Nigeria: Ekiti’s
Political Drama; A Reflection
By
Kola Ibrahim
kmarx4live@yahoo.com
In all
ramifications, the young and old people of Ekiti State were great.
When one considers the barrage of terror and fascist character of
ruling party then one will appreciate the resilience and doggedness of
our Ekiti compatriots. The heroism of our Ekiti compatriots even
propelled the state AC leaders including the governorship candidate to
lead serious of protests against the electoral coup of the PDP – the
nest of killers. The declaration of the agent of retrogression as the
governor of the peasant state after ten years of civilian horrors is a
setback for the courageous people of Ekiti. Moreover, the pyrrhic
victory of the PDP in the Ekiti electoral coup is a setback to the
Nigerian working and toiling people’s genuine wishes to end the
miseries in their daily. Therefore, the Ekiti re-run tragedy has
clearly laid bare the fact that there cannot be any so-called
“peaceful” (mere voting and legal action) resolution of the
contradictions that currently define Nigeria. The Ekiti election
crisis has again given a clear lesson for those who still nurse the
illusion in the ability of some section of the ruling party,
especially the president to listen to reason. Despite all attempt by
Yar’Adua and his kitchen cabinet to present themselves as innocent of
the crimes of their brethren in southwest, they are all linked to the
Ekiti electoral coup.
While several
reports fingered the police chief and many PDP bigwigs in rotten
connivance to thwart people’s will, the president looked the other
way. The same president, in a cynical but hypocritical manner, rather
than probe the allegation claimed by Mr. Adebayo in her letter, issued
a statement begging Mrs. Adebayo “to follow her conscience” (?). Few
days later, some electoral staffs who worked in the controversial
local government (Ido-Osi) were fingered in a N250 million bribery
scandal. While the bribe takers were so confident in their composure
about the bribery, the president, in the name of zero-tolerance to
corruption did not deem it fit to establish a full fledge probe into
the finances of the INEC officials. If INEC staffs could take N250
million and felt no qualms, what then is expected at its top echelon,
taking into cognizance the arbitrary actions taken by INEC leaders to
ruin people’s will. The so-called promise by Yar’Adua to order probe
of the bribery is only in response to public outcry that had dogged
its government’s so-called anti-corruption and re-branding fraud. The
same way the several other probes and committees have been set-up to
silence the public, all of which ended in futility, the same way this
so-called probe will go. It will only be an image laundering effort
for Yar’Adua government. At best, it will be a slap in the wrist for
many of the officers and a cover-up for the big shots in government
and INEC. This is time for the labour movement to expose Yar’Adua’s
hypocrisy by demanding an open probe and trial where the public will
bring all evidence against all culprits in the Ekiti electoral mishap
including police and INEC officers, politicians, etc. But to Umaru
Yar’Adua, the end justifies the means; inasmuch as its party can get
away with blue murder, while claim “the holier than thou”. The same
president, who promised not to use the army to secure election later,
used the same military men to repress protests arising from the
electoral coup. A reasonable government should know that prioritizing
political justice is the only way to secure the society.
The national
assembly, comprising mostly of PDP members that is also playing the
saints could not explain what five of its members including two from
outside the state were doing in Ekiti during the election, when there
was no official assignment given to them even as accredited observers.
Yet, all of them were fingered in one form of violence or the other.
One of them, Isiaka Adeleke who claimed to be acting in the capacity
of a senate committee chairman on INEC, failed to tell the world he
had already criminally endorsed the villain of the millennium –
Maurice Iwu and his INEC. Also, the house of representative speaker,
Dimeji Bankole had previously bragged about the ruling PDP’s ability
to use the military to rig Ekiti elections. This same individual has
been junketing the world, representing the nation in fora discussing
democratic sustenance, collecting huge Estacode and travel allowances,
but openly inviting the military to perpetrate civilian coup.
Tragic-comically, it is this same national assembly, majority of whom
were rigged to senate that will “reform” the electoral system! Will it
be more realistic for labour leaders campaigning for electoral reform
to rely on mass mobilization for a referendum than appealing to the
so-called legislature?
The Ekiti election
also shows the clear limitation of the PDP-led neo-colonial
establishment. The rabid manners in which the PDP nationally, and in
particular its south west section, intervened in the election again
shows that these elements cannot just move this nation forward an
inch. To its strategists, losing Ekiti after being ousted in Ondo and
Edo by mass of people is the same as opening a floodgate for mass
rejection of the party in the south west and indeed in the whole
country. They know that judiciary with its integrity crisis (even its
most pliable section) cannot safe them, so they relied on brazen use
of state coercive power. Behind their desperate attempt to sustain
themselves in power is the total failure to uplift the working poor in
the past two years of Yar’Adua and PDP state governments, despite huge
resources at their disposal. The manner in which they rigged the Ekiti
election clearly reflects what will happen when they face total
resistance from the people – route for military coup. One thing that
has stood out in the whole election brouhaha is the gallantly of the
Ekiti people. They, like other genuinely minded Nigerian will do,
rejected the PDP. They also protested the subversion of their wish.
