Barring any last minute, unexpected change, the long-awaited general elections in Nigeria will commence this Saturday with the presidential and national assembly elections. It has been a long walk and a long wait for many Nigerians, one that made everyone impatient. The chant on many lips in the last few weeks has been: let this election come and go and let’s get back our lives. I have heard this among many ‘regular’ or ‘ordinary’ citizens; I have heard it from politicians and I have heard it from colleagues in civil society organisations, including those of us involved in voter education and related governance work.
No previous election had been as draining to our body and spirit as this one because the two major political parties have matched up well enough against each other. That is what we have always hoped for. And although there has been less discussion on ‘issues’ than there has been mudslinging, we are still better off with two major, dominant and well-matched political parties than when we had a behemoth party in power and splinters of very weak opposition parties. If sustained, this can only lead to better governance in future, as those in government will be on their toes to do well, knowing that the opposition is vibrant and lurking at the side to upstage them.
This season has also brought about so much speculations, rumours and conspiracy theories. On many occasions, while passing voter education information to citizens, a few asked me if we are sure that the elections will still be held. At other times, they throw up one of such rumours they have heard and ask my views about them. While I try to assure people and urge them to focus on the ball (the elections) and avoid distractions which the rumours and speculations are, it is sometimes difficult not to take a deeper look at some of those fears.
No doubt, there is huge opposition of powers against the election and its credibility, and that from even unexpected quarters. Just take a look at the persons and groups who are taking active steps to scuttle the elections and tell me you are not shocked. The active steps include asking for the removal of the electoral commission chairman in the middle of refereeing a game; demanding the abandonment of the use of the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) as well as protest against the use of the card-reader. The use of the PVC and the card-reader is a huge step by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to stem the usual incidence of fraud resulting from proxy voting and the allocation of votes even where voters did not vote. Thus, we expect to see actual votes, not all those 90 to 99 or even 100 per cent voter turn-out that are often reported in polling centres where any particular party has strong influences.
Another area of serious concern is the use of violence. It is clear that though many prominent candidates and leaders of the political parties signed up to a peace pact, many of their campaigners and supporters are acting at variance. It is not unlikely that they do so based on what the body language of these persons indicate, rather than what they signed up to. This is a road we have travelled too often and we must stop the recurrence. The one way to do so is to ensure that every person takes responsibility for their utterances and actions, even after the elections.
We can no longer overlook criminal behaviours that threaten life, property and our existence as a country, simply because they were carried out in pursuit of political campaigns and interests. In a recent piece, I advised people (candidates and supporters) to have a plan ‘B’ by preparing for electoral loss. I wish to reiterate that as much as everyone looks forward to, prays, believes and hopes for victory, a loss is also a possibility. When that happens, we should be more interested in keeping our country and working with whoever wins.
But for the campaigners and supporters who think this election is a do-or-die affair, I again remind them that if violence paid, the politicians would have recruited their own family members for it, not the ‘anonymous’ citizens. And that is the truth. Many of the people who get violent are mere ‘anonymous’ citizens, as far as the politicians are concerned. The candidates quite often have no personal knowledge of and could not be bothered with the identities of the supporters who are willing to put their lives on the line for them.
A wise citizen would, therefore, see this election as only a process to selecting leaders, not a war. To all citizens, I say, keep calm and support credible and peaceful elections.
