Nigerian
Election: Opposition is paralyzed and must give in
When
corruption, lawlessness and entire electoral system are beyond rejuvenation,
the law must prevail.
The
political battle during the rigged Nigerian elections (April 14 and 21)
has been lost and , and presidential flag bearer for the Peoples Democratic
Party, Umaru Musa Yar'adua has emerged victorious, having enjoyed great
support from the incumbent who single-handedly picked and installed him.
The opposition believed this election was rigged and is making various demands.
Without further assessment of the entire disgraceful event, it was abundantly
clear, out going President Olusegun Obasanjo physically abused his executive
powers at all cost to re-direct victory to suit his greed. Witch-hunting
of the opposition, harassment and manipulation of the judicial arm were
very clear, and worse, falsifying election results and depriving citizens
from exercising their voting rights rendered the entire exercise a joke.
No
doubt, these elections were marred by many "irregularities" and violent
incidents resulting in a high toll of victims. There were serious organizational
problems, including late arrival of ballot papers, attempts to rig the voting
and distortions of the results at polling stations after the count. In fact,
the entire world knew this election was a joke. But the opposition, armed
with a prescription to install an interim government, continues to mount
pressure against the inauguration of the President-elect, Umaru Musa Yar'adua
and the 36 governors-elect on May 29. A move rejected by the presidency.
Opposition also held on to the judiciary as their best hope for a fair deal
as many of them are already burning more hours with legal practitioners
in passionate challenge of their losses. Politicians dissatisfied with the
elections had 30 days to file complaints before election tribunals.
The rigging of elections in Nigeria is nothing new. Since gaining its independence in 1960 from Britain, there has never been a undisputably free and fair election in Nigeria. This country has been consistently plagued with election fraud, masterminded by the incumbent regimes that supervise them. The mathematics is very simple. The incumbent elects, appoints and controls the electoral managers. It also controls the security forces and the so called election tribunals, thereby making it impossible to offer poll complainants any chances of fair judgment.
But
the latest poll must be assessed differently having been labeled the first
civilian-to-civilian handover the country has experienced since its independence.
While every finger points at the outgoing President Obasanjo for a breakdown
in electoral system, it may be noted also, that exonerating the House Members
of purposefully empowering this this executive power would do nothing to
clear up a muddied 2007 transition.
Plans for rigging this transition exercise did not materialize over night,
but occurred in stages. In a period of four years, the seemingly equally
corrupt legislative arm empowered the executive president with tools that
eventually derailed any progress towards socio-political improvement in
this region. For instance:
o The president was allowed full control of the Economic and Financial Crime
Commission (EFCC) who were in fact allowed more powers and responsibilities
than the Supreme Court of the land. President Obasanjo turned around and
used this set up to humiliate and subjugate all known opposition.
oThe president was allowed full control of the electoral body, National
Electoral Commission (NEC) - A commission he largely used in undermining
millions of voters and installing his cohorts in office. It can be recalled
that during the last republic (1989-1993), the incumbent president, Alhaji
Shegu Shagari similarly used his self-elected electoral body, Federal Electoral
Commission (FEDECO) to rig himself into a second term, before a coup destroyed
his ambitions.
o Besides a legislative arm, bought over by the president with blank checks
made out from the treasury, the judiciary was paralyzed in most cases, and
could not offer fair justice to people seeking redress against the government.
This explains why Vice President Atiku Abubakar, seeking presidential ambition
spent his last twelve months of office in the courthouse, and yet has not
been served fair justice till date.
Given these few major instances, it would be sheer ignorance to blame just the president and exonerate redundant legislators from this region's current calamity. While oppositions all over the world demand a re-election, it may be wiser to manage such public outcry intelligently, rather than by throwing rocks and infusing violence in an already fragile nation. However, the possibility of meeting this request remains another intractable issue.
Realistically
speaking, there is no guarantee that a re-election would be free and fair
in a country with a history of poll-malpractice. A re-election would amount
to wasted taxpayer money. Such a recourse could not change the present scope
of corruption and falsification of results. Worse, it may lead to a higher
degree of violence that may change the focus from counting votes to counting
dead bodies - a situation nobody would want to invest in.
At this time, opposition to this issue is virtually paralyzed and must throw
in the towel so the new government can move on with regular business. They
must support the new regime, and moreover, get ready to prove themselves
in the next four years - this is what democracy is all about.