LastLine

Nigeria 51 and Still Crawling

2011-10-01T14:45:00.000-04:00

I belong to the post independence generation, the generation which has always looked forward to the day Nigeria achieve it's destined greatness and the generation fast losing hope that it will ever happen. We grew up with pride in our country, the 'Giant of Africa", the richest, most advanced and most populous nation in Africa. Nigeria, we were made to believe, was a major power in African affairs, in politics and even in sports. Nigeria, we believed, would one day sit at the head table with the great nations of the world in international affairs. All that has become a mirage.

What has our country done in the last fifty-one years? Nigeria seems to have abandoned any dream of greatness, our leaders seem to have lost track of what nation building is all about. All our institutions have deteriorated over the years. Roads are not maintained, new ones are not constructed, public works completely missing. There is constant blackout and no running water in any major city of the country. Citizens have to dig boreholes and generate their own electricity on a daily basis. The public works system has over the years collapsed completely, a situation that brings to light the disgraceful recent public bickering by two former Presidents, Obasanjo and Babangida. Both men have everything to be ashamed of, combined they ruled Nigeria for more than a third of its fifty-one years and achieved little.

Obasanjo promised on his inauguration in 1999 to end power failures within eight months, he never did in eight years. Babangida had a unique opportunity under a military dictatorship to add to the country's infrastructure but did little in that regard and left with a legacy of an election annulment. In a decent part of the world, both men dare not rear their heads in public but there are always Nigerians to worship and give them the glory they do not deserve.

Nigeria has as a result of these mediocrities been the worse for it. Armed crime still persist, unemployment at unimaginable levels, public institutions below standard, healthcare a shambles, education barely existing. Public safety? Now we have the added threat of terrorism which if uncontrolled will be Nigeria's death knell.

The country has to change course now, the leadership should begin to think less of themselves and more of the general good. For our generation, the golden era may never come in good time. Le us hope it comes even for the younger ones, our children.

IBB, Atiku, Jonathan, All the Same

2010-08-16T11:34:00.000-04:00

Nigerian politicians are at it again, trying to outmanoeuvre themselves for the big prize; the proverbial national cake which all these years has been treated like war booty by the leaders. There is no serious debate about how to move the country forward developmentally. There is no serious debate about providing jobs, and basic utilities of water, electricity and health care to the people. There is no serious debate about curbing the worsening security situation in the country. And of course there is no serious debate about providing Nigeria with selfless leadership. The debate has been about nothing but who among the oppressive elite political class gets the drivers seat next time around.

To these politicians, some of whom have been there and done nothing for the people, it is just another opportunity to foist their avarice on Nigeria. They grab and grab and keep taking without giving. Obasanjo ruled that country longer than any single person yet no one can point to any major achievement of his. It was his military regime that Nigerianized foreign corporations by decree. It took the much maligned Abacha to reverse that with the Enterprise promotion Decree which opened up the road for foreign investors to return to the country.
Babangida's performance needs little thinking to recall. Is it the annulment of the June 12 election? Is it the improperly managed devaluation of the naira and the attendant economic downturn? Is it the political charade that preceded the June 12 election. The same man is planning to go round asking people to vote for him.
What about Atiku Abubakar? It was Atiku's PDM that made it possible for Obasanjo to be President in 1999. Too bad Obasanjo outsmarted all of them at the end, from Chuba Okadigbo who was removed as Senate president early in the Obasanjo government to Atiku whose ambition was scuttled by his former boss.
Despite his personal issues with Obasajo, Atiku presided over his own empire of booty sharing from the Vice presidential wing. He is definitely not the messiah Nigeria needs.
What about Joanthan? I don't know but he has acted like he is just comfortable being President without doing much. One cannot point to a particular direction the country is headed under him. He promised political reform but reform does not end with the appointment of a radical professor as electoral commision chairman. What has he really done as President? Oh! he banned the Eagles from international competition.
Really who is out there?