Note that every vote against the PDP is a vote against the
dysfunctional state of the country; against capitalist neo-liberal
policy and particularly a vote for a change. The coup plotters could
not even associate openly with the “victory”. However, we should ask
ourselves, why were people defeated despite their gallantry? Or should
we assume that the ruling class will always have its way as some
pundits are inferring? The answer to these questions lies in the
character of the opposition party and its figures.
As it has been
earlier posited that one thing that an average Nigerian will wish is
the ouster of PDP a monster party from governance. Therefore, like in
every society the opposition Action Congress (AC), is seen as
expression of people’s hatred for the ruling party. But this hatred
for the ruling party is not the same as total acceptance of the AC as
the political organ of transformation for the people. While people see
AC as a party that has the wherewithal (political structure, finance,
etc) to fight the much-despised PDP, they do not see the AC as their
party: the party that can fulfill their ultimate desire for an
egalitarian society; a party they can live and die for. In fact, the
AC cannot be said to stand on the same pedestal as UPN, in terms of
policies, programmes and acceptance. Take Lagos for instance, while
Jakande’s UPN government embarked on massive housing projects and free
education at elementary level (and subsidized tertiary education) and
healthcare, the AC governments of Bola Tinubu and Fashola sold public
houses, and where they build some, they are for the highly rated
middle and high class while education especially tertiary education
are commercialized. While Fashola’s government has embarked on some
commendable road construction, the reality is that this still falls
short of radical changes the society needed. Moreover, its Mega-city
project has meant attack on some workers (health workers, teachers,
etc) and petty traders. Can this then make the poor people in Lagos
identify AC as their own party?
The AC, while as an
opposition party may mouth some slogans that sound populist, stand for
the same pro-capitalist, neo-liberal policies like PDP. AC has shown
its commitment to privatization, commercialization, deregulation, etc
even more than PDP. While the then AD governors (now AC leaders)
pioneered retrenchment in the current civilian experiment, the Fashola
government is a pioneer in the concession of public roads to private
managers – a daylight robbery. This explains why the likes of Atiku
Abubakar, who presided over the criminal handing out of public
properties to private hands for over six years, could easily become a
favourite in AC in 2007 in the name of fighting PDP. While Nigerians
are disgusted with the use of N1.2 trillion as politicians’ salaries,
AC’s politicians in power did not raise highbrow on this official
robbery or even cut their salaries. AC, like the ruling party, also
used billions to fund elections. The question is: where do these
billions come from? Is it donations? Whoever foots, the bill it is
people that will pay the price through bogus salaries for politicians
and inflated contract to supporters.
In Ekiti State where
AC was leading, what manner does the AC brought to the contest? In the
first instance, the state find itself in the current mess as a result
of the false economic and political policies of AD (now AC) as a
ruling party. It will be recalled that despite the economic and
political bankruptcy of the Obasanjo government in moving the nation
forward in its first tenure, the AD leaders heavily mobilised for him
under an absurd promise of insuring their emergence as governors and
their access to the federal government – a government that could not
explain how the nation’s chief law officer who doubled as the leader
of AD, Bola Ige was murdered. Furthermore, it was the abysmal
performance of the Niyi Adebayo’s AD government in Ekiti that drove
the people to the hands of PDP marauders ably led by Ayo Fayose. Funny
enough, the same AC leaders that led campaigns against the repressive
but highly corrupt Ayo Fayose’s government uncritically embraced him
into the Fayemi’s campaign.
This dual character
of opposing the PDP’s monstrosity while also sharing its feature can
not make the people, traumatized for ten years to prepare to lay down
their lives for AC. This however does not mean that they will not vote
for the opposition or protest rigging, because their hatred for the
PDP will definitely overshadow the contradiction of the opposition.
