The biggest progress will come in Nigeria when we can have an efficient electoral umpire. While I am party-neutral but not apolitical, the consequences of total paralysis in the just concluded Bayelsa and Kogi elections are evident, and make it clear that Nigeria cannot attract new generation of leaders to fix this nation. Two people I know who plan to run for the upcoming governorship election in Anambra have killed the ideas, post Kogi and Bayelsa. One is a tested leader and someone with the heart of his people and community. But looking at the system, he gave up, even before he began. His words: “INEC does not give me confidence, and because I will never invite thugs to maim people I want to serve, I see no path. Because no one has arrested those men on the videos, no clear message has been sent that law was broken. I will remain in the boardrooms to serve this nation”.
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They want the best brains and untainted minds to join politics, what we haven’t been told is whether they would win from graveyards or treatment homes; because what we call elections here are pure and undiluted madness, with no holds barred.
Politicians have invested heavily on thuggery, to the extent that divesting is no longer attractive, so each election cycle brings greater brutality.
You cannot commit super fraud and simply tell people to go to courts, if they are aggrieved, that’s clear invitation to anarchy and instability in the land. Courts can’t resolve the anger and toxic atmosphere we have created with fraudulent elections, and we know it!
We had decent elections from 2010 to 2015, there were issues, but the votes seemed to have counted considerably. This madness has gone haywire – starting from the staggered elections before 2019 general elections, and from 2019 it has been downward spiral all the way.
INEC’s failure is epic, while the ruling class has essentially destroyed the little progress made in our electoral systems, now we are back to the trenches.
Legacies don’t matter here, thuggery has been elevated and glorified.
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