The Federal Government has declared tomorrow as a public holiday. This is to allow Nigerians, especially workers, prepare for the rescheduled Presidential and National Assembly election on Saturday.
But bankers have been excluded.
Interior Minister Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau made the declaration last night.
A statement issued by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, Mrs. Georgina Ehuriah, however, excluded bankers and those offering essential services from the holiday.
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress ( APC ), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has given indications that the party will not obey directives by INEC not to reopen campaign, saying the directive was against the laws of the land.
Oshiomhole said that the electoral management body does not have the power of making laws and cannot on its own amend the law by asking parties not to campaign after shifting the election.
He said the APC and its members nationwide will continue in their campaign till Thursday this week as provides for by the Electoral Act and will be prepared to meet the commission in court.
He also accused the commission of failing to take concrete action against some of its officials accused of taking side with certain political parties.
Details shortly…
A former General Evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Prophet Samuel Abiara has appealed to politicians not to see the general elections as a do- or-die affair.
He advised them to rather exhibit the spirit of sportsmanship before and after the elections.
He gave this advice during the kick- off of the Abuja edition of the ‘Prayer for peace in the nation’ revival which held earlier in Ibadan and Lagos in January.
The programme kicked off at the CAC Agbala Itura, along Karimu Road, Kado Area, Abuja and ends today with a thanksgiving in the church.
According to him: “There is always life after elections. In developed climes, politicians don’t see themselves as enemies.
“You hardly hear of any conflict or violence before, during and after the elections over there.
“They remain friends and colleagues even after the elections must have been won and lost.
“Nigerian politicians must learn from this spirit of camaderie and sportsmanship always exhibited by politicians in advanced countries like the United States of America and United Kingdom.
“Also, I want to beg the INEC to make sure that the elections are free, fair and credible.
“We’ll continue to pray for peace in the nation, and for Nigerians.
“At this period of the elections, we need to pray. Nigeria has a glorious future.”
While he reiterated there was no gain in predicting doom for the nation, the cleric noted that prayers could change situations for good.
Abiara also advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise a free, fair and credible during the 16th February and 2nd March elections.
I am writing this piece on Friday, February 15, 2019, two days before the start of the Nigerian 2019 Elections. I am a secular rationalist, not a soothsayer, not a prophet. But strangely, I feel in a prophetic mood, the kind of mood that descends on our well-known men and women of prophecy deliverance every New Year’s Eve – the Adeboyes, the Oritsejafos, the T.B. Joshuas, the Oyakhilomes. Yes, I know that no one will take my “prophecy” or “prophecies” in what follows in this piece seriously. But beside their own worshipful flocks, how many people really take the annual prophecies of our professional, “holy” soothsayers seriously?
And there is also this fact: in this piece, I will not vouch for an absolute certainty that my prophecies about things that will happen after the elections will happen. Of course, I am sure that most of them will come to pass, but that will not be my focus in this prophetic message to all my countrymen and women. Rather, what I will bet my reputation on, what I will vigorously defend from now and for months and maybe even years after the elections, will be my prophecies, my auguries about things that will not happen. And precisely because these will be prophecies about things that will not happen, I am collectively calling them prophecy by negative dialectics. First, then, let us go to my prophecies on things that will happen. [If, dear compatriot, you find most of them too trite, too banal, just skip them and go straight to my prophecies about the things that will not happen!]
About the things that will happen, I will first address a very special category that I am calling either the prophetic future perfect or future conditional. This is of course based on that specific aspect of grammar known as tense – things that deal with time and its passage, both in the past and in the future. The English language has one of the largest number of tenses among the languages of the world and for this reason, let us make the best use that we can of this numerical largess in the present context. Thus, I predict, with great confidence, that by May 30, 2019, the by then newly elected president would have been sworn in a day before. This is because he will be sworn in, by constitutional provision, on May 29, 2019. Should it be Muhammadu Buhari – we are continuing with our future conditional tense – I predict that he will be 76 years old. That’s because he is already 76 now and won’t be 77 until December 17, 2019. If it is Atiku Abubakar, he will be 72 years and that’s because he too, is already 72 and won’t be 73 until November 25, 2019.
