FEATURE ARTICLE

Temple Chima UbochiThursday, April 2, 2015
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Bonn, Germany

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NIGERIA'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WAS SO CREDIBLE THAT EVEN CHILDREN WERE ALLOWED TO VOTE (1)?

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Anybody happy with the victory of the APC in the presidential election will not be involved in the molestation of opponents or the destruction of their property. He or she is not with me, whoever does that (Buhari)

Now that they (Nigerians) have spoken, I would like to commend Mr. President for magnanimously extending a hand of fellowship and statesmanship to the winner, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who I believe will also reciprocate the same (The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar III)

I commend President Goodluck Jonathan for being a statesman by conceding defeat and congratulating General Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the Presidential Election. I call on all Nigerians to emulate President Jonathan and allow for peace to reign in the country. Those celebrating and those sorrowing" should always have the interest of the country at heart (General Abdulsalami Abubakar)

he presidential election has been won and lost. Nigerians have spoken, so be it. A lot of things happened in this election; there are many questions begging for answers, nobody has explained how and why Goodluck Jonathan lost in such a disgraceful manner, but, these are issues for another day. For now, let me flow with current wave of accepting the result of the election. Here and now, let me, like President Goodluck Jonathan, also concede defeat and thereby congratulate Buhari for winning the election. I wish him all the best. Buhari won the presidential election, contrary to my expectation. I made my points, but, the voters had another opinion. Nigerians has spoken and I respect that. We have to support Buhari now, whether we voted for him or not.

President Jonathan has conceded defeat; I will live with that decision also. The President being the only person who should challenge his defeat by going to court to seek redress for any infringement during the election, has decided to let go, so, who am I to say otherwise? I sum up my life in the words of Gertrude Tooley Buckingham, in "The Four Seasons" (1940s), where it was written "I shall not judge the ones I see in sin... I shall not judge; for who am I to judge?! For I, myself, am far from perfect, too! So, God, I place each child of Thine in love; for there is no one perfect, Lord, but you!" What the president did, by conceding, might be the right decision; at least, nobody has been killed now because Buhari has won. The question is whether Buhari could have conceded defeat, if he was the person who lost the election, the same way Goodluck Jonathan did? The President disarmed all those gearing up to fight for him, by that decision he made. I am a person who accepts the reality on the ground, I may have some reservations, but, my opinion has been overwhelmed by that of the Nigerians who voted for Buhari. That's why I am calling on everybody to support the president-elect, no matter whether the person voted for him or not. What's important now is that Nigeria survives. Odera concurred when he wrote "What can I say ? well, the election has come and gone ,the winners and the sinners has taking the highroad if you ask me .We the electorate are the winners because all the monkeys and baboons were not soaked in blood. I thank God that we did not have the spirit of 2011 where after the election instead to accept defeat and wait for 4 years to correct the wrong, we simply got soaked in blood. As we congratulate Mr. President for showing a God fearing attitude and knowing that any challenge will end up with MONKEYS and HUMANS soaking in blood , he did what cowards will do and in Igbo parlance we say "onye ujo nara" a coward stays alive. President Jonathan erred on the side of caution and accepted defeat for peace sake and I applaud that humanitarian spirit. As the election has come and gone, it is now time for nation building. It is time of peace, I am sure the Niger Deltans will allow peace to flow, unlike if the reverse was the case".

Many people still can't understand what went wrong here. There are allegations and insinuations: some people have alleged that there was a gang up against President Jonathan, to make sure he was not re-elected; some said that what happened was like a coup, just like the one that happened in 1983 that unseated Shagari, that it was a plan hatched and carried out by some of the former military heads of state to remove Jonathan from power; some said that it was just like what happened in 1967, when the Hausa-Fulani and the Yoruba joined forces to stop the aspiration of the south-eastern for an independent country; some said that it was the politics of oil block allocation that consumed Goodluck Jonathan politically, because, as all the oil block licenses granted to only few powerful and well connected individuals, would expire next year, the holders, who are mainly northerners, might have felt that Goodluck Jonathan will not renew the licenses for them, as sure, Buhari, being a fellow northerner, will have no qualm allowing them to continue enjoying their loot. Chief (Sir) Don Ubani wrote that "How be it, it is important to take cognizance of the fact that 2015 General election would be a determining factor in the politics of oil block allocation. Many of the oil mining and producing licenses currently being held by few specially privileged Nigerians would expire in 2016. Man been whom he is, would like to do everything within his capability to make sure the licence is retained". Only time will reveal what actually went wrong or whether there was a calculated attempt to deny Goodluck Jonathan a second term for any selfish or parochial reasons. Nothing can be hidden from the sun forever! But for now, I advise everybody to sheathe their sword, accept the result and move on. There's nothing anybody can do, unless there's an injunction, from a court of law, against the result.

