2007 polls: Time to hang
Iwu
By Olawale Ridwan
Sunday,
March 30, 2008
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•Prof.
Maurice Iwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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"The fatal metaphor of progress, which means leaving
things behind us, has utterly obscured the real idea of growth,
which means leaving things inside us." – Gilbert
Chesterton – (1874-1936)
The upper limit of hypocrisy for humanity is to present the
devil in a way that is holier than the Almighty. For, people
are wont to beautify rubbish, just because it suits a particular
situation or epoch. In the light of this, some people, perhaps,
out of crass sentiment, are trying in vain to standardize
the flawed April 2007 general election, which has continued
to receive serious bashes at the precinct of the judiciary.
To such people, we are still learning and our electoral system
is yet to develop; there is no nation in the world where election
is perfect; Prof. Maurice Iwu deserves commendation and not
condemnation for achieving power transfer from civilian to
civilian administration.
In fact, different opinions and reasons have been propagated
to support the do-or-die elections midwifed by Prof. Iwu under
the watchful eyes of lawless and uppity administration of
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, but none seems tenable enough to
defend the unprecedented electoral malfeasance in Nigeria’s
annals of history. The above aphorism becomes even more poignant,
when people argued that we should put our past mistakes behind
us and forge ahead.
By more of design rather than default, the April 2007 election
has succeeded in altering the political arrangement across
the country and has given undue advantage to the cheats and
myopic leaders. Almost on daily basis, progressive leaders
are being sent packing by the Tribunals, while crooks and
scoundrels in toga of politicians wallow in the spoils of
the do-or-die polls. We are yet to come to terms with the
way forthright and progressive leaders like Sullivan Chime,
Theodore Orji and others were consumed in the ensuing litigations
that followed the 2007 polls.
Besides, what now seems nauseating, horrendous and diabolical
is the belligerent comportment of Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) and its chairman towards anyone or organization
commenting on the rigmarole sold to Nigerians as election.
It is noteworthy that before the Appeal Court upheld the presidential
election that placed the diadem on the head of President Umaru
Musa Yar’Adua, mafia’s code of Omerta (silence)
used to be the mood from INEC and its officials when Tribunals
started throwing out governors, senators and honourables from
their exalted positions due to the irregularities of 2007
elections.
But what now seems the nudge that woke INEC from slumber is
the ruling of presidential Election Tribunal in favour of
President Yar’Adua. We can now be told April polls were
free and fair, even though there was all evidence to the contrary.
Now, we are being awash with all sorts of adverts by Pharisees
of INEC in print and electronic media, if only to beautify
the sham they conducted last April. And this forms the kernel
of this discourse.
With every sense of gravitas, INEC and its chairman need to
be told that, their new-found fad in celebrating the flawed
election as best election in Nigeria, because it enjoys judicial
endorsement, is nothing but a dance of shame. The state Tribunal
judgments spreading out like dumdum bullets should be the
parameters to measure the success or otherwise of April 2007
general election, and not the judgment of the Appeal Court
that is, to me, based on security of the nation rather than
the merit of the case.
It is high time Prof. Iwu got sacked as chairman of INEC if
the commission must make a meaningful progess. Under his chairmanship,
the commission is seen as highly partisan and tool of vendetta
in the hands of vindictive regime of Olusegun Obasanjo. President
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua must see the need to change the
leadership of INEC now, as the future of the commission is
bleak under Iwu-led leadership. As Charles Dickens noted,
change begets change. So changing the leadership of INEC should
be seen a good step as regards the President's electoral reforms
programme.
As against the argument of some people, we must not leave
the past mistakes behind us; this is an anathema to the idea
of development. The real progress will be achieved if only
we take cognizance of the past electoral iniquities and instill
a set of new values to restore the confidence of our electoral
mechanism. Achieving this, definitely, will not be under the
present venal but compromised leadership of the INEC.
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