By Muyiwa Adetiba

I don’t know about you, but I am just glad that these elections are about over—we are now at the stage where judges and senior lawyers can earn their pay. The expectations had been high. People perhaps unrealistically, thought that INEC, made up of Nigerians, in a Nigerian milieu, would somehow rise above its environment and desperate politicians, to give us smooth, violence free and impartial elections. But like Humpty Dumpty, the expectations suffered a great fall. And the reason was not that difficult to fathom. No stakeholder, deep down really wanted an impartial umpire, or a straightforward election. Everybody wanted the umpire on his side. We only wanted an appearance of credibility in order to avert bloodshed. Otherwise, every stakeholder wanted their person to win by all means, fair or foul. That was why every process was subverted; every INEC decision was questioned. That was why the rigging architecture was designed and perfected long before the actual elections took place. That was why INEC itself was infiltrated.

But in spite of the ignoble fall of our high expectations and the resultant cracks, many people still bought—until late in the day—into the dream of INEC giving us a good election. We therefore excused the postponement which should have been an omen. We excused the skirmishes. We excused the rhetoric of the politicians who were determined to destroy the integrity of the process. And after the presidential election took place with minimal violence, we heaved a sigh of relief. We stayed glued to our TV. We watched as the mighty tumbled on both sides. We saw enough to show us that a credible trend was evolving. Perhaps because we desperately wanted a credible trend to evolve. Then all pretences disappeared after the federal elections. The gloves came off as the state governors and their challengers fought bare knuckled. The polity became more heated; violence escalated; confusion reigned. The courts did not help matters. Between INEC, the courts and the parties themselves, our minds were twirled and our heads turned so often that we no longer knew if we were coming or going as far as the elections were concerned.

Only INEC and the courts can tell us for example, why candidate A in one state was disqualified for an electoral infringement while candidate B from another state with similar circumstances was not. Only INEC and perhaps the parties can tell us why one state was subjected to supplementary elections and the other state in a seemingly identical situation, was not. Or how many polling units were allegedly rigged and what constitutes rigging. And frankly, I have stopped bothering my head. If there is something called voter fatigue or election fatigue, then I am suffering from it. My attitude now is for the whole thing to be over. I am sure I am not the only one.

Cross section of Voters Queuing for accreditation and Voting, at unity 10, world A6, Ogunmodede juniors college, Epe, Epe Local Government Area, during the 2017 Lagos State Local Government Election by Lagos state Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC, on. 22/07/2017. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

Many countries, some bigger than ours, spend only one seamless week to conduct and announce results of state and nationwide elections. We have spent the better part of one acrimonious month on ours only to turn whatever we arrive at to the tribunals since more than 60% of the result will still end up in court. It is a reflection of who we are as a nation that law courts play a more active role in whoever occupies our elective positions than the polling booths. It is a reflection of who we are that it is only in politics—our kind of politics—that we are prepared to give it all it takes, including the shedding of blood, to win an elective position. And to pay next to nothing thereafter, as dividends of democracy to the people. Anybody who think politics is about service in Nigeria needs to see a shrink. Nigerian politics is about the appropriation of power and wealth. Both. Not one or the other. It is also the fastest and safest way to legally loot the treasury. In Nigeria, we take it as given that an elective political officer has to leave office rich. A poor local government councillor today, is guaranteed to be a multi-millionaire tomorrow.

Our politics had always been a winner takes all affair. But the first time, the statement:‘do or die’ came to be ingrained in our public consciousness was in the 2003 presidential election. It was by no less a person than the outgoing president himself who successfully foisted an ailing candidate on the country. In proclaiming ‘do or die,’ he voiced what we all knew, but felt was too distasteful and unsavoury to admit. It was soon to be confirmed by his Mr ‘Fix It,’ another prominent politician of that era. An era that witnessed, as a sign of ‘do or die’ politics, political killings right to the level of the country’s Attorney General. From that time onwards, our politicians openly and wholesomely embraced and practiced ‘do or die’ politics. To be a successful politician these days is to be ruthless, manipulative and duplicitous. It is to take no political prisoner. Whatever we might say, our politics operates like Mafia. It is also highly monetised. And it is state money that should have been used to develop the country that is being round tripped. Everything and everyone is up for purchase—INEC officials, security officials, journalists, election monitors, voters and even political offices. And whatever money cannot buy, the army of thugs will enforce. Every successful politician has his own army of well equipped ‘enforcers.’ It is the name of the game. But what happens to these enforcers when elections are over and their job is done? Some are put on state payroll to continue a lifestyle of opulence and impunity. Many are however, left to their own devices. So with time on their hands, drugs in their pockets and guns at their disposal, they hit the streets to terrorise the rest of us. The whole gamut of terror— kidnap, armed robbery, assassination, blackmail—is their oyster. It must therefore be stated, and loudly too, that the state of insecurity in the country can be traced to our politicians. The lethal combination of poverty, drugs and guns which the politician uses to ride to power is destroying the peace and security of the country.

Our electoral system needs a massive reform. ‘Do or die’ politics, has to be completely eradicated. A wholesome embrace of technology is the answer. The reward for ‘successful politicians’ also has to be significantly reduced. The time to start is now. Money, brigandage and guns should no longer determine who wins elections. Prayer warriors should no longer be deemed necessary in determining the survival and unity of the country when basic reforms would suffice. We got away with a conflagration this time. But only just. We should not tempt fate in four years’ time.