By Ochereome Nnanna
THE local government elections that took place in Lagos State over the past weekend spoke volumes. For an election of that supposed importance (all politics is local, as the saying goes) it was almost a non-event. The level of apathy was unprecedented compared to the usual turnout of the Lagos electorate when such events ensue.

I have covered many elections in Lagos State in the past 20 years, even while the military still held sway, and I know that the people of this state take politics, especially the exercise of their franchise, very seriously.

I have never seen anything to surpass the turnout of members of the defunct Social Democratic Party, SDP, during the primaries to elect its governorship candidate in 1991. The contest was between the late Dr Femi Agbalajobi and Chief Dapo Sarumi of the SDP.

The rivalry eventually led to the defeat of the Party by the much less-fancied National Republican Convention, NRC, which produced the first perceived right-of-centre regime under Chief Michael Odutola (Baba Go-Slow) in an election marred by large scale voter apathy.

Apathy simply means that the voters couldn’t care a hoot about the outcome of an election. For anyone interested in gauging the feelings of the people on how society is being run, apathy is a telling signal that the people are losing faith and interest in the political dispensation. For the residents of the state, there were many reasons to become withdrawn from the hoopla leading up to the vote last weekend. Number one is that the local government (and development areas) have become increasingly irrelevant to the lives of the citizens. Lagos is not alone in this. It is a general trend in the federation.

This is because most governors starve the LGC’s of funds allocated them from the centre. But this has not stopped elections in local councils in many parts of the country from being keenly contested with appreciable voter turnout.

In the particular case of Lagos, the local councils are simply not up to their jobs. When you tune into any of the 25 or so radio stations in the megapolis, you will hear complaints about non-performing local council officials whose interest is more in generating revenue than using it to work for the people.

During the campaigns for the election, people saw posters of individuals vying for posts but could not recognise many of them as members of their localities, let alone candidates worthy of being entrusted with electoral mandates.

Local government chairmen often transform into local demi-gods. Their use of street urchins (Area Boys), touts and thugs to assert their power is more of what the people experience than working to make the lives of the people better. There was also this pervasive feeling that votes would not count, and the outcome of the poll had already been worked out in advance.

A new factor to the making of the apathy was the dwindling rating of the government of Babatunde Raji Fashola, the governor of the State. If you listen very keenly, you will notice that the ovation that once greeted the mention of Governor Fashola’s name has gradually died down. It has not exactly turned into boos, but unless he re-awakens his action machinery that may well be the next thing ahead. The roads owned by the state and local governments (just as the federal ones) are largely unmotorable. There is hardly any sector where the state is still scoring high marks as it did about this time four years ago when it mounted the conquest of Oshodi and followed up with building on the foundation laid by his predecessor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

To be sure, Fashola is still very well liked among the people, but things are not what they used to be. This contributed to the poor turnout of voters last Saturday.

Apart from the fact that there was really nothing to choose from, the shut-in order allowed most people to stay indoors and enjoy rare quality time with family. This is not good enough for a state controlled by the bourgeoning Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, party warming up to stand as a credible alternative to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The leadership of the party should find ways of getting elected candidates on its platform to perform and bring their report cards to periodic congresses of the party. Party congresses are not only for the change of guards. In other more developed climes, it is often an opportunity to assess performance and chart a new course forward.

Farida’s “special courts” advocacy

AT every turn, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mrs Farida Mzamber Waziri, has shouted herself hoarse about the need for special courts to expedite the prosecution of accused persons facing corruption. She believes it is the only way to achieve more results in the war on corruption.

Being a former senior police officer, it is easy to understand why Waziri’s mind is drifting in this direction. The Police authorities have perfected an attitude of creating “special task forces” to deal with such menaces as armed robbery, fraud, crime within the force and so on. Even the Police (Mobile) Force, MOPOL, is one such measure. Indeed, the EFCC itself is a special agency to tackle the epidemic of corruption in Nigeria when the regular Police could no longer make much impact even with their Special Fraud Unit.

Opinions are bound to be divided as to the effect of these Special Forces in the curtailment of the crimes for which they were created. The same problem might bedevil the special courts when created to face corruption cases. The experience of the Election Petition Tribunals and the Court of Appeal, which are special courts created to settle electoral disputes, is a case that might help us in knowing how these special courts would work.

Waziri has to articulate how these special anti-corruption courts, apart from hastening the pace of prosecution, can also escape being made a new “gold mine” for corrupt magistrates and judges.

Most incumbents who have cases at the Election Petition Tribunal are easily able to buy favourable judgements because they have easy access to public funds. Accused corrupt individuals are also super-rich and able to set aside a little portion of their loot to buy acquittal in these special courts.

We need more light shed on how to prevent this. Otherwise, this is just another routine Nigeria Police idea, which generates much movement without motion.