FREE & FAIR ELECTIONS, THE FACTS: By Ebiowei Yeilagha Can a President that organized free & fair elections in Ondo, Edo, Ekiti, Osun & Imo States really be considered bad, especially in the context of Nigeria that we are in? Elections in Nigeria have always been fraught with violence and rigging. Right from the first republic to the present, but for the first time in Nigeria, we have a government at the center that has shown its willingness to rise above politics of primitive vote accumulation to ensure that votes indeed count. It would be imperative to take a cursory look at elections prior to the advent of the Goodluck Jonathan administration, especially the 2003, 2007 & 2011 elections. Under the leadership of Olusegun Obasanjo as President & Prof. Maurice Iwu as INEC chairman, elections were conducted in 2003 in Nigeria. When the results were released, PDP had won the governorship elections in 28 out of the 36 state of Nigeria. This was followed by accusations of rigging by segments of the Nigeria people, especially the opposition parties. Under the same crew, with the President, Obasanjo emphasizing “do or die”, the 2007 general elections were conducted and this went down in history as the worst elections ever in Nigeria. As expected, condemnations came from all over Nigeria and the world. Even the beneficiary of the election, then President Musa Yaradua conceded to the fact that his election was flawed. Of this election, PDP had 30 governors elected on its platform. It was court judgements that finally brought political parties like ACN to govern States such as Osun, Ondo (LP), Ekiti & Edo. After the death of President Yaradua, Mr President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan promised to reform INEC & in keeping to that promise, replaced Prof. Maurice Iwu with Prof. Attahiru Jega. In 2011, having served out the remaining term of the Yaradua Presidency, His Excellency Goodluck Jonathan contested the 2011 elections & to his credit the elections were adjudged to be very free & fair as attested to by the international communities. This is given credence by the United Nations Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-Moon when he said, “I have come after the Nigerian general election which is historic for the entire African continent. It reinforces our commitment that people have a right to choose their leaders...I am also deeply impressed by the conduct of your elections & I commend the people of Nigeria over this achievement...the elections were conducted in a credible & transparent manner”. Off course, even with such commendation, bad losers like General Buhari incited his followers and they went ahead to main and kill innocent fellow Nigerians all because he did not have his way. It was under this President that the governorship elections in Edo, Ondo, Imo, Ekiti, Osun & Anambra State’s were conducted & opposition party’s won. This wouldn’t have been possible under the previous administration of OBJ. Maybe, that was why he accused Mr President of anti-party activities in his infamous letter, because left to him; politics was a “do or die” affair. This President has shown through his conduct that other political parties can win elections by the people’s mandate. Now should such a man be vilified by the opposition? In contrast to the free & fair stance of Mr President, the opposition (ACN now APC) held their L.G.A elections in Lagos State. Guess what? They won all 57 chairmanship positions even though PDP had victory in some areas because the results coming from the returning officers for Badagry Central LCDA, Ikoyi-Obalande/Oke-Odo LCDA, Somolu L.G.A & Ojo L.G.A showed so, only for the State run television (LTV) to announce different results in favour of ACN. This is replicated in all states of the federation. As the former Minister of Information Labaran Maku emphasises, it seems the Federal Government is the only level of government committed to practicing free & fair elections. Nigerians, the APC has forseen their electoral failure hence has decided to beat the drums of war as exemplified by Rotimi Ameachi when he said the APC would form a parallel government if PDP wins the 2015 elections. Let’s not get fooled by calls for blood spilling and violence because some politicians lost an election. This President His Excellency Goodluck Ebele Jonathan gave us credible elections in 2011; he will give us credible elections in 2015...get on board the transformation train now. Come election day, troop out from the North, South, East & West and vote PDP all the way.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 11:36:48 +0000
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