Let us now move to things that will happen that are of more importance since they pertain to things that are more notable than birthdates which, after all, are fixed and cannot be changed. Thus, I predict that the next National Assembly will be the 9th, not the 10th or the 11th. That’s because the one that just ended and will be replaced by the 9th National Assembly was the 8th. Take my word, my prediction for it, compatriots: the next National Assembly will be the 9th. Take my word for it also that in sartorial colorfulness and variety of local styles of ceremonial attires, that 9th National Assembly will be as brilliant and as elegant as all the previous National Assemblies before it were. To foreign correspondents and commentators reporting on this sartorial richness of our lawmakers, many of the dresses will seem like stage costumes in a theatrical period piece. We will of course take offense that what we regard as the best of our dress culture will be called “costumes” by these foreign correspondents, but in this we will be a tad hypocritical on our part. Why so? Well, don’t we all secretly also regard many of the dress codes and styles from parts or regions of the country different from our own quaint costumes? And don’t many in our country, especially among the social and political elite, believe that not character, not patriotism but colorful and sumptuously elaborated clothes maketh the man or the woman? And after all, our legislators are the highest paid, not only in the world but in the history of modern parliaments. In that case, what is wrong in our parliamentarians also aspiring to be the best and most colorfully costumed legislators in the world?
It will also happen, dear compatriots, that after the elections, the post-election judicial tribunals of 2019 will explode into a scale hitherto unknown or unseen in this country. This prediction is based on absolutely irrefutable grounds. First, before the elections, the scale of judicial review of candidates selected or unselected by the competing political parties reached levels we had never seen in any previous electoral cycle since the return to civilian rule in 1999. Indeed, this close to the elections, in some states like Rivers and Zamfara, the entire electoral slate of the ruling party remains under review and possible disqualification. Secondly, the APC, the incumbent party in power, has shown clearly to Nigerians and the whole world that it expects that its victories will be challenged, especially at the presidential, senatorial and gubernatorial polls. As a matter of relevant fact, that’s what the suspension of CJN Onnoghen was all about. And thirdly, if there was and is so much judicial contestation by candidates within their own political parties, isn’t it a solidly grounded prediction that the coming judicial tribunals between candidates from opposing parties will break new records in number and costs? Thus, it is with great confidence that I predict, compatriots: billions of naira and millions of dollars will change hands in the “industry” that will emerge in the post-election tribunals of 2019.
The earth, our planetary home, rotates on an axis that is tilted, not straight like an arrow. That axis, together with its tilt, is invisible. But we know it is there and has been there since the creation of our planet. The seasons come and go; and night comes after day as day itself comes after night. These are therefore all verities of nature, of existence. The things that happen after elections, indeed the things that happen in politics, are not like the verities of nature – like the invisible axis on which the earth rotates. But most political orders and politicians, especially the most predatory and decadent ones, like to project the things that happen under their dispensation, under their rule, like things that happen naturally and inevitably, like the verities of time and of existence itself.
Following this logic, I predict, with absolute confidence, that after the forthcoming 2019 elections, our lawmakers will continue to be the highest paid legislators in the history of the modern parliament. This will not be because the present political order in our country will subsist, will last like the verities of nature; rather, it is because, so far at least, our rulers have convinced Nigerians that, just as we can do little or nothing about night coming after day, so can we do little or nothing at all to put an end to the monstrous injustice and absurdity of our lawgivers’ pay packets. This observation leads me to my prophecies concerning the things that will not happen after the elections. Please remember: I am collectively calling this prophecy by negative dialectics.
