Kogi, Imo And Bayelsa Off-Cycle Elections: Applauding Dysfunctionality

 By Alabi Williams

Year 2023 began with a lot of trepidation over the general elections. Nothing seemed very sure, especially as the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), prevaricated on its choices. That caused them to resort to self-help at different levels. In all, new experiences emerged and suggestions are being canvassed on how to raise the integrity bar in the next elections.

The three off-cycle elections in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa have also come and gone. Off course, there will be disputations at the tribunals on how the playing-ground was tampered with to make it cumbersome for some players. Some take-aways have emerged to further the conversation on the precarious nature of this democracy. For some, there were no elections in many places and the exercise was a bug joke. For others, it is the smart politicians that took the day.

Rotimi Amaechi’s Glib Talk And Threat To Democracy In Rivers

 By Alabi Williams

Rotimi Amaechi, former minister and governor of Rivers State, at a public lecture on Thursday, October 26, sounded rather melancholic. For a man who has been in government since 1999, first as two-term speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly and later as governor for eight years, before he served as minister of the Federal Republic for another eight years, all on a platter, the privileges he amassed do not justify the grief he attempted to offload. And he was most unfair and incorrect as he tried to blame the polity’s woes on the people.

*Rotimi Amaechi

That same week, Port Harcourt was in turmoil as former governor Nyesom Wike vainly and desperately sought to protect a so-called political structure he claimed to have built. In a democracy, do individuals own political structures to the exclusion of the political party? And whose resources did he deploy to build the structure, Rivers’ taxpayers’ monies?

Nigeria: Time To Rework APC

By Alabi Williams

The fortunes of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have plummeted seriously since the party won the 2015 presidential election. The party had drifted aimlessly for three years, and some of us waited for the time someone will halt the drift.

*APC leaders: President Buhari and
Bola Tinubu

 That nearly happened last week, when President Buhari, as the foremost leader of the party told his party men to take another look at the contentious tenure elongation that was gratuitously handed to the John Odigie-Oyegun-led national executive, as well as others in the states and local governments.

On February 27, at the end of its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, the party, without due consultations suddenly extended the tenure of its National Working Committee (NWC), by one year. 

Nigeria: Eighteen Years Of Threatened Democracy

By Alabi Williams

After 18 years of democracy, we do not need to search very far to know how well the journey has fared. The glaring evidence of how troubled it has been is the very fact that we are still discussing the idea of a coup, no matter how embryonic and remote it may have been. That some people still nurse nostalgia for the salvation procurable via coups suggests that this democracy is not offering what it was programmed to deliver. There is sufficient amount of desperation that triggers a search for alternatives. Unfortunately, the one ready alternative people tucked somewhere in their psyche, is the military, with capacity to obliterate the present nonsense and begin afresh. Very tempting.

But many have rushed out to condemn the thought of a coup because of very ugly past experiences. The military has so debased itself that its original messianic capacity has been squandered. At the point it was forced to exit from civil governance, the military had transformed into a rampaging occupation force, abusing rights of citizens and stealing their money.

Nigeria: Season Of Photo Tricks, Mischief

By Alabi Williams

It is yet another season of political power play. Each government comes with its version, but they are all the same. They seek power, but without the deep conviction of how to utilise it for the transformation of society. At the end of the day, they leave citizens stranded. Nigeria is stranded.

 

*Buhari 

When Nigerians demanded democratic rule after years of military encroachment, there was a justifiable urgency to have power transferred by all means. There was, however, no serious debate on how to utilise the enormous powers and resources. Too much was left in the hands of the political parties and their sponsors. Too much was left in the hands of the president and the hangers-on.

Today, it is a shame that Nigerians have resorted to street protests, in order to command a hearing from those they have enthroned. Those who begged for votes yesterday and promised heaven on earth are now locked in the same power play they accused others of. Voters who thought they saw Change in 2015 are now blaming their blurry sights. They were sold gbanjo. Even for the elected, it has become a game of survival. There is now a difference among those in the inner chambers and those in the periphery. We saw it the other time. Forget photo tricks.

Nigeria: APC’s Road To Infamy

By Alabi Williams  

In the beginning, all seemed very well with the All Progressives Congress (APC). As the fortunes of the former ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dimmed, that of the new coalition shone luxuriantly. Politicians began to fall over themselves to partake in the assemblage, even as thousands of volunteers outside the party system placed their bet on the party. Without being asked, they turned social media campaigners for the election of candidate Muhammadu Buhari. 

