Diary: Inside The Dreaded 2021 Anambra Election -By Adesola Ikulajolu

The Anambra Election of November 6th, 2021 came with its own fear and security challenges. However, despite the different security threats and clashes in Anambra, the election was not suspended- it was held amidst tight security. ADESOLA IKULAJOLU who observed the election with Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) in Aguata Local Government shares his experience on the field on WUZUPNIGERIA.

Many Nigerians have speculated a violence-filled election where blood of voters and supporters will fill the streets of Anambra during the last Governorship election in the state. Coupled with the dangerous activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the clash with the Military Joint Task Force (JTF), the atmosphere in Anambra State and the election fear that rented the air could be felt.

As an observer with Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) to bring transparency and accountability during the electoral process, I can confidently assess the level of delivery and service of all stakeholders involved in the election.

I was deployed to Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State. According to the 2006 census, Aguata LGA have a total of 370,172 population with Ekwulobia as its largest commercial town. Some of the popular wards under Aguata include: Ekwulobia, Akpo, Achina, Uga, Igbo-Ukwu, Isuofia, Umuchu, Ezinifite, Ikenga, Amesi, Umuona, Nkpologwu.

Even at the time when IPOB declared sit-at-home in the state, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not suspend the election.

The biggest thing about Aguata LGA during the election was the fact that it is home to the three top candidates- Valentine Ozigbo of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is from Amesi, Andy Uba of All Progressives Congress (APC) is from Uga and Charles Soludo of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) is from Isuofia.

 Pre-Election

The journey to Awka, Anambra state capital began on the 2nd of November, 2021. It was in preparation for the election process. While the roads that lead to Awka could be tiring, it is needful to say that the environment of the state capital was too dirty to behold- especially the road that links to Nnamdi Azikwe University (Unizik).

The residential training by PTCIJ with partnership from European Union-SDGN was aimed at exposing the observers to the rudiments of election observation and understanding the terrain of Anambra State at a period where security is a major threat.

Veterans including Ajibola Amzat, Editor of International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR); Idris Akinbajo, Managing Editor of Premium Times were among the speakers who soaked us into the understanding of how to handle dangerous election observations such as Anambra. With helpful tips from Ajibola Busola, the Coordinator of PTCIJ’s Campus Reporter project; Mboho Eno, Head of PTCIJ’s MINE project and other journalists, we were confident of techniques to help us navigate through the process.

Having observed the Edo State election in 2020 and Ondo State election, I only need to be extra careful to carry out my duties and apply the ethics of journalism considering how important Aguata LGA was to Anambra.

On the 4th of November, we were to collect the INEC tags for Domestic Observers from the state office. The INEC state office located in Awka was largely dominated by security operatives with heavily armed men and vehicles- only visitors who can present a valid means of identification could get in.

I could recall how some of my other observers were not allowed in because they had no ID card on them and the dark-skinned police officer would not accept a voter’s card as a means of identification.

The fear of the election rented the state capital; few cars were moving; human movements were minimal with several shops locked.

I made my way through to Aguata LGA on the 5th of November (eve of the election) in what seems like a long journey through different other local governments. The roads were deserted and there was no security checkpoint.

When I landed at the Aguata I headed for the LGA headquarters. Heavy security, deserted compounds and military vehicles were what the eyes could focus on. Immediately, I found my way to the INEC LG office where hundreds of corps members were hanging around. Worthy of note is the heavy security presence that surrounds the office.

“Who are you and where are you going to,” the soldier asked me, requesting for my ID card. I brought out my ID card and also flashed my observer’s tag.

“You are an observer. What are you doing here and what do you want to observe because nothing is happening here now. I can’t allow you in unless you tell me what you want to observe.”, the officer said with a frown face.

With a smile on my face I replied, “I have been posted here to observe the activities that concern the election tomorrow and here is my INEC tag.” He allowed me into the premises. Election officers were seen sitting on the floor eating bread with sardines, speaking different languages while some election materials were lying on the floor.