The great scourge of poverty afflicting six to seven out of every 10 Nigerians will not end. If Buhari and the APC win, their so-called “social protection” projects for the poor, like “Tradermoni” and free and nutritious school meals for hundreds of thousands, not millions, of schoolkids across the country will not make the slightest dent on the scale of despair and immiseration in our country. If Atiku and the PDP win, their first order of business will be to deepen and widen the gap between the rich and the poor, no questions asked. Few countries in the world is as awash with wealth as our country while remaining simultaneously on the list of the countries with the lowest poverty reduction rates in the world. This will not change, compatriots, whether it is the APC or the PDP that wins the elections and forms the next administration at any level, federal, state or local. This is because it is not miniscule and paternalistic “social protection” schemes but an entirely new and egalitarian social contract between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the marginalized of all parts of the country that is needed to seriously and massively address the scourge of widespread poverty in our country. The Nigerian ruling class and some of their political parties used to be aware of and be driven by this necessity for a social contract in our society. But this was before the inception of civilian rule in 1999. Since then, the sixteen-year reign of the PDP, followed by four years of the APC, have wiped out all traces of the recognition of the need for a social contract in the collective consciousness and political will of all our ruling class political parties and politicians.
One of the most obscene and unjustifiable indications of this lack of awareness and political will to forge a social contract for our democracy is the golden pension parachutes with which many former governors in this country are flying high in the skies of opulence, decadence and self-engorgement as the great majority of their fellow countrymen and women remain mired in poverty and desperation. These golden pensions include salaries for life that are among the highest salaries paid on our planet; medical, vacation and personal expenses allowances of a scale normally associated with kings and emperors of the feudal past; palatial mansions at state capitals and at the national capital in Abuja built and maintained at the expense of the respective state; and PAs, drivers, housekeepers and security personnel all maintained at public expense. I predict that it will not happen, the end of this extremely decadent golden pension scheme for some former governors and I name some of its beneficiaries: Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Raji Fashola, Rotimi Amaechi, Bukola Saraki and Goodswill Akpabio. Seeing the mixed nature of this list between progressives and conservatives, I am tempted to predict that one or some of them will voluntarily give up their “entitlement” to this golden pension. But my instincts direct me in the opposite direction and thus, I confidently predict that it will not happen – not a single one of them will voluntarily give up the “ilabe”.
It is a depressingly long list, the number of things that ought to happen but will not after the elections. Nigerians throughout the country are yearning to live together in peace, mutual respect and celebration of our diversity in our multiethnic and multicultural country. But this will not happen, especially if Muhammadu Buhari wins. Unless of course a miraculous change comes over him to transform him overnight from being the most parochial, clannish and divisive Head of State we have ever had in this country. But that will not happen, alas.
It will also not happen, the challenges that we face in meeting the great shortfalls and inadequacies in our physical and institutional infrastructures with knowledge, wisdom and mastery of sophisticated technologies and techniques. As I write these words, with all my neighbors, I have just experienced four days of total blackout from an unending power outage at Oke-Bola in Ibadan and I am still in a daze from the experience. And believe me, compatriots, although I know that most Nigerians experience this particular problem on a much vaster scale than me and my neighbors at Oke-Bola, that knowledge offers me no solace, no relief from the feeling that I am the citizen of a country that time and modernity have left stranded in a confounding netherworld.
Nearly above everything else with the exception of the mass poverty of most Nigerians, it bothers me that this will not happen after the elections: reform of our judiciary to make it serve the rule of law and the fair, just and equitable administration of justice to all. The government and the judiciary – they are the worst enemies of the rule of law and equality of all before the law. This will not change after the elections.
We must look beyond elections for restitution and justice in this country, compatriots. They will come, eventually. This is my ultimate prediction
bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu
THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed confidence in the performance of the Smart Card Readers to be used at the forthcoming general elections.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee Mr. Festus Okoye expressed the confidence yesterday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Okoye confirmed that the card readers had been enhanced for better performance.
He added that the commission did not expect the card readers to malfunction.
“The batteries of the enhanced card readers can last longer now. The window of the smart card reader is wider and can read fingerprints better now.
“We have upgraded the smart card readers and the ones to be used for the election are smart card readers that can perform very well.
“So, we do not envisage the issue of malfunction. It will be reduced to the barest minimum.
“The issue of card readers unable to read peoples biometrics will be reduced to the barest minimum,” Okoye said.
The national commissioner said the commission had required qualities as well as quantity to conduct the nationwide elections.
