Editor, Politics/Features, EMEKA ALEX DURU, looks at stages and activities leading to the country’s general elections, commencing next Saturday.
“Nigeria on the move again,” goes a familiar lingo any time the country is going for general elections. This, currently, is the situation.
In the beginning
When the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the 2015 election timetable in the dying days of January 2014, it was apparent that the processes for the polls were officially underway.
According to the timetable, the political parties had between October 2 and December 31 to conduct primaries to choose their candidates for the general election. The notice, as contained in the INEC guidelines, is in line with Section 30(1) of the Electoral Act. From the Act, INEC is expected to, not less than 90 days to the conduct of the general election, release the timetable for the elections to the political parties.
With that outing, the commission effectively lifted the embargo on political activities for the 2015 general elections.
Beating the gun
But even before the release of the timetable by INEC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC), the two leading political parties in the land, had been involved in several engagements that ran afoul of the law in various ways. They had, for instance, embarked on subtle campaigns in many guises.
Section 99 of the Electoral Act stipulates that the period of campaigning in public by every political party shall commence 90 days before polling day and shall end 24 hours prior to that day. But while the parties engaged in what had all the trappings of campaigns, they simply called them rallies.
For example, APC had, in a well-attended event on March 7, 2014 in Abuja, reeled out what it said was the party’s roadmap, detailing what Nigerians stood to benefit from voting for it.
It later did a follow-up by sending text messages to Nigerians, highlighting some of its campaign promises which included free healthcare and education, monthly stipend of N5,000 to the elderly, among other goodies.
Like the APC, the PDP had also embarked on even more elaborate show to woo voters to its side. Leading the campaign team for the PDP was President Goodluck Jonathan, who, with a retinue of PDP chieftains, toured the country in what the party cleverly termed ‘Unity Rally’. And in all the rallies which were held in different parts of the country, the president showed off PDP’s winning edge.
Other political parties followed suit, acting according to their levels and reach. Curiously, while INEC conceded that some of the political parties were in breach of the Electoral Act by engaging in early campaigns, its chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, seemed to be playing safe by refusing to name the offenders and their particular offence.
The die is cast
But by the close of the year, it became certain that the hide-and-seek game was over. Finally, the battle line was drawn. With the parties successfully concluding their primaries for the various elective positions, the contest for 2015 began to take shape.
PDP set the tempo of the engagement by throwing up President Jonathan as its missile head. At an impressive affirmative primary that lasted from Wednesday, December 10, to Thursday, December 11, 2014, it formally adopted the president as its candidate for the presidential poll. The development did not come to many as a surprise, given that the entire organs of the party had, by October, adopted him as the party’s sole presidential candidate.
In fact, in a bid to ensure that the agenda did not in any way go awry, feeble efforts by the first son of the late Prime Minister, Dr. Abdul Jhalil Tafawa Balewa, at running against the president were effectively extinguished, as he surprisingly announced his withdrawal from the race, after selling the dummy of offering stiff challenge. Similarly, Professor Akasoba Duke-Abiola, who also had indicated interest on the race, later chickened out. With the obstacles dismantled, Jonathan picked the PDP ticket, almost effortlessly.
But not so, for General Muhammadu Buhari, who emerged APC presidential flag-bearer at its primary, also, the same period. His was a gruelling encounter that featured stiff challenge from former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso; Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha; and newspaper publisher, Sam Nda-Isaiah.
The issues, the campaigns
Jonathan, in accepting PDP nomination, gave indications that he would anchor his campaign on consolidation of his transformation agenda, which his foot soldiers claim has witnessed fixing the country’s infrastructure, job creation, enhanced security and boost in the country’s global perception, among others.
Buhari, on the other hand, aside his traditional disposition to transparency and zero tolerance to corruption, pledged that he would lean on the APC roadmap to woo voters.
