By Robinson Nmerukin
HAVE you ever wondered the name of the electoral body in the United States? I mean, they just concluded their elections. Do you know the name of the head of the organisation? What about UK? France? Germany? What about South Africa, another African country? My guess is, you don’t know. And, honestly, I don’t care.
Not the same for the ‘giant of Africa’. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and its leadership, is always as popular as candidates in any election. Sometimes, even more.
Rivers State rerun election is the example in focus. I don’t know how many people know the candidates in the election. However, if you examine the news items since INEC fixed December 10 for the rescheduled poll, you will discover that the candidates in the election, and in most cases their parties, are not mentioned. Instead, you will find INEC in virtually all the headlines. And for the wrong reasons. Like the news about the outburst of Governor Nyesom Wike of the state, where he accused INEC of siding with his party’s competitor to compromise the election. I found this really disheartening.
Why do politicians attack INEC whenever they cannot actualise their political wishes? I found it rather exasperating that Governor Wike would take a jab at INEC for the delayed election. Meanwhile, politicians, Wike inclusive, are the reason INEC suspends election, due to violence and other electoral infractions. Wike, his party and their opponents, for instance, were responsible for the suspension of the Rivers legislative election after it was held in March. They so raised the political temperature that it hit the boiling point, such that lives were lost. Wike reportedly threatened INEC officials, security agents and the opposition with their lives if they tried to rig the election.
“Let me reiterate (that), if any INEC officer is bent on rigging the rerun elections, let him first tell his wife and children where his will is located because he will be treated as a political armed robber,” Wike reportedly said. “Popularity is tested on the ground. It is not by carrying soldiers around to intimidate voters. As your governor, I don’t carry soldiers around. How can a politician be campaigning with soldiers? I will continue to threaten political armed robbers. I will stand firm against those who use guns to steal votes.”
During the last rerun election an March 19, four soldiers, including an Army major, was killed hours to the election. Also, a Youth Corper working for INEC, one Mr, Samuel Okonta, was killed during the election. The violence was so rife that the electoral umpire had to cancel the polls.Now, that the election has been fixed for December 10, Wike has started with his war songs again. And he’s not doing so alone. The opposition party in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and their chieftains, are as guilty as the governor.
For example, Wike’s political foe and Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, recently traded threats with him. “Wike can never be God,” Amaechi said. “He said he will deploy everything. Anything he wants to deploy let him deploy, we will deploy our own.” The question is, what are they deploying?
It is obvious that neither the APC nor the PDP is ready to peacefully accept defeat. When they deploy whatever they threaten to, what happens to the election and its outcome? Politicians are Nigeria’s greatest enemies. If this democracy survives it will not be because of them, it will be in spite of them. Nigerians are no doubt tired of them.
That was why I wasn’t surprised when the Senators threatened to embark on strike if INEC did not follow its new December 10 timetable. Are they not politicians? How can federal lawmakers go on indefinite strike because of three of their members? They were threatening INEC, blaming it for the delayed election. My question for them is, how many of them can release their children to monitor election here in Rivers?
The Senators and Wike had questioned why election held in terrorism-ravaged Borno State and not in Rivers? The obvious answer is that no election in that state has resulted in deaths, unlike Rivers State.
One will recall that during the 2015 general election, prior to the current INEC leadership, the Federal Government warned Professor Attahiru Jega, who was then the chairman, to postpone election in the whole country because the military could not guarantee security in Borno and two other states in the Northeast. What did Jega do? He postponed the election nationwide. Only when the military gave clearance did Jega conduct the election at a future date.
We all saw how the security agencies cornered INEC during Edo gubernatorial polls because of security concerns. Even when INEC insisted it would proceed with election against security advice, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) withdrew its members, which form bulk of staff of the exercise. Eventually, the rescheduled election was held peacefully without any incident. Just imagine if INEC had proceeded with polls and anything happened to the voters! My advice for INEC, therefore, is to be firm and not yield to pressure and intimidation from politicians. The Prof Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC should rather continue to adhere strictly to the laws governing elections.
However, the electoral body should direct sufficient energy to the amendment of the Electoral Act to give it more power to punish electoral criminals. In the interim, it should do everything within its power to painstakingly prosecute those who perpetuate violence during election.
Nmerukin writes from Port-Harcourt.