By CHIOMA GABRIEL
Still basking in the euphoria of the last presidential election successfully held without violence across the 36 states of the federation, Nigerians are once again on the march to elect thirty two out of the thirty-six state governors. Four governors of Edo, Anambra, Osun and Ekiti are yet to complete their tenure.

Voters going through the voters list at Ward 5 unit 1 Ijebu, Owo. Photo: Dare Fasube

From what transpired during the elections of the penultimate weekend, it was clear that despite the tense campaign between the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan and his main rival, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria was able to hold a violence-free presidential election. In the past, nearly every time the results were announced , deadly violence followed.

But the March 28 presidential and national assembly elections were different. Never in the history of this country was a sitting President badly cornered, drilled and grilled by the opposition political party, like the incumbent President Jonathan was grilled. General Buhari broke political records, re-wrote history across, within and every where in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as a result of the presidential election.

Also, President Goodluck Jonathan, a Niger Deltan ,from Otuoke, Bayelsa state of Nigeria, who recorded stunning records as the first man ever from the creeks to become President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, also dramatically became the first incumbent President to be knocked out of power via a credible, free, fair and transparent election.

General Muhammadu Buhari has been applauded riotously for his uncommon resilience and legendary passion to change the status-quo in Nigeria since he was booted out of power in a palace coup led by General Ibrahim Babangida in August 1985.

As historic as that feat may be, if past elections were anything to go by, the fact that the opposition candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, won the polls, defeating incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, is itself a watershed in the tumultuous political history of Nigeria.

But more remarkable is the show of grace and statesman’s posture by the outgoing president, who conceded defeat and congratulated his political rival, within a record time! By this act, President Jonathan has exercised leadership, delivered a legacy and built the foundation for the future almost in spite of himself.

This was different from what happened in 2011 when Goodluck Jonathan defeated Muhammadu Buhari. It was recorded that nearly 1,000 people died, 80% of them in Kaduna, Buhari’s stronghold.

When the history of this election is written, it would most likely acknowledge the concession of President Jonathan to his challenger.

But even before this time, at the end of the Ekiti election, the then Governor of the State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi gave a concession, which was celebrated as unprecedented.

Nigeria has made history. Nigerians on 28 spoke in no uncertain terms that sovereignty belongs to the people and that they are capable and willing to facilitate a peaceful transition from one political party – Peoples Democratic Party, which has ruled since the end of military rule in 1999 – to another – the All Progressives Congress, a coalition of opposition parties and like minded politicians determined to checkmate the PDP dominance of politics in democratic Nigeria.

Besides, it was the first time Nigeria was using a biometric system to identify voters and as expected, there were some technical glitches and elections had to be extended to Sunday in 300 out of 150,000 polling stations.

Generally speaking, the biometric system was a success and other African nations that genuinely want to organise a free and fair election would be wise to follow suit. Also, what has definitely become obvious is that with the Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) and the Smart Card Readers (SCR) which were used during the last elections, cerebral, people oriented and God fearing people will be enthusiastic to throw their hats into the political arena as Nigerian voters are the ultimate beneficiaries of the last Presidential election.

Despite some failings, the march 28 election was adjudged to be transparent and international observers attested to that. The rigging efforts were not only largely ineffective, but the design of newer ones was too slow to overwhelm the emergent process. There were inroads to rigging only in places where the card readers were jettisoned for manual verification.

In the past, the observer and agent accreditation would have been battlefields but for the biometric shift that moved the focus to the effectiveness of technology, and not the person of key stakeholders.

Nigerians are beginning to vote based on their perceptions. Many Muslims who voted for Jonathan in 2011, impressed by his rags to riches tale, had been disappointed by his performance and on March 28, had chosen Buhari instead. Also, many Christians opted for Buhari because they felt Jonathan’s performance was below expectation.

One of the big lessons of the March 28 presidential election is that in a highly monetised society where politicians are known to throw money around, money has proven not to be an answer to all things.

