The Independent National Electoral Commission has announced that it has rescheduled elections in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers because voting did not take place there in today’s nationwide Presidential and parliamentary elections. The commission’s spokesperson in Rivers State, Edwin Enabor, confirmed that elections in the area would now hold on another date to be set by the commission. “In Bonny, there was no election at all. The exercise there has been postponed. It will hold on another day.” Reports earlier in the day showed that members of the All Progressives Congress (APN) had stopped materials and personnel from leaving the INEC office there because of the allegation that the ballot papers deployed to the area were fake. A resident, Opuade Abbey, said that the area had been taken over by armed security operatives including soldiers. The development in Bonny may affect the results of Rivers southeast senatorial district and Bonny/Degema federal constituency elections. Elsewhere, in Okrika Local Government Area, Enabor said that sensitive materials for one ward was diverted. “Therefore voting did not hold in the affected registration area (ward),” he said. “The position of the commission is that election will be conducted separately for that registration area later.” Source: PREMIUM TIMES.
President Muhammadu Buhari and presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has trounced his main challenger in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar right in his Polling Unit of Adamawa State, in the presidential and parliamentary elections conducted today, Saturday.
President Buhari also won the election in the polling unit of the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who has been the strong supporting pillar for Atiku.
Reports of the results twinkling in from various polling units as they were being counted publicly before they were moved to Wards, Local Governments and States showed that in Central Primary School (I) Polling Unit Jada, Adamawa, Buhari of the APC polled 475 while Atiku of the PDP polled 140 even as in Obasanjo’s Polling Unit in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Buhari got a total vote of 87 as Atiku got 18. In another polling unit in Adamawa, Buhari polled 242 votes to defeat Atiku with 60 votes.
In Katsina state, results from the Emir’s palace in Daura, Katsina showed that while Buhari polled 150 votes, Atiku got zero vote even as Buhari scored 226 in Baruma II in the same Katsina as Atiku got zero vote too. In Baruma III, Buhari got 348 votes while Atiku managed to get five votes.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has made an intervention of $268.4 million in the retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) and CNY 46.3 million in the spot and short tenored forwards segment of the inter-bank foreign market.
This was disclosed by the Director, Corporate Communications Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Isaac Okorafor, who revealed that the intervention was for requests in the agricultural and raw materials sectors. The Chinese Yuan, on the other hand, was for Renminbi denominated Letters of Credit.
Okorafor expressed satisfaction over the stability in the foreign exchange market which,
according to him, is largely due to sustained intervention by the bank.
He assured that the apex bank would remain committed to ensuring that all the sectors of the forex market continue to enjoy access to the needed foreign exchange.
This was even as $1 exchanged for N360 at the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange market, while CNY1 exchanged at N54 today, Friday.
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu has warned Nigerians not to issue results of the Presidential election that will be conducted tomorrow across the country.
Professor Yakubu, who briefed news men today, Friday in Abuja, on the preparations of the Commission for the rescheduled election, made it clear that it is only INEC that is empowered by law to declare results.
“The commission will work assiduously to ensure that collation and declaration of results are done at the various levels expeditiously.
He assured Nigerians that the commission has concluded the deployment of sensitive and non sensitive materials to the 774 local government areas across the country.
“We engaged 825,543 ad hoc staff ranging from presiding officers to collation and returning officers.
“We have mobilised 80,000 commercial vehicles and about 996 boats for the deployment of personnel and materials.
“The materials include 707,892 ballot boxes and voting cubicles, and we are mobilising these to various locations by land and sea.
“We have accredited 120 domestic and 36 international observer groups, deploying accumulative number of 73,000 observers.
“We have concluded the movement of personnel, materials to the 774 local and 8809 RACs nationwide.
“All arrangements are now in place to facilitate opening of polls at 8 a.m. on Saturday,” he said.
He said that measures were also in place to combat vote buying and other electoral malpractice.
He said that the national situation room would open at 6 p.m. on Friday, while the national collation centre would also be opened at 6 p.m. on Sunday, both situated at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja.
The chairman advised eligible voters to visit gotomypu.ng to obtain location to their polling units, saying in the last 10 days about 190,000 persons had utilised the commission’s various social media platforms to geolacate their Polling Units.
He said that the election would be by simultaneous accreditation and voting system, and that only registered voters with Permanent Voter Cards would be allowed to vote.
“As we go to poll tomorrow, I appeal to voters to be peaceful and orderly before, during and after the elections.
“The police working with other security agencies have assured us of adequate security for voters, electoral officers, observers and the media.
“May I also appeal to all to ensure compliance with the usual restriction of movement for those who are not observers or on essential dut,” the chairman said.
