Iwu’s 419 Elections

By

Hajiya Hafsat M. Zanna

musahafsat@yahoo.com

The origin of electoral bodies in Nigeria can be traced to the period before independence when the electoral commission of Nigeria, ECN was established to conduct the 1959 elections. The Federal Electoral Commission, FEC however established in 1960 conducted the immediate post-independence federal and regional elections of 1964 and 1965 respectively.

However, the military coup of 1966 saw the dissolution of FEC, Chaired by Michael Ani and its subsequent replacement with the Justice Ovie Whiskey’s Federal Electoral Commission, FEDECO in 1978 by the then Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo. It organised and conducted the elections that saw Alhaji Shehu Shagari as Nigeria’s second Republic President in 1979. FEDECO again conducted the 1983 general elections.

The late General Sani Abacha, as Head of State having dissolved National Electoral Commission, NEC put in place by former military ruler General Ibrahim Babangida, dissolved it in 1993 and in 1995 set up his own electoral body named National Electoral Commission of Nigeria, NECON. Babangida’s NEC which was Chaired at different times Professor Eme Awa, Dagogo Jack and Professor Humphrey Nwosu, by conducted elections into the third republic for local government councils, state and national assemblies and the governors of the states of the federation.

As fate would have it, General Abacha died before he inaugurated NECON. His predecessor, General Abubakar Abdulsalam scrapped it and set up the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC under the Chairmanship of Dr Abel Guobadia before the current partial Maurice Iwu took over. They conducted the 4th Republic general elections in 1999, 2003 and the most fraudulent elections ever on April 14 and 21 this year.

From all indications the April 14 and 21 2007 general elections conducted by Iwu have come and gone. But certainly not without hue and cries, rejections, condemnations and calls for its total annulment from almost all stakeholders, including voters, foreign and local observers, civil society groups among others.

It is the view of most Nigerians that the April 2007 elections which Professor Maurice Iwu rated as 80% successful was merely a fraud, rip off and theft of the peoples mandate by a few ably assisted by him and his grand master, life leader of the PDP.

Even though the rigged elections by the ruling PDP did not come to most Nigerians as a surprise,  the magnitude and new trend of massive stuffing of ballot bags in private houses, under supply of election materials particularly ballot papers and score sheets, violence, disappearance of ballot bags at designated polling centres and the use of electoral officials and security agents to intimidate and disperse voters not likely to vote for PDP among others have made the elections lacking fairness and credibility and fraudulent. The view of most Nigerians and non Nigerians is that the April elections were the worst in the history of elections in the country. In fact some say elections did not take place in the country. What happened was allocation of votes by the ruling PDP at the Villa under the close supervision of President Obasanjo.

Nigerians, like I said earlier on, are not taken by surprise given the ‘do or die elections’ pledge by Obasanjo himself during one his party’s rallies. No African country has ever seeing a leader so desperate to remain in office vtill death like Obasanjo. Even the Mugabes, Idi Amins, Mobutus, Hailie Selasies,Kwame Nkumahs, Leopord S. Senghor,King Hussein, and Hammani Diori are no way near him. The military approach he adopted to kill, crush, maim and silence ‘enemies’ is unprecedented in the continent’s history.

President Obasanjo has left no one in doubt by his persistent war against his Vice President shortly after he secured his second and constitutionally last term in office in 2003, that his tenure may be lapse beyond May 29, 2007. Only few wise Nigerians like Atiku read the handwriting on the walls.

It is clear that the opposition candidates ably lead by Nigeria’s number one democrat and Action Congress’ (AC) presidential candidate in the elections, Vice President Atiku Abubakar have at almost all their rallies asked the voters to be cautious, extra vigilant and defend their votes by staying within the vicinity of the polling centres even after casting their votes so that they can count.

Even the Editorial of Leadership newspaper of May4, 2007 titled ‘Iwu’s war with the truth’, was of the view that the monumental fraud committed by Iwu and his masters will follow them to their graves. “Iwu and his co-conspirators should not hope to win in this war they waged with the truth. They ought to be arrested, prosecuted and perhaps sentenced to life in jail for this grave crime against Nigeria and Nigerians”.

President Obasanjo, Iwu, electoral and police commissioners in the state must be held accountable for worst ‘elections’ ever in our history. They have played key visible roles to defraud Nigerians of their legitimate rights to vote out the PDP and vote in governments of their choice at the national and state levels. They have aided and abetted criminalising governance in Nigeria. They must therefore pay dearly for their unpatriotic and ignominious roles in subverting the peoples wish and truncating our hard earned democracy.

The results announced by Iwu, particularly that of the Governorships and Presidential elections are parallel to the cores transmitted electronically from the polling units and local governments from across the country.

Prominent leaders like Atiku, Buhari and Ken Nnamani among others need to be commended for standing with Nigerians in this Obasanjo era of selection stooges in the name of election as our leaders at various levels. They are bold, courageous, fearless, patriotic and conscientious leaders of our time. Without them Nigerians and Nigeria would not have been the same.

Okey Ndibe in his column in Thisday newspaper of May 1, 2007 titled ‘winners of ghost mandates’, succinctly said: “it was a series of ‘elections’ in which the ruling party, according to baffling data released by INEC basically seals its conquest of the Nigerian people and their resources. Obasanjo and Iwu have authored one of the most embarrassing episodes in Nigeria’s history

Also in his analysis of the elections, Segun Gbadegesin in his column in The Nation newspaper of  May 4, 2007 titled ‘Electoral fraud and ethno religious ideologies’, he said; The nightmarish experience of Nigerians in the elections of 2007 is only the most recent in the history of election nightmares  in Nigeria”.

I personally share in the view expressed by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Kayode Eso in a lecture titled ‘Leadership, democracy and corruption’, in Lagos to commemorate the death of Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo when he said: “Obasanjo’s transition is the darkest in Nigeria’s history. It is the most heinous in Nigeria’s attempt at democracy”.

Justice Eso like other well meaning Nigerians the future of our country is certainly very bright. ‘After the prolonged darkness, we will surely have a glorious dawn’. May Allah in his infinite mercy get us out of this mess called an extension of the Obasanjo misrule. The onus now lies in the election petition tribunals to take the courage to annul all the fraudulent elections of ghost mandates.

It is my conclusion that Iwu has not acted as a patriot who swore to be a just, fair and impartial judge in the conduct of all elections. I also add that he has compromised his office and his name in the conduct of an election that is widely considered to be a rape and theft of the peoples vote. I have no doubt in my mind that he will one regret his actions in the pre and post election period. Iwu has been a great sell out and disappointment to his family, tribe, Nigerians and his professional callings. Like Professor Wole Soyinka said recently in an interview with Channels television, all foreign countries should deny Iwu visa to go to their countries so that he can remain here and enjoy the fruits of his ‘selection’. By implication, Soyinka is saying that Nigerians should expect nothing more from an Yar’adua presidency but more poverty, blackouts, bad roads, lack of portable water, poor and ill equipped hospitals and schools, increase in unemployment, poor living conditions and fuel prices. No more, no less. The words in every Nigerian’s mouth are that Iwu and his INEC are 419ners, fraudulent, thieves and stooges of a despot called Obasanjo.

May Allah save us from this catastrophe called Obasanjo dynasty extension. But, Nigerians must not remain docile, indifferent to their flight. They must rise up to help themselves by doing everything possible to restore their mandates. Only then can Allah come to their rescue.

 

Hajiya Hafsat M. Zanna

(musahafsat@yahoo.com)

MAIDUGURI