Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in a paper presented at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University, was scathing in his critique of Nigeria’s electoral process.
The event, which honored the literary giant Chinua Achebe, served as a platform for Obasanjo’s hard-hitting address titled “Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria,” where he called for reforms.
Obasanjo’s speech, presented via a pre-recorded video, painted a grim picture of Nigeria’s electoral system and laid out a reform agenda. He stressed that credible elections are the cornerstone of democracy and called for the immediate dismissal of Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), along with officials at all levels of the commission.
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“The INEC Chairperson must not only be absolutely above board but must also be transparently independent and incorruptible,” he declared, emphasizing the need for a rigorous vetting process to eliminate partisan influences.
Obasanjo further recommended shorter tenures for INEC officials to minimize the risk of political manipulation.
“Nigeria must ensure the appointment of new credible INEC leadership at the federal, state, local government, and municipal – city, town, and village – levels, with short tenures to prevent undesirable political influence and corruption, and to re-establish trust in the electoral system by its citizens,” he said.
Technological Failures or Deliberate Sabotage?
The 2023 general elections in Nigeria have been widely described as a shocking aberration, marking yet another low point in the nation’s turbulent electoral history. The elections, marred by irregularities, technological failures, and allegations of manipulation, have sparked widespread criticism and calls for urgent reforms.
One of the most damning aspects of Obasanjo’s critique focused on INEC’s failure to fully utilize its technological tools, specifically the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV). These innovations were introduced to enhance transparency and prevent electoral fraud.
“These technologies were touted by the INEC chairman himself,” Obasanjo said. “In the end, these technologies did not fail. INEC willfully failed to use or implement them, which resulted in widespread voting irregularities. It was a case of inviting the fox into the henhouse.”
The failure of the IReV platform during the presidential election, which INEC blamed on a technical glitch, became a focal point of post-election litigation. However, both the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and the Supreme Court dismissed these cases, further eroding public trust in the judiciary’s role as an impartial arbiter of electoral disputes.
INEC’s credibility has been on a downward spiral, with its conduct during both the general elections and subsequent off-cycle elections drawing widespread condemnation. Allegations of partisan appointments within INEC have only worsened the situation. For instance, PREMIUM TIMES revealed that four of Tinubu’s recent nominees for Resident Electoral Commissioners had direct affiliations with his All Progressives Congress (APC).
Obasanjo’s criticism resonates with many Nigerians who feel betrayed by a system that promised transparency but delivered chaos. His call for the cancellation of results during the presidential election collation—results he said failed the “credibility and transparency test”—was met with both praise and criticism.
Hypocrisy Noted in Obasanjo’s History
Critics have pointed to the irony of Obasanjo’s stance, given the deeply flawed elections that occurred under his presidency in 2003 and 2007. The latter was so contentious that the winner, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, openly admitted to its shortcomings and initiated electoral reforms. While Yar’Adua’s death in 2010 truncated the process, his successor, Goodluck Jonathan, made significant strides toward improving electoral credibility.
Tinubu’s Silence on Electoral Reforms
Despite mounting evidence of systemic failures and public outcry, the Tinubu-led administration has shown little interest in addressing Nigeria’s electoral challenges. This reluctance has fueled speculation that the government intends to exploit the current system for its own benefit.
Some political analysts have noted that the Tinubu-led government’s inaction signals an alarming disregard for democratic principles. They warn that until credible reforms are enacted, the specter of electoral malpractice will continue to loom over the nation, jeopardizing its democratic future.