2011 poll already being rigged
By Ochereome Nnanna
THE rigging of elections is a more complex operation than meets the ordinary, untutored eye. The objective of rigging election is to ensure the processes are artificially orchestrated to result in the emergence of a particular, premeditated individual as the winner.
It entails placing obstacles in the way of those who are contesting against the favoured individual.
Election rigging is not just about the snatching of ballot boxes on polling day, or the thumb-printing of stolen electoral papers in the homes of party big wigs. It is not only about falsifying results for the favoured candidate, or the use of thugs to prevent the participation of the supporters of his opponents. These are the cruder, more bare-faced acts of election rigging.
The “finer” variants involve the use of state resources and agencies to force an outcome in favour of the premeditated candidate. During the eight years that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo contested elections, we saw it in full spate. We are beginning to notice signs that the strategy is being mobilised in favour of the undeclared presidential ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan.
During the 2003 and 2007 elections, the presidency applied delay tactics in the release of funds to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The last-minute release of funds led to confusion and critical shortages of electoral materials. Happily, we cannot say the same thing for the INEC of today under Professor Attahiru Jega. It has received from the Federal Government all the money it requested in double quick time, though the presidency did raise suspicion when it briefly sat on the INEC request for funds.
One of the ways that the presidency under Obasanjo also tried to rig the election in favour of the late Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was to prevent some interested presidential aspirants from contesting the elections. He was able to stop Dr Peter Odili and a number of other strong aspirants from contesting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primaries.
Obasanjo had also set up the Professor Ignatius Ayua administrative panel of inquiry to indict some aspirants based on the fact that they were being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), then under the chairmanship of Malam Nuhu Ribadu.
However, this ploy flopped because the Nigerian Judiciary rose to the occasion and ensured those who sought redress in the courts of the land were not sent home disappointed.
As a result, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was able to force his way to contest the presidency under the ticket of the Action Congress (AC), while other “indicted” contestants for the governorship seats, such as Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers, Chief Theodore Orji of Abia, among the others, also rode the chariot of court victories to thwart Obasanjo’s plots.
This time around, the presidency under Jonathan briefly toyed with the idea of raising the dust-covered Okigbo report on the spending of the Gulf War oil windfalls to stop former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, from contesting the presidency, which Jonathan is hotly eyeing in 2011.
Obviously, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Alhaji Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) decided to drop the idea, in view of the court victories of Atiku and company. Suddenly, government said it could not go to court against Babangida with the copy of the Okigbo report in its custody.
The pro-zoning PDP state governors have not been similarly spared. The EFCC has been let loose among them. Every single state being overrun by the Commission’s operatives are those not yet painted yellow (Jonathan’s colour) by ThisDay newspaper’s insightful “political trending” charts.
In other words, they are the states whose governors have not yet bought into the Jonathan presidential ambition because of their stand on zoning and other issues.
EFCC says the charge of being used by the presidency to run after the President’s opponents is “blackmail”. That may be so, but it does not disprove the allegation. Some of these cases that Farida Waziri’s operatives are now huffing about are years old. The case of Amaechi’s men is of particular interest. It was reported over two years ago.
After only a brief play in the media the matter was laid to rest (as usual) until Dame Patience Jonathan returned from Rivers State where she had an open face-off with Governor Amaechi.
The following day, EFCC suddenly remembered the two-year-old case and pounced on Amaechi’s men. They also visited Imo, Jigawa, Bauchi and other states that have withheld their support for Jonathan.
Waziri’s newfound enthusiasm to fight corruption was a well packaged stimulus. Just a few weeks ago, kites were flown in the media that she was on the firing line. It was reported that foreign partners in the war on corruption felt she was unserious and incompetent. They would stop their financial assistance to the EFCC unless she was removed. Jonathan, who is eager to remain in the good books of the international community, seemed about to act. Names had been dropped as her possible replacements.
Then, suddenly, Waziri started copying the Nuhu Ribadu style of fighting corruption. She started making frequent, populist statements in the media, saying that she would ensure that corrupt politicians would never be elected. How she would achieve that she never told us. She chose to keep it “as a strategy”.
Then, just like Ribadu did, she unleashed her operatives on anti-Jonathan states, sparing states whose governors are for the president. Watch it. As soon as these governors start supporting the president, Waziri’s enthusiasm will cool again. You will say I told you!
When you intimidate those who do not believe in you to support you, you are already rigging an election. It is what the French love to call déjà vu. Already seen. It is Obasanjo all over again.
