A date with history
A precedent has been set by former Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State. If President Jonathan loses and hands over peacefully he would at a stroke have established that an unpopular incumbent can be defeated, that our nation is not a one party state, and that he personally isn’t interested in the power for its […]
A precedent has been set by former Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State. If President Jonathan loses and hands over peacefully he would at a stroke have established that an unpopular incumbent can be defeated, that our nation is not a one party state, and that he personally isn’t interested in the power for its own sake. At the recent launching of a book entitled “The People’s Choice” President Jonathan declared that he isn’t desperate for power. Be that as it may, in the event that he wins the election and doesn’t take the option of walking away from the mess with his integrity intact, there is a remote possibility that he may still secure a good place in our history. This would be possible only if he works much harder and achieves far more successes than he has done in the past six years. The idea of an incumbent Nigerian president graciously accepting defeat and retiring quietly into the background seems far-fetched. Confronted by an opposition party which for the first time in 16 years appears to be in a position to defeat the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Jonathan and his supporters have unleashed the most virulent and divisive hate campaign ever witnessed in our history.
Despite all their mudslinging the world’s leading global political risk research and consulting firm Eurasia Group declared that Buhari has a 60% chance of winning, and the New York-based political risk firm Teneo Intelligence, along with other foreign election observers, also tipped him to win. Sounding a note of caution they are all of the view that entrenched interests will not concede victory to Buhari and we are all in for a rough time. That our nation lies at a crossroads is indisputable. Practically, all Nigerians agree we must change the manner in which our affairs are run. Unprecedented levels of mediocrity and corruption coupled with indolence in the highest levels of governance have led us into a sorry mess. There are those who fervently believe that our current travails are temporary and Jonathan’s “transformation agenda” will eventually see us through. Such people will naturally vote for continuity and have every right to do so. Unfortunately if Jonathan uses the military and wins the election he will face the problem of convincing everyone it was free and fair. The revelations by Captain Sagir Koli on how the military colluded with the PDP to rig the Ekiti election, coupled with the declaration by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) that citizens shouldn’t stay to see votes counted openly or wait to hear the result do not bode well. The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) assured voters that the decisive factor should be the law rather than the opinion of the IGP.
Professor Jega made it quite clear that the Electoral Act doesn’t specify anywhere the electorate can’t or shouldn’t wait to watch and ensure their votes are counted. It’s generally agreed that the election postponement saved Jonathan from defeat at the polls. The six week delay has allowed him to frantically campaign around the nation, masquerade like a general, receive dubious “royal” blessings, spread largesse and make up a lot of lost ground. Unfortunately for him the much touted military successes against Boko Haram haven’t brought back our Chibok girls, or enabled life to return to normal in the affected areas. The postponement further highlighted the facts that INEC were not ready to conduct the election and their top management requires a comprehensive overhaul. Their glaring and manifest incompetence is saddening. Despite their protestations it’s evident they were in no position to conduct hitch free polls. Even though they have been given more time to prepare millions of Nigerians will be disenfranchised through no fault of their own, and their usual logistical problems are bound to recur. As an organization INEC is a long way from any passable standard of operational efficiency. It’s simply an unacceptable massive failure to experience last minute problems with PVCs and card readers when they had four years to prepare.
Incredibly these are still being issued or tested long after elections should have taken place. At the end of what is looking more and more likely to turn out to be a fiasco, a technocrat who understands the complexities of physical distribution management must take over INEC and move the Commission away from its eternal tardiness. Elections are supposed to provide an opportunity to reward performance or vote failed leaders out of office. The main opposition candidate General Buhari is renowned for a character and personality which is the opposite of the rampant corruption, deceit, double standards, dishonesty, and rapacity that has characterized government the past six years. President Jonathan must defend his record on the management of corruption which has been poor to say the least. If he triumphs at the polls and still wishes to go down positively in history he will have to exhibit a previously unknown appetite for hard work, dedication, diligence, impartiality and total commitment to uplifting the status of citizens.