Overpaid Legislators, Constituency Projects or Corruption

2010-08-05T18:47:00.000-04:00

How much does it cost to maintain a Nigerian legislator? Former president Obasanjo was reported Wednesday August 5, (Sun News) as saying he believes it costs up to 250 million naira. A whopping figure which if multiplied by the number of legislators in the National Assembly runs into several billions. Having been president, Obasanjo's comments should not be ignored because he is in a position to know. What is all that money used for?
Obasanjo mentioned constituency projects where the legislators would hire contractors for projects in their various constituencies. Do they really use the money for that? Is there an accounting process instituted for the purpose of monitoring the projects and fund disbursement?
Sun News also quotes the former president as saying: "... we can’t continue to have a National Assembly that is consuming a disproportional part of our resources and then expect that we would be able to make progress. They pass budget that can’t be implemented, because it has to be beefed up to satisfy their whims and caprices. Even what the ministries did not ask for they put it."
While Obasanjo cannot claim to be a saint, a nation run with such flagrant disregard for fiscal responsibility is doomed. If the legislators actually use the funds for constituency projects, as budgeted, it would serve the various communities well, it would create jobs, infrastructure and other visible development in such communities. In the US, members of Congress sometimes use what they call earmarks to attract projects and certain infrastructure to their constituencies. Even at that, it generates a lot of controversy and political debate but the difference is that those earmarked projects actually get built unlike in Nigeria where the money probably ends up in private coffers.
Really, how much does it cost to maintain a Nigerian legislator, from the salaries they approve for themselves to all the allowances, housing, furniture, vehicle, domestic staff, constituency staff and offices etc.?

Beyond Yar' Adua

2010-01-23T19:41:00.002-05:00

Nigerians have raised so much uproar about Yar'Adua's absence from Abuja that one begins to wonder what that is all about. Government in Nigeria has never been of much benefit to the larger citizenry anyway, irrespective of the person in charge. Who cares whether it is Yar' Adua now or Jonathan? That government, like the ones before it, has done little for Nigerians. Who cares whether the President is at home or in a Saudi Arabia hospital? We are not talking about a dutiful leadership seriously churning out development projects for the country. We are not talking about a truly democratic government in which the people's will is held sacrosanct. We are not talking about a nation that has known ideal leadership to the admiration of the world. We are surely not talking about a President who has earned the respect of world leaders for his achievements. While humane considerations require that the ailing president gets our sympathy and prayers, the political uproar is absolutely a distraction from the real issues at stake. The problem with Nigeria has not been caused by Yar' Adua's absence. The problem is a conspiracy of the political elite against the citizenry. Yar' Adua has only been out for a few months but had been present for years as President and achieved not much. His government has not given Nigerians regular electricity supply. They have not given Nigerians other basic utilities, potable water supply, fuel automobile or otherwise. Yar' Adua's presence is not going to change this and will not cause the crime rate to abate. His return to Nigeria is not going to improve the state of corruption in the country. It sure would not stop the Abuja politicians from continuing to do business as usual with the mantra of self before the people.
Really, all the noise about Yar' Adua being absent makes no difference. It only matters in whose picture is placed on the walls of public offices with the inscription "President and Commander in Chief". People should stop wasting time demonstrating and debating the issue. We should instead be addressing the needs of our people and how to make the government serve those needs.

