Obasanjo confirms INEC officials, police get bribed, citing personal experience
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Olusegun Obasanjo, who has ruled Nigeria as both military Head of State (1976-1979) and civilian President (1999-2007), has confirmed what most Nigerians already know that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials and the police do get bribed to rig elections.
He recounted from personal experience how the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1998 lost a council election in Ogun because he rejected plans to bribe the police and INEC officials.
He spoke in Abeokuta on Monday at a consultation forum he organised on “Rethinking Western Liberal Democracy in Africa”.
Obasanjo told the attendees he is not comfortable with the phrase, “Nigerian factor”, when discussing democracy and other issues affecting development.
He said he came across the “Nigerian factor” slang when the country held the first council election and the PDP lost because politicians said he refused to recognise the “Nigerian factor” while planning for the election.
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Party funds allocation to INEC, police
Obasanjo recounted how party leaders told him money should be allocated for the police and INEC but he rejected the proposal because INEC officials and policemen are government workers earning salaries, per Daily Post.
His words: “When things go wrong, you said the Nigerian factor. The first thing I learnt in politics was this thing called the Nigerian factor.
“In 1998, we had the first local government election. We had parties, and here in Abeokuta, we met in my office and they came up and said, ‘look, this is money for INEC, money for police.’
“At a stage I said, ‘what nonsense! Is the police not being paid, and INEC too?’
“They said ‘that’s how we do it. I said ‘you cannot do that.’ So, they didn’t do that. And of course, we lost all the local governments. We lost all.
“And then they came to me and said, ‘Baba, you see? If you had allowed us to do it the way we used to do it, we would have won’. And I felt guilty.
“During the next election, which was the state Assembly, I just stayed in my house. I said ‘well, do whatever you want to do, I will not be part of it’. So, I didn’t even go. But, the result was the same. One of the people who got money didn’t even distribute it to where he was supposed to distribute it.”
Western democracy not working for Africa
Obasanjo stressed Western liberal democracy being practised in Africa has not really taken human nature and the African situation into full account, as a hungry person will sell his vote for just N1,000.
“When you are hungry, whatever anybody tells you cannot go in. Poverty is a great enemy of democracy. Ignorance or lack of education is a great enemy of democracy. And we seem to be deliberately fomenting poverty and lack of education.”