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| Buhari |
Apart from promising Nigerians heaven and earth
when sworn in, the President-Elect also completely lacks democratic pedigree
needed to blend and bind and smoothly govern highly multi ethno-religiously
divided country called Nigeria. For instance, it is correct to say that the
President-Elect is notoriously ignorant of the sanctity of the ballot box and
the need to respect and uphold same at all times. Till date, the
President-Elect has not ceased in making provocative, divisive and vindictive
remarks against the electoral decisions of Nigerians who voted for political
parties other than his APC particularly the voters of the Southeast and the
South-south geopolitical zones. He is also very bitter and unhappy with the
pattern of voting in Lagos State where his party-APC was given a hot chase by
his opponent party-PDP with difference of 160,000 and 150,000 votes in favor of
his party against his opponent party in the Presidential/National Legislative
(792,000 votes for APC & 632,000 for PDP) and the Governorship/State
Legislative polls (811,000 votes for APC & 659,000 for PDP) respectively.
The President-Elect must have expected a one
party voting pattern in Lagos State in total disregard to the irrevocable
rights of the citizens of Nigeria to vote freely and conscientiously not
minding the ethno-religious backgrounds of their preferred candidates. Mr.
Muhammadu Buhari has also continuously made highly negative references to the
voting and its patterns in “the South” particularly the Southeast and the
South-south geopolitical zones. Each time he speaks, he describes the voting in
the area as “a sham” on account of the massive rejection of his APC by the
people of the two zones. In his recent press interviews to a number of foreign
news agencies including the BBC Hausa Service, he made same negative and
provocative comments. In his interview last Saturday (11th April)
after his voting in Daura, he singled out for extensive attacks the South-south
and the Southeast including the States of Edo, Rivers and Imo where his party
governs no thanks to defection (in Rivers and Imo States).
The President-Elect’s perceived primordial sense
of reasoning and judgment totally makes it very difficult for him to pause and
ask: “why are the people of the South-south and the Southeast both home and
outside rejecting my Party and candidacy at polls and how can they be pacified
for the sake of united, purposeful and prosperous Nigeria?”
It is extremely important to state here that
those gifted and equipped to govern well in multi ethno-religious democracy
should fundamentally x-ray and see the electoral decisions of the ethnic
nationalities against them as early warning signals that must be
bottled and removed from transforming into triggers of intractable socio-value
conflict and other disturbances now or in future.
Conversely, under the President-Elect and its
party, the reverse is grossly the case. For instance, while the two referenced
polls in the Southeast and the South-south zones are “a sham” in the eyes and
perception of the President-Elect and his Party-APC; those held in the North
are seen by them as “very credible”. In Mr. Muhammadu
Buhari’s interview under reference, he saw nothing wrong in the polls held in
the North, but saw everything wrong in those held in the South. That millions
of voters in the North who voted in the two polls are under-age children do not
amount to poll rigging in the eyes and perception of the President-Elect and
his Party; likewise other widespread complaints of electoral malpractices in
his zone and the South made against his Party and its agents.
In a
recent interview with the Channel’s Television, the out-going governor of Kano
State, Mr. Musa Kwankwaso admitted that “Almajiris” (millions of uncared and
abandoned children in the North) were used to vote out President Goodluck
Jonathan”. Despite the fact that the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act of
2010 totally ban and forbid children under the age of 18 years from voting, the
likes of the President-Elect sees nothing wrong in it criminally, morally and
socially. The international observers have also turned blind eyes over the
issue and concentrated in the South. The Northern political leaders including
the President-Elect appear worried over efforts to educate and develop the “Almajiris”
and prefer using them for political violence and roguish and illegitimate
voting for the purpose of grabbing democratic powers. This can be inferred from
Gov Kwankwaso’s statement under reference.