US Experience and Federalism in Nigeria

2009-07-21T15:32:00.008-04:00

Nigerian constitution is said to be fashioned after the US document, its principles and institutions but in my years of observing the two nations closely I have found more disparity than similarity in the two nations. First, Americans refer to their system as republican system of government, a democracy in which the people have ultimate say. In Nigeria, the President and his leading elite of ministers and hangers on hold ulitmate power.
Not only does the President control security forces, he also controls the finances of the nation. This is not so in the US where internal security authority is vested in the states which provide police and finances are controlled by whomever generates it. The US has no federation account that allocates money to states and local governments on a regular basis. There is no revenue allocation formula which continues to be contentious in Nigeria. Each State generates its own funds and only receives aid from the Federal government in specific areas dictated by national needs such as education and homeland security in this era of terrorism.
The US Congress determines which area of national interest such as defence, health, education, foreign relations etc gets what in the budget and, in most instances, even provides guidance on the details of how the funds so given are spent. States do not wait for these funds to operate because nothing is given to the state as its share of federal money. The money is allocated to federal projects and programs managed by federal agencies. States do not depend on these funds for survival. Each has an internal system of taxes that provides its needed funds. Worthy of note is that government owns virtually nothing in the US. Private entities own all the businesses, mines, refineries et al.. Only recently has the govenment taken temporary stakes in some major corporations; General Motors,Citibank and a few corporations to prevent their collapse in the current crisis.
If Nigeria wants to copy, it should at least be good at it. The US is a capitalist experiment that has worked for over 200 years and its population is as diverse as Nigeria's defeating any argument of homogeneity as a precursor of success.

The Lesson in Obama's Africa Trip

2009-07-16T18:31:00.006-04:00

I am sure Nigeria's leaders are still smattering on with face saving excuses for the cold shoulders shown the 'giant of Africa' by the US President when he flew past Nigeria to visit Ghana recently. Afterall, some would say, he also shunned his father's country but Kenya has never claimed the leadership role Nigeria ascribes to itself.
It is a shame that Ghana, without Nigeria's resources, continues to outshine Nigeria in international arena. Ghana came out top of the class with its recent transition of power in an election which the incumbent leadership could easily have rigged, as is usually the case in Nigeria. It is a shame that Nigeria seems to bury its head in the sand of self delusion, a handicap imposed on the country by its corrupt leadership.
I wonder how Yar'Adua's leutenants explained it to him; one would expect that a US President would rather come to Nigeria , the most populous black nation in the world and potentially the biggest consumer nation for international goods. The US definitely would want a piece of that market. One would also expect even more since Nigeria has been a democracy since 1999. It seems, however, that it really does not matter what form of government Nigeria has. It really does not matter whether it is an Alhaji or a General in power the mannerism ramains the same and the country remains backward in world affairs.
With Nigeria's wealth, population and intellectual resources it should be a leader in the emerging markets. Nigeria has the population, the fertile minds to plant any development idea and the fiscal resources to explore and accomplish any development goal but simple things such as electricity still elude our cities. Simple things such as portable water supply remain elusive to the people. Simple things such as the conduct of free elections still pose the kind of challenge Ghanan seems to have overcome. Nigeria is still a nation where corruption permeates the fabric of society, a nation that deludes itself about its status in the comity of nations. A common fact is, there is little respect for the country outside nor for the leadership inside, from federal to local. That respect has to be earned and to begin, it has to be earned within first. The leadership has to serve its people selflessly and international respect will follow.

Ghana's Example, A Lesson for Nigeria

2009-01-08T19:17:00.001-05:00

Nigerians, no doubt, watched neighboring Ghana's smooth hand over of power this week and many of us could not help but wonder if our beloved country will ever experience such order.

The significance of the Ghana elections is essentially in its conduct and the fact that the ruling party lost in the end. Could anyone imagine a ruling party losing in Nigeria? In 2007 and earlier, the ruling party had come off with "landslide" victories in Nigeria's elections. NPN did it in 1983, Obasanjo's PDP did it in both 2003 and 2007. It is anathema in Nigeria. Being an opposition party is an execration, you are condemned to lose. Evidently, Ghana sees things from a different perspective.

While not saying that Ghana's polls were completely free, it is doubly remarkable that despite Akufo-Addo's lead in the first poll, and the loss in the run-off he, as reports indicate, attended the presidential inauguration and watched as Atta Mills was sworn in. This act alone indicates a commendable level of statesmanship. Nigerian politicians should learn from that.

Is this the End of Capitalism?