“What we did was to make up for shortfalls. Additional cards readers that we wanted have already arrived in the country and have been distributed to all the states.
“So, we don’t have challenge to the quality of smart card readers that would be used for these elections,” he said.
Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu has ordered a comprehensive water-tight and round-the-clock security for INEC offices and facilities nationwide.
Consequently, Command Commissioners of Police in the 36 states of the Federation and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been directed to put in place adequate, functional and purposeful security arrangements aimed at protecting the INEC offices and materials from all forms of crimes and mischief- before, during and after the elections.
According to Force spokesman ACP Frank Mba, Zonal Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) have also been mandated to monitor compliance level of commands under their jurisdiction with this directive, and ensure that no breach of security of any kind occurs within and around INEC facilities under their watch. The order takes immediate effect.
The IG assures Nigerians of the readiness of the Police to deliver on its mandate of providing a safe and enabling environment for the conduct of the general election. He reiterates the commitment of the Force to providing a level-playing field for all political actors, while remaining professional and apolitical in the discharge of its responsibilities.
The much awaited 2019 general elections are around the corner. Nigerian voters will this week, troop out in their numbers to cast their votes for their preferred candidates and political parties.
Going by the time-table for the elections, voters will be making their choice in the first round involving the presidential and National Assembly polls. This will be followed in March 2, by the governorship and state assembly elections. Expectedly, candidates of the various political parties have in the last couple of weeks been selling their manifestoes to the electorate to persuade them as to why they remain the best alternative in addressing the myriads of challenges currently buffeting the country.
Many promises have been made and issues traded. But, the campaigns have remained largely issue-based even as we have had a surfeit of allegations against the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC and the federal government of working in concert to compromise the outcome of the election. Given the nature and character of politics on these shores, accusations have been levied with varying degrees of plausibility. The political landscape has been home to speculations ranging from the good, the bad and the ugly all in a bid by political parties to outsmart the other.
This has had the net effect of charging the political temperature of the country. But by far, a key challenge that has continued to dominate the political space is the ability, capacity and preparedness of the electoral umpire, INEC and the government in power to allow free and fair elections a free reign. Concerns have been mounting on the commitment of the INEC and the government to conduct free and fair polls. This apprehension is to be understood given that before now our electoral history had been replete with rancorous disputations often resulting to violent destruction of properties and loss of lives.
Given this invidious electoral history, mounting concerns as to whether the elections could follow the same predictable but odious pattern are not out of place. But for the 2015 elections that ushered in the Buhari regime, virtually all past elections on these shores especially at the presidential level had been dogged by one controversy or the other. That is not to say however, that that election was without its own challenges. Of course there were challenges. But they were well managed and put at bay by the commendable and visionary disposition of the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan.
That election stood out in more ways than one. It was the first time in our electoral history an incumbent president was defeated at the polls. It also marked the first of its kind that a serving president would concede defeat and even go further to congratulate his opponent even before the final outcome of that election was announced.
Nigeria, through that outing, gained considerable mileage in the rungs of the democratic ladder. This was more so given that the election was fought along the fault lines of our federal existence. All primordial and parochial cleavages were at an all time high as one group after the other issued threats regarding the eventual consequences should their expectations fail to materialize. But all those threats were to collapse like a pack of cards when Jonathan, who had said his election was not worth the blood of any human, threw in the towel and accepted defeat.
With that enviable outing, a lot of interest has been aroused all over the world in Nigeria’s electoral process. As another round of elections inches closer, this interest is getting very keen as opposition political parties trade allegations of plans to compromise the outcome of that election. Both the INEC and the Buhari government have assured time without number of their commitment to free and fair polls. Even as these assurances are issued, doubts continue to mount that they will be observed in their breach.
But one singular development that again raised the bar of this suspicion was the unconstitutional suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria CJ, Walter Ononghen by President Muhammad Buhari over assets declaration issues. This illegal action ruffled political feathers and raised further suspicions that it is a subterfuge to emasculate the judiciary and compromise the outcome of the elections.
The international community did not take kindly to it as the United States of America US, the United Kingdom UK and the European Union EU rose in concert to condemn the unilateral action. They were also very unequivocal in stating that the attack on the judiciary could adversely affect the credibility of the elections. Elsewhere, other motives have been read into that executive interference in judicial matters especially given the initial refusal of Buhari to have the appointment of Ononghen confirmed.
The confirmation of the suspended CJN’s appointment was only effected by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo when he acted as the president while Buhari was away to London on medical tourism. But as soon as Buhari returned from his medical trip, speculations were rife that he wanted the CJN out. Sadly, all those speculations have been given ample credence by the turn of events.
It is clear the federal government is yet to find a handle to the muddle in the CJN’s suspension. The government is so rattled by the reactions of the international community that some of its officials have resorted to statements that compound matters. One of such unguarded statements came from the erratic governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El Rufai, when he said in a television programme, “those that are calling for anyone to come and intervene in Nigeria, we are waiting for the person that would come and intervene, they would go back in body bags”. El Rufai was apparently uncomfortable with unfavorable remarks by the international community on the likely consequences of the suspension of the CJN on the outcome of the elections.
But his statement has been interpreted as a threat to levy violence on the international community. El Rufai has made very feeble attempts to clarify his position. But no matter what clarification he now makes, the purport of the statement is not lost on the international community as has been evident from the reaction of the EU.
Before now, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed had also alleged that the opposition was lobbying foreign countries to discredit the outcome of the February 16, presidential election if President Buhari wins. According to him, the opposition was planning to send a 19-member delegation to some countries to sell the idea that the Buhari presidency would not hold credible elections.
All these have had the combined effect of casting slur on the credibility of the coming elections. The opposition is alleging that the government plans to manipulate the elections. And the government is alleging that the opposition is lobbying foreign countries to discredit the outcome of the elections should Buhari win. Implicit in these allegations is that all may not go well with the elections. By extrapolation, its outcome is bound to be contentious whichever way the pendulum swings. That is not something to cheer. It is unfortunate we found ourselves through actions or inactions in this odious pass.
For now, all these remain at the realm of accusations and speculations. It remains to be proven between the opposition and the government which is saying the truth. But one thing that has emerged is that the credibility of the elections is assailed by serious challenges. All would therefore depend on how the actions and inactions of the government and INEC are perceived to have influenced the direction of the election outcome.
Both the government and the opposition have wittingly or unwittingly created doubts that the elections may not reflect the collective will of the electorate as freely expressed at the ballot box. But whatever doubts there are, still stand the chance of being cleared if INEC handles the elections in a very transparent and uncompromising manner.
It must not only detach itself from government influence but must be seen to have done so. The world is watching. We have another chance to consolidate on the gains of the 2015 elections by ensuring that the collective will of the electorate as freely expressed at the ballot box is neither abridged nor compromised.
The Head of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West Africa States, Ambassador Ketil Karlsen, has said that the mission of the EU delegation to Nigeria is not to select a leader for the country in the February 16, elections. A statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor of Bayelsa on Media, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, quoted Karlsen as having made the comment during during a courtesy visit to the governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, in Government House, Yenagoa on Friday.
Karlsen who stressed that the EU did not have any political aspiration in the country stressed the body was only committed to the conduct free and fair elections in the country. The EU Ambassador said that Nigeria sent a strong message to the international community with the outcome of the 2015 general elections that it was possible to have elections with acceptable results.
According to him, it was the interest of the EU to support the consolidation of democracy in Nigeria as part of the efforts to secure the stability, development, and creation of opportunities for its ordinary citizens. “We are visiting at this important moment ahead of the Presidential elections and of course the state elections in so many parts of Nigeria to express to you the Governor, and your team the importance that we attach to have a free, fair and credible, peaceful and transparent elections in Nigeria.
“We are strong believers in the consolidation of democracy as the best if not the only way to continue stability and development and creation of opportunities for ordinary Nigerians. And that is why we reiterate again and again that for the EU and the international community at large, we are not here to select the leadership of Nigeria. That cannot be and should not be our aspiration.
