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The 2007 Elections Have Been Rigged Already But.... By Ibrahim Saleh
Alas, the rampaging and invasive Nigerian brand of corruption has so conquered the society that elections that are over one year away are being blatantly rigged in advance and all that we do is to bark. Or else how do you describe a situation where the ruling political party in Nigeria (PDP) has, in a suddenly arranged charade tagged registration and revalidation of members, threw Due Process to the dogs and transparency to the swine such that instead of channeling the materials for the exercise through the State Chairmen or Secretariats of the party they were clandestinely and irregularly channeled through some white collar thugs of the Machiavellian cabal that holds the country captive and who wants to impose its despotic wishes on us come 2007 and all that we do is to merely grumble?
Despite the early alarm over this preliminary electoral irregularities, I continued to give the exercise benefit of the doubt while dismissing the alarm as a preventive measure carried too far because I could not just believe the kind of reports emanating from various states regarding the exercise since the PDP, which rules Nigeria via OBJ, claims to abide by Due Process and transparency in all that it does - the proven pretext not withstanding. So I felt it was not worth even writing about. But as events continued to unfold and play out, I eventually realized that the incredible things I heard were even tip of the iceberg after all and thus this write–up.
It now appears more than likely that the decision to hold non-elective, affirmative congresses and convention and conduct discriminatory registration of members and plot the down fall of every strategic pro-Atiku man are all parts of the well orchestrated preliminary riggings of the 2007 elections.
The intimidating popularity of Atiku appears to have stampeded the Machiavellian cabal into resorting to shameful electoral malpractices in advance. But like any thing, which has illegality and falsehood as its foundation, both these Area Politics and the Jungle Democracy will collapse on the head of this cabal as all descent Nigerians will eventually go back to the trenches to render Nigeria ungovernable to the lawless clique, unless the evil is reversed.
Yes, these self-deceived “owners of us” should know that no matter how they emasculate us and unleash other arts of puppetry on us we will never welcome, not to talk of recognize or respect, imposed jokers as leaders come 2007. Rather, the whole system will eventually lack legitimacy and lawlessness will prevail due to the corruptible effect of the preliminary and final riggings that will surely have multiple effects on the system, thereby provoking the activities of genuine pro-democracy activists.
It baffles me that whenever OBJ’s interest is at stake he would throw Due Process overboard and sends ‘anti-corruption policy’ on its knees with reckless abandon! What kind of country is this? Is the presidency not rather promoting corruption?
Social scientists and psychologists may agree with me that only a President with corrupt tendency can tolerate, not to talk of initiating, corruptible process such as non-elective convention, irregular channeling of membership registration materials and selective registration in a political party etc. Let us get things right; this shame is not a masterstroke or cleverness or strategy or remnant of military braggadocio as those trying to rationalize the scandal want us to believe, but a naked corruption. And whoever designed or support or is indifferent to what is happening in the PDP is corrupt. Columnists too should be careful because it so stinks this time that even hitherto blind OBJ/Marwa apologists like Babayola Toungo and Abdulrazaq Barkindo are trying to systematically withdraw going by their latest face- saving write–ups. It is perhaps, only Paul Adujie that is yet to see the screaming writing on the wall.
I am not surprised that the so-called Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is afraid to call a spade a spade with regards to this dirty internal bickering suffered by the PDP because the INEC boss is apparently afraid of being shown the way by the vindictive Presidency. To in fact, demonstrate his loyalty to the ambition of the cabal, he has vowed to take steps aimed at frustrating foreign observers perhaps to ease the inevitable grand rigging of the 2007 elections in its favour.
It is cheap to argue that since the PDP problems are internal non-members should not commend because the problems in the ruling party have far reaching effect on the social and economic fate of the nation. That, I believe was why the CAN Chairman, during his First October sermon, lamented among others, the terrifying back-stabbing, campaign of calumny and wrangling in the PDP as OBJ and his errand boys, diplomats and other worshipers were listening at the National Economical Center, Abuja.
