Senior Fyneface
22 July 2008
opinion
Port Harcourt — President Umaru Yar'adua's habit of making unapprised pronouncements anytime he is outside Nigeria has succeeded in achieving only one thing and that is to produce what could rightly be described as episodic national embarrassment for the country.
When the president during his visit to London last week said that he does not recognise the June 27, 2008 run-off election in Zimbabwe in which the country's President Robert Mugabe stood as the only candidate and was returned to power, he must have quickly turned around to check if any member of the Action Congress (AC) party or Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) was around because they would have shouted 'you nko?'
The president who himself came to office through an election or 'selection' process that was a far cry from the Zimbabwean experiment said: "Africans must ensure that we anchor democracy on credible elections. We cannot recognise the run-off election as the basis of a solution to the Zimbabwean crisis." If the president made such self-convicting statement to impress the distinguished audience at Chatham House think-tank in London, he goofed because he only ended up ridiculing himself and the electoral apparatus in the country where he presides as the number one citizen.
It would have been better for our "shine your eye president" to steer clear of comments on the Zimbabwean political crisis, because the problem in the South African nation is only a spec of dust compared to the log of timber in the Nigerian arena. He was able to make that statement because there was no gun battle or burning of houses to protest the broad electoral robberies witnessed across the nation, especially in the presidential election. No amount of justification would positively score the sham organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in April 2007 as a credible election.
If Yar'adua is committed to the development of genuine democracy as he claimed either to impress or fool his British audience, he should initiate moves to immediately correct the flaws which he not only observed but acknowledged and the first step is for him to step down and order for fresh election.
How can you be lamenting the magnitude of fraud in another nation's electoral process when that same terribly flawed process installed you against the will and wishes of the majority if not the entire electorate and you are still holding tight to power? You cannot be standing or rather sitting on a questionable mandate and be lamenting the flawed electoral process in the country or be passing life jail sentence to another country's president that came through a similar door that you passed through to grab power.
"Nigeria's goal is a commitment to the development of genuine democracy to ensure that genuine democracy becomes the dominant culture that provides a framework for development on the African continent." Haba, Umaru! All the British foreign observers that wrote off the April 2007 elections as a sham are still alive and how do you think they would rate your sincerity on other issues including your canvass for foreign capital flight to Nigeria in form of investments? There is a credibility problem.
According to the president, Nigeria (under him and not under Obasanjo) believes in the rule of law not only within but anywhere on the African continent. If this is the case, would Mr President please explain what happened in Benue State's electoral judgment by the Court of Appeal where David Mark, the Senate President with electoral victory in only two out of nine local governments, of course, with another two controversial LGAs, was declared duly elected instead of Young Alhaji who clearly won in five local governments and also in the controversial two councils?
In the president's words, "We only deceive ourselves (PDP) if we continue to pretend that post-election violence is not a threat to peace and stability. Our abiding belief is that persistent stability cannot survive in a system without the rule of law." So Yar'adua is aware of this fact? Praise be to God!
The president's pronouncement was actually surprising because it meant that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party was fully aware that the scale of the electoral fraud they perpetrated in the April 2007 exercise would have caused a complete breakdown of law and order in the country. Thanks to the political maturity or rather love of the country by those contestants that were glaringly robbed of their victories through the evil machinations of the PDP and their joint venture partner - the INEC.
Nigeria was solely saved by this group of politicians who left everything for God to judge. As if the fraud in the April 2007 exercise was not enough, in areas where INEC was compelled to organise a re-run, all such elections were ceded to the PDP, especially the governorship cases and in most other elections except the experiment in Edo State. Those cases were genuine rule of law in action, abi?
What has been holding the Supreme Court from constituting the panel to hear the appeal filed by Buhari and Atiku amongst others contesting the election tribunal's judgment on the April 2007 presidential election? Why is Adams Oshiomhole's case being deliberately archived? What is happening to Okocha's case that has also been archived in Delta State? Umaru, are you still... shine your eye o, shine nam well well!! The brotherly advice I will like to give the Zimbabwean people is: Please, ignore Nigerian president's bandwagon support for the call for the crucifixion of Mugabe.
Whatever may be the case, the political tension in Zimbabwe can be diffused within the next 24 hours if politicians in the country, especially Uncle Morgan Tsvangirai, could take out some time to locate Nigerian politicians like Atiku, Buhari and Pat Utomi. These Nigerians that suffered worst robbery and denial in the April 2007 exercise will provide quality advice on how best to handle a power-hungry, self-styled nationalist godfather and they will obviously counsel from their experiences with Chief Obasanjo who tried to perpetuate himself in office without success. Of course, because he (Obasanjo) failed to become a life president, he decided to impose his genetically-modified copy who is alive with shining eyes.
Fyneface wrote from Elelewon Street, GRA II, Port Harcourt
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