But for the life-and-death attitude of the Nigerian politician that may see the Anambra election dragging to the courts, it can be reasonably argued that the poll is over. We know the winners and the losers. Undoubtedly, the processes leading to the election and the exercise proper, do not give much to cheer. But as we chorus here in street lingo, ‘how for do’?
Election, in the real sense, is the hallmark of democracy. It is a process anchored on established principles, all aimed at ensuring that the voter casts his ballot and his vote counts at the end of the day.
Processes leading to an election and the outcome, matter. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) performed below bar on these critical issues, in Anambra.
Before the Saturday, November poll, the commission had claimed being on top of the gain. Severally, INEC commissioner for information, Festus Okoye, spoke with audacity on the readiness of the agency to give Nigerians an election that would signal a departure from the past.
He particularly enthused on the deployment of Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), a replacement of the Smart Card Reader (SCR) used in previous elections since 2015, as the clincher.
The BVAS, he said, has the dual capacity for fingerprint and facial authentication of voters, to guard against voting by identity theft where one person uses another person’s Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) to vote using the incident form.
A beautiful idea, you can say! But the supporting logistics to make the BVAS work optimally, like power supply and network services, were ignored or not factored into consideration.
The poor preparation manifested in the election taking place hours behind schedule in some areas, while many voters could not be captured, hence did not vote. Even with the supplementary exercise in Ihiala Local Government Area, the Commission still found it hard to deliver.
For a stand-alone exercise as the Anambra poll, INEC should have done better, given the pool of human and material resources at its disposal. Every eligible voter deserves to have his voice in an election. Denying him that, amounts to stepping on his fundamental rights. Democracy does not permit excuses. It has no margin for errors.
That notwithstanding, INEC deserves commendations for minimising or as it appeared, obliterating the incidence of multiple voting in Anambra. The expectation is on the commission to improve on its new device, educate Nigerians on the technology before the 2023 general elections. This is the time for INEC to start.
There are reasons why INEC should do so. An election does not only need to be free and fair. It should also be transparent. The moment an electoral contest attracts doubts on its transparency and credibility, the outcome suffers the burden of legitimacy. It is easier for a loser to move on if he is convinced that the processes leading to his loss are transparent.
It is only when candidates and their supporters suspect that the system has been compromised that they resort to agitations, law suits and in extreme cases, self-help.
From the Anambra election, we stand to gain more. Former American President, Barrack Obama, was insightful in his remarks that elections have consequences. These could be bad or good. If we are serious in achieving peace in the south east, Anambra poll, has offered a window for it.
On battlegrounds, commanders explore ceasefire moments to exchange banters and negotiate peace. The Anambra election has provided that opportunity. There is a lesson in the cancellation of the sit-at-home order by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), which resulted in the huge voter turn-out in Anambra. In taking the action, IPOB said that it was yielding to interventions by elders and opinion leaders in the region.
The statement read in part: “Following the genuine intervention of our elders, esteemed traditional Institutions /Rulers and Religious Leaders, and after a due consideration of the positive impacts of their engagement, and sequel to the fact that our elders have spoken in our terms, the leadership of IPOB ably led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu hereby and immediately calls off the one-week sit-at-home order earlier declared to commence tomorrow, November 5 to November 10, 2021”.
That was all that it required for the voters to creep out of their houses to exercise their franchise. That also saved the south east economy the agony of a week-long hemorrhage.
If you had followed the impact of the sit-at-home order by the group on the socio-economic life of the region, you would understand what was actually achieved by its relaxation.
Since August, when the weekly Monday enforcement began to take effect, it has been fully complied with by the traumatized south easterners by conviction or compulsion. In consequence, the region’s economy has depreciated considerably.
Before IPOB lifted the order, the election in Anambra was on the verge of derailment. The message, thus, is that the group, is a potent force in the zone. You may, of course, not like its strategies or disagree with its agenda, but the fact remains that IPOB resonates among the masses, especially the youths in the east.
Evidence has shown that deployment of military might against the organisation, has not been able to dim or extinguish its flame. It is rather a case of the more the assault on IPOB, the more its philosophy becomes ideological to its members and their consequent radicalisation.
I had on this column, in the recent past, warned on the dangers of allowing a people embrace death as dignified escape from the injustice in a system. When it gets to that dangerous curve, fatalism takes over. Whatever losses we are currently encountering in the Boko Haram extremist tendencies, speak much on the poor management of the group at infancy.
I listened with satisfaction the other day, when a senior citizen who served in both Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan administrations, spoke on how both leaders, including Umaru Yar’Adua, successfully handled the militancy in the Niger Delta region. Dialogue, he said, was the masterstroke in achieving piece in the area.
Same can be done in the IPOB case. If the group could listen to the south east elders and rescind its order over Anambra poll, I can imagine the mileage to be gained, if President Muhammadu Buhari, extends a hand of fellowship to it. Doing so, won’t demean his office. It will rather epitomise the father-figure that he represents to all Nigerians.