of just a few legislators.
- Creation of a single six year term for
senators and members of the House of Representatives
to reduce the infighting and tension inherent in
reelection campaigns.
Social Initiatives
- Creation of a workshop/ job centre in
conjunction with local businesses to link them with
potential employees and to provide mentoring to young
people.
- Provision of annual scholarships to local
universities for public school teachers with the
legislative district. Any activity that brings elected
officials into positive contact with teachers is
important considering their vital role in the
electoral process.
- An office to liaise with the local union of
road transport workers to make sure that the
legislator is able to address their concerns in a
timely fashion. A specific senate aide could be in
charge of maintaining excellent relations with this
vital pressure group. Their support is often essential
in mobilizing the electorate during campaigning.
The social initiatives serve 2 purposes
- To provide some services to the community
- To leverage those services into political capital
by establishing clear long term relations with groups
essential to getting elected which include road
transport workers, teachers union, "boys" less
employed youths and a consultative forum for local
traditional leaders.
- Traditional leaders confer legitimacy on
the candidate, introduce them to relevant elders
- Transport workers and "youths" help
mobilize and "deliver" the vote and most
importantly teachers help COUNT the vote.
A candidate who devotes his attention solely on using
the party's machinery to get elected, risks being
caught unawares if "party elders" decide to impose a
different candidate during internal primaries.
Construction/ Structural Infrastructure
An oversight unit should be set up
consisting of members of the local society of
engineers. Its role should be to inspect and certify
road and infrastructure projects in their local area
to ensure quality work is done; that is quality
assurance and quality control, and to reduce the
incidence of abandoned projects or shoddy work. The
members of this panel or committee should be elected
once a year from the ranks of the local civil and
electrical engineering society. They should serve for
no more than 1 year without consecutive terms. Their
activities should be funded partly thru donations and
levies on member engineers and a fee assessed to
companies executing infrastructure projects.
Legislation should be written to empower this
impartial body to make recommendations to the
ministries before projects are certified and
contractors paid. Limiting the terms of the unit
members would reduce the possibility of the "Nigerian
factor" coming into play.