The Nigerian General Election, 2007: Some Pertinent Issues

By

Danboyi Gomsuk

danboyi.gomsuk@gmail.com

 

 

It is almost nudging 50 days since the new administration of Yar’Adua was ushered in and yet there has not been the component of the Executive arm of government in place, and by this I am talking about the ministers and various advisers of government. This is not to state that efforts, and possibly feverishly too, have not been made by the new president to see that these vacancies were filled. But a look at the various jockeying and lobbying criss-crossing the length and breadth of the country, and sometimes following Yar’Adua across the seas and oceans, make me feel how complex and complicated the mind and mindset of the average Nigerian are!

 

Barely two days after the controversial result of the general election that brought in Yar’Adua to power was announced a discerning and undiscerning observer alike would have thought that the Heavens should be let loose on account of the flagrant and brazen disregard for electoral norms displayed by the so-called winning party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). In fact nobody needed a soothsayer to tell him/her that that election was massively rigged in favour of the PDP candidates at all levels of political offices being contested. And, to add insult to injury, Yar’Adua and other so-called elected officers were sworn in on the 29th of May without waiting for the disposal of any petitions that were obvious to follow. In fact the opposition parties had already given notice, prior to May 29, 2007, that they would contest the results of these elections before the appropriate election tribunals as provided by the Electoral Act.

 

It was in the light of these abuses of power by the PDP and its shameful disregard for the electoral laws of the country that I thought Nigerians would have distanced themselves from the so-called PDP-controlled government at all levels of governance. But the cut-throat lobbying seen in the quest to clinch the ‘much-coveted’ ministerial posts leaves a much bitter taste in the mouth. This action makes me believe that many Nigerians seem not to understand the implications of rigging an election in any general or local election.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, it is worth stating here what election rigging amounts to. When one does anything to cheat and subvert the wishes of the electorate in any election it implies that one is attempting to take what does not rightly belong to one. And if one succeeds in this ignoble act then one has actually taken what does not belong to one and this amounts to stealing, pure and simple. From this stage onwards the occupation of this unmerited office and the accompanying perquisites, salaries, payments and other sundry largesse are acquisitions stolen from the public treasury. By extension, anybody who serves in this illegal administration in any capacity and draws salaries and allowances effectuates this evil and is equally guilty of theft from public funds. Similarly, allowing this illegality to continue, as is seen in the eventual general sense of apathy and culpable resignation of the populace in line with the aphorism, ‘hands of God’, as is generally said and believed, amounts to condoning evil; therefore the populace will be answerable for this. Why have I gone this far to state this?

 

We have all been witnesses to the laughable drama staged by our various political leaders in the theatre of religion. Once someone ascends the so-called leadership position he tells the nation that leadership comes from God and, as such, he has been blessed and anointed by God to be the nation’s next messiah. Subsequently such a leader begins to claim the gift of prophecy resulting from being born-again; and these days we have seen born-again leaders of both Christian and Moslem extractions. Even though it is not my prerogative to judge anyone, it is, however, incumbent upon me to state matters as they really are so that we shall all learn from either our culpable negligence or avoidable ignorance.

 

Since Nigerians claim religiosity in anything they do, it even becomes more imperative that this matter is brought to the fore. You cannot rig yourself to power and turn round to say that you have been anointed by God to be in power. Whether we believe it or not, that is pure insult on God and a direct affront on Him. God does not condone such evil practices and so must be distanced from them. And if a leader at whatever level thinks that he/she has been born again that is fine. However, if he/she has attained political power by virtue of benefiting from rigging at an election, then it becomes imperative that for such born-again syndrome to be complete he has to do the following.

 

Firstly, if he is still a serving leader, he must renounce that leadership because it does not belong to him. If he has left office, he must do the same and have his/her name expunged from the nation’s hall of fame as former leader. Secondly, he must return all salaries and other emoluments received while wrongly occupying that office. And, of course, those moneys must be paid back with the appropriate interest they attract. If these are not done then the sing-song about being a born-again Christian or Moslem is just an exercise in self-deceit, and self-deceit is a very serious thing because if it follows such a person to the grave then the dire consequence is something every Christian or Moslem knows about.

 

No doubt some people may be scoffing at the above statement but it does not vitiate a truth or a fact. And that is why the offence of stealing is a very serious and dangerous thing because any forgiveness of it must be preceded by the making of restitution, and nothing less; in other words, such a person must return that stolen property or its equivalent value, if the former is no longer possible, before that sin of theft is forgiven. So anybody who thinks that rigging at an election is just a game must be warned and must think twice before embarking on such an ignominious act; it is a very serious thing. Rigging at an election is theft and nothing less.

 

And that is why the nation’s electoral laws view rigging at an election as a serious offence and would not hesitate to put behind bars anybody guilty of such, just as it will do to someone convicted of stealing. But if any court, by design or default, condones and exonerates someone guilty of electoral malpractice then it becomes very unfortunate, since the courts should be the last hope of the ordinary man. And talking about this brings me to the sore point of the last election.

