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Yes, The Elections Were Flawed, But Please No Extra Judicial Solution By Anthony Okosun Yes the elections held in Nigeria on April 14 and 21, 2007 were horribly flawed, however Nigerian politicians should be very careful how they handle the post election crisis. They should be alerted to and remember the danger of allowing the current flawed elections issue to get out of hand. The politicians in uniform could be doing their calculations, waiting for an auspicious time to throw out the 'bloody civilians'' All political leaders must forge a common front. All differences should be resolved within the confines of the law. There should be no extra legal nor extra judicial solutions. We have all had a taste of the military. Nobody want a throw back to the Abacha years All Nigerians, local and international election monitors are seriously disturbed by the depth of the rigging, the ill-preparedness, deliberate subversion and most curiously and oddly the choice of the two main presidential candidates to participate in the elections and then their belated decision to turn around to complain of election fraud and irregularities only after losing the elections. General Muhammadu Buhari and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar could have opted out of the presidential elections before same were conducted. They chose to participate. Before the presidential elections were conducted, there was great maelstrom, turmoil and tumult over the conduct and the massive irregularities that flawed the governorship elections. The Domestic Election Observation Group, a collection of Nigerian monitoring organisations called for the elections to be annulled. The European Union's chief Observer Max Van Dern Berg declared "The process could not have been credible" Even the U. S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack had this to say "These were flawed elections, in some cases deeply flawed elections". Despite the huge outcry at the flawed nature of the conduct of the elections, the leading contenders chose to go ahead and participate in the elections, thereby giving the previously held gubernatorial elections, the much lacking and desperately PDP and INEC desired credibility. General Buhari even stated that haven consulted far and wide and sought and received advise, he was of the opinion that, it would be better for him to contest in the interest of peace in Nigeria. Then I ask myself why are the duo of General Muhammadu Buhari and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar now complaining. They had the opportunity to observe the depth of rigging and collateral irregularities that bedeviled the governorship elections and still believed in the integrity and bona fide intention of President Olusegun Obasanjo's administration to conduct a free and fair presidential election. Is it germane, apropos and kosher for these two gentlemen to now make a U turn and cry to the highest heavens that the elections were rigged only after their historic, monumental and colossal defeat at the polls. Umaru Yar Adua may not be a saint, but I am yet to hear anybody call him corrupt. The guy led the northern Nigerian state of Katsina for eight years and was found to be the most completely devoid of fraud of all the governors by the EFCC and the presidency according to information wafting from the grapevine. Thus the decision of the presidency to foist him compulsorily on the helpless and choiceless Nigerian electorates. This is undemocratic and unconstitutional I must admit. He is a devout Muslim and a humble man. A university graduate, in fact a former university teacher. He has a reputation for being very peaceful and modest. It is the belief of many that he is the best equipped than any of the other two major contenders to build consensus among the various entities that are currently gladiating for the political and economic soul of Nigeria; to move the country forward. Yes, the elections were flawed, however among the great multitude of presidential candidates, apart from the leading three candidates, who among the twenty 'also ran' candidates actually expected to win even a local government area. It is good to call a spade a spade, these guys should not turn themselves into busy bodies, overheating the Nigerian polity, that could annihilate our young democracy, and possibly turn Nigeria into another Lebanon, Iraq, Sudan or Yugoslavia. Yes the elections were rigged, but we must juxtapose our call for justice and fairness with the need to preserve and nurture the Nigerian political project. The fixed and variable factors that propel candidates to victory in elections, all favor the candidate Umaru Yar' Adua. He was sponsored by the most sophisticated and most formidable party machinery. The PDP machine is a behemoth whose massive tentacles spread throughout the nooks and crannies in every unit across all the local government areas in Nigeria. By virtue of the fact that he was sponsored by the incumbent ruling party he had the largest financial resource to oil his campaign and execute his strategies. Then again, he had the best reputation among the major three candidates. He is relatively unknown, Nobody knows anything about him. We may not know the good things he did as governor of Katsina state, then again, we do not know of his minuses neither. He is generally perceived as God fearing, disciplined, humble, loyal, peaceful, gentle, well-educated, well-bred, incorruptible ex-Marxist - Leninist. The other two major candidates except for General Buhari to a relatively little extent, do not have these attractive credentials. Even then, many in the south fear that Buhari may foster Sharia law on them, against their volition. Many are still repulsed by his applying a decree retroactively to murder cold-bloodedly some young Nigerians who were found guilty of an act, that was not an offence at the time they engaged in it. My advice once again to all the players in the Nigerian political enterprise is to be very careful how they handle the post election crisis. They should be alerted to and remember the danger of allowing the current flawed elections issue to get out of hand. The politicians in uniform could be doing their calculations, waiting for an auspicious time to throw out the 'bloody civilians'' All political leaders must forge a common front. All differences should be resolved within the confines of the law. There should be no extra legal nor extra judicial solutions. We have all had a taste of the military. Nobody want a throw back to the Abacha years . All the fighting should be done in a highly civilise manner. the election tribunal and the superior courts should be the theatre of conflict resolution. INEC must respect administrative and judicial judgments. Where fresh elections are recommended or ordered, INEC must comply immediately. Even if it is the presidential elections that are ordered to be re-conducted. The long suffering, impoverished, good and peace loving people of Nigeria do not want an ominous cloud of fear of coup or civil war hanging over their heads. President Olusegun Obasanjo and other government and political leaders should work assiduously with determination and passion to diffuse the tension in the land and ensure that no enabling environment and atmosphere is created for those who would want to derail Nigeria's representative government through the instrumentality of force and coercion.
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