We have been observing and monitoring closely the so-called electoral reforms of President Umaru Musa Yar Adua and after careful observation, we have come to the hard conclusion that the whole thing is a sham-a farce orchestrated to mislead Nigerians and the International Community into believing that his Administration is serious about sincerely reforming the Electoral System in Nigeria.
Apart from the fact that the president wasted valuable tax payers money to set up an Electoral Reform Panel whose invaluable recommendations he has refused to implement or is implementing partially to suit his amoral ends, recent events have equally lend unequivocal credence to our stand that he is insincere on genuine electoral reforms.
Number one in these recent events is the lukewarm and shoddy manner in which the ongoing Constitutional review is being handled by the Administration; it falls short of the aspirations and yearnings of the Nigerian people and therefore does not inspire confidence. Time and again, the review of the Constitution from the previous Administration to the present one has suffered severe setbacks from political filibustering, and there is a general feeling that it merely serves as a conduit pipe for the draining of the National Treasury. Besides, the review of the 1999 Constitution, which never emanated from the people but was imposed on Nigerians by the Military, is questionable. We believe that what Nigeria need is a people’s Constitution birthed by the Nigerian people through a Sovereign National Conference or through a popular referendum.
Number two and the most disturbing in these recent events is the spate of cross carpeting going on in key States across the country especially from the AC and ANPP to the PDP, the President’s Party. On the surface, there really is nothing wrong with decamping from one Party to another, but what is wrong is the manner in which it is done and the motive for which it is carried out. There appears to be no sanction and there seems to be no remedy at law, and where there are, it is crystal clear that there are two sets of laws for the ruling PDP and the Opposition Parties-herein lies the danger.
During the last Administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, when some group of Lawmakers of the PDP extraction in the Plateau State House of Assembly decamped from the PDP to the AC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) promptly declared their Seats vacant, which seems to be in line with Constitutional provisions. But recently, a lawmaker from the same Plateau State decamped from the AC to the PDP, yet he is still retaining his Seat and the INEC has suddenly developed cold feet and blindness; why? The same is true for other States where elected officials have decamped from the Opposition to the PDP, but none is more alarming and capable of upsetting the Polity than the Bauchi State Episode. Alhaji Isa Yuguda is the governor of Bauchi State; he is also a Son In-Law (husband to Yar Adua’s daughter) to Mr. President. Governor Yuguda was elected on the platform of the ANPP. As at his election, he was not yet married to the President’s daughter. He got married to the President’s daughter as governor of Bauchi State after his election. But not too long ago, he suddenly woke up one morning to discover that the ANPP was no longer good enough for him; that the PDP was better and so he decamped to the PDP apparently to curry the favour of his Father In-Law. This move drew the ire of the Deputy Governor and the Lawmakers in the Bauchi State House of Assembly. In protest the Lawmakers drove their Jeeps to the governor’s office, dropped the Jeeps there and mounted commercial motorcycles popularly known as Okada back to their offices. But the furore was short-lived as the same Lawmakers in a swift turn of events returned a forth-night later singing another tune. Shortly after that, they too fell in line and decamped from the ANPP, which gave them, the ticket to the PDP-their Seats in the State House of Assembly is still intact, as INEC is still suffering from its blindness. In this entire imbroglio, only the Deputy Governor, Mohammed Garba Gadi still appeared to be with his senses as he has maintained his stand and refused to join the bandwagon of the unwholesome lot. For this however, he’s being witch-hunted as the Lawmakers suddenly instituted impeachment proceedings against him on trumped-up charges, with things finally coming to a head last Thursday when he was eventually removed from Office on those frivolous charges. It is instructive and saddening to note that while of this has been happening, Mr. President and Father In-Law to the Bauchi State Governor has watched and even applauded with appalling indifference. Indeed, the President himself went with his entourage to the State to welcome his Son In-Law and his cohorts to the PDP fold and he encouraged them further saying that they did the right thing.
And just the other day, the highly respected Imo State Governor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim shocked the nation by defecting from the Party on which he was elected; the PPA to the PDP. On hand to receive him into the Party was none other than President Yar Adua and Former President Olusegun Obasanjo who not too long ago said to Newsmen, and rightly so, that he was not aware of any electoral reforms in the present dispensation. How true!
Curiously and ironically, it is this same President Yar Adua (who prides himself on the rule of law and due process) that recently sent a Bill (part of his mischievous Electoral Reforms) seeking to criminalise cross carpeting to the National Assembly. How could he then be seeking to criminalise such while at the same time encouraging and sanctioning such actions? What precedent is the president hoping to set with such actions? How is that it is only in Nigeria that evil becomes good and good becomes bad? How come it is only in our country that doing the right thing is illegal and doing the wrong thing is legal? It is only in our nation that criminals, rogues, dubious individuals and corrupt personalities are glorified as heroes why honest and thoughtful people are seen as villains and fools. If this is not so, why is Prof. Maurice Iwu still heading the INEC today-a man who presided over the most inglorious elections in the annals of this nation? What is he still doing at INEC? If Mr. President is sincere, why didn’t he start the Electoral Reforms, first, by dismissing the man or asking him to at least resign his Chairmanship of the INEC after admitting that the elections that brought him to power was highly flawed?
The Judgement of God is upon our nation today and Nigerians are called upon to resist the lawless tendencies of the Yar Adua Administration and compel the president to genuinely address the electoral reform issues, otherwise there is no hope of achieving free, fair and credible election in 2011. By the same token, the International Community is advised to be wary of the President and his Administration as he is undoubtedly buying cheap sympathy for his Administration. A clear point here is the crass failure of his Seven-Points Agenda; the whole of the Seven-Point Agenda is in shambles.
Can the President tell Nigerians and the International Community which one of his Seven-Point Agenda he has been able to achieve in the over two years he has spent out of his four year tenure?
President Yar Adua has said that he will put to shame all his critics eventually. How he will do that is yet to be seen; maybe he is living in his own world where all is well-a world insulated from the realities of today’s world. But the harsh and bitter truth is that Nigerians now know who he actually is and if he wants to be taken seriously; then he must radically make a u-turn and re-define his stand on true Electoral Reforms.
In the final analysis, the task of building a sound electoral system in Nigeria and achieving free, fair and credible elections in 2011 and beyond is up to Nigerians. No nation will change, build or develop Nigeria for Nigerians. Our future as a nation is up to us as a people.
Comrade Eneruvie Enakoko
(CLO Chairman in Lagos)
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