It could be said that in the build up to the 2015 elections, Buhari and his party had their palm kernels cracked on their behalf by a benevolent spirit. APC had little to do to clinch victory, as PDP had burnt its credit so prodigally that it was only a matter of time for it to unravel. At home and abroad, enthusiasts were just waiting for elections to come and go. The frenzy was so pervasive that the government of Goodluck Jonathan had to device some means to adjust voting dates, and postpone day of reckoning. Even that did not stop chants of Sai Baba!

Eventually, Buhari won and was crowned on May 29, 2015. It was time to unbundle the wrap of campaign promises, especially that of making one naira equal to one dollar. It turned out that there was a huge difference between asking for votes and delivering on promises. It turned out that beyond the excitement of winning election, there has to be proven capacity to comprehend the issues and conceptualise a process to confront them. That is where a good number of Nigerians, particularly friends of the APC in the social media, were forced to part ways with government.

Today, the level of discontent with the Buhari government is frightening. The quantity of bile social media ‘journalists’ spew and its toxic content is enough to send a chicken-hearted president on permanent bed rest. The rumour mill is agog with very offensive content, and you wonder how fast the APC has frittered away the credibility and trust on which it rode to power. And they are not about to back off, as the economy is not showing signs of quick recovery. Their anger is that they were conned by the ruling party, into believing that once they assist to send the other government away, Nigeria will become an el dorado overnight. In other words, they are angry with this government over its policies that do not seem to work and have human face. 

When Buhari came onboard, reflex action on the part of some agencies of government created mirages that were thought to be early signs of the change that was promised. Electricity supply became relatively more assured; supply of PMS at the former price of N87 became readily available, and Nigerians were beginning to reenact the social discipline that hallmarked Buhari’s first coming, as military head of state. Effortlessly, and without raising a hand, things seemed to work and the party in government attributed that to be the body language of Buhari in action. They began to celebrate with much noise.

APC: A Descent Into Clannishness

By Alabi Williams  

Nobody expected that all would be perfect in the All Progressives Congress (APC), after it hurriedly coalesced in 2013, and when it was apparent that occupants of Aso Rock were not too concerned about retaining the office. But many thought that the very reason and manner of its emergence and the groundswell of goodwill that greeted it would mitigate the resort to self-help and the rat race that characterizes party system in this clime.

*APC Chairman Oyegun and President Buhari 

When people thought it was difficult to forge the kind of alliances that brought it about, the APC pulled a surprise. Some had dug into Nigeria’s political history, to justify why the north and south west never agree politically, thus, that an alliance between the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and others, particularly from the north was a no-go area. But the stakeholders denied themselves, to prove bookmakers wrong.

It was also unheard of, that a coalition of struggling parties could rally round to unseat a ruling party that has governed for 16 years. So, the APC did not just join forces; it contested a very crucial election and formed government. But what the party has done with its victory is so far, not what onlookers and even insiders bargained for.

Now, everyone knows that our politicians are not so charitable to invest so heavily in power game without expecting returns. Even though the APC is yet to unveil its campaign expenditure for 2015, we all know that a lot of resources went into it. Those who doled out such funds did so because they wanted to leverage on their investment to access more funds. We also know that government is the major source of riches and the richer our politicians, the more they are able to dominate.

However, in the campaigns, APC promised change, which was to lead to a more accountable and transparent government, different from the one they just ousted. We knew that could not just happen. And since there was no forum to explain the new order, members took it as another campaign promise that will need time to fulfill. After all, a number of other promises have been rescheduled till when the economy gets better.

That set the stage for self-help. The first major trouble was how to manage the party’s less than absolute majority in the National Assembly. If the figures were to be poorly managed, the opposition with its sizable number could be tempted to cause some harm. That was exactly what happened on June 9, 2015. The party had gone into government with the same divisions it brought from outside. Blending did not take place and smartness took over. And there were losers and gainers. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State and one of the leading lights in the APC got bruised in the jostle for space, as his favoured candidates were shoved aside both in the Senate and the House. The man licked his wounds and kept quiet.

NASS: An Anniversary, A Farce

By Alabi Williams  

This 8th National Assembly, on June 9, rolled out drums to mark the first anniversary of its inauguration; it was an eventful year. It was a year when the current leadership of the legislature, particularly the Senate, weathered severe storm sowed by it, but watered viciously from the outside. Their resort to celebration and arrogant chest-thumping was not so much about how the NASS quickly transformed the business of lawmaking within one year, and how that had made the country more governable. It was also not about how well life has become more meaningful in the last one year for ordinary Nigerians. It was more about Bukola Saraki, the Senate president and how he managed to survive the plot by his own party to wrest the mace from his grip.

