Nigeria’s botched National Assembly polls
Apr 7th, 2011 by admin
The current political situation in Nigeria is currently holding our nation in a semi-conscious state. An election postponement is novel in this part of the world. The reasons given for the postponement or cancellation, to many Nigerians are all false. First the elections were already underway in some centers where most Nigerians had already cast their vote, in other centers, the ballot papers were not available or the logos of some political parties were missing. The truth is, many Nigerians had looked forward to that day and like millions of Nigerians who showed up to cast their vote, questions such as why did the ballot papers that necessitated the cancellation arrive late? Why was the news of the cancellation announced at midday and not much earlier? Why the ballot papers and result sheets were imported? Why they were not printed locally? These questions have no ready answers because the simple excuse that security was at stake is not plausible. Anyway, the drama is ongoing and yet to unfold. So let’s keep our fingers crossed that elections will actually commence on the 9th of April.
Though, most are currently frustrated with the whole electoral process in the country. It will be another day for vast majority of Nigerians who derive their source of livelihood from daily income not being able to do so. What about the cost economically to the nation. Is the government bothered about this and its effects? Notwithstanding, this Saturday all will be laid to rest and hopefully Nigerians will get to cast their votes. The temporal set back caused should be a test to how resilient Nigerians can be in the face of unforeseen difficulties. There should be a collective need to make this process work. Despite what has happened we all should be enthusiastic to bring about a change for future generations. The idea is to ensure that the platform is in place, if not created to effectively address the anomalies existing in the country.
In the 1983 general elections, the ruling party, the National party of Nigeria (NPN) was returned to power. The UPN complained bitterly of rigging. On the 31st of December, 1983 the Military took over the government. Then it was June 12, 1993. Judged the most free and fair but it was dogged with controversy. Again, it was the 1999 elections that finally disengaged the military from politics. It was also alleged to be rigged. In the 2003 and 2007 elections, there were worse reports. Electoral officials failed to turn up, results were doctored, double thumb printing, ballot boxes were snatched from electoral officers and replaced with already stuffed ones.
In light of this, many may see the postponement as highly incompetent on the part of INEC to deliver a fair and free election if conducted. If truth be told Prof. Jega has a huge task. He has no reason to fail this country. I am quite certain there are many who are going to make the whole process difficult, to satisfy their selfish interests. It is therefore, imperative on the part of the INEC chairman to put his critics to rest and make the entire electoral process transparent. This will certainly answer a myriad of questions.
Irrespective of what has happened, Nigerians still need to be patriotic and exercise your civic duty in the face of seeming challenges. The democratic process is new and will take time to mature. An African proverb says ‘it is little by little a bird build’s its nest’. So, whatever the issues are, at the moment, the dynamism of the Nigerian people will ensure that Nigerians will again, come out en mass and vote. Now is the time to produce a new Nigeria.