WITHER NIGERIA’S ELECTIONS IN THE LIGHT OF JOSEF STALIN? By Okee Igboegbunam

“IT'S NOT THE PEOPLE WHO VOTE THAT COUNT; IT'S THE PEOPLE WHO COUNT THE VOTES” -Josef Stalin (18 December 1878 – 5 March 1953).

 

Born Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, he was the totalitarian Soviet dictator who had nothing to do with elections having ruled without offering himself for any. History recorded his ignominy in that a Ukrainian court found him and other leaders of the former Soviet Union guilty of genocide by "organizing mass famine in Ukraine in 1932–1933." His above quotation says lots about the decadence in the hearts of power-hungry individuals.

 

Though he may have made the quote in relation to the internal Communist party’s affairs that involved some forms of elections still, by the variant of this quote available as can be seen from Boris Bazhanov's “Memoirs of Stalin's Former Secretary” (Vospominaniia Byvshego Sekretaria Stalina), published in 1992, near the end of Chapter Five, reads the following pertinent passages (loosely translated):

"You know, comrades," says Stalin, "that I think in regard to this: I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this — who will count the votes, and how."

 

The Stalin’s statement has since become the lousy regular route of electoral manipulations by authorities/persons seeking self perpetuation.

Unpopular governments have had to engage just any persons who can do a hatchet job and secure victory for people in power such that it has become so easy to determine electoral outcomes.

 

Till tomorrow United States is still taunted over the State of Florida’s presidential election that took place on 7^th November 2000. Many believed the states ‘chad’ dilemma under Mr. Jeb Bush’s governorship may have influenced the final outcome that benefited his elder brother George W. Bush Jr. against Al Gore who won the overall majority (the tally after Florida was Bush’s 48.85% to Gore’s 48.84%)

 

In Nigeria the history of traumatic elections dates back to the 50s when the British authority endorsed who they wanted, providing the logistics. They started with awarding demographic numbers to ensure a sham imbalance that will justify the final outcome. When Belewa eventually took over in 1964 he presided over the first made-in Nigeria electoral fraud in Western Nigeria in 1965. Since then it has been replication after replication until June 12, thanks to Prof Humphrey Nwosu who chose an African-like way termed Option A4.

 

 

Nigeria's Second Republic waxed electoral manipulations to great standard such that Nigeria's then Transport Minister boasted that the ruling party had the military as its only competitor. True to Umaru Dikko's boast the Shagari govt actually needed at least twelve of the nineteen states to still remain in power so the electoral umpire FEDECO was pressured to the task.

 

For the 1979 electoral woes, citing relevant examples, Modestus Chukwulaka writing in the Sunday Sun, August 15, 2010 wrote in his ‘Kano: Don’t rule out surprises,’ reminisced;

 “In 1979, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) had fielded Alhaji Aminu Wali as its governorship candidate in the state while the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) led by local hero, Mallam Aminu Kano, opted for Salihu Iliyasu, an experienced engineer that enjoyed a lot of grassroots popularity in the state.

Being the behemoth it was in the Second Republic, the NPN had used its power to get Iliyasu disqualified on flimsy excuse of non-production of tax clearance, even though he had been in the civil service. Having been thrown into confusion, the PRP had to substitute the disqualified Iliyasu with a relatively young, unknown Abubakar Rimi who was getting set to run for the Kano South Senatorial seat.”  

 

For the 1983 debacle, Dr. Edwin Modunagu (remember him at Guardian Editorials?) lamented the obvious ignobility of the then electoral umpire FEDECO:

 “FEDECO refused to recognise the PPA and PPP for election purposes, insisting that the parties in these groupings must first dissolve themselves before seeking registration under the new names. The political crisis of the Second Republic, I now see more clearly in retrospect, was in particular the crisis of re-election, and in general the crisis of bourgeois democracy.”

 

At the end of tally in the 16^th August 1983 elections, Nigerians where piqued at the results coming from states like;

·         Anambra -in favor of C. C. Onoh, NPN (supposedly won by Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo, NPP);

·         Oyo -in favor of Victor Omololu Olunloyo, NPN (supposedly won by James Bola Ige, UPN);

·         Niger -in favor of M. Awwal Ibrahim, NPN (supposedly won by Alh Badakoshi, NPP –remember the Nupe ‘Ndaduma Association’ power house?);

·         Ondo –in favor of Akin Omoboriowo NPN (won by Michael A. Ajasin, UPN).

Dr. Edwin Modunagu's "The state and political re-alignments" highlights Nigeria's ignoble match in electoral malpractices. Visit http://www.nigerdeltacongress.com/sarticles/state_and_political_re.htm

 

For the Third Republic, Option A4 was chosen from many other options after many trials with non-party contests in 1988 giving Nigeria a clear international honor of having the 1993 General Elections WHERE THOSE WHO VOTED DETERMINE THE OUTCOME.

Teeming lines: The Option A4 way

 

Not only were results known at the voting venues, Option A4 eliminated the following:

 

1. The problem of knowing who won, thus offering zero options of further contest; the problems of organized thuggery is eliminated to zilch, given that every individual eligible voter counts except (may be for) the security operatives and election officials. All people MUST queue up or have their candidates lose their counts at the zip of time! 