That is how it should be. Every Nigerian should rise up against the alarming decay in the system. A situation where sadism and vendetta assume State Policy and every policy and rule of this government is bent for the purpose of persecuting and blackmailing Atiku and his political loyalists is unacceptable! The whole country should not be zombienized by an individual. For how long shall this government be compromising policy and decorum for the very expensive and self-serving purpose of bringing Atiku down? For this latest shame came at the heels of a major disagreement between Atiku and OBJ.
That is why it is very reasonable to suspect that the hardship unleashed on Nigerians by OBJ government under the guise of reforms is an art of puppetry aimed at making us easy to manipulate for the final and grand rigging of the 2007 elections.
Needless to say, the implication of what is happening in the PDP is terrible! Its corruptibility is terrifying for it has the reflex tendency of making us to see irregularity as a normality, thereby makes our socio–economic system dishonesty–driven and totally corrupting to the generation yet unborn.
I am flabbergasted that as bad as his agenda is OBJ’s puppetry was able to fetch him loyalists even from unlikely quarters. Of all the OBJ’s chorus boys, the ones 1 pity most are those from Adamawa State. Imagine an academic giant like Prof. Jibril Aminu degenerating into a mere glorified thug, carrying out what he definitely knew was nothing but preliminary riggings of the 2007 elections under the pretext of registration of PDP members. And see the national embarrassment he caused us by acting out the pedestrian scripts of the jungle democrats who wanted him to humiliate and refuse to register the Vice President of this great country. Is Prof. Aminu not too much for this white-collar thuggery?
Who is Prof. Aminu trying to impress at the detriment of his hard earned social standing and in return of what on Earth? Oh my God! Where are we heading to? When an enviable academic pace setter like Prof Aminu, who set a great record at the University of Ibadan in those days, is reduced to an Area Professor By some little minds you know we are doomed because it is people like Prof. Aminu that supposed to check the excesses of the vain nincompoop in the polity. But, alas, the Prof. has thrown nobility and decorum to the win, wantonly joined the new area–politics and was assigned a function in the latest charade.
Senator Abubakar Girei is another Adamawa personality whose support for OBJ against Atiku is perplexing. I know Girei would hardly forgive Atiku for his (Atiku's) refusal to support his governorship ambition because the ambition was then based on some very sensitive sentiments rather than merits; for which reason he (Girie) suffered defeat at the primaries and for which reason he decamped to ANPP.
However, while I understand why Girei hates Atiku and Governor Boni Haruna of Adamawa State, I am at a lost as to why he supports OBJ against Atiku because many Nigerians have not forgotten what Girei used to say about OBJ. So for he to throw principal into the gutter and lap back his putrid vomits regarding his original view on OBJ speaks volume.
When Girei was Girei, he used to slam the selective and compromising anti-corruption policies of OBJ, his failure to implement the successive annual budgets as passed by the NA, and his poor economic policy etc. In those days of principles and constructive opposition, upon being approached by the BBC, or the VOA, or FRCN or the dailies to commend on OBJ’s policy, Girei would splutter with his mouth frothing profusely, gesticulate violently as he condemned OBJ. And when dared asked further, he would wince and grimace and unleash thunderous vituperations on OBJ and his government.
But we learnt that he (Girei) was eventually “lucky” to be one of those restless Adamawa big guys recruited when OBJ was shopping for food soldiers to torment Atiku in his home state preparatory for the final onslaught on Turaki right from the grass root, as part of the buildup to 2007. Perhaps Girei did not want to be left out of the billions of Naira in cash, in contract and in kind said to have been budgeted for or deployed to fight Atiku from the grass root. That, perhaps, explained why those of us who heard and read Girei of those objective days had been all ears, waiting to hear him explode over the worsening situation in the land only to lately realize that he (Girei) had for long taken a plunge into the big pocket of OBJ. What sickening development.
Brigadier General Muhammed Buba Marwa (rtd) is another OBJ’s joker from Adamawa State. In his own case, he is a mere executive errand boy of the despotic Machiavellian cabal and apparently recruited to throw spanner in the works for Atiku. I mean he is merely a spoiler. Even though some people believe that greed and desperation for protection against punishment for his past misdeeds were the banana peels that rushed him there unprepared, and that by the time he wanted to throw in the towel he, unknown to him, was already stuck in the glue; there seems to be more to that. In any case, let it be noted that some of the soldiers of fortunes recruited to fight Turaki right from Adamawa are mercenaries by inheritance who are behaving true to type but, I believe, they will be told where they came from at the appropriate time, when there will be gnashing of teeth as they can’t over step their bound simply because they are serving a vindictive despot!
