FALSE start on April 2, a National Assembly election on April 9 that was adjudged successful despite observed hitches in parts of the country, and yesterday, the Presidential election, with only the Gubernatorial elections and rescheduled legislative assembly elections still to be held on April 26, it is possible to begin to make some preliminary observations about Nigeria’s electoral process 2011, based on what has been observed so far. It is difficult to speak of a consolidation of the democratic project in Nigeria, given the fact that the country still has to address challenges of good governance, the accountability of the political elite and the need to strengthen institutions, but it can be confidently stated that what has sustained democracy in Nigeria, and what is bound to keep it going is the enthusiasm and the passion of the people for democracy.
Years of prolonged and brutish military rule may have made the people skeptical about democracy and its viability, and indeed there have been moments since 1999 when some of the people out of frustration have been nostalgic about military intervention in politics, but as at this moment, it seems clear that the people of Nigeria have bought fully into the democratic project. The passion that they have so far demonstrated in this election is positive proof of their resolve to use the ballot box as an instrument of power and control over those who seek their votes. The people of Nigeria are the heroes and heroines of election 2011. In many parts of the country yesterday and last week, voters arrived as early as 5 am at polling stations. In the North, many went to the mosque for early morning prayers and decided to go straight to the polling stations.
We have therefore seen an improvement in voter turn-out, and since the election began, a determination on the part of the people to protect their votes. That energy that has been seen on election days should not be taken for granted by the professional political elite. It should form the basis for actual performance by the politicians who must see that their victory at the polls has been made possible by the people, and that the same people now understand that every four years, they have the power to show some elected representatives the red card. The question of legitimacy which dogged previous elections seems to have been better managed in this election: there are reports of electoral fraud but the system of voting has ensured a situation whereby the people themselves can monitor the counting of their votes, record the results and be in a position to double-check the outcome. And here is the lesson: if the people see that it is possible to have a free and fair election, even if in a substantial sense: they are more likely to be eager about democracy and elections.
It can be said that although the system of voting in this election is the product of our country’s underdevelopment, it is nevertheless something that seems to work within our context. To hold any election at all, the country has had to be shut down at least thrice. Every election day, a curfew is imposed on the entire country, from 10 pm, the night before, till 5 am on election day. All the security agencies in the country send their men onto the streets; for the Presidential election yesterday, the Nigeria Police announced that it had 240, 000 policemen on the streets of Nigeria, the military are also actively involved in maintaining law and order, the State Security Services (SSS), the Civil Defence Corps and so on all had their men on duty. Voters are not allowed to move from one polling centre to another; unlike in the past when politicians were allowed to mobilize voters on election day, this time around all such big men and women were advised to desist from loitering around the city. Thus every election day, the entire country is shut down, and this includes the country’s borders. Voters are also encouraged to stay behind after voting and wait till their vote has been counted, the results announced and the result sheet is pasted in public view for everyone to see and record.
Hence, to have an election that should translate into freedom, Nigerians are deliberately imprisoned, their movements are restricted, and the government puts out the word that there is zero tolerance for misconduct. To say that Nigeria has had to declare a state of emergency every election day is, to put it mildly, an understatement. In more developed countries, and in the eyes of international observers, this may seem like a peculiar kind of democracy. But the thing is that it works for us. It appears better than other methods adopted in the past. Nigerians had to comply with the regulations about movement out of the fear that had been put into them. This did not entirely prevent misconduct, but there has been very limited space for such misconduct compared to past elections. Before now, I had argued that this entails a militarization of the voting process but now, I have changed my mind. I recommend that the mode of voting that has been adopted this year, not just the Modified Secret-Open Ballot system (which is not new), but particularly the complete shut-down of the country, the restriction of movement, the declaration of curfew, the declaration of national security emergency should be adopted in all future elections, for it seems to be the only approach that can work for us. This should be the case until such a time when the Nigerian system is developed enough and there are more reasonable people in politics and institutions.
It is obvious that there is no system, no matter how workable, that Nigerians will not try to sabotage. Some of the infractions that have been reported in the course of these elections reveal a determination to test the will of the state by certain desperate elements in our midst. With all the security arrangements and the regime of fear in the land, some people have been busy looking for ways to sabotage the electoral process. The throwing of bombs has been reported on more than three occasions. There have been allegations of ballot box snatching (this makes no sense since votes are counted at polling stations); bribery of voters (although there are indications that the Nigerian voter is now learning to collect the bribe and vote according to his or her conscience- thanks to the secret/not-so-secret balloting); under–age voting was reported in Kano on April 9, and yesterday in Kaduna and Gombe states; unnecessary hostility towards election monitors (reported yesterday in Plateau, Kwara, Taraba and Delta states); the complicity of electoral officials in the abuse of processes (the most scandalous being the alleged misconduct of Resident Electoral Commissioners and Returning Officers in Anambra and Delta states). In many places, there was a breakdown of security arrangements.