On his part, the acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, reiterated that maximum security would be provided before, during and after the election.
Adamu said that the security personnel at the polling units would not be armed and there would be no need for apprehension while the election is going on.
“We have some group of people who might want to disrupt the election we have put in place strategy to stop that.
“We have tactical units of our personnel and other services that will be patrolling everywhere to ensure that the process is not disrupted.
“The patrolling personnel will be armed and will deal with anybody who wants to disrupt the process in the course of the election,
“If any electoral offence is committed, we will work with the INEC officials to apprehend the culprit and set up investigative team headed by Commissioner of Police in charge of legal Unit to investigate the cases and prosecute them.
“Be it vote buying, ballot box snatching, be it thuggery, if you commit that, you will be arrested and prosecuted.
“After the voting, movement of electoral materials to the collation centre will be protected. Armed security personnel will be posted to the ward collation centres.
“Even when the results are announced, those people who are planning to disrupt the process, we have put strategies in place to prevent that.”
The IGP said what was required from all Nigerians was to go out peacefully, cast their vote and wait for the announcement of the results.
“If you have no business on the Election Day if you are not an accredited official, please don’t come out.
“All the accredited officials, whether domestic or foreign observers, must carry their tags. You can move freely and be protected.
“If you identify anybody that wants to infiltrate you and claim to be an observer for a group, we will appreciate you exposing such a person for us to remove him or her from your group.”
The national election will hold in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Voting will take place in 176,973 locations, made up of 119,973 polling units and 57, 023 voting points.
At the tomorrow’s election a President, 109 senators and 360 House of Representatives members will be elected.
Executors for Michael Jackson’s estate have filed a $100 million lawsuit against bosses at U.S. network HBO over a controversial new documentary detailing sexual abuse allegations against the late singer.
The documentary, titled: Leaving Neverland, centres on two men who claim the King of Pop abused them when they were children.
The Thriller singer began long-running relationships with the families of Wade Robson and Jimmy Safechuck in the late 1980s, when they were age seven and 10, respectively.
In the film, the pair speak about Jackson’s alleged misconduct and how they came to terms with it in their adult life.
While there has been considerable media interest in the documentary, which is set to air on the U.K. channel on 6 and 7 March and Sunday, 3 March on HBO in the U.S., Jackson’s family has been vocal in their opposition to the feature.
“I think we can all agree that the false allegations being made in your ‘documentary’ are ‘significant allegations’,” they wrote a letter, which was released to the Associated Press earlier this month (Feb19). “It is hard to imagine more significant accusations that can possibly be made against anyone.”
According to The Blast, estate officials have filed a petition to compel HBO executives into arbitration and have launched a $100 million lawsuit. They also argue that because Jackson has a “longstanding contractual relationship” with HBO, that a non-disparagement clause was violated.
“HBO breached its agreement not to disparage Michael Jackson by producing and selling to the public a one-sided marathon of unvetted propaganda to shamelessly exploit an innocent man no longer here to defend himself,” estate attorney Howard Weitzman tells the website.
“HBO could have and should have ensured that Leaving Neverland was properly sourced, fact checked and a fair and balanced representation,” he continues. “Instead they chose to fund and produce a film where they knew the two subjects had for many years testified under oath and told family, friends and law enforcement that Mr. Jackson did nothing inappropriate to either of them.”
After everything, Nigeria’s “Day of Great Expectation” in the words of ace writer, Charles Dickson comes up on February 23, 2019. For this, about 72.7 million eligible voters will gather in 176,000 Polling Units across the country to elect a President and members of the country’s National Assembly. This comes two weeks ahead of similar elections for majority of the Governors of the country’s 36 states and Legislatures at that level.
But more than any other elections in the past, the 2019 polls mean different things to virtually all key stakeholders. For example, for leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the seeming despair for victory at the elections, is hinged on the need to consolidate on what they claim are past four years of achievements. Conversely, the assertiveness with which the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has pursued the electoral contest finds meaning in regaining power which it lost four years ago after boasts of being invincible.
The PDP, which also claimed to be Africa’s biggest political movement as well as many Nigerians also argue that the years of APC’s governance have only inflicted the country with negative indicators. But for leaders of other smaller political parties, and at least over 60 of them are on the Presidential ballot form, this election is an opportunity to wrest power out of the hands of the establishment political order represented by the APC and PDP. They argue that both are tainted with corruption, old-style ideas and lacking inclusiveness of younger generations in the scheme of things. Yet, many sections of the country see the elections, especially the Presidential ballot as a “referendum on the question of restructuring” the Nigerian polity.