2008-10-09T12:14:00.003-04:00

I have been a participant observer in the American system for some years now. I have worked as an employee, as self employed participant and as a small businessman responsible for others. I know what it feels like to look into someone's eyes and see desperation, fear of not knowing how to pay his next bill. I have witnessed the rise and fall of small businesses as a result of inability to obtain credit facility for working capital.

What is happening now in the global market, especially in the US, is a trickle up effect of a crisis that started a long time ago, which hit small businessmen years earlier. Now that it is beginning to affect the big corporations everyone seems to notice. It is a cumulative effect of the loss of confidence in the US credit system. A ripple effect of a sudden break in the flow of the nutrient that sustains the economic life of America.

The US is a society driven by credit, from the individual credit cards, personal loans, home equity loans and mortgages to lines of credit extended to corporations. The system stays perfect if undisturbed but crumbles immediately there is a break in the chain. Contrary to government's belief that the problem is bad investments made by banks, the real problem lies in the attempt by banks to break the flow of funds into the system by tightening up credit conditions. They simply stopped giving mortgages and loans as freely as they did a few years ago. When they upped the conditions, the people had less to spend and less new credit lines to help service existing loans. The defaults started as a result. People who used to survive by rolling debt over from one bank to another, could no longer do so. There are no new credit offers, no new balance transfer opportunities, no new mortgage refinancing hence no new source of funds to continue the roll over that has sustained the individual. And from the micro the problem extends to the macro, corporations were soon affected and finally the banks who no longer make money because the are not growing the sources. The solution? Is it an an end to capitalism as the buy in and bailout trend portends?

The solution is neither in extreme regulation nor deregulation but a mixture of both. The solution is in ensuring that banks regain confidence in borrowers' ability to pay the loans. To achieve that, the borrowers must have their jobs back, they must have their mortgage loans and credit facilities back. Which happens first seems like the chicken and egg question. Both must happen at the same time, developing simultaneously for the crisis to be over. It does not matter how much money government pumps into the banks, if banks stay the high ground of keeping tight credit conditions, the problem will linger.

Why is Gombe Paying Ex-govs N200 Million?

2008-07-11T08:44:00.001-04:00

Gombe State, one of Nigeria's poorest, is leading the way in paying huge sums in severance package to former governors and their deputies. Each governor gets about 202 million naira (about $1.8m). This is also in addition to getting an executive assistant, two cars, and drivers paid for by the state.

This sort of folly makes one cry for Nigeria. It shows we are a long way from the path of development. It shows that our politicians are in it for selfish reasons and far from the service of the people. Think of how much it would cost to cover all the ex-governors and their deputies and what the huge sums could do for a general hospital. Think of how much would be achieved in education with that much money. Think of other infrastructure that would be improved in the state.

Of course we should also consider the impact on future elections. In a country that seeks electoral reforms, making the office of governor so lucrative will make rigging more attractive. How then can they abate electoral fraud given that getting elected would mean getting paid hundreds of millions.

Nigeria cannot successfully solicit support and all sorts of aid from the advanced world when such irresponsibility is the mark of our leadership. Be frugal with what you have so you might be given more.

Even the US president does not get paid that much in office let alone after leaving. President Clinton lives in a house bought from personal funds after leaving office. President Bush is going back to his personal ranch after serving and his current salary is far less than poor Gombe State pays its former governors. Bush earns about $400,000 per annum and this is a man who occupies the World's busiest political office, sits on enough military might to wipe out the entire African continent and presides over a yearly budget many times over what Africa spends in years. New York city's, for instance, dwarfs Nigeria's federal budget. It really bothers me to see our people tolerate such waste.

Ex- governors should not be paid more than senior civil servants get in gratuity upon retirement and should not under any circumstance be paid before a civil servant who has served the state for 35 years.

