Since the recent elections in Ekiti and the attendant allegations of vote-buying and vote-selling, I have been reflecting on why people sell their votes in an election. As always, we should start with definitions to ensure we are talking about the same things. First of all, vote-buying and vote-selling are not peculiar to Nigeria or even the developing world. It happens everywhere. This is not a defence of what is alleged to have happened in Ekiti, but a statement of fact. Politicians make promises. The electorate votes in response. When a politician promises something that you perceive will benefit you
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Monthly Archives August 2018
To Whom Much is Given
[National Accountability Stewardship and the Role of Public Servants] by Dr Joe Abah 1.0 Introduction For clarity, it is always prudent to start with a definition of terms, particularly as some terms that are presumed to mean the same things to everybody could actually mean different things to different people. There are many definitions of the word “Accountability.” Some definitions, perhaps unhelpfully, simply define Accountability as “being accountable.” Others focus on key attributes such as information, explanation and consequences. Writing for the World Bank in 2005, Professor John Ackerman defines Accountability as “…a proactive process by which
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