Discourse 311
Both Muhammadu Buhari and the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) do shoulder the
responsibility of stopping the ongoing fraud in the
Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) regarding the
use of fake cards in its ongoing membership
registration exercise. In this task, the
responsibility of the former is largely moral, while
that of the latter is constitutional. Desperate
politicians who thronged the party are setting new
records of fraud in the history of our political
culture in their bid to use Buhari to hoodwink the
masses and capture power in states where the
presidential candidate has large followership.
The call has become necessary because, surprisingly,
the party leadership is backing the fraud, a
practice that is an antithesis of its promise to use
the party as a platform for progressive politics. If
the fraud is not checked, it has every potential to
wreck the prospects of the party and spoil the
legendary image of Buhari himself especially given
his position as the party's Chairman, Board of
Trustees and, understandably, its natural
presidential flagbearer.
The story is simple. Many gubernatorial aspirants in
the party do not want to play the game by its rules.
They want to singlehandedly determine every stage
that would lead to their nomination. Aiding their
ambition and encouraging it is the poor financial
state of the party. Whoever has money will have the
upper hand. Simple. He will have everything twisted
in his favour regardless of any INEC procedure or
the provisions of the party's constitution. And the
source of his money is not an issue. What is
essential is to have the money, pay the party
leadership, contribute handsomely to funding the
party and the way becomes his. The entire state
executive of the party will be dissolved at his
instance; an interim leadership that is favourably
disposed to him will be sent to his state; it will
solicit for his funding; and it will approve his
wishes.
It is not therefore surprising that the complaints
are the same across the affected states, whether in
Kebbi, Katsina, Kano, Kaduna or Bauchi. Such
aspirants who have earned the goodwill of the
National Chairman of the party are sponsoring
candidates for the chairmanship of the party
executive bodies at state, local government and ward
levels. Through these aspiring chairmen, or directly
on their own, such gubernatorial aspirants have
printed hundreds of thousands of fake party
membership cards and distributed them among the
masses, waiting for the party congresses that are
just about to hold. At the congresses, the fake
membership cards, which outnumber the meagre genuine
50,000 maximum which the party sent to each state at
its debut, will be used to elect the executives
nominated by such gubernatorial aspirants. When
inaugurated, such party executives, who according to
the existing guidelines of the party will be the
party delegates at all levels, will back the
candidate who sponsored their success. A
gubernatorial candidate of CPC has then emerged.
Then Buhari will take the lead in backing such a
candidate. The masses, working on their trust for
Buhari, will vote for the candidate, as they did to
Isa Yuguda in Bauchi in 2007. Your Excellency is
then formed!
The person supporting this scheme is the National
Chairman of the party, former senator Rufa'i Hanga,
who within a short time has earned the bad
reputation of being extremely unreliable. Supporting
him are many close associates of Buhari himself who
have their 'boys' working in concert with the
Chairman. There is a fundamental difference between
Buhari and these people. They focus on winning
elections, hook or crook, in line with the
ideologies of their former parties - the PDP, the
ANPP and the UNCP (the 'PDP' of Abacha if we can
recall). To them politics means power; and power
yields money. As they play it, politics is
livelihood. Buhari, on the other hand, as we all
know, believes power is for service which must be
hinged on the rule of law in government; then power
itself in a democracy must be attained through
internal democracy and free and fair elections. As
he plays it, politics is a cause, not a livelihood.
These schemes will only produce governments that are
inept and corrupt, like the one we have in Bauchi
now. It is totally worthless though it came to power
on the platform of opposition politics and with the
backing of Buhari. The present membership of CPC is
overwhelmingly from ANPP and PDP, and so is the
majority of its aspirants for political offices.
There is the need for the party to prove itself
better than both PDP and ANPP by being transparent
in its conduct and prudent in its affairs. So far,
its national chairman has not proved that
difference.
Tomorrow, Monday, 29 November 2010, the national
leadership is sending a delegation of lawyers to
defend the use of fake cards in its registration
exercise before a federal high court here in Bauchi.
An order was duly secured by aggrieved members of
the party. It baffles me that a party that goes
about dropping the name of Buhari can stoop so low
to defend a clear case of fraud. Nothing can be more
shameful. Bauchi is just one out of many cases. Its
masses will pitifully be deceived again via the same
route if care is not taken. The intention is to
usher in a stooge governor who will allow outsiders
to once more ransack their treasury and leave them
without water, healthcare, education or security.
The solution fortunately is simple. The party should
print millions of cards if it wishes and sell them
to interested members through due process. However,
it must validate previous ones that were genuinely
sold by the former excos in various states while
rejecting any fake card printed and distributed by
any contestant under whatever circumstance. Then it
can conduct its congress and primaries accordingly.
If time is against it, let it use only the genuine
cards distributed so far. It is assumed that any
serious member must have acquired his long ago.
There are about ten gubernatorial candidates in the
state, for example. Let them all contest on this
level playing ground. Simple.
Buhari needs to be firm on this matter in his
characteristic measure. He carries on his shoulder
the trust of the masses who will always subscribe to
his judgement and presentation. He stands to account
for that trust on the day of judgement. He must be
under no illusions about that. His popularity is a
gift that engenders a responsibility. "Then you will
certainly be asked, that Day, about the favours (of
God)." He can easily do this through his position as
the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the party, its
highest decision making body. No fake membership
cards. No worshipping of moneybags. Period.
INEC would also need to wade in, just in case
Buhari's effort does not yield the desired result.
It has the duty to ensure that all political parties
live to a certain standard of transparency in the
conduct of their affairs, including congresses and
primaries. These are the embryonic stages through
which governance is ushered, whether good or bad,
and to which neither the body nor we, ordinary
Nigerians, can afford to turn a blind eye.
In conclusion, for the avoidance of doubt, I would
Iike to state that I am not a card carrying member
of any party. On the affairs of Buhari, I have
maintained an advisory interest while I keep to
myself the constitutional freedom to express my
opinion regarding any issue that partains governance
in my fatherland, Nigeria. I am thus also interested
in the affairs of other candidates. As it relates my
state, however, I owe its citizens the
responsibility to aid in blocking any further
attempt to hoodwink them, regardless of the platform
that may be exploited to achieve that ignoble end.
Bauchi,
28 November, 2010