AS a confessional, this very intervention was previously made when the State of Anambra was in the throes of being captured. That was just before the election that begat the gubernatorial tenure that expired in 2014. It appears that that effort is worth being revisited since the agonizing peril of capturing persons and their constitutional votes as well as entire swat of States is at stake again.
It is apt to make the inquiry: Quo Vadis? – since it is understood that we are no longer under the grip of Emperor Nero, except that our INEC and its political patrons ought to be proffering a remedial response plan now with the dread and uncertainty of an incomplete distribution of permanent voter cards (PVCs). Obviously, it seems that, like in other things about life, the more things change for the worse, the more the last ugly experience appears more palatable and nostalgic in its politesse.
The dread of an impending feast of harvesting electoral votes, right on the day that the patron saint of cupid is celebrated by its liturgical and romantic adherents, raises a red flag and makes the impending 2015 elections quite worrisome. If votes are allowed to be captured, wittingly or unwittingly, in determining the gubernatorial and elective fate of the nation, then the voter looses the constitutional right of an assured unfettered choice; and the ominous circumstance will stifle the rule of law and national security.
Dangerous dilemma
As always, it is likely that the insouciant voter will presumably move on to other private issues and ignore the constitutional harm. That is the dangerous dilemma of an underdeveloped society whenever victimized with a vote grab. And anyone that can read the tea leaf well, will notice that the impending vote may follow a familiar trend, with obvious collateral losses, that match the African reality.
This is made more worrisome with the demonstrated unique (un)preparedness of INEC through the yet to be completed distribution of PVCs just days before the poll. Regrettably, the horror is that all these may produce intractable scenarios to the extent that emotions and ego could possibly become the last refuge of many.
As a proactive advisory concerning the imminent partisan challenge to public safety, it is needful to consider the sagacious interrogation of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, that: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is – What are you doing for others?” That is exactly what the partisan stakeholders must chew on in order not to jeopardize national security.
That debate ought to be raging now to arrest the likelihood of a contested mandate as well as identifying ways and means for preempting it. Many will easily attest to a fondness for capturing votes in underdeveloping societies, one that is not too far in mirroring the recurring fate of missed electoral opportunities in gubernatorial Nigeria. And it is not inconceivable to suggest that the so-called trending option is borne out of a partisan “do or die” approach to politics.
Additionally, there is this suggestion that many politicians maintain simultaneous proxy membership in opposing parties and allegedly play conflicting roles of personal interest. The dangerous mix is abetted by religion and ethnic cleavages, elitism and fraternal loyalties, as well self interest and primordial accouterments, etc. With the paucity of honest stakeholders, most parties have attracted men and women of profound salacious antecedents, whose repurposed interest is simply to go in and “eat”, albeit at the discomfort of good governance. This must not stand. Presently, partisan politics has become a plan to open up channels for personal purpose, inclusion and access to the public till.
It is obvious why the electorate have inherited the greater share of the sins of a captured political arena. Some commentators have hinted that all that matters is the use of filthy lucre in capturing the political space. This is an outrageous reality that may compromise the 2015 vote just as it had attended the previous ones, and is a sad reflection of the present behaviour that passes as politics. As a result of the pervading poverty, many voters fear that on Election Day, money is all that may be counted and not the votes. Quite a nerve! Such a shameful revelation will surely rile sane minds in other climes. Shorn of its obvious appeal to the base nature of man, it speaks to the philosophy of life that prevails in the Republic.
Some local newspapers were awash with the incredible news and wistful boasts by certain partisan stalwarts of strategies to capture several states during the 2015 vote. Since a political party is a reflection of its operating environment, it is not out of place to assume, all other things considered, that the “sin” of capturing votes (and electoral precincts) may not be the sole portent of outside influences and the electoral contenders! An obvious heavy dose of an INEC-grown internal virus and established interests that are assisted by voter apathy or collusion, will be eating the process out.
Despite all the sordid complaints against the existing political parties, yet persons are willingly available who will still die for them! Yet the electoral track record of these parties suggest that they are simply instruments of state coercion as well as private purpose vehicles to hang a leash on the public treasury. This explains somewhat why a corrupt electoral process persists.
How then can the voter restrain the proponents of this “do or die” mantra? Notwithstanding all these, there may still be a semblance of a clean vote, wherein either of the behemoths: PDP and APC; or the minority ones, that is APGA, LP, SDP, PPA, Kowa, or the other parties, can successfully plant their tentacles in terra firma and be able to win fair and square by not succumbing to dirty maneuvers.
This is the dilemma of the electoral combat that is about to unfold. What role will the media in concert with other myriad of parochial, trade, and professional organizations or interest groups play in ensuring a lawful process, during and after the fact? The town unions, men and women of conscience, and a few good civic leaders that remain the pride of their community must insist that the process is done right and the post-election period is managed well. Pray, can the traditional rulers rise above their partisan, religious and cultural confines to impose sanctions on non-adherents of order and good electoral behaviour?
The electorate must be ready for the country’s date with destiny. And neither incumbency nor self-help must ever be the decider of that election. The 2015 vote must be a precursor for the rise and wellbeing of a new nation. Men and women of goodwill must not allow persons with might or unacceptable priors, to scuttle the march to the future by unlawfully capturing their votes!
This 2015 vote must comply with the law; and every genuine vote for progress and national harmony must be properly cast, counted, announced and made to stand.
Source: Nzeribe Ihekwaba Ph.D., wrote in from Florida, USA, Vanguard
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