By Muyiwa Adetiba

I was in church when the rain started. It was at that time of the day, and that day of the week when the religious spend time with their Creator in churches and some mosques. The person next to me and with whom I had earlier shared only a brief good morning, now turned to me with a smile and said ‘God is about to cleanse the land’. I smiled back in appreciation of his humour and prophecy. Not long after that, the Priest mounted the pulpit and virtually repeated the same thing. ‘God is using the rain to remove all the ‘yamayama’ – meaning filth – of yesterday’s election’ he said.

INEC Adhoc Staff arranging non sensitive material at Ward A’ Kofar Baru 003 Sakin Yara Polling Unit during the 2019 National Assembly and Presidential Elections in Daura, Katsina State on Saturday

Nigerians missed opportunity to improve on 2015 polls – Observer group

It seems we are all in sync – clergy and congregation- in thinking that a lot of spiritual and material filth was generated in the country during the months preceding last Saturday, and on the Election Day itself. Whether the Sunday rain was symbolic of God’s intention to cleanse the nation of our filthy excesses is another matter entirely.

The rain on Sunday was refreshing and soothing. It was also ‘benevolent’ and timely because you can imagine what would have happened had it poured on Saturday like it did on Sunday giving that nearly all the polling units were in open spaces. A downpour would have disrupted the election and would have made us a laughing stock to the whole world.

The first set date could not hold because of logistics, mainly transportation. The second one would have been cancelled because of another form of logistics. This time the elements. How would it have sounded that we invested billions in materials and man hours without a serious thought to the possibility of an inclement or unfavourable weather? My polling unit was under a tree. The elderly had to lean on cars or sat on tree stumps as they awaited their turn. The next polling unit didn’t even have that luxury. It was under the direct heat of the sun. There is need for friendlier and more conducive polling units in the near future given the cumbersome nature of our polling system and the time spent at the units.

Very little arrangement in terms of training, accommodation, transportation and feeding was made for the ‘Youth Corpers’. It was sad to see images of our sons and daughters sleeping in the open for the previous week’s botched election. It was also sad to see some of them arrive at the polling units in dilapidated and windowless buses for last Saturday’s election.

It was sad to see them flounder and stammer when confronted with simple trouble shooting exercises. As for food, many of them had to rely on water and snacks from waiting voters. Surely we can do better. Many potential voters were disenfranchised because they could not get to their designated polling units. Given that about 80% of Nigerians do not own homes, it is safe to conclude that changes in residences between electoral cycles could be frequent.  Yet movement is restricted, even with a private car. I know an elderly woman who had to trek from Lekki to Victoria Island, a distance of about five kilometres, in order to exercise her franchise.

It would have been impossible if she had to cross to the mainland. If the reason for the restriction is double voting, surely that is no longer possible these days. Or is it? Secondly we are more than ready for electronic voting. People should be able to vote anywhere they reside. Thirdly, PVC should not be the only authentic password for voting. Our various data banks could be merged in a way that PVC, BVN, national ID can be interchanged. The point is that the more automated the electoral system is, the less the chances of rigging. It will also be less cumbersome. Simple can be good if thought through and made rig proof. Simple can also be significantly cheaper since a lot of paper and transportation costs will be eliminated.

The best way to describe the Election Day itself is to use the phrase ‘different strokes for different folks. There were those who saw the day as a day to clean the house. These people were completely indifferent to the fever outside. Some could not be bothered to even have a PVC. The other side of the coin were those who saw it as a do or die affair. They were prepared to maim and kill to have their say and their way. And they did kill and maim. Then there were those who were prepared to make the best of the day warts and all.

I salute them. Some neighbourhoods actually prepared for the event as if they were having a picnic. They provided canopies and chairs. They organised the voters by writing down names as they came. They gave preferences to elders. They brought food and drinks and bonded among themselves. These people who shared jokes and food irrespective of religion, tribe or political leaning are an example of what Nigeria can be. Or people in the rural north who were peaceful and orderly as they exercised their franchise. You get the feeling that the people who heat up the polity are the very people who are supposed to calm the polity. You would think, from their utterances, that elections are war by another means.

P.S It is appropriate I hope, at this time to congratulate President Buhari for retaining his seat. It shows his understanding of the intricacies of the Nigerian political system. I have always believed that elections are not won in Nigeria through erudition, manifestos or even popularity although the latter helps. They are largely won through the ability to ‘influence’ the system. These include, but are not limited to, inducement, coercion, intimidation and manipulation of voters and their votes, starting from voter registration to the final announcement. I am yet to see anybody win a major election in this country without being involved or complicit in any of the above.

Even the other ‘esteemed’ estate of the realm, the Judiciary, is not immune to the coercive influences. I’d even go as far as to say it is a beneficiary. It is probably in the light of this that I find the cry of PDP that it was robbed a bit infantile. We know the antecedents of PDP. We know they are masters of the game. Besides, the results show that this election is not any worse than the ones PDP governments had conducted in the past. The voting pattern also gives it some credibility though the numbers in some areas do raise eyebrows.

What all stakeholders, and that includes opposition, should do going forward, is to come together to embrace technology. It is cheaper, simpler and more transparent. I am assuming of course that the said stakeholders which include politicians, judges, lawyers and ethnic associations are willing to change this skewed system from which many of them have benefited.

We really do need spiritual cleansing from ‘above’.