Uzokwe's Searchlight

Nigeria is a far better place today than it was yesterday all because there is hope in the horizon. Hope starts with the ability of the people to choose the people that lead them. Jonathan was voted into power not based on any particular thing he has done for Nigerians in the past but based on hope of what he would do in the future. Now that he has started well by righting several electoral wrongs and chased fraudulent politicians out of their sit tight positions, Nigerians expect more wrongs to start being righted.

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Sunday, May 8, 2011



Alfred Obiora Uzokwe, P.E

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THE HEROES OF ELECTION 2011

he 2011 April elections have come and gone. One of the very last of the elections was just held in Imo state where Rochas Okorocha beat the incumbent governor to take home the prized possession. In the past, because of rigging, it was almost very difficult to beat incumbents but that will be a discussion for another time.


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The elections have been adjudged free and fair by a large cross section of Nigerians. It must however be borne in mind that the near unanimous declaration that the elections were free and fair, does not infer that the exercise was devoid of violence. We all know that cases of election violence were registered in various parts of the country. Nigerians are also not saying that ballot box snatching, multiple thumb-printing and ballot box stuffing did not occur. Far from it. What Nigerians are overwhelmingly saying is that when compared to the many charades we have witnessed in the past, in the name of elections, especially in 2003 and 2007, this was relatively decent. It is safe, therefore, to conclude that, even though Nigeria is not yet in the election promised land, we are well on the path to that much-desired destination. With a little more effort, the nation will get to the Promised Land and true democracy will begin to thrive. Nigerians must be proud of this feat.

Was this election success a mere accident or was it somewhat orchestrated? Of course it did not just happen by accident. Nigerians were determined, this time around, to get it right and providence planted the right dramatis personae in the right places at the right time. The presence of the current president, the INEC chairman and of course the determination of a cross section of Nigerians did the trick. Let us examine the roles played by these people, whom I have christened the heroes of election 2011, in the success of the election.

The reader should recall how the past president, General Obasanjo, sought to influence the 2007 election. He basically selected the people he wanted and literally handed them PDP tickets whether at the house of rep, senatorial, gubernatorial and presidential level. Nigerians will never forget how he picked a man that was not feeling well, no fault of Yaradua, and shoved him down the throats of Nigerians. Most, if not all the people he handpicked, including his daughter, "won" their elections and created the impression that PDP was the people's party. He intimidated his opponents with every instrument of government he could get his hands on including using the EFCC and a willing Mallam Ribadu. The case of how he hounded his former vice president, just to discredit and prevent him from running for the election, is still something that merits a full book. His meddling in the electoral process made it difficult for Maurice Iwu, the erstwhile INEC chairman, to do his job. Even security people were not allowed the independence to do their job of catching ballot box snatchers, multiple thumb-printers and stuffers. They read the signal Obasanjo was subliminally sending to them that the ruling PDP needed to continue their dominance and they all obliged him in many different ways.

In the end, many candidates from other parties were robbed of their victories in broad daylight. It was only later, after Obasanjo had left the stage with his stooge, Yaradua, in power, that the courts started systematically upturning some of the so called victories and giving them to their rightful owners. By then, however, the damage had been done. The people had come to believe that elections in Nigeria were mere formalities meant to hoodwink international bodies. They began to see elections in the country as a waste of their time and energy. Standing out for hours in the scorching sun and voting in elections where their votes would not matter, was not their idea of democracy. Patriotism and sense of civic duty gave way to voter apathy that continued to reverberate across the four corners of the nation.

Of course by providence or serendipity, Dr Goodluck Jonathan became the president. From the very get go, he told Nigerians that he was not the "do or die" type of politician. He was not ready to muzzle opposition nor was he poised to intimidate his opponents. As the 2011 election neared, he submitted himself as a candidate but was willing to let others do the same. Surprisingly, the northern oligarchs that have held power in Nigeria for 38 out of the last 50 years, were not quite satisfied that a non-northerner was now in the saddle. Some of them even wanted him to resign right away and hand over to a northerner of their choosing. Others wanted him to sign a pact that after filling in for Yaradua, he would hand over to a northerner for the 2011 cycle. Mallam Adamu Ciroma formed and began to lead a northern group poised to ensure that Jonathan did not run for another term. This part infuriated many Nigerians. I recall writing that the only reason that I wanted Jonathan to run for the 2011 elections was to break the chains and shackles of the northern oligarchs on Nigeria. I wanted the myth that Nigeria was for northerners for their asking to be broken once and for all. Alas, it came to pass!

As northerners, including Ciroma, Buhari, IBB, Atiku and people of their ilk, were threatening fire and brimstone, telling us that Nigeria would disintegrate if a northerner was not allowed to step in for PDP in 2011, Jonathan, in his characteristic way, ignored them. Even as some Nigerians called on him to muzzle those vociferous northern oligarchs in Obasanjoesq way, he refused, setting a good example of politics without bitterness. In the end, he picked the PDP ticket. Then sycophants and the PDP never do wells, who have become used to the politics of do or die, began to swarm around him with the ultimate goal of rigging the election in his favor. To their chagrin, Jonathan stopped them dead in their tracks when he declared that he did not want anyone to rig the election for him! They were stunned because Obasanjo would have welcomed them with open hands. As if that was not assurance enough of his sincerity, he said that he would step down if defeated. Even before then, he had appointed someone he believed would do his best as the INEC chairman. Jega's antecedents showed that he was a man of integrity who would not bend things to favor any party. Dr. Goodluck knew that by selecting a neutral umpire, he was taking a risk that could mean knocking his party and himself out of power but he did it anyway. All these pointed to a man who is not only patriotic but who understands that the bed rock of democracy is an unimpeachable electoral process. By his actions, Jonathan showed that even though he may have been the political scion of Obasanjo who trampled on democracy and the electoral process with impunity, he could forge a path for himself, the right path one might add, which is markedly different from that of Obasanjo.

