2023 Election: The Betrayal, The Tragedy, The Shame

 By Tony Eluemunor

First the betrayal: President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) without being prompted by anyone, repeatedly promised Nigerians a free and fair election in February 2023. Buhari promised that a transparent 2023 election would be his legacy project.

Yet, what happened? International observers have derided both Nigeria and the elections. Both Buhari and the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu knew that giving Nigeria a flawless general election was doable, that the money projected to meet the logistics that would make the poll transparent was duly budgeted for and the monies made available to the electoral agency.

Explaining Peter Obi’s Victory

 By Promise Adiele

This is not a critical dissection of the recently concluded presidential election in Nigeria, an exercise globally acclaimed as a collective assault on the humanity of Nigerians and their civic beings. That political obscenity, through coordinated acts of criminality, raped the intelligence of Nigerians, summarily calling to question those who populate our public service and security apparatuses. 

*Peter Obi

The reactions following the elections have been seething and hysterical, especially for those who believed INEC chairman Prof Yakubu Mahmoud that the results would be transmitted directly from the polling units to the commission’s portal. 

Alas, the BVAS was deliberately incapacitated. It was a beguiling gimmick unleashed on Nigerians through well-lubricated machinery of composite deception. Regrettably, the announced results have momentarily conferred a spurious legitimacy on the ruling APC as they glory in their capture and seizure of vengeful power. The humiliation continues to assail the length and breadth of the country as Nigerians are rudely encouraged to accept the vulgar manifestation of power desperadoes in the country. The temptation to discuss issues arising from the election is compelling but I must remain focused and faithful to the title of this essay. 

My Mother Was A Woman

 By Owei Lakemfa

I am blessed because I am blessed by women. This Wednesday, March 8, I received messages from some women wishing me a happy International Women’s Day. They know I am not part of their gender. But they are aware that I support, speak and fight for gender equity, equal rights and justice for all irrespective of class, race and gender. One of the earliest such messages I received came from the Cuban Ambassador Clara Pullido.

She dotes on some of us like a mother hen protecting her beloved ones.

Peter Obi: As Soludo Accepts The Judgement Of History

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

In his November 14, 2022 political takedown of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Anambra State governor, wrote: “As history beckons, my conscience and sense of duty to my people dictate that I should never be silent. I will happily accept the judgment of history for standing by the truth!” That judgement of history came fast and furious on February 25, 2023. And guess what? It was harsh – portrayed Soludo not only as a conscienceless liar without any sense of duty to his people or even fidelity to altruism, but also consigned him to the dustbin of history.

*Obi and Soludo 

All protestations to the contrary notwithstanding, what Soludo did with that statement on Peter Obi titled, “History Beckons And I Will Not Be Silent (Part 1)” was an attempted political assassination. It dripped of betrayal and blackmail. It was backroom politicking in its most unscrupulous and ruthless form. No doubt, the former Central Bank Governor did a yeoman’s work, as quislings always do. But in doing so, he staked his reputation on something not under his control. It has blown up in his face most spectacularly. 

Nigeria: INEC And The Presidential Election Flaws

 By Sonnie Ekwowusi

The February 25, 2023 presidential election is a counterfeit of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. Whereas June 12 is the freest and fairest election in Nigeria, the February 25, election is the most rigged and most robbed presidential election in Nigeria. February 25, was a brazen and barbaric display of impunity by INEC, which ought to be an unbiased umpire in an electoral contest.

*Buhari

The commission and its chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, flagrantly flouted INEC rules, which they made to guide the February 25, election? The BVAS and IReV were successfully deployed by INEC to upload the National Assembly election results, but not for the presidential election result, which was manually collated, thus enabling the INEC staffers to rig the election. Three days before last Saturday’s presidential election, Prof. Yakubu was reassuring all that INEC would deploy BVAS in electronically uploading the results of the election. Why, then, did Yakubu change his mind to transmit the results manually?

Still In Bewilderment, Gazing At Yakubu

 By Amanze Obi  

There is no beating about the bush here. The cold, hard fact is that Nigerians have just received the deepest cut. They have been stabbed in the neck by someone who promised them life. They have been hit below the belt by a man they thought was harmless. Now, the people are writhing in pains. The country is convulsing in its death throes. 

*Yakubu 

We trace all this to the grand betrayal by Mahmood Yakubu, the infamous chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Yakubu, in life and death, will go down in history as the master dissembler who took his country through the mine field of treachery and deceit. The people believed him till the last hour. They only woke up overnight to discover to their chagrin that he has given them the worst election in the annals of history. The most ironical is that Yakubu’s trenchant assault on the country’s democracy took place at a time the people were expecting to have the freest, fairest and most transparent election in their country’s history. 

