Nigeria and our ‘selection’ polls

Last year I was roundly criticised over an article entitled: ‘2023 Polls: Promises mean nothing in Nigeria.’ I had argued that I didn’t see any need for the nation to conduct expensive elections when virtually all of the exercises were of- ten marred by violence, shoddy planning by the umpires at both state and federal levels, with the outcomes almost always ending in controversy. In fact, despite the fact that we have been holding elections regularly since 1999, rather than improving things have only gotten worse, with ballot box snatching, vote buying/intimidation and sup- pression as regular features of the exercise. The antics of desperate politicians and their accomplices have in all intent and purposes meant that we are no longer conducting elections where the will of the people prevails.

For writing so, many readers that re- sponded to my column were quick to condemn my ‘doom and gloom’ missive. Many also asked that if we don’t hold elections, no matter the imperfections, what the alternative is. Unfortunately, in all honesty, I really don’t have a satisfac- tory answer. But events witnessed with the latest round of elections – the governorship in Edo State and local councils in Kwara, Imo, Sokoto and Enugu states – have only further reinforced my position that such exercises are shams and just a waste of time and resources. For instance, the tension generated in the run-up to the Edo poll clearly showed that the actual exercise and result would be contentious. Firstly, the party in control of the Den- nis Osadebay Government House, Benin, initially refused to sign the Peace Accord initiated by the National Peace Accord Committee (NPAC), on the ground that their members were being unfairly tar- geted by security operatives who were arresting them. Incidentally, despite setting up the Committee in 2014, which is headed by former military Head of State, Gen Ab- dusalami Abubakar, violence during vot- ing exercises have continued – or rather TS from the Sidelines 08050498544 (sms only) tunsul2@gmail.com have become worse. We all recall what happened during last year’s general election when a pres- idential candidate lost in his stronghold only for his alleged supporters to fan out and ensure that his party didn’t also lose the gubernatorial poll which took place a fortnight later. The picture of a woman with her face bloodied after being beaten while still insisting on casting her vote went viral. Last weekend, once again, a number of disturbing reports highlighted the Edo State governorship election, ranging from failure of officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to arrive at their assigned polling units on time, the alleged favouritism of security operatives to a certain party and the de- struction of election materials as captured in various videos posted on social media. As with what usually happens after such exercises, those affected made their case for or against the outcome of the poll, depending on which way the pendulum swung. Thus, both Governor Godwin Obaseki and the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo, had cause to complain publicly after INEC announced Sen Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner. According to the Commission, Okpeb- holo polled 291,667 votes while Ighodalo, who came second, had 247,274 and La- bour Party’s Olumide Akpata, who placed third, got 22, 763 votes. Unimpressed, the PDP in solidarity with its Governors Forum, to insist Ig- hodalo “clearly won the election.”

In a statement on Sunday, PDP’s Na- tional Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologun- agba, said: “The Peoples Democratic Par- ty stands by the results of the Edo State Governorship election as garnered by its polling agents across the state and echoed by the Chairman of the Edo PDP National Campaign Council, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, which indicate that the PDP candidate, Dr Asue Ighodalo, clearly won the election. “The PDP asserts that the rush, venom, and hauling of insults with which the All Progressives Congress attacked Governor Fintiri only confirms APC’s violent des- peration to cover its manipulations and steal the mandate freely given to Dr Asue Ighodalo by the people of Edo State as reflected in the genuine votes cast at the polling units.” At the collation centre on Sunday, the state agent of the PDP, Iyoha Osaigbovo, stated that the figures credited to APC were not a true reflection of the wish of the electorate. However, Jarrett Tenebe, the acting APC chairman in the state, who took ex- ception to Osaigbovo’s reference to his party in almost all his observations, said he was okay with the outcome of the elec- tion. Weighing in a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs), made up of the Ni- gerian Civil Society Situation Room, Yiaga Africa, Kimpact Development Initiative, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, ElectHER, and TAF Africa, which monitored the Edo State governorship election, issued a damning review of the exercise, declaring that the results from several polling units were altered at coalition centres, making the outcome not credible. Of course, the APC promptly brushed aside the verdict of the CSOs insisting that the result ‘reflected the will of the electorate.’ Meanwhile, on the same day local government elections also took place in Kwara, Imo, Sokoto and Enugu states with the results predictably going the way of the party in power. In Ilorin, the chairman of the opposition PDP, Babatunde Mohammed, described the conduct of the local government polls in the state as the worst in the history of Kwara state, after the ruling APC swept all 16 councils. And in Enugu State, Governor Peter Mbah, commended the council election as democracy in action and lauded the electoral process after his party, PDP, won all the chairmanship positions. Notably though, opposition candidates were absent from the ENSIEC declaration, ostensibly unhappy with the election’s outcome as exemplified by a chieftain of the Accord Party (AP) in the state, John Nwobodo, who described the election as a “clueless exercise.” In neighbouring Imo State, the ruling APC won all the 305 councillorship seats and 27 chairmanship positions.

However, the Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the state, Lancelot Obiaku, de- scribed the election as a “charade, a show of shame and undemocratic.” The same thing played out in Sokoto State where the APC swept all 23 chair- manship and 244 councillorship positions during the local council poll last Saturday. Sadly from all indications, it is clear that what we are practising in the country is a far cry from the definition of democra- cy, if all parties – both the opposition and ruling – are not given a level playing field to contest, which means that at the end of the exercises the people are never allowed to have a proper say as to who eventually governs them.