With PDP flagging off its presidential campaign in Lagos, early last month, the battle line for the general elections was finally drawn. APC had earlier kicked off its campaign in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Buhari mounts the soapbox
The APC flag-bearer had commenced his campaign with a promise to fight insecurity and corruption, as well as reviving the ailing economy of the country. In this regard, he remarked that his party had already assembled capable hands that would work towards improving the economy as soon as he is sworn in.
He said: “The major problems we are facing in Nigeria today is that of the economy and insecurity. We have arranged competent hands to manage the economy once we come on board on May 29, 2015… We have lined up programmes on how to tackle unemployment. We are going to assemble teams of professionals for wealth creation and employment for our teeming youths. We will put mechanism in place to fight insecurity and improve the country.”
The emphasis by the former head of state on tackling corruption, unemployment and insecurity did not come to many as a surprise. In the last couple of years, for instance, public perception of the Jonathan administration on these key indices have been contentious. While supporters of the government score it high in fixing abandoned infrastructural facilities in the country as well as steering the economy on the path of recovery, his opponents disagree, dismissing him as lacking the initiative to tackle the challenges before him.
Insecurity, occasioned by Boko Haram challenge in some parts of the North, easily falls into this consideration. The terrorist group, which has increased its offensive on the country since the inauguration of the administration, has painted the country in bad light among locals and international observers.
In its murderous onslaught, churches, mosques, schools, communities, markets and other public places have not been spared. As it launches its odious campaigns, it leaves in its trail sorrow and blood. What, perhaps, exposed the audacity of the sect to the international community was the Monday, April 14, abduction of about 276 students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, by its suspected members.
The abduction, which totally laid bare the fault lines of the nation’s security network, saw some countries signifying interest in the efforts to rescue the girls. United States of America (U.S.), United Kingdom (UK), France and China were among the countries said to have made the offer.
The girls are still in captivity.
In similar vein, social life and economy of the ravaged states have been in doldrums. While the menace lasts, the country’s image among nations has been on the negative side. There have also been other incidences of criminality as manifested in armed robbery, kidnapping, corporate and cybercrimes.
It is thus not out of the ordinary for APC to list eradication of insecurity among its priorities. Incidentally, Buhari’s antecedent in going against the menace offers the party a lot to boast of. His records in crushing the Mataitsine Muslim fundamentalists in Kano and warding off the Cameroonian Gendarmes in the North East flank of the country as a soldier in 1980s are easily advertised as reference points on how he would deal with the Boko Haram insurgency if he gets to power.
The party also flaunts his zero tolerance for corruption as an agenda that will sell it to the people. The retired General had, in his first coming as a soldier, embarked on measures that indicated that with purposeful leadership, corruption can be exorcised from the country considerably. Though some of the approaches by his administration in tackling the menace were considered unconventional and draconian, they were seen in some quarters as being imperative in repositioning the country by the average Nigerian. Buhari has not lost that charm and admiration, at least among his supporters that are mostly drawn from the down-trodden and unemployed youths. It is to this people that the APC agenda of fixing the economy, if elected into office, registers enormous impact.
Jonathan preaches consolidation
PDP, however, does not seem intimidated by the issues raised by the APC flag bearer. For instance, at the Lagos campaign kick-off of the party, Jonathan had reminded his audience on how his government had put in place legal and institutional frameworks for tackling corruption and putting the country on the path to economic prosperity. He also went down memory lane, recalling efforts of his administration in repositioning the country.
Based on these considerations, he had, at the inauguration of the party’s Presidential Campaign Organisation, told the members that they had solid grounds to anchor their campaign. He stated that on account of the federal government’s activities since the institution of his presidency, the job on the campaign team would not be much.
He said: “Nigeria, under our watch, has made significant strides in every aspect. Our economy today is the largest and strongest in the African continent and preferred destination for foreign direct investment.
“We have focused on job creation and the expansion of opportunities for our teeming youths as well as interventions to promote micro, small and medium scale enterprises. Through an internationally acclaimed transformational agricultural programme, we have re-established agriculture as a business and a major driver of economic growth.
