Anyone who keenly followed the conduct and outcome of the just concluded general elections will never stop to wonder why things don’t follow the natural curve in Nigeria. From what we have seen so far, and viewed in different contexts, the elections -starting from the Presidential and National Assembly polls, to the Governorship/States’ legislative elections- have provided an invaluable look at both the changeless dynamics of power, the various disingenuous methods of acquiring power, the astonishing and reasons why our democracy will continue to wobble and why the integrity of our elections will always come under a huge blanket of suspicion and disputations.
It’s, therefore, fair to say that except in few states of the country, the 2019 general elections will go down in history as the most horrible, most manipulated elections ever conducted in this democratic dispensation. The pain of how we came to this miserable state is something that troubles the mind. The ugly spectacle that played out in Rivers state, the militarisation of the polls, provides a panoramic view of the danger the military has put our democracy. The world is still watching how the mess the military interference in the electoral process in Rivers state in particular, and elsewhere in the South South states of Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa will be cleared and allow the votes of the people to count.
As it concerns Rivers state, some of the questions to ask are: On whose order were the soldiers deployed to harass, intimidate and takeover collation centres in many parts of the state? Can the military high command be believed that the trucks of soldiers we all saw sacking the staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were fake soldiers as claimed by the Army Public Relations Department? Was President Muhammadu Buhari as Commander in Chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria unaware of the military brigandage in Rivers state? If he was aware, what did he do? There are many ifs in what happened in Rivers state, before and during the elections.
We must not forget that on February 18, 2019, the President had ordered the military, police to deal with ballot box snatchers and thugs. Did the military take this order as a call for jungle justice in Rivers state and elsewhere in the country? Recall also that the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had described the President’s directive as “nothing but a predetermined script hatched by the ruling APC to create voter apathy and implement their result replacement plans using thugs protected by the military”. This was the statement issued by Uche Secondus, National Chairman of PDP soon after the President issued his orders.
From what we saw in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and few other states, it is fair to say that the President perhaps meant well, but what’s not in doubt is the fact that the military interference in the elections, especially in Rivers, is jungle justice in its worst form. The soldiers overreached themselves and a swift identification of the soldiers involved and a court martial of the culprits will be the only proof that they didn’t have the authority of their superiors.
At least, 58 Nigerians were reported killed during the elections, over 30 of them from Rivers state, according to Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, headed by Mr.Clement Nwankwo. Other observer group that monitored the elections also validated the death toll figures. One, therefore, finds it so disingenuous the argument of the National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole that those who fault military involvement in the elections are “enemies of democracy”. Very unconvincing. Oshiomhole has always played fast and loose with the facts, a master of oversimplifying serious issues. Very unconvincing argument.
Before Rivers’ people were saved by the bell from INEC through the suspension of the elections there, soldiers had seized collation centres, chased everyone away, according to INEC Head of voter Education and Information in Rivers state, Mr. Edwin Enabo. He said the soldiers invaded INEC office on Aba Road, Port Harcourt, stopped and screened people, allowed some people in, prevented others. He also alleged that the soldiers took over and tried to clear all results before they would be announced. It was a terrifying spectacle, he noted, a situation confirmed by many eyewitnesses to the charade in Rivers state.
In a way, it was appropriate that INEC halted the exercise on Sunday, citing widespread disruption. According to Mr. Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Information, violence occurred in substantial number of polling units and collation centres. Some INEC staff were also taken hostage, and materials, including result sheets either seized or destroyed by unauthorized persons. INEC acted in line with Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and clause 47(e) of the Regulations and Guidelines of the Commission which empowers it to suspend election in such extreme ugly circumstances as happened in Rivers state. It’s hoped that the fact-finding Committee already empaneled by the electoral umpire will restore the sanctity of the people’s votes.
While we wait for the INEC report on Rivers, it’s not hard to unravel the cause of the present situation in that State. That root cause is who controls power in that oil rich state. The problem predates what happened during the election. The problem is that APC having shot itself in the foot by its internal crises that resulted in its exclusion in all elections, and got a “decent burial” from the Supreme Court. The party had no option than act like a broken family whose members would rather destroy their father’s inheritance than share it. Was it the fault of Governor Nyesom Wike? I don’t think so. But, APC believes Wike was the unseen hand that brought the sledgehammer on it. That’s one part of the complex situation in Rivers’ politics of today. On a larger canvas, it’s the continuation of the power play between two former buddies, Wike and minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi. It is a feud of the most lethal nature that has cost so many lives, and may cost more until the duo agree to stealth their swords and talk to themselves. Nothing else will end this ego fight. Amaechi feels so bitter that the opportunity he waited for since four years to teach Wike a political lesson of his life has been denied him by the exclusion of APC in the ballot in Rivers’ elections. What more can he do than throw the “bombs”, metaphorically speaking.
Perhaps, above all in the power play is the unactualised script of APC. The immediate past National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie Oyegun said in 2016 that the deepest cut of the party began when it failed in 2015 to win any of the four oil rich states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers. Again, the four states seem to have slipped away from the party.
That’s what’s unravelling. And Rivers appears to be APC’s last card. And, if it fails, cause mayhem that could lead to a state of emergency. As Trotsky, a Russian revolutionary once said,” you may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you”. The President should not heed to this last option some party chieftains are mulling over. If truth be told, President should know, as late President Umaru Yar’Adua admitted in 2007, that the process that brought him to power was flawed, but he can regain public confidence in his second term by healing the wounds in the land. Rivers is a place to show leadership to the effect that military interference in our elections is anti-democratic, and therefore