The 2007 general election
conducted by INEC under the supervision of Maurice Iwu is, perhaps, one of the
most fraudulent in Nigeria’s electoral history.
Human Rights Watch said this
about that election: ‘’Instead of guaranteeing citizens’ basic right to vote
freely, Nigerian government and electoral officials actively colluded in the
fraud and violence that marred the presidential polls.’’
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the
beneficiary of the electoral sleaze, even admitted that the exercise was a
travesty.
Really, the electoral process
evolved from a ‘’garrison exercise’’ with the conduct of one of the freest and
fairest elections in 2015 by INEC under the superintendence of Attahiru Jega.
Before Jega, the electoral body
was accorded the “credibility of a con artist”. But he changed all that. He
brought a verisimilitude of integrity to the institution, and won trust as well
as affection for the commission.
Jega left INEC with a surfeit of trust,
having conducted an election in which a sitting president was defeated, and
which was adjudged free, fair and credible by most Nigerians and international
organisations.
But this “trust” appears
threatened going by the avalanche of sour allegations against the commission
now.
The recent elections supervised
by Mahmood Yakubu are a declension into a past of violence, fraud and garrison
democracy. The 2019 general election, for example, was adjudged by
international observers to be anything but free, fair and credible.
The EU said the election was
‘’overshadowed by systemic failings’’.
‘’The environment for this
election has been difficult with cases of violence and intimidation,’’ it said.
As a matter of fact, the general
election supervised by Yakubu in 2019 was in character like that which Iwu
managed in 2007 – an electoral exercise of fraud, tears, sorrow and blood.
To say the least, the elections
in Bayelsa and Kogi have been despairing – with widespread violence in the
confluence state and in the ‘’glory of all lands’’.
Credible organisations have
condemned this heist on the efforts of Nigerians to elect their own leaders by
themselves and for themselves.
Idayat Hassan, Centre Democracy
and Development director, condemned the “coordinated disruption of the voting
process and the subsequent destruction of electoral materials by armed thugs”
in Bayelsa.
“The very daring way and the
manner in which the political thugs disrupted the voting and destroyed
materials in such a planned and coordinated sequence, takes everything away
from the credibility of the process and its outcomes,” she said.
In Kogi, YIAGA AFRICA, a civil
society organisation (NGO), demanded the cancellation of the election. The
organisation said political parties and security agencies compromised the
credibility of the state governorship and senatorial elections.
“The challenges in Kogi state
2019 gubernatorial elections squarely lies on the failures of security
agencies, the police in particular, political parties, the major candidates and
their state and non-state accomplices. These stakeholders deliberately worked
to undermine the election,” its report on the exercise read.
“They appeared to be more
concerned about electoral victory than the credibility and legitimacy of the
process. The unacceptable vote buying and violence perpetrated by the
systematically recruited and prepared party officials and thugs were carried
out under the full glare of the almost nonchalant security officials.’’
So, what is the legitimacy of an
election conducted under the cumulus of fear, violence and intimidation?
There have been gripes and wild
allegations against the electoral umpire on the recent exercise. By the outrage
in certain quarters, it is obvious some Nigerians have lost faith in the
‘’integrity’’ of INEC. The commission is no longer that fearless, dispassionate
and impartial arbiter it was known to be from 2011.
INEC has suffered serious
credibility crisis under Yakubu. It will take some arduous years to repair the
damage done to our electoral process and for the electoral umpire to regain the
confidence of citizens.
But I do not see that happening
under Mahmood Yakubu.
Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and
journalist.
@FredrickNwabufo
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com