Of course, they have been mobilized. Little wonder the desperate efforts to discredit Governor Boni Haruna of Adamawa State by portraying him before the people of the state as an avaricious failure by unfairly contrasting the developments in Adamawa State with those of Kaduna, Bauchi, Gombe States etc while mischievously concealing the fact that, for no efforts of their current Governors, such States each inherently has more revenue than Adamawa State. For instance, there are numerous big companies; big institutions and very rich individuals who pay taxes to Kaduna State in addition to its bigger markets and bigger statutory allocation than Adamawa State. Similarly, Bauchi and Gombe States etc each has bigger markets and more couple of companies than Adamawa State long before Boni’s administration that is now being made a scapegoat. The way out is for the couple of members of the elites of Adamawa State to stop conspiring with OBJ to sabotage the laudable efforts of Bo ni and Atiku to develop the State just to give them bad names.
And now that the EFCC has stormed Adamawa state one only hopes that Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu, who I still believe is a God-fearing person regardless of the popular insinuation, will not allow himself to be reduced to mere instrument of persecuting perceived Atiku loyalists in the run-up to 2007 as it is being feared.
All those being used by Baba against his opponents should better understand the person they are serving before it is too late. The peevish and vitriolic old man whose proclivity to suddenly betray and destroy his confidante for slightest “disloyalty” has assumed an alarming notoriety will hardly spare those greedily praising him now especially now that he appears to have gone berserk. OBJ knows very well that those claiming to be supporting him for the “wonderful works” he is doing are actually selfish people who want some favours at the expense of the society and deep from his heart he has no respect for them, I believe.
OBJ’s delusion of grandeur and his it-should-be-only-me-ever-atop syndrome are not unleashed on Atiku alone. It is such that you dare not allow him know that you appreciate the greatness of other wonderful Yorubas like Chiefs Obafemi Awolowo, MKO Abiola, Wole Soyinka, and Bola Ige etc whom he has been struggling to suppress their greatness out of manifesting envy. But he can’t ever match these genuinely great Omo Oduduwas. A person who was given, on the platter of gold, an opportunity to occupy the prestigious slot of the South-west only to squander the tremendous opportunity by inexcusably failing the nation must be the most unfortunate thing ever to have happened to Yorubas in particular and the nation in general.
OBJ apparently knows that on any leveled playing ground Atiku will carry the political day. In fact that appears to be what prompted the preliminary riggings for OBJ knew that is the only way they could tame Atiku.
Fortunately or unfortunately the shameless gang up against Atiku has won him much more sympathy of so many PDP members and other fellow Nigerians and Turaki himself seems to be aware of that. That is why despite the terrible series of politically motivated campaigns of calumny and persecution Turaki remains imperturbable and resilient. The estranged votary of OBJ has stood gracefully imposing, overlooking OBJ/IBB/Marwa with their dwarf antics. Turaki stands firmly like the tree of iron the termites of envy and phobia are gnawing at it hard but they can never bring it down. This orphan that has grown great is an anvil on which many hammers have been broken!
So the real victims of this preliminary rigging of the 2007 elections is not Atiku but the masses, the democracy itself and in particular the next Republic.
Our embattled democracy had forcefully remained in infancy for long thanks to the shackles of dictatorial corruption. It later stumbled and staggered as it stood on wobbly legs. It has now been “rescued” by being placed on a tripod of hurricane, typhoon and cyclone personified by the desperate threesome: OBJ, IBB and Marwa, who are apparently behind the shameful preliminary rigging of the 2007 elections. But the same clique will greedily destroy what it has rigged or some other miracle will happen or the people will eventually resist, I am very sure. After that we may have a real democracy.
Thank You Sir, I. G. Saleh, No 22 Ahmadu Bello Way, Adjacent to NNDC Building, Kaduna, Kaduna State.
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