“Our only desire is to see to a fair process of the election in this country because that is what is providing that legitimacy of the democratically elected government, whether at the federal or state level. And Nigeria demonstrated wonderfully in the last election in 2015 how the outcome of a democratic election can prevail. That message was very powerful within Nigeria but it resonated far, far beyond the borders of Nigeria, to West Africa and to the world.”
Responding, Dickson commended the EU and its partner agencies for embarking on various projects that supports and promotes the course of development and stability in communities, disclosing that Bayelsa has been a beneficiary of such projects. However, the governor expressed concern over the conduct of security agencies in the forthcoming elections.
A former General Evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Prophet Samuel Abiara has appealed to politicians not to see the general elections as a do- or-die affair.
He advised them to rather exhibit the spirit of sportsmanship before and after the elections.
He gave this advice during the kick- off of the Abuja edition of the ‘Prayer for peace in the nation’ revival which held earlier in Ibadan and Lagos in January.
The programme kicked off at the CAC Agbala Itura, along Karimu Road, Kado Area, Abuja and ends today with a thanksgiving in the church.
According to him: “There is always life after elections. In developed climes, politicians don’t see themselves as enemies.
“You hardly hear of any conflict or violence before, during and after the elections over there.
“They remain friends and colleagues even after the elections must have been won and lost.
“Nigerian politicians must learn from this spirit of camaderie and sportsmanship always exhibited by politicians in advanced countries like the United States of America and United Kingdom.
“Also, I want to beg the INEC to make sure that the elections are free, fair and credible.
“We’ll continue to pray for peace in the nation, and for Nigerians.
“At this period of the elections, we need to pray. Nigeria has a glorious future.”
While he reiterated there was no gain in predicting doom for the nation, the cleric noted that prayers could change situations for good.
Abiara also advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise a free, fair and credible during the 16th February and 2nd March elections.
Barely a week to the presidential election, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on Saturday staged a show of force in Lagos to warn criminals of its readiness to confront them.
The Logistics Command of the NAF engaged on a five kilometre route march from its Sam Ethnam Base Headquarters to Air Port Junction, Ikeja with over 200 officers and soldiers in attendance.
Leading the team was the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Abdulganiyu Adebisi who assured Nigerians of the NAF’s commitment to safety and security of all. “Lagosisans should be rest assured that there will be adequate security coverage for people to go out and cast their votes in a peaceful and calm environment.
“The command is working in synergy with other security agencies within the state to ensure free, fair and credible elections. We are working in aid of the civil authority and will respond whenever we are called upon,” he said. On the exercise, Adebisi said: “The essence of the exercise is not to win prize but to foster espirit de corps and physical fitness of individuals.
“It is important that we remain both physically and mentally fit to carry out our responsibilities as the defenders of our nation’s territorial integrity and encourage the spirit of sportsmanship in our personnel. Let me use this medium to re-emphasise that you must all be of good conduct in the forthcoming general elections if you go out to vote.
“Do not be found wanting of any act that constitutes a breach of electoral law as you exercise your franchise,” he said.
Nigerians go to the polls this month to elect a new or old president in an election that Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has said he will not vote for either of the two major presidential candidates because he thinks there is need for fresh faces for the election of the Nigerian president. It is an election that both the US and Britain have interfered in with impunity. As if Nigeria is in their backyard or an estate that they and the EU recently purchased to teach the citizens how to behave in a democracy.
Yet both the EU and Britain are involved in the Brexit debacle that resulted in the EU president Jean Claude Juncker calling for a place in hell for Brexiteers who had no plan but won the Brexit referendum anyway. In similar manner the US just had its mid term elections in which the Democrats won a House of Representatives majority and have initiated investigations of the life and businesses of the US President Donald Trump who has branded their legitimate democratic inquiry a ‘presidential harassment ‘. In Venezuela which is really America’s backyard like Mexico, with which Trump is playing aggressive American soccer on Immigration, there are two presidents arising from their last election in which the new opposition president Juain Guaido a former Speaker claims power because he claimed the incumbent Nicolas Maduro rigged the election, and dissolved parliament. So the former speaker claims he is next in line after dismissing the incumbent for violating the constitution. These then are the ingredients of our pot pourri for analysis today in the context of our headline. Quite a juicy one I assure you.