 

As I stated in the opening paragraph, the illegal enthronement of Yar’Adua as the nation’s president has become a sword of Damocles hanging over the neck of the nation. Even Yar’Adua himself had confided in the German Chancellor that he (Yar’Adua) was illegally enthroned but that he would do everything to change Nigeria’s electoral laws for the better. I don’t think that is enough. A wrong has been committed and so there is no amount of changes he would make that would change that wrong. In any case, such changes would still be illegitimate since they would be products of someone wrongly occupying an office. The only way to right the wrong already running is for Yar’Adua to vacate the office of the President of Nigeria, an office he did not merit.

 

It has been argued at various quarters that, since Yar’Adua is now occupying the office and has managed to garner the support of people like Babangida, the emirs, of course, Obasanjo (the arrowhead of the electoral abuse) and other notable Nigerians, the matter should be allowed to rest in the interest of national unity and security. It is to be stated here and now that these individuals are neither Nigeria nor the entire electorate. In principle each of these individuals has just one vote, just as the eligible mendicant voter has. So why should a totality of votes of these individuals represent those of millions of other eligible voters in the country? If national unity and security are to be maintained, then the right thing must be done always and must be seen to be done at all times. And the right thing to be done is to carry out an election devoid of rigging; an election in which all contestants are arrayed on a level playing field. I don’t care who eventually emerges the winner but let it be seen and made obvious to everyone that such a person has won in a free and fair election.

 

Another argument for justifying the criminal rigging is the effort by the PDP to continue from where Obasanjo left off, especially with respect to the economic reforms. Who has told the PDP that the people even care about Obasanjo, his PDP and his devil-may-care economic reforms? Even as I’m writing this, Obasanjo cannot stand up before anyone and speak intelligently about the contents of these so-called economic reforms. Obasanjo has always said that patience should be exercised for the reforms to take shape. I wonder what that statement means. A project that has been on ground for a period of eight years without showing any expected positive signs is as good as those rejected papers adorning the trash baskets in the office. Only a fool whose folly is obvious before him would like to continue doodling with that foolery with a hope that something useful would come out of it. In any case what tells Obasanjo and his PDP cohorts that they, and only they, have the monopoly of knowledge with respect to fashioning out any policy of which the economic reforms are one? This is one of the angles from which this dastardly act of electoral rigging should be viewed. Democracy should be viewed as an arena where other opinions are allowed to thrive. Stifling other voices, by bringing a one-party system of governance through the backdoor is something completely alien and repugnant to the general tenet of what we know democracy to mean. This dangerous floodwater that is already attaining knee-deep level should be arrested and baled out as soon as possible. Nigeria is greater than any citizen and no citizen, repeat, no citizen should take it upon himself to be a messiah as we have been made to believe in the past, including the just recent past. In any case, such a spurious claim is left to everyone’s judgment because the nation has been skidding down the declivity of retrogression from bad to worse in spite of these messianic claims.

 

Does it not strike any chord that, during Yar’Adua’s inauguration on May 29, 2007, most of the influential world leaders stayed away; only leaders from the neighbouring West African countries, and fewer still from other African countries, attended! And, even before this inauguration, most of these influential world leaders did not extend any courtesy of sending congratulatory messages to Yar’Adua; those that did must have done so grudgingly. Is this not becoming an insult to the nation’s image? This situation has rubbed mud, dirt and filth on the faces of all Nigerians. This would, no doubt, add to the various insults being heaped on Nigerians worldwide, including Nigerians carrying the so-called diplomatic passports! Why must we continue to act in a way that will add up to the disdain and ridicule already thrown on the nation? Even our fellow Africans, including the neighbouring West African countries, would be thumping their noses at Nigeria, laughing at the nation as a country that cannot carry out something as simple as an election. Even the so-called appellation, ‘African Giant’ is now becoming a misnomer because time will come when other African nations will refuse any intervention by Nigeria on account of the fact that the country (Nigeria) has failed to put its own house in order. I daresay that, among the series of retrogressive measures brought about by the Obasanjo government, this brazen rigging of Yar’Adua and other leaders to power was the conspicuous nail on Nigeria’s coffin.

 

Since the generality of Nigerians seem not to see anything evil in that election and have come to accept it as an added bitter pill they will have to swallow we shall look up to the various courts of law in the country for succour and salvation. Even the traditional rulers, the so-called custodians of our customs and values, seem not to see anything wrong in the illegitimate enthronement of Yar’Adua as the nation’s president. It was something painful and disgraceful to see some of them the other day going to pay courtesy call on Yar’Adua! What a shame! In fact any constitutional amendment that should grant the traditional rulers a place in national affairs, other than what they have now, would be a misplaced action because I don’t see anything useful in those occupying those stools. They have lost their conscience and have lost that respect they command as the custodians of the society’s values.

 

If true democracy is to return to the country it will be incumbent on the various courts of law to take the challenge and do justice to the various petitions before them. The Supreme Court is a citadel of justice I hold in great awe. The fearlessness of its members and their sense of judgment are already legendary. I have no iota of doubt that the election petition before them would be handled with their usual wisdom. We want a president that is duly and rightly elected by the people. We are tired of these incessant cases of election malpractices that have been dogging this nation come every election. We want this nation to emerge as a respectable nation among the comity of nations where Nigerians would regain the respect that has eluded them for long.

 

 

Danboyi Gomsuk