Election Rigging In Nigerian Politics

By Gora Albehu Dauda

NEWSDAILYNGERIA: If the news making the rounds to the effect that in Donald J Trump’s America copies of the results sheets of the 2027 General Elections were found in a property owned by the current INEC chairman turns out to be true, nothing can be more despicable. It will be confirmation of the fact that election rigging is effectively the central.pillar and soul of elections in this country. The rumour have it that the property inside which the copies of the 2027 were allegedly discovered was seized and the children of the INEC Chairman expelled from America whilst the Chairman himself is as a consequence banned from ever entering America again. Given the very nature of journalism in Nigeria, it is very difficult establishing the truth or otherwise of the story.

As far as rigging in Nigerian election is concerned, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE. Election outcomes have serially been manufactured in Nigeria thus makimg complete nonsense of the entirety of the electoral processes. INEC, her staff have serially manipulated or manufactured election results in the past to favour candidates of their choice particularly those with DEEP POCKETS and other connections. This compels me into asking if there is need at all to call out Nigerians to vote in future elections. Partners in rigging elections include essentially the Judiciary as well as elements embedded in the National Security architecture. The will of the electorate in Nigerian elections have serially been mangled, manipulated and distorted without INEC being held to account.

Remember a one time INEC Chairman Ovie Whiskey who once declared upon being accused of being a party to or facilitating the rigging of an election that if he saw the sum of a Million naira, he would faint. That was in times of old when the Naira was called by its name for its value but not anymore. Today, Election rigging is a multi billion naira investment project and in many a case foreign currencies are involved to maximum effect. Late last year local council elections were scheduled but in the end, it was a mass turbanning exercise of anointed so-called winners of the election which never took place. This was the most brazen rape of the democratic process ever and life has dubiously and shamelessly moved on as usual. Nigeria is indeed a country where JUST ANYTHING goes. I, and many other folks are left to wondering as to IF, WHEN and HOW the confidence of the electorate as things now stand can or will be restored

Key questions to be asked include what the considerations are for appointing the NEC chairman/women if ever any? To the extend that the utterly kwarapt Nigerian leadership is left with this very important responsibility, to that extent will Nigeria continue to travail in the arduous journey towards achieving free, fair and credible election outcomes. Many are left to wondering what the crime of writing out election results 2 years before the actual election is to be called. I know of “the advanced fee fraud in Nigerian law but until now yet to hear anything going by the name of ” Advanced election rigging”.It is important to ask if prior to his appointment as INEC Chairman if the current Chairman had any property of worth to his name. We now know, that he now has a house or possibly houses in America and possibly in other foreign climes. The man has been embroiled in many an election related scandals such that I think he should either have been booted out or resigned if he has any honour left in him but how can he leave when he particularly facilitated the coming to life of the present regime.

When elections are rigged, the will of the electorate is compromised and the characters benefitting from the rigging are automatically taken hostage. Those who rig elections operate well above or outside of the Constitution. When the impish former dictator HellRufai was governor of Kaduna State, he had no regard for the Constitution of the land. Similarly, he became the Law without regard for due process. He was much like a heavy bulldozer who took pleasure in demolishing anything standing in his way. It is by such high handedness that he destroyed Kaduna State and handed over the wreckage of a once vibrant State to the hapless people of the State. Trust time, as it is no respecter of dictators and so after 8 hardy years, the former dictator now finds himself walking almost alone except for the few thieves, who helped him to loot the State dry.

I read somewhere that HelRufai has now resorted to running from pilar to post pontificating about Democratic goverance BUT can someone give what he does not have? Any visitor to Kaduna who sees the hanging bridges linking NOWHERE as well as many of the uncompleted roads will marvel at the level of madness that informed the thinking behind the non completion of those projects. In HelRufai’s grandiose project of preaching democracy, I am wondering if anyone no matter how depraved is listening to him. I have to confess though that he has the right to try relunching his political life after the very sad and traumatic incidences of ” The Accidental Civil Servant ” as well.as ” the accidented governor”. Emilokan was very smart as to have left out of his cabinet the irritant called HelRufai. Had he taken HelRufai up onboard, he would certainlyhave been been living in regret. We were absolutely spot on when we added our voices in advising that HelRufai needed to be avoided at all cost. To God Be The Glory