Nigeria and Nuclear Energy

2008-06-30T08:17:00.001-04:00

I have just finished reading a news piece about the concerns of G8 nations over Nigeria's plans to develop nuclear power plants and I thought, sure there is a good reason to be concerned. I am worried not that Nigeria will be ranked with Iran on the level of world suspicion but I am afraid for Nigerians.

Nigerians need to be protected from themselves. Nuclear accidents are not a head on collision between two molue buses nor passenger plane crash that we are so used to yet are unable to muster fruitful search and rescue each time there is a crash. Nuclear technology requires a lot more commitment.

It takes collective responsibility to manage a nuclear facility. It takes a responsible security set up to safeguard it. Do we have such a police force? Can someone guarantee that Osama Bin Laden or a rogue businessman cannot buy his way into the plant and collect items for a nuclear weapon? Can someone guarantee that the facility will be maintained and not left mismanaged like NEPA plants all over the country. What happens if there is an explosion caused by poor maintenance.

Sure Nigeria needs the facility but I doubt we have the level of responsibility and management needed to keep and operate it safely. Why don't we look elsewhere, there is solar energy. There is hydro energy and a lot more we can look into.

Humphrey Nwosu Blew It

2008-06-22T13:04:00.001-04:00

I have followed the reports on Humphrey Nwosu's feeble attempt to defend IBB on June 12 and I cannot help but wonder why the electoral commission chairman should be the insider who knows the truth.

Nwosu, to the best of my knowledge, was not a member of the military junta ruling Nigeria at that time. How then can he convince us that he actually knew what happened? Or is Nwosu simply a PR mouthpiece for IBB as has been suggested? I cannot put it beyond that for I have noticed many people who worked for Babangida continue in that capacity, as his "loyal servants" even long after leaving office.

I could only remember Nwosu as a loquacious university teacher who was appointed to conduct elections for Nigeria. To his credit, however, goes the widely accepted view that he conducted the freest polls in the country's history. Also to his credit is the option A4 open voting system, however primitive. Option A4 did work but the gains of that were obliterated by the annulment and subsequent crises that followed in the Abacha years.

I think people like Nwosu should keep quiet and stop attempting to rewrite history. Babangida was the president and leader of the military council and the responsibility of all actions and inactions of that regime and the military junta at the top were ultimately his. Let him live with that.

Again, Where is the Political Reform?

2008-05-23T05:51:00.001-04:00

Part of my morning routine everyday is to read a couple of Nigerian newspapers online and it is always one grim news after another. Often , the story is about the circus that goes on in government and the performers both in the executive and legislative arms. One of the stories that caught my attention this week was a suggestion that President Yar'Adua's political reform committee was mulling over the idea of open ballot in future elections and that got me wondering.

I wondered why? I wondered what for? and I wondered if the politicians were not in Nigeria during Humphrey Nwosu's option A4 and the subsequent June 12 crisis. Most of all, I really wondered if these 'reformers' understood that the problem with our electoral system is not how we vote but with the conduct of politicians, law enforcement and election officials. It does not matter if the ballot is secret or open. Those who rig elections in most cases just change the numbers on the results sheet as we have learnt from many election petitions which followed the 2007 polls. Why then do they waste time looking where the problem does not exist?

I'm Proud to be a Nigerian

2008-05-22T17:20:00.001-04:00

I was driving to work in a busy New York morning when this sticker on the back windshield of a car in front caught my attention. It was very legible, in bold prints on green background and it read: I'm a proud Nigerian.

The car was an old Japanese model, perhaps, a testimony to the owner's struggles in God's own country. Perhaps also, it is just a modest reminder that "some day we shall return."

When i drove past the car, I honked in comradeship and looked back on my rear view mirror to catch a glimpse of the young man behind those wheels. For one moment, I felt a little proud that there is at least one Nigerian out here who feels great about motherland. Kudos to him for voicing it out in his little way.

