By Lydia Ngwakwe
Lagos – Prof. Oluremi Sonaiya, a former Presidential Candidate of KOWA Party in the 2015 Presidential Election, has applauded INEC’s decision to stop funding of political parties.
Sonaiya made her feelings known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Lagos on Monday while reacting to a question on the multi-party system in Nigeria and what it portends for democracy following INEC’s disclosure that 60 political parties are currently seeking registration.
She also expressed optimism that the struggle by some groups to register political parties was not driven by the prospect of sharing in the “national cake’’.
“We have a right of association; what I am happy about is that INEC is no longer giving any money to anybody.
“You are free to use your money whichever way you want. Be it an association, be it a political party or whatever.
“However, I just hope that none of that is motivated by the thinking that, we too can have and get our own share of the thing because I know that part of what happens is that when elections are about to be held, in many of the smaller parties we band together and decide that we are going to support a particular candidate.
“It is also a way of looking down the line and setting yourself up for some trickle down money from some big person; but I think it is a free country you cannot stop people, INEC cannot say we have had enough.
“I believe there are other issues that INEC should heed to, issues of internal democracy .
“I do not think that all these consensus candidates, without primaries being conducted, are not going to strengthen our democracy.
“If we really want to strengthen our democracy, there are more important issues for INEC to consider.
“Part of what I will like them to consider is; to give enough time for the public to get to know the candidates, to hear them, to interact with them.
“Not just three months to elections, that is when there will be campaigns.
“Those that have plenty of money to splash just organise crusade-like meetings,
make a lot of promises and that is the end of it.’’
On way out of Economic recession, Sonaiya, who is the current Vice Chancellor of Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, said only Nigerians could take the country out of recession.
She, therefore, urged Nigerians to channel their abilities toward nation building.
“My own thinking is that, it is not foreigners who are going to get us out of our economic woes, we have to change our own ways of doing things, we are the ones, who will solve this problem ourselves.
“I am sort of inspired by China, they just simply locked themselves up over a period of time and said we are going to get something right here, forget the world, we must get it right.
“By the time they emerged, they were ready to take on the world.
“Nigerians are contributing immensely to the building of other nations; it is not the ability that is lacking.
“I do not want quick fixes because they tend not to last,’’ Sonaiya said.