Bimbola Oyesola
For Comrade Joe Ajaero, President, United Labour Congress of Nigeria (ULC), the just concluded elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are the worst in recent times in the history of Nigeria. He however chronicles his perception of the elections and how he thinks they could be made better in the future.
What is your understanding of election in an emerging democracy?
Elections activate that aspect of democracy-of the people; by the people. It allows the people through its various freedoms the unabridged rights to choose their leadership at all levels of governance. It is in the exercise of these freedoms that electoral processes are validated and outcomes are legitimised empowering and morally enabling those that are put into offices as a result. These are part of the fundamental principles upon which democracy; its traditions, frameworks, institutions and practices are built. The success of any democratic experiment is therefore dependent on the protection of these basic principles. Anything that undermines any of these precepts undermines democracy and ultimately impairs it from delivering its full potentials to the nation and her citizens. The ballot is at the core of every election. It is sacred as it its nature both before, during and after every exercise defines the credibility and integrity of every electoral process. Credible elections produce credible leadership. Credible leadership becomes an embodiment of the true desires, hopes and expectations of the people – a symbol of their very being, expressions and essence. Belief in the leadership is thus mobilised and deepened creating the very foundation for vibrant and robust democratic governance.
Looking at the just concluded elections in Nigeria, what in your view went wrong?
The just almost concluded 2019 general elections as conducted by INEC under the leadership of Professor Mahmood negate the very principles upon which elections are organised in sane societies. It was a harvest of blood given the loss of lives, a defilement of the ballot and desecration of democracy with the capacity to destroy the very basis of our existence as a democratic nation. It was a complete rape of democracy thus an embarrassing sham that in most cases aborted the will of the majority as expressed by the ballot.
One of the most harrowing experiences witnessed in this election is the abusive use of the Military, the Police and other Security agencies in the conduct of the elections. We saw cases of rampant collusion between the military and politicians to manipulate the vote in favour of their chosen candidates, use of military to intimidate opponents and their voters and eventually to force the collation and announcement of results that heavily compromises electoral integrity. Audio and Video evidences are commonplace in the social media and this we consider despicable. The heavy militarisation of elections in Nigeria as seen in this past elections is not healthy for a nation that seeks to raise the bar of democratic aspirations. It diminishes the institutions of the Army and the others, undermining their capacities to effectively fulfill their major task of protecting the nation’s borders against external aggression especially as the nation combats the increasing Boko Haram insurgency. Perhaps, achieving more favourable electoral victories are more important to the government than the job of national security. These obvious irregularities deny majority of Nigerians their right to choose, thus making a mockery of the essence of the ballot. It strips the vote of its power leading Nigerians to that edge where they believe that their votes do not count. The vote is therefore rendered an orphan; unprotected, undefended, infertile and heavily impotent unable to create any change as required. A nation especially a democracy that lacks electoral justice is doomed or at best pretending to be a democracy. This is where we have found ourselves unfortunately as a nation.
An unfortunate phrase has entered into our political lexicon; ‘the Osun treatment.’ Many Nigerians may be saying this without understanding its full implications but we are worried that this summarizes in the minds of the masses what elections and electioneering has come to represent. It is an expression of the deep rot in our electoral system and the distrust Nigerians have for it. We are worried and truly scared that the battles which we have fought since 1999 to strengthen democracy through better electoral frameworks may have all been in vain. We remember the passion and zeal with which the trade union movement in conjunction with the Civil Society through various platforms both here and outside our nation engaged governments in the past to deepen our democratic credentials through more transparent practices; the price, costs and man-hours spent doing these and how that eventually culminated in the watershed election of 2015.
If you were to do a comparison, what will be your verdict concerning the 2015 and 2019 elections?
ULC had expected that these elections would have raised the bar on what was achieved in 2015, but what we have witnessed is a complete roll back of almost all the gains we had made and a backward movement to the dark days of electoral impunity, brigandage and bloodletting. For us, it is not just that the ballot has been defiled that is the problem but the consequences that these have on governance thus our pursuit of more stable and prosperous nation where workers and masses would thrive and achieve their life’s goals.
A defiled ballot is a rape of the people. When the people feel treated this way, they withdraw from the electoral process and this affects one of the most critical foundations of democracy which is participation. It is this key that makes democracy one of the most vibrant and robust forms of governance ever invented by man. The willful mobilisation of the citizens to participate actively in the democratic process combines to enthrone a government that is not just popular but understands the needs of the people. It is this participation that produces the checks on elected offices and serves as counterpoise to their various excesses. It is this that guarantees democratic accountability; a veritable check on office holders by the sovereign – workers and masses. Without participation democracy becomes inchoate and eventually dies as people are no longer interested in its various processes and outcomes. It was the increasing belief of Nigerians in the electoral processes that allowed heightened interests and participation of Nigerians in the 2015 elections that made its outcomes possible. Without that credibility, the turning point that 2015 was would not have been possible.
But 2109 has unfortunately reversed most of the gains. After the intense interests of Nigerians during the presidential elections which witnessed a massive turn out, that became immediately reversed as a result of mishandling of the election by INEC. What was witnessed during the governorship and House of Assembly elections were massive reduction in voter turnout as the national average was averagely 30 percent or less than the total number that participated in the presidential election. To us, that was a very dangerous signal and a beginning of the manifestation of loss of interest by citizens in elections. Many commentators have called it voter apathy but for us, it portends a huge threat to our democratic ideals; a yellow card and a red flag that should have all of us worried as a nation. This is why we are worried that those who may have been declared victors in these flawed elections may face the challenges of credibility. Moral credibility is more crucial in leading a people than the technical or legal credibility. A besmirched election as these ones, have produced tainted certificates of returns and Nigerians may assume that a lot of them are written in the blood of Nigerians. This would not allow the officers carrying such certificates and occupying such positions the leverage to discharge their responsibilities to the citizens. We cannot therefore make any meaningful progress on the wings of such processes.
How then can we make electoral process more effective?
We believe that it is now time for all critical national stakeholders to come together to seek ways of making our electoral processes more effective and transparent so that the integrity of the ballot can be respected. The need to automate and de-personalise our electoral processes has become crucial. Laws governing our elections must be reviewed and in this regard, we urge the president to immediately give assent to the Electoral Reform Bill that was sent to him by the National Assembly no matter how flawed it may have been. We can then use it as a platform for further engagement to retrieve the vote from the clutches of impunity and retrogression. The derogatory Osun treatment must be deleted from our election lexicon by returning to equity, justice and fairness in all its processes. The electoral body must use the 23rd March re-run in the ‘inconclusive areas’ to begin to rewrite some of the wrongs in order to restore trust and confidence in our electoral processes. Our elections must cease from spilling the blood of Nigerians but be a genuine test of accountability for all public office holders. The choice of the people must be respected so as to sincerely return the people to the heart of our democracy. It is time to act.