Such rejection of the ruling party will continue inasmuch as anti-poor
policies are implemented. But the protest without a viable
organization to organize people into sustainable mass political
movement against the continued emergence of Segun Oni, will not lead
to ouster of PDP. But while AC wants people to protest against the
ruling party, at the same time it does not want the protest to
challenge the foundation of neo-liberalism or people’s direct control
of the party. At best, it wants to use the threat of mass movement to
get concession from the ruling party. This explains why an average
Ekiti indigene we want to vote AC but not join AC even passively. This
is reflected in the result of the elections in Ekiti. While it can be
claimed that the elections were rigged and electoral materials
manipulated, this should have at least ginger a stronger interest in
Ekiti people’s defence of the votes such that the PDP’s camel would
have had to pass through a needle’s eye in order to manipulate Ido-Osi.
That the PDP could adequately rigged out AC in places like Ikole shows
there is a kind of apathy in the election, a reflection of
disillusionment in political parties especially the opposition by the
people. Even in places where AC won like Irepodun/Ifelodun, it was
with a minimal margin.
The fake tactics of
AC only accentuate this contradiction. While AC leaders rejected the
use of military as a ploy to rig the election, they kept quiet on the
character of the Police thus portraying it as acceptable coercive
force. But everyday, the newspaper is awash with police’s abuse of
people’s rights which its hierarchies eager to justify or cover. While
it may be correct to oppose the use of military for election, as this
confers a messianic title on the military – a good recipe for military
intervention, the best way to stop rigging is to form election
vigilante groups in communities. This will confer power to the people
who will see the election as theirs and not that of a preferable party
or candidate. Comically, AC was banking its victory on the
“conscience” of Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo – the same woman who organised the
2007 electoral farce in the same state, which led to the rerun in the
first instance – rather than organizing mass protests until the
fraudulent result are thrown to the trashcan. This definitely created
a dichotomy between itself and the masses. What happened in Ekiti is
not an isolated case. In Osun State, while people courageously
rejected the anti-poor, repressive Oyinlola government, as seen in
massive support for Rauf Aregbesola, the false policy of AC has only
embolden the ogre of corruption in Osun State in connivance with the
judiciary, to further attack people with over 400 people (including AC
supporters) thrown to detention. While there were spontaneous protests
against the rigging spree in 2007, especially in Osogbo and Ilesa, the
party could not organize people’s anger into a consistent movement
throughout the state and providing a genuine pro-poor alternative to
every Oyinlola’s anti-poor policy.
The Ekiti debacle
again underlined the absence of a mass working people’s party which
has seen the AC, another neo-liberal party, to become the main
opposition party. It is only a working class party that is
democratically built from the grass roots to the national levels with
a clear programme of socio-economic transformation that can lead
people out of the misery of neo-liberalism and capitalism. Such a
party will counterpoise public ownership of the economic under the
democratic control of the working people and the consumers to
privatization; massive public works – massive building and equipping
of schools (and provision of free and quality education at all
levels); adequate and well-equipped health system (and free health
care at the point of use); cheap public housing; potable water system;
integrated and environmentally-friendly energy system (hydro, solar,
wind, tidal and biomass); poor-peasant-based, mechanized and
environmentally-friendly agricultural system; etc – to
commercialization and retrenchment; among others.
The party will counterpoise moneybag politics to a rank and file
party politics. This party will not limit itself to
electoral issues but will champion every struggle of the common people
from the grassroots to the national level. This kind of party will
definitely have to adopt anti-capitalist, revolutionary policies which
will put the resources of the nation, over 80 percent of which is in
the hands of just one percent, in the hands of the people for the
development of the society. Such a party will have to draw its members
from workers, peasants, petty traders, artisans, unemployed, students
and youth. This is the challenge before the working class leadership
and activists.
On the other hand,
the labour leadership’s so-called neutrality is a recipe for
opportunism. While central labour unions’ leadership appeals to
sentiment of Yar’Adua, it at the same time uncritically supports the
opposition’s fight against the PDP government. Its state leaderships
only use the fog of neutrality to support the ruling party and
government. The labour leadership should divert its energy to
convene a national summit of working class organizations, peasant and
petty trader movements, artisan organizations, students and youth
movements, pro-democracy organizations, socialist movements, leftwing
parties, self-determination groups, etc where political future of the
poor people will be fashioned out. Such a summit will evolve from
similar ones from local, state and regional sections, with membership
democratically determined. Without a conscious political
action of the labour and working class activists, what happened in
Ekiti will only be a dress rehearsal for a serious catastrophe in
2011, as the corrupt ruling class represented by PDP will build up
arsenal to sustain itself in power while the working people will be
seeking an alternative. Without a radical political alternative of the
working people, 2011 may lead to another setback and defeat for the
working and poor people with far-reaching consequences. While the
LASCO planned protest rallies are commendable, this should lead to the
fermentation of a radical alternative for the working people. It is
only this platform that can defeat the fast emerging neo-colonial
fascism.
Obafemi Awolowo
University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
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