Uzokwe's Searchlight

The sound ruling in Adamawa is not the same as that of Rivers State where Celestine Omehia was removed and immediately replaced by Amechi. That was a travesty of justice and poor judgment on the part of the Supreme Court. Amechi was not elected by the people of Rivers State.

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Monday, November 19, 2007



Alfred Obiora Uzokwe

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ELECTION NULLIFICATIONS - IS NIGERIA FINALLY ON THE PATH TO TRUE DEMOCRACY?


few days ago, the election tribunal, sitting in Adamawa State of Nigeria, ruled that the declaration of Retired Admiral Murtala Nyako, in April, as the governor of Adamawa state, was a gross error on the part of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The tribunal's declaration was predicated on the fact that a day before the election, the Action Congress candidate, Ibrahim Bapetel and his running mate, Pithon Power, were inexplicably but purposefully disqualified by the aberrant and recalcitrant INEC. The disqualification was a mere subterfuge for PDP's Murtala Nyako to ascend to power unchallenged. The tribunal, therefore, called for fresh elections to be conducted within 90-days to include the formerly disqualified Action Congress candidate. It is noteworthy that while delivering the judgment, Justice Akinwalere, berated INEC for causing public money to be wasted in conducting elections!


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The reaction of the PDP, to the tribunal ruling so far, has been one of uneasy calm. Members of the party have jointly and severally told Nigerians that the party would "abide by the ruling", even though there are indications that they plan to appeal. With the new-found courage and wisdom with which the judiciary seems to be operating and cognizant of the fact that the foundation of the ruling is sound and its logic unimpeachable, one is unperturbed about the talk about appeal. The fact that the nation is no longer laboring and yearning under the burden of suppression, subjugation and emasculation of the independence of the judiciary by Obasanjo, it is almost guaranteed that this ruling will be upheld on appeal.

One would be remiss if one does not mention the continued avowal of the current president to maintain the principle of separation of powers. This singular factor has helped immensely in emboldening members of the judiciary. There is no gainsaying that it has been a factor in the way they have been dispensing no nonsense judgments of late. It should be recalled that when Andy Uba was thrown out of Anambra State house by the pronouncement of the judiciary, it was President Yaradua that immediately gave credence to the judgment by compelling the police to enforce the ruling. Clearly, if the judgment was given during the oppressive and tyrannical regime of Obasanjo, Andy Uba would still been in the State house. Peter Obi, on the other hand, would have been tagged with one offence or the other and run out of town by Obasanjo's foot soldiers and thugs. Regardless of how one feels about the tainted mode in which Yaradua came to power, a big chunk of credit must go to him for working hard to afford the judiciary with the courage and voice to do what is right. He has provided the impetus for eventual entrenchment of a true democracy where the executive branch, the judiciary and legislature will be co-equal partners. Infact, the stance of non-interference he took with respect to Ettegate, gave the legislature the opportunity for the first time, to operate without executive arm-twisting.

Suffice it to say that there is a chance that Yar'Adua's election may be nullified because of the level of malpractices that also greeted it. However, from the way he has performed in office so far, if a new election were called for today, the odds are stacked in his favor to make a comeback. As the Igbos say, it is when a man marries two wives that he would be able to compare and contrast and make a better choice. Nigerians have married Obasanjo for eight years, albeit under duress. They have now married Yaradua for less than 7-months and the differences have been night and day. Yaradua has tempered leadership with wisdom and tolerance as against Obasanjo's divide and conquer cum Machiavellian tactics of suppressing opposition by all means necessary. The choice, from this writer's perspective is clear.

The news of Murtala Nyako's ouster has been greeted with enthusiasm and high praise for the judiciary. Nigerians believe that the tribunals have, by their rulings, finally placed Nigeria on the path to a lasting and sustainable democracy. They feel that the learned men and women of the judiciary are finally breaking away from their inglorious pasts of timid and corrupt rulings always anchored on favoritism and affirmation of the wishes of the person in power. This is the fifth in a series of gubernatorial nullifications since the April elections. Prior to the Adamawa State case, the governors of Anambra, Kebbi, Kogi and Rivers were shown the way out. Considering how wide spread the election malpractices were, there is a chance that more heads will roll by way of more nullifications! It is a relief to Nigerians of goodwill. To them, in the final analysis, the voice of the masses has become the voice of God- Vox Populi, Vox dei. The voice of the masses has finally trumped that of corrupt and power-hungry Olusegun Obasanjo and garrulous but clueless Maurice Iwu.

