How can a nation do this to itself as we are seeing in the ongoing Kogi election, where crass desperation to remain in power has removed all forms of morality in our national thinking? The Okene local government results presented in the ongoing INEC collation of results present the heights of absurdity in our electoral experience in this country.
Just to present manufactured figures that could be believed and used as the bait for winning the entire election, knowing that the figure is intended to cancel other genuine figures from other local government areas where violence were instigated and backed by the security agencies, if accepted by the electoral body despite rejection by opposition. We have the following as some of the features of the Okene world record:
a. While 131,166 voters were registered by INEC in the local government area, 114,000 were accredited for the election, out of which 112,764 voted for the ruling APC and only 139 people voted for the main opposition, PDP.
b. Even by the turnout of the registered voters alone which is over 87 percent, a world record in voter turnout was recorded in the election. As the PDP agent argued at the collation centre, that record of voter turnout has never been recorded anywhere in the world history of voting in any election.
c. A Professor of Statistics was either deliberately or coincidentally chosen to serve as the returning officer, knowing that whatever figure he presents is more likely to be believed by unsuspecting political spectators;
d. Four (4) DIGs of police were reportedly deployed to the same local government area, which is where the sitting governor hails from,
e. There were no reported cases of violence or incidents worthy of report, according to the INEC returning officer of the local government, thus calling for the question of why the concentration of the top echelon of the police! Was it to supervise and give official validity to whatever wrongs that could have been hatched there? Wonder shall never end.
f. Meanwhile, different cases of violence resulting in ballot snatching, disruption of election and physical capture of some hoodlums were reported in the senatorial district of the closest opponent. These resulted in outright cancellation of votes in some polling units, but not considered for deployment of the large number of police officers as concentrated in the Okene local government area where no violent was reported.
All these distortions and contradictions clearly showed how far the Nigerian democratic system has derailed from the world accepted credibility index in the conduct of credible election, and that can only happen in a nation that takes pleasure in deceiving itself and telling lies to its people.
But what’s clear is that so long as people continue to swear by the holy Bible and holy Qur’an to abide by the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, yet do to the contrary because God does not immediately appear to demand for justice, such impunity would not go unpunished, if not in this world, but the hereafter.
As the politicians would always say in Nigeria after every manipulated electoral process, confident that God will not immediately come down for judgment until the judgement day, “let the loser go to court,” knowing that they have equally perfected their strategies to have their way at the judiciary. Is this how nations make progress? And for how long can we continue in this circle of absurdity and think that we can measure up to the civilised world in our public conduct?
The reality is that the pain in the absurdity in this Kogi election is not for the Kogites or the opposition party to bear alone, but all Nigerians of goodwill who wish the nation well and hope for truth in our national conduct as a measure of civilisation.
God bless Nigeria and Nigerians who stand on the side of the truth, no matter the loses they suffer in their determination to remain truthful.
– Dr. Sahfeeyah Musa