Keep Parties Out of INEC

2008-03-25T20:32:00.001-04:00

The politicians are again trying to thwart the efforts at electoral reform in Nigeria. What else would one conclude when the parties in alliance with the present PDP government (ANPP,PPA,APGA) are suggesting that political parties nominate members of the electoral commission in future and the members so nominated should then choose a chairman among them.

This is fraught with danger. For genuine reform of the electoral body to occur, politicians should have absolutely no say in the appointments. They should, if possible, not even be distant cousins of those so appointed.

If the parties have their way, to whom would the chairman and his officers be loyal? To their parties of course. Rigging would continue and we would be back to the beginning. I can only imagine what happens on election night when all the officers will be outdoing themselves to stuff ballot boxes or fill in returns.

I think the country should consider appointing civil servants to those positions or simply conduct elections for electoral officers. My preference is the former; civil servants whose tenure would be guaranteed by the constitution will definitely fit the role better.

Nigeria’s Tribunals Raise the Commoners' Hope

2008-02-26T21:51:00.002-05:00

It began with the governors, then the Senate President and it seems the election petition tribunals all over Nigeria have embarked on a revolution of some sort. It was previously an anathema to rule against the party in power. Nigerian judges appear to have suddenly realized they had the constitutional right to differ. Whatever it is, however, Nigeria is the winner. I had delayed this post hoping the presidential election tribunal would follow but ….
While I do not agree with all the tribunal judgments, or reasons for ruling the way they did, the very fact that they are overturning election results is admirable, especially in a country where election process is more of selection by the privileged. You are a winner if the leaders of the ruling party give their blessing. The incontrovertible truth remains the 2007 elections ware a display of shame by the electoral commission and the political parties.
I do not particularly care about any of the politicians or their parties, not Buhari, not Atiku, not Yar’Adua. In fact none of them strike me as ideal presidential material; not with Atiku’s controversial involvement with Obasanjo and the shady contract deals they accused each other of. Definitely not the quartermaster image of Buhari or the weakling portrayed by Yar’Adua appeal to me.
What the tribunals have done of recent confirms what election observers said after the polls, that they were flawed. The tribunals have given the masses hope, hope in the polity that has eluded the common Nigerian for decades. The aggrieved can now hope for equity when he gets to the courts. The aggrieved will now be more willing to avail himself of the judicial avenue to settle scores. And we can only hope that this momentum never dies.
The tribunals have also signaled to those in power that the manipulation of the system cannot be without limits. What remains is to entrench these bold steps in every facet of Nigerian life. And the job should not be left to the judiciary alone. We still need a political reform built on reorientation of the people and the system to ensure that such widespread manipulation of the process, as seen last year never happens again. A reorientation is necessary to erase the mentality that “ winning at all costs” from the minds of politicians and their supporters.
The novelty of government is in its dynamism ensured by the peoples’ right to change their leadership when the leaders fail. Nigeria is yet to get there but it is moving.

Where is the Political Reform?

2008-02-22T13:55:00.003-05:00

"A SHOOTOUT in Awka. Postponement in Delta State. Parallel congresses in Edo. That is the story of the ward congresses of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) scheduled for yesterday across the country"

This is how The Guardian begins its report of the PDP local congresses across Nigeria. A typical picture of politics as usual in a country where the biggest industry is still government. The violence results from a struggle to control the ruling party, even at the local levels, because the perpetrators believe it is a stepping stone to large contracts and other patronage from the seat of power.
This is the ruling party, Yar' Adua's party and the party that is supposed to lead the way in the effort at electoral reform. This is the party that control majority in the National Assembly and most local assemblies in the country. This is the party that will wield a lot of influence in any effort to amend the constitution to take care of the lapses in our electoral laws and the polity as a whole. Yet this is the party that cannot organise simple ward congresses without bickering and violence. It is always a do-or-die affair. When will it end? When is Nigeria going to mature? the United States, our people so admire, is also going through its own process. The primaries are like Nigeria's ward and state congresses but no one has heard anything about people killing each other yet this is the country where guns can be bought off the shelf.