The campaigns have therefore been very incisive, fervid and at times anything but desperate. Beyond the hostile pitch and large-scale resort to hard language and communication, the entire process has created fear and even panic within the population. Not surprising, many Nigerians have retired to their places of nativity till the coast is clear. The atmosphere therefore remains ominous, foreboding what will happen when the results get finally announced.
This atmosphere easily brings to recollection, the date November 20, 1983, when the American television film, “The Day After” hit the screens with hundreds of millions all over the world spellbound by its unique combination of technology and effect. That motion picture still maintains a record as “the highest-rated television film in history”. But more than that was its captivating and distinctly compelling message and undertone of the before-during-and-after scenarios of a supposed hostile situation leading to a nuclear war. It retold the policies that were being needlessly and unguardedly pursued during the ill-famed “Cold War” years by the Soviet Bloc led by Russia and its arch rivals the West under the command of the United States.
In that movie, there were incalculable waste of monetary resources, human efforts and time, all negatively deployed to unproductive ends by both sides. Between the two ideological blocs, intemperate and wrathful dispositions, wickedly and fiendly mindsets and unbridled elevation of personal ego by leadership and what they considered as national pride, were the order. As the storms gathered, defiant voices of hostile communication dominated radio and television. Hearsays, exaggerated narratives, half-truths, threats and propaganda became the norm. Caution, moderation, middle grounds, and forbearance were considered as expressions of weakness and undue appeasement.
In that story, much more than the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki both of which were destroyed during Second World War, all places affected, by the crisis depicted in the film became total wastelands.
But, after all the angered nerves and seeming move to Armageddon, the same leaders declared ceasefire. They now had to clean up, build and rebuild all the damage and mess.
This great drama series directed by Nicholas Meyer merely depicted in the most poignant manner a typical course of human action that repeats itself in the most animalistic manner. The world is replete with crises and wars because of such predilections. The First and Second World Wars (1914-1919 and 1939-1945) left human carnages of over 16 million and 60 million lives respectively. Africa lost about 10 million people to wars and conflicts between 1990 and 2000. The war in the Balkans in the 1990s resulted in the death of over 140,000 human lives and the displacement of 4 million people. The Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) of 30 months took a toll of over 2 million lives, while Rwanda’s Civil War led to the genocide of 800 thousand, mostlly, ethnic Tutsis in just 100 days of killing orgy.
Of all these conflict scenes, one that is increasingly more prevalent are Post Election Crises, especially on the African continent. A few examples will suffice.
Despite its hitherto political stability and peace, relative to neighbours such as Somalia, Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda, the 2007-2008, East Africa’s power house, Kenyan Post Election Crises resulted in 1,000 deaths. Previously, the country had experienced similar incidents in 1992 and 1997 which ended in skirmishes. Electoral violence have also occurred in other places such as Zimbabwe in 2005 and in 2008 while the Democratic Republic of Congo suffered similar fate in 2006 and 2011. Up North Africa, Tunisia and Egypt were also not left out during the 2011-2012 period. In all these instances, bloodletting of innocent citizens, championed by political elites was pervasive and unrestraint.
In another case Cote d’Ivoire, the world’s largest producer of Cocoa which had been considered a bastion of peace and economic stability in West Africa, went through Civil war in 2010-2012 following inconclusive elections. It left carnage of over 1 million lives and took the country several years behind. Similarly In 2015, Guinea, the first country in French West Africa to attain independence in 1958 and had enjoyed relative peace found itself on the precipe as a result of corrupted elections. The same also happened in Uganda in 2016.
Most studies and available literature show that crises and violence often occur at virtually all stages of the electoral cycle.
During the electioneering campaigns, the tendency to use offensive language, incitements and hate speech inexorably create the background for latter escalations. In many instances, political actors in veiled and couched languages incite followers to insist on victory and victory alone. Even with the innovations of international and local pre-election mediation efforts, hate speech and incitements continue to prowl the African electoral landscape.
Similarly, actual voting and rendition of results in most of the cases in Africa have shown a great disinterest by key actors, even the highest political office holders to allow the actual outcome to be free and fair. Most often, there are covert and at times open interferences at various stages. In this process, both electoral bureaucracy and law enforcement officials are brought under great burden and compromised to do the wrong thing.
The ultimate stage is the post election altercation which occurs in most cases. In 2011, post election violence despite ongoing judicial process in Nigeria claimed a record of 1,000 lives, including many Youth Corpers. However, despite all predictions and prognosis of the “mother of all conflicts”, respite came the way of the Nigeria when a unilateral action by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 saved the day. Dr. Jonathan who had consistently disproved the “do-and-die” politics, unilaterally and unconditionally conceded defeat rather prematurely; once he saw that the numbers were not adding up. On the continent? Yes. This unique and outstanding effort was shortly followed by immediate past Ghanian President, Dr. John Mahama who in 2016 followed suit to accept electoral outcome early. In other cases as recently occurred in Cameroon and DRC, the outcomes were challenged in court and amicably resolved. The resort to acrimonious legal battles by loosing sides has, unfortunately, been the record also in Nigeria in 1979, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011.
