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Apr. 16, 2007 I thought in this lifetime of mine there would not be an election as fraudulent as the 1983 election in Nigeria. Last Saturday, I was proved wrong by Maurice Iwu and the band of politicians he led to the polls. Essentially, the whole democratic process deteriorated beyond any known Nigeria's reference point. From the writing of the law, respect of the law, ease of participation, freedom to campaign, legitimacy of votes cast, no index of the electoral process was improved upon. Instead, politicians found new ways to abuse and debase the process. Once again, Nigerians are poised to be governed by those they did not give the consent. The political elite have continued to confirm to the people that they have no stake in the existing order. For many of us who have seen through the farce that is the Obasanjo's administration, we were not surprised. This is what the opposition must do now. They must denounce the election and call for a universal cancellation. Anything short of that means an acceptance of the People's Democratic Party's landslide victory on Saturday the 21st of April 2007. Failure to cancel the poll, the opposition should boycott the election for the president, the house of Representative and the Senate. In any case, accepting the outcome of Saturday's election means that PDP will again win the presidency and an overwhelming number of seats in the two chambers. Just like Buhari must have learnt in 2003, waiting to challenge the results of the election in the court of law after the fact is unproductive. Irrespective of the new found activism of Nigeria's judiciary, they are not likely to throw the whole political system in disarray by making big declarations after the elections. The judiciary, especially at the highest level, will continue to act responsibly and prudent. It is in their nature. But responsibility and prudence is not what is needed at these desperate hours. By ruling that Atiku Abubakar can contest next Saturday's election because INEC has no power to prevent anyone from running for office, the Supreme Court has in essence annulled more than half of the gubernatorial elections conducted last Saturday. The opposition must build on it. And they must do so now. Last Saturday's election must be cancelled in its entirety. And next Saturday's election postponed for one or two weeks. It is a tough choice but it is also the only choice. And may God help Nigeria. A democratic government loses legitimacy when its system of representation fails to: accord the people a supreme role; franchise voters; provide equality of votes; and guarantee the right to stand for public office. After April 21, 2007, when Yar'Adua had been declared the duly elected president with a margin of over 86% of the vote cast, there is no way the courts will throw away the results irrespective of whatever fraud is reported. The mere fact that last Saturday's result stands means that PDP had won a landslide victory. The opposition must not lean on the international community who witnessed the polling. They are not likely to do or say anything that will have any consequence with the potential to hinder the millions of barrel of oil that flow from Nigeria every day. As for ordinary Nigerians, they are most likely going to swallow once again this shame which they have accepted as the norm. Do you blame them? Many of them do not know any better. They have been disempowered for so long that it is hard to convince them that their destiny is in their hands. The opposition should simply let the PDP govern the country from top to bottom. Let them award Maurice Iwu the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic. Let them also coronate Olusegun Obasanjo the Father of Modern Nigeria. It is a matter of time before their cup is filled. And for the rest of us, we can wait for another four years when we shall be entertained, once again, by an advanced breed of these politicians. They will exhibit a more sophisticated form of the show of shame we all witnessed last Saturday. And once more we shall cheer. Or we shall do what most Nigerians are going to do in days to come: let the opposition die and join the PDP for there our salvation lies. ------------ About the author: About the author: Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo is the author of Children of a Retired God. To order the book, visit Amazon.com, or irokoproductions.com. You can also order Children of A Retired God at any bookstore near you. Email: rudolfokonkwo@aol.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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