JOHN NWOKOCHA writes that horse trading, shenanigans and hate speech, fears and suspicions which characterised the early days of the campaigns are chief factors instead of creative and refined language these final hours, then the back and forth arguments on postponement of the presidential election.
In a matter of 24 hours the long awaited 2015 General elections will commence. And the anxiety and tension generated by the elections will hopefully ebb after the presidential election of March28, just 24 hours from today. However, that is baring protest by supporters of the two major contenders.
About 48 hour to the final hour an attempt was made to us the judiciary to stop the candidate of the APC. Disturbing also is another attempt to derail the course of democracy. This time is an allegation against the election umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on suspicion that its Chairman Prof Atahiru Jega was plotting to rig the presidential election in favour of the APC candidate.
But the Chief Press secretary to the Chairman, Mr Kayode Idowu has since denied the accusation. In a statement titled: Re: ‘Exposed: how Jega plots to rig election for APC’ Idowu stated that INEC noted with dismay a front page advertorial by a faceless group in some National Newspapers(not Blueprint) on Wednesday, March 25, 2013, alleging a plot by the Chairman of the Commission to rig the 2015 general elections.
According to him, ‘The group cited the constitution of a presidential election result collation committee by the INEC Chairman as the basis for its allegation that a plot to rig the election has been hatched.
INEC would not have bothered to respond to such patently cynical and malicious allegation, but for the fact that the elections are days away and otherwise respectable National Newspapers have lent themselves to be used as platforms to disseminate such falsehood’ while debunking the allegation the press secretary described it as sinister and unpatriotic attempts to create unnecessary controversies aimed at discrediting the Commission through dissemination of falsehood added that the commission affirmed that the allegation was completely false and baseless.
The commission has not completely absorbed itself from another allegation against it earlier over the distribution of the Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC).
A group of politicians, ex militants and professionals from southern Nigeria had called for the resignation of Jega for what they described as shoddy conduct of distribution of PVCs. Jega was further accuse of bias and planned to favour a section of the country and give the APC advantage over the PDP. In the same vein the group initiated the call to sack the INEC chairman. All these have been overheating the polity. Nigerians are moving away from their locations to places they judged as ‘safe zones.’
There are strong indications that supporters of the presidential candidates of both the Peoples Democratic Party PDP and All Progressive Congress APC will troop into the streets to unleash terror if the outcome did swing the way of their candidate.
There is enough manifestation of anarchic tendencies already in the polity, from Rivers to Borno, from Lagos to Akwa Ibom, from Edo to Adamawa, from Nassarawa to Abia, from Kano to Ebonyi and from Kaduna to Ekiti the politicking is everything decent. From all sides, the candidates have yet to display elevating campaigns and language. Instead, foul language, abuse and raw desperation are promoted immeasurably while shenanigans and indecorum take the centre stage.
Although it is said that Nigeria’s politics has no place for civility, never before in the political history of this great nation has hate campaign, speech and barefaced lies been blatantly and freely publicised in their desperation to gain electoral mileage.
Over the past four months economic and commercial activities in and around the country have come to a near standstill. During this period political campaigns seem to be centre of activities if not the only activity in all the nooks and crannies of the country and in point of fact, Nigerians are bored by the cheap political stunt they called campaigns.
But the important point is that many Nigerians can read between the lines. Suffice it to say that many politicians will be disappointed by the outcome of the elections.
The reason is: their attempts to deceive the electorate through the campaigns will fail.
The presidential candidate of the United Progressive Party (UPP)Chief Chekwas Okorie could not have stated it better when he declared in a recent interview he granted to Blueprint Newspaper in Abuja that the outcome of tomorrow’s presidential election would shock Nigerians. Unarguably, Okorie is a formidable force in this election, therefore his statement should not be taken for granted.
Nigerians would be in for surprises at the entire elections as there will be changes. Definitely the people are yearning for change in the strict sense of the word going by the failed expectations. However, the people must decide the change they deserve. In democracy the people’s will is supreme and it is during elections most especially free, fair and transparent election that the people’s will can be tested. The Nigerian state must in the light of this, guarantee free, fair and transparent 2015 elections.
The elections must also be free of violence. The institutions with the responsibility to provide security of the citizens must ensure that no electorate is intimidated. Given the importance of Nigeria in the Africa continent all stakeholders must ensure that this election is successful by international standard and with that done, the jubilations and street dances can captivate.
