Nigeria Democracy in pieces ahead 2015 General Elections

International fiction/faction writer Jeffrey Archer paints a horrific picture of corruption in Nigeria and Brazil, especially, in his A Quiver Full of Arrows. However, he seemed to have missed the point that he was doing his western world a disfavour by the way he failed to discern that it was his people who, in the main, corrupted the least-developed countries’ (LDCs) operatives whom his people dealt with. Let us return to how Europe underdeveloped Africa, shortly, a story succinctly told by late Walter Rogers. Let us instead dwell on how Europe, generally, seems to be misadjusting the thinking of Nigerians as to what is wrong and right about how we conduct our affairs – especially our electioneering. Let us do this in relation to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chair Prof. Maurice Iwu’s latest international altercation with the European Union (EU), assuming that recent media reports are to be believed. What do we hear? “Iwu is a liar; he is insincere; unreliable; compromised, et cetera.” But,how come? Nigeria’s April 2007 general elections which Iwu’s INEC administered were grossly rigged, marred by irregularities and compromised to benefit the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). That is the charge, as stated by international and local observers alike and especially orchestrated by the EU according to media reports of recent. It may be necessary for us Nigerians to take these matters in perspective. We may begin by asking these questions: does INEC “snatch” ballot boxes and bags; get its officials to “disrupt” voting; recruit “thugs” to beat up party agents; “hijack” election returns forms en route collation centres; or scare wary “eligible” voters from polling stations? Wait for it; it is political parties and the Nigerian population who do these and more, to undermine the integrity of elections in our country. Wait again. Especially, ahead of elections 2007, Nigeria enjoyed unprecedented political enlightenment of the voting suffrage. This was orchestrated by unparalleled hype and mobilisation of the electorate by the national electoral commission, and a clear zeal to pursue the path of honour including introducing the first-time “data image capture” equipment, et cetera. It bears commenting upon, the myriad of deliberate problems which the Nigerian system created for the electoral process, including late passage of the electoral act by even the National Assembly, late release of funds for approved projects by the government, deliberate failure of contracted agencies to supply INEC with needed materials for the elections, and indeed, a clear preference of political parties for rigging of the elections rather transparency. Recall also that, just days to the start of polling last April, the Supreme Court of Nigeria determined that INEC had no powers under the law to screen off or exclude candidates presented by bona fide parties for the elections, contrary to popular opinion as popularly held hitherto. This meant that some elections were about to be won or lost on technical grounds, as has been the case in most election petitions tribunals lately. Meanwhile, it bears no pedagogies to state that elections in Nigeria are a “do-or-die” matter, such that those who do not win ultimately accuse the umpire of malfeasance whereas nobody desired transparency in the first place. Whether it was Abel Guobadia’s commission, Humphrey Nwosu’s, Eme Awa’s or Victor Ovie-Whiskey’s national electoral agencies – as far as the memory could go – the combatants always never know how to be humble in defeat or magnanimous in victory. Whereas no discerning person would dare claim that these elections are often perfect or even fair, it is not difficult to see that it is political parties and the Nigerian system which set the stage for irregularities. We know that political parties and their candidates ab initio plan not how to convince the electorate in their favour but how to outwit the opponent by whatever means possible – even if diabolical. Nothing is said about fairness, civility or legality!

So, whereas we are complacent to blame the electoral umpire for all the irregularities in the system wholesale, it ought to prick our consciences that no Nigerian politician wishes for “free and fair” elections. Consider for instance that, when in 1999 compromise presidential candidate of All-Nigeria Peoples Party and Afenifere (or Alliance for Democracy) James Olu Falae went to court to challenge the “victory” of PDP’s Olusegun Obasanjo, Falae was merely advised by his people that, Obasanjo was omo wa ni (our own son) hence Falae should jettison any grouses over his loss. But, without sentiments as we seem to wallow in, where do we look for an evenhanded umpire to aspire to? Try, for instance, the Americans who beat their own chests as the impeccable example of evenhanded democracy. But, while you do that, do close your eyes to the recent debacle where an interested Governor Jeb Bush’s home state seemed obliged to help a wobbling blood brother, George Bush to secure a win for the presidency, despite the illegality. Or a beleaguered premier, Tony Blair manipulating security reports to secure legislative approval for war with Iraq over non-existent weapons of mass destruction. Perhaps, one did not even need to have bordered about the so-called EU response to Prof. Iwu’s poignant insistence that INEC had singularly succeeded in breaking a Nigerian jinx: it has led the country to transit from one elected government to another – it never happened before in our history. Indeed, what an honest Nigerian would be worrying about should be how to exploit President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s promised electoral reform programme for a better electioneering next. But, to be sure, nobody should allow us to continue to have the wool pulled over our eyes by the Western world with any hypocritical posturing as the EU seems to be doing currently in its altercation with Iwu over righteousness. If we take note of recent shenanigans of EU nation companies like Siemens and Wilbros willfully corrupting Africans, especially Nigerians in other forms of corruption (other than electoral), then it becomes clear to all us that the EU is merely gerrymandering in its posturing of INEC’s feat in leading Nigeria through a minefield replete with self-set obstacles. As for Prof. Iwu, it is instructive that he is a political product of the Western world and has succeeded so far in literally giving it back to them as they come. No other electoral authority in Nigeria, in history, has ever done better than this INEC even with noticed deficiencies as we see them, except anybody is ready with contrary data. With the April polls behind us, another mileage has been covered in the route leading to the deepening and consolidation of the roots of democracy on the Nigerian socio-political milieu. We will get there definitely