 

2. It quashed the usual time lag that created rooms for manipulations;

 

3. It offers easy determinable / valuable socio-political rooms for contestants / party performance assessment. No bogus claims. If you or your party is claiming undue popularity, you just need the lines to form and the Presiding Officer’s count to agree. No more, no less!

 

4. It is the most cost-effective method -even a blank sheet of paper can be used to tabulate all the records; no need of obsolete, no non-compliant déjà vu systems, not the luxury of the now ' DDC Machines' that have become another burden to our economy (and a fascinating show to the street kids round the quarters).

 

Option A4 is the most community-based electoral system known in history. Pan Nigeria, it provided the basis for integration of non-natives at various cadres of governance. It was easy for a Nupe man to win election into Fegge Wards in Onitsha South local council. In Lagos and Kano states respectively, Igbo people won in areas where Igbo traders operate their trades.

 

INEC's Computer

But has Nigeria learned the unlearned of Electoral woes? So far the trend is showing a resilient NOT YET UHURU. To back my assertion, I will refer us to the 2007 elections. A retrospect on Independent National Electoral Commission’s Roles in the 2007 Nigeria’s Elections will show that their loitering problems lingered (as it is still persisting):

 

Just as we are witnessing, INEC did not stop all its assuming behaviors but persisted in taking things for granted. Unlike Humphrey Nwosu’s Option A4 no mock attempt were made to determine the operational efficiency of its imported Direct Data Capture Machines. Time needed for registrations was carelessly wasted as workability and many logistical errors were being troubleshot.

Issues that reeled the electorates during and after the recent by-elections:

a.     INEC’s mismanagement of time at the detriment of the electorates: Late arrival of INEC staff / ad hoc-staff for voting processes to begin.

b.    Disenfranchisement of millions of Nigerians: Names were misspelled. Many had their registration Identity Cards but were unable to see their names in the voters register and Refusal by INEC officials to provide enough voting materials to polling stations

c.     Delayed display of Voters' Register; Short and delayed supply of voting materials

d.    The use of partisan and underage ad-hoc staff including known political hirelings

e.     Restriction of civil society organizations from monitoring the processes

f.     Frustration of Election Monitoring: Handing over of observation materials to accredited election observer teams were delayed

g.    Announcement of election winners without releasing the results for voters to see the details

h.    Denial of aggrieved politicians access to evidences in INEC’s custody to support their election petitions

i.      Direct abuse of election process: Thumb-printing of ballot papers and stuffing of ballot boxes by officials after the elections to assist patrons or their parties at the tribunals.

 

From the evidences before us, within the technical trampoline that INEC is dancing on and the mumbo-jumbo explanations that are coming from Prof Jega and his acolytes, the lamp of the present administration’s efforts to give Nigeria a somewhat reformed electoral system might be a bonafide alley to further darkness, given the easily malleable predilections and lacking scruples in the politicians. Simply put, the ‘DDCs’ have not shown trust!

 

So if ever we truly want the votes to count as voted … if Nigerians want the use and employment of the nation state and its apparatus by govt. at the centre and various states levels to stop perpetrating falsehood and electoral malpractices … if we must stop our learned Professors who our nation leaders have continued to soil by making them play yeoman’s games for them. And if Nigeria must look instead of gawking, we must see the WHYs in the lessons given the repeated times their fingers have been burnt while pulling chestnuts for others.

Count that after their roles, nearly all of them were dumped by virtually every organization including the politicians. From

o    Chief Eyo Esua (1964–1966).

o    Chief Michael Ani (1979).

o    Justice Victor Ovie Whiskey (1983).

o    Professor Eme Awa (1987–1989).

o    Professor Humphrey Nwosu (1989–1993).

o    Professor Okon Uya (1993).

o    Chief Sumner Dagogo-Jack (1994–1998).

o    Justice Ephraim Akpata (1998-2000).

o    Dr. Abel Guobadia (2000-2005).

o    Prof Maurice Iwu (2005-2010).

o    Prof Atahiru Jega (2010-??).

 

Just live the last one, go check out the last postings of all the others -it is like the work in the executive commission has become a kind of eternal bye-bye for every officer so selected to offer a supposedly national service to the fatherland. Even Prof Humphrey Nwosu, the hitherto sankora bird that did an impossible, created a deeper confusion while trying to exonerate some powers behind the annulment of June 12. His explanations benumbed many who knew he was smattering –ho!

 

And so to stop the bastardization of Nigeria’s public institutions for ideological wiles and falsehood (e.g. the use of government media to promote nondescript projects and justification of dubious contracts), public administration (e.g. the abuse of trust at INEC and its various mandates) and forces of coercion (e.g. the use of the police, security services and the army to instill fear in the electorate and deny the masses of genuine direction).

 

If Nigerians want these to stop, they should go back to the ONE only system that is originally republican –prone to making us understand the dynamics of our inner working values. At this moment of Nigeria’s political experience, Option A4 is not too burdensome and can at least extricate us from political imbroglios that are poised to destroy the unity of Nigeria even before the ‘Year 2015;’ Let us go back to Option A4!