Nigeria: Is This Democracy?

By Daily Sports Nigeria on March 20, 2023

Shortly after that fiasco of election held on February 25 where democracy was murdered, this columnist on this page described that Presidential and National Assembly elections as a charade, in a write up entitled “Gunpoint Democracy” and followed up last week with “Requiem for Nigeria” because there was nothing in those elections that resembled credible election anywhere in the 21st century history so far.
There is this notion in some objective quarters that it is needless having elections in the country because at the end of the day those who never won elections were the ones declared elected.
INEC pushed the Guber and States Assembly elections to March 18, in order to post better polls, but we all saw what such turned out to be. It beats one’s imagination that government would vote huge a mount of money, halt peoples’ livelihood and time for the purpose of conducting election, only to turn around and quash the collective will of the people  they gathered to come and vote, by hand picking one stooge or the other to the position. 
In a situation in Lagos State, where a certain godfather believes he is all and all, why then did they allow for election instead of going to Alausa to install their puppet as governor? All these threats, suppression and intimidation on the opposition parties would have been avoided, since they don’t want competition.
In a democracy, election is supposed to be competition; the masses will be free to vote for their choice candidate base on character, competence, capability and credibility. But in Nigeria today, the reverse is the case. For how long will this fraud continue?
One thought that with the introduction of BVAS, election malpractice would have been nipped on the bud, but alias, BVAS have been cornered again!   
Regrettably, this is what APC government has turned Nigerian democracy into due to desperation and greed,  we saw in Lagos State where rituals and incantations were performed on broad day light on the street of Lagos because of quest for power, pure witchcraft practices,  is this a country or witch craft coven?  “Should any decent and responsible Nigerian still associate with these kinds of people?”.
APC and its chieftains have lost their reputation and therefore never cared a hoot to be answerable to the Nigerian people. The ruling party is so arrogant that you keep wondering the kind of apple it has eaten to bluntly detach itself from the people because it manipulates and collaborates with INEC and security agencies to rig elections even with some traditional rulers in most States.
Without any prejudice, the narratives on elections in Nigeria have not changed even with the arrival of the BVAS.  There were reported cases of sporadic shootings from Friday, March 17 till March 18 in some States to scare people from coming out to vote, despite their threats, some people dared and came out and they met their waterloo, it calls deep sober reflection. The security agents that were supposed to shield and prevent these unwholesome barbaric acts were seen aiding and abating the dastard act. You could see corruption walking on broad day light unchecked, who will deliver Nigeria from this enclave, if there will be a country called Nigeria after these 2023s elections. 
Upon all  the destruction of INEC properties and peoples lives in Lagos State, nothing concrete has come out from Police and even INEC on these abnormalities,  the Commissioner of Police, Idowu was quoted to have said that there were no electrol infractions, Nigeria is disfigured.
The Igbo extraction in Lagos State was singled out for attack as ordered by Bola Tinubu, as he was seen in a viral video.  This necessitated what happened during the election in Okota, Festac, Ajao Estate, Ikeja, Amuwo Odofin, Elegbushi etc.
The whole World has seen what happened in especially Lagos State where areas populated by Ndigbo were all out rightly violated and invaded by Lagos State government thugs.

One is tempted to ask if the view held by some people that Nigeria is a jamboree is true?  With what happened during these elections, this columnist is beginning to agree with this notion. It is obvious that President Mahammadu Buhari was deliberately pretending to be assuring and reassuring Nigerians of seamless polls extending huge scare tax payers money into INEC to acquire technological devices in the name of drastic improvement of elections conduct in the country. But indicators are that he never met standard he set for himself, one wonders what legacy he is leaving behind if he could not give Nigerians a credible elections.
Nigerians were upbeat when Buhari finally signed the 2022 electoral act after much foot dragging until final intervention; it has again failed woefully to improve on the process.
 In my years of witnessing elections in Nigeria, I have not seen the kind of broad day light suppression and intimidation of voters in Lagos State under the watchful eyes of the Nigeria Police, Buhari, APC and INEC are culpritable.
Even suggestions that INEC should be unbundled may be proved wrong at the end of the day bearing in mind other government agencies that went through such process and their inefficiencies persisted.
They told Nigerians lies on how free, fair and credible this worst ever election would be. Democracy is under siege. This governorship and State Assembly polls are nothing to write home about. I have been asking what exactly the role of Police is in our elections.
Even with the mouth of the gargantuan, one finds it extremely difficult to explain how INEC in collaboration with the ruling party ruined this very expensive national election. If the process has been clean, Nigerians would have been singing a new song by now because they were ready to usher in a new Nigeria with their PVCs. From the atmosphere all over the country, one could clearly see that the freedom of majority of the citizens is caged.
 A tear for the excited barbarians. We should collapse this country because there is no country anymore.  Since Ndigbo are not allowed to exercise their fundamental rights of voting and be voted for anywhere they are in Nigeria, they should be allowed to go their.  What is the real benefit of this one Nigeria often being touted whenever it suits whoever? With the wide spread voters’ suppression and violence that marred the elections in Lagos and other States, Idowu’s assertion was not different from what Femi Gbajamiamila’s careless talk that violence recorded during election in the State was out of passion.   
The technological Daniel came to judgment when it was first used in Ekiti and Osun off season elections and Nigerians thought that the new dawn has finally arrived, but Mahmood Yakubu and his ruling party crooks, deceitful election riggers shamelessly bastardised the supposedly seamless process in both February 25 and March elections 18 polls.
Buhari, the scheming self styled “integrity man” should bury his head in shame but rather he is telling anybody that cares to listen to his voice that he has done well. I kept asking where honesty in Nigeria to have gone as that six letter words has no meaning in this part of the World. In short, it is being used randomly. This election has turned out to be the worst than the dark days of Nigerian elections.
We will keep knocking on the doors of Buhari and INEC chairman Yakubu  for equity and justice to be done, Keep shooting hard until next week,. Meanwhile we wait!!

Source Daily Sports Nigeria

Posted March 20, 2023


 

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