Nigeria’s 2023 elections have come and gone. Doubts and contentions have been raised about the declared outcomes and been pursued to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, which last week upheld Mr. Bola Tinubu as the duly elected President of Nigeria.
That decision may not take away the doubts and convictions in the minds of many regarding the identity, integrity and certification of some individuals in the system. It may also not take away personal opinions and convictions of many concerning the conduct of the elections and promises, partly fulfilled or unfulfilled altogether, by the officiating body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to fully deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other perceived anomalies.
The constitutional definition of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and its consideration in national elections have also been tumbled, shuffled and redefined.
Whatever the case, the disputants and sundry Nigerians affected or interested in the matter can rest assured that they have gone the whole hog in expressing their doubts and reservations and seeking redress through lawful channels. They can further take solace in the fact that they have properly documented their reservations in the matter for today and for posterity.
As such, it would appear that it is time to sheath the sword as contentions and disagreements are a means to an end and not an end unto themselves.
That said, there are a few lessons to be taken away from the exercise.
For one, it kept on recurring in the courts that the legal representatives of those questioning the integrity of the elections frequently failed to follow the technicality of the law as regards the presentation of facts backed by evidence.
So going forward, political parties involved in elections need to put facilities in place by which they can get evidence by way of result sheets from as many of the polling units nationwide as may be necessary to support their claims. This may not be an easy task but as technology stands today, it can be accomplished.
Also, INEC needs to be up and doing so as to ensure the conduct of free and fair elections, to be transparent in its conduct, and to be seen to be transparent. The electoral umpire must establish the will and the capacity to deploy the tools, especially the technology tools it has acquired for the facilitation of free and fair elections.
Furthermore, the generality of Nigerians need to continue to pursue their civic responsibility of participating in the electoral process by continuing to show interest, register and vote in future elections because a loss of faith or tiredness is tantamount to surrendering responsibility for the collective good to political merchants and sundry mercenaries.
Then again, given that the matter has gone all the way to the Supreme Court and been decided, it is clear that the time for politicking is over and that it is now time for governance.
It is time for the political parties and other stakeholders to focus on cooperation because these are trying times, the sky is overcast with foreboding and the well-being of over 200 million Nigerians is at stake.
Beyond mouthing magnanimity, President Tinubu should walk the talk and embrace, confer and work with individuals and groups of all shades of opinion with a view to lifting Nigeria out of this real and present quagmire.
Also, going forward, parties outside the APC should play their role as the opposition, to present checks, balances and cooperation, with a purpose for the uplifting of the nation.
Several sectors of the national economy are in need of re-engineering and revamping. The educational sector is plagued by poor funding, with budgetary allocation far away from the 26 percent of national budget recommended by the UN. Agric sector faces many challenges which impact on its productivity. The majority of the country’s strategic roads are in disrepair, causing a hindrance to movement of goods and services and export capacity. The power sector is not doing any better. Petroleum products refining is hindered by inconsistent government priorities, cronyism and corruption, weak political will, unstructured refinery licensing scheme, security challenges and economic factors.
In view of this, all stakeholders need to set aside their differences at this critical time and work together to resolve these challenges inhibiting the growth of the national economy.