In Rivers
State, over one million, four hundred thousand votes went to the opponent party
(PDP) of the President-Elect while a paltry number went to his party-APC
following the referenced Presidential poll. As expected, the President-Elect
and his party described it as “a sham and massive rigging”. Again,
in the governorship poll held in the State, another one million plus votes went
to the party opposing the APC and the same labeling rented the air. Rivers
State is a State under APC control by defection with all security apparatus
under its fold. The referenced State’s out-going governor ascended to
governorship through judicial coronation. The State as APC State by defection;
is also reported to have bankrolled recent APC State and national polls owing
to its status as the richest oil State in Nigeria. Lagos State is also said to
be the second APC sponsor State. It is
important to state here that the loss of the two polls in Rivers State by the
President-Elect and his party-APC is likely to go beyond allegations of
widespread rigging.
The President-Elect and his party-APC are also
very intolerant, undemocratic and alarmist. Their constant reference to poll
results where they lost as “sham” and “widely rigged” is not only a case in
point, but also despicable and condemnable. For instance, when the President-Elect
and his APC was in a verge of winning the presidential election, incumbent
President Goodluck Jonathan called and congratulated him and conceded defeat; when Mr. Samuel Ortom of APC was in a verge of
winning the Benue State gubernatorial election, incumbent Gov. Gabriel Suswan
of PDP called and congratulated him in advance.
When
Mallam Nasir El-rufai of APC was in a verge of winning the Kaduna State
gubernatorial election, incumbent Gov Mukhtar Yero of PDP called and congratulated
him in advance; when Mr. Bindo Mohammed Jibrilla of APC was in a verge of winning
the Adamawa State governorship poll, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu of PDP who came third,
conceded defeat and congratulated him; when incumbent Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of
Oyo State and his APC was in a verge of winning the governorship poll, former
Governor Alao-Akala of LP called and congratulated him in advance; when incumbent
Gov. Ibukunle Amosun was in a verge of winning the Ogun State governorship poll,
Mr. Gboyega Isiaka of PDP called and
congratulated him in advance.
Conversely, when Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of PDP won
the Enugu State's gubernatorial election, Mr. Okey Ezea of APC called for
cancellation of the results on account of alleged malpractices; when incumbent Gov. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of PDP won the Gombe
State governorship the APC supporters burnt down an Emir’s Palace; when Sen. Gyang
Pwajok of PDP was taken an early lead in the Plateau State governorship poll,
Mr. Simon Lalong of APC, who eventually won, called for outright cancellation
of the poll; when Mr. Udom Emmanuel of PDP won the Akwa-Ibom State governorship
poll with 996,000 votes, Mr. Umana Umana of APC who scored 89, 000 votes called
for cancellation of the entire election.
Further, when Mr. Nyesom Nwike of PDP was in a
verge of winning the Rivers State governorship poll, incumbent Gov. Rotimi
Amechi called the election a sham and demanded for outright cancellation of the
entire exercise; when Gov. Peter Ayodele Fayose and his PDP swept most, if not
all the seats in the State’s House of Assembly in Ekiti State, APC cried foul
and alleged malpractices and called for cancellation of the poll; and when Gov.
Olusegun Mimiko and his PDP won majority seats in the Ondo House of Assembly, the
APC rejected the outcome and called for cancellation of the exercise. This is
just to mention but a few.
In all, the truth about the just held 2015
general elections in Nigeria is that while the projected explosion of
widespread violence was avoided owing to political maturity and civility of
Igbo race and the country’s minority ethnic nationalities that were demographically
and systematically rigged; the referenced polls fundamentally failed the litmus
test of international best practices. As it stands now, three governorship
polls have been declared inconclusive owing to poll malpractices and INEC’s
gross incompetence.