*Speaker Dogara and Senate President Saraki 

Remembering how deftly Saraki and his loyalists valiantly engineered that parliamentary maneuver to take over the leadership sure deserves several backslaps. It was a historical move; hence the entire anniversary plenary was dedicated to recollecting how the tricks were played, and to bond together in the assurance not to break ranks, despite the shift in the battle from the floor to the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

The effusions were quite entertaining. Senators took turns to pour encomiums on that scheme and how deft hands have kept it from slipping. Minority leader and former governor of Akwa Ibom, Godswill Akpabio, poked fun at how the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) helped to install and stabilize Saraki, while his party tugged at his cloak to unmask him. Dino Melaye, ever boisterous, promised Saraki would never be unveiled, despite the distractions from outside. It was all smiles on the face of Saraki, whom he praised to high heavens.

 Indeed, victory is sweet, and for some, it does not matter the schemes that were deployed to fetch it. But there were some in the Red chamber who sat demurely all through the proceedings. They knew it was sham, but they have to live with it and wait for another time. They were outsmarted on that morning of June 9, 2015, when they followed another summon to the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja, instead of coming to the NASS after President Buhari, who allegedly issued the invite, had proclaimed the legislature.

The truth of that mix up will take time to unravel. Those who sent sms to invite APC senators to ICC knew what they were up to, to apparently distract the larger chunk of members from participating in the election of presiding officers. And the few APC senators, including Saraki, who shunned the invitation, and decided instead to sneak into the Red Chamber well disguised, also knew what they intended to achieve. Either way, what was at play was plain crookedness and not chivalry. The Senate has remained haunted since that episode, unable to be majestic and to rise up to the crucial challenges of a changed political atmosphere. Despite their huff and puff, they have not affected governance in any remarkable way.

Some people saw it coming in the manner the party in government was artificially and untidily strewed. In 2014, APC was all about how to win elections. There was no time and foresight to indulge in the luxury of an audit to test the integrity of its component units. After it won election, the next legitimate aspiration of members was how to allocate the booty. By that time, it was too late to enforce orders. Saraki and some people decided to help themselves to plum offices.

Time To Review Nigeria

Alabi Williams

When some concerned intelligence quarters in the U.S advised that 2015 could be ominous for Nigeria, not many people took the concern to heart. Some even jeered at the peep as another meddlesomeness of the West. There was sufficient time between when the alert was issued way back in 2006 and 2015 for some reasonable measures to be put in place to shame the doomsayers, assuming that was all there was to it. There were also no signs that the matter was handed to local intelligence units to interrogate. In the absence of a concerted official position on the prediction, individual politicians swore to high heavens that Nigeria had come too far to disintegrate. Private citizens, as usual, launched into prayers to ward off the forecast from hell, and to possibly return it to those who sent it.

(pix:nigeriancurrents)

Year 2015 has come and gone and the house has not fallen, even though we did not do anything special to reinforce its structures. Glory be to God. But how long can the house continue to stand when there are no deliberate efforts to prolong its lifespan, except to hope and pray? But citizens continue to do a lot of other things to hewn at its foundations and the leadership refusing to hearken to calls to retool for enhanced cohesion and greater performance.

Until three weeks ago, the most disturbing news item was that of herdsmen who prowled communities of Benue, Enugu, Oyo, Delta and everywhere, unleashing terror on armless victims and setting their homes ablaze. Skirmishes between herdsmen and farmers had gone on for decades, but such were settled with sticks, and perhaps bows and arrows. Herdsmen used to carry local guns for hunting animals. In those days, herdsmen travel for kilometers in search of grazing lands and they did not seek to drive local farmers away to inherit their lands. If there were skirmishes, they were isolated and were within the capacity of community leaders to manage.

But as if to hasten the U.S prediction on disintegration, even if not within the 2015 timeline, herdsmen of recent years leave no one in doubt about their notion of a country. They want to operate like doctors with borders, roaming without inhibitions of law and space, trampling on territories and annexing vast swathes, even ancestral lands. They went to Plateau and left behind desolation and deaths. Then they went with temerity to Kaduna, south of the state and inflicted collateral damage on the local population. Then they went to Nasarawa, where prevailing internecine suspicions among local tribes aided their exploits. Then they crossed into Benue, Kogi, Ondo, and Oyo and were unhindered, even though they made front pages when they visited chief Olu Falae. It was in Enugu, and of recent Ekiti that their accomplishments received more than the usual feeble condemnations of the past.