Jonathan Goes to Washington
The Washington trip was like stepping out to meet the world, as if to say, we did it this time. Yes, warts and all, Nigeria’s maturity in electoral conduct is on the upswing, a marked improvement on earlier ones, therefore, it is alright for the one holding the mandate to strut on the world stage […]
The Washington trip was like stepping out to meet the world, as if to say, we did it this time. Yes, warts and all, Nigeria’s maturity in electoral conduct is on the upswing, a marked improvement on earlier ones, therefore, it is alright for the one holding the mandate to strut on the world stage to hobnob with world leaders. Now, I do not, for one moment, pretend to be oblivious of the disputations surrounding the outcome of the elections, even when generally they have been passed off as fairly acceptable, everything considered. Still while we await the verdict of the election tribunals, the president, so it seems, was not about to let the goodwill ensuing from the wide acclaim and acceptance of his mandate to pass without some political capital from it.
So after having lavishly marked his inauguration on May 29 in Abuja with an elaborate ball and merry-making, he had to go to the US, so to say, seek approbation from highly influential global leaders on Nigeria’s growing democratic credentials. It will not be far-fetched to assume that President Goodluck Jonathan must have told both Barack Obama and Ban Ki Moon, for effect, that his is not an unearned mandate, tarred with putrid odour of ballot rigging and manipulation. He must, therefore, have insisted to his hosts that, so far, no mandate has come with a more authentic genuineness than his.
Well, it is all very well for him to luxuriate in his hard won mandate to his heart’s desire. It should not be forgotten, however, that victory at the polls, even as difficult to come by as it was, is the easy part. The hard part is doing something concrete with it. Many years of misrule have left Nigeria with a lot of catching up to do with its peers in all spheres of endeavours, so much so that it ought have dawned on anyone holding a mandate that it is Nigeria’s call to duty, not an opportunity for seeking vain glory from quarters already well informed on our dire straits as a nation.
Fashola’s Fears
The other day mammoth crowd that cut across a cross-section of society gathered to memorialize the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election in Lagos and many other South-West cities. As expected, glowing tributes were paid to Chief Mashood Abiola and others who died in the process of seeking to actualize the mandate by many speakers who made allusions to that election as some form of watershed in Nigeria’s political evolution. They all agreed that the 1993 presidential election marked a rare convergence of political choice hitherto unseen.
One of the speakers, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, indeed, underscored the point that it may even take some time before we will see such a demonstration of convergence of choice as demonstrated by the electorate in 1993. He noted that the widespread violence that engulfed a sizeable part of the country during the elections was an indication of how deep seated the anti –democratic elements have become. Governor Babatunde Fashola’s fears of seeing saboteurs at work at every election are understandable and what is more, he is eminently qualified to speak about such matters having been at the saddle of governance in Lagos State in the past 4 years, and by all evaluations adjudged to have performed well in governing Lagos State.
True, violence should be eschewed at all times, particularly in elections conducted in a free and fair atmosphere. But much as violence is to be frowned at, it is a reaction to perceived abridgement of freedom of choice during elections, an act embarked upon spontaneously by enraged people who see their attempt at expression of their choice being thwarted by “anti-democratic forces.” This unwholesome political behaviour has become the bane of attempt at conducting credible elections in Nigeria. It constitutes the biggest “anti-democratic tendency” that ought to be fought earnestly as we continue to build on the successes gained during elections.