Power, they say, corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But the ultimate tragedy of the potency of power is implanted in the consummate ease with which it makes the custodians of absolute power to use the strongest strings of the instruments of the powers which they wield to bind themselves. So strongly that they leave themselves virtually no room for manoeuvre or escape.
Nothing best encapsulates this power paradox than the postponement of the 2015 elections. By this singular stunt, the President, the National Security Adviser and the Service Chiefs have somehow managed to land themselves in that proverbial point between the devil and the deep blue sea. Propelled by the full force of their awesome powers and with the recently orphaned INEC in tow either as partner or hostage.
What do the President, the NSA and the Service Chiefs hope to achieve with this gambit? Everyone knows the purported reason for the postponement but no one believes it. Including those who concocted and pronounced it.
Unfortunately, by forcing the postponement, they put themselves in a massive bind, with the whole world watching how they shall unravel. They have put on the world stage the ultimate reality show.
How does the postponement help the President’s re-election quest? While the President may hope for short-term gains, ultimately, it is more likely to hurt his chances before and haunt him perpetually after the elections, whenever it eventually holds, whether in or out of office. If some supporters of the President believed he had a reasonable chance of winning the election, the postponement has actually confirmed, to his supporters and opponents, that he was convinced he was heading for a comprehensive thumping if the elections had proceeded as originally scheduled. An outcome which he probably did not consider as a possibility and a possibility which is probably not acceptable to him and his coterie of Service Chiefs. Otherwise, the natural question would be, would he have allowed the elections to be postponed for even one day if he was sure of winning? Even if Boko Haram,
Alqaeda and ISIS were occupying all 774 Local Government areas in the country, leaving only Aso Rock? Not likely. No matter what he does between now and when the elections finally hold, if the President eventually wins, who would believe his election was free and fair even if the elections are conducted by Angel Gabriel?
So the NSA and the Service Chiefs need “at least” 6 weeks. To contain the insurgency in the North East? After 6 years of prevarications and rigmarole? If they succeed, like we hope they do, they would have to extricate themselves from suggestions that they had the capability and capacity to contain the insurgency all along but chose to allow it to fester. Perhaps in the national interest? If they do not, they would confirm that the postponement was indeed a desperate lifeline to rescue their commander-in-chief.
So when can security be guaranteed for the elections to proceed? Only when victory for the President is guaranteed? If there were any doubts about the partiality or otherwise of the Service Chiefs and the security agencies including the police and the DSS, they have exposed exactly where they have firmly pitched their tents.
By the purported reason for the postponement, the security agencies have not only thrown their hats into the contest, they have thrown in their hearts as well, possibly with their souls embedded . Can anyone now reasonably expect these officers and gentlemen to provide security for free, fair and credible elections? To fairly enforce a curfew? To escort ,transport or “protect” sensitive election materials like ballot papers and result sheets? Can they escape suggestions that the postponement was a desperate decoy to enable them perfect existing plans or re-strategize on new tactics to guarantee the only outcome that is acceptable to them? After revelations of how the Ekiti elections were “secured”, it is noteworthy that the presidency and the military which were so fast to enunciate on certificate matters and high profile party exits have been deafeningly silent on the current best selling Ekiti elections audio/video show.
Perhaps the President should be concerned with the inherent dangers in taking cover behind his appointees and surrogates when they wreak havoc on the polity. An uncompromising President of the Court of Appeal was prematurely forced out office, purportedly by the NJC. A globally respected Governor of the Central Bank was hounded out of office, purportedly based on a report by a previously unknown Financial Reporting Council. Key leaders of the main opposition party were intimidated, harassed and arrested before and during the Ekiti and Osun states elections,a scenario already being replayed for the 2015 elections. The security details of a serving Speaker of the House of Representatives are withdrawn. The gates of the National Assembly are sealed.
The Speaker and the Senate President are tear gassed. A nauseating death wish advert against the President’s nemesis is sponsored by a “secured” Governor. The National Security Adviser goes all the way to London to fly a locally fabricated kite. The NSA and the Service Chiefs write to the INEC Chairman demanding postponement of long scheduled elections for “at least” 6 weeks, 3 days after previously declaring their readiness at a press conference. The INEC Chairman finally caves in under superior fire and announces a postponement for 6 weeks after emphasizing just 3 days before that they were ready for the elections to proceed as originally scheduled.
