MY POINT OF VIEW ON THE JUST CONCLUDED PRESIDENTIAL, GUBERNATORIAL AND LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS.

In my opinion Nigerians have been brainwashed into believing that the Presidential Elections is the real deal forgetting that the main elections that will be favorable and actually belong to them are the very elections that they neglect. Tribal, religious, ethnic and other relative bigotry have consumed the average Nigerian voter who believes that the man in the Centre must actually belong to their perceived section of belief system. The truth remains that this perception is totally wrong. Hoping that by this write-up I will lend my voice in the correct direction for reorientation of the eligible voting class in Nigeria today.

Nigeria as a State derives its legitimate powers from the Constitution which is a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed in this case it is “the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended and all other laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as adopted or passed by the Legislature and subsequently amended”. From the above it is obvious that Nigeria on its own has also adopted to become a Federation as well as a Republic. A Federation can be defined as a group of states with a central government but independence in internal affairs while a Republic can also be defined as a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch. The process in which the people elect their representatives is called Democracy. Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

Since Nigeria is a Federation broken down into three tiers of Governance which are the Federal, State and Local Government, it is imperative that the notion currently in the minds of the average Nigerian be recapitulated, repositioned and reoriented to see the real picture which seems to elude the eligible voting members of the State which is their fundamental right and civic duty to vote in the right candidates based on their previous records, good antecedence and control the power, not the Politicians who are certainly in the minority.

This brings me to my two kobo and observation of the just concluded elections in Nigeria let me start with the Presidential elections. Typically it is said that power resides in the Central Government in Nigeria. Therefore it is expected that every tribe will want their own person to be in control of the central Government but it is mind bugging to see that Politicians will use everything within their means to make sure that they can grab the power of the central Government at all cost this has resulted in Tribal, Religious, ethnic and other relative bigotries. Individual camps have their own ideology on what is expected and what they are ready to do and undo to see their ideas imposed on the eligible voting public. We are currently experiencing the Post Obedient era in the history of Nigerian Politics were the old order of running elections was finally laid to rest or at least brought to a minimal proportion of vote buying and the outright purchase of the eligible voters with staples and stipends in exchange for Political offices. The masses flocked out in their millions to vote for who they thought would be their President but the outcome of the election of the 25th of February 2023 left a lot of the eligible voting public disappointed once again in the voting process in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. On the other hand the eligible voting public voted in the Members of the Federal Legislative which was majorly in line with their understanding of what should be the standard of the process. In that election surprising enough it was noted that for the first time in recent times an Okada Rider was elected into federal office by the mandate of the people. The will of the voting public was respected in all its ramifications. However, much can still be done to change the narrative although it is a step in the right direction but they were pockets of vote manipulations in some certain states as recorded by the media.

The Governorship elections and State Houses of Assembly which was held on the 18th of March 2023 did not experience the large turnout of the 25th of February 2023 and this worried me and it was at this point I saw very clearly that the eligible voters had been sold a lie that is meant to disenfranchise the general public. Power indeed starts at the ward level in every respective state and not in the Federal Government. Power is taken at the Ward level which metamorphosis to the Local Government and then the State Level. Then this question comes to mind, if a Northerner, Westerner, Southerner or Easterner were the President of Nigeria will it stop the monthly allocation to the various states? The answer remains a big NO! Why then do we all have to concentrate on the Federal Government Elections and forget the actual elections that matter thereby enabling the State Governors rig with impunity and install their successors without the people’s mandate?

In law school it was said that when you do not find a law in any state of the Federation that applies to a case you look to Lagos State in the instant case in politics we should look to Kano state for proper direction in the cult like followership of who governs the masses, as was seen be the massive turnout and participation in the process sweeping the state clean of the Politicians they did not want at the helm of affairs. The Elections have come and gone what is left is for the eligible voting class to reevaluate themselves to see that they have abandoned the elections that most interestingly affects them and have failed to participate in mass in the Gubernatorial, House of Assembly elections which would have drastically reduced the irregularities such as the use of thugs to intimidate and promote violence, vote buying, result writing and such like things that have affected this very important election negatively and has been hijacked by the incumbent Governors come to an end. States like Kwara with the “otoge movement” and Currently Abia State although the result seems inconclusive at the point of my writing this article have exhibited dissatisfaction with the old regime and the way things have been done or conducted. President Muhammadu Buhari may not be liked for his leadership style and the hardship he brought with his style of Governance, one thing remains and he always said it when he was dragged by the media and the masses that they should hold the Traditional Rulers, Local Government Chairmen, State Governors etc accountable for whatever the outcome of the challenges within the respective state whether they were Security, economical, health, infrastructure etc which I completely agree with him. Governance starts at the State not in Abuja. Therefore, if the eligible voters who are the ones saddled with the responsibility of bringing about good or bad governance by their active or negligent behavior in the electoral process decide to stand and protect their votes, how many thugs will be able to withstand the force of the eligible voters.

The lackadaisical and nonchalant attitude exhibited by eligible voting Nigerians is the only reason thugs are continually used by the ruling class to intimidate and institutionalize violence. Like it is said “it is the rat at home that brings the one from outside and shows that foreign rat the way around”. It only takes the foundational institutions like the Royal Fathers to come up with policies to checkmate any known thug and visit his sins on his family members within the community his/her nefarious activities were felt. How can the use of thugs make meaning if the cult like followership of Kano is replicated in all the states of the Federation?

In summary my write up is to add my voice or my two kobo to the need for the eligible voting class of Nigeria to wake up and look this decadence in the face and decide to make a change for the better. The Federal Government can only function properly if the Councilor is held accountable at his/her level of governance, the State House of Assembly Member held accountable and liable for his/her level of governance, the Local Government Chairman is held liable and accountable for whatever happens within his/her level of governance, The House of Representative Member held accountable and liable for his/her level of governance, The Senator held accountable and liable for his/her level of governance and lastly the State Governor should be held liable not only by his/her opposition but majorly by the eligible voting Nigerians who can achieve this though their various representatives they put in office thereby making governance easy at the Federal Level where major decisions are taken that affect the sovereignty of the Nation at large. The burden of effective and eventual change lies in the hands of the eligible voting class and not in the elected officers once this is known and understood by this class of Nigerians then we can truly say Nigeria is on her way to greatness for now we are still rolling in deep slumber.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria

BY: EBENEZER O.C. OGBUOJI ESQ

BARRISTER AT LAW