Kedi Haralu
Dimapur, being the economic hub of Nagaland, should be having a powerful Municipal, lacking nothing materially, for the amount of funds which Delhi can sanction, is far greater then our state budget. It should be the pride and joy of the Naga populace due to not only its funds but the multi-cultured, multi ethnic, multifaceted development plans and projects and many more. This is exactly the reason candidates were willing to invest as much as the legislative assembly elections, but unfortunately the DMC has become a power keg, ready to explode and thus making a mockery of the whole setup. Dimapur has never had so much administrative turmoil and uncertainness, especially on who should be the Chairman or Vice Chairman
Everybody can follow but only a few can lead, and who does lead, needs charisma, and a leadership personality, plus should possess good morals and ethics and not someone who can be bought by the highest bidder, only then respect and trust of the populace can be ascertained. Since day one of the members taking office, there has been a power struggle, which politicians capitalized on, by buying members to do their dirty work. I personally now all the members of the DMC and I know that those I know will never be bought nor intimidated by any person, organization or group, for they have their priorities and also a vision for the people of Dimapur, but due to the lack of support from the Government at Kohima, which in a way has added fuel to the present fire. It is easy to point fingers at members, but to look at the positive side of the member and his abilities is more important, for we have been created unique by our creator, thus each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Unfortunately we are presently caught up in a situation and scenario where pointing fingers at members by another member, which in the long run destry our multi ethnic unity and isms will become a destructive Council. This game will never end, until and unless the politicians are asked to stay away and the members unanimously decide on one candidate as Chairman and the other as V. Chairman, for if start focusing on the numbers game there is always going to be distrust and disunity, even amongst the party, for if every politician wants their candidate to become the Chairman or Vice Chairman, we will need to have a political makeover so that every member can be the Chairman, for isn’t this the reason for this present crisis?
It is going to become a chaotic municipal council, where enemies will be made and all the withheld discontentment, which has festered in the past few years will burst open, thus becoming an open wound. But not all are unhappy for this has created an opportunity for members who sell themselves to the highest bidder. I am surprised that there are even some senior members are in for the money game, so as to make up for their expenditure during the Municipal elections, but if this carries on, it is the public who will suffer.
Not taking names, since the members know whom I am talking about, (senior members), has being a complete 360 i.e circle. What I mean by this is these senior members first stood for the previous Chairman, then their support changed to another, who is at present the Chairman, and then back to the previous Chairman. I call this the “circle of life” in the DMC. There are exactly four of them in this money game doing the complete circle of life, taking an example of the animated movie “Lion” king. The Chairman, past and present are the Lion Kings, two senior members remind me of “Pumba” and his friend the weasel, plus another two members who are like the jackals in the movie, for they will be loyal only to the member who is sure to become Chairman, not forgetting that they will get a share from the Lion Kings kill. Hence, the bigger the animal, the bigger their share. Although the NPF party has the largest single party members, they do not have the majority, thus the wolves are out to make quick easy money, henceforth making the DMC like a game of musical chairs.
In conclusion, it is my suggestion (although it comes without charge)is that both the Chairman’s past and present, sit down themselves and come out with a solution, not depending on the numbers game, for there can be only one Chairman, so one person will lose out and one person will gain, but if there is a deal amongst themselves no body will lose out. Plus we should also not forget that the present Chairman has not been given enough time to prove himself. They should also realize the fact that depending on the numbers game will only lead to uncertainty on the part of whoever becomes Chairman, thus the distrust amongst members will grow and the wedge between then will become bigger and bigger. Each an every member has been elected by their wards, so they have the responsibility to keep their pre-poll promises, but if this crisis continues, how can the achieve anything? Lets be more mature and cease from jumping from one camp to another, and it is a very foolish move, for this turmoil and chaotic scenario will never end, unless and until both the Chairman’s, past and present sit down and come to a mutual understanding and not become rubber stamps to some politicians regardless of party. Dimapurians deserve this, and not a shaky and uncertain DMC setup. “Be mature on decisions, and stick to tour promises, for the electorate is getting somewhat fed up with one crisis after the other, since the members first took office.”