I surveyed the different areas in the LG including the bad road that leads to Uba’s ward. I can recall police officers coming down from their convoy to trek pass the bad road and to direct the vehicle to avoid getting stucked. I might need to tell you that I would have been slapped when they asked me to stop following their convoy- in a language I don’t understand. Until one of the officers pulled out his gun laced with red cloth and faced me saying “you no dey hear word?”, that was when I halted; sat in an empty shop and waited for their long convoy to pass.

How about lodging? Since the declaration of the sit-at-home order by IPOB in Anambra, all the hotels in Aguata have been instructed to shut down and lock their gate; I was stranded not until our senior journalists with Premium Times, Samson Adenekan and Yusuf Akinpelumi rescued me. That’s part of what election observers face.

Election Day

November 6, the day many were waiting for- the election day and as early as 7am, I was on the field. In company of my senior colleagues, Samson and Yusuf, our first line of action was to drive round the LG and see where electoral processes were underway: thanks to our indigenous driver who knows the hook and cranny of the LG.

We were disappointed, all of the Wards and Polling Units we visited were yet to commence the process not until after 9am; some were even yet to arrive. Sadly, INEC vehicle was just deploying some materials that morning. As at 8am while few voters were waiting for election to commence, INEC staff were yet to arrive to commence pasting of names and accreditation. I won’t forget to add that there was no security presence in all of the PUs I visited, nor were there security checkpoints on the road.

Arriving in Isuofia, the home of APGA’s Soludo. I visited his polling units, Ofiyi Square and the number of media presence was more than the available voters- they were all waiting for the arrival of Soludo who later showed up around 3pm and cast his vote around after 5pm due to the failure of Biometric Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machine.

At Amesi,the home of PDP’s Ozigbo, all was set before 10am. He was also greeted with heavy media presence when he came to cast his vote around 10:39am. The BVAS machine accredited Ozigbo’s wife around 10:42am but malfunctioned during his own period and after several attempts network issues frustrated the efforts of the ad-hoc staff until Ozigbo himself put on his phone hotspot for the machine to function before casting his vote around 11am.

This observer could confirm that the environment was calm and devoid of violence. The elderly persons were given preferential treatment and allowed to vote without having to queue- that was the same in the other wards in Aguata LGA.

Although, the BVAS machine malfunctioned and delayed the election process as well as insufficient and inexperienced INEC staff.

Around 1pm, rumour started flying round that a particular PU in Ekwulobia ward was under attack by unknown gunmen and ballot boxes had been snatched. It was a lie, I visited the polling unit and discovered voting was ongoing: it was party members and supporters that had misunderstanding.

I monitored when vote counting started and the process was open for all to see. As at the time the voting extension was still on, some PUs have started counting results.

At the LGA collation center which was located at Aguata local government headquarter, the heavy security presence was evident.

It was obvious that the journalists from Premium Times were the only visible media available with their jackets, while myself from PTCIJ and a young man from Yiaga Africa were the visible domestic observers available at the collation center.

I was awake, alert and monitoring as the counting of results for all wards were coming in. While LG party agents argued with the collation officer several times, some RAC officers were asked to recount and adjust the results they were coming to present. Sadly, the results were not displayed on the projector

At about few minutes past 5am on Sunday November 7, 2021, the counting for Aguata local government ended and Charles Soludo of APGA was declared winner.

For the umpteenth time, it is great to be part of the generation to make change in the Democratic process of Nigeria-as an election observer but INEC needs to do more in the electoral process.

If our focus is truly on the 2023 elections, then, our electoral process must improve. The BVAS must work well, Electronic results must be effective and the people must be willing to vote and not be bribed.

Adesola Ikulajolu is a Multimedia Journalist. He covers elections and conflicts reporting. He tweets on @oloyenaija1.