In Gombe, for example, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) and journalists had to run into a police station for protection when angry under-aged youths whom he had tried to stop from voting turned on him and his team, yesterday. The REC could be heard on AIT television saying: “…more than half of the voters are under-age!” How did under-age voters get onto the register? How did they get voters’ cards? The truth is that elections in Nigeria also reproduce the country’s extant and divisive politics of population, with ethnic nationalities laying claim to more numbers than others. It is a sub-text that dogs every national event, and with under-aged voters showing up, this can only mean that the voters’ register had been compromised. Those who try to compromise future elections by breeding a young generation of election riggers, teaching them how to rig, or vote when they have no right to do so, are the worst enemies of Nigerian democracy. Yet another example of desperation was recorded in Kaduna state where voting and accreditation were conducted simultaneously contrary to defined procedures; by 9 am, voting had started in Zaria and Kaduna Central! We admit that all these are indications that the fine-tuning of the democratic process in Nigeria can only be a gradual process, but still the infractions are a wake-up call for a strict enforcement of the laws guiding elections. The apprehension and trial of electoral offenders is the only guarantee against impunity.
The good news is that so far in this election, INEC under Professor Attahiru Jega has shown that it is willing to learn identified lessons, unlearn bad habits, take charge of the situation, make amends and improve. This is a very good development. I had advised cautious optimism about INEC’s performance in this election after April 2 and April 9, but I think we may be getting to a stage now when we can compare Jega’s INEC to Maurice Iwu’s INEC and argue that indeed there has been an improvement in the leadership of that institution. Maurice Iwu was so supremely difficult he argued with his critics at every turn; and even called them names. Jega in comparison has been working hard to improve and make amends: that alone shows great promise. One critical difference however between both umpires is this: Iwu worked under former President Olusegun Obasanjo who interfered in everything; Jega is conducting elections under President Goodluck Jonathan who has so far not shown any desperation to influence the outcomes brazenly. In the end, an electoral process is all about leadership, or better still, the integrity of leaders.
The pass marks being awarded notwithstanding, one other indication in this election is still the urgent need for electoral reform. Whatever has been attempted by the National Assembly in this regard does not go far enough. Moving forward, there are issues to consider. We should be worried about the constructive disenfranchisement of voters, not just on account of the logistics challenges that have been well reported, but the manner in which the current structure excludes many Nigerians. There was no system in place for example for capturing the votes of Nigerians in diaspora; Nigerians on international assignments, and all the personnel involved in election duty, including election observers and security agents. Many of them would have loved to vote. Their exclusion amounts to undeserved discrimination. Even on election day, no special arrangements were made to accommodate the physically challenged. The general assumption in Nigeria is that elections are meant for the physically able. But we should seek to build up the electoral system to accommodate the physically challenged who, by the way have registered their protest through an umbrella organization. Why shouldn’t the blind, the crippled, the deaf, the dumb vote in Nigerian elections? Besides, the voting procedure makes no special concessions to nursing mothers who go to voting centres with babies strapped to their backs, pregnant women and the aged, all of whom need not be kept on the queue for hours.
There is a consensus that there has been relative improvement on past elections, but still there has been too much violence and bloodshed in these elections, and so much detraction from the ideal! To all intents and purposes, Nigerian elections are not yet driven by issues, but sentiments about personalities, religion and ethnicity. Our ambition should be to grow our democracy to achieve a situation whereby persons win elections on the basis of merit and actual performance not sentiments, and certainly not with the aid of financial inducements, blackmail and violence. In the meantime, INEC should ensure that election results are posted on its website as soon as they are ready, to prevent the release of unofficial results by blogsites and websites which may convey wrong impressions due to lack of access to comprehensive and authenticated results sheets. No elections conducted in recent times by INEC have attracted as much confidence and praise as this year’s elections. Jega’s patience may have brought him good luck. But he and his team have one more election to go; until they breast the tape without blemish, this race remains open to other interpretations…
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