Some Sore Points of the 2015 General Elections in Nigeria -By Sopuru Uwadiegwu

After the rain, a popular adage has it, comes the shine. With the statesmanship of President Goodluck Jonathan dousing the heavy downpour of crises largely envisaged across the world as a foregone result of the 2015 general elections, one would have expected the shine on Nigeria not just to become brighter but longer. Our democratic processes should have been the better for it.

Alas, that appears not to be, as some bad eggs seem hell bent on undermining the exemplary leadership of President Jonathan, as well as the organisational expertise and strength of character displayed by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Atahiru Jega, by placing their selfish motives/ambitions above that of the nation/wishes of the electorate. The desperation of few politicians has almost taken the shine off what is arguably one of the best general elections in Africa, achieved by a combination of the meticulous care of INEC, the bravery of young Nigerians particularly youth corps members and most importantly, at risk of sounding like a scratched CD, the exemplary sportsmanship of President Jonathan.

With results in a few states, including Abia, Taraba, Rivers and Imo States having been declared inconclusive, informed minds are beginning to ask questions. The stakes are very high and pardon us, our expectations have been raised by the genuine show of patriotism by President Jonathan and the dispassionate actions of INEC. Nigerians ought to be proud of themselves, as they can now boast that democracy is finally taking roots in Africa’s most populous country.

Interestingly, this is probably not what the majority of keen followers of general elections in Africa expected, what with former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo alarming the world with insinuations that President Jonathan might do a Gbagbo, in reference to former president of Cote D’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, whose pursuit of power plunged his country into crises.

Nigeria and indeed the world should be grateful to President Jonathan for disappointing cynics like his mentor, Chief Obasanjo. However, one can understand the reservations of the skeptics, as Africa has a history of die-hard sit-tight politicians.

It is a major cause of concern that having come this far and sacrificed so much the INEC would still find itself having to declare elections inconclusive! What if the presidential election was for any reason declared inconclusive? The repercussion is anybody’s guess!

This is why INEC has to quickly and decisively address the issues before the people resort to self-help in making their votes count, which might breed violence. Unfortunately, given what INEC had achieved with the 2015 general elections in Nigeria this would amount to one bad apple spoiling the whole basket, or as my Igbo people would say, one finger touching the oil and its spreading to the other fingers.

Incidentally, one of the most worrisome cases in the gubernatorial elections declared inconclusive by INEC is in Igboland, Abia State to be precise. Several issues add to the confusion created by this declaration, which is heating up the political space in Abia State. Word of mouth in Abia State has it that the INEC might have been hoodwinked by a candidate to post his family and friends to supervise the elections.

The Residential Electoral Commissioner for Abia State, Prof. Selina Okoh, stories have it, is a cousin of the gubernatorial standard bearer of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, for the April 11, 2015 election, Dr. Alex Otti. Curiously, the Returning Officer for the same election is Prof. V.C. Ozumba who is also the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, UNN. It is common knowledge that the UNN under the vice chancellorship of Prof. Ozumba conferred an honorary doctorate degree on the APGA candidate, Dr. Otti. Feelers from political circles in Abia State indicate that Dr. Otti shopped for this doctorate degree as part of efforts to shore-up his personality profile in preparation for political battles such as this.

These two curious angles, in addition to desperate efforts by Dr. Otti to claim nativity of Ngwa, the zone to which the governorship has been zoned prior to the elections, are serious issues touching the sensitive membrane of the Abia political landscape. It is my sincere thought that these high standing individuals, particularly Prof. Ozumba ought to have voluntarily stood down as Returning Officer in an election that has his close ally as candidate. My reason is simple. The relationship between these three actors is enough to compromise the outcome of the election, as it contradicts the principles of natural justice.

Unfortunately, the innocent electorate of Abia State are bearing the brunt of these mix-ups as claims that these key actors connived to thwart the wishes of the people have found strong logic in the provable historical relationships between the actors. Sadly, as things turned out, the key actors did nothing to allay the fears of the public, as they spoke from two sides of the mouth. How does one explain that the same officers confirmed and announced the results of the State House of Assembly elections and found fault with the gubernatorial election while both were conducted at the same time, by the same officials and under the same circumstances? This is a classic case of what is good for the goose not being good for the gander.

These blips here and there are not just threatening the hard earned credibility and good reputation of INEC but the public peace as well. And INEC would do Nigeria a favour by building on its goodwill and respect by announcing the results of the Abia State governorship election just at it had announced the House of Assembly results. I am pained that INEC is putting Nigerians through this stress, despite the pains the electorate took to cast their votes and the INEC appointed election officials and party agents having endorsed the election result sheets as mandated by law.

Uwadiegwu, a public affairs analyst, writes from Lagos