Against this background, the question is what should Nigerian and African political elite remind themselves or rather, ourselves during these periodic carnivals of elections? Even closely, what should we take home in the next few days.
Primarily is the need to remind ourselves that elections will come and go within the stipulated times. After four years, which by the way, passes as a fleeting moment, new elections would become due. For example, despite all the melodrama, President Jonathan’s exit after the much tensed elections in 2015 is just like yesterday. No wonder, some countries have 5 or 6 yearly tenures. Indeed the 2023 Nigerian General Elections are just by the corner and already beckoning. No election is an end by itself and must be treated as such by all.
Relatedly is the fact that all key contenders, high and low in this general elections, need to remind themselves that this is just a game with clear rules. So like all competitive sporting events only one victor can emerge at the end of the day. Come to think of it, it’s even better for those pursuing political objectives in our polity, as the habit of moving from one camp to opposing camps, with unabashed moral or spiritual liberality has become part of our reality. Like Wole Soyinka’s mystical ‘Abiku’, they come and go! For example, almost every major leader in the APC was once a member of another political party, especially the PDP. In like manner, some of the most visible faces in the PDP of today, jumped ship from the APC, just months ago but in the recent actually started their original political careers in the former. So why the desperately aggressive and bellicose appetite in insisting on victory at all cost when a player can move to the other end tomorrow?
Of equal importance is the fact, that political leaders driving this 2019 electoral exercise must show greater ingenuity in working together. In modern political practice, the options of consensus, coalitions, alliances, governments of national unity and the like are common. In most developed countries, the philosophy of the winner takes it all has become an anachronism The mood is always the search of alliances and broad coalition. Almost all of Europe, Canada, Israel and South Africa, the likelihood of a single party taking all the reins of governance after elections are narrow as some forms of cross-party deals help to stabilize post electoral peace. Even in Nigeria’s own political history, President Shehu Shagari in 1979 stretched out his hands of friendship to the opposition, which first President of the country, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe accepted. They went on to form a Government of National Unity and helped the polity at the time, even though its was an American type Presidential system. If we cast our minds back a little, this was also the approach of our Founding Fathers during the First Republic. Then Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa governed through a motley of coalitions. Many other countries with variants of non parliamentary systems like Nigeria are still doing same.
Let us also not forget, as we approach the D-Day, whether we like it or not, the rest of the world is watching. No nation of the world now lives in autarky. Today, we all live in a globalised world that is closely connected by information and communication technology. We are now a global village and so all countries depend on one another for almost everything. That is why every country is interested in what happens in all others. Certainly the panoply of claims of protecting “sovereignty” when suitable can no longer be pleaded by leaders in covering their atrocious conducts during elections and other key political events. It is common knowledge even to first year students of international relations or legal studies that Customary international law has developed amply enough to establish a corpus of “crimes against humanity” with various international tribunals in place to deal with such matters. The erstwhile tribunal on Yugoslav indicted 161 persons, including a former Head of State, Goran Hadzic. Similarly, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Laurent Gbagbo were all before the Hague on post election violence matters. Indeed, from the time of the Nuremburg Trials which started in 1945-46 after the Second World War, individual law enforcement persons known to have committed atrocities can now be held liable for their actions, even if obeying superior orders which in common human reasoning appear untenable. From Bosnia to Sudan, DRC, to Cote d’Ivoire many world leaders and their officials now have to account or are on the run.
Above all, after the months of absurdity and near insanity, the country must continue. If there is a resort to violence and crises, these by end of the day, would still be resolved amicably. Thereafter, all surviving contestants, winners and losers, warlords and belligerents still have to clean up and continue to live together one way or the other. We will continue to go to same places of business, same markets, travel in same aircrafts or same buses, attend same hospitals, and go to same places of worship, etc. As a matter of fact, our children will continue to attend same schools, eat in same restaurants, maybe, even inter-marry and raise offspring.
So, as we go to the elections and anxiously await the results, let us remember that there is a Day After; as God seems not to have made up his mind yet to end the world!
Dr. Igali is a Diplomat and retired Federal Permanent Secretary
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has gone to court to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari’s order to security operatives that ballot box snatchers should be made to pay with their lives.
In a suit filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, the party asked the court to declare Buhari’s directive as unconstitutional, unlawful and void.
The party also sued the minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello before a FCT high court over the “gigantic broom” erected by the All Progressives Congress (APC) near Abuja city gate.