Let it be said for the umpteenth time, that the conduct of the 2007 elections, in Nigeria, brought tears, hopelessness, faint-heartedness and discomfort to most Nigerians. As the election approached in April, I wrote a piece, a call to action of sorts, on Nigeriaworld. In that treatise, I called on Nigerians to go out enmasse and vote their conscience. To me, it did not matter whom they voted for, all I was concerned about was that they voted and exercised their inalienable rights. During the elections, people were calling this writer from polling boots or emailing me later, complaining that they heed my admonition and went to the booths to vote but there were no ballot papers, or that the polling booths did not open or that thugs ran over the polling booths, intimidating and roughing up peace-loving citizens that had gone to vote. They also talked about stuffing of ballot papers in full view of citizens and the police. In Nnewi, ballot papers were later found in the bush, abandoned by the people who had already submitted the ones they thumb-printed in support of the PDP. Inotherwords, most citizens were disenfranchised and in states like Anambra, notable figures like Odumegwu Ojukwu could not even vote.

Election anomalies did not end with the above malpractices as cataloged. In some instances, candidates duly elected by their constituencies, during the primaries, were removed and substituted with candidates that people never knew anything about. This was the case in Rivers State where Celestine Omehia was put in place of Amaechi that won the primaries. In other cases, candidates were forced upon people, like Iyabo Obasanjo, just because they had people in high places. In Adamawa, Ibrahim Bapetel and his running mate, Pithon Power, were deliberately disqualified just to make way for crowning PDP's Murtala Nyako. In some localities, ballot boxes were stuffed with reckless abandon and election results written in favor of the ruling party even before voting took place. In the end, all the election irregularities led to the installation of criminals, tugs, clueless hairdressers, erstwhile cattle rearers, untrained and unqualified people into office and the circus continued but with different clowns. Yet, Maurice Iwu had the temerity, with the backing of the maximum dictator Obasanjo, to declare results and call the elections free and fair. That was anathema!

After the (s)elections, writers, like yours truly, wrote endlessly about the need to nullify the elections and give the masses real opportunity to vote for the people they want. People who benefited from the rigging and thuggery would not have any of that. To them, the mere fact that an election was conducted at all was a blessing for Nigeria. Maurice Iwu was satisfied that he had "broken the jinx" that prevented smooth transition from one government to another, even if the election was flawed. To him, he had made history. As for Obasanjo, what happened came straight from the play book he put together with Iwu. He just wanted to hand over to a hand-picked successor, while ensuring that his arch-enemy, Atiku, was never allowed to stand for the election. As a result, he saw nothing wrong with the conduct of the elections or the outcome. Infact, even as international monitors cried foul, branding the election abnormal and troubling, Obasanjo and Iwu continued to shamefully give themselves high marks.

The chickens have finally come home to roost. Now that the tribunals have started calling the elections the sham they are and swiftly nullifying them, Obasanjo and Iwu should not only go and bury their heads in shame, they should be ready for an inquest. They must be held accountable for the money that was wasted in conducting the sham elections. Iwu should be relieved of his post, taken to court and forced to pay back to the nation whatever he may have been given by PDP that was the basis of his recklessness. As for the one who must be obeyed, he should be forced to pay recompense to Nigerians. All the money he has been raking in from his dubiously funded Otta farm, Bells University and Library, must be confiscated by the government and used to conduct fresh elections in the places where elections are nullified. I was glad to read how a youth organization went to the EFCC with a catalog of Obasanjo's corruption while in office and asked that he be probed. I was equally happy by the reaction of the EFCC official that stated that the case would be looked into. If done, it will serve as a deterrent to other would-be Obasanjos. It would allow this nation which is endowed with so much by way of natural and human resources, to begin a fresh journey forward and into the Promised Land. Nigeria must no longer tolerate the type of charade that took place in April of 2007. It was not only a disgrace to the nation, it created the impression of the fact that Nigerians do not possess the ability to rule themselves.

