Aftermath of by-elections: Politicians are more desperate in smaller elections – Yahya Abdulkareem
Former governor of old Sokoto State, Malam Yahya Abdulkareem speaks with our correspondent on the changing face of elections in Nigeria and what can be done to improve on the electoral system. What is your take on the recently conducted by-elections across the country? Well, a by-election is different from general elections, which involve […]
Former governor of old Sokoto State, Malam Yahya Abdulkareem speaks with our correspondent on the changing face of elections in Nigeria and what can be done to improve on the electoral system.
What is your take on the recently conducted by-elections across the country?
Well, a by-election is different from general elections, which involve everybody – adults who are registered. By-election this is confined to a particular constituency, depending on how many you have in a state. It is small and narrow. And you find that a lot of democratic procedures are compromised in this one. If you are in a state where there is going to be a by-election and the government is involved, you can imagine what would happen. Whether it is state constituency, House of Representatives or Senate, the government of that particular state will do everything to win.
If it happens to be a state constituency, you will find that everybody in the government is involved in one way or another, including commissioners, permanent secretaries, down to councillors, as well as people who are guarding the polling stations – agents of course – because it is either do or die. So there’s a lot of what I can call corruption.
This is because if the governor fails in that small constituency, you would feel that it is a kind of litmus test – that he is not needed. So he will do everything to win.
So there’s a lot of electoral malpractices, unlike general elections, which involve a large number of people and you cannot have hands in every polling station, ward or local government. That’s what it is now.
There has been criticism from some quarters over the delay in conducting the by-elections – some of them are happening nearly two years after the general elections. Do you think this delay has undermined public confidence in the electoral process?
Well, it depends on the constituency and the electorate. Some may be worried while some may not even care about what happened.
But I cannot blame the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the delay because may be they were having difficulties in getting the finance to conduct the elections. There may be other things because it involves the whole federation. May be they were waiting for a particular time.
However, certainly, some people are worried that their constituency is not represented in either the Senate, House of Representatives or state Assembly for too long because the member is either dead or anything that made him to be off.
In some constituencies, there were serious allegations that security operatives aided electoral malpractice in favour of the ruling party. What do you think?
That’s why I told you that so many things were violated. The ruling party could use whatever they have at hand, including security, money and the materials. Money and materials were used openly; that’s why I say it is not very democratic – the electorates were not allowed to choose.
If a voter is given a lot of money he will vote for the money, not what he likes. Some were even given motorcycles in order to get to the leader or somebody that can influence other people to vote. You see, it is all over.
It is not limited to a particular state. Opposition parties are also doing a lot. It is the same thing; it cuts across.
Was this the case during your time?
It wasn’t. I was a chief electoral officer here in Sokoto during the 1979 elections that brought in Shagari, and I can say that we did not witness that kind of thing. You see, the more we go, the worse it gets.
When I was elected as governor, it was not like that. There was a level of sanity at that time. But now, things are very different. I didn’t witness any by-election during my time; we were short-lived. I only served for two years. But I witnessed a by-election when I was a minister and it was bad. I saw what I didn’t want to see.
In democracy, citizens should be allowed to do what they think is right for them. If you influence them by giving them something, you violate democratic norms. Unfortunately, that’s what is happening now.
Would you say that Nigeria is progressing or retrogressing, in terms of democratic values and electoral integrity?
I don’t want to condemn my country, but I think there is room for improvement. I hope we would improve.
What reforms do you think are necessary in our democratic system?
Educating the electorate to know their right. Nothing should influence them to do what they don’t want.
You see, majority of the electorate are women; they participate in large numbers and they are the target. They need a lot of education so that the electoral system will improve.
As a senior political figure and elder statesman, what is your message to politicians across party lines, especially as it concerns peaceful elections in the country?
Well, will they heed my advice? They will not. They should do the right thing. You see, once you are in need you don’t want to fail. They do everything they can do to win. Let them stop doing everything to win. Let the winning be natural. Let them promise what they would do if elected. And they should try and fulfill all their promises if elected.