2007 Elections: Playing the Usual Game?

By

Hussaini Abdu

Hussaini.Abdu@actionaid.org

 

I am getting seriously worried about the 2007 elections in Nigeria. Few years ago if any body had told me that the country will through this level electoral fraud I will not believe it (I may be naďve). After the electoral plunder in 2003 the consensus across the country was “never again”. Today, we are not only having a repeat, but a worst exhibition of the irresponsibility of Nigerian ruling class. While I have never expected an unbiased electoral umpire in contemporary Nigeria under a banal ruling class, I have also not expected that the state can be so rascally to violently suppress, repress and violate people’s rights to freely elect their leaders. I am not unmindful of our recent history of military rule, but as a student of history, I can safely argue that no time has the country gone through this horrendous electoral brigandage.

 

We can appreciate what we are going through only when we understand where we are coming from. Nigeria’s electoral history can be broadly divided into four; first was the colonial and immediate post colonial experience, this was truncated by military rule in 1966; second was 1979 to 1983, this was also truncated by the military. Since the military took over in 1983, the country has experienced pockets of military supervised elections at the local governments and later state and national level. These eventually led to the June 12 election and subsequent annulment. The 1999 transition marked another regime of elections in Nigeria; first it was supervised by the military and later came under the direct control of the civilians. Each of these stages of our electoral history exhibited certain historical peculiarities.

 

The colonial and immediate post colonial period set the structural and historical context of electoral fraud in the country. During this period, the machinery of the state was used to repress the opposition and upturn election results. Protests against such fraud were violently suppressed as the cases of Tiv crisis and electoral crisis in the south west from 1959 to 1966. One of the key players in this repression was the military. The military was first deployed for civil action in 1963 in Tiv land to suppress the Tiv revolt. Four of the Military officers involved in the operation later became the key leaders of the 1966 Military coup. Socio-political and structural transformations since 1966, occasioned by the civil war set the basis for 1979 elections. Like the earlier elections, the 1979 and 1983 general elections were also violently rigged. Violent protests ensued in many states including Ondo (now Ondo and Ekiti). Remember Omoboriowo and the “Shagari voters”. The military was mobilised to suppress peoples’ revolt. Six of those who led the operation were later involved in the 1984 Military coup.

 

Throughout the military interregnum 1984 – 1999, we had series of elections. Characteristically, the elections were also manipulated. In retrospect we can forgive the military, because as argued by Chief Duro Onabulu, military rule is a “state of emergency”. We couldn’t have expected democratic institutions to flourish. Today we are going through a worst process under a civilian administration. The context and manner in which this is taking place is quite different from our historical experiences of the colonial and immediate post colonial period including the second republic. In the earlier cases, there were elections, but results were upturned. What is happening now is that, no election is taking place, politicians are been assisted by INEC officials, the Police and Army to steal ballot boxes and papers and stuff them. Results are being announced in places where no election took place.

 

My fear in all these is what happens after the election. The same military that is being used to defraud the people will end up becoming their albatross. I hope we are not playing into the hands of the opposition party? – The military (with apology to Zik of Africa). Zik had severally argued that there are two parties in Nigeria, the Military and Civilians, and recommended diarchy (combined military and civilian rule) as a solution to military coups. Egypt is a good example of diarchy.

 

We need to be good students of history. What is going on is not politicians’ problem; it is a national and collective calamity.  We must wake up to the challenge. Our experience in the over 40 years of military rule shows that we (civil society activists) were the biggest victims of military dictatorship.   The ruling class will always have it way through; military or civilian rule, it is the same characters.

 

We must stop them!!!