The polls generally speaking, have been marred by
ethnic and religious divisions, political exclusion, mass disenfranchisement,
under-age voting, ethno-religious balkanization, scientific rigging using
electronic technology configured along ethno-religious segregation, widespread
rigging, violence, as well as impartiality and gross incompetence on the part
of Independent National Electoral Commission. Truly speaking, the roguishness
associated with the 2015 general elections in Nigeria is comparable in most
respects with the 2007 general polls. The 2011 polls, other than its post poll
violence; remains the best among the Nigeria’s highly tainted
civilian-to-civilian polls of the immediate past.
In view of these, therefore, we wish to state
firmly that although the short-term negative outcomes or consequences of the
2015 general elections in Nigeria appeared bottled in terms of projected
immediate large scale explosion of violence; there are still long term aspect
that must be escorted and cocooned at all times. We seriously doubt the
competence and statesmanship potentials of the President-Elect and his Party in
handling them.
For the President-Elect to handle the referenced
long term triggers, he must be made to change his present vengeance or
vindictive and primordialist dispositions. In view of his perceived lack of statesmanship,
his Party-APC and its foreign backers must come to his rescue by offering him
thorough tutorship in democratic principles including political tolerance, rule
of law, respect for voting rights and sanctity of the ballot box, respect for
civil liberties, due process and multi ethnic democratic governance and
ethno-religious and cultural pluralism.
As the President-Elect, Mr. Muhammadu Buhari
ought to be a statesman and father of all to be able to govern smoothly,
happily and prosperously a country like Nigeria, which has over 250 ethnic
groups and multi religions to its credit. The President-Elect also ought to be
fair and accommodating in his referenced public comments. Open exhibition of
ethnic, sectional, religious and political disdain against other ethnic
nationalities through unfair and primordialist public comments particularly directed
against those that voted against him and his Party; constitutes a political
battle line with fare reaching consequences both in short term and long terms.
When a people feel threatened, culturally, economically and religiously, they
can do anything to repel it no matter their size and geopolitical landscape.
The President-Elect ought to have congratulated
all Nigerians for successfully voting the candidates and parties of their
choice and conscience irrespective of their geopolitical landscapes and
ethno-religious groupings. If he thinks that the 2015 general polls in Nigeria
were rigged in whole or in part; he should have avoided making sweeping and
inciting public comments and implored and allowed the rigged to seek their
mandate recovery from poll tribunals.
Interestingly, in all his public comments, he did
not see any foul play involving his party-APC in the referenced two polls. In
other words, it is only the PDP and others, excluding the APC that rigged in
the 2015 polls. The fact that some INEC returning officers with pricking
conscience have publicly revealed how they were forced by APC chieftains in places
like Oru East LGA of Imo State to write results in favor of their candidates
including Gov Rochas Okoroacha; does not mean anything to the President-Elect
or constitute rigging. Mr. Buhari’s condemnation of poll rigging should have
been made across board including riggers in his party. Till date, the late
President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, who once revealed that “election that brought
him into office was rigged” is still seen in many quarters as a conscientious
statesman and a major contributor to Nigeria’s anti poll rigging therapy.
To avoid disasters of leadership hovering around
the President-Elect, which may explode during his Presidency, we pray his
party-APC and its foreign backers in USA and Europe to quickly ferry the
President-Elect to the National Democratic Institute in USA to be drilled and
mentored in democratic governance and principles.
Interestingly, till date, there are no records of
the President-Elect attending any local or international workshop, seminar or
fellowship on civil governance, democracy and rights related issues. All his
records started and ended with the military. As closed as China is in its
politics, its President, Mr. Xi Jinping (62), who was born on 15th
June 1953; attended the United States’ Department sponsored International
Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) (on democracy, good governance & rule of
law) 29 years ago at the age of 34.
Signed:
Emeka Umeagbalasi,
Board Chairman
+2348174090052
Barr
Uzochukwu Oguejiofor-Nwonu, Head, Campaign & Publicity Department
Barr
Chiugo Onwuatuegwu, Head, Democracy & Good Governance Program
Barr
Obianuju Igboeli, Head, Civil Liberties & Rule of Law Program
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