Pyrrhic Victory: Tinubu Lacks Legitimacy To Govern Nigeria

 By Olu Fasan

Last year, in his speech at Chatham House, the London-based international affairs think tank, Bola Tinubu made a profound statement that has come back to haunt him, casting a cloud over his declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as the winner of February’s presidential election.

*Bola Tinubu

In the speech, Tinubu said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, required under the Electoral Act 2022, would deliver “the fairest and freest election” in Nigeria’s history. His words: “This is particularly important because the next president of Nigeria have some tough choices to make and will not be able to do so with questionable electoral mandate.”

Think, Before You Rwanda Lagos!

 By Jide Johnson

Long before the ethno-political madness for power started in 1998, which has taken an untoward dimension in recent years, Chief Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi sang a song, ‘Lagos State is the place for all…’ I am sure a lot of revisionists and ethno-bigots will disagree with me now because of the high stake politics of a selfish few, with disregard for the good of the majority. 

Frank Mba In Ogun: A Take From Jose Mourinho

 By Banji Ojewale

Jose Mourinho is the unpredictable, irritable yet unforgettable Portuguese soccer coach renowned for a host of feats confounding forecasters. He took clubs to great heights in his in-form days. Few tenderers of his era have matched his history: he has won a domestic title record in four different countries; he is one of only three managers to have lifted the UEFA Champions League twice with two different clubs; he is the first manager to clinch a European hat-trick, after winning the inaugural 2022 Europa Conference League with Roma, having previously secured the Champions League and the Europa version.

What’s the magic, if there’s any, that earns you prized international accolades in such a gritty sport? Once, in the newsroom of a popular TV station in Lagos, I listened as an analyst previewing a Mourinho match, attempted an answer; he sought a ‘’demystification’’ of the ways of the 60-year-old who calls himself the “Special One’’. He said all you needed to second-guess the Portuguese in a game was to look closely at his starting selection; it would lead you straight into his secret.

Nigeria: Steal The Election And Let Them Go To Court

 By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

Any ruling party can make even a goat win an election. The only exception to this great truism is Goodluck Jonathan who lost his baton. Nigeria had a much-ballyhooed presidential election on February 25, and there is not much to report except that the election was bought and sold. 

Any talk of the elections being free, fair and credible belongs to fiction. The election result was declared at the ungodly hour of 4am, and losers in the contest were asked to go to court. It’s a well-worn mantra – steal the election for me and tell the opposition to go to court very fast. 

Nigeria: Tainted Presidency For A Broken Country

 By Ugo Onuoha

Elections are combining with other factors to destroy Nigeria’s democracy. And the country itself. The signs are writ large though we play the ostrich. Elsewhere, especially in saner climes, elections help to strengthen the foundations and building blocks of democracy. Not so here. Since the return of civil rule in 1999, which by the way had been dominated by retired army generals, elections have turned out to be poorly planned and even more poorly conducted.

The consequences are that election results have serially failed to reflect the will of the majority of Nigerians, and so more and more of our people are turning their backs on the ballot box as an acceptable mode of choosing their preferred political leaders. The fear is that the outcome of the 2023 presidential election will compound the loss of faith in democracy.

Peter Obi: Proving Possibility Of A New Nigeria

 By Ike Chioke

When the storm of this general election is over, we shall be left with a few lessons. One is, never underestimate the will of a determined people. The other is, when the shepherd is ready, the flock will appear. 

*Peter Obi 

Indeed, people, who study politics and societies in transition, will find a fascinating new model in Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate. In a continent wracked sore by leadership challenges, Obi’s emergence represents a rupture in the dynamics of power and the socio-cultural alignments of the Nigerian society. Never has an outsider from the power calculus staged such a storm-trooping stunt in Nigeria’s political history. This is a watershed in our political memory.

In Honour Of Global Statesman Extraordinaire, Chief Emeka Anyaoku @ 90 Years

By Godknows Igali 

Rt. Hon. Chief Emeka Anyaoku, one of Nigeria’s best and most celebrated ever, entered the hallowed chamber of the eldest living patriarchs as he marked his 90th birthday anniversary on 18th January, 2023.  Homebred from Nigeria’s premier University of Ibadan, which by all standards, stands out as a leading centre of learning and incubation of knowledge, Anyaoku is today, one of greatest human minds from the African continent,  acclaimed global diplomat, administrator and traditional authority.

*Anyaoku

As expected, for such a personality who has attained the apogee of human accomplishment, the world’s greatest and strongest greeted his  ripe age with the kindest of words.  Worthy of note was the congratulations from Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, who for one has a good record of regularly appreciating Nigerians who have made imprints on such occasions.  In this case, he poured encomiums on Chief Anyaoku, whom the country has honoured in various ways.