It urged the court to issue an order compelling the minister to investigate allegations of intimidation and illegality which poses potential threat of violence and disunity that the structure may cause.
The party said this follows the permission of the FCT administration or its failure to take action against the broom which it said is an “improper structure.”
President Buhari had given order to the security agencies to be ruthless with ballot box snatchers and thugs, in the general elections which begin with Presidential and parliamentary elections tomorrow, Saturday.
He had said: “anybody who thinks he has enough influence in his locality to lead a body of thugs to snatch ballot boxes or disturbs the voting system, will do so at the expense of his own life.”
The Centre for Crisis Communications (CCC), a professional group working with military, security, intelligence and response agencies have identified some states in Nigeria as Flashpoints for the security operatives to focus attention on. The group is part of the Heads of Information Departments of all the agencies under the umbrella of the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA). In its mid-February collation and dissemination of data on crisis and crisis situation across the country, the group said that the identified flashpoints in the six geopolitical zones of the country are Kogi and Kwara States in the North Central as well as Kano and Kaduna in the North West. Executive Secretary of the Centre, retired Air Commodore Yusuf Anas, said: “we strongly recommend that adequate security arrangements should be made to ensure that the elections are not disrupted in some of the states we have identified. “Some of the states we identify in the North are: Kano and Kaduna in the North West; Kwara and Kogi in the North Central and Adamawa and Taraba in the North-East geopolitical zone. “In the South, we identify Lagos and Ogun States in the South-West; Rivers and Akwa-Ibom in the South-South; and Anambra and Imo States in the South East geopolitical zone respectively. “We appeal to politicians, community leaders to advise their subjects against involvement in any activity capable of inciting violence that could have negative effects on the electoral processes. “We also urge all security agencies deployed for elections to be proactive and conduct themselves professionally by carrying out their duties with absolute neutrality devoid of bias, while the media and Civil Society Organizations should continue to monitor and keep Nigerians abreast before, during and after the elections.” The Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) collects, collates, processes, harmonizes and disseminates information on any crisis or potential crisis situation in the country. It has been providing credible and professional crisis information and early warning alerts to strategic institutions in the country with the view of taking appropriate measure towards ensuring adequate security as well as promoting peaceful coexistence in the country. It recently issued a statement calling on Security Agencies and Electoral bodies to exercise absolute neutrality in the conduct of the election.
As Nigerians troop out tomorrow, Saturday to cast their votes for who they want to be their President in the next four years, President Muhammadu Buhari has described the day as another encounter with history.
“Tomorrow is an encounter with history in which you, the people, shall affirm your collective belief in our national greatness and in our future.”
The President, in a nation-wide radio and televition broadcast today, Friday, ahead of tomorrow’s Presidential election, advised Nigerians to embrace and hold on to the importance of the moment soon to be upon us.
He called on Nigerians to honour their civic duty as voters by going to the polls tomorrow to vote for the government of their choice, “for the government that will lead Nigeria toward its finest destiny.”
President Buhari further reminded Nigerians that as citizens there is no greater duty than this and no greater honour, saying: “tomorrow, I know you will once again make Nigeria proud of its people.
He expressed happiness that Nigerians have finally reached the eve of the rescheduled first round of this year’s general elections.
“Tomorrow, we affirm that Nigeria stands as a democracy and that no worldly hand can deter us from this wise and fitting path we have chosen for ourselves.
“While democracy is the most beneficial way to select a nation’s leaders, it is far from the easiest thing to achieve and maintain.
“It requires a combination of patience, tolerance, compassion, diligence, wisdom and hope. These traits exist in us the Nigerian people. Because of who we are, democracy has the chance to flourish in this land.”
Buhari commended Nigerians for their patience and peaceful conduct so far during this electoral season and, especially during this intervening week following the postponement of the February 16 elections.
He noted that many Nigerians were worried and thought the worst might happen but that they have been proved wrong by the majority who showed that Nigerians general are a great people with an abiding love for peace, democracy and the unity of our country.
“According to the daily INEC public briefings given this week, the Electoral Commission says it is ready and fully prepared to conduct the election in a free, fair and transparent manner.
“I believe INEC realises the profound and weighty duty that rests upon it.
“We must cast aside doubt and have faith that INEC will rise to the occasion. We must believe and encourage INEC to fulfill and honour this responsibility it owes to our country.
“As your President, I hereby ask all Nigerians with voting cards to participate in defining the future of our nation by exercising your democratic rights tomorrow. I urge you to go out and vote.
“I say this because elections are the cornerstone of representative governance. And voting constitutes the highest and best expression of the sovereign will of the people to choose the government that best represents them.
“It is only upon the freely expressed will of the people that government truly dedicated to the welfare, rights and interests of the people can be founded.
