“Democracy is about voting and it’s about majority vote. And it’s time that we started exercising the democratic process.” — Debbie Stabenow.
A fortnight ago, the 46th President of the United States of America took an oath in spectacular ceremony after he defeated Donald J. Trump in what is described as a searing presidential contest between the two. My take is that the votes which made Joseph R. Biden a POTUS is the reflection of true democracy that is worthy of emulation by emerging nations despite the Trump’s unprincipled demeanor and his baseless claim that the election was rigged.
Meanwhile, on the one hand the African leaders have ditched the tenets of democracy in the sense that the process of ascending to power via fair election is alien to their disposition. The reasons behind this sentiment might not be unconnected with their ambition of retaining power at all cost for personal aggrandizement especially in countries where the presidential office has no specified term that paves way for the occupier to spend 20 years or more at the helm of affairs of their respective countries.
For others who could not go beyond two terms like it was a case in Nigerian democratic system, the bet for leaders in this category is to pass power to their stooges in the hope that they will be subservient to them or they will reciprocate by not investigating their tenure.
These are the phenomena that enticed them to use the power of incumbency during election to intimidate, harass, and maim the electorates in a bid to achieve the fascistic agenda and to hold onto power. In simply terms, elections in most of the African countries are counterfeit and sometimes in the process of rigging the poll in favour of a sitting president or his chosen candidate, the plan in many cases turn out to be a gory event.
In November 2010 about 3,000 people lost their lives and 500,000 were displaced from their homes as a result of post election violence in Ivory Coast. The bloodshed erupted following the electoral commission’s announcement of the opposition candidate, Alassane Quatara, as winner while President Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat.
Thanks to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Mr Gbagbo has paid the supreme price because he spent 10 years in jail awaiting trial. Although he was exonerated from the charges his reputation has sullied evermore.
To lend credence to the theory of political mannerism of African leaders, despite his being part of dramatis personae that led his predecessor to jail and learning a lesson, Mr Quatara adopted an unconstitutional means in his quest for tenure elongation that predictably plunged the country into another turmoil.
Prior to Ivorian episode, report had it that in 2008 a similar scenario occurred in Kenya where about 1,133 lost their lives while 350,000 became Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Furthermore, it was estimated that 117,216 government owned properties including vehicles and hospitals were vandalized.
Therefore, the Ivorian and Kenyan experiences should be lesson to President Muhammadu Buhari. Under no circumstance should similar incidences reflect in Nigerian political arena, and the only way Mr President can avoid such pitfalls is by signing the Electoral Act into law and to ensure a pristine election in 2023 through improving INEC into impartial institution.
Meanwhile, in my opinion piece that was published in February last year by Blueprint newspaper and another online news platform Daylight Reporters, bearing abovementioned title, I painstakingly enumerated the various electoral reform proposals at the disposal of Mr President like the report of the committee he inaugurated after he became president in 2015 under former Senate President Ken Nnamani and the one carried out under the administration of late President Umaru Yar’Adua, led by former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Mohammed Uwais and 2018 Electoral Bill passed by the 8th assembly which are both awaiting the imprimatur of Mr President.
I reminded the president of his duty to protect the lives and property of the citizens by means of genuine reform. I also drew his attention about the promise he made that he would sign the Electoral Act after the 2019 general elections.
I mentioned the kerfuffle and imbroglio elections conducted by INEC under the present leadership especially the Kano and Kogi states gubernatorial elections where report confirmed that hoodlums had a field day in presence of security personnel. In light of these, I thereby remind the president that you came to the mantle of leadership under the sobriquet of “Mr Integrity.”
Mr President, it’s undeniable fact that you have built the said moniker since your military career and without a doubt it benefitted you in your political sphere being your main selling point during campaign. Regrettably, it will disappear into thin air unless you do the needful. Thus, Benjamin Franklin’s quote: “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation and only one bad one to lose it” is enough words to the wise.
In the event of his refusal to sign the Electoral Act into law, I call on all the CSOs to devise ways that would put pressure on Buhari to do what is right or at best I solicit the support of the international community to come in and rescue Nigerian democracy as the visa ban threat by US and UK had sanitized the previous gubernatorial polls.
Considering the barbaric temperament of African leaders when it comes to their hawkish democracy, I doff my hat for former President Goodluck Jonathan. I cherish him not because of the pros and cons or other controversies that bedeviled his administration. My salutation for him is about his decorous approach to criticisms and his famous remark: “Any ambition I have at any time is not worth the blood of Nigerians.”
Being a man of his words, the world had in 2015 witnessed elections devoid of loss of lives and property and considered free, fair, and credible. Jonathan added a feather to his cap for becoming the first president accept defeat voluntarily.
Almustapha writes from Bauchi via [email protected]
