Sonnie Ekwowusi
26 February 2003
opinion
Lagos — The Patriots, the association of eminent professionals, has vociferously maintained a constant stream of views on certain burning national issues. In doing this, the association tries to call things by their names in such a way as to leave no one in doubt that they are truly and really the patriots of our country. Whereas the view of some of our self-confessed democrats of Nigeria is still shrouded in hypocritism and double-faced lies, that of The Patriots is rooted in reality of the open sores of the country. For example, while most people are focused on the next political transition with the optimism that it will eventually lead us to a safe habour, the Patriots is hell-bent on a national forum or national dialogue to treat the open sores of Nigeria. There can be no question that our political leaders appreciate the need for this national forum. But the harsh truth remains that given their selfish attitude to power they are not unlikely to oppose anything that would undermine their political relevance in the scheme of things. Even though power is such an ephemeral thing, it is sweet to those who wield it.
On Tuesday, February 4, 2003, the voice of the Patriots resounded afresh this time on the 2003 elections. The association alleged or revealed during its meeting at Chief Rotimi Williams chambers that some politicians (name withheld by Patriots) have perfected plans to rig the forth-coming elections in their favour or that of their cronies. Surprisingly, this allegation or revelation is not being taken seriously. The thing is that if the revelation had emanated from a somewhat obscure or self-seeking group or association, we would have probably ignored it. But if it comes from the Patriots, a group of men not known for scandalizing loquacity or cheap image laundering, I suggest we pause a moment and give it a consideration especially in the light of the recent media reports of several fake ballot papers and election frauds. More importantly, if it is true as the Patriots alleges that the forth-coming elections have been or will be marred by rigging and gerrymandering, then we may be doomed for another political crisis with its grave consequences of multiple courts suits, public discontent and protests in reminiscence of our ugly political past
Although INEC has come out for the umpteenth time to assure us that all was well with the electoral system. That the elections will be free and fair and all that. Of course, nobody expects INEC to bring the electoral system into contempt. That would be tantamount to committing suicide. But our pessimism or skepticism in the electoral system is continuously been reinforced by the bad reports we are getting about the forth-coming elections. These bad reports coupled with the pockets of political violence and killings now rocking the land are proving INEC wrong and disproving its mathematical precision that the elections would be free and fair. Agreed. Nobody makes pretext to a free election even in the most perfect system. But INEC should be humble enough to admit its limitations. As I have been saying, INEC should stop playing the role of Pontius Pilate- pretending to be a perfect umpire in the game; pretending not to see, speak or hear any evil, any foul- play in the electoral process so that at the end of it all, it will come out like Pontius Pilate and wash its hands off any rigging or undesirable consequences of the elections.
We all have some ideas about the meaning of rigging of an election, at least from our experience of the massively-rigged elections in Nigeria. One particular amusing rigging that took place in one polling booth in the 1959 elections or thereabout calls for mention. A voter wearing a towering native hat had walked in into the booth to cast his vote. Believing the man to be an important chief, all the officers and voters in the booth paid him the usual obeisance. It was only when the man started behaving funny that they discovered that he had stuffed plenty of ballot papers inside the hat he was wearing. In his small booklet entitled: Free and Fair elections in Nigeria, Chief Charles Obegolu listed some major conventional ways of rigging an election. They include: use of fake polling booths, changing of presiding officers at the last minute at the dictate of a contestant, stuffing boxes with fake ballot papers, surrendering of bundle of ballot papers to contesting candidate of choice to thumb print and sent to collating centres, closing of voting before time, falsification of results when announcing them, wrong method of formation of the political parties etc. Then the author proceeds to mention the most destructive of them which also appears in the revelation of the Patriots, to wit, excessive use of money to corrupt the whole system. Right now many rich Nigerian politicians are using money to root their way to easy victory in the forth-coming elections. The biggest monetary bribery in Nigeria that reached its crescendo during the various party conventions is being consummated, so to speak, in the on going political campaigns especially the presidential campaigns. As I alluded earlier, money politics has become a commonplace phenomenon. But the reason why we should lament it here is that considering the level of genteel poverty in Nigeria it is capable of rendering both INEC and the whole system inutile or unworkable. Already this is beginning to happen. A gubernatorial aspirant in Enugu State who doles out N1,000 cash to every Okada rider who comes to the airport to welcome him is obviously inducing all the Okada riders in Enugu to vote for him. It is for the same reason of poverty and job security that a presidential aspirant can afford to launder money in the system with the unofficial threat that any political officer holder or public servant who fails to support him stands the chance of losing his/her job. Many of the politicians who secured their respective party nomination tickets to contest seats either in the Senate or House of Representatives would confess to you that they borrowed money from different sources to bulldoze their way through. The unfortunate thing is that INEC is silent about these corruptive practices that makes a mockery of the electoral system. Even the people that usually complain don't seem to bother.
But rigging of an election transcends outright bribery or inducement of the electorate or the above traditional ways enumerated by Obegolu. In fact, it is a misconception to always link election rigging with the unwholesome practices committed at polls during voting on election day. An election is not free simply because the TV camera has shown that voters are queuing up orderly and smoothly and dropping their ballot papers into the ballot boxes on the day of the election. If this is what we regard as a free and fair election, then many elections in the world would have been free and fair. Unfortunately, the PDP top-notchers are using this TV trick to buttress their argument that the last PDP presidential primaries was free and fair. But this argument is fraught with many flaws. First, rigging is an expansive concept. It goes beyond stuffing the ballot boxes with fake papers on the day of election. Rigging, essentially, is a fraudulent and dishonest manipulation of the electoral system in a candidate's favour to the disadvantage of other candidates. Therefore an election could be rigged either before, during or even after the voting. For example, if one considers all the abuses of voters cards that are trailing the last registration of voters in Nigeria one might come to the abrupt conclusion that the 2003 elections especially the presidential election have been rigged in favour of one party or candidate. Even INEC has partially admitted that the last registration of voters exercise was marred by high-level fraud. Consequently, the body has suspended some of its staffers. Which brings us to the nagging questions: Who are the presiding, returning and announcing officers in the next elections?. What are their true identities? Who appointed them and how were they appointed? Usually, after the elections the voters go their separate ways hoping that the true results of the elections will come out on TV and radio or in the papers. But they forget that any of the aforesaid officers can make or mar their decision at the polls. Experience has shown that in a country like Nigeria where figure or data collection and collation are hampered by rudimentary statistical records, the electoral officers have unhindered and wide discretion to manipulate things in favour or against any party or candidate of their choice.
If demociacy is still government of the people, free elections are the only legitimate means of ensuring popular participation and sovereignty in the government of the day. Free elections are also the means of substituting any bad government and of ensuring that the government in power is a responsive and responsible government. But if the elections are rigged before, during or after the elections through clandestine manipulation of the electoral and registrations processes, then the whole essence of the voting on the day of election and in fact the essence of democracy is defeated. With the 2003 elections around the corner, we are definitely set to tread another tortuous road in our political transition. We pray God through the intercession of Mary to come out of it unscathed.
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