“Do not allow anyone to discourage you from the exercise of your rights as citizens and voters tomorrow.
“To vote means that you believe in Nigeria and the excellent things the future holds for this nation and its people.
“No matter our political leanings, we all believe in Nigeria, in the noble principles for which it stands and in the values we strive for our beloved nation to uphold.
“All who are able, must vote so that we may better perfect this democracy and continue to build the greater nation we seek.
“Do not be afraid of rumours of violence and unrest. Our security agencies have worked diligently to ensure that adequate security measures are in place.
“You will be able to vote in an atmosphere of openness and peace, devoid of fear from threat or intimidation.
“International and domestic monitors and observers are assured of their safety and freedom of movement needed to perform their important functions.
“As we thank domestic monitors and observers for their contributions to our democracy, we also thank the international groups for the friendship and concern they have demonstrated to our nation.
“We appreciate their efforts in encouraging us to further entrench and strengthen our democracy.
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has swung into action ahead of the Saturday Presidential election, hunting for influential and powerful politicians that were believed to have resorted to ferrying hard currencies through Nigeria’s numerous porous borders to compromise election.
The Commission is said to have deployed its operatives to lay ambush for such slush cash and promptly arrest the couriers. According to information reaching us at Greenberge Reporters, the anti-graft agency has moved its crack operatives to key border towns in Nigeria in order to apprehend the cash couriers following credible information that daring politicians had resorted to using land borders to ferry in millions of hard currency for vote-buying having been blocked through the banking system and Bureau de Change (BDC).
It was learnt that a crack team raised by the EFCC to frisk BDC dealers and outlets in Kano, Sokoto, Jigawa, Taraba, Borno, Bauchi, Lagos and Cross River states had already moved into the affected states and are currently mixing freely with the dealers with a view to picking the couriers for prosecution against money laundering.
It was further gathered that the anti-graft agency was also trailing those who had ferried fake U.S Dollars across Nigeria’s borders in order to hoodwink and lure unsuspecting Nigerian voters to vote for a particular candidate because of the huge sums promised them.
“The tragedy of the situation is that the so-called hard currency is fake and we are trailing those who ferried it into the country with a view to bringing them to justice,” an EFCC top official, said.
“These people, who are also into some form of magic, are believed to have used some form of spell to deceive their victims to accept the hard currency as original and vote for a preferred candidate but they would only come to their senses after the elections.
“We have laid out our men to fish for the perpetrators of this unholy and devilish act with a view to apprehending and bringing them to account for their inhuman activities,” the official said. It will be recalled that the acting EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, had earlier in the day raised the alarm over the circulation of fake Dollars in the country just days to the presidential poll and appealed to Nigerians to be on the watch out in order not to be taken in. In a statement personally signed by the Acting Chairman of the Commission, Mr Ibrahim Magu, the agency stated that the warning followed intelligence gathered in the build up to the elections.
“The intelligence indicates that the Dollar notes have features of genuineness, but forensic analysis by the Commission reveals otherwise. “We therefore warn the BDC operators to be cautious in their transactions from now till the end of the elections,” EFCC source said.
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President Muhammadu Buhari and presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has trounced his main challenger in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar right in his Polling Unit of Adamawa State, in the presidential and parliamentary elections conducted today, Saturday.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has made an intervention of $268.4 million in the retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) and CNY 46.3 million in the spot and short tenored forwards segment of the inter-bank foreign market.
Executors for Michael Jackson’s estate have filed a $100 million lawsuit against bosses at U.S. network HBO over a controversial new documentary detailing sexual abuse allegations against the late singer.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has gone to court to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari’s order to security operatives that ballot box snatchers should be made to pay with their lives.
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has swung into action ahead of the Saturday Presidential election, hunting for influential and powerful politicians that were believed to have resorted to ferrying hard currencies through Nigeria’s numerous porous borders to compromise election.
Nigeria’s Election 2019 And “The Day After” By Godknows Igali
But more than any other elections in the past, the 2019 polls mean different things to virtually all key stakeholders. For example, for leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the seeming despair for victory at the elections, is hinged on the need to consolidate on what they claim are past four years of achievements. Conversely, the assertiveness with which the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has pursued the electoral contest finds meaning in regaining power which it lost four years ago after boasts of being invincible.
The PDP, which also claimed to be Africa’s biggest political movement as well as many Nigerians also argue that the years of APC’s governance have only inflicted the country with negative indicators. But for leaders of other smaller political parties, and at least over 60 of them are on the Presidential ballot form, this election is an opportunity to wrest power out of the hands of the establishment political order represented by the APC and PDP. They argue that both are tainted with corruption, old-style ideas and lacking inclusiveness of younger generations in the scheme of things. Yet, many sections of the country see the elections, especially the Presidential ballot as a “referendum on the question of restructuring” the Nigerian polity.