Military intervention was the most damning ill that afflicted Nigeria, stripping her of the ability to grow and prosper. The soldiers shot their way into government and met a responsibility they were ill-equipped to handle. In office, they forced down their wishes onto an unwilling nation. They stripped the citizens of their God given rights, institutionalized corruption, nepotism and favoritism. With all these ills in place, it became difficult for Nigeria to develop because there was no accountability. The soldiers could not be held responsible for their sordid deeds because they had the guns and were willing to use them. In 1999, Nigerians voted to tow the path of democracy - government of the people for the people by the people. Obasanjo was given the chance to lead the charge towards a fresh beginning.

One would think that with Obasanjo at the helm, a man who had experienced suppression at the hands of a maximum dictator and seen poverty up close, Nigeria would quickly begin the journey to the Promised Land. It did not quite happen because the man also encouraged election rigging. Unwanted men and women were foisted on powerless citizens, reminiscent of what transpired during the military era. The effect of this man's sadistic tendencies was most felt in Anambra State where he fought the government of the day to a standstill, crippling all forms of development for four years without an iota of remorse. In other states, corrupt men and women, who were never really voted for, went into power and reinstituted bribery, corruption and nepotism as a way of life in the country. They were cognizant of the fact that the people did not vote for them and so did not bother to lift a finger to help them. They did not need the people's votes to get into or stay in power so they neglected Nigeria's roads, school system, economy and turned their backs on poverty-stricken Nigerians. They just continued like the military men except that they had civilian uniform.

These do-nothing politicians carted away Nigeria's money overseas while people in the country suffered. Some of these corrupt rulers are now under the microscope of the EFCC but things are not happening fast enough and it is not solving Nigeria's problems. This writer has always maintained that if Nigeria must develop, the root cause of her problems must be excised with the precision of a surgeon. In this case, it is election rigging and must removed. If the tribunals continue the way they have, things are bound to normalize. Politicians will begin to listen to the people who put them into office for fear of the fact that they would be booted out if they do otherwise. If Nigerians are able to vote the people they want into office, are able to hold them accountable by voting them out or impeaching them when they stray, then, clearly, these officials will begin to do better in office. If this comes to pass, it means that the issue of bad roads and epileptic power supply will become a thing of the past. It means that the economy will bounce back and young Nigerians will begin to dream dreams again. It means that the standard of education will go back to its prewar level where a standard 6 pupil could write with flawless English.

One note of caution to the election tribunals is in order here. While Nigerians welcome their bravado and independence, they must be cautioned to ensure that they think through their rulings so that when they deliver them, they would be unimpeachable. For example, the nullification of the Murtala Nyako's election is a wise one because a competitor of his, Bapetel was denied an equal chance. The fact that they called for a new election is a wise decision. The election, if held, will provide a level playing field for all the candidates. The people of Adamawa will feel free to go to the polls to vote the person of their choice. The sound ruling in Adamawa is not the same as that of Rivers State where Celestine Omehia was removed and immediately replaced by Amechi. That was a travesty of justice and poor judgment on the part of the Supreme Court. Amechi was not elected by the people of Rivers State. The court should have ordered fresh elections in the State after removing Omehia. That way, the good people of the state would have the chance to vote for the candidate of their choice. While it is true that the Supreme Court is supreme, one hopes that such a ruling will no longer take place.

The general hope is that the election tribunals will gradually clean house and remove all impostors from power and fresh elections held. They should not confine their rulings only to the governorship candidates. The federal house and senate as well as state representatives should be vigorously reviewed and all impostors removed.

For Yaradua to complete the cycle of the good work he has done so far in the area of moving democracy forward, he must have the courage to remove Maurice Iwu. As long as Iwu is still there, it would be the hand of Esau all right but the voice would be that of Jacob. Maurice Iwu is so fiercely loyal to Obasanjo that he does not care about his own reputation. As a corollary, given the chance again, he would conduct the same type of massively rigged election that he conducted in April. For Nigeria to move forward, all politicians not voted for must be removed. All the agents of discord, corruption, election rigging, sadism, bribery, nepotism, tribalism must be sidelined.

In closing, let it be said that there is no guarantee that if fresh elections were conducted in Adamawa, Murtala Nyako would not win. If that becomes the case, then so be it for from then on, he would be ruling with the people's mandate and would be seen as legitimate. It is all about putting Nigeria on the true path to sustainable democracy. May God Help Us All.

HERE I STAND