Inconclusive elections in our polity did not commence
with INEC under its new boss. In fact, the constitution provides for a
scenario where elections are deadlocked, due to the inability of any of
the parties involved in the elections to meet constitutional conditions
to be declared a winner, necessitating a re-run. The current
deliberately induced deadlock, through violence and daredevilry rigging,
by the political class (sometimes in cahoots with compromised electoral
officers), as reprehensible and condemnable as it is, is not a new
trend either. In fact, before the advent of the Fourth Republic, and
since after, it has presented a major challenge to successive EMBs in
the country. It is against this backdrop that I read the article by Remi
Oyeyemi, wherein, with the most provocative, condescending, abusive and
acutely unprofessional of languages, he vainly tried to malign,
denigrate and derisively lampoon the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood
Yakubu, for merely stating very obvious facts in his Punch interview. In
the said interview, Prof. Yakubu suggested that it would be akin to him
playing God by pontificating over the conclusiveness of the 2019
elections given constitutional requirements and the brazen instinct for
electoral roguery by the political class.
When has it become a sin to be realistic and say things the way they
are? In a country where official lines, political correctness, and red
herring pronouncements are the stock in trade of political actors,
shouldn't the likes of Oyeyemi see Prof. Yakubu's brute honesty and
straight to the chase remarks in assessing the many challenges to
credible elections in Nigeria as a breathe of fresh air? Perhaps,
Oyeyemi has gotten too accustomed to lies and deceit that he views truth
from tainted and value-laden prisms. Oyeyemi, perhaps also, has gotten
too cozy with the class of the lying heathens that he sunk to an al-new
low in his very unwarranted brutish and junkyard tirade against the INEC
chairman.
For the record, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu's comments about the danger that
actions of politicians pose to elections in this country are not new,
either from him or his predecessors; the only new phenomenon is the
sophistry that politicians have now adopted in their bid to compromise
the electoral system. His sin is perhaps, for the first time, the umpire
is taking the battle to the doorsteps of politicians by
uncompromisingly refusing to rubber stamp outcomes of elections that are
not only not in compliance with electoral laws but also stained with
the blood of Nigerians. Maybe Yakubu's "naivety," as Oyeyemi suggested,
is in his stubborn determination to ensure that no longer will election
results be determined at the offices of compromised INEC officials but
on the field, in keen contests whose results are determined by the
people and the people ALONE. Perhaps Oyeyemi has gotten too used to
disseminating and analyzing contrived results of previous elections and
so, lazily finds it difficult to decipher the new trend of elections
becoming very competitive, making predictions by analysts such as him
difficult.
In the past, results have been released for the sake of them and
aggrieved parties told to approach the tribunals. Have we as the nation
paused to ask for the cost of our national treasury of flawed elections,
in terms of time, resources and yes, lives lost conducting re-run
elections? While this piece is not an attempt to revise the immediate
past INEC's position in history, but if a spade should be called its
real name, the 2015 election witnessed the highest number of canceled
elections in the annals of our electoral history. Ninety-nine percent of
the elections so far conducted by the Prof. Yakubu led INEC have been
re-runs of 2015 elections canceled by different tribunals. Has our
collective amnesia reached new heights that the likes of Oyeyemi should
be clamoring for the release or announcement of results by any means
necessary? Have we not learnt from history? And for Oyeyemi, if results
are not released, no matter how tainted, then Yakubu should be relieved
of his duties! For basically obeying the law? So much for activist
journalism! In saner climes, Oyeyemi would have dedicated his precious
space in the revered SaharaReporters to calling for the prosecution of
any members of the political class that is taking us to such bestial
levels of beheading citizens and INEC ad-hoc staff performing legitimate
functions. But no, he would rather Yakubu leaves the stage for a more
malleable "Iwuesque" INEC chair.
Since Oyeyemi is looking for enemies of the nation, it is important
to nudge him in the right direction. The real enemies of the country are
those that call for the release of election results no matter what it
took to secure such results. Enemies are those that play the ostrich
over clear signs that politicians are pushing our democracy to the
precipice with their actions, especially with regards to the violence
that is unleashed on Nigerians performing a simple task as casting their
votes for candidates of their choice. Our real enemies are those who
use their influence in the media to tacitly encourage politicians by
calling for punishing a man who is standing up to the shenanigans of
these agents of death. Our enemies are those who sponsor these violent
acts during elections; have the means to influence public opinion
negatively so much so that columnists like Oyeyemi now gloss over acts
such as the murder of young Nigerians during such campaigns of "war"
called elections.
Oyeyemi asserts that Prof Yakubu is on a hatchet job to do the
bidding of the ruling party, specifically, President Buhari. Hmmm! How
we miss the days when journalists and columnists were worth their onions
and actually took the time to read and investigate issues with a view
to ascertaining the sacred truth. If Oyeyemi had befriended 'Google' and
done a mere cursory check, he would have found out that the opposition
PDP has won most of the re-run elections so far conducted, prompting the
national chairman of the APC to accuse Prof Yakubu of being a PDP mole
in the INEC.
Just over the weekend, in Oyo State, an APC controlled enclave, the
candidate of the Labour Party defeated all comers to win the re-run
election there; an election that went unnoticed, perhaps because the
agents of violence were asleep or were beaten to their game by the
resourceful new INEC under Yakubu. Make no mistake, if that election had
been mired by violence, Yakubu would not hesitate to call it
inconclusive! For him, he would rather be stereotyped, though wrongly,
than allow a drop of innocent blood be shed by these pernicious posses
of politicians.
Prof Yakubu, given his pedigree, is not one for quick fixes. He
understands the challenge and is up to it. He met a worse situation in
his previous bit, and within four years, turned around that agency to
becoming one of the best in the country. Is INEC the same as TET Fund?
No! But has the zeal, patriotism, dogged determination, attention to
details, pragmatism, zero tolerance to impunity and commitment to duty,
all qualities and more that Prof Yakubu combines, left him? This writer
thinks not. Rather, the man is reborn and will do the needful, no matter
whose ox is gored in making our elections better. Oyeyemi can either
support him or be prepared to coin more abusive terms to denigrate the
man, for he is not going to be intimidated into perverting the cause of
justice or becoming permissive of impunity. If Oyeyemi had researched
Prof Yakubu's opinion before publishing such a toxic rant, he would have
been given a good inkling and an inside scoop into the atrocious
dimensions that politicians are resorting to in their bid to compromise
an otherwise good electoral process. Prof Yakubu, who till date answers
his calls himself, operates an open door access to everyone, and I am
certain that a call from Oyeyemi would not have gone unanswered. As an
election observer since 1999, this open access is unprecedented in the
history of INEC and current staff will tell you that there is a new buzz
in the Commission.
So much for conspiracy against the nation!
Morgan Omodu is a social commentator and publicity director of Getting Involved Campaign.
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