The campaigns have therefore been very incisive, fervid and at times anything but desperate. Beyond the hostile pitch and large-scale resort to hard language and communication, the entire process has created fear and even panic within the population. Not surprising, many Nigerians have retired to their places of nativity till the coast is clear. The atmosphere therefore remains ominous, foreboding what will happen when the results get finally announced.
This atmosphere easily brings to recollection, the date November 20, 1983, when the American television film, “The Day After” hit the screens with hundreds of millions all over the world spellbound by its unique combination of technology and effect. That motion picture still maintains a record as “the highest-rated television film in history”. But more than that was its captivating and distinctly compelling message and undertone of the before-during-and-after scenarios of a supposed hostile situation leading to a nuclear war. It retold the policies that were being needlessly and unguardedly pursued during the ill-famed “Cold War” years by the Soviet Bloc led by Russia and its arch rivals the West under the command of the United States.
In that movie, there were incalculable waste of monetary resources, human efforts and time, all negatively deployed to unproductive ends by both sides. Between the two ideological blocs, intemperate and wrathful dispositions, wickedly and fiendly mindsets and unbridled elevation of personal ego by leadership and what they considered as national pride, were the order. As the storms gathered, defiant voices of hostile communication dominated radio and television. Hearsays, exaggerated narratives, half-truths, threats and propaganda became the norm. Caution, moderation, middle grounds, and forbearance were considered as expressions of weakness and undue appeasement.
In that story, much more than the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki both of which were destroyed during Second World War, all places affected, by the crisis depicted in the film became total wastelands.
But, after all the angered nerves and seeming move to Armageddon, the same leaders declared ceasefire. They now had to clean up, build and rebuild all the damage and mess.
This great drama series directed by Nicholas Meyer merely depicted in the most poignant manner a typical course of human action that repeats itself in the most animalistic manner. The world is replete with crises and wars because of such predilections. The First and Second World Wars (1914-1919 and 1939-1945) left human carnages of over 16 million and 60 million lives respectively. Africa lost about 10 million people to wars and conflicts between 1990 and 2000. The war in the Balkans in the 1990s resulted in the death of over 140,000 human lives and the displacement of 4 million people. The Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) of 30 months took a toll of over 2 million lives, while Rwanda’s Civil War led to the genocide of 800 thousand, mostlly, ethnic Tutsis in just 100 days of killing orgy.
Of all these conflict scenes, one that is increasingly more prevalent are Post Election Crises, especially on the African continent. A few examples will suffice.
Despite its hitherto political stability and peace, relative to neighbours such as Somalia, Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda, the 2007-2008, East Africa’s power house, Kenyan Post Election Crises resulted in 1,000 deaths. Previously, the country had experienced similar incidents in 1992 and 1997 which ended in skirmishes. Electoral violence have also occurred in other places such as Zimbabwe in 2005 and in 2008 while the Democratic Republic of Congo suffered similar fate in 2006 and 2011. Up North Africa, Tunisia and Egypt were also not left out during the 2011-2012 period. In all these instances, bloodletting of innocent citizens, championed by political elites was pervasive and unrestraint.
In another case Cote d’Ivoire, the world’s largest producer of Cocoa which had been considered a bastion of peace and economic stability in West Africa, went through Civil war in 2010-2012 following inconclusive elections. It left carnage of over 1 million lives and took the country several years behind. Similarly In 2015, Guinea, the first country in French West Africa to attain independence in 1958 and had enjoyed relative peace found itself on the precipe as a result of corrupted elections. The same also happened in Uganda in 2016.
Most studies and available literature show that crises and violence often occur at virtually all stages of the electoral cycle.
During the electioneering campaigns, the tendency to use offensive language, incitements and hate speech inexorably create the background for latter escalations. In many instances, political actors in veiled and couched languages incite followers to insist on victory and victory alone. Even with the innovations of international and local pre-election mediation efforts, hate speech and incitements continue to prowl the African electoral landscape.
Similarly, actual voting and rendition of results in most of the cases in Africa have shown a great disinterest by key actors, even the highest political office holders to allow the actual outcome to be free and fair. Most often, there are covert and at times open interferences at various stages. In this process, both electoral bureaucracy and law enforcement officials are brought under great burden and compromised to do the wrong thing.
