Skip to main content

Anambra State Election: Not An Aberration By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo

Until America had the close 2000 presidential election between Vice President Al Gore and the then Texas governor, George W. Bush, the extent of the flaws within the American electoral process was grossly underestimated. The moment the flaws were laid bare by the hanging chad, America took all steps to correct them. The argument was very simple: the integrity of the electoral system is of utmost importance to America’s democracy.

Until America had the close 2000 presidential election between Vice President Al Gore and the then Texas governor, George W. Bush, the extent of the flaws within the American electoral process was grossly underestimated. The moment the flaws were laid bare by the hanging chad, America took all steps to correct them. The argument was very simple: the integrity of the electoral system is of utmost importance to America’s democracy.

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });

The mandate of the people is supreme in a democracy. It matters to the electorate but it matters more to the candidates. The unorthodox resolution of the U.S. 2000 presidential election haunted President George W. Bush for the first four years of his presidency. His legitimacy as a president was questioned by a cross-section of Americans who knew he did not win the popular votes and who disagreed with the Supreme Court decision that gave Florida’s electoral votes to him.

It may not be pretty but obtaining an unquestionable consent of the governed strengthens the hands of those who govern. So it is in the interest of the politicians to ensure that, whenever possible, they have a clear and incontrovertible mandate. And even when it is close, that the process is not riddled with irregularities and fraud.

Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the body charged with conducting credible elections, has never performed in an impressive way. Like every organ of the Nigerian state, it appears to have subscribed to this ubiquitous idea that Nigeria is a developing nation and as such, we should always expect third-rate performance. This panacea for all that ail our society is a recipe for under performance. We are so allergic to best practice that we end up shooting below the lowest bar we set for ourselves. The ringtone of Nigeria has become “give-us-time-we-are-still-a-young-and-developing-nation.”

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });

It would have been easy to swallow if our government officials are consistent in that buffoonery. But when it favors them, they embrace the best practice-and in some cases, an outrageous practice. When it comes to remuneration for our lawmakers and top government officials they gladly align themselves and even surpass what is obtainable in the greatest democracies in the world. When it comes to maintaining the security votes of governors and ministers, they quote the practice in far away countries. But when it comes to providing good governance, vital amenities and basic accountability, they quickly default to the slogan that we are a developing country.

 INEC has consistently under performed. In all the stages of an electoral process, INEC has no system that inspires confidence. Despite the billions being wasted on the body and the promises of technology it acquires, INEC still cannot perform simple forensic test expected of an electoral body. How could anyone rationalize the omission of the name of a candidate for governor, his father and uncle, in the voter’s register on election day? How could it be that the staff of INEC were held up at Onitsha Bridge by the Nigerian police for hours on election day?

What happened in Anambra state was not an aberration. The unique dynamics of politics in Anambra state simply exposed the butt of INEC for all to see.

In Anambra state the premium for power at the center is phenomenal. Meanwhile, the citizens are the most disengaged from their government. The two situations create a deadly combination. 

The election was primarily between four desperate candidates. One is a failed trader who is desperate to control the federal allocation to the state. The second one is a failed lawmaker who is desperate to regain executive power with all the paraphernalia associated with it. The third one is a failed student union leader surrounded by billionaires long starved of access to state treasury. And the fourth is a propped up neophyte who owes his fortune to a governor desperate to cover the looting that occurred during his eight years at the government house.

This is not the kind of election where the electoral body will get away with incompetence. It is one that requires not just the best practice but going above and beyond the best practice. But that concept is alien to the whole Nigerian socio-political system.

Anambra state is not an aberration. The 2015 presidential election is already shaping up to be like last Saturday’s election in Anambra state. It will have all the elements at play and more. Even though it is less than two years away, we can be sure that INEC will still be wallowing in its sea of bad practices when it arrives. When need be, plead willful ignorance. As for we, the people, at home with low expectations and at variance with the best use of the human mind, we will once again throw our hands up in the air and ask, wetin man go do?

 

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });