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What Manner Of Election Are We Practicing In Nigeria ? By Shuaibu Ibrahim Fari
The reflection of Nigeria’s condition, it cannot but be noted that throughout our history, right before independence, the issue of democracy, or better still, the wrong application of it, has been central to some of our problems as a nation.
In the 1940s, it caused a very serious division within the ranks of the Nigerian nationalist movement when the Azikiwe’s faction protested the reflection of Seisi Ikoli into the Lagos city council. It took the effort of Association of Nigerian Students to bring the political leaders together, which consequently gave rise to the NCNC.
But the division cansud by the election was so deep that the Awolowo’s faction formed the Action Group of Nigeria (AG) in 1951 or so, thus breaking the rank of nationalist movement.
If we also recall the event in the Western Regional House of Assembly between the NCNC and AG members, the so-called cross carpet episode, our matter of election, whose impact has been vibrating ever since then.
The 1964 Federal Election was such that President Nnamdi Azikiwe was unwilling to swear in Tafawa Balewa for a second term. It took the persuasion of some patriotic Nigerians before he did so. But for their action, Nigeria would have faced a serious constitutional crisis then; over electoral matter.
The event in the Western House of Assembly was worse. People were burnt, killed; houses and other properties destroyed following disputes over 1965 election. A state of emergency had to be declared.
The military badly, if not gruesomely capitalized on it to deny us the right or exercise of democracy for about 35 years out of our 45 years of independence and all of us today are regretting this assault on our democracy.
It took about 13 years before democracy was returned to the country and sooner, started going back to our bad ways in its practices. As in 1966, again by the end of 1983, the political class, who could be said to be the major beneficiary of democracy system LOST OUT.
Between the Babangida transition programme could not fully scale through, at the presidential level following the annulment of the 1993 presidential election. The cost of the nation was enormous. Indeed, the country was on the brink of disintegration.
It was not until 1999 that the country once more, returned to democracy. But we ask, what kind of democracy is this? All Nigerians know that what we had in April 2003 was not an election but vote allocation in which security agencies and thugs determined our democratic rights. They were the group of Nigerians who voted-in most of our current leaders through vote allocation. It speaks a lot about our democratic maturity that a tiny group of Nigerians should impose manner like in the military era.
In the April 2003 election, the police was replaced with military the and thugs at the instance of those in power and you begin to wonder what exactly is the difference between the leadership imposition by the military and that by the security agencies and thugs who disallowed people from voting in substantial areas of the country; where voting took place, the results were changed let no one be afraid to answer that between what we call democracy and militocracy, the difference is much in name than practice, at least in terms of leadership matters where they are largely imposed on the people under the two systems. Ours is democracy in name but dictatorship in practice.
Well meaning Nigerians though that the bitter lessons of the past, but especially of the April 2003 election moderated our democracy conduct to impose on us, civilized and decent approach to electoral matter.
Those who hold this in view must have been bitterly disappointed with the outcome of the council’s election. Not only did the parties impose candidates on the people from party primary elections but also that the governors largely determined the outcome of the electoral results without any shame attached to it.
Nearly all the states where the election took place except Kano and Lagos, the results were almost 100% in favour of the party in power all of which Nigerians know is impossible in several if not in all places. The respective governors and their courtiers turned themselves into sole electorates and determined who won or who lose depending on their selfish undemocratic wishes. The more they preach democracy as the gospel of faith, the greater they don’t practice it and worse they ditch it. And those elected through such fraudulent and 419 platform, beat their chest that they are elected representatives of the people, which in reality they are not.
We must come to the painful conclusion that the greater threats to our democracy today are those politicians in power who manipulate the system to give it an ugly meaning, and this is when they are greatest beneficiaries of the system. On the whole, the political class is teaching Nigerians not to practice, they are not worse than military dictators in this dangerous leadership imposition exercise.
Most of the states, electoral law were tailored to suit the candidates of the party in power. Where this was not the case, they were changed to achieve such as a purpose. It is on record that some states changed their electoral laws late in the day, imposing heavy taxation, as condition for participating where public fund were allegedly given to favour candidates who were not readily available to other candidates. This was how the council’s election was monetized and everyone knows that the purpose is to win at all costs and then recover expenses through dubious practices while in power. This is how our politicians in power badly corrupted the democracy system.
On their part, the various States Electoral Commissions allegedly provided fake reasons to disqualify opposition candidates in a way that they cannot be replaced. It is not enough to just annul an election without punishing all those responsible. People have been indulging in electoral malpractices because they know that nothing will happen to them.
The electoral laws should have a provision to the effect that where an election is annulled and finally confirmed by the court as such, all those involved in the cause of the annulment be liable to such terms of years in prison, without an option of fine and where a Governor or President is involved, he should also face impeachment proceedings immediately.
Similarly, the President, Governors, Local Government Chairmen and elected Representatives should step down two months before the election so as to discourage the misuse of the incumbent factor, as has been the case. The Chief Justice of Nigeria becomes the Acting President as would also the Chief Judge of every state become the Acting Governor of the state as inline with the constitutional provision of the country.
This misuse of incumbency factor will ultimately destroy our democracy and so everything possible should be done to ensure that nobody enjoys it over the opponent.
But the greater worry is that we do not seem to appreciate the dangerous havoc electoral malpractices have been causing to our nation.
How I wish this issue would be addressed properly in the National Political Reform Conference.
This is a great pity.
SHUAIBU IBRAHIM FARI DUKUMA/DUGUL INGAWA KATSINA E-mail: shuaibu_fari@yahoo.com
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