We start with Wole Soyinka’s reported refusal to participate in the 2019 electoral process because of his claimed obsolescence of the two candidates on offer on February 16. That really is his choice but since he is who he is, he is bound to influence some or many Nigerians into sheer voter apathy. That is unfortunate and again may be because his kinsman from Abeokuta, the politically ubiquitous former head of state Olusegun Obasanjo is feverishly campaigning for one of the candidates Atiku Abubakar. And there is no love lost between the two Yoruba national leaders who have not seen eye to eye since the Professor successfully supplanted the state backed effort of the soldier turned statesman to be UN Secretary General, some years back.
All the same Nigerians should not be dissuaded from political participation at all levels of our elections as that is the way of democracy in ensuring that the choice of the people is truly, the choice of God. People should be encouraged to cast their votes and vigilantly too , so that there is no rigged election. That is a surer way to ensure that there is no need again, for another gun man like the one at the broadcasting house in Ibadan after the 1962 elections rigging in the west and the ensuing national malaise, from which we have not recovered as a nation.
On the interference in our elections so brazenly carried out by our self appointed sovereign uncle nations and patrons, we urge them to remove the planks in their eyes before removing the specks in ours. The EU thinks of Russia’s Putin for now as the devil incarnate for trying to hack elections in EU nations in order to control and derail their democracy. The American opposition is busy trying to destroy the legitimacy of the election and presidency of the Trump Administration by insisting that Russia hacked the 2016 US presidential election that brought Trump into office. If both the Americans and the Europeans found election interference so offensive and repugnant for their democracy why did they think Nigerians will not have the same feeling of distaste for their insulting and nasty meddling in our elections as a sovereign nation like them? Really they should be advised that those who live in glass houses in election matters should not throw stones. Or simply be told that on elections, charity should begin at home.
On Brexit it is interesting that EU President literally sent brexit campaigners to hell because they had no plan of execution. Which is eternal condemnation for present posture on politics with regard to asking Britain to leave the known for the unknown without a plan to see it through. The curse should also be applicable to the Labour Party which sought to create a snap election to get power from the planlessness in the Brexit execution. This is not to say that satanic curses should be the price of national or diplomatic discourse as is the vogue now in European politics. But it certainly shows that liberal democracy needs to put a break on the ever ready way it accepts dissent without due diligence on new ideas or differing opinions. Let us pray that this cursing of those with differing ideas will not become the language of global democracy which for now is championed by both the Europeans and the Americans. It is certainly not a step in the right direction. With regard to African diplomacy and politics I think we passed that cursing stage a long time ago and the dog cannot, hopefully, return to its vomit.
In Donald Trump’s State of the Nation Address this week he spoke eloquently of his achievements but he didn’t seem to realize that the leverage of power in American politics have changed against him after the November terms elections that gave majority to Democrats in the House of Representatives. He cajoled the women when he lauded their gain in new employment under his administration and the largest representation in Congress ever. These women who see Trump as a misogynist applauded hesitantly and later uproariously, but the following day the Democrats led by the same women, created many investigative committees to probe both the private and public life of the US president. And he called that Presidential Harassment. A great understatement when you recall how Trump had bragged on making deals with the Democrats before the House, now dominated by them, convened. He even tried to appease them in his State of the nation Address by saying that investigations will not bring peace or stop the national divide. Now he faces the reality of loss of power in the house and balancing that with his gains in the senate. Trump will have to learn fast and hard, to live with his new found power constrainers and competitors in the US Congress. It is certainly pay back time for an election that his opponents claimed the Russia gave him on a platter of gold.
The problem now is that his opponents have the power to skin him literally alive for not only his election but with a great vengeance for his two years of braggadocio and petulance of office, before his party lost power in the US House of Representatives. That again is the power of elections and the way of democracies. Once again long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.