Confusion break bone

With the 2019 general election only some echo distance away, it is evident that the prevalent culture in the Nigerian political class yet leaves much to be desired.

At the last count, the quest for electoral votes at whatever level seems equated to an all-out war. And whereas there is relentless public demand on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upscale the overall integrity of balloting in this country, which the electoral umpire obviously is making necessary efforts to meet up, political actors appear unwilling or simply unable to break lose from tendencies of desperation and impunity that have historically hobbled our electoral democracy. And so, electoral politics in our country remains a matter of – as they say in backwater lingo – confusion break bone.

Famous Irish-British playwright and polemicist, George Bernard Shaw, wrote that: “An election is a moral horror, as bad as a battle except for the blood; a mud bath for every soul concerned in it.” But we must say he understated the facts as they apply to the Nigerian experience, because unlike Shaw’s moderation of his comparism, shedding of human blood is fair collateral in electoral contestations by Nigerian political players.

The most recent cases in point here are the congresses just conducted by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The party, which touted a new deal in political culture, held its ward congresses on May 5^th, local government congresses on May 12^th and state congresses last Saturday. And though the party’s leadership held those congresses largely satisfactory, having met with minimal glitches in some states, there were verifiable incidents of violence and other irregularities in many states.

The congresses in Imo State were so troubled that Governor Rochas Okororocha headed up a call for pulling the plugs. The local government congress could not hold as scheduled penultimate Saturday because of a spate of violence in which the state party secretariat was first vandalised, and subsequently torched, warranting the police taking over the premises. Before then, the ward congress was bedevilled by the hijack of electoral materials reportedly at the instance of party top shots. The police subsequently paraded suspects allegedly arrested with result sheets of the Imo ward congress in a distant Abuja hotel, and one of those suspects got confirmed as an aide to serving Senator Hope Uzodinma.

In Rivers State, there were reports of injuries and molestation as supporters of the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which ordinarily had no business with APC congresses, squared up in violent confrontation during a siege on the state’s high court complex. The APC protesters had wanted to prevent the court from ruling on a petition by Senator Magnus Abe-led party faction in the state, which sought an order stopping the local government congress, having allegedly been deviously excluded from the process. The PDP meddlers showed up at the court complex to frustrate the APC members’ bid. And the court obliged the petitioner the order that was sought despite the protests, but it did not stop the party from going ahead with the exercise.

There were reports of other incidents, and fatalities not directly connected with the congresses though. Violence rocked the congress in Irele local government area of Ondo State, for instance, where hoodlums stormed the venue and assaulted party members assembled to vote. Party leaders in the council thereafter passed the buck freely as to who enlisted those hoodlums. Breaches of the civil order were recorded in many other places where the congresses held. 

‘If we would make the most of the 2019 poll, it is high time Nigerian politicians stopped regarding electoral contests as war’

The police confirmed one person killed and three injured at Yamaltu / Deba council area of Gombe State where the congress was reported to be largely peaceful. An argument among party members after the voting had ended accounted for those casualties. A similar incident occurred in Lagos State where a party member said not to have even been accredited to vote was shot dead in a fracas that ensued at the Agege local government congress. An unconfirmed number of other persons suffered injuries. “The victim was killed outside the venue of the APC congress. The victims and those arrested (as suspects) had nothing to do with the election as they were not accredited,” police command spokesman Chike Oti was reported saying. But party chiefs, including Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, deplored the incident and insisted on the police bringing culprits to book.

There were reports of purported parallel congresses in many states, which shouldn’t be of much concern really because the party leadership has its records of valid congresses – well, at least until the courts begin to rule contenders in and out arising from litigations. But one extreme case of deviance was the suit by an aspirant in Ohafia local government area of Abia State who applied for an Abuja high court’s order compelling INEC to deregister his own party and to stop further congresses and national convention by the party. Violence and other irregularities as well hobbled the most significant electoral contest conducted by the ruling party, namely the Ekiti State governorship primary that Solid Minerals Minister Kayode Fayemi eventually won.

Even with all those challenges, the APC, at least going by Nigerian standards, furthered its democracy credentials by running open and participatory if troubled congresses. It is yet to be seen whether other political parties, especially the PDP which has a legendary reputation for imposition and cultic anointing of candidates but took to the rooftops to heckle the ruling party for the flaws in its congresses, will allow for open and unfettered elections in the coming days and months to choose their officials and flagbearers at different levels; and that, at what costs to civil order. Just by the way, we also have to wait to see whether the touted ‘third force’ spearheaded by former President Olusegun Obasanjo hasn’t indeed become a ‘third farce’ with its integration now with the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Now to the cheese: granted that the quality of Nigerian elections hinges to a great extent on the integrity, dispassion and professionalism of INEC as the umpire, there is much to be inputed by other stakeholders, especially political actors. And the most pressing need at this time, from indications, is for them to cultivate necessary civility in political culture and submission to applicable regulations in electoral contests.

You could rightly ask: how is this to be achieved? One way, I dare say, is for the electoral public to start holding political parties and their members more strictly to expectations from them, just the way the electoral commission is being held to its expectations. A practical step towards that end could be for civil society and other independent observers to be present at major party congresses and primaries – that is, beyond elections conducted by INEC where they presently feature – and call out groups or individuals who violate due process.

Also, leaderships of the parties may need to regularly educate their members and supporters on the essentials of civility and decency in political conduct. But INEC itself might just need to revisit its Code of Conduct document for political parties and get the players to renew their commitment and be held accountable to its provisions.

The point being made here is: if we would make the most of the 2019 poll, it is high time Nigerian politicians stopped regarding electoral contests as war.