The President was neither aware nor consulted before all these actions were taken. It is just a constant coincidence that he is the sole beneficiary of all of them. Perhaps that is the real meaning of Goodluck. While the President may derive temporary benefits from such acts, ultimately they do great damage, perhaps irreparably, to his person, office and reputation as they could be easily mistaken for fatalistic cowardice. It is disheartening enough that these relentless assaults on our collective sensibilities are happening at all. It would be most alarming if indeed they are happening without the President being consulted. Particularly as no one is punished or even reprimanded for these acts which are gradually rupturing the fragile fabrics that hold the nation together . Amazingly, the perpetrators are always handsomely rewarded and promoted. So who is in control of the country? If this trend continues much longer, there may be no need for control as everything shall be under alarm.
A little sincerity in this dispensation appears to be hazardous and a great dose of it could be absolutely fatal. Perhaps, it is time for the citizenry to get off their comfort zones to save our leaders from the follies of their fantasies. Perhaps it is time to eloquently tell our leaders that they do not preside over a colony of certified morons. Perhaps it is time for all true patriots to rise as one to compel our leaders, by every means legal and lawful, to lead us only within the clear confines of our constitution. If they may lead us, they must lead with our votes . Votes freely given and fairly obtained.
Much as INEC has tried to extricate itself from the postponement bind, the fact is that it provided the materials for the kite to be fabricated. Contrary to their claims of preparedness, the postponement cruelly exposed INEC’s deficiencies. It revealed that considerable quantities of PVCs were delivered to wrong states. Are these not part of the PVCs recorded as collected in their real states? How many of such cards recorded as distributed in one state were actually delivered to other states? Who would have used them if the elections had gone ahead? What is the real reason for the very low percentage of PVCs collected in Ogun, Lagos and Edo states? Were the PVCs really collected by real voters? Can the real quantity of ballot papers printed for the elections and delivered to each polling station be verified before the elections? What is the source of the INEC materials used in the Ekiti Election show? Why are PVCs still being bought or stolen in wholesale quantities?
Now that the Security Chiefs have a blank cheque to decide when elections can hold, can INEC still claim to be independent? Why are the President’s surrogates scheming for the sack of the INEC chairman? Why the sudden campaigns against the card readers? Who is afraid of a free, fair and credible election and process? The President may need to redress growing perception that he can only work with persons who are acutely deficient in integrity.
What are the 6 weeks really for? To compromise , disorganize or subjugate INEC? To demonize, demoralize, deflate or decapacitate the main opposition party? To buy and disable more PVCs? Or to buy all the voters or possibly the elections? Or to scuttle the elections outright? Why is the main opposition party being bombed , their members being maimed and killed and their rallies being disrupted particularly in Rivers and Lagos States, with security agencies seemingly “helpless”? Is this a dress rehearsal of how the elections would be disrupted in key states?
Where are the bombs and guns coming from? Any links with those clandestine cash and carry arms sorties? Any public/private partnership “security ”arrangements? Shall we see armed militants and thugs in uniforms during the elections? Even now, the President’s bagmen are leaving no turn unstoned to scuttle the elections completely. Is June 12 1993 really ahead? Is yesterday overtaking tomorrow? Are we postponing our destiny to the past?
How do you postpone a race that is near the finish line because a favoured contestant is lagging behind? For whatever reasons, the postponement in normal language is called cheating. In political parlance, it may not be called corruption but it certainly could be called rigging. The president should discard the toga of a leader who is mortally afraid of fair contest and competition. He should dispel rising descriptions of a desperate despot.
He should demonstrate that he can win an election freely and fairly without using the strings of power to shackle his co-contestants. He should desist from using the security agencies to subvert the people’s will. This can only breed executive brigandage as being embarrassingly demonstrated in Ekiti state. There are three ways to exit power. In dignity. In disgrace. Or in death. The 2015 elections shall be a veritable graveyard of reputations. The
President and his Security Chiefs must thread carefully. There is life after office. Whether in 2015 or 2019.
God Bless Nigeria.