Casmir Igbokwe
Edo State will make a good study in political chicanery of godfathers. Before the governorship election held on Saturday, September 19, 2020, it was as if war would break out in the state. The godfather himself, Adams Oshiomhole, pranced about the state in campaign summersault. Recall that, four years ago, the immediate past national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaigned for his then beloved candidate, Godwin Obaseki. Then, Obaseki was the candidate of the APC. Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this particular election, Obaseki is the candidate of the PDP while Ize-Iyamu is the candidate of the APC. For reasons best known to him, Oshiomhole, who had called Ize-Iyamu unprintable names, became his main backer this year and campaigned vigorously for him. He even knelt down before some stakeholders in fawning obeisance just to garner support for his candidate.
Today, the eagle has come home to roost. Except some miraculous manipulation happens, Obaseki, as at press time, has been re-elected the governor of Edo State. It is sweet victory for the people of Edo and vote of no confidence on godfathers.
Initially, it was as if the election was going to have serious hiccups. This was despite the deployment of at least 31,000 policemen and some other security personnel to the state for the exercise. On the eve of the election, over 300 policemen reportedly surrounded the hotel where the chairman of the PDP’s National Campaign Council for the election, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, was staying. Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, who was chairman of the APC National Campaign Council for the same election, and Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State were also said to be in Edo. But nobody harassed them.
Obviously, deploying thousands of security men during elections in Nigeria does not prevent malpractices. Rather, it appears to worsen them. The party in power at the centre always uses the security agents to its advantage. It happened in Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections last year. We were regaled with the tale that 66,241 officers were deployed in those elections. There were also Special Protection Unit, Counter-terrorism Unit, Special Forces, Intelligence Response Unit, Special Tactical Squad, Mounted Troops and Police Mobile Force who complemented the conventional police officers. At the end of the day, the two states witnessed some of the worst elections in Nigeria’s history.
The just concluded Edo State governorship election was not totally different. Though it appeared better than the Kogi and Bayelsa warfare, it was marred by pockets of violence, vote buying, voter intimidation and harassment.
It was not for nothing that the United States and the United Kingdom decided to impose visa ban on those who undermine Nigeria’s democratic process. The US has already listed some individuals. The UK, on its part, said it would not only ban such violators from visiting the UK, but would also seize their assets in the UK and prosecute them according to international law.
The protests by the Federal and Kogi State Governments over the visa ban are bunkum. While the Federal Government said the restriction was disrespectful of Nigeria’s sovereignty, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi accused the US of partisanship. In a letter to the US Embassy, signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Folashade Ayoade, Bello cited the court rulings in his favour as evidence that the election satisfactorily complied with the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act. The regrettable incidents at the polls, he noted, were limited to a few polling units and the election was generally free, fair and credible.
These people in government must be living in a world of their own. They should realise that the world has become a global village. You can’t perpetrate evil and hide under the canopy of sovereignty. There is always a consequence for any action. Imagine Yahaya Bello talking about his election being free and credible!
Was it credible when security agents were even accused of aiding party thugs to snatch ballot boxes and intimidate voters and electoral officials? Was it free and fair when political thugs suspected to be loyal to the ruling APC went to the house of the PDP women leader of Wada Aro Campaign Council, Ochadamu Ward, in Kogi State, Mrs. Salome Abuh, poured petrol on her building and set it ablaze? Mrs. Abuh, who was inside the house when this happened, could not escape because her killers bolted every exit point from outside. They also rained bullets in her direction to make sure she didn’t escape. The woman was burnt to death in a most gruesome manner. The thugs allegedly burnt some other houses in the state. A coalition of civil rights organisations rightly described that election as a major dent to Nigeria’s democratic process.
To me, the visa ban is not even enough. Just like Governor Nasir el-Rufai recently signed the law stipulating castration for rapists in Kaduna State, we need to amend our laws to politically castrate politicians who have continued to rape our democratic ideals. Our electoral act should be amended in such a way that whoever is convicted for participating or supporting thuggery, violence, vote buying, ballot snatching and sundry electoral offences should be banned from participating in any election for a minimum of 10 years.
Why should we continue to break palm kernel for fowls with our clean hands? Every election cycle, it is the same story. In the last general election in 2019, there were serious irregularities. Over 620 people were reported to have lost their lives.
Ours has become a jackboot democracy where the wishes of the people in power are greater than the power of the people. Peaceful protesters are suppressed and sometimes mowed down for demanding their fundamental rights. Those who engage in terrorist activities against the state are pardoned and rewarded. And when the Obasanjos and Soyinkas of this world talk, they are branded “dividers-in-chief.”
It is either we rise up and make this democracy work or we all suffer the consequences. You may think you are immune to the crisis that may erupt, but the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the elite have shown that in the day of reckoning nobody is spared. We need to reform our electoral, judicial and political systems. We need to punish electoral offenders. Changing from one civilian regime to another does not confer democratic honours on us. Respecting the rule of law, free and fair elections and elevating the power of the people over the people in power are the things that make us a democratic nation.
Meanwhile, congratulations, Governor Obaseki.
. Igbokwe is the publisher of newsprobeng.com