“We have successfully privatised the power sector; a process that was adjudged by the international community of investors as transparent and credible. Our trains are moving again, from Lagos to Kano, from Lagos to Ibadan, from Port Harcourt to Enugu.”
Preaching consolidating on these feats and attaining more, he said, would earn PDP a re-election.
Enter the toxic campaigns
The parties in marketing their agenda also threw punches at their opponents, in most cases, employing uncomplimentary expressions. While the trend continued, it was obvious that the political space was steadily getting charged with incidences of derogatory and inflammatory campaigns from both camps.
At a point, in fact, Governor Kwankwaso was alleged to have hit hard at Jonathan, describing him as an “incompetent commander-in-chief”.
But in a swift reaction, the PDP National Secretary, Wale Oladipo, hit back at APC with what could be likened to a bombshell, describing Buhari, its flag-bearer, as a “semi-literate jackboot”.
Director of Media and Publicity for Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, raised the bar by pronouncing Buhari as representing darkness while Jonathan typifies light.
The tension generated by the volatile electioneering cut across every nook and cranny of the country. In fact, as the verbal attacks reverberated from the parties, there were reported instances of their foot soldiers engaging in clashes that left some wounded or dead.
Abuja Accord to the rescue?
While the growing tension inched into the process, enlightened observers were hardly amused. Apparently concerned with the humanitarian crisis that could result from the creeping trend as well as in pandering to their huge economic interest in Nigeria and West African sub-region, the international community reached out to the leadership of the parties on the need to play by the rules.
On Wednesday, January 14, Jonathan, Buhari and 12 other presidential candidates signed accord for violence-free polls.
The pact, among others, emphasised the need for credible polls as well as the imperative of issue-based campaigns.
Known as “Abuja Accord” by the organisers of the event, the pact barred the contestants from making inciting speeches in whatever guise that could lead to violence before, during and after the elections.
At the event, which was witnessed by eminent personalities including former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan; and former Secretary General of Commonwealth, Emeka Anyaoku; Jonathan and Buhari embraced each other to the admiration of all.
The chairmen of the two dominant parties, Adamu Mu’azu of PDP and John Odigie-Oyegun of APC also hugged each other. The exercise was in a bid to send clear message to their supporters that the election needed not be violent if democracy must endure.
But the ink with which the accord was signed had hardly dried when the combatants and their lieutenants literally made a return to the trenches. At Jonathan’s rallies in some parts of the North, there were reports of his convoy being pelted with stones and sachet water. The most dastardly of the attacks on him was the bomb blast in Gombe at which he escaped by the whiskers.
APC had also suffered violence in various forms, including blasts at its Rivers State offices.
Uncertainties of the polls
What, however, presently constitutes the gravest threat to the polls is the kite of postponement being flown by some individuals and interest groups.
Before now, there had, on occasions, been insinuations of the government plotting an agenda to stall or shift the elections.
At such moments, however, senior officials of the government had put a lie to the charge, arguing that the polls would hold as scheduled.
But the statement by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, in London, last month, seeking postponement of the elections, added weight to the suspicion on the government acting out a script.
Dasuki had explained his call on the need for the distribution of permanent voter cards (PVCs), arguing that INEC needed more time to ensure that all qualified Nigerians receive cards for the vote.
APC and some Nigerians have kicked against the suggestion. Jonathan, on his own, has assured that the May 29 hand-over date is sacrosanct, but without emphasis on the polls taking place on February 14 and 28. Jega has pledged that there would not be any shift on the dates.
Last Tuesday, February 3, however, 16 political parties had joined the call for the postponement of the elections, hinging their argument on insecurity and shoddy distribution of the PVCs.
They equally injected some threats into their demand, vowing to boycott the polls if INEC forges ahead with the exercise.
Some other groups and individuals are also reported to have gone to court pressing for judicial pronouncement halting INEC from proceeding with the elections. Many, thus, fear the impact of the move on the nation’s fragile democracy.