The Battles Between Young General Buhari And Retired Teacher, Ajasin

 By Owei Lakemfa

The battles I describe, took place four decades ago. They speak to character and governance; some of the problems we have today and why the country is in turmoil. They were between a then 42-year-old General Muhammadu Buhari and  76-year-old Michael Adekunle Ajasin who had retired after 54 years of teaching from July 1921 to August 1975.

*Adekunle Ajasin

Both men represented different values: one relying on coercion and the other on persuasion and reliance on the intellect. Ajasin had been admitted into the Fourah Bay College for a Bachelor Programme in English, Modern History and Economics in 1943, that is one year after Buhari was born.

Elections: Presidency Has Fooled Nigerians

 By Casmir Igbokwe

The senior military officer looked with pity on some citizens marching enthusiastically to go and cast their votes. “You are wasting your time,” he said. It was in Lagos on the day of the presidential and National Assembly elections. When prodded, this officer alleged that a security report came shortly before the election, indicating who the powers that be wanted as President. This supposedly meant that the security men would have to cooperate to deliver the anointed one. I dismissed this information. But when President Muhammadu Buhari illegally raised his ballot paper to show that he voted for his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), I became suspicious.

It was then that what Reverend Father Emmanuel (surname withheld) told me five days to the election dawned on me. This priest said he was highly afraid the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, might not make it to Aso Rock. “The cabals are highly against him. I have been praying about this, but God can’t do for human beings what they can do for themselves,” he added. This was actually his reaction to my article titled, “Electing Nigeria’s miraculous President,” published on Monday, February 20, 2023.

Yakubu Mahmood’s INEC Fooled Nigerians

 By Charles Okoh

For a lot of Nigerians who had looked forward to using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) technology in the presidential and National Assembly elections of Saturday, February 25, it was a huge disappointment to see that that was not to be. Well, maybe, except for those who conspired to see that the device, which the INEC chairman Yakubu Mahmood and his team had touted as the game changer, did not work.

*Yakubu

The BVAS, it was expected, will help deepen our democracy by removing as much as possible human intervention in the process. Opportunities were provided by INEC for manipulation, thereby exposing to the world their insincerity. In the end it was a total waste of the time of the voter and the resources of a nation whose revenues have continued to dwindle.

The Triumph Of The Wicked Shall Be Short!

 

Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,

That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;

Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?

He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.

The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.

— Job 20:4-9

Nigeria: INEC’s Shit-Show

 By Obi Nwakanma

The governing All Progressives Congress (APC) had no sterling records on which to run and return to power in the federation of Nigeria in this election. The facts were stark. Compared to February 2015 when the party, an alliance of the discontented, fielded the ex-military dictator, Mr. Muhammadu Buhari, a former Major-General and at that time serial contestant for the office of the president of Nigeria, the mood had swung so heavily against the APC nation-wide in 2023. 

*Prof Yakubu, INEC Chair

Nigerians were measuring the time of the PDP, from 1999 to the time of the APC, from 2015 to the current year. As a Nigerian engineer told me, “you could say anything about the PDP, but what you could never say was that they put Nigerians through hunger. Under the PDP Nigerians took for granted that you could put food on the table without much hassle. But since the APC, all those things you took for granted – just food – including ordinary cereal and milk for kids have become unbearably exorbitant and impossible to buy.” 

Buhari’s Currency Change Fiasco, Failure Like No Other

 By Tony Eluemunor

Right now, Nigeria is sup-posed to have about the most experienced presi-dent on planet Earth. Or, how many serving Presidents have come onto their own when Gen. Muhammadu Buhari became Head of State on January 1st, 1984. That was 39 years ago! Yet, I’m reminded of Chinua Achebe’s saying in his first book of essays, Morning Yet On Creation Day; that experience does not automatically come from what happened “because much can happen to a stone without making that stone any wiser”.

So, he wrote that experience comes from the lessons we learn from whatever has happened. This means that we could learn the right or wrong lessons or no lessons at all. Yes, people repeat past mistakes simply because they fail to learn the right lessons from past events. 

Lagos Guber Polls: Attacks On Ndigbo And What Sanwo-Olu Must Do!

 By Steve Osuji

The Saturday guber election in Lagos is a diadem. For Lagosians, it’s probably as big as last Saturday’s presidential tournament, if not more significant. Campaigns have been raging in Lagos , especially in the social media. So have calumny and ethnic brickbats been flying between traditional rivals: Igbo and Yoruba. 

Let it be presented upfront that one of the most underrated and unspoken problems of Nigeria is the ruinous rivalry between Igbo and Yoruba of Nigeria.  

As I have noted in the past, Igbo and Yoruba in Nigeria may be compared to the German and English of Western Europe. Imagine Germany and Britain existing as a country. These are two great peoples (nations) not to be lumped under one umbrella or forcibly forge into a nation.