This time around, integrity won. Election results were accepted and hopefully, the gubernatorial candidates in today’s election would be wise to concede defeat for peace to reign like president Jonathan did to the opposition candidate.

The acceptance of defeat at the polls by President Goodluck Jonathan demonstrates he has a large heart and that he did not just talk about conceding if defeated , but actually did so. By this singular act, he will forever be remembered for diffusing tension as Nigeria edged slowly and precariously on the precipice of a violent backlash from the election. That singular act was brave and classy, and may have prevented hundreds of deaths.

Secondly, from this rare Nigeria’s success story, it has become obvious that sovereignty belongs to the people, as it is only through them that any government can obtain legitimacy. General Muhammadu Buhari, is a former junta leader and self-professed ‘democracy convert’. After three previous failed bids, he no doubt epitomises a true convert and believer of democracy. He was able to convince the electorate that democracy was the sole legitimate path to gaining power.

Moreover, another issue has also become very obvious. The electorate should not be taken for granted. The chieftains of the ruling party had vowed they would rule for 60 years but power belongs to the people and they demonstrated same by showing the PDP the red card. Although the party made some remarkable progress during six weeks of postponement of the election, that proved too late to sway support and momentum for the ruling party.

Another area of attention is elections management in Africa, where the winner-takes-all principal holds sway. Elections are a matter of life and death especially in Nigeria, which has huge oil and gas reserves. But the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) of Nigeria may have charted a way out of the challenges of managing complex elections on the continent. Professor Attahiru Jega’s led INEC surpassed the expectation of millions of Nigerians and observers around the world.

The university don brought in a new technology into electioneering and in the heat of uncertainties, had appeared very relaxed despite intense pressure and scrutiny, verbal attack and intense provocation from the likes of PDP former minister, Godsday Orubebe.

Jega remained calm and unperturbed, his respect for due process standing out.

The failure of the electorate to be brainwashed despite campaigns of calumny and intense hate messages by the PDP against General Muhammadu Buhari, with strong suggestions that he should take a medical examination, an allusion to his perceived poor health and thought of imminent death is a great milestone. His education credentials were questioned and his human rights record as a former junta leader were lampooned. Although such scrutiny is needed in a vibrant democracy, some of the allegations against him went overboard.

Yet, the electorate stood their ground.

In all these, the masses were interested in issues that affect their daily lives: bread and butter, unemployment, corruption, insecurity, energy, and health.

This proves to a large extent that the well being of the citizenry matters most. A government which fails to provide basic necessities like water, electricity, security, and end endemic corruption is just as bad as that which falters in building infrastructure.

Another lesson is for the media in Nigeria. The Nigerian media should be careful with certain reports during elections. At elections period, the stakes are very high and some sections of the media take sides, for pecuniary reasons or personal interest.

This should be avoided. For instance, the hate broadcasts aired by some segments of the media against General Muhammadu Buhari should have been avoided. Obviously, the stations never thought the voting pattern would change.

The National Broadcasting Commission and the Human Rights Commission of Nigeria condemned some private and public media outlets after they were deemed to have violated the Media Code on Elections Coverage by spreading hate message and giving the incumbent undue coverage.

Candidates in today’s gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections should learn from the past. After the elections today, many incumbents would be disappointed. Many political parties would lose where they hope to win. And hopefully too, they should read the hand-writing on the wall and concede defeat like President Jonathan did.

Violence has never solved any problem and post-gubernatorial election violence would not solve any problems either. A gentleman goes to court and so should those who may not like how things work out for them after this election.

One can say for sure that the presidential and national assembly elections have been truly successful even though not perfect.

Today’s elections could be better. And thankfully, President Jonathan has created a legacy that Nigerians will not only remember but also use as they seek to define excellence. Hopefully too, when the results of today’s elections will be announced, it is expected that losers go the way of President Jonathan and not seek to ignite the polity.