The ultimate stage is the post election altercation which occurs in most cases. In 2011, post election violence despite ongoing judicial process in Nigeria claimed a record of 1,000 lives, including many Youth Corpers. However, despite all predictions and prognosis of the “mother of all conflicts”, respite came the way of the Nigeria when a unilateral action by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 saved the day. Dr. Jonathan who had consistently disproved the “do-and-die” politics, unilaterally and unconditionally conceded defeat rather prematurely; once he saw that the numbers were not adding up. On the continent? Yes. This unique and outstanding effort was shortly followed by immediate past Ghanian President, Dr. John Mahama who in 2016 followed suit to accept electoral outcome early. In other cases as recently occurred in Cameroon and DRC, the outcomes were challenged in court and amicably resolved. The resort to acrimonious legal battles by loosing sides has, unfortunately, been the record also in Nigeria in 1979, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011.
Against this background, the question is what should Nigerian and African political elite remind themselves or rather, ourselves during these periodic carnivals of elections? Even closely, what should we take home in the next few days.
Primarily is the need to remind ourselves that elections will come and go within the stipulated times. After four years, which by the way, passes as a fleeting moment, new elections would become due. For example, despite all the melodrama, President Jonathan’s exit after the much tensed elections in 2015 is just like yesterday. No wonder, some countries have 5 or 6 yearly tenures. Indeed the 2023 Nigerian General Elections are just by the corner and already beckoning. No election is an end by itself and must be treated as such by all.
Relatedly is the fact that all key contenders, high and low in this general elections, need to remind themselves that this is just a game with clear rules. So like all competitive sporting events only one victor can emerge at the end of the day. Come to think of it, it’s even better for those pursuing political objectives in our polity, as the habit of moving from one camp to opposing camps, with unabashed moral or spiritual liberality has become part of our reality. Like Wole Soyinka’s mystical ‘Abiku’, they come and go! For example, almost every major leader in the APC was once a member of another political party, especially the PDP. In like manner, some of the most visible faces in the PDP of today, jumped ship from the APC, just months ago but in the recent actually started their original political careers in the former. So why the desperately aggressive and bellicose appetite in insisting on victory at all cost when a player can move to the other end tomorrow?
Of equal importance is the fact, that political leaders driving this 2019 electoral exercise must show greater ingenuity in working together. In modern political practice, the options of consensus, coalitions, alliances, governments of national unity and the like are common. In most developed countries, the philosophy of the winner takes it all has become an anachronism The mood is always the search of alliances and broad coalition. Almost all of Europe, Canada, Israel and South Africa, the likelihood of a single party taking all the reins of governance after elections are narrow as some forms of cross-party deals help to stabilize post electoral peace. Even in Nigeria’s own political history, President Shehu Shagari in 1979 stretched out his hands of friendship to the opposition, which first President of the country, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe accepted. They went on to form a Government of National Unity and helped the polity at the time, even though its was an American type Presidential system. If we cast our minds back a little, this was also the approach of our Founding Fathers during the First Republic. Then Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa governed through a motley of coalitions. Many other countries with variants of non parliamentary systems like Nigeria are still doing same.
Let us also not forget, as we approach the D-Day, whether we like it or not, the rest of the world is watching. No nation of the world now lives in autarky. Today, we all live in a globalised world that is closely connected by information and communication technology. We are now a global village and so all countries depend on one another for almost everything. That is why every country is interested in what happens in all others. Certainly the panoply of claims of protecting “sovereignty” when suitable can no longer be pleaded by leaders in covering their atrocious conducts during elections and other key political events. It is common knowledge even to first year students of international relations or legal studies that Customary international law has developed amply enough to establish a corpus of “crimes against humanity” with various international tribunals in place to deal with such matters. The erstwhile tribunal on Yugoslav indicted 161 persons, including a former Head of State, Goran Hadzic. Similarly, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Laurent Gbagbo were all before the Hague on post election violence matters. Indeed, from the time of the Nuremburg Trials which started in 1945-46 after the Second World War, individual law enforcement persons known to have committed atrocities can now be held liable for their actions, even if obeying superior orders which in common human reasoning appear untenable. From Bosnia to Sudan, DRC, to Cote d’Ivoire many world leaders and their officials now have to account or are on the run.
Above all, after the months of absurdity and near insanity, the country must continue. If there is a resort to violence and crises, these by end of the day, would still be resolved amicably. Thereafter, all surviving contestants, winners and losers, warlords and belligerents still have to clean up and continue to live together one way or the other. We will continue to go to same places of business, same markets, travel in same aircrafts or same buses, attend same hospitals, and go to same places of worship, etc. As a matter of fact, our children will continue to attend same schools, eat in same restaurants, maybe, even inter-marry and raise offspring.
So, as we go to the elections and anxiously await the results, let us remember that there is a Day After; as God seems not to have made up his mind yet to end the world!
Dr. Igali is a Diplomat and retired Federal Permanent Secretary