Justice Ogebe's Elevation Could Wait

2008-02-21T11:23:00.000-05:00

President Yar'Adua just committed a blunder by submitting Justice Ogebe's name for elevation to the Supreme Court at this time. The honourable justice of the Court of Appeal, who is also the chairman of the presidential elections petition tribunal has by so doing become handicapped in the discharge of the case currently before him. Do not get me wrong. Justice Ogebe is certainly qualified to sit on the higher bench, now or in the future. There is no reason at this time to question his integrity or that of his colleagues but he has been placed in a difficult position by the timing of this appointment. How could he now sit over judgment in a case involving the same president whose election is being challenged? This appointment could have waited until the case is over.
What Yar' Adua has done is taint the image of the Justice before hand. What would the public think if the tribunal eventually rules in Yar' Adua's favour? Would the people understand that the justices ruled based on the evidence before them? Would the people understand that this appointment did not influence that judgment? The loser here is justice Ogebe who no matter how genuinely he does his job will have to face this dilemma. The only way out of this will be to rule against Yar' Adua even if in a minority judgment but that may not be in the best interest of justice and that may not serve the man's conscience. Just why didn't the president wait?

This brings me to my earlier blog on the issue of election reforms. Is Yar’ Adua’s move “self serving” as is being suggested by some parties? Is the president genuine? Is he really interested in electoral reforms?

The independence of the judiciary cannot be compromised in whatever manner. There should not be any perception of interference in the affairs of the judiciary.

NIGERIA, Yar’Adua and Election Reform

2008-02-19T15:32:00.000-05:00

I have just finished reading a story in which President Yar Adua said only credible elections will guarantee peace in Nigeria. Coming from a sitting president, this is commendable but an obvious reality that has faced Nigeria since the run up to independence. Flash back to the 1950s and ever since, Nigeria has hardly had an election without violence associated with rigging and other manipulations of the electoral process.
May we recall the Western Nigeria violence that preceded the coups of 1966? We learnt from history that it was the continued crisis that followed the parliamentary elections that led to the first coup in the country’s history. Or at least it gave the military a plausible excuse to interfere and dominate Nigeria’s politics until recently. We know the rest of that history.
One would not want to recall the failed promises of the Gowon era, or worse the charade of the Babangida years. The then military rulers took the country for a ride, toying with the interest and enthusiasm shown by Nigerians in 1992 leading up to nothing as the Abiola election was annulled. We do not want to remember the landslide victories of the Shagari era when NPN swept through the entire country, leaving a few pockets of victories for Awolowo’s UPN and NPP where they desired. Let’s also think back to 2003 elections and PDP and of course the 2007 million-vote margins of victories even where the turnout was hardly a hundred thousand.
These antecedents create apathy in the helpless public and breed violence among the more involved manipulable rabble. Besides, no incumbent party ever loses election in Nigeria. It is unheard of. They must rig and inflate numbers. They must win at all costs. The margins of victory are sometimes so absurd that you wonder at the brazen disregard for decency. Some of the last gubernatorial elections indicate such.
Nigerian elections also have the novelty of last minute substitution of candidates to favour party leaders’ choices. The last general elections had many such instances where voters would go in to vote for one candidate and ended up having their votes counted for someone different, substituted in the last minute.
The recent comment by Yar’Adua is commendable, if he seriously intends to do something about it. Also commendable is the setting up of electoral reform committees last year. However, past experiences with committees have not been encouraging. Nigeria needs to move faster than that. And it is ironic that Yar' Adua is making some effort given that the process that brought him to power has remained controversial and still sub judice. Yar’ Adua can begin by sacking the electoral commission and sending a bill to the National Assembly that creates a completely independent INEC with direct budgetary allocation and commissioners who cannot be sacked by the executive unless impeached by the Assembly. The same should be applicable to state electoral commissions for the purposes of local government elections.
Yar’ Adua should also encourage the independence of the judiciary.
Law enforcement is another subject matter.