On Gombe council polls
It has been an established tradition in Nigeria to criticize any conduct of elections at all levels whether such polls are indeed credible or not; and it is common knowledge that election losers hardly concede defeat on account of the widely held belief that elections are rigged. Like in every trade or any endeavor where […]
It has been an established tradition in Nigeria to criticize any conduct of elections at all levels whether such polls are indeed credible or not; and it is common knowledge that election losers hardly concede defeat on account of the widely held belief that elections are rigged. Like in every trade or any endeavor where one has to put in his or her best to succeed, it is the same thing in politics. Election losers often fail to realize that they lose probably because they did not work hard for it or lack something to offer when eventually voted into power.
I laughed when I heard last week Hajiya Aisha Jibril Dukku, a member from Gombe State representing Dukku/Nafada Federal Constituency at the Federal House of Representatives accusing the PDP-led state government of rigging the February 25, 2017 local government elections, describing the whole process as a “mockery of democracy and a breach of the fundamental right of people of Gombe State.”
Dukku, who is the Chairperson House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, went on to demand that the State Independent Electoral Commission (GOSIEC) which superintend the council polls should refund fees collected from candidates who bought the nomination and expression of interest forms. Not only Dukku, the opposition parties under the auspices of Coalition of Political Parties also criticized the process that produced the current elected officials of the 11 local government areas.
It is quite understandable that Hajiya Dukku and other opposition parties easily reacted to the outcome of the polls because they wanted to encourage their supporters to recover from the shock of defeat. But, in all honesty, everyone whether from Gombe or outside the state really knows that the critics of the polls were crying wolf only to get sympathy from those who do not know much about the politics and developments in the state. The fact remains that they were simply defeated hands down at the polls!
No one needs to be told that anybody fielded by the PDP to contest any elections in Gombe can never be defeated given the giant strides made by the PDP-led government under Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo’s watch as governor of the state. Gombe, as it is today, has now become a completely changed state comparable to Kano and others who were founded over 50 years ago in terms of social amenities and modern developments.
The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), the umbrella body of registered political parties in the state applauded the effort of the electoral body for the free, fair and credible elections.
As a politician, there is nothing wrong in accepting defeat in election. This is because accepting defeat in any contest is in itself an act of greatness; and that can greatly enhance a healthy democracy and the rule of law.
Dahiru Hassan Kera, Abuja