By Chukwudi Nweje
The tense political atmosphere is causing a domino effect not just in Nigeria but also in West Africa, and the continent of Africa in general as the 2023 general election in Nigeria approaches.
It is not contestable that Nigeria is the giant of Africa. Even if the country does not show it in action and deed, she still has the largest concentration of black people on earth and the entire continent looks up to Nigeria for direction.
The importance and relevance of the country and the forthcoming general election were laid bare recently.
A fact-finding mission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was in Nigeria and held meetings with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, and other stakeholders in the electioneering process to see the extent of the preparations, the challenges, and concerns they face.
At the head of the ECOWAS mission is Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, a former Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, who dedicated 23 years of his life to superintending elections in Ghana.
Also on the mission are the current chair of the electoral commission of Sierra Leone, Mr. Mohammed Konneh; Dr. Remi Ajibewa, Director, of Political Affairs, ECOWAS, and Dr. Onyinye Onwuka, Head of Peace and Mediation Unit, ECOWAS.
Others in the delegation include Assistant Commissioner of Police (ASP), Nuru Amidu, Head of Police ECOWAS Commission, and Mr. Abu Turey, Election Technical Expert, ECOWAS.
The mission is simple; they want to see how Nigeria will do it because what affects Nigeria affects Africa and the world. The way the elections in Nigeria are conducted would also impact the way the elections in Liberia and Sierra Lone who would be going to polls later in 2023 and Ghana in 2024 would be conducted.
Speaking at the Liberty Place office of the Jandor4governor 2023 Campaign Council in Lagos, Afari-Gyan noted that the team is in Nigeria because the way the Nigerian elections are conducted would have a direct impact on neighbouring West African countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone both of which would also go to the polls later in 2023 and by extension the rest of the sub-continent and the continent, and the perception of the black man internationally.
He said, “These elections are going to be very important, not only for Nigeria but to all of us in Africa and even beyond. We dare not fail. If we fail, it is going to spell doom far beyond Nigeria. That is how critical these elections are to us.
“We all say we want free, fair, and credible elections but the words ‘free’ and ‘fair’ carry important contents – It means the candidates must be free to do certain things and the election must be free from certain things.
“What should be fair, and who should be fair? We must think about all these. A lot of lessons would be learned from Nigeria by other members of the ECOWAS, who would be having elections in 2023, 2024, and so on.
“All of them would be impacted in one way or the other by what happens in Nigeria. So, please, let us commit ourselves to achieve free, fair, and credible elections in Nigeria,” Afari-Gyan said.
According to him, it would be a mistake to think that the task of achieving a free, fair, and credible election is the responsibility of the election umpire alone.
The election process
Afari-Gyan said the government, the political parties, their candidates, the press, as well as the electorate all have their role to play in actualising a free, fair, and credible election.
He said, “Most of the time, we look up to the electoral commission to ensure a credible election, but an election is such a complex activity that many organisations have their roles to play.
“Free and fair elections means that you, as a candidate must be free to do certain things, and the election must be free of certain things. What should be fair and who should be fair, we must think about all these.
“At the end of the day, the way elections go depends to a large extent on how well various components play their role.
The government
“The Electoral Commission alone cannot achieve free, fair, and credible election. It is a collective activity including the government.
“The government has an important role to play in credible election. The government must bring the money. If the government fails to play its role and leaves up to its responsibility, the election would be deficient.
The candidates
He noted that candidates for election must comport themselves in an orderly manner so as not to ignite violence capable of disrupting the exercise.
“We cannot talk of elections without candidates. Candidates must conduct their campaigns, for example, in a way consistent with democratic expectations.
“The campaign must be free from violence, hate speech, and abusive language. A candidate must be free to go everywhere in the constituency to campaign and try to convince the people he is the best.”
The electorate
“We must remember that the electoral commission is not a kingmaker, it is the people that decide who the winner would be. That is why in democratic elections we talk about the sanctity of the votes. If you cast the votes, it must be counted the way it was cast and everybody who is qualified must be given the opportunity to vote. We must put all these things together when we talk about the forthcoming Nigerian election,” he said.
The press
He said, “The press must also play its role. Is the press giving all the candidates equal opportunity to get their message across. In some countries, only certain categories of people receive good treatment from the press. Sometimes we hear the press talk about ‘some other candidates’; that is not supposed to happen. The press should give all the candidates equal opportunity.”
According to Afari-Gyan, the ECOWAS mission is in Nigeria to evaluate the processes ahead of the polls in 2023 and see if there are areas they could be of assistance.
“We are talking to all the political actors in the coming elections to know in what areas we can give moral support and advice. We will talk to any political party that is willing to talk to us to know about their problems,” he said.
Responding, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Dr. AbdulAzeez Olajide Adediran (JANDOR) noted that the PDP had faced some challenges because it is in the opposition.
He said, “Here, in Lagos State, we are in the opposition because there is a government in power for the past 23 years.
“What we are doing this time is to see how we can change the narrative and give the people of Lagos a breath of fresh air. I think people should have a free atmosphere to select their leaders in 2023.
“We understand that somebody, who wants to lose something will struggle but not to the point of infringing on people’s rights or going on the wrong side of the regulations of the exercise.
“We have a couple of experiences like this which we have taken to the court of public opinion, especially in the area of campaign materials.
“It is our constitutional right to be seen and heard. But because the ruling party controls most of these public spaces, it is difficult for us. “It got to the extent that they threatened players in the outdoor industry not to fly any of our campaigns. They refunded our money on the ones already paid for and those already running were yanked off.
“Each time we put up our posters, the government agencies remove them. We have been battling with these. The election is a process; it is not an event.”
He thanked the ECOWAS mission for their fact-finding mission and noted that “though is a bit late in coming, it is better late than never”.