Nigeria politicians commit electoral frauds
Nigeria politicians commit electoral frauds
While the 2011 general elections are closing in, the master-riggers are perfecting their antics in rigging. For Nigerians, the general sing-song which has harmonious cord is, "a man, one vote" I stop to wonder if this harmonious cord will ever be achieved, and if the concordant tune will not become discordant in the face of elections proper in April 2011.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which is supposed to be an unbiased umpire of elections has in the past, been heavily criticized as being partisan and a ready tool for elections rigging. The previous general elections of 2007 which brought ex-President Yaradua-Jonathan into power was the worse rigged elections in the history of Nigeria. The chairman of INEC then was Professor Manice Ewu. That election was described by ex-President Yaradua as grossly rigged, so much so, that he set up Electoral Reform Committee to investigate the numerous allegations against it, and proffer solutions. The report of the committee never saw the light of the day as it was cleverly and silently swept under the carpet.
Then came the clarion call that the Professor Iwu's voters' list was fraught with numerous frauds. Not only did ghost names appeared but the names of foreigners such as Mike Tyson, Mohammed Ali and Michael Jackson were conspicuous on the list. The head of Iwu was called for, and he was promptly replaced by another University Professor Tahiru Jega. So far, so good and a brand new voters' list has been compiled, though not without some hi-cups. Apart from the technical hi-cups which were promptly rectified by Jega, some of the Direct Data Capture machines (DDC) were stolen at the entry point in Nigeria, thereby creating artificial scarcity of the machines. As if this was not enough, some of the machines were found with individuals in Oyo and Kogi states, while four registration centers with the DDC machines were discovered far into the evil forest housing some shrines in the state of Anambra. Perhaps the DDC machines were used in the four centers in the forest to register ghosts and spirits who are residing in the evil forest where men hardly frequent. It is very sad to hear that up till now, no one has been punished for the misuse of the DDC machines.
These electoral crimes are never perpetrated by the ordinary Nigerian. Surely, they are the hands of Nigerian politicians. Then, the question arises: "Why would politicians want to rig elections? Politics in Nigeria is a juicy business. For ex-President Obasanjo, it is a "do or die affair" and his followers in the Peoples Democratic Party are really wearing his cap. Whichever way you take, and whatever fraud you commit so that you can find your way to the leadership position in politics, you are the man of the moment. Politics in Nigeria shoots you up to the limelight and within a twinkle of an eye, you ascribe yourself into the class of the top-rich in Nigeria. There are numerous avenues and loopholes through which the Nigerian politicians could be skyrocketed into wealth and two years are just enough for the Nigerian politicians to make it. A poor Nigerian journalist who I know very well shot himself into the National House of Assembly. Ordinarily the journalist who could not make ends meet has built an estate for himself in the choicest areas of Nigeria. He moves about in a fleet of state-of-the-art jeep cars at any given time. The search-light beamed on an ex-Deputy governor of one of the states, who after his university education could not find a job except in the stone quarry. He found his way into politics and today, he is something else, swimming in great wealth in his rising political profile. The list is long, but all I am saying is that politics in Nigeria is the surest and quickest way of amassing wealth, as the politicians are placed face to face with the people's money, and they can draw as much as they can from it with impurity.
That brings me to the next question. What is leadership about? It is only in Nigeria that you hear of incompetent, mediocre and half-baked politicians claiming that my people say I should serve them" without having in view, how really to serve the so-called "my people". It pains so much to think that these politicians tell lies against the people to rig themselves into offices, only to get there and impoverish the same people by not providing infrastructural developments or seek the wellbeing of the people. All Nigerian politicians have but one mind and it is bent against the socio-economic and the welfare of the people. This is the reason why you still see Nigerian families, not individuals, living on below the stipulated US one dollar per day in our dear country which is flowing will milk and honey.
For personal benefits, Nigerian politicians die, (not do) to get to the top, because when they get there they, as a matter of must, would accrue so much money that would be enough for them, their children and their political godfathers for life. Why then are we surprise that elections are rigged in Nigeria? I pity Professor Jega who is filled with good intentions to conduct free, fare and credible elections, at least for once in Nigeria. How ever good his intentions are, will the politicians allow him? Will the politicians not devise numerous other ways of out-maneuvering the best intentions on earth and work their ways, alongside their political godfathers into positions of power? Time will tell. God save Nigeria and have mercy on Nigerians.
Pat Asakome who is a broadcaster, an author and analyst in public affairs writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
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