By Mike Kebonkwu
Change remains the only constant thing in life! Even in the flux of life, individuals and boundary lines of empires and countries have had to change. It is within the right of people to exercise their rights to self-determination in a suffocating political union. In recent history, we saw how the great empire of the union of the Soviet Socialists Republic was unbundled. This in part is one of the issues of the Russian invasion of Ukraine just like the nationality question of Chechnya before it. The United Kingdom has remained a loose union with England, Wales and Ireland having almost autonomous authority in every material particular.
For us in Nigeria, we don’t want to let go, hiding under the operative words of the Constitution as one united indivisible unit. The last general elections call our unity and Constitution into question. When the elements of culture which include language and religion are fundamentally different, it is difficult to hold a people together like what we are witnessing in Nigeria today. There has always been bitter subconscious struggle amongst the ethnic nationalities of this country fuelled by disagreement and power struggle between the elites.
Nigeria may have been a historical colonial accident but we have lived together long enough to have been able to blend and tolerate one another’s peculiarities over the years. Sadly, that is not so and the events of the last elections have put a knife on the things that held us together. We may pretend and choose to hide behind one finger, it is an incontrovertible fact that religion and ethnic animosity are real and the earlier we confront and deal with them the better for everyone.
Whoever thought that there was going to be clean, faultless elections was probably sleeping on the wheel; not with the politicians that we have whose credentials are synonymous with electoral perfidy. One thing is true of elections to political offices as in any other contest, only one person emerges the winner. It is also the right of contestants to challenge the outcome of an election where they have evidence of electoral malpractices in accordance with the Constitution and the Electoral Act. It is not within the right of contestants to arrogate to themselves what the outcome of the matter before the court should be in their expectations. On the other hand, where there are perceived or real cases of electoral heist, it is not the litigant or aggrieved contestants that determine the outcome but the judicial authorities.
Nigerians also have the right to protest against institutional failures whenever they have genuine reasons and that right is constitutional. Again, the right to protest does not imply a licence to call for anarchy and mayhem that will spill the blood of the same people whose rights and interests we pretend to represent.
The electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may not have acquitted itself creditably during the elections. What should worry us more now as Nigerians is the drift towards possible ethnic and religious wars fuelled by intemperate outbursts with all manner of falsehood and historical distortions.
The judiciary may not have measured up to the expectations of many Nigerians. It is also an incontrovertible fact that we have a few bold judges with transparent integrity. Therefore, it is wrong to paint the entire judiciary with the brush of perversion and corruption.
This brings me to the campaigns for the contraption called “Interim government.” What is the foundational basis for it, the elections are conclusive and winners have emerged notwithstanding the vehicle through which it was achieved. The aggrieved people are in court already and the rules are very well known so let anyone who has evidence bring them to the tribunal to prove their cases. When some garrulous politicians and irrational supporters are having protests and counter protests, one did not consider it worthwhile to dignify the campaign for an interim government which I consider as absolute balderdash for the simple reason that the existing material conditions do not call for such farce. Furthermore, it has the tendency to plunge us into abysmal chaos, the consequences of which we will not be able to control.
The 2023 general elections were the most divisive in my judgment in our electoral history to the extent that citizens were disenfranchised because they live outside their regions of origin. The anarchy was widespread and well organised and supported by politicians and traditional rulers, using hooligans and street urchins while the federal government maintained a conspiracy of silence.
Both All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Labour Party (LP) including their rabid supporters appealed to religion and ethnicity in equal measures without exception.
The last election has taken us back to the pre-Civil War era of the 1960s to early 70s. Those responsible for this are the elites who see appeal to religion and tribe as their greatest assets and vehicle to achieve political objectives. It is made worse by plebeians and rabble that are fed with substance and money while the sponsors watch the anarchy on the sidelines. In the midst of all this, the State should be careful not to extend the attack on the liberty of citizens or to gag the media. Members of the Fourth Estate of the realm are guardian sentinels and custodians of our constitutional liberty and the moment we lay siege to its temple, we would have lost what is left of the country, our freedom and democracy. Nigeria will become a fascist State if the telephone conversations of citizens are wire tapped and their privacy invaded like the “Yes Daddy” clip making the rounds. If it happened, and so what!
When the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) slammed Five Million Naira on the Channels Television for the live telecast of an interview with the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, it failed to appreciate the circumstances of the alleged inflammatory outburst. Watching the footage, the anchor man was downright professional and acted ethically in the circumstances of that interview. The fine cannot be justified and the manner of its award falls short of the rule of natural justice, equity and good conscience. Datti Ahmed might have been emotional on the live show on Channels Television; he was within his rights and the award of Five Million Naira fine by NBC was in bad taste.
It is about time we came to terms with the outcome of the 2023 general elections in its colour and temper and pause the button of falsehood and social media distortions. Calling for an interim government is insanity by some agent provocateur who appears to be flying a kite. It is probably meant to cause distraction and curtail the pockets of street protests currently going on.
My worry is that the Department of State Services (DSS) is at the core of the speculation. It is gradually leaving its traditional turf to be trading in gossip instead of actionable and credible intelligence. It is fast becoming like a branch of the Police in the hands of the executive prosecuting political matters for regime protection. The Military has no business addressing the so-called issue of the call for interim government; it is political. They should try and focus on their core mandate and leave politics to the politicians.
Nigeria is really overdue for overhaul and we can build a new Nigeria from these ashes of tribal and religious differences and hatred, not by any wicked contraption and deceit but through constitutional means and democratic ethos. We cannot claim ignorance of knowledge of those politicians who are fuelling divisions and hatred to remain relevant in public space, we should be ready to deny them further right of action to preside over us; they are spent!
•Kebonkwu writes from Abuja