The fact that Jonathan allowed INEC the independence to do its job helped produce the result that Nigerians are currently hailing. His actions helped renew the faith of Nigerians in the process. Scores stood under the sun just to vote and knowing that their votes counted this time has empowered them to the fullest extents. Jonathan has become a breath of fresh air for Nigerians, helping to further a fledgling democracy and has inexorably become one of the heroes of the 2011 election.

Of course what would the 2011 elections be without the man at the epicenter of it all? I am talking about the man called Attahiru Jega. It is important to note that if Nigeria still had the headstrong and loquacious former INEC chairman, Professor Maurice Iwu at the helm, the planning, the execution and eventual outcome of the 2011 elections would have been different. This is because Iwu's partisan disposition would not have allowed him to hold a free and fair election. He felt obligated to return favors to the party of the president that appointed him. That forced him, in 2007, to do whatever was necessary, including looking the other way, as the ruling party used the police, security forces and even thugs to achieve their goals. Granted, Obasanjo seemed to have influenced him mightily but if he had any principles or scruples, he would have quit the INEC chairmanship rather than risk the vilification he faces to this date. He is seen as a man without integrity and the man that conducted one of the worst elections that Nigeria ever witnessed. He spearheaded the elections that disenfranchised millions and created a massive voter apathy. Most of the results he declared as free and fair, were thrown out by election tribunals. That is how bad this man performed.

When Dr Jonathan ascended the presidency, he listened to Nigerians and knew that the beginning of the undoing of his presidency would be the reappointment of Maurice Iwu. He resisted the campaigns of Iwu's rented crowd and those that tried to put Iwu, an old wine, in a new bottle. The man that President Jonathan replaced Iwu with, to the delight of many Nigerians, had an agenda very different from that of his predecessor. Jega did not seem interested in going out to please the man that appointed him neither was he interested in perpetuating the dominance of the ruling party. He seemed to have one thing in mind: conducting a free and fair election. He seemed to value his integrity more than filthy lucre. Of course, just like anything else, there was a learning curve involved. He had some false starts but inspite of the initial missteps, which caused many, including this writer some concerns, he succeeded in pulling off the elections. He has been hailed by Wole Soyinka and many national and international observers. Even though there are still many loopholes to plug before we can declare complete victory, this man has shown that nothing is impossible in Nigeria if one sets out to do the right thing. The man has therefore written his name in gold and has become one of the heroes, if not the hero, of the 2011 election.

One cannot forget the youth corpers that vowed to extend their patriotic fervor to election monitoring. They came out in droves and in spite of meager allowances, some of which were not even paid on time, they selflessly rendered the services they were asked to. Their services were taken for granted yet they helped make the difference between failure and success in this election. One cannot lose sight of the fact that some lost their lives in the north through senseless violence perpetrated by misguided youths. These fallen youth corpers must be accorded the appreciation they deserve including post-humous recognition as heroes of democracy and election 2011. One thing that must be done in their honor is that all the people that perpetrated the violence that took their lives must be tried and given the maximum punishment commensurate with their crimes. No pussy-footing here as Palin would say. Also, for the politicians that made incendiary statements that may have contributed to the actions of the youth, they too should be tried in court and punished accordingly. If that is not done, then one is afraid that soon, southerners, for good reason, will start avoiding youth service in the north. If that happens, then the aim of that program would have been roundly defeated.

The greatest kudos, for the success of election 2011, goes to the electorate. They braved the rains, the scorching heat and intimidation from rival political parties to make their ways through long lines, first for accreditation and then for voting. They swore to fulfill their civic duties and made good on their determination. Even when the original election date was postponed by Jega, they grumbled alright, but came back out again, and again and again, en masse, to vote for their preferred candidates. They eschewed voter apathy and made a lasting mark in the political sands of times. They also guarded their votes jealously. We have read of cases where ordinary citizens beat up ballot box snatchers and turned in people attempting to thumb print multiple ballot papers. Even though no one condones or hails violence, perpetrators of election fraud in the past will think twice, from this moment on, before ever trying all because of the watchfulness of the electorate. The voters are therefore part of the heroes of the 2011 election.

Nigeria is a far better place today than it was yesterday all because there is hope in the horizon. Hope starts with the ability of the people to choose the people that lead them. Jonathan was voted into power not based on any particular thing he has done for Nigerians in the past but based on hope of what he would do in the future. Now that he has started well by righting several electoral wrongs and chased fraudulent politicians out of their sit tight positions, Nigerians expect more wrongs to start being righted. The wrongs of unemployment, the wrongs of insecurity, the wrongs of bad roads, the wrongs of epileptic power, the wrongs of joblessness, the wrongs of corruption and the likes must now be righted. When this is done, the postulation by some that the name "Goodluck" has more messianic disposition than we know, may just begin to ring through. Let hope propel Nigeria to a no distant time when Nigerians will, without equivocation nor trepidation, call the one-time giant of Africa the land of liberty where the government is of the people, for the people and by the people. May God Help us.

HERE I STAND