Those unsubstantiated allegations, above, aside, I know that many people betrayed President Jonathan, but, that will be a topic for another day. Tell me why a vice president was unable to deliver his state; tell me why the PDP national chairman was unable to deliver his state for Jonathan; tell me why most of the ministers failed to deliver their respective states for their principal; tell me why some PDP governors were unable to deliver their respective states; tell me why all those who collected "boodle" from PDP failed to live up to their promise of delivering their areas? Many sycophants were claiming that they have worked hard for the president's re-election, while in actual fact, they did nothing. Why didn't the senate president deliver his state for President Jonathan? President Jonathan failed due to so many factors: One of them was that APC very forceful and very effective in painting Goodluck Jonathan black, and the party succeeded. The APC made better use of the media against the re-election of the president, and it worked out perfectly well for it. Another reason why the president lost was that his media advisers failed to do their job well, because, they didn't spread the information, about the president's achievements, well. How can a president achieve so much, and still, most Nigerians were kept in the dark about them. It has nothing to do with campaigning; even prior to the campaign period, the media assistants and advisers to the president should have been hammering on what the president have so far achieved. A friend even told me that he didn't know that President Goodluck Jonathan has resuscitated the railway services, making it possible for someone to travel from Port Harcourt to Kaduna by rail. Better information dissemination, showcasing the president's numerous achievements, could have propelled the president to victory, but, those employed for that, didn't do enough, rather they were more interested in travelling overseas with the president, and taking fat pay and allowances. To be more direct, Reuben Abati failed in his job. The first lady, Patience Jonathan, was also a major reason the president failed. This woman is so greedy and overbearing that she drove many, who could have helped the president in his re-election bid, away from PDP into APC, and that made a difference. Read a part of my last serial, below, to get a sense of what I am talking about. The PDP also shot itself in the foot by its maltreatment of so many people, leading to the exodus of many prominent members, from the party, to other parties. For instance, the president lost Benue State, he was supposed to win, because of the way PDP treated some of its former prominent members from that state.

There are many winners here: Although Buhari won the election, Nigerians are also the winners here, for the way they conducted themselves during the election period despite the challenges many faced before casting their vote due to the problems associated with the biometric system and the card reading machines employed by INEC without adequately test running them to know their workability prior to the election. Nigerians were overtly commitment to ensure that democracy works and thrives in Nigeria, by the level of political consciousness they are exhibiting these elections period, and for that they are also the winners. The greatest winner here is President Goodluck Jonathan. He was magnanimous in defeat, and for him to congratulate the president-elect, even before the announcement of the winner by INEC, sets him apart from other. Goodluck Jonathan made his mind to accept either defeat or win, and that's why he is a man of character, just like in the words of Richard M Nixon (1913 -1994), where he said that "You've got to learn to survive a defeat. That's when you develop character". Goodluck is in a class of his own, because, he would be the first incumbent ever to hand over federal power to a man who defeated him in an election. Goodluck Jonathan is one of a kind; a different kind of politician, in that he got no do-or-die mentality; Jonathan is different from other politicians such as Obasanjo. Goodluck Jonathan has just confirmed that "he's not desperate to serve", as he has reiterated so many times previously. Goodluck Jonathan has shown that desperation and defeat does not dwell in the hearts and minds of those who know and believe that God is the giver of power; he might have been a student of Henry Ward Beecher (1813 -1887) who wrote that "defeat is a school in which truth always grows strong". In his address to Nigerians, after conceding defeat, President Jonathan said that "I promised the country free and fair elections. I have kept my word. I have also expanded the space for Nigerians to participate in the democratic process. That is one legacy I will like to see endure. Although some people have expressed mixed feelings about the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), I urge those who may feel aggrieved to follow due process based on our constitution and our electoral laws, in seeking redress. As I have always affirmed, nobody's ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian. The unity, stability and progress of our dear country are more important than anything else".

Just in the words of Edwin Markham (1852 -1940) that "defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out"; Goodluck Jonathan is also a winner here! Even when some of those around him, as the results were collated by INEC, advised him , one way or the other, on what to do to hang on to power, he refused all the other options he had, more especially when INEC bungled the whole process, right from the beginning. He could have refused to concede, with the aim of going to court due to the fact that the card readers introduced by INEC was not well tested before they were used in the election, as the problems of the card readers disenfranchised many voters; also election didn't hold in many polling units or wards or local government areas, as the case may be, across the country; there were also the cases of many under age voters; there was also a huge number of invalid votes probably caused by the problems of the card readers. Think of the difference it would have made, if all the votes have counted. There were also cases of number of votes being more than the number of registered voters etc. Goodluck Jonathan or PDP might still go to court for redress in future; and if that ever happens, know that President Jonathan played the role of a statesman by quickly conceding in order to deflate mounting tension building up due to the long wait for the announcement of the result. What Jonathan did by conceding must have saved some lives and property, because, some APC supporters were so agitated and have started demonstrating, calling for the declaration of Buhari as the winner of the election. In order to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2011; President Jonathan did the wise thing by conceding prior to the announcement of the winner.

President Goodluck Jonathan main concern was to leave a legacy as the first President of Nigeria to conduct a relatively free and fair election even if it means losing power himself, and for that he deserves our praise and respect: The President is telling Nigerians, through his behavior here, to always be gracious in defeat, and when you lose, don't lose the lesson. The President's behavior here confirms the words of Robert South (1634 - 1716) that "defeat should never be a source of discouragement but rather a fresh stimulus". From what the President did here, I personally have learned a lesson that the greatest courage on earth is to bear any defeat without losing heart. There's another lesson every Nigerian should learn from this President Jonathan's magnanimity in defeat, and that's, being able to accept defeat is the true measure of being a strong person, because, only the strong can summon the courage to do what the president did. The President has demonstrated that falling down isn't defeat, but, that defeat is when you refuse to get up.

To be continued!

Read more:

https://nigeriaworld.com/feature/publication/ubochi/020715.html

https://www.bodedolu.com/buhari-had-a-win-and-not-a-victory-udoh-menin/#sthash.yRF1alwB.dpbs

https://www.bodedolu.com/underage-massively-voted-in-the-north-on-saturdays-election-photos/#sthash.zyApwYBB.4FRZ4y0L.dpbs

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HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL

THE THANX IS ALL YOURS!!!

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