Monday
March 29, 2010 |
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The The time has never been riper for
the emergence of a formidable opposition force to dislodge the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) from power. Yet, there are disturbing signs, once
again, that Nigeria’s opposition parties are looking for every means or
opportunity to surrender to the PDP – or to sell their prospects for a
mess of porridge.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is, from several accounts, on the
cusp of returning to the PDP. That would not be so bad, for Atiku’s
natural habitat is within the moral jungle of the PDP.
Atiku was part of an initiative to form a so-called “mega party.” With
his looming exit, that bad idea appears decidedly stillborn. For one,
the potential constituents of the opposition behemoth never seemed able
to offer a comprehensive critique of the PDP. Nor did they seek to
define their vision, or to tell Nigerians where they intend to take the
country if given power, and how.
There’s also the fact that many of the ambivalent founders of the “mega
party” were once, like Atiku, in the sanctuary of the PDP. Like him,
many of them still belong, in mind and spirit, to the PDP.
Atiku represents the kind of unprincipled, me-first-and-last politics
that has kept Nigeria in the doldrums. Last Sunday, Thisday quoted one
of Atiku’s lieutenants as saying that “even with the mega party being
formed, even if the electoral reforms is concluded on time before the
next elections, it will be difficult to oust PDP from power. That is a
fact. I say this with all sense of responsibility, because with their
rigging machines all out, with people like Iwu still in office, and with
all the money they have, I think we will have a battle on our hands.”
So what does Atiku do? Jump ship – and enlist with those determined to
employ their rigging machines to sabotage Nigeria’s democracy. Perhaps,
Atiku is at home precisely in that company.
The original impulse to form a mega opposition party represented a
fundamental misconception. The PDP was deemed a party – to adapt a
Nigerian saying – of “no shaking.” Consequently, the party’s opponents
concluded that they must create an equally gargantuan force in order to
have a shot at wresting power.
To be true, the PDP is a giant, but one whose feet are made of clay.
There’s no denying that the PDP’s roster boasts the largest collection
of the kind of men and women known in Nigeria as “stakeholders” or
venerated as “prominent Nigerians,” but who, in reality, are criminal
raiders of the public treasury.
The PDP may be the most bloated “sumo” party in the country, but it’s
far from strong in real terms. Its chairman, Vincent Ogbulafor, has
served notice that the party plans to rule (translate that word as
“ruin”) Nigeria for sixty years. It’s the party’s plan, and one not
shared by Nigerians. In order to realize the plan, the party must thwart
the democratic will of the Nigerian people through a logistics called
electoral fraud.
Since 1999, the PDP has established itself as a master rigger. It goes
without saying – but we’ll say it – that a party in power resorts to
rigging principally because it recognizes that there’s no clean way to
win.
My point, then, is that it does not require a mega party to rout the PDP
in an election. No, it takes two things. One is a party with disciplined
organization, a commitment to a set of laudable socio-economic goals,
and the focused ability to communicate its message to the Nigerian
people. The other is a culture of credible elections, a transparent
polling system that, above all, demonstrates that the wishes of the
electorate are paramount.
Elections are as credible as the system that produces them, and the men
and women who run that system.
The wishy-washy effort to form a mega party rests on diseased reasoning.
It’s sad to see those who want to unseat the PDP waste their energy
trying to acquire the ruling party’s pathologies. What they should do –
assuming that they’re up to it – is to push the case for sound electoral
reform and the appointment of men and women of unimpeachable moral
mettle to oversee the country’s elections. Once these are in place, the
opposition should then offer Nigerians a clear-eyed dissection of how
the PDP has mortgaged, and still pawns off, Nigeria’s best interests.
Last week, elements of Nigeria’s opposition parties appeared to use
every opportunity to display their poor judgment or myopia.
A headline in last Sunday’s edition of Thisday told a disappointing
story: “Ojukwu Roots for Iwu’s Reappointment”. The report, filed by
Christopher Isiguzo, stated that Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the leader
of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), “gave his support for the
reappointment of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) Prof Maurice Iwu for another term in office.”
Ojukwu’s endorsement, according to the paper, “was based on the
transparent manner the Anambra election was conducted.” On account of
that election, which Ojukwu reportedly categorized as “the best so far
in the country,” he saw “nothing wrong in allowing Iwu to continue in
office provided he would not derail from the feat he achieved in Anambra.”
One’s immediate response was that Ojukwu should know better. He should
know that, if the February 6 governorship election in Anambra represents
the best Iwu has to offer, then Nigerians are in deep trouble.
What’s there to celebrate in an election where most of the voters
couldn’t find their names on the voters register? Or where ballot
material and electoral officials did not show up at many polling centers
until several hours past the due time?
While many people in Anambra and outside are satisfied with the
announcement of Governor Peter Obi as winner of the election, that fact
is far from a good criterion for measuring Iwu’s performance. All told,
Iwu and his electoral commission gave a terrible account of themselves.
In a serious nation, the moment Iwu pledges, henceforth, to patent his
Anambra performance, he would be fired on the spot. Unfortunately,
Ojukwu was too happy with the outcome of the Anambra election to
recognize Iwu’s woeful performance.
Let’s be clear: the removal of Iwu from his INEC perch will not
guarantee credible future elections. We also need an improved electoral
system, vigilance on the part of the citizenry, and a judiciary
courageous enough to reverse glaring cases of electoral theft. But Iwu’s
retention at his post would be a grave mistake. With his record of
overseeing and then defending fraudulent elections, the man has come to
personify the miscarriage that was the 2007 elections. In fact, he has
inspired the term iwuruwuru in our political lexicon.
Iwu is, as far as elections are concerned, bad news. If he stays at INEC,
it would be a clear signal to the world and to Nigerian voters that
rigging has been recertified as the central element of our forthcoming
elections.
It is obscene enough that Iwu is still entrenched in the seat he’s
degraded by his incompetence and shamelessness. It’s an affront on
Nigeria’s democratic aspirations that Iwu is going around, like a
politician, to recruit big-name endorsers like Ojukwu just as his
cronies orchestrate “pro-Iwu” rallies.
Goodluck Jonathan should fire Iwu – the sooner, the better.
