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Electoral Reforms And The Morality Of Yar’adua’s Presidency By Ayo Fawibe Maryland, USA
Aftermath of Alhaji Umar Yar’Adua’s rise to power by whatever means you want to call it, the sleeping dog has not really been allowed to lie and himself (Yar’Adua) may not help matters with the hurried introduction of electoral reform activity.
Surely, President Yar’Adua is actually living in a glass house and throwing stones without recourse to the vulnerability of his environment. He probably needs to be reminded that the controversial elections that ushered him into office were held only last April.
Honestly, Mr. President is actually inflicting more injuries on himself at this time by dwelling on electoral issues when there are pending suits challenging his presidency. First things first, the introduction of the electoral reforms is ill-timed and grossly misplaced at a time when Yar’Adua should relegate the electoral controversies to the backstage and concentrate on winning public confidence through the introduction of policies and programs capable of making life more meaningful for Nigerians.
He should be mindful of the fact that media coverage would continue to trail the assignment of the electoral reforms body and issues or revelations emanating from the process may be celebrated by overzealous Journalists to cause his fledgling government further headaches and distractions.
Even if Yar’Adua assemble angels to reform the nation’s electoral process, would the effort straighten the crooked path through which he traveled to become president? The obvious answer is NO and that’s why those who accused Yar’Adua of double speak incurs no blame simply because the message form Aso Rock is simply cloudy when it comes to the last elections.
Should Yar’Adua not simply resign as requested by Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu? If he (Yar’Adua) continues to admit that the last elections were seriously marred by irregularities, then that’s technically saying that he mounted the rostrum of power fraudulently sine he is a major beneficiary of the sham.
The moral question surrounding the sanctity of Yar’Adua’s election would remain a burden not just on his administration, but the nation’s electoral history. Psychologically, Yar’Adua seems to be seriously haunted by the experience of that clandestine meeting where Obasanjo assured him of the presidency at all cost. Of course, the result of the do-or-die approach adopted by Obasanjo is massive rigging and that is the baggage of problems dumped on Yar’Adua’s laps today.
Stolen votes versus stolen monies, how do we reconcile both situations? Obasanjo pretended to fight corruption even when stolen funds were used to finance his campaigns including the ill-fated third term project. Yar’Adua’s policy is that of zero tolerance for corruption, but he is out there telling the world that the election that ushered him to power was fraudulent. This posture is seriously self-defeatist, contradictory and this president has erroneously adopted a suicidal approach by shooting himself in the foot.
Yar’Adua’s sponsor, the Ota farmer has just declared that no one has the authority to query him for the conduct of the April polls since he enjoyed immunity as president. Well, good talk but wait a minute. Although he got a reprieve from the Election Petitions Tribunal, yet his statement is a clear assertion that the former president abused his office to mismanage the conduct of the polls by defrauding the Nigerian voters. So, the trial of the former governors may not be justified since they were also shielded by immunity to commit the alleged offences.
If wishes were horses, DSP Alamieyeseigha would have returned to Bayelsa government house after serving his sentence, just as if nothing happened. Former governors Orji Uzor Kalu and his colleagues probably have no case to answer since they enjoyed immunity to commit the alleged offences.
The tribunals, the courts, the panels and other judicial outlets wouldn’t possibly heal the wounds since the judges and other judicial officials are not totally immuned from political manipulations. The Alamieyeseigha’s freedom deal and Governor Alao Akala’s indictment saga are good evidences in this direction. And in this era of plea bargain in Nigeria, anything is possible. Vice President Goodluck Jonathan’s secret meeting with Alamieyeseigha was never a secret and Akala’s scheming in the reappointment of a sacked chief judge to quash an earlier indictment was well reported.
Yes, the panel of “wise men” is already constituted and must execute its assignment; however at this point, Yar’Adua must stop meddling with this idea of electoral reforms since the bruises suffered by the aggrieved is yet to heal. Pushing for electoral reforms is not a panacea for solving Nigeria’s present problems, Yar’Adua should rather capitalize on the present level of acceptance by redirecting his energy towards doing everything humanly possible to put some smiles on the faces of Nigerians.
Where is the Oputa Panel report? What happened to Vision 2010? What did Nigeria benefit from the Political Bureau of 1986? These are inquiries that may never beget any answer forever. Therefore, the question of reforming the electoral process is a fundamental issue and it must be so treated. A hurried assemblage of a few Nigerians (partisan or non-partisan) won’t solve the problem.
So far, Yar’Adua has continued to reverberate his determination to uphold the rule of law at all times. The constituted electoral reforms panel is probably a way of reassuring the world that his administration would follow through with its policies. However, there is no gainsaying that this administration is still crawling and the true tests of its potency would emanate as events unfold. As for Nigeria? It is not yet Uhuru!
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